The motto of World Food Day 2026 reminds the Goetheanum’s nutrition expert Jasmin Peschke of the saying: Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.
Fertile soils with a diverse microbiome are an essential prerequisite for providing people with healthy and nurturing food. In promoting and enabling sustainable food systems, biodynamic farming supports the cause of World Food Day on 16 October 2025 which has the theme ‘Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future.’
Healthy eating is a question of relationship. It starts with the time one takes to attend to the flavours one can distinguish. Shopping is also part of it, because it reveals what foods and consequently what kind of food production consumers support.
The earth’s water balance is out of joint. Extreme weather conditions lead to droughts in some instances and to flooding in others. Water itself is not to blame for this situation, rather it is an expression of outer conditions for which human beings are responsible. Jasmin Peschke, head of nutrition at the Goetheanum, points this out on the occasion of World Food Day 2023.
An organism that knows what it needs and that is therefore able to regulate hunger, satiety and appetite is prerequisite to healthy, strengthening eating. Nutritionist Jasmin Peschke advocates developing and cultivating a good relationship to food.
Around 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away globally every year – a third of the entire annual food production. Each food item has a history and each item that is thrown away although there is nothing wrong with it could help those who are starving.
Children who regularly spend time on a farm with animals have fewer allergies because exposure to diverse stimuli enhances the immune response. Nutrition specialist Jasmin Peschke therefore recommends more contact with nature.
Eating good quality food improves health while malnutrition can lead to illnesses such as obesity or type 2 diabetes. For nutritionist Jasmin Peschke food quality is connected with people‘s attitude towards soil, plants and animals.
As a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, awareness of the connection between personal health and ecologically produced food has grown. Jasmin Peschke, nutritional scientist at the Goetheanum, thinks that this awareness can inspire greater respect for the dignity of living creatures.
Even as the coronavirus measures restrict our lives, one place offers some balance: the kitchen. The meaningful activity of cooking, the involvement of children, the diverse sensory experiences, and the tasty dish can give us joie de vivre – and health.
Commercial kitchens often have a poor reputation. Cafeteria food must be cheap. The Nutrition Circle for Kitchen Professionals advocates an appreciation of the processes involved in the cultivation, production, preparation and consumption of food in its Charter for Community Catering.
