A change beyond the plate
What do Swiss people like to do most on balmy summer evenings? Exactly, they fire up the grill! Whereas 10 years ago vegetarians were met with astonished looks when they showed up with their vegetable skewers or "Quorn" schnitzels, meat substitutes or grilled vegetables are now commonplace on Swiss barbecues.
That we will have to question our own diet even more in the future is becoming increasingly clear against the background of burning forests in Southern Europe or the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is undisputed that the meat-heavy diets of industrialized countries have an enormous impact on the climate.¹
International Youth Day
This year's International Youth Day could therefore not be more topical. The focus this year is on innovative solutions developed by young people to problems in the areas of food supply (food security), biodiversity loss and environmental threats. António Guterres, current UN Secretary-General, emphasizes in his message for today how important it is to involve young people and find solutions together with them. After all, it is the young people who are most threatened by future environmental threats and the loss of species. Only with young people at the negotiating table, Guterres said, can inclusive, fair and sustainable development succeed for all.
The young people from Haiti learn in the Horyzon program "Espace Sûr" what a healthy diet means and maintain a vegetable garden together independently. (Photo: YWCA Haiti)
Horyzon is also committed to this goal. In our programs, young people also learn, for example, how to eat healthily. In Haiti and Colombia, the young people maintain a vegetable garden, among other things. In Haiti, the girls and young women receive one healthy meal a day. Horyzon is convinced that young people can be agents of change. A change that is increasingly important and not only affects our barbecue, but beyond our plate.
Reading recommendation: Our former partner organization YWCA Palästina is also speaking out with an important statement about today's World Youth Day.
¹ Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2020) - "Environmental impacts of food production". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food [Online Resource]