The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released a pastoral letter on food insecurity. The letter, titled “Our Daily Bread: Food Security and the Call to Solidarity,” addresses rising food costs and global food insecurity. The bishops highlight that over 1 in 10 people globally face severe food insecurity and that many cannot afford a healthy diet. The letter is structured around the themes of “Solidarity,” “Harmony,” and “Harvest.”
21 days ago
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released a pastoral letter titled “Our Daily Bread: Food Security and the Call to Solidarity” on November 16, 2025, coinciding with the World Day of the Poor.1
This 10-page document, issued by the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, frames the issue of food insecurity through the lens of the Lord’s Prayer, urging Catholics to address it as a call to solidarity and care for creation.1
More than 1 in 10 people worldwide face severe food insecurity, with over 3 billion unable to afford a healthy diet, according to the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development.1
In Canada, an affluent nation, rising food costs are increasingly straining households, leading to greater struggles in accessing nutritious food, as highlighted by research from the University of Toronto’s PROOF program.1
The letter defines solidarity as a commitment to the common good, drawing on teachings from St. John Paul II, St. Paul VI, and Pope Francis about structural poverty causes.1
It advocates practical actions like reducing food waste, simplifying consumption, choosing local produce, and supporting policies for low-income households, including affordable housing and just wages as key indicators of a just socioeconomic system.1
Food insecurity is exacerbated by conflicts, displacement, environmental damage, and harm to local food systems, the bishops warn.1
Catholics are encouraged to renew their relationship with the land through stewardship, viewing community gardens and sustainable agriculture as positive developments.1
The document thanks farmers and harvesters, inspired by Psalm 65, and promotes innovations that boost food production without environmental degradation.1
Emphasizing the universal destination of the earth’s goods, the bishops stress that food should not be treated as a mere commodity.1
They call for resilient food distribution systems, protections against predatory pricing, and recognition that food insecurity threatens peace, particularly for Indigenous communities facing threats from climate change and industrial development.1
The pastoral letter aligns with Pope Leo XIV’s June 13, 2025, message for the World Day of the Poor, themed “You, O Lord, are my hope” from Psalm 71:5, which portrays the poor as creative subjects challenging new ways to live the Gospel.1
In his November 16 homily at the Jubilee of the Poor Mass, the pope urged leaders to heed the cry of the poor, linking economic justice in labor, education, housing, and health to lasting peace, echoing St. Augustine’s call to prevent hunger altogether.1
The bishops conclude by thanking contributors to food security, such as family farmers, migrant workers, fishers, food preparers, and parents.1
They invoke blessings through Mary and St. Joseph for those working to deliver food from earth to Canadian tables, reinforcing a vision of shared responsibility.1
Examine Catholic teachings on food security and social justice
Catholic social teaching firmly integrates food security into the broader framework of social justice, viewing access to adequate nutrition not merely as an economic or technical issue but as a moral imperative rooted in human dignity, the universal destination of goods, and the Gospel call to solidarity. The Church teaches that every person has a fundamental right to food, derived from their inherent worth as created in God's image, and that hunger represents a profound injustice that demands collective action to address structural causes like poverty, unequal distribution, and environmental degradation. This examination draws from papal encyclicals, addresses to international bodies, and doctrinal compendia, highlighting how food security embodies the preferential option for the poor and the pursuit of the common good.
At the heart of Catholic teaching is the recognition that the right to food is intrinsic to the right to life and integral human development. Pope John Paul II, in his address to the 1996 World Food Summit, emphasized that food security is not just about building reserves but ensuring "each individual and family the possibility of having sufficient food at all times," linking it directly to peace and the avoidance of poverty's threats. This right extends beyond survival to encompass dignified living, as hunger undermines the ability to exercise one's social functions and participate fully in society.
Pope Benedict XVI reinforced this in Caritas in Veritate, describing hunger as a consequence of "shortage of social resources" rather than mere scarcity, calling for networks of economic institutions to guarantee "regular access to sufficient food and water for nutritional needs." He connected this to the biblical mandate to "feed the hungry" (Mt 25:35), portraying it as an ethical imperative for the universal Church in response to Christ's teachings on solidarity. Similarly, in a 2008 message to a FAO conference on food security amid climate challenges, Benedict XVI declared the right to nutrition "intrinsically linked to the safeguarding and defence of human life," urging help for populations lacking food to become self-sufficient through rural development and access to markets.
