Pope Benedict calls for food today, not tomorrow, for hungry

In a message marking World Food Day 2011, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated the tools that today’s businesses and governments need to implement now to eradicate global hunger: "A change in lifestyle and a necessary moderation of behavior and consumption”, that does not equate food with other merchandise and therefore “subject to speculation”, investment in agriculture and, ultimately, the need to rediscover "the feeling of compassion and humanity towards others, accompanied the duty of solidarity and the realization of justice".

The message marking the thirtieth World Food Day was sent to the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Jacques Diouf.

Commenting on this year's theme "Food Prices: from crisis to stability," the Pope writes that "the meaning of this day should be a commitment to changing behaviors and decisions to make sure that every person today, and not tomorrow , has access to the food they need, and that the agricultural sector has a sufficient level of investment and resources to bring stability to production and as a result to the market. "

"This entails taking on an attitude of interior responsibility capable of inspiring a different way of life, a necessary moderation of behavior and consumption so as to promote the good of future generations also in terms of sustainability, protection of the goods of creation , distribution of resources and, above all, concrete commitments for the development of entire peoples and nations. For their part, the beneficiaries of international cooperation are required to use any charitable contribution responsibly 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,'. (CV, 27). "

"All of this can only be realized if the international institutions ensure impartiality and efficiency of their service, but in full compliance with the deepest convictions of the human spirit and aspirations of each person. In this perspective, the FAO will help to ensure adequate food for all, to strengthen the methods of cultivation and marketing and to protect the fundamental rights of those who work the land, without forgetting the most authentic values of the rural world and of which the many who live in it, are the custodians. "