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Food and Faith
Food and Faith
We cannot live harmlessly or strictly
at our own expense; we
depend upon other creatures and survive by their deaths. To live,
we must
daily break the body and shed
the blood of creation. The
point is, when we do this
knowingly, lovingly, skillfully,
reverently, it is a sacrament;
when we do it ignorantly,
greedily, clumsily,
destructively, it is a
desecration . . . in such
desecration, we condemn
ourselves to spiritual and
moral loneliness, and
others to want.
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Wendell Berry
Buying locally produced food makes sound environmental sense. Doing this reduces resources that are consumed in the process of packaging, shipping, and selling of food.
Find out where and how your food was produced. Help to ensure that your money goes directly where it belongs - to the farmers who gave of their time and energy to produce the food!
Look for locally produced food at area grocery stores such as Greenlife (in North Chattanooga), Earth Fare near Hamilton Place Mall, or The Village Market (in Collegedale). Due to modern corporate agribusiness practices, only ten cents of each consumer dollar goes to the farmer. In 1920, the farmer received 80% of each dollar spent. (Cited in The Newman's own Organics Guide to a Good Life, by Nell Newman - a wonderful all-purpose resource for things ecological.) Reverse that trend by cutting out the middlemen, and buy directly from the farmer. Try the Chattanooga Market each Sunday at the First Tennessee Pavilion from noon to five or the Main Street Market, Wednesdays from 4 to 6. The markets feature the harvest of local farmers, chef demos, live music, and locally made arts and crafts. Grace Bookstore carries locally produced gift items and Equal Exchange coffee and chocolate. Five minutes south of I-24 on the Rossville exit is Crabtree Farms. They do not deliver, but they carry wonderful veggies grown organically on the spot.
Consider buying a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) as Barbara Laymon (picture above) has done. Each week fresh produce is delivered to area pick-up sites at Greenlife, Signal Mountain and the Main Street Market, with offerings such as fresh vegetables, fruits, free-range eggs, and meat. Several Grace families have purchased shares in various CSAs. They pick up a box of produce weekly at one of the sites. A group of women from Grace and other churches have been meeting to study the issues surrounding food and faith. We are working toward having Grace be a pick-up site for the Brainerd community as well as the Church and possibly hosting a small farmers' market. You will also find websites for more information below. For more information contact either of us:
Marion Pound and Kathleen Russell
WEBSITES
www.tastebudsguide.org - a new guide to all things about local food production and eating and other local vendors, put out by Crabtree Farms and UTC
www.chattanoogamarket.com
www.sequatchiecovefarm.com
www.pickTNproducts.org - provides a wealth of information about Tennessee farms, markets, recipes, and much more.
www.crabtreefarms.org - a non-profit project for the education and research of sustainable agriculture in the Chattanooga area.
www.localharvest.org - an amazing site that allows you to search for farms, restaurants, and products by city or zip code. A search for farms within a 100 mile radius of Chattanooga turned up 45 listing!
www.notinmyfood.org
And ever so many more!
NEWSCLIPS
"You Are What They Eat" - Excerpted and paraphrased from Consumer Reports, January, 2005
The animals we eat are not as safe as we think. The feed industry is faced with two major problems: removal of animal waste products that are destructive to the environment and food supplies for these animals. The industry has tried to solve the two problems at once by using animal byproducts (including chicken litter) in the feed of cows, chickens and fish. This practice concentrates noxious chemicals, encourages the dissemination of bacteria and prions (the culprit in mad cow disease), and results in increased risk of human poisoning, chemical and bacteriological. "Federal food-safety agencies have failed to tighten regulations."
- "From August 1997 through March 2004, 52 companies recalled 410 feed products for violating federal rules protecting feed from infectious prions."
- "We found low levels of arsenic - present in a drug given to many chickens in part to boost growth - in livers of conventionally raised chicken, but none in certified organic chicken livers."
- "Studies report higher levels of dioxins and PCBs in farmed salmon than in wild. The probable cause: feed made of fish from polluted waters."
- Europe has a "farm to fork" surveillance system so that illness can be traced back to animal feed when it occurs. We have no such system.
- One economist estimated that if the organic-feed industry grew, beef and chicken would cost about 10 to 20 percent more than at present.
What you can do"
- Visit www.notinmyfood.org to take action. This is a web site of Consumers Union.
- Look for beef or chicken certified organic by the USDA. The USDA has not established an organic standard for fish.
- To understand meat labels, visit www.eco-labels.org.
- Look for "wild" salmon and shrimp.
From Sierra Club, July/August 2005
"Creation Care" - Greenness is next to godliness in the Church of England. At a meeting of its General synod in February, the leadershp voted to 'make care for creation, and repentance for its exploitation, fundamental' to the church's 'faith, practice, and mission.' The motion also praised the British government for its stance on global warming and committed the synod to "lead by example" in making the lifestyle changes necessary to achieve sustainability. Practical suggestions for congregations include offering bike-friendly facilities, selling fair-trade products at church fundraisers, and using organic bread and wine for Holy Communion."
Chattanooga Times/Free Press, summer 2005
"Study finds toxins present in newborns - West Palm Beach, Fla. - In a benchmark study released today, researchers found an average of 200 industrial compounds, pollutants and other chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborns, including seven dangerous pesticides = some banned in America more than 30 years ago.
The report, "Body Burden = The Pollution in Newborns" by the Washington, D.C. based Environmental Working Group found . . . chemicals, 76 cause cancer in people or animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests.
Scientists blame the presence of the pesticides in the babies' blood on the fact that many of the compounds take decades to break down and some are still used in foreign countries, which export produce to the United States.
Heifer International: Education Programs 2010
Ten Things You Can Do Today to End World Hunger
- Feed your mind. Visit one of Heifer International's learning centers to experience ways that you can make a difference.
- Get busy. Volunteer for local or national organizations that fight world hunger and pverty. Nonprofit groups are often the strongest voice for the hungry.
- Ante up. Charitable, alternative gift giving can directly support anti-hunger and ussstainability efforts.
- Buy 'fair.' Fair trade products ensure farmers and craftspeople in developing countries receive an adequate price for products and services and help them better support their families.
- Go organic. Organic farming is environmentally friendly and provides a sounds agricultural alternative.
- Go and see. Join a Heifer Study Tour where you can interact with people around the globe, learn about their communities, their lives and their struggles. You will return reinvigorated in your commitment to end hunger.
- Bring your commitment home. Shop at your local farmers market and support small farmers. The food is fresher, and your dollars help those living in your community.
- Use the power of the pen. Write your state and U.S. Senators and representatives to let them know that world hunger is a political issue and one of your top priorities.
- Be an ambassador. Get your church, social group, family or civic club to help in the fight against hunger. Grassroots efforts make a dramatic difference int helives of hungry families, as well as provide a stron voice of representation in governments.
- Pass it on. Share your knowledge with your children and encourage them to get involved in the quest to end hunger Ensure your commitment to ending hunger will burn in the next generation.
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