In a letter addressed to Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Supreme Pontiff invited reflection on the right to food for a better life and a better future, as “a priority, since it satisfies one of the basic needs of human beings”.

In the document, released by the Holy See Press Office, Francis points out that this right is “often undermined and not justly applied, with the harmful consequences that this entails.”

The Bishop of Rome urged political and economic leaders at the international level to “hear the demands of those at the bottom of the food chain, such as small farmers, and of intermediate social formations, such as the family, which are directly involved in feeding people”.

Strong solutions to the fight against hunger “require us to consider the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity as the foundations of our development programmes and projects”.

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