(16 Nov 09 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday visited the Rome-based FAO for the opening
of the Food Summit. We have this report...
Full text
of Pope Benedict XVI's discourse at the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation International
Summit on Food Security:
Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen! 1. I was
very pleased to receive an invitation from Mr Jacques Diouf, Director General of FAO,
to speak at the opening session of this World Summit on Food Security. I greet him
warmly and I thank him for his kind words of welcome. I greet the distinguished authorities
present and all the participants. Echoing the sentiments of my venerable predecessors
Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II, I should like once more to express my esteem for
the work of FAO, which the Catholic Church and the Holy See follow attentively, taking
a keen interest in the day-to-day work that is carried out there. Thanks to your
generous engagement, aptly expressed in your motto Fiat Panis, the development
of agriculture and food security remain among the key priorities of international
political action. I am confident that this same spirit will inform the decisions
taken at the present Summit, and those that will follow later, in the common desire
to win the battle against hunger and malnutrition in the world as quickly as possible.
2. The
international community is currently facing a grave economic and financial crisis.
Statistics bear witness to the dramatic growth in the number of people suffering
from hunger, made worse by the rise in price of foodstuffs, the reduction in economic
resources available to the poorest peoples, and their limited access to markets and
to food – notwithstanding the known fact that the world has enough food for all its
inhabitants. Indeed, while low levels of agricultural production persist in some
regions, partly owing to climate change, sufficient food is produced on a global scale
to satisfy both current demands and those in the foreseeable future. From these data
we may deduce that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between population growth
and hunger, and this is further demonstrated by the lamentable destruction of foodstuffs
for economic gain. In the Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate I pointed
out that, “Hunger is not so much dependent on lack of material things as on shortage
of social resources, the most important of which are institutional. What is missing,
in other words, is a network of economic institutions capable of guaranteeing regular
access to sufficient food and water … and also capable of addressing the primary needs
and necessities ensuing from genuine food crises …” I added, “The problem of food
insecurity needs to be addressed within a long-term perspective, eliminating the structural
causes that give rise to it and promoting the agricultural development of poorer countries.
This can be done by investing in rural infrastructures, irrigation systems, transport,
organization of markets, and in the development and dissemination of agricultural
technology that can make the best use of the human, natural and socio-economic resources
that are more readily available at the local level, while guaranteeing their sustainability
over the long term as well” (no. 27). Hence the need to oppose those forms of aid
that do grave damage to the agricultural sector, those approaches to food production
that are geared solely towards consumption and lack a wider perspective, and especially
greed, which causes speculation to rear its head even in the marketing of cereals,
as if food were to be treated just like any other commodity.
3. The weakness
of current mechanisms for food security and the need to re-examine them are confirmed,
one might say, by the mere fact that this Summit has been convoked. Even though the
poorest countries are more fully integrated into the world economy than in the past,
movements in international markets make them more vulnerable and force them to seek
the aid of intergovernmental institutions, which no doubt do valuable and indispensable
work. The concept of cooperation, though, must be consistent with the principle
of subsidiarity: it is necessary to involve “local communities in choices
and decisions that affect the use of agricultural land” (ibid.). This is because
integral human development requires responsible choices on the part of everyone and
it demands an attitude of solidarity – meaning that aid or disaster relief should
not be seen as opportunities to promote the interests of those who make resources
available or of elite groups among the beneficiaries. With regard to countries that
are in need of external support, the international community has the duty to assist
with the instruments of cooperation, assuming collective responsibility for their
development, “through the solidarity of … presence, supervision, training and respect”
(ibid., 47). Within this overall context of responsibility, every country
has the right to define its own economic model, taking steps to secure its freedom
to choose its own objectives. In this way, cooperation must become an effective instrument,
unbeholden to interests that can absorb a not insignificant part of the resources
destined for development. Moreover, it is important to emphasize that an attitude
of solidarity regarding the development of poor countries also has the potential to
contribute to a solution of the current global crisis. Support given to these nations
through financial plans inspired by solidarity, enabling them to provide for their
own requirements of consumption and development, not only favours their internal economic
growth, but can have a positive impact on integral human development in other countries
(cf. ibid., 27).
4. In the current situation there is a continuing disparity
in the level of development within and among nations that leads to instability
in many parts of the world, accentuating the contrast between poverty and wealth.
This no longer applies only to models of development, but also to an increasingly
widespread perception concerning food insecurity, namely the tendency to view hunger
as structural, an integral part of the socio-political situation of the weakest countries,
a matter of resigned regret, if not downright indifference. It is not so, and it
must never be so! To fight and conquer hunger it is essential to start redefining
the concepts and principles that have hitherto governed international relations,
in such a way as to answer the question: what can direct the attention and the consequent
conduct of States towards the needs of the poorest? The response must be sought not
in the technical aspects of cooperation, but in the principles that lie behind it:
only in the name of common membership of the worldwide human family can every people
and therefore every country be asked to practise solidarity, that is, to shoulder
the burden of concrete responsibilities in meeting the needs of others, so as to favour
the genuine sharing of goods, founded on love.
