Man, rather than natural disasters, is at the root of violations of the fundamental right to “healthy and sufficient” food which affects millions of people and in particular children: it is a reality which the world community must take into account and act upon by making those scientific, economic but also ethical choices that allow us to use and evenly distribute resources while “respecting the patrimony of creation”.This is what Benedict XVI has written in a letter sent to the director general of the United Nations Organisation for food and agriculture (FAO), Jacques Diouf, marking the 2007 World Day for Food.
The chosen theme for 2007 on the right to food, writes the Pope “is a prelude to the reflections which the international community is about to make on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration”.
The right to food has immediate repercussions at an individual and community level, “I think of the plight of many children, the first victims of this tragedy – the message continues – who suffer physical and psychological underdevelopment”.
“The goal of eliminating hunger and at the same time guaranteeing a healthy and sufficient diet – continues the message – requires specific actions and methods which allow for a use of natural resources which respects the patrimony of creation. Working in this direction is a priority “which must not only make use of the advances of science, and technology “but also take into account the rhythms and cycles of nature well known by those who live in rural areas, as well as protect the traditional methods of indigenous communities, putting aside selfish and exclusively economic motivations”.
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