Catholic World News

Despite papal plea, nations fail to pledge to end hunger by 2025 November 17, 2009

Despite Pope Benedict’s plea to “win the battle against hunger and malnutrition in the world as quickly as possible,” participants in an international summit convened by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) removed from their final statement language that would have pledged to end hunger by 2025. FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf criticized delegates for failing to commit 17% of overall foreign aid to agriculture.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Food summit turns down UN funding appeal (AP)
• Visita Del Santo Padre Alla Sede Della FAO In Roma In Occasione Del Vertice Mondiale Sulla Sicurezza Alimentare (Holy See, scroll down for English)
• World hunger calls for new economic approach, Pope tells FAO (CWN, 11/16)

It's Your Turn to Sound Off!

» To ensure well-meaning comments, only donors are allowed to Sound Off.
  If you're a donor, log in; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Sound Off! Comments

• Posted by: Minnesota Mary - Nov. 17, 2009 2:28 PM ET USA

  Apparently the FAO has a better understanding than the Pope of Christ's words regarding the poor when He said, "The poor you will always have with you." Utopia is impossible in this world because the root causes of poverty will never be adequately addressed. Coercion and confiscation of money through global taxes will not solve poverty and hunger. Christ calls each of us to help the deserving poor on an individual basis and not by voting higher taxes on others to do what is our idea of charity.