Balancing climate and global nutrition

October 16 is celebrated as the World Food Day around the world. It is the foundation day of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations which was set up in 1945. World War II left several nations badly bruised and devastated; the fear of hunger was looming large. Nations thought of establishing the FAO with a global vision to ensure that enough food is produced to feed the increasing population. The global population at that time was a little less than 2.5 billion and was increasing at an annual rate of about 1.9 per cent per annum. Today, there are almost 8 billion people on this planet, and there is ample food to feed them — if they have the money to buy it. Access to food at affordable prices, however, remains a challenge for a substantial segment of humanity — which leads to malnutrition.