president of the united nations food and agriculture organization (unfao),  josé graziano da silva, challenged delegates in the plenary to stay grounded in this question as they would spend the next week discussing and devising solutions to end global hunger by 2030.

interestingly enough, this was not the first time i found myself facing this powerful question. in my medical school training, we often are asked to take pause on similar questions: “did i think of every possible diagnosis?” “did i ask every relevant question?” “did i evaluate all possible outcomes?” all these questions ultimately boil down to, “did i do everything i could for this patient when there was still a chance?”

at these united nations’ meetings, the “patient” is the world and the outcomes to prepare for range from decreased crop diversity to increased strain on resources. throughout the week, delegates worked to create plans so we could do “everything” we can to keep perhaps our most important patient healthy.

medicine and health played a notable role in these meetings. the united nations 2nd sustainable development goal outlines, “a profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed to nourish today’s 795 million hungry + the additional 2 billion increase in global population expected by 2050.” queen letizia of spain noted a critical element in devising solutions for this goal: “it is not just about feeding, it is about nourishing.”

throughout the week, it was highlighted that diet is the no. 1 risk factor globally for disease. as the world prepares to reshape our food systems, this statistic and the important health consequences from food cannot be ignored.

from a medical viewpoint, malnutrition is understood to be, a “dysfunction resulting from a failure to consume or to metabolize sufficient nutrients to support the body’s structural and functional integrity,” according to the sabiston textbook of surgery (2017). malnutrition can be caused by starvation, metabolic disorders, or even obesity due to intake of inappropriate and nutrient poor foods. prolonged malnutrition can impair organ systems, leading to respiratory insufficiency, delayed wound healing, skeletal muscle wasting, renal atrophy, immunosuppression, or cardiac dysfunction.

while hunger can have devastating impacts on individuals and communities, malnutrition extends beyond hunger. the meetings importantly pointed out that 8 of the 20 countries with the fastest rising obesity rates are in developing parts of africa and just under 40% of adults in the united states are obese. malnutrition is a disease of both poverty and wealth. with an increasing trend in non-communicable diseases, like cardiovascular disease or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, it is imperative to recognize how food trends are influencing the global health landscape.

given the close interplay between health and food, it is clear that policies to end malnutrition will require a close collaboration with the healthcare sector. clinicians need a seat at the table to advocate for patients around the world and to offer insight on the downstream health consequences of shifting diets. in order to “do everything we could when there was still a chance,” we need to involve everyone we can while there is still a chance. from tackling problems as far-reaching as the interplay of climate change and global food security to overcoming microscopic obstacles in a clinical setting, solutions are made stronger when diverse perspectives are involved.

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editor’s note: this series, a zero hunger future, is generously sponsored by the un-fao. all editorial content is created independently. to discover more experiential learning opportunities, email editor@planetforward.org.

according to the 2017 annual united nations report on world food security and nutrition, the number of people affected by hunger has increased by 38 million since 2016. as 11% of the global population suffers from hunger, violent conflicts and climate-related shocks are predicted to only exacerbate the trend.

lee was no stranger to the concept of hunger when he launched rescuing leftover cuisine. as a child of korean immigrants, he grew up witnessing the power of hard work and the beauty of the american dream. he also experienced what it was like to be hungry, despite living in the land of “the supersized meal.” he would think: “how can 1 in 7 people in america be hungry while 40% of all food in the united states gets tossed annually?” (a stat from the national resources defense council.)

where others saw a frustrating paradox between food waste and global hunger, lee identified an opportunity. using his financial background he calculated that this wastage could serve 58,064,516,129 meals (based on the national average of $2.79/meal). with the inspiration of a college organization, lee partnered with classmate, louisa chen, to tackle hunger by launching rescuing leftover cuisine. the mission was simple: help the hungry by saving quality food that would otherwise go to waste.

a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, rescuing leftover cuisine partners with restaurants to rescue quality leftover food and ensure it reaches those who need it. since the organization’s new york launch in 2013, the model has thrived. in 5 years, they have rescued 2.1 million pounds of food, created 1.6 million meals for the hungry, prevented more than 330 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents from being emitted into the environment, and expanded to 16 cities — and even more are interested. rescuing leftover cuisine selected their new cities from 300 eager branch applicants.

when asked “what makes this company so successful?” lee immediately points to the mission: eliminating food waste by feeding hungry families. every aspect of the organization is intentional and purpose driven. his goal for food efficiency is reflected in the organization’s operational efficiencies. for instance, transportation between the partner restaurants and homeless shelters is crowd sourced and volunteer run. a key factor in the organization’s success is this localized engagement. again, technology enables rescuing leftover cuisine to communicate seamlessly between partner restaurants and volunteers. a web application allows restaurants to report excess food and volunteers to be notified accordingly. rescuing leftover cuisine further promotes efficiency by offering reports and analyses to partner restaurants of their excess food purchases and suggestions on how to avoid food waste. “even if this means less donated food in the short-term,” explained lee, “it will contribute to more positive long-term impacts.”

rescuing leftover cuisine is led by determined and passionate people with a background in this work. lee himself spent four years at new york university learning about saving quality food with a campus club that took cafeteria leftovers to local homeless shelters. he combines that experience with his academic and professional background in finance to guide the non-profit to success. after spending just a few minutes speaking with lee, you will note his commitment to due diligence and his contagious enthusiasm for this work.

while he fights hunger directly by connecting the hungry with quality food, lee is also thinking about the future. “climate change is a key issue in our organization,” he says. “when the 40% of food wasted annually in the u.s. reaches a landfill, it generates methane.” methane is a greenhouse gas that is 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat within the atmosphere. “we eat three meals a day,” lee explained, “if we can get people thinking about their impact on this level, we can make a clear difference.”

lee’s diligent work ethic and forward thinking helped land him a spot on forbes 30 under 30 list for social entrepreneurship. it is evident that saving the rest of the metaphorical big apple is only the beginning for rescuing leftover cuisine. with a model that has proven successful and scalable, the organization plans to focus on increasing impact across its 16 cities in the near-term. rescuing leftover cuisine’s focus on community-driven change is helping tackle global hunger one city (and leftover) at a time.

as we breathe, we are exposed to particles of pollution that penetrate deep into our lungs, bloodstream and bodies. over time, damage from these particles causes about one-third of deaths from stroke, chronic respiratory disease, and lung cancer as well as one quarter of deaths from heart attack. ground-level ozone, produced from the interaction of many different pollutants in sunlight, is also a cause of asthma and chronic respiratory illnesses.

pediatricians, parents, and children see the impact of climate change every day.  worsening heat waves, severe weather events, changing allergy seasons, and shifting infectious disease patterns affect many children directly. with only 1 in 10 people breathing safe air according to who guidelines, children are left particularly vulnerable. climate change presents serious challenges for health,  but it it also an opportunity to move health and the planet forward.