Global Food Crisis Caused by Selfishness, Speculation, says Pope

(October 17, 2008) The world has enough food to feed its growing population but many go hungry because of military spending, corruption and speculation, said Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, 16^th of October. The Holy Father denounced the continuing shortages of food around the world and said the causes included selfishness and "unbridled speculation." At the root of global hunger is a prevailing materialist culture among developed countries, in which the needs of the poor are routinely forgotten, the pope said. His comments came in a written message October 16, World Food Day. The text was addressed to Jacques Diouf, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The pope said it was clear, even during recent months of food scarcity in places around the globe, that the international community has the resources to feed the entire world's people. Instead, poverty coexists with abundance, he said, and he gave several reasons. First, he pointed to the "race for consumption" that has not slowed even during the recent food shortages and that hurts the nutritional capacity of poorer countries. Second, he said international negotiations have failed to "curb the selfishness of states or groups of countries or to put an end to the unbridled speculation that is affecting the mechanisms of pricing and consumption." Opening the ceremony, FAO's Director-General Jacques Diouf said only 10 percent of US $22 billion that was pledged by nations this year to fight food shortages has so far materialized, mainly for emergency aid. FAO said number of hungry people increased by 75 million in 2007 to reach a total of 923 million and another 25 million people are expected to be forced into hunger this year.