catapult magazine

It’s interesting to me that the Hebrew Bible was chock full of regulations regarding diet, but today the general population within the Church doesn’t have a very nuanced matrix for making food choices. Cost, taste and fat content/health quality seem to be the top three criteria, regardless of religious affiliation, and even the health quality of an item is determined according to abstract numbers and thin pop wisdom about what’s “good for us.”

With that analysis in mind, I wanted to post some information from the National Family Farm Coalition, an organization that is seeking to cultivate a comprehensive food ethic.

of NFFC Food Sovereignty Campaign[/b:e4426b189e]

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Farmers have the first right to markets in farmers’ own region/country at a fair price.

Concept of food sovereignty popularized in the U.S.

International trade cooperation to ensure food sovereignty. (No agriculture in the WTO or bilateral trade agreements)
[/list:u:e4426b189e][/i:e4426b189e]
[b:e4426b189e]NFFC Food Sovereignty Vision Statement[/b:e4426b189e]

envision empowered communities everywhere working together democratically to advance a food system that ensures health, justice and dignity for all. Family farming is an attractive and viable livelihood that supports economically, environmentally, and socially diverse and sustainable communities where future generations will thrive. Farmers, ranchers and fishers will have control over their lands, water, seeds, and livelihoods, as well as the ability to steward the land, take good care of animals, protect biodiversity and conserve and increase farming knowledge. Farmworkers and food workers have respect and decent incomes, and farmers have the first right to produce food for local and regional markets, so that the planet’s energy and the soil and water are conserved. All people have access to healthy, local, delicious food.[/i:e4426b189e]

So what do you think? Do the goals and vision of the NFFC reflect Kingdom values? Why or why not?

If not, what’s an alternative approach?

If so, what changes do we need to start making?

I agree with some of the aspects of this food ethic, but it seems that in some ways, the NFFC is trying to create more of a free market based upon small farms instead of the current sort of free market based upon corporations. One fear that I have is should food really always be on the free market? It is something that is becoming obvious with the gas situation. As much as I do agree that we should pay more for gas in the US, it is becoming obvious that gas isn’t just a comodoty that should be governed by free market values. It is something we really need in order to survive, so there is something more than just suppy/demand at work here. We can’t price the poor out of the market or they won’t be able to work etc. It seems that the same is true of food. You can’t boycott or choose not to buy food, so even though I understand why farmer control of land, seeds, streams, etc. is something to be pursued, if done in a way that only takes the market and supply/demand into account it won’t really be kingdom friendly. Farmers in the OT were called to allow the poor sovereignty over the scraps and the gleening to supply for their needs outside of the market. It isn’t only the farmer who has sovereignty. And now for a devil face :twisted: