New Food and Water Advocacy
Article 21 of the Mennonite Confession of Faith, based on Genesis 1 and other passages, states that everything belongs to God, who calls us as the church to live as faithful stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. As stewards of God’s earth, we are called to care for the earth and to bring rest and renewal to the land and everything that lives in it.
The natural environment is a finite resource, the inheritance of future generations and a gift from God. The biblical concept of shalom – a holistic relationship between God, humans and the earth – helps to guide our ethic of Creation stewardship. We expect companies to respect the limits of our natural resources and to work toward environmental sustainability.
Recent outbreaks of salmonella, e.coli bacteria and swine flu highlight the potential safety risks of poorly managed food and farming operations, as does pollution from such enterprises. Water is fast becoming the planet’s most precious, limited resource. It has and will increasingly become a source of conflict within and between nations, with the ability to destabilize cities, regions and global relationships. Unsustainable practices are not only a threat to the safety of consumers and the environment, but a threat to the company’s image and long-term profitability.
MMA seeks to work with food companies and industries that use vast freshwater supplies to help identify and address these concerns while encouraging them on a more sustainable path. MMA has been in dialogue with some companies on these issues for more than a year. New food and water issues are continually emerging.
Food System Challenges
The global food production system faces numerous challenges:
• Severe droughts and increasing water scarcity in key agricultural regions linked to global warming;
• Declining soil fertility and soil loss due to erosion;
• A loss of genetic diversity in crops, leading to increased crop loss risk;
• Harmful pesticide and herbicide residue on fruits and vegetables;
• Groundwater and watershed contamination affecting local farming communities;
• Rising prices for oil and petroleum-based agricultural inputs; and
• Competing use of food crops for bio-fuels.
MMA and other faith-based investors are meeting with major food and agriculture companies to determine where they are on the continuum of sustainability and to work with them to improve their operations. Companies include Hormel, ConAgra, Lamb Weston, Yum! Brands, McDonalds, Safeway and others.
