Climate Change, Poverty, Immigration, Solidarity and Hope

Last week I attended a mass at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.  It was a Filipino / English mass, attended mostly by Filipinos and from the looks of it only a few non-Filipinos were there in solidarity. They conducted a beautiful ritual in remembrance of the lives lost through the tragedy.

There is so much devastation from the typhoon. More than a million houses have been obliterated and destroyed; 5,560 people have perished and 1,757 more are missing. At least 14 million people have been affected, including 1.8 million displaced children.  Many Filipino islands have disappeared off the map.

It's bad enough the storm hit the country and affected residents so deeply. It has destroyed so many lives and livelihoods and will take years for the country to recover.  But the tragedy is that this has not been an isolated incident. Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and so many other disasters in recent history are signs of climate change deeply impacting the world. Natural disasters such as this have been occurring more and more frequently.  And they have been unjustly impacting people in poverty - regardless of the country or city impacted, those in poverty are always the ones who suffer the greatest when disaster strikes. As Onleilove Alston points out in this Sojourners article, "climate change is a poverty issue, a race issue, and an immigration issue."  To not recognize this is to not recognize the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of establishing a right relationship with all of creation.

While the U.S. and other industrialized countries are the most to blame for greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, it's also U.S. policies that are threatening the livelihoods of peasants and poor people worldwide. Disruptions to the ecosystem, corporate land grabs, and dumping of U.S. crops as "food aid" are all factors leading farmers to necessitate abandoning their ways of life.

And then it's again U.S. policies that are challenging people's ability to immigrate to the U.S.. This is depicted clearly in the film The Other Side of Immigration:



We are so close right now to reforming immigration policies, but a bill that would do just this is stalled in Congress. "Every day the House leadership stalls on a vote for immigration reform, families and communities suffer the impact of deportations, deaths on the border, exploitation at work and the fear of living in the shadows with no path to citizenship."  While the U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration bill (S.744) in June, the House has still not brought the issue to the floor for a vote. There have been people fasting for comprehensive immigration reform since November 12th in the hopes of moving the hearts of House Republicans to vote on this one issue that is affecting 11 million aspiring Americans. These people are showing the strength and determination of the human spirit in immensely humbling ways. Even over Thanksgiving have there been people in the tent fasting while others feast, some sharing their reflections with us including Rhett Engelking from the Franciscan Action Network ("Fasting on Thanksgiving for Immigration Reform") and Lisa Sharon Harper from Sojourners ("Fast for Families: Day 18").



Let's pray and fast in solidarity that the House does not delay this vote on immigration reform any longer. Consider joining Franciscans worldwide in a water-only fast on December 3rd.  And then, let's work for climate justice to prevent the root causes of so much worldwide devastation so that people can live peacefully and productively in harmony with creation. Together we must stand in solidarity and take action for our brothers and sisters who suffer unnecessarily from unjust policies at the hand of our government.  The human spirit is strong, but think about how much more beautiful it is when we work together as one unified body.

Creation Care and Public Health - Same thing, different terms?

Over 200 scientists identifying as evangelical Christians signed a letter that was released today calling on Congress to pass meaningful legislation to address climate change. This is remarkable evidence that science and religion should be seen as complementary. As Dr. John Roe and others have pointed out, "many see science itself as an integral part of God's plan for the world." The evangelical climate change letter is part of Sojourners' creation care campaign, which calls on our moral obligation to care for God's creation.

I've been thinking more and more about the term "creation care" since I attended the National Mobilizing Circle training at Sojourners last summer where we had invigorating discussions about climate change and environmental justice. More recently, I've started thinking about creation care from a Franciscan perspective. Through the eyes of St. Francis of Assisi, the divine is found in all of creation, and we all exist in interdependence with the rest of creation.  Using this rationale, human beings not above or below the other parts of creation - the land, the oceans, the plants, and the animals.  And as Lisa Sharon Harper has pointed out, the Hebrew words of Genesis 1 tell us that it is the ties between things that are "forcefully good." If we live in right relationship with the rest of creation, there is justice and peace in the world.  But when we don't live in right relationship with the world, injustices abound, and the health of people and the earth suffers.

If you're not yet completely sold on the idea of our absolute interdependence with the rest of creation, perhaps some discussion would help.  Through the leadership of 200 evangelical scientists, we've established the scientific underpinnings of climate change are real and this constitutes a moral imperative to care for creation.  And the industrial food system is intricately connected with climate change, as I've demonstrated here.  The industrial food system is also connected to such injustices as hunger and health issues, with a billion hungry and a billion overweight people in the world.  Most of these people suffer because they can't afford healthy food to nourish their bodies.  This results from economic injustices such as a failure to pay workers living wages which would allow them to afford the food they need to live a healthy lifestyle. Plus, many of the world's hungry are actually the farmers who grow our food; because of corrupt governments and corporate agreements, land is pulled out from under people all the time through land grabs, thereby exacerbating food security issues. And when people can't afford food and don't have access to the land and water needed to grow food, turmoil and war often results, leading to more unnecessary casualties.  On the flipside, people who only have access to nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods tend to develop diet-related diseases which wind up costing us billions of dollars in healthcare - unnecessary costs which drain our wallets and exhaust our economy.

So when it comes down to it, when we don't care for the earth and each other and nourish ourselves with the exquisite bounty that our Creator has provided for us, we destroy our health and the earth's health, and it leads to a mess of social injustices which exacerbate the health issues.  But when we learn to see ourselves as part of creation that needs to be cared for and create the conditions and supportive environments in which people can lead healthy lives, we can impact the social determinants of health and improve the health of all of creation.

Food justice in 2012

It's been an busy, exciting past couple of months in the world of nutrition, food justice, and food system advocacy. The Hunger & Environmental Nutrition (HEN) Dietetic Practice Group of the newly re-named Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) finalized a new set of Corporate Sponsorship Guidelines to guide the sponsorship activities not only of HEN, but also to serve as an example of what many Academy members, Registered Dietitians, and other nutritionists would like to see as the guidelines adopted by the Academy at large.

The Environmental Working Group launched the "Good Food on a Tight Budget" shopping guide, and HEN held a webinar to give an overview.  (Info from this webinar, as well as other HEN webinars on GMOs and "Healthy Institutions: Strategies for Farm to Tray," are on the HEN website).

The HEN delegation at the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics 2012 FNCE conference held in Philadelphia, organized several exciting events, including a Spotlight session entitled "Systems Approach to Ending Hunger: Exposing the Origin, Uncovering Solutions," which included a talk by Dr. Hans Herren, co-chair of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) study, the world's premiere study of agriculture in relation to hunger, poverty, nutrition, human health, and environmental and social sustainability (here's a similar talk to the one he gave at FNCE).

