Eating is a moral act: NCRLC campaign

EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Ten, Number Six
September/October 2001

EATING IS A MORAL ACT

NATIONAL CATHOLIC CAMPAIGNS FOCUS ON FOOD AND FARMERS

By Timothy J. Kautza

Eating is a moral act. That is the name of a national campaign, directed at all of us, by the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC) to stimulate thinking about justice in the production of food, and for people who produce it.

Through a series of graphically compelling Eating is a Moral Act ads in national magazines, local workshops, and a set of educational cards, the campaign calls us to take note of the hard work of farming, the dangerous work of fishing, and the tedious work of processing food.

"The campaign challenges eaters to decide if they want the food they eat to be part of a sustainable food system that contributes to the well being of future generations, to a healthy environment, to a local community. Or, if they would prefer their food to continue to come from a system that depopulates the countryside and demeans farmers, farm workers, food process workers, corporate executives and their families," says Brother David Andrews, CSC, Executive Director of NCRLC.

The Green Ribbon — A Symbol of Hope

NCRLC expresses solidarity with farmers through its Green Ribbon Campaign. "We invite people in all walks of life to wear a green ribbon to show they care," says Andrews. Green Ribbon Principles are: sustainable agriculture, respect for the environment, and safe production of quality dairy products capable of providing a just living for participating local farmers and their families.

Parishioners in the Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, wore green ribbons at the annual Soil and Seeds mass March 11 while the diocesan newspaper ran a story revealing problems with the current food system and causes for the decline in family farms.

Bishop Robert Carlson of the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced the beginning of a statewide Green Ribbon agricultural awareness campaign June 4. At that time, 19 other faith groups, television and radio stations, and elected officials had officially signed on as partners in the campaign.

St. Peter's Catholic Church in Tilden, Wisconsin, is working to reopen the old Tilden Creamery, closed over 20 years, as The Green Ribbon Creamery.

Five hundred people wore green ribbons at the Legislative Event for Advocacy in Faith in Topeka, Kansas.