INTRODUCTION

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The right to food is one of the principles enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights(2).

The 1969 Declaration on Social Progress and Development declared the need for "the elimination of hunger and malnutrition and the guarantee of the right to proper nutrition"(3). Likewise, the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition, adopted in 1974, declared that every person has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition for their full development and to preserve their physical and mental capacities(4). In 1992 the World Declaration on Nutrition recognised that access to suitable wholesome and safe food is a universal right(5).

These words leave no room for doubt. The public conscience has spoken out unambiguously. Yet, millions of people are still marked by the ravages of hunger and malnutrition or the consequences of food insecurity. Is this due to a lack of food? Not at all! It is generally acknowledged that the resources of the planet, taken as a whole, are sufficient to feed everyone living on it(6). Indeed, the per capita availability of food worldwide has even increased by about 18% over the past few years(7).

The challenge facing the whole of humanity today is certainly economic and technological in character, but it is more specifically an ethical, spiritual and political challenge. The challenge is as much a matter of practical solidarity and authentic development as it is of material advancement.

1. The Church holds that economic, social and political issues cannot be properly approached unless the transcendental dimension of the human being is taken into account. Greek philosophy, which has so thoroughly permeated the western world, took this view: the human being can only discover or pursue truth, goodness and justice using his own faculties if his awareness is enlightened by the Divine. It is precisely the Divine that enables human nature to consider disinterested duty towards others. Christians believe that it is divine grace which gives human beings the strength needed to act according to their own discernment(8). Nevertheless, the Church appeals to all men and women of goodwill to accomplish this gigantic task. The Second Vatican Council stated that: "Since there are so many people prostrate with hunger in the world, this sacred Council urges all, both individuals and governments, to remember the aphorism of the Fathers, "Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him'"(9). Such a solemn warning urges everyone to be firmly committed to combating hunger.

2.The urgent nature of this problem has prompted the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"to offer some findings of its own research. It is duty-bound to appeal to individual and collective responsibility for ensuring that more effective solutions are adopted. The Council supports all those who are already earnestly dedicated to this noble pursuit.

This document attempts to provide a global, but not exhaustive, analysis and description of the causes and consequences of world hunger. It is specifically based on the Gospel and the Church's social teaching. It does not set out primarily to take stock of the present economic situation. The document, therefore, will not concentrate on the statistics relevant to the present situation, nor the numbers of people threatened with death by starvation, nor the percentage of the under-nourished, nor the most at-risk regions, nor the economic measures needed to stave off the threat. Drawing its inspiration from the Church's pastoral mission, the purpose of this document is to send out a pressing appeal to her members and to all humanity, for "the Church is an "expert in humanity', and this leads her necessarily to extend her religious mission to the various fields in which men and women expend their efforts in search of the always relative happiness which is possible in this world"(¹⁰). Today, the Church takes up again the provocative appeal that God made to Cain, asking him to account for the life of his brother Abel: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground..." (Gen. 4:10). It is certainly not an unfair or aggressive exaggeration to apply these forbidding, almost unbearable, words to the plight of our contemporaries who today are starving to death. These words spell out a priority and are intended to touch our consciences.

It would be an illusion to expect any ready-made solutions. The issue which needs to be faced depends on economic policies of those who lead and manage, but also of producers and consumers. Further, it is deeply rooted in our own lifestyles. Thus, this appeal makes demands upon everyone, and we are hopeful that a decisive improvement can be brought about as a result of human relations that are increasingly based on solidarity.

3. This document is addressed to Catholics throughout the world, and to national and international leaders who have the power and the responsibility to take action in this sphere. But it is also addressed to all humanitarian organisations and to all men and women of goodwill. Its specific purpose is to give encouragement to the thousands of people, in all walks of life and occupations, who daily strive to ensure that all peoples are given the same right "to be seated at the table of the common banquet"(¹¹).