In honor of CSPI's second annual Food Day, Anna Lappe launched "Food Mythbusters" ("Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?"):

Oxfam continued spreading awareness about its GROW Food Justice Campaign "to build a better food system: one that sustainably feeds a growing population (estimated to reach nine billion by 2050) and empowers poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive." To do this, they launched this video (also embedded below), launched the Future of Agriculture video and had an online discussion, and spearheaded the consumer-friendly "GROW Method" of eating in such a way that promotes environmental sustainability, supports small-scale farmers, reduces hunger and food waste, and promotes health. They even launched a Facebook app and have tons of GROW Method-friendly recipes on Pinterest.  Here's a nice infographic from Oxfam about what's wrong with our food system.

Another great video, along the same lines of describing the global food crisis & how to fix it, is "Feeding Nine Billion":

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy shared their Draft Principles of Food Justice, created after the Food + Justice = Democracy conference in September.

Ellen Gustafson and Danielle Nierenberg are launching "Food Tank: The Food Think Tank" in early 2013, which with their combined experience in navigating the food system should be an exciting initiative. Here's an article by Danielle in the Huffington Post, "13 Resolutions to Change the Food System in 2013."

Christina Schiavoni, food sovereignty advocate and moderator of Oxfam Action Corps NYC's International Women's Day event in March, moved on from her position at WHY Hunger to focus more intensively on food sovereignty from abroad, but not before imparting the wisdom about the film "Growing Change" about food sovereignty in Venezuela, which I am hoping we can organize a screening of in the coming year.

When Hurricane Sandy hit, Occupy Faith NYC made the connections between those hardest hit in Rockaway and Cuba:  climate change inevitably has a greater impact on the poor.

Locally:  The NYC Nutrition Education Network held a "Sustainability in the Food System" event in March (here's a resource list from the event).  Bronx Health REACH held a Bronx School Health & Wellness Conference in May, and published a newsletter documenting this and much of our other nutrition and fitness work.  The "Just in the Bronx: Our Voice, Our Choice" Summit was in September, where Professor Mark Naison from Fordham University gave the keynote address (which you can read on the Bronx Health REACH blog).  At the Summit, there was a Call to Action for both community members and elected officials, in regards to how we can improve the health of the Bronx.  Bronx Health REACH also became the borough-lead for the Community Transformation Grant in NYC - focused on improving healthy eating, active living, and reducing alcohol and tobacco - which is being overseen by the Partnership for a Healthier NYC.

I learned about the Ironwill Foundation, a great organization that does nutrition education classes for parents at the Mercy Center in the Bronx, and numerous middle schools throughout NYC and Newark, NJ with the Ironwill Kids PowerUp! curriculum. (video!).  I also got to see the premiere of the film "Soul Food Junkies" at Lincoln Center, which will be broadcast nationally on PBS on January 14, 2013 at 10pm.

Since seeing the film Forks Over Knives over a year ago (which does a good job promoting a plant-based diet), I heard some critiques about its subjectivity and even had doubts about a few things myself. Then I read some of this critique of The China Study, which delves deep into the scientific literature and should keep any scientist, doctor, or dietitian busy for a while.  Suffice it to say, I still believe the Oxfam GROW Method is the ideal way to eat to support health and environmental sustainability.

If you learn nothing else from reading this post, you should know that the food system is broken.  There are many contributing factors to this, but a considerable portion can be traced back to the actions of a few multinational food conglomerates and governments which support these corporations.  This happened with NAFTA, which favors the US in trade agreements and basically dumps overly subsidized grain products onto other countries, driving the price of these commodities down so low that many farmers in the developing countries receiving the grains can't make a living farming anymore, thereby becoming economic refugees, fleeing to the US (how ironic) as immigrants, trying to make a new life for themselves. This is what The Other Side of Immigration looks like and is the irony of the Harvest of Empire.  The impact of corporations and their ability to undermine communities (and even governments) has the potential to become exponentially worse if we don't pay attention to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new free trade agreement that has been questioned — if not outright opposed — by environmental, consumer, indigenous, family  farm, labor and other social justice groups on four continents.  We must plead that governments don't blindly sign on to this, especially without the text being made public.

As food justice advocates, we can spread the messages about the food system and those working to change it for the better (documented here and on the Food for Thought and Action Facebook page!).  We can choose food that's healthier and better for the environment, abiding by Oxfam's GROW Method. We can teach kids about nutrition, growing food, and environmental sustainability - which Leave It Better does quite well. We can demand that companies uphold the principles of promoting health and sustainability, as outlined in HEN's Guidelines. We can also organize together with faith communities, such as the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies Jeremiah Leadership Council / NY Faith & Justice's Food Justice Working Group in NYC, to make changes personally and organizationally, and advocate for changes to the food system at large.  (twitter: @foodfaithhealth)

It would not be possible to make this post completely comprehensive of all the great work of food justice advocates or even all of the initiatives I've learned about this year, but hopefully this provides you with some good food for thought and action :)  And just for kicks, here's some more good info not mentioned above.  Happy 2013!

• Melinda Hemmelgarn's Food Sleuth Radio podcasts 
• Fracking: 
• "What You Need to Know about Natural Gas Production" video by Theo Colburn, PhD 
• Fracking and the Food System (Food & Water Watch)  
• New Yorkers Against Fracking 
• Trans-Pacific Partnership
• http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/trade-policies/tpp-potential-trade-policy-problems/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiIaPhvHa-w 
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-fletcher/leak-cracks-open-transpac_b_1594675.html
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/trans-pacific-partnership-agreement_b_1871710.html
• 350.org - "Do the Math"

Faith-Rooted Organizing with Sojourners

I first came to know about Sojourners because of NY Faith & Justice. NY Faith & Justice (which worked with Bronx Health REACH back in 2010-2011) was born out of an inspiring conversation that Lisa Sharon Harper, Rev. Dr. Peter Heltzel, and others had during a Sojourners conference, after a deep faith-rooted visit in Congressman Rangel’s office in Washington, D.C. back in 2006.  NY Faith & Justice was formed to unite the church & speak out for social justice in NYC.  Other Faith & Justice networks were formed in other cities, such as Boston, Ohio, and Portland.  The faith leaders who formed these justice networks all remained connected to Sojourners.  They have also formed partnerships with many other organizations such as college campus groups like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and national associations of various Christian groups. One notable partnership has been with CLUE (Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice) in Los Angeles, CA.  CLUE, and Alexia Salvatierra in particular, has developed a model of organizing and working with elected officials that is rooted in the core of our faith called Faith-Rooted Organizing.  CLUE staff travels around the country and the world conducting these trainings that leave participants feeling empowered and hopeful. 

