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Focus on interventions that develop and empower communities to be food secure and sustainable.
By SALEEMAH JAFFER
ANNUALLY, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) celebrates World Food Day on October 16. The official theme for the 80th anniversary of World Food Day is ‘Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future’ and highlights the importance of global collaboration and a shared vision to build a sustainable and food-secure world by improving food production and nutrition.
The theme for 2025 comes across as superficial in the face of the man-made famine in Gaza and the widespread hunger and poverty experienced globally. With global systems and policies that perpetuate inequalities, oppression and racism, ‘themes’ or ‘commemorations’ feel dissonant from reality.
As Muslim citizens of the globe, we cannot ignore the hunger, food insecurity and poverty crises that exist. From our own local community to those in other countries, hunger and inadequate nutrition are rampant.
As Muslim individuals we know and understand our duty towards those who may not be food secure – our faith system includes zakah, fitrah, fidya and saqadah to support alleviating hunger and poverty.
In addition to this, there is a strong example in the Sunnah of our Messenger ﷺ that extends beyond charity as ‘handouts’, to development and empowerment of individuals and communities to become independent and sustainable.
A significant part of the Islamic value system is preserving human dignity and compassion. These values must be incorporated in all interventions and efforts to alleviate hunger and promote food security.
Over the past two years, as we watch the genocide and mass starvation in Palestine, the phrase ‘food is political’ seems to be surfacing more and more frequently. Hunger is being weaponised – used as a form of collective punishment.
The following terms are useful to understand in relation to food:
The right to food:
According to the South African Human Rights Commission, ‘the right to food is a human right recognised under national and international law, which protects the right of human beings to access food and feed themselves, either by producing their own food or by buying it. The right to food is linked to one’s right to life and dignity. The right to food requires that food be available, accessible and adequate for everyone without discrimination at all times.’
Food security:
According to the World Food Summit (1996): ‘Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’. The FAO highlights that four factors influence food security, namely, food availability, food access, food utilisation and stability. Food security should encompass nutrition security (explained below). In South Africa, the long-term effects of Apartheid linger, affecting food accessibility in some communities. Food gentrification, inflation, cost of living crises and raising electricity prices all impact food security locally.
Nutrition security:
Nutrition security is defined as the availability, access, and utilisation of nutritious food or food replacements to meet dietary needs. Generally, it includes the challenges faced by individuals, particularly those with disabilities, in accessing and utilising food effectively. In the case of natural disasters or war, short-term nutrition security could potentially be prioritised, utilising meal replacements and meal supplements (e.g. nutrient dense porridges) to attempt to meet nutritional needs of the general population until food security is re-established. In some circumstances, alleviating hunger through nutritionally inadequate foods may be the only option due to lack of access and availability of nutritionally appropriate foods.
Food sovereignty:
Food sovereignty emphasises people’s rights to define their own food and agricultural systems and relies on indigenous knowledge systems and community involvement. It includes the right to healthy and culturally appropriate food, which would generally be produced through ecologically sustainable methods. Preventing Palestinians from growing oranges, harvesting za’tar or caring for their olive trees are actions that deny their right to food sovereignty. Forcibly withholding food groups or types of foods from a population contributes to ethnocide.
What can we do?
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In the face of global humanitarian crises, one could feel overwhelmed. We may ask ourselves, what can we do as individuals, to better actively promote and support food security and food sovereignty in our own country?
- Choose to donate foods that are both nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable. This could mean replacing a donation of a packet of pasta with a bag of rice; or choosing to purchase samp and beans instead of lentils.
- Engage with the communities who are food insecure to better understand where the gaps are for intervention and support.
- Respect and celebrate food sovereignty and try to better understand indigenous knowledge around food production and culture.
- Focus on interventions that develop and empower communities to be food secure and sustainable.
- Understand that each of us carry our own assumptions, culture, ideas and preferences into a space – none of us are neutral or unbiased. When we understand our own subjectivity and position, we understand how this influences how we view the world. We can then better try and ensure our opinions or ideas don’t drown the voices of those we are hoping to support.
Saleemah Jaffer holds an Honours degree in Nutrition and a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies.
• This article was first published in the October 17, 2025 edition of Muslim Views under Saleemah Jaffer’s monthly column, ‘THE ROAD WELL TRAVELLED – exploring issues of social responsibility, spirituality and agency’.
