Thursday, February 21, 2008

Food ethics

Over the past year or so I've been learning a lot about the various environmental, health, economic, and moral implications of the American food system. Some of this has come through my relationship with a thoughtful and compassionate vegan, some through growing public awareness and some through my previous ministry with a faith-based volunteer/intentional community program.

This Lent I've signed up for "Living Earth," daily emails from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America that address issues relating to the environment and stewardship of creation. The links included for further learning, reflection, and action include an article about the environmental impact of food traveling long distances between production and consumption, and an excellent blog about "factoids" from the author's research into "the converging issues surrounding agriculture, food, nutrition, health, education, economic development, and climate change."

The issues are complex and deeply intertwined. I have lots of thoughts (and questions) that I don't have time to share just at the moment, but I would welcome conversation... What does it mean to eat ethically?

2 comments:

Zwieblein said...

Hey, hey, food ethics is one of the things that won't allow me to keep my mouth shut-- let's converse.

Amy Sens said...

Um, generally impossible to do perfectly, but still worth trying for. Location? Organic? = main questions, as far as I know.