In spring 2011, NY Faith & Justice organized one of these faith-rooted organizing trainings in NYC at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan.  This was a one-day training where faith leaders from all over NYC were able to attend and learn the nuts and bolts of faith-rooted organizing.  Then, in fall 2011, NYFJ organized another faith-rooted organizing training, this time at Walker Memorial Baptist Church in the Bronx, which was an entire weekend-long training, including Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday afternoon, culminating in an “action” on Monday morning.  Since then, Lisa Sharon Harper has left NY Faith & Justice to work full-time for Sojourners in Washington, D.C., as the Director of Mobilizing.  Now, in summer 2012, I recently had the opportunity to attend a faith-rooted organizing training at the Sojourners national office – the “Organize2Mobilize” training. 

For those of us who have no formal community organizing training, the faith-rooted model is quite refreshing.  As a group, we define faith-rooted organizing and how it differs from secular organizing.  We answer questions such as, What are the ways that faith can contribute to the larger movement for justice in our world? and, What are the gifts of faith that we can bring to the table?  Through scripture study, analysis and reflection of stories of others in the Bible who organized and spoke prophetically about justice, we learn how to apply those same approaches to the social realities we experience today.  We learn to identify our own faith-rooted motivation, to tap into the power of faith and story-telling that is abundant in marginalized communities; to minister to people with power and to see recruitment through God’s eyes. But first we learn to identify the core “lie” that society is blindly feeding us about a particular issue, the Biblical antidote to the lie, and the clearest manifestation of the lie. 

While these ideas have been codified by Alexia Salvatierra, Lisa Sharon Harper and their colleagues at CLUE and Sojourners, they are not new. They’ve been around for years… and have been the method by which some of history’s most renowned justice seekers have approached their work.  Gandhi saw an injustice in his country as the British colonialists outlawed cloth spinning so they could take the techniques they learned in India back to Britain, and sell it back to India at an inflated price.  Taking this skill and trade away from the natives was the clearest manifestation of the “lie” (that colonization was “good”).  Gandhi took the nonviolent resistance approach (a Biblical antidote, as we see in Jesus’ teaching to “turn the other cheek” or “walk the extra mile” (Matthew 5:38-41)) and told people to spin their own cloth, despite what the English said to do.

In a similar way we see Rosa Parks’ effort as a faith-rooted approach.  The lie, that it was okay to segregate people of color, was most clearly manifested in segregation on the bus, because blacks were only allowed to sit in the back of the bus.  The spiritual antidote is that all people are created equal.  Hers was also one of nonviolent resistance.  

The Occupy movement clearly identified the lie that accumulation of wealth does no harm, pointing out that corporations are (and should not be) treated as people, and that the public sphere is owned by private corporations.

Antonio Torres from Bronx Health REACH and Christ the King Catholic Church pointed out the core lie that the church is believing today, that it’s not the place of the pastor to cross the line into discussing social issues. Another similarly connected lie is that money is the only force that can create substantive policy change, while the spiritual truth is that people power can be an effective counterweight to money’s loud voice. 

During this particular training I found the outlining of the Thresholds of Recruitment to be one of the most thought-provoking and useful exercises to go through.  Lisa started off this session by telling her own narration of some of the key turning points in her life which brought her to Christ.  But politicians are people too, and we can be part of their journey of transformation by using the moral authority that our faith provides us, to help expand their ideas of what it means to have courage to give a preferential option for the poor. In the best cases this will not just influence the way the politicians vote on bills, but also the way they talk to other legislators. People of faith have the power to move legislators to speak prophetically about the importance of treating all people with equality. By returning to the Commandment to treat your neighbor as yourself, to be your brother’s keeper – we can remind legislators what it means to make sure that we take care of kids even if they are not our own.  To take care of people living in areas that might be disproportionately affected by a potential new industrial site that emits excessive pollution; that are disproportionately affected by climate disruption (the US has 4% of the world’s people but emits 25% of the world’s greenhouse gases); or that cannot properly benefit from programs that were set up to supposedly help lift people out of poverty, because of unaddressed barriers and red tape keeping people from utilizing these resources most effectively.  To make sure that our agricultural policies are not set up in such a way that undermines the economies of other countries, destroys the naturally renewable resources God has provided for us, and promotes diet-related diseases disproportionately among the poor because subsidies make unhealthy products much more affordable than healthy foods.  If we can get Congressmen/women and other legislators to see the human and on-the-ground realities of what their policies look like in communities, this will bring them closer to understanding specifically what they need to advocate for when they are developing and voting on policies.

During the training we heard from several cutting edge social justice thinkers of this country, one of which was Tom Perriello, former US Congressman from Virginia, who advocates use of moral authority and believes in people-powered politics (he didn’t take lobby money as a Congressman).  He’s worked on and taught justice-based security strategies, and has helped lead a resurgence of moderate and progressive faith leaders advocating on issues of poverty, economic fairness, tolerance, and environmental stewardship. He helped launch Faith in Public Life, FaithfulAmerica.org, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, and Catholics United.  Perriello currently serves as the President and CEO of the Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund and Counselor for Policy at CAP.  CAP is a nonpartisan political think tank and advocacy organization that works to raise the level of policy debates through commonsense communication, such as its coverage of the Nuns on the Bus Tour and criticism of the Ryan budget.

Perriello’s words of wisdom for working with legislators include helping them realize what will be good for people while also making the legislators look good; using facts and moral authority; and asking legislators why they came into public office.

We also heard from Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, President of the Skinner Leadership Institute who has served as the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as many other boards, including the Christian Community Development Association.  Dr. Williams-Skinner is an advocate of going in to visit elected officials with prayer, as the spirit of compassion helps to humanize the legislators one is addressing.  She suggests adopting Jesus’ indignation about how poor/low-income people are being treated, and speaking with a posture of “I don’t agree with your position, but help me to understand it.”  Many times legislators want the best for their constituents but often times their facts are missing or wrong.  We can work to correct this misinformation by telling our own stories and providing factual information.

Sharing a panel discussion with Dr. Williams-Skinner was Larisa Friesen Hall, Director of Major Gifts at Sojourners.  Larisa stressed the importance of identifying what posture we address people with – we should try to understand where the rich politicians are coming from (75% of people in Congress are millionaires) such as by watching Fox.  We must emphasize that budgets are moral documents and that it’s righteous to be concerned about people.  While there is a lot of dirty money in Congress, the act of redemption is possible, if politicians decide to take money from something bad and turn it into something good.  Resources she suggested to look into further include Bolder Giving and The Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen. 

Tim King, Chief Communications Officer for Sojourners, and Eric Sapp from the Eleison Group led a session on “Messaging to Move Legislators.”  The Eleison Group leads educational campaigns to align what’s right with what works politically and economically, and empowers progressive activists to connect authentically with the faith and values of vet voters.  They’re proponents of approaching faith in the public square from a place of humility. The Eleison Group specializes in media messaging – targeting messaging for specific audiences (not the “general public”), getting to the root of what people’s values are. For example, in Texas, anti-corruption is the message, not anti-corporation.  At the end of the day there are ways to reach the same policy goals, but just using different messaging tactics.  

