FOOD
FOR THOUGHT                                                                  
Maria Christi
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Is it not untenable to consider approaching God at the end of life with a personal history of blatant disregard and degradation of His creation? Dare we stand before our Creator at the last without weeping for the sins we have committed against Him in the disregard of His creative wonders? 

Here on the farm, we believe that daily life is an opportunity to "walk humbly with God" as Adam and Eve did in the Garden at the very beginning before the Fall. Our life involves sowing and harvesting food to sustain us and the adoption of earth-friendly habits of doing so. We aim to put God and neighbor at the center of life, sow and harvest food to sustain us, and develop a lifestyle of respect for all creation: people, animals, plants, ecosytems and communities. 

We know that the food we produce and consume is healthier when it is raised without the use of pesticides, hormones or herbicides and with sustainable farming practices which do not deplete the soils but, rather, enrich them for the remainder of our days and for generations yet to come. We also believe that the effort to produce our own food provides ample opportunity for the growth of faith, hope, and charity, prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude as we seek to live respectful, holy lives in God's world. 

Some Christians are turned off by what is called the "environmental movement." They disparage environmental protection concerns with the reasoning that God is going to create a New Heavens and a New Earth anyway, so the earth we have is disposable. This reasoning of our "throw-away" society would surely have boggled the minds of the Christians of the first centuries! The habit of looking the other way while we trash God's creation is morally reprehensible. This 21st-century mindset belies shades of hubris, arrogance and selfishness, irreverence, indifference, inhumanity and ingratitude for the works of God. Was not Adam given the task of being the steward of the Garden? It is fundamentally biblical to understand that we are stewards of God's creation and are, at the very least, to be respectful and grateful for what God has created. The blatant disregard for the intelligent design of creation is the foundation of what Bl. John Paul II termed "the culture of death." Far from being ancillary to the Christian witness today, our manner of living on the globe -- of walking humbly with our God with respect for all He has created -- is an essential Christian response to the culture of anti-Christ values and priorities.

Many of the modern habits of production and consumption which now cover the globe are irresponsible and unsustainable. They contribute to the "culture of death." Many of these trends were established by companies or individuals with a disordered lust for profit, for singularity, for personal recognition or power, and often without consideration for the effects their undertakings might have on people in local, national and even global contexts. Convenience has its place; sometimes convenience is a life-saver. But the disproportionate pursuit of convenience is not a healthy foundation for good society. Whereas it is natural to prefer convenience over hard work, the Christian is called not to the natural life but to the life of supernatural virtue. The propensity toward ease and the natural aversion to hard work is not something upon which the Christian is asked to base his or her life. 

Perhaps shopping at the grocery store seems easier, but is it? And what exactly are you buying? Might not the local grocery store be the epicenter of our national health care crisis? How long does it take for us to realize that corporate profits are at the center of the rationale for the products found in grocery stores? These profits are made at the expense of our health and environment by using chemicals and preservatives not intended for our soils or our bodies and by depriving the populace of much-needed fresh nutrition which spoils in shipment across the globe. The human being and human community -- not corporate profits -- must be returned to the center and focus of food production. Let's do what is best for all of us. If the process needs tweaking, we are committed to doing it. Let's get better and better at rediscovering the prudence of our forebears while utilizing the advancements known to mankind in respectful and compassionate ways so as to live with dignity and humility on Earth "as it is in Heaven." 

Thanks for reflecting on these matters with us. It is not easy to assimilate these thoughts into practical application, but we are committed to trying. You are welcome to join us in this endeavor.

If you want to enjoy fresh, local food that is not picked green, grown with pesticides, herbicides or hormones, packed with preservatives and shipped half-way around the world to you at an oil-contingent price, join our buying club. . . . You will be contacted immediately for delivery options.

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If you are already a member of PURE FOODS Buying Club, click below to place your orders. We are happy to share our way of life with you.

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