Category: Uncategorized

Counting on … day 1.080

23rd March 2023

On Wednesdays I join the Earth Vigil sat outside the House of Parliament,  praying for the well being of the world in this time of crises. As Wednesday features Prime Minister’s Questions and thus the arrival of the Prime Minister in his cavalcade, at Carriage Gate, many groups congregate to highlight their concerns. 

Yesterday we shared our space with a new group,  Mothers Manifesto, which is raising awareness of child hunger. The mothers themselves what’d begun on Mothering Sunday, a 6 day hunger strike. The day before, protesting outside Downing Street thy had met with Caroline Lucas. 

For more info – https://www.mothermanifesto.com/home

Green Tau: issue 66

23rd March 2023

Food security

Having enough food to eat is a necessity for life, and a human right. 

The right to adequate food is realised when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, has the physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement. – General Comment 12 (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, CESCR, 1999).

Yet looking around the world this is not the case. For many people food security is not a reality. Why?

1. Food insecurity can arise because a person cannot afford to buy sufficient food – this might be in absolute terms of calories or in the equally important terms of sufficiently healthy food needed to avoid malnutrition. The issue is not a lack of food, but the lack of money to buy it. 

Sadly this scenario is true even in countries such as the UK. “The UK’s food poverty rate is among the highest in Europe. In 2020-21 Government statistics record that 4.2 million people (6 per cent) were living in food poverty. (https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/food-poverty-in-the-uk-the-causes-figures-and-solutions/)

The pay and/ or benefits that people receive is insufficient to pay for a healthy diet.  This is compounded by the fact that food inflation is running higher than the average rate of inflation. That people  with less money are affected more significantly  has been highlighted by Jack Monroe (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/26/cost-of-living-crisis-ons-inflation-jack-monroe?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)

It is an even more widespread problem across the world where 40% of people cannot afford a healthy diet.  

Pay-related food insecurity can be a particular problem in urban areas. In rural areas it is possible that people will have access to land such that they can grow their own food. This is often referred to as subsistence farming as it does not necessarily produce additional income to spend on other things. 

“The world’s smallholder farmers produce about a third of the world’s food according to detailed new research [June 2021] by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Five of every six farms in the world consist of less than two hectares, operate only around 12 percent of all agricultural land, and produce roughly 35 percent of the world’s food” – https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1395127/icode/

Whilst for many people, subsistence farming does ensure they have food to eat, it can be a precarious existence.  In Kenya smallholder farmers are being forced to buy commercial seed which then needs both fertilisers and pesticides to ensure a good harvest. Previously these farmers would collect and swop seeds from their own crops, but this has been made illegal  as the Kenyan Government tries to ensure that all seeds are certified.

2. Food insecurity can arise because of a failure of one or more harvests. This particularly affects poor countries who struggle to pay the cost of importing food to make up local losses, and subsistence farmers who may not have the capacity to grow and store food to cover more than one year’s needs. 

Food security is particularly sensitive to climate change. Climate change is increasing the frequency of both droughts and heavy – destructive – rainfall, raising temperatures and increasing the frequency and intensity of winds, all of which are potentially damaging for crops and for livestock. 

Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are now facing the sixth consecutive year of drought conditions. Hunger is widespread: an estimated 43,000 people died last year in Somalia as a consequence of an inadequate diet. The affects of failed harvests has been accentuated by the rising cost of food that could potentially be imported.

On a far smaller scale, shoppers in the UK have been faced with shortages of cauliflowers, tomatoes and salad ingredients. In part this has been because farmers in the UK and the Netherlands have cut back on the amount of crops grown under glass because of rising energy costs, plus sharp frosts which damaged brassica crops, and in part because of unseasonal cold weather in southern Europe and North Africa damaging crops grown there. Last summer’s drought across Europe led to many harvests being reduced by 30% and which has been felt by consumers in the form of higher prices for risotto rice, olive oil durum wheat pasta. 

3. Food insecurity may arise because the farmers cannot afford to grow the usual amounts of food. Whilst consumers need enough money to buy food, producers need to earn enough to cover there expenses. The last 18 months have seen soaring costs for energy (baby chicks for example need to be kept at a temperature of 30C), fertilisers, and for basic labour. Many farmers in the UK are tied into contracts with supermarkets with fixed prices, making it hard for them to over their costs. Equally as rising costs are not always reflected in rising prices because of supermarket competition, many farmers are reducing the amount of crops their will grow for the coming season. It is better financially not to grow the crop than to grow it and then sell at a loss. 

