Ethical Eating: Food, Justice, and Faith

1. Ethics of Eating

2. What do I hope to accomplish today • Information that I leaned at the workshop • I apologize you are getting the info through my filter and bias. • May each of you reflect on how you eat and buy food and think more about how you use food.

3. My Elevator Talk

4. I am a person of the city • I once hated the smell of manure • Over the years I have smelled that smell even at worship

5. My first three congregations • Jevnaker and Mandt, rural Montevideo, Mn. • Garfield, rural Madison,Mn. • Emmanuel, Seymour, Wi.

6. I do not pretend to be an expert on the issues of farming, food or eating, But… I love to eat food and I have health issues. And I love to eat, but I want everyone to be able to have enough food to eat, because food is a matter of justice and God calls us to do justice.

7. ELCA Hunger Appeal ELCA congregations raise $20 million a year

8. ELCA Hunger Appeal Goals • Relief - meeting immediate needs

9. Education • Increasing awareness of root causes of hunger and poverty

10. Advocacy • Mobilizing at a government and business level

11. Development • Long term sustainable development. “You don’t teach people to fish, you show them the pole that is already in their hands.”

12. The Conference • Intense • Extremely full • Long days • Travel, lectures, discussions Highlights through my filter -

13. Theological Rational – why were we there? • “We are people who gather around the table – we should know how our eating impacts the world.” • Samuel Torvin, Daily Bread, Holy Meal • Christians should be at the forefront of how to eat right.

14. We as Christians (Lutherans) have been at the forefront of helping people (LSS) – that is who we are in Christ. We say as much at our baptisms and at confirmation.

15. How we eat matters – impact on the hungry around the world • How I eat can bring about justice – the burden is a big thing and it is complicated • How I eat effects my health.

16. We have become accustomed to cheap food. • For suburban children food comes from the grocery store and it is abundant. • What else do they and we need to know about food?

17. Darkside of Cheap Food • More costly than what the costs show • Justice Issues • Migrant workers abused • Minimum wage • People put off land in Mexico – migrant issues in U.S. • Confined animals in feeding lots

18. Dark side continued… • Health • Tainted eggs – 38 million recently recalled • Obesity “super=size it” • Type 2 diabetes • Poor get hardest hit by chronic diseases

19. Dark side… • Environment – cheap oil is cheap • 1 calorie of food takes 6 calories energy to produce • 1/5 of oil use is by farm, pesticides, gas for machinery. • 1500 miles is average distance food travels

20. Why do we need to think about food? • Who is it that benefits from a given policy or practice? • Bible tells us that God has a preferential option for the poor – if God does – than we as God’s people are called to think and do on behalf of justice.

21. Lifestyle Changes • We care for the poor and hungry by how we eat. • Local Lower Less

22. Minnesota Food Association • Glen Hill is director • Train immigrant farmers on sustainable, organic farming and practical business practices – Hispanic, Hmong, Somali, Karen, Laotian, Burmese, Bhutanese, Kenyan, Cambodia • See website for all they are doing

23. Common Harvest Farm • Dan Guenther and Margaret Pennings, farmer/owners • 40 acre farm grows more than 40 vegetables and herbs • Deliver around 200 CSA boxes in a 19 or 20 week season to members at a cost of $250.

24. CSA Box/Bag Community Sustainable Agriculture

25. Jack Nelson Pallmeyer • Legacy of colonization – who owns the land. • Treatment of farm workers • Use/Abuse of antibiotics • Existence of 1 billion hungry people • Food for livestock versus food for people • Fuel versus food • 37 food riots around the world in last year

26. Agricultural subsidies • Benefits and limitations of food aid • Hedge funds grabbing huge tracts of land • Impact of Trade Agreements – • 2-3 million farmers were pushed off land in Mexico after NAFTA in 1990’s

27. Water issues • Who controls it – Who gets it? • Salinization GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organism) and other high tech solutions

28. Palm Oil – In Malaysia and Indonesia slashing of rain forests for fuel. • Balance between humans and other species • How do we have a farm system that gives healthy prices to farmers?

29. How do we eat healthy in light of these issues?

30. From a Christian view: • Injustice is counter to the love of God • Our task as Christians is to embody justice • In our lives • Vocational choices • Ways we related to systems of society • The dignity of the human person is central to Christian theology

31. Bob Francis, Director of Domestic Policy for the ELCA Some thoughts: • Advocacy is Christian Discipleship • Political is not Partisan • There are ethical implications to Farm Policy – any government policy • Discussion on the Farm Bill in front of Congress • ELCA.org/advocacy

32. Dr. Bud Markart, Professor of Horticulture, U of M “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you are a 1,000 miles from a corn field.” DD Eisenhower

33. An Organic Farm • A site specific growing system Integrating • Cultural • Biological - controlling pests • Mechanical practices

34. Fostering – cycling resources promoting ecological balance conserving biodiversity

35. Soil is alive (organic matter) • Dirt is dead – only a holder of plants/nutrients

36. Norman Borlaug – his heart was in the right place – increase in the yield of wheat – the Green Revolution. • Long term consequences of short term benefits • GMO’s – 2nd green revolution – what are long term consequences? We do not know yet.

37. Land O Lakes • CSR – “Corporate Social Responsibility” – is a buzz word for the past few years. • No profit motive – Leadership thought global CSR was right thing to do

38. Community Design Center • East 7th Street in St Paul • 41 year old non profit that works with youth in gardening, cooking and nutrition • 30 CSA members • $110 bag of vegetables for 8 weeks Over 42 youth in program, 115 applied - 7 gardens in neighborhood

39. First Lutheran Church in Swede Hollow • Relationship with Community Design Center • Kris Bertleson, pastor • Community outreach in food/meals and other support • “We all do better when we all do better”

40. St. Olaf Lutheran Church • 27th and Emerson – Minneapolis • Moved by global warming and peak oil prices to work to re-localize food systems • Extensive gardens on lawn and parking lot • Starting a food coop • Talked about re-building resilience

41. Pastor Steve Lomanof St Olaf Lutheran Church A Scandinavian saying “It is enough”.

42. Native American Gardening • Off of I -94 and Cedar • Bought 400 yards of contaminated land (arsenic and lead) from Minneapolis for $1 • Heard stories of gardening and hope

43. Advocacy • Minnesota Coalition for Public Policy • Pastor Mark Peters –” three things to do”

44. Three things • Learn about hunger and poverty • Volunteer and donate • Advocate – live with and stand beside someone who is hungry/poor

45. “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others.” Winston Churchill

46. Bread for the World • A citizen group that lobbies our elected officials in Congress on Hunger issues both domestic and world –wide.

47. Minnesota Without Poverty • Nancy Maeker – director, ELCA pastor • Family of 4 – poverty line is $22,000 – too low

48. 3 person panel discussion • All agreed that advocacy to government officials was important and life changing

49. What do I hope to do? • 7th Grade Retreat in January • -Feed My Starving Children • “La Conexion” in Phillips Neighborhood, Minneapolis –making a meal and learning

50. A garden at St James?