Pushpa Gujral Science City celebrated World Food Day byorganizing a webinar on “Slow Food: Science and Sustainability”. More than 100 studentsand teachers participated in the program.
Dr. Neelima Jerath, Director General, Science City duringher introductory remarks informed that this day marks the anniversary offounding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nationswhich strives to eradicate global hunger and believes that every human has theright to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop theirphysical and mental faculties.
She said that the day is celebrated to promote awarenessand action to highlight the need to ensure healthy diets. The theme of 2021 is‘Our actions are our future – better production, better nutrition, better environmentand a better life’. It is very important to understand what one eats becausethe right food choices lead to a healthy mind, body and soul. In recent decadesour eating habits and diets have changed due to lifestyle changes, increasedavailability of non-seasonal food and ‘fast food’ due to urbanization andglobalization.
In contrast ‘slow food’ refers to traditional cuisine andlocal foods which are healthier and have minimal impact on the ecosystems andclimate and, hence, lead to environmental sustainability and social justice.
Chef Gunjan Goela, a Celebrity Chef, Food Consultant,researcher and historian on Indian Gastronomy was the key speaker at thisoccasion. She said that the slow food movement campaign was started in 1989aimed to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions,counteract the rise of fast food and fast life and inculcate a sense ofresponsibility and pride for culinary heritage.
She informed that slow food movement in our country isnot a new concept and since ages people believed in taking only what is enoughto satisfy needs and giving back to the environment. Further, a growingawareness about the positive environmental impacts of vegetarianism isproviding a much needed boost to the slow food movement, she added.
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Speaking at the occasion Dr. Rajesh Grover, DirectorScience city said that slow food is healthy food having real ingredients thathelp to fuel our body as most of these food products are organic, have lesspreservative and pesticides. Since ingredients of these foods are sourced fromlocal producers and farmers thus local communities continue to grow as well aslower the carbon footprint coming from the impact of our consumption.