Tag: over consumption

Counting on … Lent 19

31st March 2025  

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Genesis 2:5-6

Without water there is no plant life; without bodies of water there is no rain. The creation story in Genesis understands that God provided the water that was essential for life, providing a source of water which we now understand is continually circulated via plants and rain cycles. If we treasure life then we also need to treasure the natural balance of the water cycle, not over extracting water from inland  seas and aquifers. Misusing water can see too much water diverted for industrial or intensive farming purposes such that both people and the natural wildlife suffers. 

A press release from UNESCO underlines the importance of handling water systems  with fairness and cooperation. 

“Nearly every water-related intervention involves some kind of cooperation. Growing crops require shared irrigation systems among farmers. Providing safe and affordable water to cities and rural areas is only possible through a communal management of water-supply and sanitation systems. And cooperation between these urban and rural communities is essential to maintaining both food security and uphold farmer incomes.” https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/imminent-risk-global-water-crisis-warns-un-world-water-development-report-2023

Counting on … Lent 18

28th  March 2025 

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarrelling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Exodus 13: 5-9

When too many people – or rather if the activities of the people are consuming too many resources – it is good to come to an amicable arrangement whereby the available resources can be shared. In the natural world some plants build this in to their growth patterns. Apple trees through their root systems and their  mycorrhizal fungi prevent new apple seedlings from growing too close less they both compete over the same nutrients. Other trees benefit from the work of magpies and squirrels which plant seeds at a fair distance away from the parent tree.

Counting on … Lent 17

27th  March 2025   

The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘When you enter the land I will give you, let it have a special time of rest, to honour the Lord. You may plant seed in your field for six years, and you may trim your vineyards for six years and bring in their fruits. But during the seventh year, you must let the land rest. This will be a special time to honour the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or trim your vineyards. You must not cut the crops that grow by themselves after harvest, or gather the grapes from your vines that are not trimmed. The land will have a year of rest. Leviticus 25:1-5

Overworking the land  drains it of its nutrients and intensive cultivation damages its fertility. UNESCO warned in 2024 that 90% of the Earth’s soil’s at risk of degradation – yet with appropriate farming practices and care this could be avoided. 

“‘’Several practices associated with intensive agriculture, especially tilling, disrupt soil structure. They accelerate surface runoff and soil erosion, loss of organic matter and fertility and disruption in cycles of water, organic carbon and plant nutrients. These practices also have a major negative impact on soil biodiversity.

‘When soil degrades, the processes that take place within it are damaged. This causes a decline in soil health, biodiversity and productivity, leading to issues at all levels of many ecosystems, and resulting in large environmental consequences such as floods and mass migration.’”

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/soil-degradation.html
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-raises-global-alarm-rapid-degradation-soils

Counting on … Lent 16

26th  March 2025

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it? For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.”’ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over until morning.’ But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them.

Exodus 16: 4, 14-20

Taking only what is sufficient for our needs is the best way of ensuring we don’t damage the future supply of food and resources necessary for daily life. Most of the world’s problems are a result of our over consumption and over polluting of the environment.

Counting on … Lent 14

24th  March 2025

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’ John 6:5-14

The feeding of the 5000 occurs in all the gospels and in the Hebrew testament, Elisha feeds a 100 prophets with barley loaves (2 Kings Chapter 4 42). These stories tell us that when we have the desire and will, we can feed everyone with food to spare. 

There is enough food to feed the world, even as the total population is still growing. The problem of hunger stems from inequalities in accessing food – poverty, oppression, the impact of wars etc –  the power of big businesses in controlling prices, problems of food waste, and ethical questions about growing vast amounts of food to feed to a growing industrialised livestock programme when such food could be fed to people.  

God has given  us all that we need to eat, but it is we who fail to distribute it fairly.

https://www.ft.com/content/99204d14-a585-4743-ba95-c5fca64cb4a4
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/hunger-global-citizen-festival-advocacy-food/