Whatever the holiday is and wherever in the world it is celebrated, there is usually a type of special food that goes along with it. To celebrate with all our readers and supporters and wish you Happy Holidays, we’ve compiled a list of UN food links, starting with healthy diets, over to food waste and ending with a selection of recipes available from UN system websites.
HEALTHY DIETS
WHO/Europe – World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe
- Food and nutrition during self-quarantine (27 March 2020)
- New WHO factsheet: how can we tell if plant-based products are healthy? (22 December 2021)
- Healthier food and healthier food environments at sports events: an action guide for sports event organizers (August 2023)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- 2023 – International Year of Millets
The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). FAO is the lead agency for celebrating the Year in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. Millets can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in climate. They are therefore an ideal solution for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains. - 2021 – International Year of Fruits and Vegetables
The IYFV 2021 is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the important role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, food security and health and as well in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- What are healthy diets? Joint statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (FAO / WHO, 2024)
- What are healthy diets? The answer is nuanced, but unambiguous.
- In Focus: Make healthy eating a habit
For children and adolescents, healthy diets are essential to grow and develop - The ABCs of healthy diets: A kid’s guide to improving nutrition
- How much do you know about healthy eating? Let dietary guidelines steer your choices
- Eating healthy before, during and after COVID-19: FAO resources to help you stay healthy whatever the circumstance (7 April 2021)
World Food Programme (WFP)
- Food for thought: 7 tips on keeping a healthy diet in the face of coronavirus; The ‘Grows, Gos and Nos’ — advice from World Food Programme nutritionists on dos and don’ts of eating in quarantine (23 April 2020)
- Nutrition myths debunked; Director of Nutrition separates fact from fiction at a time when a healthy diet is more important than ever (2 April 2020)
AVOIDING FOOD WASTE
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Make #NotWasting food a personal resolution: How you can avoid food waste this holiday (28 December 2021)
- The art of cooking and what you can do to make it more sustainable: Tips from FAO’s Goodwill Ambassador chefs on how you can buy, cook and eat food that respects the planet (18 June 2021)
- 15 quick tips for reducing food waste and becoming a Food hero – We all have a part to play in saving food (29 September 2020)
- Three smart ways innovation is helping reduce food loss and waste: On the first International Day of Awareness for Food Loss and Waste, let’s talk about solving the problem (28 September 2020)
- Educational Material on Food Waste Reduction
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme
- How food waste is trashing the planet (18 June 2021)
- Food for thought: Instagram cooking show targets food waste during Italy lockdown (7 April 2020)
World Food Programme (WFP)
- Stop the Waste
While 811 million people go to bed hungry each night, 1/3 of food is lost or wasted, amounting to a financial loss of about US$ 1 trillion annually. You can help fight hunger by wasting less food and turning your savings from that positive practice into lifesaving food for those who need it most through the United Nations World Food Programme. Together, we can #StopTheWaste and end hunger.
SELECTION OF RECIPES
ActNow | Food Challenge | Sustainable Recipes
ActNow invites people around the world to make 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 spearhead the challenge and provide inspiration by presenting their own creations which you can find on this page. Get cooking!
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- The best thing about fruits and vegetables? Their diversity!
Five lesser known but surprisingly nutritious fruits and vegetables (15 December 2020)
Story includes the following recipes:
– Nopalitos with Tomatoes and Onions
– Amaranth-Potato-Eggplant - Celebrating nutrition with these five FAO cookbooks: Let these recipes from around the world bring out your inner chef (5 January 2021)
- For the love of pulses! Introducing six lesser-known pulses and their cooking traditions from around the world (9 February 2021)
- Fish on our mind, fish on your plate: FAO’s cookbook helps you know, cook and eat fish (25 October 2022)
- Recipes for Pulses
http://www.fao.org/pulses-2016/recipes/en/ - Pulses: nutritious seeds for a sustainable future
- International Cookbook for Quinoa
- Quinoa in the Kitchen
- Sorghum and millets in human nutrition
(Annex – Some recipes based on sorghum and millets) - Traditional High Andean Cuisine
- Kenyan Food Recipes
- Mountain recipes: Cooks in high places – Mountain specialties
- Yummy and Healthy Recipes for Kids
- Health, Knowledge and Flavours: Recovering the traditional culinary knowledge of women in Latin America and the Caribbean for food biodiversity management and enhancement
- Foraging wild plants in Europe and Central Asia (2024)
offers practical tips, seasonal recipes, and examples of edible wild plants
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- Recipes for Change
is a series of recipes from developing countries that bring you a taste of someone else’s life. It gives you the chance to cook the same meals as the Hong family in the Mekong Delta or Olive Bibutsuwahoze and her family in eastern Rwanda
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/recipes-for-change - A guide to the pulses that power our planet (8 February 2024)
Pulses are at the heart of thriving rural communities, and an essential ingredient for a sustainable future. Learn about some of these superfoods – and how to cook them with our Recipes for Change!
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- From Our Table to Yours: Fusion Cooking (a cookbook featuring recipes from 14 displaced people)
https://www.acnur.org/from-our-table-to-yours-fusion-cuisine.html - A cookbook for the holidays celebrates the flavours that make us who we are
- Tastes from Home: Recipes from the Refugee Community
World Food Programme (WFP)
- Um Abdullah’s Bulgur with Chickpeas from Syria
https://www.wfp.org/stories/family-chef-um-abdullahs-bulgur-chickpeas-syria - Cooking a favourite Lao dish — Khao Poon
- Nurfel’s Falafel from Syria
- Sarita’s Sangrecita from Peru
