Enforced starvation for millions of people in our time would be seen by future generations as barbaric, Mr Feargal Quinn prophesied.
Calling for an appropriate marking by this State of World Food Day today he said: "We must begin to look at food needs from a global perspective, not a purely European one that serves only local interests. Given Ireland's history, we should be a leader within the EU in pressing for a reformed agricultural policy that encompasses a moral dimension as well as the economic one."