Food and Faith
On Wednesday, March 10, St. Michaels Church in Suttons Bay hosted Paul Stankewitz of the Michigan Catholic Rural Life Coalition (MCRLC), to speak on “Eating as a Moral Act”. His message: food is a sacrament, and people of faith undertake moral action when they buy and consume food. Paul came well prepared with a number of shocking statistics, many from his favorite food text, Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlossinger. Among them:
• An average quarter pound hamburger patty contains meat from as many as one thousand cows, from as many as four different countries.
• USA consumers now spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any other country in the world, at any time in history.
• 75% of US farm subsidies are paid to just 15% of US farmers
• 1% of our food in the US comes directly to our table (from a garden or a local farmer)
• Tiger Woods earned ten cents per box of Wheaties sold with his picture on it — the wheat farmer earned 4 cents per box.Paul also raised the issues of GM foods, patented seeds, crops and animals, and the corporate monopoly on grain and meat products in the US. He urged audience members to change their eating habits as a way to more closely align religious faith with the ethics of eating. Among his solutions:
• First, to always be thankful to God for our food
• To pressure grocery stores to carry local and organic foods
• To grow our own food
• Support local farms and farmersHis last reminder: market pressure works! Food dollars are an extremely powerful form of persuasion. More information can be found at the MCRLC website, at www.michigancatholicrurallife.org or contact:
Paul Stankewitz
Michigan Catholic Rural Life Coalition
7552 N. Luce Road
Alma, MI 48801
Phone & Fax: (989) 466-9322
Cell Phone: (989) 619-4386Other resources
Oryana Natural Food Cooperative
260 East 10th Street
Traverse City, Michigan 49684
(231) 947-0191
info@oryana.coop
www.oryana.coopFresh Food Partnership
324 Munson Avenue
Traverse City, MI 49686
www.freshfoodpartnership.orgGreater Grand Rapids Food
Systems Council
c/o West Michigan Environmental
Action Council
1514 Wealthy Street SE - Suite 280
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
PH: (616) 451-3051
FAX: (616) 451-3054
www.foodshed.net
info@foodshed.net