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Pope Francis has denounced the ‘global scandal’ of hunger, urging members of all religions to join a ‘wave of prayer’ to bring attention to the plight of the needy and homeless. “We are in front of a global scandal of around one billion – one billion people who still suffer from hunger today,” the head of the Roman Catholic Church said in a statement on Monday, adding, “The food available in the world is enough to feed everyone.”
Francis also urged global leaders, organisations, churches and individuals to fight poverty and growing inequality.
“We cannot look the other way and pretend this does not exist…give a voice to all of those who suffer silently from hunger, so that this voice becomes a roar which can shake the world,” the pope said.
The statements follow a campaign by Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 164 Catholic charities working in 200 countries, which calls on governments to include the right to food in their national legislation.
The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina also encouraged lifestyle changes, advising people “to become more conscious in our food choices, which often lead to waste and a poor use of the resources available to us.”
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), some 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted globally every year, which is enough to feed 500 million people.
The Red Cross says the financial crisis in Europe has left 43 million of its citizens with insufficient food to eat.
Experts believe food wastage could be reduced with better shopping plans and storing food correctly to keep it fresh longer. – Presstv.
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu