Breaking news... President Erdoğan: Access to safe food is the fundamental element of our national security

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a video message to the World Food Forum Opening Ceremony held in Rome, Italy. Drawing attention to waste in the world in his message, President Erdoğan said that they have achieved gains with the work they have carried out and that they see access to safe food not only as a supply issue but as a fundamental element of national security.

"I WISH THE WORLD FOOD FORUM WILL BE BENEFICIAL FOR HUMANITY"

President Erdoğan, who started his speech by greeting the heads of state and government, the director-general and the participants, said, "I hope that the World Food Forum, organized with the theme 'Innovate Today, Feed Tomorrow', will be beneficial for humanity. I would like to thank all stakeholders, especially the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, who contributed to the organization of the forum."

"WE VIEW ACCESS TO SAFE FOOD NOT JUST AS A SUPPLY ISSUE, BUT AS A BASIC ELEMENT OF OUR NATIONAL SECURITY, AND WE ARE TAKING STEPS IN THIS DIRECTION"

Stating that they are concerned about leaving a livable world to future generations in critical areas such as climate change, environmental protection and food security, President Erdoğan said, "While we witness the struggle for survival of millions who cannot find dry bread on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can neither talk about peace, tranquility nor prosperity in a world where food waste increases. Based on this fact, as Turkey, we see access to safe food not only as a matter of supply but as the basic element of our national security, and we are taking steps in this direction. The understanding that sees blessings as values, as our ancestors did. According to global reports, the largest share of food waste occurs at home, that is, at the consumer level. Around 1.5 billion tons of food produced in the world is either lost or wasted every year. For this reason, we attach particular importance to combating food loss and waste, as well as production and efficiency. The 'Save Your Food, Take Care of Your Table' initiative has made great progress in a very short time through our bread waste prevention campaign. "We reduce it by 18 percent. We contribute to global awareness in this field through the zero waste movement, which was initiated 9 years ago under the leadership of my wife, Emine Erdoğan. We are planning steps that will turn our experiences into practices during COP 31, which we will organize in Antalya on November 9-20 this year. We aim to bring food safety and climate commitments together on a common ground with our Turquoise Connection Initiative," he said.

"WE ARE WAITING FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO DR. MEHDI EKER, WHO SUCCESSFULLY WORKED AS THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE IN OUR COUNTRY FOR MANY YEARS"