Washington D.C., Mar 8, 2012 / 02:12 am
Leaders of multiple Catholic organizations are asking a U.S. Senate committee to develop legislation that serves the needs of the poor and hungry, helps vulnerable farming communities and encourages sustainable stewardship of natural resources.
“Food production is unique because it is necessary for life itself,” said the Catholic leaders. “Catholic teaching maintains that food is a basic need and a fundamental right of the human person.”
The March 6 letter to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry addressed possible changes to U.S. policy for food and agriculture that the committee is considering as it holds hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill.
Bishops Stephen E. Blaire and Richard E. Pates and other Catholic leaders observed that the bill will have a particularly strong impact on the poor, as well as those who are “struggling to keep farming a viable way of life.”