Yesterday, the Pope dedicated his message to the United Nations World Environment Day, discussing what’s wrong with a culture of consumerism as well as the need for creation care. With recent stats showing that nearly a third of food produce for consumption is wasted or thrown out, the Pope said that things must change:

This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition … Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times we are no longer able to give a just value. Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of the poor and the hungry.

In addition to challenging the Church to reevaluate consumption in light of world hunger, the Pope also said that believers must take God’s call to care for His creation seriously. “Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it? Cultivating and caring for creation is God’s indication given to each one of us not only at the beginning of history. It means nurturing the world with responsibility and transforming it into a garden, a habitable place for everyone” … Discuss