Sapp advocates for making sure values are integrated into our messaging, and that people can answer the question, Why do you believe what you believe?  People make decisions with their hearts, not with their heads.  He noted Obama’s moving campaign speech in 2007 (which spoke to people’s hearts) when he was a Senator vs. his transactional, verbiage-heavy approach used when he became President (which spoke to people’s heads).  While the “what” of policy can be complicated, the “why” (message) should be simple.  Messages should be communicated in terms of right and wrong, keeping the end goal (telos) in mind. When communicating with legislators, we need to stay humble and honest, and keep our messaging memorable and simple.  It was suggested that environmental advocates reframe the message being used in advocacy, because the current messaging isn’t working.  Some politicians will shut us out if we mention the words “climate change” (which raises disputes about scientific validity) whereas “creation care” hits at the same issue but touches on the moral imperative to be stewards of the Earth.  Our messaging should also include a way to make the leader look good.  It’s important to point out that the poor pay the greatest price for our actions relating to the environment; however, what will appeal to many electeds is to let them know that America is losing out on an economic future (as China takes over the solar panel industry, for example).*

Tim King added that public figures that make public statements should be held publicly accountable.  We should critique people we often agree with to keep pushing them forward.  (“People are too nice to Obama.”)  As Tim says, it would be nice if Obama gave a heartfelt faith-based account for the poor. 

We also had the honor of hearing Jim Wallis (founder of Sojourners) speak.  He spoke about the power that the faith community can hold in Washington, D.C., and gave the example of Sojourners’ role in organizing evangelicals which ultimately led to a change in immigration policy.  At the end of his captivating speech, he said that the difference between events and movements is sacrifice and asks, “Where is your moral courage?” 

Beau Underwood, Campaigns Manager at Sojourners, provided some tips on planning our Capitol Hill visits which would occur the next day.  A few pointers which are useful for any visit with an elected official:  time is limited, so be sure to control the agenda; make a clear ask; and determine follow-up.  In the actual meeting, be sure to introduce yourself & explain why you’re there, have a storyteller speak who can offer a reflection (ideally from personal experience), and lay out the issues and share your faith-informed perspective.  In accordance with the National Mobilizing Circle, we were to ask Congress not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.  Supporting data is valuable and should be presented, but people of faith are not expected to be policy wonks – the strength of people of faith lies in our ability to make moral arguments.  But as for the supporting data: according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, extending tax cuts for those who make between $250,000 and $1 million would cost the US $366 billion over ten years, making programs (i.e. relating to health, environment, social services, foreign aid & other programs for the poor etc) very vulnerable to cuts.  

Wendy Tarr from Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice in L.A. provided some additional tips for faith-rooted advocacy.  It’s important when speaking to our political representatives that we foster relationships with them. Relationships can open doors, change minds, and ensure our voice is heard.  After the visit, note what the member/staff said and any commitments made. Develop a plan for following up and providing any additional information requested by the office.

One tenant of faith-rooted advocacy is using religious symbols in delegations.  The one we used with Senator Gillibrand’s and Schumer’s offices was that of milk and honey (making a just decision) vs. bitter herbs (making a decision which perpetuates injustice).  (While the food analogy from the Old Testament is nice, I took it a step further by saying that policies which promote cheap, unhealthy food in the American diet is more like feeding poor people a bag of Doritos instead of a piece of fruit.) 

Now what?

Organize2Mobilize was a very informative and spiritually nourishing training, and this post only begins to reveal the valuable components of faith-rooted organizing.  Here are a couple of ways to get more involved:

Sojourners will be coming out with a new film in October: October 2^nd will be the livestream premiere of the film “Poverty in America,” which highlights stories of people in poverty across the country.  They suggest using this film as an organizing tool, because nothing is more powerful than stories, and there is no easier way to tell stories than through film.  (Janee Woods Weber from Everyday Democracy added that EvDem has study guides on poverty that could complement the film screening nicely).

Sojourners also seeks for faith leaders and organizations to join their National Mobilizing Circle which calls out the budget as a moral document and implores legislators to treat it as such.  

Another way of recruiting legislators into a relationship and guiding them into becoming champions for justice is to start with inviting them to “Come and See” what’s happening in your own community.  Tell them, “before you vote to cut funds, come and see what exactly you would be cutting.” 

Soon, there will be a faith-rooted organizing training in NYC at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies for organizing around local policy issues.  More details to come! 

--------------    

Additional suggested resources include:

(from Eric Sapp): http://mediamattersaction.org/message/, as well as A Guide to Scripture and the Budget and Ayn Rand & the GOP vs. Jesus from the American Values Network

 (from Alycia Ashburn): The World Without Us and Oxfam- Ending Poverty Need Not be at the Expense of the Environment  

*In delving a bit further into messaging for Creation Care with Alycia Ashburn, we concluded that it’s important to talk about creation care in the context of its interconnectedness with other issues: i.e. climate justice is hunger justice.  When people do not have basic necessities such as clean water, wars and spread of infection ensue.  Therefore, environmental issues are linked to national security and are a threat multiplier. In addition, war is costly, and Republicans care about saving money: former Navy Brigadier General Steve Anderson saved the Navy $1 billion by insulating tents.  Another costly budget item is healthcare: we can argue for reducing healthcare costs by investing in clean air, clean water, and healthy food as preventive measures. But whatever we do we must not pit social justice issues against each other!  Many Democrats are guilty of this.  The Department of Defense has plenty of money that can be reallocated to programs which will help protect the poor and the environment.

