Pope Wasting Food: Francis States That 'People Are Discarded As If They Were Garbage' (VIDEO)

Pope Francis denounced what he termed a "culture of waste" on Wednesday in his weekly audience at St. Peter's Square, when he said that throwing away food is like stealing from poor people, according to NBC News.

"Our grandparents used to make a point of not throwing away leftover food," Pope Francis said. "Consumerism has made us accustomed to wasting food daily and we are unable to see its real value.

"Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry," he continued. "In this way people are discarded as if they were garbage."

Pope Francis has stated that he wants the church to defend the poor and practice greater austerity within itself. He has also made calls for global financial reform.

The amount of food wasted every year is approximately 1.43 billion tons, which is equivalent to one-third of what is produced for human consumption, according to the United Nations' food agency. In the developed world, most food waste is by consumers who have bought more than they can eat.

The U.N. released a study on Wednesday that said simple measures could be taken to lower the amount of food waste, such as better storage and reducing over-sized portions. Restaurants in the U.S. serve such large portions that diners waste nine percent of the meals they purchase, according to the report by the World Resources Institute and the U.N. Environment Program.

Hunger affects 870 million people, and an additional two billion people suffer from nutritional deficiency, according to the U.N.

The statement is timed to coincide with the U.N. launch of an anti-food waste campaign.

"I agree with the pope," one reader said. "But if one overeats just because he does not want to waste food, that is unhealthy, so always try to order the quantity you need or share your food."

"There is more than enough food produced in the world," another reader said. "The problem is distribution.

"The U.S. and the U.N. send tons of food to North Korea, Somalia, Ethiopia and other starving nations only to have the food used by dictators and warlords and not used to help the starving," the reader continued, pointing out the political problems.