Lent 4.5: Buying and eating food responsibly

The parish is offering a seven-week program called Lent 4.5 Christian Simplicity to discuss practical ways to abstain from habits and choices that harm the earth. The discussions are at 7 p.m. Mondays in the Parish Activity Center.

The ''4.5'' in the title refers to the number of acres each person on Earth would receive if it were divided equally among all people. Based on a measuring tool called Global Footprint, people in the United States use an average 22.3 acres to support their lifestyle.

Find additional information on the Lent 4.5 website

Our Lenten practice in simplicity this week is buying and eating our food responsibly.

Eating is a moral act. Anyone who eats participates in our agriculture system and the ethical dimensions of food production. We vote three times a day. With every meal we can choose to bless or spoil God’s creation. This week of Lent offers suggestions on how grocery shopping and eating habits can make a difference.

What we eat is one of our most ingrained habits – and that makes it difficult to change. There are numerous ways to show respect for creation when eating. The most obvious is to begin with a prayer of gratitude and take practical steps to reduce your negative impact. It boils down to eating less meat and more food that is grown organic and nearby (doesn’t have to be shipped very far). Realize that chemical fertilizers, transportation and packaging of food have a huge impact on the planet. Consider which steps you can take.

If you can only do one thing…

Abstain from meat this week... or make meat only a side-dish. Pound for pound, livestock requires more water, land and energy than grains and vegetables. It takes 145 gallons of water to produce one loaf of bread, but up to 1500 gallons of water to produce a pound of hamburger. Waste disposal from factory-farming of animals pollutes water supplies. 800 million people suffer from hunger or malnutrition while the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens for wealthy eaters. Eating lower on the food chain by eating less meat and more vegetables is a significant way to lower your impact on God’s creation.

What and Where to Buy

* Purchase sustainable and organic food. Organic food is grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and other harmful additives. Organic includes meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products from animals which are not fed antibiotics or growth hormones. Break the addiction to cheap food produced on industrial farms.
* If purchasing meat, buy local meat that has been treated humanely, instead of meat grown in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s).
* Whenever possible, deal directly with local farmers, gardeners or orchardists. Buy food that was grown and processed closer to your home and sold at local farmers' markets or co-ops. The average food item traveled 1500 miles before getting to your plate. Transportation accounts for 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions we’re personally responsible for as consumers.
* Eat real food. Hint: shop the perimeter of the store. Most foods in the middle aisles of supermarkets are preprocessed and packaged.
* Read labels. Learn what is added to your food that is not food. Find out what you pay for those additions.
* Buy in bulk. Choose products with less packaging to reduce landfill waste. Support manufacturers who use minimal packaging.
* Like coffee? Buy Fair Trade products whenever possible – coffee, tea, chocolate and other food items – to support a just food system. Give farmers a fair price for their product and work.
* Purchase or gift a share of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) from a local grower where possible.

Cooking and Eating

* Do without fast food and highly processed food for the week. If that’s not possible, before you bite into your burger, choose food that is grown and produced sustainably and ethically.
* Lent=Fish. Select seafood that's good for you and the oceans. Download a consumer's guide to sustainable seafood.
* Eat real food. Explore cooking with whole or less-processed food for your health and that of the planet. If you eat fish, select seafood that is harvested sustainably and safely.
* Set up your own compost bin for non-animal products. In nature there is no such thing as waste; it should all break down to become part of the soil instead of thrown into a landfill.
* Check out the Slow Food movement. Bring balance to fast food and fast life.
* Pause before eating. Be grateful for the bounty of creation and the many hands that helped bring food to your table. Food is one of the most explicit ways we interact with the natural world – with the land and the other species we share it with.

Food Security

* Participate in food production to the extent you can. Connect with the Earth and grow some of your own food. Learn from some of the numerous resources that are available for beginners how, with a little creativity, you can create a small organic vegetable garden. You will appreciate your food, having known it all its life.
* Learn more about ways to support a just food system and provide adequate food for all at Bread for the World. Over 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition while the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs, and chickens. In the United States, 14.6% of households struggle to put food on the table. Nearly one in four children is at risk of hunger.

“From the moment you put a piece of bread in your mouth you are part of the world. Who grew the wheat? Who made the bread? Where did it come from? You are in relationship with all who brought it to the table. We are least separate and most in common when we eat and drink.” – Thomas Merton