The global thirst for profit is the major obstacle preventing an end to hunger and poverty, according to a Sri Lankan government minister.

“Hunger and poverty can be eradicated, if all our efforts were not concentrated on self gain,” said Science and Technology Minister Tissa Vitharana.

He was speaking during the 12th Commemorative Lecture on Mother Teresa at Caritas Sri Lanka’s auditorium in Colombo on Sept. 6.

The Christian Alliance for Social Action organized the program.

The minister said it was an honor to be able to deliver a talk on one of the “greatest of human beings,” because Mother Teresa demonstrated how love and dedication could be used to tackle and alleviate the plight of the poor.

Mother Teresa crossed all barriers dividing humanity to go into the streets and work with limited means and programs, he added.

Professor Vitharana, dismissed criticism some academics have leveled at the Blessed Mother by saying society should learn some lessons from her achievements.

People should all try to be more like her and not have a single-minded approach towards gain, he warned.

He accused Western farmers of putting self gain before the needs of the majority.

The cultivation of high yielding varieties of rice would help alleviate hunger, he said.

But there are still food shortages because farmers in the US for instance do not cultivate half their arable land because they want to keep wheat prices high.

The one billion people going hungry each day is the biggest violation of human rights, he said.

“World food shortages and poverty alleviation problems need not arise, if we organize ourselves properly,” he said.

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