He called for greater efforts to build a worldwide "culture of encounter and solidarity".

The Pope's words came in his annual message for World Food Day, addressed to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation in Rome.

He called it "paradoxical" that globalisation is increasing the world's awareness of situations of need, yet there appears to be "a growing tendency towards individualism and inwardness, which leads to a certain attitude of indifference — at a personal, institutional and state level — towards those who die of hunger and suffer as a result of malnutrition".

"Something must change in us, in ourselves, in our mentality, in our societies," he said.

Pope Francis called the waste of food — which, according to the FAO, accounts for approximately a third of worldwide food production — "one of the fruits of the 'throwaway culture' that often sacrifices men and women to the idols of profit and consumption; a sad sign of the 'globalisation of indifference', which is slowly 'habituating' us to the suffering of others, as if it were something normal."

He said the tragic condition in which millions of hungry and malnourished people, including many children, live today is "one of the most serious challenges for humanity".

"It is a scandal," he said, "that there is still hunger and malnutrition in the world! Not only must we respond to immediate emergencies, but face together, at all levels, a problem that challenges our personal and social awareness, to bring about a just and lasting solution."

Pope Francis said education in solidarity and a lifestyle that rejects the "throwaway culture", placing each person and his or her dignity in the centre, must begin in the family.

Sources:

Vatican Insider

Catholic News Service

Vatican Information Service

Image: Wanted in Rome

"A way has to be found to enable everyone to benefit from the fruits of the earth ... to satisfy the demands of justice, fairness, and respect for every human being," he said.

The Pope urged FAO members to push for substantial changes, "inspired by something more than mere good will or — worse — promises which all too often have not been kept".

He said food shortages are aggravated not only by the current worldwide economic downturn, but also by the number of military conflicts in needy nations.

He also said the FAO should be mindful of climate change and of biological diversity as it makes plans for addressing the problem of secure food supplies.

The Pope noted that there are many possible initiatives and solutions and that they don't only have to do with increasing production seeing that current levels of production are sufficient,

Pope Francis decried the reliance on "vague abstractions in the face of issues like the use of force, war, malnutrition, marginalisation, the violation of basic liberties, and financial speculation".

Food, he said, cannot be treated as just one more sort of merchandise. Political leaders must recognise the urgent moral necessity for ensuring adequate food supplies for everyone.

Pope Francis said that the shortages occurring in the world today are "a consequence of a crisis of convictions and values, including those which are the basis of international life".

He asked the FAO, its member states and the entire international community to open their hearts.

"There is a need to move beyond indifference and a tendency to look the other way, and urgently to attend to immediate needs … leaving behind the temptations of power, wealth, or self-interest and instead serving the human family, especially the needy and those suffering from hunger and malnutrition," he said.

Sources:

Vatican Information Service

Vatican Radio

Image: USA Today