World Hunger and Sustainable Eating

It’s important for me to point out a fellow Fuller PhD student, Russ Kirby, who has written a stellar argument for having a sustainable Diet.
Russ, a practical theologian, says,

If there is enough food to fully feed the world, then why are 840 million people still literally starving to death? Why do at least 5.2 million children die every year of malnutrition? Is the West simply hogging the food? While it is difficult to truly understand and appreciate the nuances that complicate global sustenance and cause world hunger, the connection between a meat based diet and rampant starvation (which is rarely discussed) needs to be drawn out.

The truth is, there is more than enough food to feed the world, but not on a meat-centered diet. Let’s pretend this was a perfect world. Let’s divide the world’s land (available for food production) equally among her peoples. Each person would then get 2/3 of an acre of land. Sounds great right?

From Hungry For A Better World (or “Starving For Sustenance”)
The issue that Russ brings up, will be an issue that today’s church will have to face if it wishes to participate in God’s love for the world; I don’t see any other option. We can no longer pretend it is not an issue live blindly to the needs of others, we know that following Christ requires sacrifices this is one of them; if we do not we will not be sharing with God in loving the world.

10 responses to “World Hunger and Sustainable Eating”

  1. Thanks for the love Wes. 🙂 I am finding that people really do want to help the world’s hungry and *are* willing to make sacrifices. I have been *very* encouraged.

    Again, thanks Wess!

  2. Ellen, I am not opposed to birth control or the right to choose abortion but any solution that doesn’t involve Americans having to limit our greed or sacrifice something ourselves will not be a holistic solution. And ultimately will not help slow down the machine that is destroying our environment.

    Plus using birth control and abortion for population control will lead to euthanising elderly people as well – and once we start killing off our young and old to control our populations a whole new set of issues and sins will arise.

  3. It’s funny how we pick and choose which “rights” we think are essential. I must confess that I find your suggestion about abortion horrifying Ellen. We might as well just fire up the ovens and start goose-stepping towards a socialist utopia…..

    And Wess, you’re not opposed to the right to choose abortion? You are the guy who said you didn’t have a problem with the “Jesus was a torture victim sign.” Apparently this is the only social issue that you are not actively protesting to protect the helpless and the weak.

    I hope I didn’t offend anyone with my comments. I just get a little worked up. I certainly don’t think abortion is the most important issue that we face in this country, but if we have to choose sides, wouldn’t it be more Gospel focused to choose life no matter how it may inconvenience us?

  4. Kevin,
    I am sad that you are so quick to misunderstand me. Consider the context of when I say something, I cannot write out my entire theology of this and that in every comment I make.

    I am for the right to choose and Abortion, I am not for abortion. In fact I deeply saddend by those who choose that path because often times it means that for that woman or couple their parents, friends and/or community has failed them.

    You shouldn’t be surprised by my position, I am always against coercion. I don’t think that Christians should make it their battle to legislate anti-abortion creeds , our battle lies within grassroots organizing and sharing our faith with our neighbors who need help during their pregnancies. The church is to focus on relationships with those around it, living out God’s grace and mercy – not battling over an issue as though it were simply black and white.

    You would be the first person who would not want to see things as black or white, knowing your stance on war; don’t expect different from me.

    And when you say,

    “Wouldn’t it be more Gospel focused to choose life no matter how it may inconvenience us?”

    Asking the church to live in such a way that its practices help to transform the world so that abortions become less of a solution will be inconvenient but I believe it is the only method that will allow for God’s kingdom to be shared peacefully and authentically.

    I would say yes, and It seems like peace and mercy are always less convenient and always cost more than coercion.

    Back to the original issue — I am with you that abortion to control the population is horrifying – it is no way to sustainable living as my earlier comment suggests.

  5. In poor countries like India, Indonesia, China (other parts of Asia) and whole Africa you have so many sick people and people dying very young. They cannot afford medecine, varied food (drought). This is going on so long …

    It’s a mess: economically, socially

    You should go over there and see for yourselves.

  6. Wess,

    thank you for this post.

    I few random and various points:

    I’m a vegetarian, but I still eat packaged food, dairy, a lot – there are various ways I worry about “not doing my part”

    I also wonder about all the various issues. I don’t know if it’s that we dont’ have enough food NOW, but that we don’t have distribution, and certainly that many poor people around the world are growing sugar, tea, coffee and chocolate (sometimes in slave conditions) for export rather than food that they can eat themselves. But this seems at least partially an econmic and political issue that won’t be resolved even if everyone in the US went vegan (and stopped doing sugar, coffee and chocolate, can you imagine?)

    I guess my question is, vegetarianism is great, and probably necessarily for justice and sustainability (or something much closer to vegetarianism anyway) but it doesn’t feel, as one who is practicing it, like DOING anything, really. What can we DO???

    Thanks for the clear description of your position on abortion. I think it’s right-on, as it’s pretty much the same as mine. abortion horrifies me, as does restricting someone’s rights in such an incredibly difficult and personal decision. There are so many abortions happening (TODAY!) that could be prevented by decent birth control, decent social programs, decent education, etc. I would love to see a really powerful religious movement to address those but I never have, which leads me to suspect the motives of those who are supposedly concerned about the defenseless…..

    It is clearly not a reasonable method for controlling population. But population is a huge concern, and I fear a looming crisis. However, most people, given adequate resources and cause for hope, will regulate their own fertility (most bluntly, if your kids are highly likely to live to adulthood, you only need to have 2 to have 2 to take care of you in your old age, if not, you may need to have 7 or 10.

    phew! So much to think about!

    Pam

  7. […] Okay so there isn’t much of a secret about how I feel about environmental issues, I think especially Christians should be concerned with how we care for creation. We have a responsibility to take care of what God left in our stewardship, this is why Emily and I do some of the things we do like eat local organic food when possible, buy fair trade clothes and coffee, try to conserve on water, recycle our trash and ride bikes a lot. […]