VATICAN: Money Spent on Arms Be Used to Fight Food Insecurity, Pope Francis Recommends on World Food Day
World Food Day (Credit, Public domain on WFD global event)
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
On the celebration of annual World Food Day, on October 16, Pope Francis has proposed that the funds meant for purchase of arms should instead be used to help fight hunger which is being experienced by many people in the poorest countries in the world.
Addressing the Director-General of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Mr. Qu Dongyu about the growing number of people fighting hunger and food insecurity “despite the efforts made in the last decades,” the Pope observed that the “current crisis shows that specific policies and actions are needed to eliminate hunger from the world” even though “dialectical or ideological discussions can sometimes divert us from this objective.”
“A courageous decision would be to use the money spent on arms and other military expenditure to set up “a World Fund” to defeat hunger permanently and to help the poorest countries,” The Pope said giving reference to his new encyclical letter Fratelli Tulli.”
He further explained, “This would prevent many wars and the displacement of so many of our brothers and their families who are forced to abandon their homes and their countries in search of a better life.”
The Holy Father identified some of the challenges leading to hunger in the world, stating that “We cannot fail to respond or to act” since “We are all responsible.”
“Hunger is not merely a disaster for humanity but also a disgrace, caused largely by the unequal distribution of the fruits of the earth, compounded by a lack of investment in the agricultural sector, the consequences of climate change and the increase in conflicts in various parts of the planet,” he said and disclosed, “What is more, tons of food are wasted.”
Themed ‘Grow, nourish, sustain Together: Our actions are our future,’ Pope Francis emphasized the need to act jointly and with strong determination to be able to generate initiatives that will improve the environment and bring hope to many people and communities.
The event that virtually brought together several participants including Pope Francis himself, Italy’s President, Lesotho’s King and Spain’s queen the FAO Special Goodwill Ambassadors for Nutrition, UN’s Secretary General and the heads of International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme, coincided with the 75th anniversary of FAO, an agency whose goal is to achieve food security for all and to make sure that people have regular access to enough, high-quality food to lead active healthy lives.
The Pope appreciated the members of FAO whose mission he acknowledged as “beautiful and important,” because of working with the aim of “defeating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.”
The Pontiff noted that over the 75 years, “FAO has learned that it is not sufficient to produce food, but that it is also important to ensure that food systems are sustainable and provide healthy, affordable diets for all.”
“The aim is to adopt innovative solutions that can transform the way in which we produce and consume food for the well-being of our communities and our planet, thus strengthening the capacity for resilience and sustainability in the long term,” he added.
Referencing COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the entire world, Pope Francis said “It is even more important to support the initiatives implemented by organizations such as FAO, the World Food Program, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (FIDA) in view of promoting a sustainable and diversified agriculture, to support small agricultural communities and to cooperate in the rural development of the poorest countries.”
He acknowledged that the world has to meet the challenge of the pandemic “at a time that is full of contradictions: on the one hand, we are witnessing unprecedented progress in various scientific fields; while on the other, the world is facing multiple humanitarian crises.”
World Food Day is an initiative that helps towards realization of the second Sustainable Development goals on “Zero hunger” and highlights the world’s commitment to ending world hunger by 2030.”
