Making My Daily Bread (Recipe Included!)

Written by Rev. Jenny Phillips

Minister for Environmental Stewardship and Advocacy 

for the PNW Conference of the United Methodist Church 

Reblogged from PNWUMC

“Give us this day our daily bread…” this is the line in the Lord’s Prayer that I most take for granted. In my household, when there is a bread shortage, it is because someone forgot to pick it up at the grocery store. But despite my access to bread, I’m going to attempt to bake my own for the season of Lent.

It is easy to forget that the gift of daily bread is dependent on sustainable agriculture, abundant water, and healthy people. It takes an ecosystem to make bread. I trust that the sun will shine and the rain (and irrigation waters) will fall on the wheat fields that provide grain. I have unabiding faith in the industrial bakeries that produce thousands of loaves each day, and in the interstate highway and local road systems that ensure fresh bread as well as ingredients like flour, yeast, salt and oil will be delivered regularly to the grocery stores near my house. I expect to have the money I need to buy this staple. And I don’t have any of the allergies or medical conditions that can make wheat bread dangerous.

With all of this in mind, I’m taking up the practice of breadmaking for the next forty days. My intention is for the process of sourcing ingredients, kneading them together, trusting in the miracle of fermentation, and sharing the results to bring me closer to the Creator who breathes life into the earth that nourishes and sustains us.

Most days I expect I’ll make a basic recipe for whole wheat buns that requires a few minutes of kneading in the evening, a long rise overnight, and 20 minutes in the oven in the morning. Voila–breakfast! But I also plan to experiment with gluten-free breads, in the hopes of developing options for gluten-free communion bread that tastes good even to wheat-eaters.

I’m looking forward to this commitment. For me, kneading creates space for quiet reflection. It is a way to pray with my hands. But I’m also nervous. The idea of making this sort of Lenten commitment feels like a luxury I can hardly afford. My life (probably like yours) is generally busy and complicated. I worry that there will be times when I can’t pull this breadmaking off, but I still want to try. So I’m going to attempt to translate my worry into a deeper appreciation for the challenges of those for whom daily bread is not a given. I’m hoping that if I promise myself some grace at the front end of this season, that will make it easier for me to give grace to others in whatever situations I might face over the next six+ weeks.

I’m planning to post updates on my process along with some theological reflection every so often. If you’d like to bake along with me, let’s be in touch to encourage one another and to share recipes and insights. My starting recipe is below. I like this one because it is flexible–even if you don’t get it exactly right, it still usually turns out okay. Not a bad metaphor for life.

Basic Bread for Lent

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼-½ teaspoon active dry yeast (I use less if I can let the bread rise for 4 hours or more, and more if I only have an hour or two)
• 2 cups flour (I use a mix of King Arthur white bread flour and locally-grown wheat flour. All-purpose flour works too. This particular recipe works best with at least 50% white or white whole wheat flour)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, stir one cup warm water with one tablespoon honey. (If you have an instant-read thermometer, go for around 110-degrees. If you don’t have one, just go for warm.)

Sprinkle the yeast over the honey water.

While yeast becomes active, measure the flour.

Stir the olive oil, salt, and half the flour into the honey-yeast water.

Work in the remaining flour with a spoon, and later, with your hands.

Add more flour as needed. The dough should feel soft, springy, and not too sticky.

Knead for several minutes.

Allow the dough to rise in a bowl covered with a towel, at least one hour or up to 12 hours. The longer the rise, the better the flavor.

Punch down the dough. Form rolls or a loaf. Let it rise again while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake rolls for about 20 minutes, a loaf for about 45 minutes. The top will be brown and the internal temperature will be around 200 degrees (but you don’t have to check it unless you’re fussy like that.)

Eat warm with lots of butter. Share with someone who is hungry for food and/or love.

Amber Waves of Grain

Karin Frank

Outreach Coordinator, Earth Ministry/WAIPL

Last weekend our safe chemicals’ team, Jessie Dye and I, took a trip to Eastern Washington. We were on our way to Pullman, along with the Washington Toxics Coalition and Washington State Nurses Association, to talk with communities there about legislation to remove toxic chemicals from furniture and children’s toys. The staff here at Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light has loved visiting Eastern Washington in the past, and is committed to connecting with more communities on the dry side of our beautiful state.

Karin and Jessie at the solar cross outside 

Zion Philadelphia Congregational UCC

We had the good fortune to visit the Oregon Trail town of Ritzville to meet Rev. Judith Rinehart-Nelson of Zion Philadelphia Congregational UCC. After lunch with Rev. Rinehart-Nelson and one of her gracious congregants, Ron Jirava, Ron gave us a fascinating tour of his wheat farm. It might be God ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz, who brings forth bread from the Earth, but Ron seems to do a lot of the work, too.
 

