Turkish president says access to sufficient food not privilege, 'but a right for all'

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that access to sufficient food is “not a privilege, but a right for all," and warned that global demand for food is growing.

Erdogan said the world is falling far too short of realizing the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.

"Access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food is not a privilege but a right for all," he said at the UN Food Systems Summit via video conference on the sidelines of 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

"It is our shared responsibility to bequeath a more just, habitable, and peaceful world to our children," said Erdogan. "We, as Turkey, will resolutely continue to work in this direction."

He also said the effects of climate change, such as climatic disasters with increased intensity and destructive consequences, water poverty and drought, adversely affect food sources as well.

"The cost of food systems thus increased, impedes access to food sources, and, as a result, the compromised food security paves the way for mass migration which is one of the most critical challenges of our day," he added.