Goal 2 of 17

Zero hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

What this goal is about

Goal 2 is about making sure everyone has enough safe, nutritious food all year, that children grow properly, and that the farms and fisheries feeding the world can keep doing so as the climate changes. It joins up hunger, nutrition, farm incomes and the way food is produced and traded.

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 estimates that about 645 million people were chronically undernourished in 2025, 7.8% of the world, and that 2.1 billion faced moderate or severe food insecurity. Hunger is falling slowly in Asia and Latin America but has risen in parts of Africa and Western Asia.

Hunger matters well beyond the plate. Poor nutrition in early childhood can hold back growth and development for years, and in most countries with data, small-scale food producers earn less than $1,500 a year.

645 millionpeople chronically undernourishedUnited Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, 2025

2.1 billionpeople facing moderate or severe food insecurityUnited Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, 2025

23.2%children under five who are stuntedUnited Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, 2024

1.05 billion tonnesfood wasted by households, food service and retailUNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, 2022

The main targets

2.1

By 2030, end hunger and ensure everyone, especially poor and vulnerable people and infants, has safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year.

2.2

By 2030, end malnutrition, including child stunting and wasting, and meet the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and breastfeeding women and older people.

2.3

By 2030, double the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, especially women, Indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers.

2.4

By 2030, make food production sustainable and resilient, so farms adapt to climate change and disasters and soil and land improve.

2.5

Protect the genetic diversity of seeds, crops, farm animals and their wild relatives, with fair sharing of benefits. The deadline was 2020.

2.a

Increase investment in rural infrastructure, farm research, extension services, technology and gene banks in developing countries.

2.b

Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world farm markets, including by ending agricultural export subsidies.

2.c

Help food commodity markets work properly and share timely market information, including on food reserves, to limit extreme price swings.

Summaries in plain English. The full wording of every target and indicator is on the UN Goal 2 page.

What businesses can do

Measure and cut food waste. Weigh what you throw away for a few weeks, find the biggest sources and fix them first. Food service and retail together wasted over 420 million tonnes in 2022.
Redistribute safe surplus. Partner with a food bank, charity or surplus food app so edible food reaches people, following local food safety rules.
Buy fairly from small producers. Source from smallholder farmers and cooperatives on written terms with fair prices and prompt payment.
Feed your own people well. Offer nutritious staff meals or meal allowances, especially for shift and low-paid workers.
Protect the cold chain. Better storage, cooling and forecasting reduce losses between farm and shop, where about 13% of food is lost.

What you can do

Waste less at home. Plan meals, store food properly and use leftovers. Households wasted about 631 million tonnes of food in 2022.
Volunteer at a food bank. Sorting and packing donations is useful work. Under-18s should go with a parent, teacher or registered group.
Learn to cook and grow. Basic cooking and a school or balcony garden teach where food comes from and how to eat well on a budget.
Study food and farming. Agriculture, food science, nutrition, supply chain and data science careers all work directly on hunger.

Where digital tools help

Data and software help most with early warning and with matching food to need. The World Food Programme's HungerMap LIVE combines phone surveys, weather, prices and conflict data to estimate food insecurity in more than 90 countries, and FAO's Hand-in-Hand platform opens millions of geospatial data layers to governments and researchers. Surplus food apps and simple waste tracking help businesses cut waste. These tools have limits: estimates are not measurements, and many small farmers still lack smartphones, reliable connections or the credit to act on what an app tells them.

Automation Mobile apps