Together for Better Food Futures: WiseFood Marks World Food Day 2025
The WiseFood project is, fittingly, marking World Food Day 2025. This year, the internationally-marked day bears the name “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future”. While WiseFood is a project that weaves in AI in its solutions, it actually combines both AI and people in its loop, so our consortium’s mission is very much in line with this theme for 2025 – partnering up with people from different walks of life for a brighter future.
History of World Food Day (and FAO)
World Food Day was established by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1979, commemorating the Organization’s founding on 16 October 1945.
The day serves to raise awareness and inspire collective action to support the millions of people worldwide who continue to face hunger and malnutrition. Through events and initiatives held globally, World Food Day advances the FAO’s mission of building sustainable solutions to these challenges and ensuring food security for all.
Its central message highlights the need for resilient food and agriculture systems in the face of growing pressures—from extreme weather and economic instability to the depletion of farmland, water, and biodiversity. The FAO’s work centres on increasing sustainable food production, strengthening supply chains, reducing waste and losses, and improving diets worldwide.
World Food Day is one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar, with 150 countries joining in, in almost 50 languages! Different campaigns, activities and events are held by entire governments, municipalities, media organisations, NGOs, and even businesses. Projects, as well!
FAO also released a short video marking the occasion, with the impactful voices of actress Charlotte Rampling and actor Lambert Wilson. Check it out below.
2025 SOFI Report: Food System Inequalities In Spotlight
Our global food system takes care of the needs of billions of people, but it fails to reach everyone. Statistically, around 673 million people still go hungry, while, in contrast, nearly 900 million adults are obese. When it comes to the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet, the numbers are staggering and in the billions: 2.6 billion people. Most of them belong to low and lower-middle income families. Looking further at numbers, almost one-third of all food produced is lost or wasted, even as millions live with food insecurity.
Meanwhile, as it is widely known, food production continues to be a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental decline.
The infographic below, made by the WiseFood project’s Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication partners, illustrates the numbers behind these global disparities, providing a clearer view of the pressures shaping today’s food systems. The numbers were taken from the 2025 The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report.
How WiseFood Supports Europe’s Healthy Diet Goals
Funded by the European Union, the WiseFood project launched to support Europe’s goals of promoting healthier eating habits, reducing food waste, and fostering a more sustainable society. The project’s team of experts will deliver AI-powered digital applications that help people to eat healthier and live more sustainably. More precisely, the three planned AI-powered applications are designed to offer fast and easy access to trustworthy data, smart recipe suggestions and personalised meal plan recommendations for the entire household, promoting healthier, more sustainable food choices and contributing to reducing food waste.
Over three years, WiseFood will leverage cutting-edge technology and expert knowledge to deliver reliable and accessible food data to people across Europe. The project will be implemented in real-life settings through Living Labs in three European countries: Ireland, Hungary, and Slovenia. This includes a fully operational short food supply chain Living Lab in Slovenia.
WiseFood’s core mission is to democratise food information, empowering every European citizen to make smarter food choices and adopt healthier lifestyles.
Stay tuned for updates on how WiseFood’s technologies empower smarter food choices, follow WiseFood Newsroom and its social media pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.