Diet for a Small Planet: Lessons for the Long Haul

Last September, I attended the 40th anniversary celebration of Frances Moore Lappé's book "Diet for a Small Planet" in New York City, entitled "Feeding Hope, Living Democracy."  At this event I heard Frances say that "hunger is not caused by a scarcity of food, but a scarcity of democracy" - a quote which truly intrigued me.  (How ironic that the event was held only five days after the start of Occupy Wall Street!)  
While my reading list is always umpteen books long, I figured Diet for a Small Planet should be pretty high on my priority list.  I'd already read her daughter Anna's book, "Diet for a Hot Planet", and have a lot of respect for them both as women in the food movement who also support Oxfam America and HEN.  Today I finished reading Book 1 of "Diet for a Small Planet," and I will say it definitely lived up to its reputation. What I could not believe is how everything Frances wrote about 20, 40 years ago (1971 edition updated in 1991) is still just as relevant today as ever.  We still have the same issues with our food system, but the stories of struggles and successes in overcoming food injustices all over the world are just as inspiring as ever.
Working to change the food system is a daunting task, because the roots of the issue are so multifaceted and cannot be solved with one solution.  It's easy to get overwhelmed and not know what to do first, as happens over and over again in my life in NYC.  But Frances gives some words of encouragement, from the lives of some people whose names still ring a bell 30 years later.  From the life of Harry Chapin, co-founder of World Hunger Year (now WhyHunger) and namesake of the Harry Chapin Media Awards which were created to encourage the media to "tell the story of hunger and poverty," Frances tells us to use what we have.  Well, I have the experiences of life and the books I've read and films I've seen, and this blog, so can write about what I know.  Meanwhile, Oxfam America has relationships with many famous music groups across the country who can continue in the vein of Harry Chapin and encourage musicians to speak out against hunger and poverty.
Frances next talks about how Joan Gussow - the matriarch of the "eat-locally-think-globally food movement," source of inspiration for Michael Pollan, and professor emerita at Teachers College, Columbia University - believes that her decision to study nutrition was probably the "first real decision in her whole life."  She struggled past the dull image of nutrition to learn the science of how food works in the body, and as a result has earned the respect of people interested in bridging the gap between studying food from a scientific perspective and learning about where food comes from... the ground.  I picked up a copy of her book "Growing, Older" when at the NY Botanical Gardens last year and look forward to reading it someday.
Frances tells the story of Michael Jacobson from Center for Science in the Public Interest, a highly respectable organization which has gained a lot of publicity within the last year since CSPI re-launched the annual Food Day initiative on October 24, 2011. Mike Jacobson started off studying biochemistry, and wanted to do something to touch more immediate social problems than could be solved in a chemistry laboratory, so he started looking into the hazards of food additives as an intern with Ralph Nader.  (Fortunately for us, the research into food additives that Mr. Jacobson started in the 1970's has evolved into a food additive safety database available online and on phone apps, called Chemical Cuisine.)
It was also interesting to read about a Nestlé infant-formula boycott at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and to think about how the ICCR could become more engaged around food justice issues in the future (perhaps through the food justice work that NY Faith & Justice has started? hmm....).
Frances Moore Lappé gives us some other tips in the chapter "Lessons for the Long Haul" that are of note.  These include:

• working with others - finding a core group who can push you further than when trying to work on the issue alone
• using the direct experience of oppression - whether placed in a situation involuntarily or voluntarily
• remaining critical of oneself and one's organization - such as Larry Simon's experience with working with Oxfam America, when "he concluded that Oxfam should not work in certain countries where government repression is so strong that it precludes the existence of any organization working for redistribution of power, the only kind of organization which Oxfam wants to support" 
• hard work and balance - hard work and self-discipline are important, and balance important so as to prevent burnout; but some of us have recognized that working for social change is incredibly rewarding, makes life interesting, and gives us the opportunity to work with people who are equally inspiring and passionate about social change and food justice. 

There is still so much more to learn and so much more to share.  (I did not even touch upon the books' themes of citizen democracy, meat's impact on the world, or protein complementarity in this post!)  But when you surround yourself with incredible people, read books by inspiring visionaries, and stand on the shoulders of the giants who have paved the way before us - anything is possible.

GROW!

You’ve seen the numbers: more than 925 million hungry. But hunger is not about too many people and too little food. Our rich and bountiful planet produces enough food to feed every woman, man, and child on earth. Hunger is about power. Its roots lie in inequalities in access to resources. The results are illiteracy, poverty, war, and the inability of families to grow or buy food.

Thus begins the October 2010 Oxfam Fact Sheet entitled Food for All, posted during Oxfam's Sow the Seed campaign.  

Today marks the official launch of Oxfam's new campaign on food justice, GROW, which reminds us that by 2050 there will be 9 billion of us on the planet, and so we must find a way to feed everyone.  The great international non-profit humanitarian organization Oxfam, 400+ scientists and researchers who contributed to the IAASTD report, and Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe from the Small Planet Institute agree:  "more of the same" ways of growing food - vested interests, using up natural resources and increasing inequalities in access to healthy food - is not the answer. To meet the needs of a growing population, we must grow more fairly and sustainably.

But wait...there won't be enough food for all if we grow organically, you say. Industrial agriculture is more efficient than organic production.  Sustainably, organically grown produce is elitist and cannot feed the world. If you are only talking about developed countries such as the US, which grows chemical-laden produce at the expense of environmental sustainability and then wastes vast quantities of it - then yes, a switch from conventional to organic production may either not affect or slightly decrease yields (the average yield ratio ranged from 0.891 to 1.060), according to a research study cited by Anna Lappe (Badgley, 2007).  However, adopting sustainable farming practices in developed countries can increase ratios from 1.736 to 3.995 - nearly two to four times better than the farmers' previous practices. "Because most farming in these regions is currently low input and low yielding, shifting toward more climate-friendly organic agriculture with the help of capacity building and research would result in relatively higher yields and improve local food security," explains Anna. 

All this and more you can learn by reading Oxfam's "Growing a Better Future" report by visiting the WHY Hunger Food Security Learning Center, or yes, by reading Diet for a Hot Planet, where Anna Lappe gives a ton of resources with useful information such as Food Routes, the Eat Local Challenge, and lists of some books such as the recipe books Grub and Vegan Soul Kitchen.  I personally have been consuming less and less meat as my awareness and environmental consciousness raises, and vow to continue to learn more about vegetarian and vegan eating - especially after recently finishing Diet for a Hot Planet and watching the films Food Matters and PLANEAT. 

If you're in NYC tomorrow, please come visit the Oxfam Action Corps NYC table at the southeast corner of Union Square between 12-8pm.  If you're not, I hope you can tune in to the GROW launch where Frances Moore Lappe and some other panelists will speak about the campaign starting at 12:20pm. 

Reference:

Badgley, Catherine et al, "Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply," Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22 (2007):86-108.

Oxfam's Sow the Seed Campaign

Now more than ever is the time to get keyed in to the good work Oxfam is doing. For the past few years (up until Congress dropped climate change legislation from the radar), Oxfam America's main focus was getting Congress to finance international adaptation to climate change. The next mini-campaign, up until the UN Millennium Development Goals summit, was around calling on President Obama to develop a US Global Development Strategy (victory!). Now Oxfam is expanding the conversation to include food, and as far as I know will continue to do so up until the 2012 Farm Bill is voted on.

Oxfam's current campaign, "Sow the Seed," is asking world leaders to support the world’s poorest food producers as they fight climate change. This campaign officially begins on World Food Day, which leads up to the climate summit in Cancun November 29.

Our two "asks" in the US are for our members of Congress to:

1. Pass the Global Food Security Act. Strengthen it to support communities in their efforts to build resistance to climate change - and combat the adverse effects of climate change on their crops.

2. Urge President Barack Obama to establish a fair, accessible and accountable global climate fund at the climate summit in Cancun later this year that will sow the seed for a binding global climate agreement by 2012.

