Northern Dioceses Environment Group studies Food
The Northern Dioceses Environment Group met on Saturday 18 May at St Wilfred's Parish Centre, Preston, to study food security globally and locally with a theological and policy perspective. 'Faith in Food - From the table of the Lord to the table of the world' was the theme. Around 20 people, representing most of the northern dioceses, attended. Mark Wiggin reports.
The meeting on 18 May welcomed speakers Francis Stewart (CAFOD Theology Team) and Anna Clayton (Food Futures - North Lancashire's Sustainable Food Network) and there was a lived experience perspective on using foodbanks.
A Question and Response plenary was followed by a news and events sharing session. The day was rounded off by a community sing-along.
Francis Stewart of CAFOD shared insights on agriculture and the global food system from a policy and theology perspective. Francis argued that the debate about agriculture should not just be about how we ensure food security and avoid malnutrition in a changing climate, but it should also be about how we reform the whole food system in the interests of both justice and sustainability.
A big concern is about the many misconceptions - myths about the food system - such as: we need to produce more food to feed the world; we have to produce at scale to have enough for all, so the industrial agriculture model is the only one; countries need to integrate into global markets; the private sector has a central role to play in expanding access to food by expanding markets; technology will solve the hunger crisis.
The myths, he said, were contributing to a narrative about agriculture that favours the prevailing industrial model of agriculture - intensive production at scale, with chemical inputs and commercial seeds, with a view to export for cash. Turning to how we might support the development of food systems and agriculture that benefit everyone, he pointed to the great variety of small-scale food production systems which feed the greater part of the world's peoples, using a modest amount of land and producing less waste. An orientation towards good living and flourishing based on the common good needs to be an important goal for us all. Francis felt Catholic Social Teaching offers much for us to reflect upon and a task for each of us would be to connect the theology of God's providence with a realistic understanding of natural systems that we rely upon for food. Food, for Catholics, is not mere fuel but the focal point of our liturgical life, the material through which God meets us in the Eucharist.
Anna Clayton of Food Futures, North Lancashire's Sustainable Food Network, shared how the scheme had started life as part of the Transition Towns movement in 2014. It was originally completely voluntary and met monthly, but in 2018 a grant was secured to employ a partnership coordinator and the scheme was rebranded. The key to its success is that everyone has a role to play. Harnessing local passion and expertise for healthy, resilient and fair food, skill shares and an induction process and pathway to food citizenship are key ingredients to its success. Sharing lived experience through storytelling and local journalism spreads the good news and attracts new members and cultivates a collaborative, inclusive, dynamic and decentralised working culture that is constantly changing and growing to meet the needs of local growers and consumers alike.
The inputs concluded with a very personal, eloquent and moving input from someone who had experienced the combined destructive nature of poverty and abuse and who had needed to rely on the charity of foodbanks. Stressing the need to always place the dignity of the individual above social benefit systems she focused on the need to recognise the complex nature of poverty and an understanding that many people relying on services such as foodbanks were often coping with a multitude of other social and emotional issues that made it hard to break out of the dependency on such charitable services.
All three presenters drew from their experience and made the link between global food systems and how they work with local realities. Justice, resilience, sustainability, treading lightly on the earth, and respect for the dignity of all living things were concepts that resonated strongly with the participants.
Included in the meeting were three additional supporting projects: a FairTrade stall; a seed swap table, and crafts from Cambodia made by craftspeople who were casualties of war.
Further resources and events flagged up at the meeting were:
Laudato Si' Week 19-26 May 2024, with the theme 'Seeds of Hope'. A downloadable eight-day Celebration Guide, produced by Laudato Si' Week 2024, is the key resource. See: https://laudatosiweek.org/
Care of Creation week at Boarbank Hall, Cumbria, 25 May-1 June. Advertised as, 'a week to explore how to live out Laudato Si' fully in our personal lives and within the Church,' it is led by Sr Margaret Atkins of Boarbank Hall and John Paul de Quay of the Ecological Conversion Group. https://boarbankhall.org.uk/living-laudato-si-may-residential-week/
Manchester - Stories of Jesus & Justice - Thursday 6 June 7-8.30pm
Mosaic Room at Methodist Central Hall, Oldham Street Manchester M1
Speakers: Cathy Chapman on ECO-JUSTICE; Ian Rutherford on HOUSING; Ash Barker on POVERTY & PLACEMAKING.
Extinction and Biodiversity: Evolution, Action and Hope - Tuesday 11 June, 5.30-7pm
Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science, an ecumenical science-faith engagement project, is holding a free panel discussion at the Church of the Holy Name on Manchester Oxford Road. Hear from leading scientists and theologians. Panel:
• Bishop David Walker
• Prof Sadiah Qureshi, University of Manchester
• Prof Colin Beale, University of York
• Mick Oliver, Natural England
• Chair: Revd Prof Charlotte Sleigh, UCL
www.eclasproject.org/extinctionpanel
'Just Politics' - National Justice and Peace Network Annual Conference 19-21 July at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire.
www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/conference/
Season of Creation - 1 September to 4 October
Lancaster Faith and Justice, Saturday 12 October 'Bringing Communities Alive' with Bishop Paul Swarbrick and John Battle
Care of Creation retreat at Boarbank Hall 5 -12 October
The Northern Dioceses Environment Group will meet again in September. We also hope to soon meet up again with the Southern Dioceses Environment Network and together we are working to support the establishment of a similar group in the Midlands and Wales.
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