FOOD SECURITY, A FACTOR OF PEACE AND STABILITY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, head of the Holy See delegation to the 31st session of the General Conference of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Rome, addressed the assembly yesterday on "Food Security, a Factor of Peace and International Stability."

The archbishop noted that FAO, through its activity, hopes "to reach the poorest and the indigent." He underscored the urgent need "to implement an effective cooperation in order to spread techniques and instruments in agriculture, forestry and fishery" and to effect "resources' distribution, starting with safe food supplies." He added that "the concept of food security (has) evolved from a mere initial consideration of technical order, related to the availability of enough foodstuffs in stock, into a principle that by now guarantees the respect for a true and fundamental right of every human person, and becomes a vital factor of peace and international stability."

"The Holy See," he said, asks you "to open up your heart in order to understand that there does not exist an abstract hunger problem, but rather there do exist human beings like ourselves who in their everyday lives, suffer from hunger and malnutrition."

He affirmed that remedies to "the situations of starving people, refugees and internally displaced people, victims of conflicts or violations of human rights" cannot remain "pending" or put into "isolation" because of selfish motivations or conflicting interests on the part of leaders.

Archbishop Marchetto observed that "all over the world supply and demand for food products ... are anchored in a 'culture of having', and not in an ethic of solidarity." The responsibility to create solidarity and to help the poorest people affected by hunger "falls upon the whole international community."

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