People can get involved in advocating for these causes with Oxfam by

a) joining an Oxfam Action Corps if you live in one of the following cities:
Albuquerque, NM
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
Indianapolis, IN
Minneapolis, MN
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA

Several of my fellow Oxfam Action Corps NYC volunteers have been in Iowa this week for the Norman Borlaug Dialogue / World Food Prize event, learning more about ending world hunger. You can find out more about OAC NYC at http://www.oxfamactioncorpsnyc.org/ (the other OAC pages are linked from here as well). Or alternatively, visit http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org

b) Tomorrow (World Food Day), Oxfam Action Corps in these various cities will be holding events to get petition signatures and have people plant seeds through creative activities. If you do not live in one of these cities, you can still support the Sow the Seed campaign by growing a "virtual plant" by taking the actions listed on the website, sowtheseed.net - growing plants, uploading photos of plants grown at home for the "photo petition," and sharing and promoting the actions through your own social networks. The number of actions taken around the world will be shown as a rolling number on this virtual plant.

c) Get advocacy updates from Oxfam America by signing up at http://oxfamamerica.org/

Oxfam Action Corps recruiting for 2010-2011

On behalf of Oxfam Action Corps, the activist arm of Oxfam America, I am posting the following volunteer opportunity message. Oxfam is one of the leading non-profit organizations in the world and is a key player right now in Haiti as well.

---

Volunteer opportunity: Oxfam Action Corps organizer
Apply by February 15, 2010

Stand up to poverty and climate change – Join the Oxfam Action Corps!

Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, invites you to join the Oxfam Action Corps, an exciting effort to cultivate grassroots leaders working to enact solutions to poverty and climate change!

The Oxfam Action Corps is a group of dedicated volunteer organizers in more than a dozen US cities who campaign with Oxfam in their towns, engage their elected officials, and reach out to community members at events and concerts. Anyone can join, but those willing to make a time commitment of one-year become eligible for a free Oxfam training in advocacy and organizing in Washington DC.

This year, Oxfam Action Corps organizers will mobilize around one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change and its impact on the world’s poorest communities.

Apply online at: http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org
The deadline to apply is Monday, February 15, 2010.

Oxfam Action Corps teams will be formed in the following cities:

• Albuquerque, NM
• Austin, TX
• Boston, MA
• Burlington, VT
• Chicago, IL
• Columbus, OH
• Des Moines, IA
• Indianapolis, IN

• Kansas City, MO
• Madison, WI
• Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
• New York City, NY
• Philadelphia, PA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA

As an Oxfam Action Corps organizer you will help convene activities and inspire action—from house parties and film screenings to visits with elected officials—all with ongoing training and coaching from dedicated Oxfam staff. You and your local team will gain practical skills and leadership experience. Corps organizers commit to one year of volunteer service, giving approximately 5-8 hours/week.

Oxfam Action Corps organizers are eligible for selection to attend a 4-day training and day of lobbying in Washington, DC from Saturday, April 18 to Tuesday, April 21 (spaces limited). Travel and accommodation are provided.

Here is what previous Oxfam Action Corps organizers said:

“As an activist, I had done fundraising. But the Oxfam Action Corps was about public education and raising awareness, and I found people really appreciated my work.” Khadija, Mechanical Engineer, Pennsylvania.

“My work with the Oxfam Action Corps has helped immensely in building organizing and mobilization skills. It was a great way for me to start reaching out and getting to know the people in the community.” Julie, Assistant Human Resources/Office Manager, Colorado.

To sign up go to: http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org

The deadline to apply is Monday, February 15, 2010.

NYC Food and Climate Summit

In case you haven't heard yet, next Saturday, Dec. 12, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Just Food, and NYU will be hosting the NYC Food and Climate Summit. We are even lucky enough to be having HEN as a co-sponsor of the event, since HEN agreed to be a main contributor to making video messages possible from Vandana Shiva and Wangari Mathaai which will be shown at the plenary session and uploaded to websites afterward. The Food and Climate Summit will be happening smack in the middle of the Copenhagen (or "Hopenhagen") climate talks. It will even be held the day after 350 holds candlelit "Vigils for Survival" all across the world (these are on Dec. 11 - find one near you). In NYC, there will be one in Washington Square Park from 5-6 pm and one at Chelsea Piers from 6-8pm.

The Summit's registration was full within 36 hours of opening, which shows that it is guaranteed to be a successful event. Fortunately, as much information as possible from the conference will be posted to the conference website.

It is so important that NYC is making the connection between food and climate change, because food and climate change are so inextricably connected and it is not receiving enough attention on the global or even national scales in terms of climate change talk. Yes, Oxfam, tcktcktck, and 350, among other organizations, have been doing a great job of promoting the urgency of demanding action from our world leaders (such as limiting CO2 emissions to 350 ppm) - but as far as I can see there is not much talk here about agriculture. There are several main reasons to connect food and climate change. First of all, climate change is devastating developing countries' ability to produce crops on their own, leading to there being over a billion hungry people in the world. Climate change hits developing countries far greater than it impacts countries like the US (see some of my previous posts on Oxfam).

Second of all, producing "food" is a big contributor to climate change. If you've read Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma, seen Food, Inc., FRESH, King Corn, or know anything else about the sustainable, local, organic, and/or slow food movements - then you might have an idea about the gravity of unsustainable agriculture and how it is contributing to health problems, economic problems, climate change, etc. The fact that it takes 1,500 gallons of water to make one pound of beef...that is not good for the environment or our health. Monocultures are sprayed with pesticides and chemicals that make it really easy for resistant strains of bacteria to develop. Subsidies for corn and soy given to farmers are used to feed cattle and pigs with ground meat and corn. ...These are the things that contribute to the artificially low cost of unhealthy food (artificially because we do pay - later on, that is, in the form of healthcare costs).

All that stuff is unsustainable. As Michael Pollan & Joel Salatin put it, we are taking a solution - grass-fed cattle - and turning it into 2 problems: 1) unsustainable CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations, where animals standing in their own manure only leads to bacterial infections and other diseases), and 2) nutrient-deprived farmland that needs to be sprayed with chemicals and harmful fertilizers (because it doesn't have the beneficial nutrients from manure).

Sign the NYC Food Pledge & Charter

Below are the session topics for the Summit next week. Visit here for more details. (And don't forget to check out the wonderful Partnering Organizations!) Be sure to help spread the word using facebook and twitter (@nycfoodclimate) Please use the hashtags #nycfoodclimate, #cop15, and #tcktcktck on twitter. Thanks!

