our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food .
“ according to an argentinian source who studied our family tree , my great grandfather was the brother of pope francis ’s great - grandfather , ” said luigi bergoglio from santena in the region of piedmont .
consumerism has made us accustomed to wasting food daily and we are unable to see its real value , " francis said at his weekly audience in st. peter 's square . "
a u.n.-backed study released on wednesday said simple measures such as better storage and reducing over - sized portions would sharply reduce the vast amount of food going to waste .
pope francis shows a thumbs - up sign as he arrives to lead his wednesday general audience in saint peter 's square at the vatican june 5 , 2013 .
the pope dedicated his wednesday audience , which attracted thousands of pilgrims from around the world , to the un ’s world environment day .
since taking office in march , pope francis has called for the world ’s 1.2 billion catholics to do more to defend the poor and to practise greater austerity itself .
he has also made several calls for global financial reform .
in the pontiff dedicated his weekly audience in st peter ’s square to the united nations world environment day to draw attention to the excesses of consumerism and food wastage .