Today is World Food Day.  Below are two messages: one from the UN and one from Pope Benedict XVI.  jfb ____________________ WORLD FOOD DAY REMINDER OF DAILY CRISIS BORNE BY MILLIONS, SAY UN OFFICIALS New York, Oct 16 2008 10:10AM As the eyes of the world continue to watch the ups and downs of global markets amid the current financial turmoil, United Nations officials are calling attention today to another global crisis – hunger – which affects millions daily and kills a child every six seconds. “This year’s World Food Day comes at a time of crisis,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in his message for the occasion. “Global financial turmoil is exacerbating concerns about rising food and fuel costs, which have already driven 75 million people deeper into the abyss of hunger and poverty.” Mr. Ban notes that this “colossal human tragedy” is unfolding as the world fights to keep the promise made in the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) – to reduce hunger and poverty by half by the year 2015.  Even before prices started rising, 800 million people were going to sleep hungry every night, the Secretary-General points out. And now, with energy costs rising and the price of food having more than doubled in the past year alone, an additional 100 million people could be pushed into hunger and poverty. “These are life-and-death matters that we must confront with serious thought and resolute action,” he adds, calling on Governments, organizations and citizens to forge meaningful partnerships to overcome these challenges so the world can meet all the MDGs and, ultimately, usher in a world free of hunger and poverty. The head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) agreed that at a time when the world’s attention is consumed by the financial crisis, it is appropriate to focus today on the global hunger crisis, which is a daily reality for families across the globe. “Rapidly rising food shortages, dramatic increases in fuel costs, and profound changes in climate conditions conspired this year to bring new dimensions of suffering and hardship to the poor, depriving almost one billion people of the food they need to live a healthy life,” Executive Director Josette Sheeran said in her message for the Day. “On this day, we remember those who have lived with the ache of hunger, for too long . . . and who now need our help even more,” she added. World Food Day is observed annually on 16 October, the day on which the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was founded in 1945. At a ceremony today at FAO headquarters in Rome, Director-General Jacques Diouf called for a political and financial push to boost sustainable agriculture in the world’s poor countries, double global food production and free the world of hunger and malnutrition. “I wish to reaffirm that we know what needs to be done to eradicate the hunger of 923 million people in the world. We also know what needs to be done to double world food production and feed a population that is expected to rise to 9 billion people by 2050.” He noted that $22 billion was pledged to promote global food security earlier this year, but that only 10 per cent of this has so far materialized – mainly for emergency food aid. “What we need ... is political will and delivery on financial commitments, if we are to be able to make the essential investments that are needed to promote sustainable agricultural development and food security in the poorest countries of the world,” he stated. Describing the situation of hunger in the world as “alarming,” the independent UN expert on the right to food has called for a new production system to tackle the global food crisis. In a message to mark the Day, UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter states that “the violation on a daily basis of the right to food for hundreds of millions of people worldwide has its roots in an outdated and inadequate production system, rather than in the actual quantity of food available. But there is hope in this crisis,” he adds. “Indeed, if the right choices are made now, this shock may even prove salutary, for it provides governments and international agencies with an opportunity to learn from what happened.” WORLD FOOD SECURITY: CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIOENERGY VATICAN CITY, 16 OCT 2008 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has written a Message to Jacques Diouf, director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the occasion of World Food Day, an annual event organised by the FAO every 16 October. Commenting upon the theme chosen for this year's Day - "World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy" - the Holy Father writes that it "enables reflection upon achievements in the fight against hunger and upon the obstacles facing the FAO in the new challenges threatening the life of the human family". Benedict XVI highlights how "above all we must undertake to illuminate the reasons that prevent authentic respect for human dignity. With the means and resources the world has at its disposal, it is possible to supply sufficient nourishment and to satisfy the growing needs of everyone", he says. "The incorrect management of food resources caused by corruption in public life and increasing investment in arms and sophisticated military technology, to the detriment of people's primary needs, has great importance", he adds. The Pope also highlights how "an effective campaign against hunger, in order to confront climate change or to allocate agricultural production primarily to food, calls for much more than mere scientific studies. It is necessary, above all, to rediscover the significance of human beings in their individual and community dimensions". "This reflects the need to build relations between peoples based on real and constant openness, to ensure that each country is able to satisfy the requirements of those in need, and to transmit the idea of relations founded on the interchange of reciprocal knowledge, values, rapid assistance and respect". Benedict XVI underscores the importance of "commitment to promoting effective social justice in relations among peoples", so that the economy may be oriented towards the distribution of the goods of the earth, "to their sustainable use and to the fair division of their benefits". "One essential condition to increase levels of production and guarantee the identity of indigenous communities, as well as peace and security in the world", he concludes, "is to guarantee access to land, favouring agricultural workers and promoting their rights" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~