Informational
Session 1: Introduction to Food and Climate Issues

Skills Building
Session 2: Faith-Rooted Climate and Food Justice Organizing
Session 3: Best Practices in Institutional Purchasing
Session 4: Tackle Hunger, Health and Environment in Your Community
Session 5: Grow Food in the Big Apple
Session 6: Cool Food on a Budget: Good Diet for People, Pocketbooks and Planet.
Session 7: Cool Food Demonstration: Preservation Without Refrigeration
Session 8: Composting Your Food Waste
Session 9: What’s at Steak: Tips for Talking about Animal Food and Climate Change Connections
Session 10: How to Mobilize around Food and Climate Change Issues

Public Policy
Session 11: Urban Agriculture: Community Gardens, Urban Farms, and More
Session 12: The Food Shed: Promoting Sustainable Local Agriculture
Session 13: Greening Food Infrastructure
Session 14: Setting an Agenda for Child Nutrition, School Food and Food Education
Session 15: From Farm to Landfill: Reducing Food Waste in New York City

Informational
Session 16: Understanding Your Foodprint

Skills Builder

Session 17: Cooking Up Climate-Friendly Change: Youth Lead the Good Food Movement
Session 18: Tackle Hunger, Health and Environment in Your Community
Session 19: Grow Food in the Big Apple
Session 20: Cool Food on a Budget: Good Diet for People, Pocketbooks and Planet
Session 21: Cool Food Demonstration: Preservation Without Refrigeration
Session 22: Composting Your Food Waste
Session 23: What’s at Steak: Tips for Talking about Animal Food and Climate Change Connections
Session 24: How to Mobilize around Food and Climate Change Issues

Public Policy
Session 25: Urban Agriculture: Roofs, Walls, and Other Under-Utilized Spaces
Session 26: The Food Shed: Harnessing New Yorkers’ Buying Power
Session 27: Institutional Procurement: Buy Local and Sustainable
Session 28: The Food-Collar Economy
Session 29: Structural Discrimination Related to Food and Climate Change

Hello, world

Apologies for not posting in quite a while, this semester hasn't allowed much time for blogging due to the time constraints of a dietetic internship and classes at NYU. I have, however, continued to post interesting links and events on my twitter page, twitter.com/kellymoltzen.

Aside from everyday clinical dietetics, other activities I am currently undertaking:
-Working on a green foodservice project for the national VA - we are surveying foodservice directors and providing resources for them to green their foodservice production systems
-Learning about the awesome cultural transformation program of the VA
-Attempting to write a paper on the commodity system as an independent study with Marion Nestle (corn and soy subsidies lead to increased production of unhealthy foods by the food industry which leads to obesity)
-Taking an International Nutrition course
-Taking a course on Assessing Community Health Needs. Our group is looking at the issue of tobacco smoking within the Mexican immigrant community of Jackson Heights, Queens
-Trying to stay updated on all the other sustainability and food happenings of NYC (including with Oxfam Action Corps NYC, the NYC Foodprint Alliance, etc)
-Planning the beginnings of a student group of the DIFM DPG (Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association) (twitter: @adadifm) (facebook: ADA Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine (DIFM))
-Trying to keep up with emails including the HEN DPG list-serve
-Co-chairing a task force on the issue of ADA sponsorship with the HEN DPG (should've seen that one coming)
-Attempting to plan an event with charity:water at NYU for the spring through the NYU Steinhardt Public Health Student Group

So, sorry I have not had time to post more often. Just wanted to update this blog during the month of October :)

The Yes Men Have Done it Again!

As ~1,000 "Earthlings" participated in Oxfam's Human Countdown event yesterday (guided by "tcktcktck" sounds being made by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan), the New York Post was getting ready to release an entire issue on climate change.

Or was it? This morning, The Yes Men and 2,000 volunteers distributed a New York Post look-alike newspaper about climate change entitled "We're Screwed". The paper contains all true facts - except for one: that nyc.gov released a report about climate change. Actually, all the facts in this report are true, too - but nyc.gov didn't write the it. The Yes Men wrote both the New York Post and the NYC.gov pdf report. They're geniuses!

This type of stunt isn't new to The Yes Men. In fact, they've pulled similar stunts on big corporations many times before - and lived to tell about it. You may have seen or heard about their previous move called The Yes Men, but they've recently made a new movie, called The Yes Men Fix the World. Its US release date is October 7. I encourage you to go see it - it's thought-provoking and hilarious! (I saw a pre-screening of it.)



All of this is part of a giant campaign to raise awareness about climate change, occurring in hundreds of cities across the globe from Sept. 20-26, 2009. You can see Climate Week NYC events here.

More about the Human Countdown:
In the Human Countdown, we formed a gigantic Earth inside an hourglass and fell through it like grains of sand, to tell President Obama and the UN that time is running out for us to save our precious Earth from catastrophic climate change. The people in green who represented the land funneled down to form the words "tck tck tck" while those of us in blue (the ocean) became panels on the sides in the bottom of the hourglass. At the end of the 1 min. 11 sec. video made exclusively for this event, we all became clocks counting down from 12:07 to 12:18, to represent the climate change talks in Copenhagen that will occur from December 7 through 18, 2009.

Here's a video by the producers of the Human Countdown describing the purpose of the event.

Here's a cut version of the filming, with interviews.

Here's a photo of what it looked like from above.

Be part of history: Stand up for the principles of No Impact Man, and join the Human Countdown!

On Sunday, September 20, 2009, thousands of people will gather in Central Park to make a statement about climate change. The Human Countdown, as it is called, is a campaign being run by Oxfam America in collaboration with tck tck tck as a way to wake up humanity to the devastating effects that climate change is having on the world. In particular, climate change is seriously hurting many people in developing countries (even though developed countries such as the US do most of the damaging). From raising awareness, to on-the-ground fieldwork, to lobbying Congress for increased funding, international adaptation to climate change is one of the main issues Oxfam has decided to focus on. This means that "the US must invest now in adaptation projects, like elevated flood-proof houses and drought-resistant seeds, to help women and families build their resilience to these new and heightened risks." In case you don't know anything about Oxfam - Oxfam America is a part of Oxfam International, which is a "confederation of 13 like-minded organizations working together, and with partners and allies around the world, to bring about lasting change" and combat poverty and injustice. There is a climate change bill being worked on in Congress, and you can bet that Oxfam America is right there doing its lobbying. The US House of Representatives already has its version of the climate change bill written - which has some positive aspects - but we want the Senate to up it a notch when it comes to creating their version of the bill. Oxfam America and its partners are currently working to try and convince the Senate to include these goals in their version:

• the House bill (HR 2454) has 1% of money allotted for international adaptation funding; we are asking for the Senate bill to include 3%.

• 1% in HR 2454 is dedicated to Clean Tech Transfer; we want the Senate bill to dedicate 2%.

• We are also asking for the amounts of money for deforestation prevention (5%), domestic adaptation (1%), and CO2 reductions (17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050) to be maintained in the Senate bill.
  

