‘Goal is that there is no hunger in the country in 2030’, says Geyze Diniz

During the pandemic, the União SP movement delivered 900,000 basic food baskets – and one of its creators, Geyze Dinizthen engaged in the Panela Cheia Salva campaign, which in four months captured the equivalent of 4 million baskets, benefiting entities such as cufa and the Generating Hawks, among others. And so she discovered that, “when we get together, the level changes”. Her next act was to study the issue of hunger in the country. “I wanted to understand what hunger, waste, and the correlation between them are.”

Result: Geyze, board member of the Peninsula, which houses family investments Abilio Diniz and Instituto Península, rolled up her sleeves and, along with 40 other people, became one of the founders of Pact against Hunger, launched on Tuesday the 23rd at Teatro Santander. The “initiatives hub” is an institute, with an audit, statute, code of ethics. “We are not going to distribute basic baskets. We are going to look for and organize information, intelligence, synergy, connections. We see so many initiatives in the third sector, in the private sector and in the government that do not speak.” The following are excerpts from his conversation with the Estadão.

You are setting up the Pact Against Hunger. What is it and how will it work?

It is a civil society movement to work with governments to combat hunger and reduce food waste. It was born suprapartisan, multisectoral. We don’t have problems linked to political parties, religions, social classes, genders, races, they are all valid here. Because hunger is such a structural and ingrained issue in the country that only the sum of the whole society can put an end to it.

Is it true that Brazil wastes 30% of the food it produces?

Yes. We compared hunger versus waste, passing through agro, industry, distributors, supermarkets, restaurants, until reaching the table of the houses. And we found: the waste along this chain is eight times enough to satisfy the hunger of those who don’t have enough to eat in Brazil. So, it is at least immoral for us to throw food in the trash knowing that there are hungry people, in a country that produces, exports and says, with pride, that it is the breadbasket of the world. Hunger is a problem of different natures, the more we study, the more we listen to specialists, bringing all these institutions to act in a systemic and structural way. It is in this place that the Pact proposes to act.

We followed the Zero Hunger process, we saw that it did not work. What makes you believe that a private initiative in this area can go ahead?

The important thing is to believe. If we believe, we get there. But I want to go back to Fome Zero, to say that it brought many benefits to the population in this state of food insecurity. In 2013, Brazil left the UN Hunger Map, when 3.6% of the population was in this situation. The UN considers a state of severe food insecurity when 5% or more of the population is in this condition. In fact, over time we saw a certain dismantling, or emptying of these public policies. But hunger is a complex issue, there were obstacles in municipal and state legislation. And we have many examples of what worked and what didn’t. We need information, intelligence, synergy and connections, which are important pillars. And we see so many initiatives, in the third sector, in the private sector and in the public sector that do not speak to each other, each one is in their own universe. What we want? Bring this visibility to all sectors. We are going to deliver a platform that is the hub of Pacto Contra a Fome initiatives, where these groups register, say what they do, how they do it, what impacts they cause. We will not distribute food, deliver basic baskets. The pact exists to add, to bring this great umbrella of connections. The hub is one of the pillars, the other is for us to work with data intelligence, to help with public policies. And to bring in the private sector, which is very passive in this matter.

In practical terms, how to achieve this?

The Pact wants to bring awareness to the whole community, we are all responsible. Look, I can’t imagine that we are in 2023, with so much intelligence and technology, in a country that produces food, and there are so many hungry people. Our goal, in the Pact, is not to have any hungry people in Brazil in 2030. And in 2040, everyone is well fed.

In seven years.

Seven years. If everyone walks in the same direction, it’s possible.

And one thing that the Pact will have is the Pact Against Hunger Award, in collaboration with Unesco and FAO. He will award three categories, there will be six prizes of R$ 100,000 for third sector initiatives that act in the fight against hunger and waste. Registration is open and runs until July 10. It is possible that next year this award will also go to the private and government sectors.

In this beginning of activity, what message would you leave for those who can help?

I’ll leave the theme of the campaign, which we disclose with the launch of the Pact. It’s ‘Not Hungry’. You can’t work, you can’t play, you can’t live, you can’t waste. And anyone who wants to know more can go to the website www.pactocontrafome.org.