Increase Awareness | Publications| Food & Faith

Food and Faith:
Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread

(includes study guide for groups and individuals) 

Introduction

Food pyramids..."you are what you eat"...organics...mad cow disease... obesity... animal rights... genetically modified organisms -- it's enough to drive you bananas! Finally, a resource that examines food choices through the lens of faith.  In bite-sized pieces, you'll learn to recognize and celebrate food as sacramental, consider the implications of your choices, and find help in embodying love and compassion in the wider world.

In a rare collection of voices, the authors of Food and Faith prompt us to explore the meaning of our meals. Here Wendell Berry, John Robbins, Vandana Shiva, Eric Schlosser, M.F.K. Fisher, Thomas Moore and many others (see Table of Contents) explore basic issues related to food: its sacramental character, its connections to health, the demise of the family farm, the human and ecological impacts of industrial agribusiness, questions of genetically modified organisms and world hunger. A diversity of voices and a helpful study guide point to promising directions both individuals and communities can take to bring about a healthier and more equitable world through the food we eat.  (The book includes an extensive resource guide and provides ideas on how to support local, sustainable agriculture. In addition, it includes an eight-session community building study guide.)

Endorsements

"Highly recommended! Thought provoking and inspiring, this book will help many see and express the connections between their faith, their food choices, and caring for God's people and God's creation."
David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World

"This book is not formulated as a demand on us that will arouse our defensiveness and resentment. Together with its study guide, it is an invitation to reflect about ourselves and our habits and to see what changes make sense to us individually. It is more a lure to a richer experience of food and a healthier and more enjoyable life than a moralistic demand that we eat differently."
John B. Cobb, Jr., Theologian and Author Sustaining the Common Good; For the Common Good (with Herman Daly)

"Food and Faith brings together a distinctive group of writers, rich resources for integrating the vital value of food with the religious value of faith. These two values draw our attention to the fact that food is not simply fuel; it has sacramental significance as daily sustenance. This book helps us appreciate that eating is indeed an agricultural act, an ecological act, a social act, a moral act, and an act of faith. I encourage you to read this book. It is serious food for thought!" 
Brother David Andrews, CSC, Executive Director, The National Catholic Rural Life Conference

Table of Contents

Food and Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread
edited by Earth Ministry's Michael Schut

Introduction
A Brief Overview, Michael Schut
Food as Sacramental, Michael Schut                   

A Celebration of Food
A Thing Shared, MFK Fisher
Poor Food, MFK Fisher
The Social Sense, Diane Ackerman
Introduction to Coming Home to Eat, Gary Paul Nabhan

Your Health, the Western Diet, and Politics
Introduction to Food Politics, Marion Nestle
Healthy Heart, Healthy Life, John Robbins
The Politics of Food Choice, Marion Nestle

Spirituality and Food
Interiority of Food, Thomas Moore
Sacred Agriculture: Reflections of a Contemplative Farmer, Miriam MacGillis
Excerpt from The New Laurel’s Kitchen, Carol Flinder
Grace, Gary Snyder
The Enjoyment of God and Creation, Norman Wirzba

Christianity and Caring for the Land
God's Beloved Creation, Elizabeth Johnson
Biblical Views of Nature: Foundations for an Environmental Ethic, Marcia Bunge

The Family Farm
Where Have All the Farmers Gone?, Brian Halweil
There's Farming and then There's Farming, Donella Meadows
Family Farms, Ben Jacques

Economics as if Creation Mattered: The Industrialization of Agriculture
The Gross Domestic Product, Well-Being, and Waistlines, Redefining Progress
Introduction to Where Have All the Farmers Gone?, Brian Halweil
French Fries, Alan Durning and John Ryan
The Idea of a Local Economy, Wendell Berry
The Great Hunter-Gatherer Continuum, Jim Mulligan
The Pleasures of Eating, Wendell Berry

Worker Rights, Animal Rights
On the Range, Eric Schlosser
The Most Dangerous Job, Eric Schlosser
Farm Factories: The End of Animal Husbandry, Bernard Rollin
Animals and People: The Human Heart in Conflict with Itself, Pattiann Rogers
Swinger Goes to Town, Mike Connelly

Genetically Modified Organisms
Experimenting with Life, David Suzuki
Worldview of Abundance, Vandana Shiva
Against the Grain: Why Poor Nations Would Lose in a Biotech War on Hunger, 
            An Interview with Tewolde Egziabher
GM Food Is the Best Option We Have, Anthony Trewavas

Addressing Hunger – Political and Economic Perspectives
Amid Plenty: Anuradha Mittal On the True Cause of World Hunger"
Preface to The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger in our Time, George McGovern

Stories of Hope: Promising Directions 
Voting with Forks, Marion Nestle
Hungry for Change, Jennifer Bogo
Houses of Worship Sing Praises of Coffee for a Cause, Jake Batsell
Heart Benefits of Shade Grown Coffee, Joel Sisolak
What is Community Supported Agriculture? Michael Schut
Zen, Wheelbarrows, and Collard Greens, Dan Barker

Study Guide   by Michael Schut

The study guide (which appears at the back of the book) provides an opportunity to learn with others and develop a community of support among participants.  The  material accommodates four, six, or eight sessions of group study. Leadership is shared as the role of facilitator rotates.  Facilitators need no special training or material.  Discussion questions, prayers and other meditative materials, and suggested action steps are provided.

How to Use This Material
Course Overview

Meeting:
1 – Celebrating Food and Community
2 – Your Health, the Western Diet, and Politics
3 – Creation Theology and Food As Sacrament
4 – Industrial Agriculture and the Family Farm
5 – Global Markets to Backyard Gardens
6 – The Voiceless
7 – Genetically Modified Organisms -- Addressing Hunger
8 – Promising Directions 

Appendix A: About Earth Ministry
Appendix B: Organizational and Resource Guide
Bibliography

Small Groups and Food and Faith

Food and Faith's study guide is designed to be user-friendly. It is also flexible and meant to fit whatever needs a particular small group may bring to their time together.  The study guide's introduction includes a variety of suggested lengths and themes a group might pursue. Some groups meet weekly, some monthly; some meet during a Sunday School hour, some gather for a longer period of time in someone's home.  Consider using the book during Lent or Advent.

To Order

Cost: $14.95 plus shipping.

Order online, print out the order form, or call Earth Ministry, (206) 632-2426. 

You can also call your local bookstore.  If not in stock, they will be able to order Food and Faith for you.  ISBN Number: 1-889108-90-1.

Or, call the publisher at 1-800-824-1813.

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