Sue Scott
Stories about food and hospitality abound in the Bible. Wedding feasts (Jesus changing water into wine), farmers offering feasts to workers and villagers, dinners honouring returning family members (the Prodigal son), and many more. The creation and transformation of food from seeds to preparing and eating the produce, is an ancient ritual deeply embedded in our souls. At Harvest times we relish and celebrate the fruits of our labour.
However, in the last 25 years, the nature of our food has changed. Increasingly additives such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to increase yield and antibiotics and hormones to increase growth and numbers in animals, are having harmful effects on health and well-being. We still celebrate and honour guests with food, but creation is asking us as human beings to reflect, pray, and act on the quality of our food.
St Laurence Anglican church is a progressive church with a history of practicing reflection. We have systematically followed a national call to take seriously food security locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. Over the last 18 months we have focused on food production and found in the research that some of the food we took for granted as healthy is unfortunately increasingly harmful.
In 2016-2017, we continue to focus on food literacy. Not only will we study what kind of food we ourselves are eating, but also what kind of food we are sending overseas, and what kind of policies enable or constrain healthy food sources. Canada has led the world in so many fields, and we are continually asked to think clearly about ways to feed a large population of people on earth, but at what cost? It is in our best interest to take the time to figure out what is going on with our agricultural industries, without doubt the largest contributors to health and well-being.
Last spring approximately 20 people read the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and devoted four Wednesday evenings discussing the book's findings, their impact on us and how we eat. Several questions arose from this study. Is our food safe? Is it grown or raised ethically? These are some of the questions we are exploring. We also sampled foods to see if we could tell the difference between organic food and industrially produced food. And we had some good laughs along the way.
Being food literate empowers us to make informed choices.This has led to a collaboration between the Food Security Group and Harvest Lunch Group. We looked at ways we can incorporate what we've learned into our communal meals. You'll hear more about the Harvest Lunch collaboration in the coming weeks but expect to find organic turkeys (just like Grandma's) and locally grown produce on the menu!
Upcoming Events
- September 25, Conversation after church. To start all this off, we will show a short video clip followed by group discussion. We will also update you on some of the things we have learned over the past year.
- October 2, Harvest Lunch. In the spirit of the slow food movement, we will practice Slow Eating. The purpose is to enjoy and honour the delicious dishes prepared, digest our food carefully, and appreciate those at table with us. No need to rush; plan on staying longer. There will be a short program. Watch for more details.
- Sundays October 23 and November 13, Movie Evenings. This year the Food Security Group will host four movie nights. We will watch a food documentary and follow it with a discussion. Our experience tells us some of those discussions will be pretty lively. Please put on your Fall calendars, these two Sunday nights in the Fall 6:30 at the church for Sunday Nights at the Movies. Watch for the two Winter/Spring dates in the future.
What can you do now?
One easy action you can take, as a consumer, is to go to the butcher in your grocery store and see if they carry antibiotic and hormone free meat. Go to the produce manager and ask if there are pesticide free fruits and vegetables available. How can the store acquire more healthy foods? We have learned that large food companies are listening carefully to what consumers want.
Secondly, St. Laurence has joined two major organizations (Alberta Food Matters and Food Secure Canada) who work on food security issues at the provincial and national level. By joining these groups, all parishioners are entitled to receive their regular news feeds via email. These emails will help keep you up-to-date on food issues.
You can contact Alberta Food Matters by going to: www.foodsecurityalberta.org Click on the Contact Us menu, fill out the form and ask to be added to the "list serve." Be sure to mention that you are part of the St. Laurence Food Group.
Food Secure Canada is the oldest food NGO in Canada, located in Montreal, and was instrumental in writing a People's Food Policy which is now being considered seriously by the PM and Agriculture Ministry as they seek to pass a food policy for Canada. The People's Food Policy is a document that reflects the desires and opinions of thousands of people who were consulted across the country. Alberta Food Matters presently has about 800 members and is a rich source of information on food issues. And as we have learned food issues are constantly changing, fast becoming a social justice issue.
