SEAN ADRIENNE RIAZON

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

-Our health and what we eat are inextricably linked. A balanced, nutritious diet gives us energy, keeps us
focused and keeps many medical conditions at bay.

But what and how we eat is just as important to planetary health, and right now our diets are helping to
create a sickly Earth. Growing consumption of resource intensive-food, such as (red) meats, ultra-processed
food, combined with a huge amount of food waste, is driving the conversion of land for agriculture—which
is destroying ecosystems, reducing biodiversity, and contributing to climate change.

One third of our food is lost or wasted, generating eight per cent of greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of
US$1 trillion per year. This is happening while 820 million people are undernourished. Emissions from the
food sector could rise 40 per cent by 2050.

Momentum is growing, however, for a shift to sustainable diets that protect the health of people and
planet. At the C40 cities network summit in Copenhagen, just before this year’s celebration of World Food
Day, 14 cities signed up to the Planetary Health Diet. If adopted universally, this diet would reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, feed 10 billion people and save 11 million lives each year.

According to the EAT-Lancet Commission, a planetary health plate should consist largely of vegetables and
fruits, with the rest made up with whole grains, plant protein sources, unsaturated plant oils, and,
occasionally, small amounts of meat or fish.

Mayors from Barcelona to Toronto are promising to change the food cities buy, cut food loss and waste,
and introduce policies that make healthy and low-carbon food affordable and accessible.

“The old saying goes, ‘You are what you eat’, but our planet is also being shaped by what we put in our
stomachs,” said Clementine O’Connor, Programme Officer on Sustainable Food Systems. “We all need to
think more carefully about diets that improve planetary health, as well as our own.”

ADVOCACY FOR PWD

When we secure the rights of people with disabilities, we move closer to achieving the central promise of the 2030 Agenda – to leave no
one behind."
-- UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday's day of people with disabilities.
Global call to climate action
ActNow is the United Nations’ global call to individual action on climate change. The campaign is a critical part
of the UN’s coordinated effort to raise awareness, ambition, and action for climate change and accelerate
implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Primarily an online and social media campaign, ActNow will educate and encourage individual actions, mainly
by adjusting consumption patterns. By changing our habits and routines, and making choices that have less
harmful effects on the environment, we have the power to confront the climate challenge.

ActNow Bot
Climate change requires urgent, coordinated, and consistent action. ActNow harnesses advances in Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to spur behaviour change. The ActNow bot recommends daily actions to reduce our carbon
footprints – like traveling more sustainably, saving energy or eating less meat. By registering and sharing your
actions, you send a message that individuals like you want climate action and are willing to take it. ActNow
highlights the impact that collective action can have at this critical moment in our planet’s history. The more
people act, the bigger the impact.

Campaign Overview
The United Nations’ ActNow Climate Campaign aims to trigger individual action on the defining issue of our
time. People around the world will be engaged to make a difference in all facets of their lives, from the food
they eat to the clothes they wear. This year, we will be focusing on two mini campaigns around food and
fashion.

Food

What we eat has major implications for climate change. The destruction of rainforests to create land for
agriculture, along with growing demand for meat, are major contributors to the increasing greenhouse gases
which are taking a significant toll on climate and global food security. To top it off, we waste about one-third of
the food that is produced. But more people are taking a closer look at what they are eating and the impacts of
their diets on their health and on the environment. More and more chefs and other food suppliers are focusing
on local and organic produce and shifting away from meat-heavy meals and fast food. They are joined by a
growing movement of people changing the way they cook and eat. The UN’s ActNow campaign aims to inspire
even more people to enjoy sustainable, climate-conscious and delicious food.
ActNow has invited people around the world to share their individual contribution to sustainable food
consumption. The challenge: cooking up dishes that are not only delicious but also good for the planet and
good for us– reducing meat and emphasizing diverse vegetarian ingredients instead. Leading chefs will
provide inspiration by presenting their own creations which can be found here, and kick off a global wave of
culinary creativity as people share their favorite recipes and photos on social media
THE TRIANGULAR PARTNERSHIP PROJECT
The Triangular Partnership Project (TPP) is a cornerstone of the new Department of Operational Support’s efforts to engage external
partners in strengthening support to United Nations operations.
TPP is an effort to align Secretariat coordination and expertise, member states’ expert training capacity, and troop-contributing
countries’ requirement for development, to support specialised United Nations peacekeeping missions - hence the notion of a
triangular partnership.
An information and planning workshop for member states was held in New York on 26 March 2019, with representatives from 39
member states, and served as a chance to build on momentum gained by listening to the experiences and concerns of the TPP key
stakeholders, as well as building outreach, advocacy, and encouraging provision of support.
TPP was launched in September 2015, following a pledge of financial support and expertise from the Government of Japan. Since
then, other member states have also provided training expertise. More than 330 military trainees, from 22 member states in Africa,
Asia and the Pacific-region, have completed comprehensive courses in horizontal engineering to prepare them to deploy to field
missions.
Building on this success, initiatives are underway to expand TPP. The first training course in French was offered in 2018, and an initial
training course was held in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on operating heavy engineering equipment.
After initially developing field engineering capabilities, training will soon be launched on medical response, including trauma life-
support. To date, courses have been hosted in locations such as Kenya and Vietnam. Later this year, training will be ‘taken to the
trainees’ as it will be conducted at facilities in the country of focus. There will also be additional Francophone training, with support
from a host country in Western Africa.
Moving forward, the “Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations”, as part of the SG’s Action for
Peacekeeping initiative, https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/action-for-peacekeeping-a4p commits the UN and member states to better
prepare, train, and equip uniformed personnel by pursuing innovative approaches, including triangular partnerships.
The Division for Special Activities (DSA) in DOS coordinates the TPP. As a key operational arm of DOS, DSA provides support solutions
across the Secretariat in ‘special situations’, through direct support and coordination across the Departme

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

( - "The United Nations will not waver in its commitment to the Palestinian people"
-- UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.)

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

- The number of jaguars worldwide has declined dramatically due to human activity, including land clearing for development and
agriculture, as well as poaching.
Our colleagues at UNDP are working to conserve the jaguar's natural habitat and support the well-being of the big cats.

UN PEACEKEEPING
The maritime task force with the UN mission in Lebanon is United Nations Peacekeeping first and only naval operation.
Made up of about 750 naval personnel, six ships and two helicopters, the task force has worked on everything from humanitarian
operations to supporting the Lebanese Navy.