Catholic agencies urge G20 to promote small farms, local food in fight against poverty
June 15, 2012
Two confederations of Catholic relief and development agencies are urging the leaders of wealthy nations to make food security a priority at the upcoming G20 meeting in Mexico City.
“There are 925 million people in the world without enough to eat,” Caritas Internationalis said in a statement. “About 300 children die from malnutrition every hour while one in four children is stunted, and in developing countries that figure rises to one in three. Yet we produce more than enough food globally to feed everyone.”
“Hunger is not inevitable,” said Caritas Secretary General Michel Roy. “It must be tackled by fighting its structural causes, primarily by promoting sustainable agricultural development of poor countries.”
“The Mexican G20 has a real opportunity to show leadership on the issue of food security by ensuring better regulation of markets, strengthening of local food production and creating better access to markets for small-holder farmers,” added Bernd Nilles, the secretary general of CIDSE (Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité).
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