This may not seem like a lot of money, but in the scheme of things they are reasonable "asks" - not so much that Congress will just laugh at us. So, tell your Senators you want to see these provisions in the climate change bill. And tell them to become a Sisters on the Planet Ambassador. Because once women like Shorbanu know that the devastation they are facing is man-made, they want us to do something about it.


To learn more about the NYC volunteer arm of Oxfam America and sign up, go to the Oxfam Action Corps NYC blog. (or find an Oxfam Action Corps in your city). Or if you're still in school, start an Oxfam America Club.

To participate in the Human Countdown, sign up here. You can also see the event on Facebook. And if you have access to bell-ringing in a church or other facility, ask for the bells to be rung on September 21 at 12:18 p.m. And if you're around NYC the morning of September 21, join The Yes Men for a stunt they plan on pulling. It's critical that we wake up the world to the effects of climate change, because already, results from the G-20 summit have not been satisfactory. Let's hope they are more satisfactory at the G-20 summit in Pittsburg September 24-25, 2009. It's a shame the United States never signed the Kyoto protocol; let's at least assure we contribute in substantial manner to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18, 2009.

We can make a big difference on an international scale when it comes to climate change by lobbying politicians to make changes that affect everyone. But we can also make an impact by decreasing our own individual carbon footprints. One family that has realized the importance of (and benefits of) decreasing their carbon footprint is the Beavans. Colin Beavan, aka "No Impact Man," spent a year of his life undergoing an experiment making as small an environmental impact as humanly possible while still living in mainstream society. Colin wrote a book about his experience and made a movie about it (using low impact filmmaking, of course) called No Impact Man. He successfully recruited his wife and daughter for the experiment and made it a family event, which will prove to make for an entertaining movie, I'm sure! I've only seen the trailer so far but essentially, they learned to eat locally grown food which helped him lose 20 pounds without going to the gym once and reversed his wife's pre-diabetic condition, did not use transportation that requires fossil fuels, and stopped using electricity (and therefore television), which helped strengthen family ties. It looks like a really good movie, and Colin Beavan is making an entire campaign around it, called the No Impact Project. I encourage everyone to check it out & see the movie, spread the word, and then apply as many principles to your own life as possible! I get upset when I see things in individually wrapped plastic, too.



Oh yeah and don't forget to contribute to Oxfam's international climate change awareness campaign by going out to Central Park next Sunday for the Human Countdown (that is, if you're already in the area! We wouldn't want you taking a plane to get here and waste all that fossil fuel in the process, now would we?).

Foodprint NYC - Please help now!! Call your City Council member!

Hi Friends,

It’s with great excitement for our possibility of addressing the current state of the environment and our food system that I’d like to tell you about the NYC Foodprint Resolution and ask for your help. The "FoodprintNYC" initiative, which was introduced to the City Council on June 30, 2009, would create greater access to local, fresh, healthy food, especially in low-income communities as well as city-run institutions. By increasing the availability of local, just and sustainably-produced food, New York City can decrease its ecological "Foodprint" - our food system's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change through the production, processing, packaging, shipping, storage and disposal of food. The resolution could help the city meet its goals of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, while increasing access to local, healthy food to NYC, particularly underserved communities.

The resolution was pushed for by the NYC Foodprint Alliance, which is made up of dozens of non-profit organizations such as Just Food, Oxfam Action Corps NYC, Slow Food USA and World Hunger Year. It proposes “FoodprintNYC,” a citywide initiative designed to lessen the impact the City’s food choices and production systems have on climate change through the launch of a public awareness campaign, greater access to local, fresh, healthy food, and the mobilization of the financial and technical support needed to sustain these efforts, especially in low-income communities as well as city-run institutions. It is meant to build on PlaNYC, which aims to reduce global warming and encourage environmental awareness, yet does not address food and farming as it stands now. The resolution also builds upon the environmentally-friendly policies and programs recommended in the Manhattan Borough President’s 2009 report “Food in the Public Interest.”

If you’ve seen movies like Food, Inc. or What’s On Your Plate?, or read books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma, then you understand the impact that decreasing food miles and supporting local, sustainable food can have on our health and the future of our planet.

I’m proud to have been involved with the NYC Foodprint Alliance and am glad our City is one of the first to take initiative at beginning a movement that I believe should occur in every city. However, in order for this resolution to become law, we need your help! So far, 16 Councilmembers have signed on as co-sponsors; the resolution needs 26 co-sponsors to even be considered for a vote. If you don’t currently live in NYC but know someone that does, please pass this message along to them. NYC residents: we need you to reach out to your City Council members and ask them to co-sponsor this resolution, which Councilmember Bill DeBlasio has been kind enough to enthusiastically introduce, with the support of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

Here is a video introducing FoodprintNYC and a message from Bill DeBlasio.


Here’s what you can do:

The NYC Foodprint Alliance is asking you to call your City Council member and ask them to support FoodprintNYC. Calling your representative is fast, easy and effective. Every call that you make in support of or against a policy issue gets recorded. Calls are usually short and you are rarely asked questions, as staffers are busy and want to take down your position and get you off the phone! To find your representative and voice your support for the FoodprintNYC resolution, follow these easy steps:

1. First, find your city council member and the phone number for his or her legislative office (not the district office).

2. Next, find out if your council member has already supported this resolution.

3. If your city council member has not yet signed on as a co-sponsor of the resolution, please call and urge him or her to support the resolution. Feel free to use the following simple script:

• Hello, my name is ______________ and I am a constituent.
• I live at/in ___________ (give street address or neighborhood so they know you are a constituent).
• I'm calling to urge Council Member _______ to support Resolution 2049 calling for FoodprintNYC.
• At this time you’ll likely get thanked for calling, and then the purpose of your call will be recorded. If they do ask for more detailed information, here are the key points:
  

• The resolution was introduced in the City Council by Bill de Blasio on June 30, 2009.
• It is the first NYC resolution to exclusively address climate change through our food system.
• It calls for a citywide initiative to create greater access to local, fresh, healthy plant-based food, especially in low-income communities as well as city-run institutions.
• Increasing availability and use of local, healthy food decreases significant pollution caused by the packing, preparing and shipping of food.

If your city council member has already signed on as a co-sponsor of the resolution, please call and thank him or her for their support. Feel free to use the following simple script:

• Hello, my name is ______________ and I am a constituent.
• I live at/in ___________ (give street address or neighborhood so they know you are a constituent).
• I'm calling to thank Council Member _______ for their support of Resolution 2049 calling for FoodprintNYC! I am so glad to see the connection between food and climate change being taken seriously.
  

On behalf of the NYC Foodprint Alliance, thank you for your time! :) Kelly

The NYC Foodprint Alliance is a collaborative network of food justice, environmental, anti-hunger and human and animal rights organizations working for a more healthy, just and sustainable food system for New York City. To join the Alliance or for more information, contact Nadia Johnson at Just Food, nadia@justfood.org.