Pact Against Hunger Co-Founder Attacks ‘Enormous Waste’ of Food in Country, Calls on Private Sector
During the pandemic, the União SP movement has delivered 900,000 basic food baskets – and one of its creators, Geyze Dinizthen engaged in the Panela Cheia Salva campaign, which in four months captured the equivalent of 4 million baskets, for the benefit of organizations such as cufa and the Hawk generation, among others. And so she found that, “when we get together, the level changes.” His next act was to study the matter of hunger in the country. “I wanted to understand what hunger and waste are and how they correlate.”
Result: Geyze, a board member of the Peninsula, which hosts family investments Abilio Diniz and Instituto Península, rolled up her sleeves and, together with 40 other people, became one of the founders of Pact against hunger, launched on Tuesday 23 at the Santander Theater. The “pole of initiatives” is an institute, with audit, statute, code of ethics. “We will not distribute basic baskets. We will seek and organize information, intelligence, synergy, connections. We see many initiatives in the third sector, in the private sector and in the government that do not speak”. The following are excerpts from his conversation with the Stadium.
You are establishing the Pact Against Hunger. What is it and how will it work?
It is a civil society movement to work with governments to fight hunger and reduce food waste. It was born as a multi-party, multi-sectoral one. We have no issues related to political parties, religions, social classes, genders, races, they are all valid here. Because hunger is such a structural and deep-rooted problem in the country that only the sum of all of society can put an end to it.
Is it true that Brazil wastes 30% of the food it produces?
YES. We have compared hunger and waste, passing through agro, industry, distributors, supermarkets, restaurants, up to the table of the houses. And we found out: the waste along this chain is eight times enough to satisfy the hunger of those in Brazil who don’t have enough to eat. Therefore, for us it is at least immoral to throw food in the trash knowing that there are hungry people, in a country that produces, exports and proudly claims to be the granary of the world. Hunger is a problem of a different nature, the more we study, the more we listen to specialists, leading all these institutions to act in a systemic and structural way. It is in this place that the Covenant intends to act.
We went through the Zero Hunger process, we saw it didn’t work. What makes you believe that a private initiative in this sector can go ahead?
The important thing is to believe it. If we believe it, we get there. But I want to go back to Fome Zero, to say that it has brought many benefits to the population in this state of food insecurity. In 2013, Brazil dropped off the UN hunger map, when 3.6% of the population was in this situation. The UN considers it a state of severe food insecurity when 5% or more of the population is in this condition. Indeed, over time we have witnessed a certain dismantling, or emptying, of these public policies. But hunger is a complex issue, there were obstacles in municipal and state legislation. And we have many examples of what worked and what didn’t. We need information, intelligence, synergy and connections, which are important pillars. And we see so many initiatives, in the third sector, in the private and public sectors that don’t speak to each other, everyone is in their own universe. What we want? Bring this visibility to all sectors. We will provide a platform that is the hub of Pacto Contra initiatives in Fome, where these groups register, tell what they do, how they do it, what impacts they cause. We will not distribute food, we will not deliver basic baskets. The covenant exists to add, to carry this great umbrella of connections. The hub is one of the pillars, the other is for us to work with data intelligence, to help with public policy. And in this, the private sector leads, which is very passive in this matter.
In practical terms, how to achieve this goal?
The Pact wants to sensitize the whole community, we are all responsible. Look, I can’t imagine it’s 2023, with so much intelligence and technology, in a country that produces food, and there are so many hungry people. Our goal in the Pact is to have no hungry people in Brazil in 2030. And in 2040 everyone will be well fed.
In seven years.
Seven years. If everyone is walking in the same direction, it is possible.
And one thing that the Pact will have is the Pact Against Hunger Award, in partnership with Unesco and FAO. It will award three categories, there will be six prizes of R$ 100,000 for third sector initiatives that act in the fight against hunger and waste. Registrations are open and last until 10 July. It is possible that next year this award will also go to the private and government sectors.
In this business start-up, what message would you leave to those who can help?
I leave the theme of the campaign, which we disclose with the launch of the pact. It’s “Not Hungry”. You can’t work, you can’t play, you can’t live, you can’t waste. And those who want to know more can go to the website www.pactocontrafome.org.
Source: Terra
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