Pope Benedict XVI marked World Food Day on Tuesday with a message urging all countries of the world to consider food a universal human right to be protected at all times.
In his message, the pope noted that the right to food was enshrined in the Universal of Declaration of Human Rights, a document adopted by the United Nations in 1948.
Yet all the efforts made so far to guarantee the right to food throughout the world had failed to significantly reduce the number of hungry, Benedict said.
"A sense of solidarity, in which food is considered a universal right without distinction or discrimination, must develop in all the countries of the world," the pontiff said.
He noted that the main causes of food shortages could be traced back to "human behaviour", such as wars and "a general economic and social deterioration".
Benedict's message was read out during World Food Day celebrations held at the Rome headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The pope asked the international community to put the right to food at the centre of its thoughts as it prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.
In a statement marking World Food Day, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said that progress had been made in tackling hunger since 1948 but confirmed that the scale of the problem was still gigantic.
"Our planet produced enough food to feed its entire population, and yet tonight 854 million people will go to bed with an empty stomach," he said.
FAO has been working with governments and NGOs to promote a set of guidelines aimed at helping policymakers ensure respect for the right to food.
Italian Agriculture Minister Paolo de Castro underlined the importance of the right to food guidelines as the most effective means of moving governments towards achieving global food security.
World Food Day is commemorated annually in 150 countries. Highlights of this year's events include a worldwide candlelight vigil starting in the southwest Pacific and moving around the globe.
Rome will be among the cities around the world that aim to draw attention to the problem of world hunger through musical events and the Run for Food race.
On the occasion of World Food Day 2007, universities in Italy, Ireland and Iran are establishing institutes or launching university courses on the right to food.
