In a letter addressed to Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), His Holiness invited to reflect on the Right to food for a better life and a better future, “this is a priority since it meets one of the basic needs of human beings.”

In the document released by the Vatican Press Office, Pope Francis points out that this right “frequently undermined and not applied fairly, with the harmful consequences that this entails.”

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

Bold solutions in the fight against hunger “require that we consider the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity as the foundations of our development programs and projects.”

“Humanity, wounded by so many injustices, claims, with an increasing urgency, for effective measures to live a better life, by acting together in the same spirit of brotherhood.”

“In this way, the protection of future generations will go hand in hand with listening to and acting in favor of the demands of the present generations.”

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