4.  Distribution systems can also affect food security. We have seen this recently with exports from Ukraine. Without access to the Black Sea ports, there was no effective way of shipping grain from the Ukraine to countries such as Egypt, where it was most needed. Delays in the distribution system may mean that food perished before it reaches its market. Partly due to distribution issues, but also  mismatches in the supply chain between what the supermarkets order and what the consumers buy, as much as 17% of the world’s food production goes to waste.

“An average block of cheese or loaf of bread produces less than a penny for farmers, and fruit producers do not fare much better, making just 3p from each kilo of apples.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/02/uk-farmers-making-tiny-profits-as-supermarkets-boast-record-takings?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

5. Global food security would be greatly enhanced if meat production was reduced. 

“Livestock takes up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, yet produces less than 20% of the world’s supply of calories … This means that what we eat is more important than how much we eat in determining the amount of land required to produce our food.” https://ourworldindata.org/agricultural-land-by-global-diets

 Eating less meat and using the land instead to grow food for direct human consumption would provide the food needed for the world’s growing population (subject to affordability and distribution issues).

6. Food production is ultimately reliant on healthy soils. Yet it is reported that ‘more than a third of the world’s soil is already degraded, and the IPCC estimates that could rise to 90% by 2050 if nothing is done. Even moderately degraded soil produces 30% less food and stores around half the water of healthy soil.’ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/a-tangible-plan-to-restore-soil-health-in-the-next-ten-years/

“The UK is 30 to 40 years away from “the fundamental eradication of soil fertility” in parts of the country, the environment secretary Michael Gove has warned.“We have encouraged a type of farming which has damaged the earth …. If you have heavy machines churning the soil and impacting it, if you drench it in chemicals that improve yields but in the long term undercut the future fertility of that soil, you can increase yields year on year but ultimately you really are cutting the ground away from beneath your own feet. Farmers know that.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/24/uk-30-40-years-away-eradication-soil-fertility-warns-michael-gove?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

7. Food security can be potentially threatened by diseases – whether diseases that affect crops or diseases that affect livestock. Recently in the UK we have seen the impact of avian flu on supplies of chicken and egg. Whilst in the Mediterranean the Xylella pathogens is infecting olive trees across the region – it can also infect similar plants such as  cherry, almond and plum trees. It was first discovered in  olives trees in Puglia in 2013. The spread of the disease have been devastating, with an estimated 60% decline in crop yields in Italy since the first discovery in 2013. The world food supply is particularly vulnerable to the affects of disease because our food supply is dominated by a very limited number of species.  Of the 6,000 different plant species used as food, only nine (sugarcane, wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, sugar beet, cassava, oil palm and soybean) contribute 66% of total crop production. Increasing the diversity of plants we grow and eat as food is essential. It is also equally essential that we safeguard our food security by improving biodiversity as a whole for the ecosystem is highly interconnected.

“Biodiversity for food and agriculture is all the plants and animals – wild and domesticated – that provide food, feed, fuel and fibre. It is also the myriad of organisms that support food production through ecosystem services – called “associated biodiversity”. This includes all the plants, animals and micro-organisms (such as insects, bats, birds, mangroves, corals, seagrasses, earthworms, soil-dwelling fungi and bacteria) that keep soils fertile, pollinate plants, purify water and air, keep fish and trees healthy, and fight crop and livestock pests and diseases…Less biodiversity means that plants and animals are more vulnerable to pests and diseases. Compounded by our reliance on fewer and fewer species to feed ourselves, the increasing loss of biodiversity for food and agriculture puts food security and nutrition at risk,” added Graziano da Silva.” https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1180463/icode/

