The idea of safe and nutritious food remains a luxury for millions of people who still do not have access to food at all, according to consumer goods group Nestle managing director and chairman, Sullivan O'Carroll.
"We cannot begin to talk about 'access to safe and nutritious food' without talking about lack of access to food for more than a third of the population," he told delegates attending the one-day consumer rights conference on Thursday in Midrand, organised by the National Consumer Forum.
The recent Horn of Africa crisis, reminiscent of the Ethiopia and Biafra famine in the 1980s, "is a clear indication that we are not winning this war", O'Carroll said, adding that in the long term it will not make business sense if the status quo continues. He said continued lack of access to food stunted growth of children.
"In our quest to help remedy the situation, we have to encourage communities and schools to grow their own food; support organisations that work towards that same vision. We have committed ourselves to a strategy that will ensure that value is created for our company and communities where we operate," the Nestle boss added.