Care of Creation

Lenten Series:

Focus on Food Loss and Waste

Week 1 - February 25:

Blessed are those who value every grain, for they honor the labor of hands unseen.

This week, watch Rutgers’ video “Getting to Know the Food System” and read the meditation below. Afterward, take a moment to think about the questions below and pick a practice to try this week.

(Please note that the video starts with an ad that you can skip.)

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Blessed are those who value every grain, for they honor the labor of hands unseen and the gift of the earth that bore it.

They see in each seed the story of sun, rain, and toil, and they treat food not as a disposable commodity, but as a sacred trust.  

It is so easy for us to forget how many of the world’s resources go into producing the food that we eat.  For example, agriculture accounts for nearly seventy percent of all water used globally (SOURCE: Cargill).  Every time we eat - whether it is a simple salad or a steak, we are using water.  Along with this, about thirty seven percent of the earth’s land surface is used for growing crops or raising livestock.  And how much of this is wasted is not a static number.  It is constantly in flux due to changes in population, shifts in diet, technological advancement and climate change. (SOURCE: IERE Team).  When we sit down to eat each meal, as we thank God for the food God has provided, we should also reflect on the tremendous amount of the earth’s resources it takes to feed us every day.

And along with this, we should not forget the human resources.  Farmers get up before dawn to care for the animals and plants we consume every day. It is hard, physical labor in all types of weather.  We also sometimes forget that undocumented immigrants make up approximately fifty to seventy percent of the U.S. agricultural workforce. (SOURCE: USDA)  The agricultural sector relies heavily on these workers to produce our food, with 1.5 to 2 million workers hired each year to bring the food we so desperately need to our tables.  As you pray, try to picture these men and women, both young and old, seared by the hot sun and lashed by the rain, as they sweat and toil to feed us.  We should not waste a single grain of the harvest they provide, knowing how much labor and resources went into producing it.  Would it be too much to ask that we should offer a prayer for all the farmers who work so hard to produce our daily bread?

— Pastor Jeff Elliott for the Care of Creation Justice Group

Questions to think about this week:

This week, notice every time you throw something in your kitchen garbage. What is it? Why is it going to the landfill or incinerator? Should it have been thrown away in the first place? Can it go somewhere else - another use, recycling, compost, save for later?

Practices to try:

Today, pick a meal and really think about what and how you are eating.  Try to really savor your food as you are eating, using all of your senses. Thank God for your food's taste, smell, texture, look, and sounds.

At your next restaurant meal, remember to say no to additional items like plastic straws, packets of sauce or butter, chopsticks, piles of extra napkins, etc. if they are not going to be used. Also - package your own leftovers at the restaurant, right into an easy glass or tupperware container that you can take right to work to reheat (or at home)

This week’s recipe and prayer:

Lenten Lentil Soup

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 Medium onion (yellow or red) sliced thinly

4 tbs butter

1⁄2 tps kosher salt

1⁄4 cup apple cider

1⁄2 cup yellow onion chopped fine

1⁄2 cup finely diced carrots

1 stalk celery finely diced

1⁄4 dried thyme

2 cups French (or green) lentils

6 cups water or vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a soup pot. Add thinly sliced onions,

salt, and apple cider and cook over low heat for

30-45 minutes until soft and golden brown, stirring

occasionally. Squeeze the fat out of the onion confit

with a spoon, leaving the fat in the pan. Put aside the

confit.

2. Keeping the heat low, add the chopped onions, carrots,

and celery to the fat left on the soup pot. Add a dash

of salt to help the mirepoix (vegetables) cook down for

about 10-15 minutes. Cook until the vegetables are soft

and the onions are translucent.

3. Add lentils, water, 3⁄4 of the onion confit, and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 30

minutes or until the lentils are soft.

4. Remove bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve in bowls with the remaining confit to garnish.

Lord, Lent is a time of introspection. We focus on all that Christ has taught us as we prepare for His sacrifice and the miracle of the Easter Story. And as we think on this story, we realize that there is nothing passive about it! It calls upon us to reflect on our gifts and how we use them in our everyday lives. Have we done what we can to help others in our communities? Have we hindered others from getting the help they need? Are we living each day “ letting your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven?” Oh, how we all fall short... And yet, the Love of Christ washes over us with forgiveness that we may start anew tomorrow. Guide us on this Lenten journey, Lord, that we may be the light for others. Amen.

Prayer and Recipe from Deborah MacBride