LHU students on June 4 actively participated in a meeting to response the World Environment Day 2013 held by Dong Nai Department of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the provincial Youth Union and Bien Hoa city People’s Committee.

With the theme “Think about the environment before consuming food", this year’s World Environment Day encourages the people to minimize impacts on the environment, ranging from production to consumption.

The World Environment Day is an annual event founded in 1972 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, marking the opening ceremony of Stockholm conference on environment and humans and also the birth of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The World Environment Day has attracted more than 150 participating countries including Vietnam with various activities.

According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world waste 1,3 billion tons of food about one third of the global food production annually. One out of every seven people is starveling and over 20,000 children below 5 years old die of hunger each day.

Food waste is not only financial waste but also damages food security and environment hugely.

The global food production needs 25% in area, consuming about 70% fresh water, contributing 80% to deforestation and 30% exhaust fumes which cause greenhouse effect, then leading to global warming and climate change.

Through this campaign, UNEP and FAO encourage consumers to actively minimize food waste and help the world "form a more stable future", simply by planning meals, making a list of necessary things before shopping, avoiding buying by inspiration and marketing traps,... in order to prevent overbuying and form a style of consumption friendly with the environment.

Dong Nai province's leader speaks at the meeting.

LHU Youth Union members and students join the launching ceremony of World Environment Day 2013.

In response to the Environment Day, after the meeting, LHU Youth Union members and students began to clean the Tran Bien Temple of Literature area.