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!

Hunger in Haiti

The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same. Luke 3:11

Haiti is one of the most hungry nations in the world today. Undernutrition occurs in over 30% of children and more than 2.4 million people in Haiti are considered to be food-insecure.*

Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute develops a Global Hunger Index for each country that considers the percentage of people who are undernourished, the percentage of children underweight, and the mortality rate of children under the age of five. Using this index, in 2009 Haiti ranked 9th among the world's most hungry nations, termed by the IFPR as "alarming." This country is without a doubt considered the most hungry in the Americas.** Haiti is also considered a "food deficit" country, requiring about half of their food to be imported due to its inability to self-sustain.*

This was all before the earthquake.

After the earthquake, it was estimated that an additional 2 million people would need immediate food assistance.* This number does not include the more lasting effects of the earthquake, including loss of trade and agriculture infrastructures.

Haiti has been in the news a lot lately, and many organizations continue to offer much needed support to this devastated area. Whether you have already given to this cause or have yet to do so, we encourage you to offer support in whatever way possible. Some organizations are offering strictly food support, such as the World Food Programme of the UN.

* World Food Programme: Haiti
** International Food Policy Research Group - 2009 Global Hunger Index

Where's the Beef?

We have been doing pretty well so far at reducing our meat intake, so we thought we'd share our first experience!

This past week we put our first goal into practice using some organic ground beef. 1 lb of meat cost us around $5-6. We made 40 meatballs from this adding bread crumbs, rice, onion, and green/red pepper, we froze them and that provided us enough meat for 10 meals (2 meatballs each). This costs less than $1 per meal to add meatballs, and we each eat only about 0.8oz of meat per meal.

Examples of meals we have tried so far:
- Meatballs with sautéed green/red peppers and broccoli, served in a light gravy over rice
- Spaghetti and meatballs in tomato sauce (a favorite)
- Meatballs in fried rice, with peas, broccoli, and carrots
- Meatballs sautéed with cabbage, onion, and green pepper, served in tomato sauce over rice (my quick version of Polish Golabki)

Yummm!

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.

In Due Season

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. Psalm 145:15

Not many people stop to think about the origin of their food. But scripture teaches us over and over again that our daily provisions are provided by God alone. God created a world that by nature provides food - the rain falls, plants grow and bear fruit, animals feed, fertilize, and we labor.

Lately, we have begun to ponder this creative design, and how much our modern culture has deviated from it. And after much prayer and searching, God has led us to take action in our family's eating choices. So here begins our journey to follow God through eating more sustainably day by day - choosing locally grown and organic foods whenever possible.

So why do we think this is so important? We thought that we'd begin with some of the basic ideas that led us down this path.

• We care about people. Modern agriculture and farming in the U.S. and other modern countries creates a system that negatively impacts world hunger and food shortages
• We care about the earth. The way we grow and raise our food today harms the environment, depletes natural resources, and does not work within God's created system of sustainability
• We care about how we live. Many of our food sources are produced using methods of questionable integrity - forcing human design on plant and animal life without concern for God's design

Check back often to read about our experiences through this journey of faith and obedience.