These teachings echo earlier papal interventions. John Paul II, addressing the 2002 World Food Summit, affirmed the Church's commitment to reducing undernourishment by half by 2015, stressing that resources entrusted by God are "destined for all" and that poverty threatens international peace. In 1998, he insisted that no excuse—such as conflicts or natural disasters—can justify disregarding the right to nutrition, binding wealthy nations morally to aid those in need. This right is universal, applying to individuals and nations, and requires overcoming pragmatism devoid of ethical foundations.
Catholic doctrine defines social justice as an extension of general justice, demanding that individuals and societies provide what is necessary for each person to fulfill their roles in the common good. Pius XI's Divini Redemptoris (1937) articulates this clearly: social justice "demands duties from which neither workingmen nor employers can withdraw," ensuring that every member of society receives "all that is necessary for the exercise of his social functions." Without this, society lacks provision for the whole, as the health of the body depends on each part. This principle, rooted in Thomistic legal justice—which directs virtues toward the common good—updates to address modern inequalities, including hunger.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church builds on this, describing social justice as regulating social relationships according to law while encompassing structural solutions to worldwide problems like poverty. It prioritizes the disadvantaged through redistribution, informed by God's justice and mercy, beyond mere commutative justice in markets. Gaudium et Spes from Vatican II decries "excessive economic and social inequalities" as contrary to social justice and human dignity, scandalizing peace. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§§1928-1942) further explains that society must orient economic life toward sharing goods for all, with the poor as objects of preferential love.
In this light, food insecurity exemplifies injustice, as it stems from systemic failures rather than natural limits. John Paul II, in a 1995 FAO address, praised the shift from exploitative food aid to "food security," considering regional production capacities for equitable exchange, while urging reforms rooted in an "ethic of solidarity and a culture of sharing." Benedict XVI echoed this in 2006, calling for solidarity to eliminate poverty's causes by involving local communities in land use and prioritizing sustainable practices over short-term gains.
Solidarity, a core principle, binds the human family to share resources, especially with the vulnerable. The USCCB's Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship teaches that we are "our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers," called to eradicate extreme poverty and welcome immigrants, guided by the Last Judgment's criterion of aiding the "least among us" (Mt 25:31-46). This includes a "preferential option for the poor," extending to the unborn, disabled, elderly, and hungry, as a "basic moral test" for society. Pope Benedict XVI described love for the needy as essential to the Church's mission, akin to the sacraments.
John Paul II, addressing Canadian bishops in 1988, urged sharing material goods with the world's poor as "preferential love," eliminating misery's roots even at personal cost, beyond mere surplus. At the 1997 FAO conference, he linked hunger to unjust economic mechanisms and protectionism, calling for authentic freedom in solidarity to overcome inequality. Benedict XVI, in 2001, tied food security to world peace, advocating debt reduction and GDP allocation to development, as development is "the new name for peace."
The Church critiques overemphasis on defense spending versus agricultural investment, as John Paul II noted in 1996, and promotes education, equitable trade, and family-centered rural life to sustain production. In Caritas in Veritate, long-term solutions involve local involvement in agricultural choices to eliminate structural hunger causes.
The Church does not dictate technical solutions but supports efforts through moral guidance, as John Paul II stated in 1998, inspiring dialogue for rapid resolutions. Her vocation is proximity to the poor, mobilizing solidarity for human rights and development. This includes combating debt burdens and ensuring credit access for balanced growth.
Recent teachings, like the 2022 Mensuram Bonam, apply social justice to investments, urging Catholic investors to prioritize inclusion and the common good over profit. Overall, the magisterium calls for courageous choices: reforming international systems for ethical cooperation, as in 1995's FAO address, to achieve "Fiat panis"—daily bread for all.
In conclusion, Catholic teachings on food security and social justice converge in a vision of integral development where nutrition is a right secured through solidarity, justice, and care for the vulnerable. By addressing root causes like inequality and environmental harm, the Church invites all to build a world of peace, where no one goes hungry, reflecting God's providence for humanity. This demands personal conversion, policy advocacy, and global cooperation, always faithful to the Gospel's transformative power.