Global nutrition is marked by persistent insecurity and significant disparities across regions. The causes of this food insecurity include climate change, inflation, wars, conflicts and poverty. Access to quality food is limited. Overpopulation often forces people to eat merely to survive, not to live fully.
Hunger and malnutrition worsen this insecurity and expose humanity to a double burden: in wealthier nations, obesity rises due to calorie-rich diets, while in children, malnutrition leads to stunted growth and wasting. The widespread use of ultra-processed foods, high in sugar, fat and salt, fuels chronic diseases. Although global production is sufficient, its unequal distribution harms the entire planet.
Agriculture plays a crucial role. Intensive farming increases yields but harms health and the environment through pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Subsistence farming, on the other hand, suffers from low productivity.
Promoting sustainable agriculture ensures food security, eradicates hunger, and improves nutrition. On a larger scale, it guarantees long-term access to healthy, sufficient food; ends malnutrition; doubles the productivity of small-scale farmers; ensures viable food systems; and strengthens rural infrastructure and fair trade.
It also involves developing climate-smart farming techniques, restoring degraded land through composting instead of chemicals, creating resilient and nutritious crops, and improving food storage and transport to minimize waste.
The commitment to justice, peace, and care for creation is inseparable from the educational mission and social vision of the Religious of the Assumption and from the social message of the Gospel.
Working for food justice means, for the Assumption, cultivating a sense of responsibility for our planet. For Saint Marie Eugénie, the earth is not only a place of glory for God but also a letter from God to humanity. Our quality of life depends more on the quality of our relationships than on the quantity of things or food we consume.
To understand and love the earth is to recognize that God, infinite goodness, gives and spreads Himself as the sun radiates its light. Our souls were created in His image, our minds to be filled with divine knowledge, and our bodies entrusted with a mission on earth.
From the beginning, when God placed humanity in the Garden of Eden, it was to cultivate and care for it (Gn 2:15). All created things were made for human benefit and to lead us back to God. Using them wisely and not selfishly is a sign of faith and shared food justice.
Gratitude and kindness are attitudes we must nurture toward God. We are called to use creation’s resources responsibly, to live simply, to share generously, and to maintain balance. As is often said in Africa: “If there is enough for one, there is enough for two.” Sharing is also an act of justice.
In the time of Saint Marie Eugénie, the vegetable garden and orchard were vital places for the sisters. They valued natural remedies and homemade preserves, cultivating health and well-being over pleasure.
Food also includes meat and poultry. Marie Eugénie approved having a stable and henhouse, provided they were kept clean and healthy. Caring for the animals that feed us means caring for ourselves. Let us give thanks to God for His goodness and the beauty of creation, and protect the natural resources entrusted to us for the good of present and future generations.
As we celebrate World Food Day, let us move toward sustainable development and envision a world free from hunger: no child under two suffering from stunting, universal access to adequate diets, and resilient food systems. By reducing waste, improving preservation, and using food as a means of transformation, we strengthen the resilience of individuals and communities across the globe.
Eating well and enough remain the great challenges of our time.
Sister Solange Immaculée KUETCHE MAGNE
Province of Central Africa