World Food Day: Workers’ Rights Are Key to Global Food Security

On October 16, the world marks World Food Day, commemorating the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945.

It's a moment to reflect on our shared responsibility to ensure that everyone, everywhere, has access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food. It is also a moment to recall that behind every meal served there are the hands of countless farmers, fishers, and food processing workers whose labour sustains us all. Too often, their rights and working conditions are neglected, and, nearly 80 years after the formation of the FAO, hunger and malnutrition remain a daily reality for millions, many of them living in rural areas and working in the very industries that produce the world's food.

On this 2025 World Food Day, the IUF calls on governments, employers, and international organizations to follow the recommendations of the Policy guidelines for the promotion of decent work in the agri-food sector, and uphold the rights of agricultural and food workers to organize and form trade unions. These rights are a cornerstone of global food security and sustainability. Empowered workers are not only better able to support their families and communities - they are also vital drivers of sustainable production, innovation, and food security.

"This World Food Day, we stand in solidarity with all food and agricultural workers - and reaffirm a simple truth: there can be no food security without workers' rights" said Kristjan Bragason, IUF Acting General Secretary.