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Food x Faith
Premises
Environmental impacts of food are huge
Christians strive to live faithfully
All Christians make food choices, which
confer environment & health implications
Thesis Statement
Reformed Christians, in the practice of
our faith, should adopt a whole food
plants-based diet to better serve,
protect and restore Nature at global
scale, including our own bodies as
temples, all the creatures now and
those to be.
Environmental
Degradation
The first big problem.
Psalm 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work
of your fingers
Psalm 19:1b the skies proclaim his handiwork
Deut. 10:14 To the LORD your God belong the
heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and
everything in it.
Creation Care
Weaknesses
Its all about jobs, economy
~half U.S. GCC skeptical
Oblivion on where food comes from
Faith community? Celebrates Creation
Agroecosystems (17% of
terrestrial surface)
Food production capacity is
GOOD
All agroecosystem services
are currently FAIR-POOR
Future agroecosystem
goods and services to
decline
Other ecosystems
heavily impacted by food
production practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Growing population
Emerging climate change
Stagnant productivity gains for 20 years
Environmental pollution, low soil fertility
Increased pesticide and fertilizer use
Lack of new arable land
Powerful Predictions
(Assuming my postulata , I say, that the
power of population is indefinitely greater than
the power in the earth to produce subsistence
for man.)
Population, when unchecked, increases in a
exponential ratio.
(NOAA)
Discovered 900 AD
Isolated: 2300 mi from
Chile
Statues: ahu & moai imply
advanced civilization
Population crashed from
30K to 111
Lost capacity for
agriculture, fishing, forestry
Causes of collapse:
deforestation,
overpopulation, erosion,
out of touch elite
Deforestation
Soil erosion
Climate change
Access to energy
Human population
Two Proposed
Approaches
2 Speak
Nutrition Transition
Do you not know that your bodies are temples
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you
have received from God? You are not your
own; you were bought at a price. Therefore
honor God with your bodies. (I Cor. 6:19-20)
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M. Nestle, Eating
Made Simple (Sci Am)
Healthcare Efficacy
2 Some
World-class, Expensive
Miss directed? Should we treat
Symptoms
Causes
CHD
Hypertension
Many cancers (colon, breast, prostate, )
Diabetes II
Developed Country
Infectious disease
deaths are negligible
Predominant diseases
Coronary heart
disease
High blood pressure
Diabetes II
Cancer
Disease Incidence
Cause
Developed
Developing
1990
2020
1990
2020
Infectious
7.8
4.3
48.7
22.2
Cardiovascular
disease
20.4
22
8.3
13.8
Coronary heart
disease
9.9
11.2
2.5
5.2
Stroke
5.9
6.2
2.4
4.2
Diabetes
1.9
1.5
0.7
0.7
Cancer
13.7
16.8
Neuropsychiatric
disorders
22
21.8
13.7
Injuries
14.5
13
15.2
21.1
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
NY Times,
Economix, 2009
Diet + Statins
Challenge the
Messengers
Influencer motives: Food processors, Dairy/grain
producers associations, Pharmaceutical companies
II Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear.
http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf
Other Messengers
1. Forks over Knives whole foods
plant-based diet
2. King Corn farm subsidies,
processed food and cheap meat
3. Michael Pollan
Eat Food
Mostly Plants
Not Too Much
Genesis
Leviticus
Job
Psalms
I Corinthians
II Timothy
Revelation
If
We ate a WFPBD with less processed foods and meat
We reward efficiencies other than calories/hour of labor
Then
We can reduce grains used for meat production
We can reduce monocultures in favor of polycultures
And
Our health will improve, reducing healthcare cost
Yields will increase, providing theoretical food security
for a growing global population and 40% of current
agricultural land for restoration
Save $
Conclusion
Reformed Christians should be self
motivated to live within Gods will by
adopting a WFPBD plants-based diet to
treat our body as the Spirits temple,
thereby enhancing future global food
security, improving environmental
health, and modeling a more
appropriate life style with the global
community. (and save $)