5. Nevertheless, while it is
true that human solidarity inspired by love goes beyond justice – because to
love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other – it is never withoutjustice, which leads us to give the other what is “his”, what belongs to him
by virtue of his being and acting. Indeed, I cannot “give” the other what is “mine”,
without first giving him what belongs to him in justice (cf. ibid., 6). If
the aim is to eliminate hunger, international action is needed not only to promote
balanced and sustainable economic growth and political stability, but also to seek
out new parameters – primarily ethical but also juridical and economic
ones – capable of inspiring the degree of cooperation required to build a relationship
of parity between countries at different stages of development. This, as well as
closing the existing gap, could favour the capacity of each people to consider itself
an active player, thereby confirming that the fundamental equality of all peoples
is rooted in the common origin of the human family, the source of those principles
of “natural law” that should inspire political, juridical and economic choices and
approaches in international life (cf. ibid., 59). Saint Paul speaks eloquently
on this subject: “I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but
that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their
want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality. As
it is written, ‘He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little
had no lack’” (2 Cor 8:13-15).
6. Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
in order to combat hunger and promote integral human development, it is necessary
to understand the needs of the rural world, and likewise to ensure that any decline
in donor support does not create uncertainties in the financing of activities of cooperation:
any tendency towards a short-sighted view of the rural world as a thing of secondary
importance must be avoided. At the same time, access to international markets must
be favoured for those products coming from the poorest areas, which today are often
relegated to the margins. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to
separate the rules of international trade from the logic of profit viewed as
an end in itself, directing them towards the support of economic initiative in countries
with greater need of development; once they have greater income at their disposal,
these countries will be able to advance towards the self-sufficiency that leads to
food security.
7. Nor must the fundamental rights of the individual be forgotten,
which include, of course, the right to sufficient, healthy and nutritious food,
and likewise water; these rights take on an important role in the realization
of others, beginning with the primary one, the right to life. It is necessary, then,
to cultivate “a public conscience that considers food and access to water as universal
rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination” (Caritas
in Veritate, 27). Much has been patiently accomplished in recent years by FAO
in this regard: on the one hand it has favoured an enlargement of the objectives of
this right over and above the mere guarantee of satisfying primary needs, and on the
other it has emphasized the need for its adequate regulation.
8. Methods of
food production likewise demand attentive analysis of the relationship between development
and protection of the environment. The desire to possess and to exploit the
resources of the planet in an excessive and disordered manner is the primary cause
of all environmental degradation. Protection of the environment challenges the modern
world to guarantee a harmonious form of development, respectful of the design of God’s
creation and therefore capable of safeguarding the planet (cf. ibid., 48-51).
While the entire human race is called to acknowledge its obligations to future generations,
it is also true that States and international organizations have a duty to protect
the environment as a shared good. In this context, the links between environmental
security and the disturbing phenomenon of climate change need to be explored further,
focusing on the central importance of the human person, and especially of the populations
most at risk from both phenomena. Norms, legislation, development plans and investments
are not enough, however: what is needed is a change in the lifestyles of individuals
and communities, in habits of consumption and in perceptions of what is genuinely
needed. Most of all, there is a moral duty to distinguish between good and evil in
human action, so as to rediscover the bond of communion that unites the human person
and creation.
9. As I pointed out in the Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate,
it is important to remember that “the deterioration of nature is … closely connected
to the culture that shapes human coexistence: when ‘human ecology’ is respected
within society, environmental ecology also benefits.” Indeed, “the ecological
system is based on respect for a plan that affects both the health of society and
its good relationship with nature.” And “the decisive issue is the overall moral
tenor of society.” Therefore, “our duties towards the environment are linked
to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others.
It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein
lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans
the person, disrupts the environment and damages society” (ibid., 51).
10. Hunger
is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty. Opulence and waste are no longer
acceptable when the tragedy of hunger is assuming ever greater proportions. Mr President,
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Catholic Church will always be concerned for efforts to
defeat hunger; the Church is committed to support, by word and deed, the action taken
in solidarity – planned, responsible and regulated – to which all members of the international
community are called to contribute. The Church does not wish to interfere in political
decisions: she respects the knowledge gained through scientific study, and decisions
arrived at through reason responsibly enlightened by authentically human values, and
she supports the effort to eliminate hunger. This is the most immediate and concrete
sign of solidarity inspired by charity, and it brooks neither delay nor compromise.
Such solidarity relies on technology, laws and institutions to meet the aspirations
of individuals, communities and entire peoples, yet it must not exclude the religious
dimension, with all the spiritual energy that it brings, and its promotion of the
human person. Acknowledgment of the transcendental worth of every man and every woman
is still the first step towards the conversion of heart that underpins the commitment
to eradicate deprivation, hunger and poverty in all their forms.
I thank you
for your gracious attention and, as I conclude, I offer greetings and good wishes
in the official languages of FAO, to all the Member States of the Organization. God
bless your efforts to ensure that all people are given their daily bread. Que
Dieu bénisse vos efforts pour assurer le pain quotidien à chaque personne. Dios
bendiga sus esfuerzos para garantizar el pan de cada día para cada persona.