Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has called on the international community to recognise access to safe and sufficient food as a basic human right, warning that hunger must not be used as a tool of war or political pressure. He has urged governments and international organisations to take stronger action against hunger and ensure that food reaches everyone with dignity.

In his message to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for World Food Day on October 16, the Pope said that guaranteeing access to adequate food was an obligation of justice for individual countries and the international community.

The message was addressed to FAO Director General Qu Dongyu and read during a commemoration event on Friday by Monsignor Fernando Chica Arellano, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the organisation. The theme for this year's World Food Day is “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow”.

Pope Leo thanked the FAO for its international efforts but stressed that advances in technology had not removed the injustice of hunger. He said it was unacceptable for bread to become a privilege and water to be treated as a contested commodity.

The Pope argued that hunger should not be seen simply as a statistical problem or an unavoidable consequence of where people live. He said it was largely linked to a lack of political will and collective responsibility.

He also raised concerns about the gap between improvements in food production and the distribution of resources. While technology has increased production, he warned that the needs of small scale farmers were being overlooked as financial markets and monopolies gained greater influence over agricultural resources.

The Pope stressed that food production must be protected from excessive speculation and the pursuit of short term financial gains. Bread, he said, should never become a financial asset used to exert geopolitical pressure, and it must never be turned into a weapon of war.

Preventing food from reaching people or destroying the means by which it is produced, he added, is a serious violation of human dignity. He called for decisions on food and agriculture to recognise the importance of sustaining human life and meeting the needs of vulnerable communities.

Pope Leo also warned that the belief in unlimited economic growth despite the world's limited resources had reached a breaking point. He called for a more responsible approach to innovation that considers the needs of future generations rather than focusing only on annual budgets and immediate results.

He said technological progress should not be rejected but combined with the knowledge and experience of farmers who have developed an understanding of soil and climate through generations of observation and agricultural practice. He also stressed the need to protect water as a common good that must remain available to all.

Addressing the FAO and its member states, the Pope urged them to move beyond general statements and analysis towards meaningful action. He called for what he described as moral audacity to establish a new global food order in which technological innovation serves human dignity and the common good.

He further called for resources currently invested in the war industry to be redirected towards sustainable agricultural research and the restoration of damaged soils. Such efforts, he indicated, should form part of a broader commitment to ensuring food security while protecting the natural resources on which agriculture depends.

Concluding his message, Pope Leo said the future would be shaped by the choices people make today. He warned that innovation driven by the desire to control the earth and exclude vulnerable people could lead to greater hardship and conflict.

By contrast, he said, innovation guided by respect for nature and justice for those facing hunger could help create a future in which food is available to nourish humanity.

The Pope's message placed the fight against hunger at the centre of international responsibility, calling for technology, agricultural policy and economic decisions to serve people rather than profit or power.