What can we do? See the next Eco Tips

Counting on … day 1.079

22nd  March 2023 

“The Heritage Grain Trust … [is] developing a new approach to growing grain for human consumption, one that encourages resilience in the face of climate change and reduces the loss of biodiversity that occurs with intensive grain production. We believe that a genuine grain revolution is required in arable farming based on the growing of genetically-diverse populations of heritage cereals using agro-ecological methods. We believe that British farmers can produce all the grain needed to feed the UK by growing heritage grains in ways that improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and sequester climate-destroying greenhouse gasses.” https://www.heritagegraintrust.org/about-us

Seek out heritage grains and flour to add variety to your diet and to promote biodiversity. Try https://hodmedods.co.uk/

Counting on … day 1.078

21st March 2023 

“According to the United Nations, 75% of crop diversity has been lost over the past century as farmers abandoned numerous local varieties of crops for high yield monocultures that are often shoehorned into environments they are poorly adapted to.

“On the edges of the field are giant heirloom sunflowers – used to attract pollinators – and rows of amaranth. “By companion cropping, you’re replicating those systems you see in nature,” said Lowden, describing the traditional Indigenous practice of interplanting crops to deter weeds and pests, maintain moisture and enrich the soil. “This is thousands of years of knowledge passed down,” he added.mFor the past decade, Lowden, 34, has worked to restore traditional crops and farming practices in Acoma. As program director for Ancestral Lands, a non-profit that supports land stewardship in Indigenous communities, he reintroduced traditional Acoma crops into the community and created a bank of 57 arid-adapted seeds native to the region. His work is part of a broader movement to build food and seed sovereignty on tribal lands amidst staggering global biodiversity losses created by the modern agricultural system and growing food insecurities caused by climate crisis.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/18/seed-keeper-indigenous-farming-acoma?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

A better world is possible.

Counting on … day 1.077

20th  March 2023 

“As the risks from the climate crisis and global conflict increase, seed banks are increasingly considered a priceless resource that could one day prevent a worldwide food crisis. Two in five of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction, and though researchers estimate there are at least 200,000 edible plant species on our planet, we depend on just three – maize, rice and wheat– for more than half of humanity’s caloric intake. There are roughly 1,700 seed banks, or gene banks, around the world housing collections of plant species that are invaluable for scientific research, education, species preservation and safeguarding Indigenous cultures.

“The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, dubbed the “doomsday vault” or the “Noah’s ark of seeds”, aims to contain a duplicate of every seed housed in other banks across the globe. Its location is deliberately remote, sited in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland Norway and the north pole. The hope is that the permafrost and dense rock into which the vault has been sunk will ensure that seed samples remain frozen – although it was breached in 2017 by meltwater after high temperatures in the region.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/15/seed-banks-the-last-line-of-defense-against-a-threatening-global-food-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Protecting biodiversity and food security are critically important. 

Counting on … day 1.076

19th March 2023 

To pray for Mother Earth is not ascribe any divinity to the earth. Rather it is a recognition that we are dependent on the fertility of the earth for our survival. 

Praised be you, my Lord,
through our Sister, Mother Earth,
who sustains us and directs us
bringing forth all kinds of fruits
and coloured flowers and herbs.

(one of the verses from The Canticle of the Creatures written by St Francis )

4th Sunday of Lent

19th March 2023

Reflection (the readings are below. NB there are alternative readings for Mothering Sunday which I am not using)

It is very easy to label people and the only to see the label. The disabled person. The black man. The pregnant woman. The autistic child. The asylum seeker. The climate refugee.  Or in the case of today’s gospel, the blind man. The label is not un-useful. If we know someone is blind  we can try to communicate in ways that don’t rely on seeing. If we know the woman is pregnant, we can take into account that she may have particular needs about what she eats or having a space to sit. But the label shouldn’t stop us from talking to the person who is blind about things we can see, about what is happening in the world, about their views on current affairs. Just because you can’t see doesn’t mean you aren’t aware of the world around you. The label shouldn’t stop us from expecting the woman who is pregnant to have views about economics or theology or the best whiskeys.

In the gospel story some people are so used to seeing the label and not the person, they are not sure who the man is once he can see – they thought he looked liked the blind man! In many ways people make the same assumptions about Jesus. Many of them, including some of the Pharisees, labelled him as a sinner, and therefore saw his every action as sinful – and by contrast saw themselves as ‘Godly’.

