Goal #3: Buy Local Food

He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth. Psalm 104:14

God designed the world with provisions for us in mind. Plants that we can use as food, the water, soil and sunlight to cultivate them, and even weather seasons to provide for growth, harvest and renewal for the next year. Although all of these natural systems are so complicated that they encompass entire fields of study, really the concept for us is quite simple. God created the means, we work within his system, and we are given the privilege to partake in the goodness that comes forth.

We live in a culture that is demand-focused. We shop online and receive items on our doorstep days later - never seeing the raw materials, the laborers, the distributors, or even the delivery truck in some cases, and I think we have grown quite oblivious to the rest of the world. I am sad to say that we have done the same thing with our food. While our backs were turned, the food industry has globalized and at no fault of any one person, has become subject to our high demands and materialism.

God gave us food in our own backyards (sometimes literally), or close to it. And we wonder what God thinks when what he gives to us here and now is not quite good enough for our tastes. Instead we want ripe red strawberries in January. But it is possible to eat great tasting food from just around the block - and doing so has many benefits.

• Support farmers directly and help sustain your local economy
• Save the energy and pollution it takes to transport and refrigerate food products before they get to your local grocery store
• Enjoy foods that are fresher and minimally processed
• Get more for your money - pay for your food, not its travel costs

Buying locally is a huge challenge, and it takes a lot of work. Last year we found a website where we could look up "what's in season" for our area. We planned a meal around asparagus, only to find that the asparagus in the grocery store came from Peru. However, there are a lot of practical ways to get started in the local food movement.

• Shop at local farms and farmer's markets Find one here
• Sign up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) and receive regular deliveries of produce from your local farm. Find one here
• Join a food co-op, or just shop at one. Find one here
• Buy foods that are in-season, and preserve for use later by freezing or canning
• Grow your own food! Start a vegetable garden in your own backyard, or cooperatively with others in your community or church group
• Try new recipes designed for seasonal cooking. Subscribe for a weekly recipe

Goal #2: Eat Less Corn

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:7-10

This may seem like a strange goal. After all, corn is rich in many nutrients, including Vitamin B1 and B5, Vitamin C, folate, fiber, phosphorus, and manganese. But as we learn more about US agricultural practices, we can't help but feel a little angst about the topic of corn. After all, corn is the most heavily produced crop in this country, and the US is by far the world's top producer, but only about 10% of it makes its way into our food supply. And most likely by the time it gets there, it's not in its original nutrient-rich form. Of the 10%, about half of this becomes high fructose corn syrup, and the rest is mainly used to make alcohol, starches, sweeteners, and cereal products. So where else does corn go? Well, around 57% goes directly to animal feed (for more on this read Goal #1: Eat Less Meat), and 20% is used for ethanol.

With so much corn, you'd think that the United States must have really hit the jackpot with how to grow so much, so cheap. There has to be a good reason that we produce so much of this crop right? This is what we find so confusing.

• Corn is not exactly a profitable crop. Farmers need a subsidy if they even expect to break even on the cost of growing and harvesting corn. In other words, our taxes pay largely for our massive stores of corn.
• Corn is highly dependent on fossil fuels - corn is not really a "renewable" resource. In order to grow corn at the current massive yields per acre, corn requires large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides (both produced using fossil fuels).
• Corn is not environmentally friendly - harmful pesticides, runoff of nitrates into soil /water supplies, massive soil erosion and deforestation to name a few.

Most people would be surprised to find out that most of the corn that lines the plains of this nation is not actually edible as you would imagine. It is a "commodity crop" genetically modified so that it is easy to use as animal feed and easy to be processed into derivatives such as corn syrup and preservatives - specifically designed to be high in carbohydrates (from which we make sugar) and low in fiber and nutrients, which are discarded in processing. Soy is much of the same story.

A man reaps what he sows. We sow seeds that are largely useless as food, and we reap crops that are useless as food. As our hungry neighbors starve, we use most of our agricultural land to fuel our meat-heavy fast food diets, our 10-minute one box dinners, our soda and alcohol addictions. These problems are not exactly solved easily, but we'll do our small (and healthier) part by limiting the amount of food dollars we use to participate in such a system.

We'll still be eating good old-fashioned corn - organic and local if we can help it!

Goal #1: Eat Less Meat

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. Romans 14:20-21

In this verse, the apostle Paul is talking about eating food that doesn't comply with others' religious standards, such as eating non-kosher food. This passage of scripture urges us to not eat in such a way that would cause someone else to stumble in their faith. But we had to ask ourselves - are there other ways in which our eating causes others to stumble? And perhaps this is not limited to a spiritual stumbling, as we often interpret it, but a physical stumbling as well. Can what we eat really cause physical harm to another human being?

The UN World Food Council estimated that using only 10-15% of the amount of grain fed to livestock, we could raise food levels enough to feed the world's hungry. Just take a moment to let that one sink in. Now consider that eating meat is one of the most inefficient ways to gain nutrients from the earth. It takes 10 lbs of grain to get just 1 lb of beef. For pork, the ratio is about 5:1, for poultry 2:1. The inefficiencies aren't just in the grain use, either. They are in water and land use too. Meats have the lowest yield of protein per acre, a whopping 45 lbs/acre compared to 356 lbs/acre for soybeans, 261 lbs/acre for rice, and 211 lbs/acre for corn. In terms of water use, beef is the worst, taking 1200 gallons of water to produce 1 lb. Comparatively, it takes 170 gallons for 1 lb of corn.*

Perhaps reducing the amount of meat we currently eat in America (200lbs/person annually in 2008!!! )** won't automatically feed the world, but most organizations and advocates believe that this is a crucial step in creating a sustainable way for us humans to produce the food we need to survive, without depleting natural resources in the process. It appears to us that we could certainly be harming our hungry neighbors by continuing to eat this way. So our first goal is to eat less meat, make more vegetarian meals, and buy organic and grass-fed meats whenever possible.

*Compassion in World Farming Trust. The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat. 2004.
**United States Department of Agriculture. 2008 Agricultural Statistics Annual. 2008.