Carbon Fast 2015

Rhadhika Sri Paravastu, India “What strikes me most is that most farmers in my state are moving away from farming to pursue daily wage jobs as they do not have sufficient customers to grow crops for the local community.” Eat local and native. Foods that are grown close to home will be produced in-season, keeping with the rhythms of creation. Native foods will preserve the web of life in a local area. These foods will also support smaller-scale farmers. BLOG Eating local and native foods encourages the economy in your community to work with the rhythms of creation. In addition, it encourages connections between people, as consumers seek and meet farmers among their neighbors. The connections to nature and neighbors reinforce each other. As Pope Francis said in Laudato Si’, his encyclical letter on climate change and creation, “Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. . . We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” (139) Adding local and native foods to your diet is one step toward solving these crises. Local foods are grown in season, without the intensive intervention needed to grow summer-season foods over the winter or vice versa. Native foods fill important niches in the web of life present in your region. Meeting local producers develops relationships and builds an economy that sustains creation.

Lasarus Ngube, Namibia “The Earth finds her beauty in trees, plants, and animals. Growing and planting them is clothing her in beauty. Growing plants, planting vegetables, and caring for animals is preserving life, beauty, and the completeness of creation. Let’s be pro-life.” Try organic. Buy organically grown produce, which is produced without the most harmful pesticides and fertilizers. BLOG Organic foods are produced without use of the most harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Organic standards are regulated by country, and the organic labelis seen as a reliable indicator that the food has been produced to standard. Buying organic meat, dairy, and produce does more than just reduce poisonous chemicals in our lands and waters. It also sends an important signal to markets that a sizable group of consumers favors regulation and creation care. Buying organic food is a vote in favor of human systems that preserve and protect creation.

Charles Bakolo , Malawi “In the past, the land was so fertile that we did not even need fertiliser twice to harvest something. What has changed? The land is still the same but we are not able to harvest enough anymore.” Nurture nature in your garden. Avoid chemical fertilizers and chemicals, which do grave long-term harm to the soil and waters. Instead, fertilize with mulch, compost, and manure, and use natural methods to remove pests. BLOG Rich soil is the basis for successful food production and a beautiful example of the connectedness of all life in our common home. Soil is a complex ecosystem of organisms and nutrients, and the health of that system significantly affects the garden plants that grow in it. Healthier soil leads to higher yields. Boost soil health by contributing to its web of life. Add manure, leaf mulch, or compost to your garden. These methods work with the natural systems of creation, rather than against them, and can occasion prayerful reflection on the work of tending God’s earth. You may want to say a prayer like this to bless your tending of the soil: We ask you, Lord, to bless the soil that nourishes new life in this ground and in this community. Help us to look in awe at the mysteries of your work not yet seen. Help us to appreciate the nourishment of your earth and use it wisely.

The Lord God took Adam and Eve and put them in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded them, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden” (Genesis 2:15-16)

Julio Reis, Portugal “It hurts me to see the waste that flows down our rivers into the ocean, because we should be blessing God’s creation and making it flourish–not hiding all the wonder and beauty in it under so much litter.” Recycle. Recycling avoids harmful ocean pollution. Recycling glass, plastic, paper, and aluminum is possible in many areas. If recycling facilities do not exist in your area, contact municipal authorities about providing them. BLOG Recycling makes best use of the materials we have extracted from the Earth. If you do not already recycle, investigate what facilities are available in your area, and make a plan with the members of your household or parish to recycle fully as much as you are able. If you already recycle, set aside time for prayerful celebration with your household or parish. Take a moment to rejoice in your shared work to protect creation, and ensure that nothing is discarded that could be diverted to the recycling bin. To guide your conversations, reflect on this statement from former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams: “God is involved in ‘building to last’, in creating a sustainable world and sustainable relationships with us human beings. He doesn’t give up on the material of human lives. He doesn’t throw it all away and start again. . . . God doesn’t do waste.”