Vatican diplomat decries link between financial speculation, food prices
February 11, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said that “it is concerning that food, a fundamental requirement for human life, has become a financial asset, with investors’ interests taking precedence over farmers’ and consumers’ needs.”
“Speculation on food prices is not an abstract market exercise; it is, in reality, a bet on the future of humanity,” the prelate said at a recent meeting of leaders of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). “No economic logic can justify a system in which access to basic necessities is subject to the volatility of financial markets.”
Stating that “markets must serve people, not the other way around,” Archbishop Balestrero said that poor nations should gain “fair and affordable access to trade finance” and that “policies and investments must be guided by the principle of subsidiarity, because only through consistent and genuine collaboration a fair and accessible food security system for all can be established.”
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