Who can see the real person? In the passage from 1 Samuel it is God. To his father and his brothers, David was always going to be ‘the youngest son’, the one to run errands, be that herding the sheep or delivering food to his  brothers if they were away from home (1 Samuel 17). Even Samuel discounts David – or rather the ‘youngest son’ – and expects to anoint the eldest son, or if not the eldest, then certainly one of the elder sons. It is God who sees the real person, who knows that David is the one who has the characteristics needed to be a king. 

In the gospel, the disciples see the blind man as a topic of theological debate – was it his sins or his parents’ sins that caused him to be blind? But Jesus sees him as he truly is, a person through whom God’s glory can be revealed. He perceives in the man an intelligence and an independence of mind that allows him to be receptive to God’s presence. 

The words of the 23rd Psalm, reflect the writer’s own receptiveness to the presence of God in his life. God has been his guide and his companion, the one who understands his needs, his hopes and his fears, the one who sticks by him through thick and thin. The psalmist is surely someone who, in the words of the writer to the Ephesians, lives as a child of the light. Someone who does ‘ find out what is pleasing to the Lord.’ 

How do we find out what is pleasing to the Lord? By being open to God, open to new ways of seeing and hearing and doing.  By being aware of what is happening in the world, by being aware of what causes suffering and pain. By finding out how suffering and pain can be alleviated and how they can be prevented – for God desires mercy and goodness for all. 

This last week storm Freddy has savaged Malawi and Mozambique causing destruction and suffering on a vast scale. The people of Malawi and Mozambique are not just numbers who either survived or died, but individuals with friends and families, homes and communities, hope and fears, who are in dire need of assistance. 

Can we offer assistance? Can we be good neighbours? Donate to charities such as Oxfam which are meeting people’s immediate needs. Press our government to forego outstanding debt repayments to allow money to be spent instead on climate adaptation and new infrastructure. Speak out about the climate crisis and how it is the root cause of the extreme intensity of this storm. Point out how governments and corporations across the world are failing to  address the issue of climate and justice. Adjust our own lifestyles so that we too become part of the climate crisis solution.

Let us do what is pleasing to God.

1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Ephesians 5:8-14

Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

John 9:1-41

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

Counting on … day 1.075

18th March 2023

Growing your own food can mean survival for some people. In Africa many people are what one might call indigenous farmers, people who grow traditional crops using traditional methods. The plants they grow are often well suited to the local soils and the local vagaries of the climate. It is a type of farming that has little in the ways of cost inputs – no artificial fertilisers, no highly mechanised equipment, not even expensive seed. Rather seeds are collected from one season to use at the next or to swop with neighbours to improve fertility. In Kenya 80 – 90% of farmers use and share indigenous home grown seeds.

However the Kenyan government wishes to control the quality of seeds by prohibiting the sale of exchanging of any seeds other than those that have been licensed Licensing is expensive – only 20% of the seeds regularly used have been licensed – and this has limited the number of legal seeds sellers to a few large concerns. Often these seeds suppliers are also in the market of selling fertilisers and pesticides, and may opt to sell seeds that need such additional inputs. 

It is now illegal to sell or swop unlicensed seeds in Kenya  with the potential punishment of 2 years in jail and or a fine.

Greenpeace Africa is challenging this law. 

For more information see https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/publications/51807/whose-interest-does-the-kenyan-seeds-law-protect/

Counting on …day 1.074

17th March 2023

Drawing on both home grown food and OddBox food, earlier this week we had a ‘foraged soup in that I foraged the garden for green things and the remains of the OddBox, thus-

3 cloves of garlic and 3 shallots all sliced.

1 beetroot, 1 parsnip, 1 apple all diced

All these I softened in some rape seed oil. Then I added, 

A jar of cooked split green pea

A handful of red lentils

A teaspoon of miso

A colander of young dandelion and nettle leaves. 

I added water and left to simmer. Once cooked I liquidised everything to create a thick nourishing soup. 

Counting on …. Day 1.073

16th March 2023

Growing our own food keeps us in touch with the reality of food production and helps reduce its carbon footprint if only minimally. Growing delicate crops such as salad leaves and herbs would be the best win win. Salad crops can include simply growing mustard and cress on a paper towel.

For those without a garden – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/24/how-to-grow-your-own-veg-without-a-garden?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

And for those with –  https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own