Driving us through his fields and showing us his equipment, Ron told us about the history of his family that has tilled and passed this land on through the generations. The history of this farm, and the original Congregation Church in the Northwest on his land, goes back to his family’s arrival here six generations ago. People who spend the days working the land with their own hands often remember things other people can forget.

We were moved by his words that echoed Leviticus (25:23): “For the land is mine; for you are sojourners, residents with me.” How could I own this land--Ron wanted to know--it has been here for so many generations before me, it will be here for long after. If we damage it, how are we caring for the people who cared for it before passing it on, or the people who will tend it after us, or the God who made it and lends it to us for a while? 

People who work the land remember just how dependent we are on the generosity, and how vulnerable we are to the whims, of the natural world. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, farming is at the center of religious life. The Bible is filled with prayer for rain for the growing plants and prayers for a safe and abundant harvest that will provide enough food for all. These are the same prayers that today Rev. Rinehart-Nelson says fill her spiritual life and the life of her congregation.

Small scale farming is not a get rich quick, or ever, scheme. Farmers exist in a production-based economy that demands the highest yields, the amount of crop you can harvest from each acre, every year. They feed a large and growing population all over the world that needs healthy food to eat.  In an age when we will pay $200 for an iPhone but $1 is too expensive for an apple, farmers struggle to get by from year to year.  Ron explained that they have very little safety net for the inevitable ups and downs of a livelihood that depends on the good graces of the natural world.

Karin, Ron, Rev. Rinehart-Nelson, and a very large dog, 

outside of the original home of the first Congregationalist 

church in Washington Territory, located on Ron's land.

Each season, farmers have to carefully balance how much pesticide and herbicide they need to use to obtain yields high enough to support themselves without poisoning the land they live and work on. They need to decide how much to till – increasing labor, greenhouse gas emissions, erosion, water usage, fuel use, and crop-harming pests, but also increasing the all-important yield that is required to financially stay afloat from year-to-year. In God’s first, most fundamental command to humans, agriculture and environmentalism are intertwined. Humans are to tend – protect and care for – and till – to work and live from – the land. In our economy, environmentalism clashes with finances.

What we spend money on reflects what is sacred to us. In the 1960’s, Americans spent about a third of their income on food. In 2009, Americans spent an average of 6% of their income on food, compared with 14% in France, 20% in Poland, and 44% in Belarus – all countries with lower incidences of malnutrition than America. When we devalue our food, we do not value the land that produces our food, and we damage and degrade it. We ignore the sacredness of the process through which the world is fed.

We are grateful to Rev. Judith and Ron for the beautiful day they shared with us on the wheat farm near Ritzville. For our part, we commit to learning from and connecting with our farming neighbors. We hope to bring more people of faith to tour and see this farming community next summer. Right now you can check out the amazing Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at WSU, where you can read all about the interconnectedness of agriculture and the environment.

Let's Not Beat a Dead Horse

by Clare Brauer-Rieke

For those who were unaware, October happens to be National Vegetarian Month. While one has to imagine that this arbitrary designation was recent, it is hard to discuss vegetarian and vegan diets without feeling like you're beating a dead horse. Very few people, it seems, have not had "the conversation" about vegetarianism. Whether triggered by a coffee-table copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma, a son or daughter who comes back from freshman year of college quoting Peter Singer, or any other number of sources, the word is definitely out there.

The 101-version is that there is definitely a spectrum, rather than polarity, of human eating habits. If not an omnivore (literally "one who eats everything"), one might be a pescatarian (one who abstains from eating animals except for fish and seafood), pollo vegetarian (one who abstains from eating animals except for chicken), pollo-pescatarian (you do the math), ovo-lacto-vegetarian (the fancy way of saying non-vegan vegetarians, or vegetarians who consume milk and eggs), or vegan (one who consumes no animal products of any kind). Some people are vegetarian or vegan for a few months or a few years; others make it a lifelong commitment. To further complicate matters, many factors play into people's decisions about what they eat, including economic means, treatment of animals and related ethical concerns, environmental considerations, personal health, and perhaps most basically, tastes or desires.

It's a dizzying world of eating habits, but there it is. In contemporary society, it seems that everyone has some preconceived notion about those who eat differently than they choose to eat (or who eat the same way for different reasons). Almost everyone, at some point, feels judged for their choices regarding food. One way or the other, many people feel strongly about their own choices and competitive or antagonistic toward others.

Enough! As a faith community, we are to live in koinonia-- while one should remain true to their personal ethics, there is much room for empathy and flexibility in building-- rather than tearing down-- relationships with one another. So, while I am aware of the irony of this phrase in this context, let's not beat a dead horse. I'm not writing to influence how you eat. Eat in a way that is spiritual, ethical, healthful, and joyful for you. All I ask is that in your decisions to eat the way you do, hold both yourself and others accountable with charity, compassion and respect.

The Alter of Perfection

By: Mikaila Gawryn
Outreach Associate

Asparagus: Slightly Mushy

This was my paramount thought last night as I pushed my plate back. I had prepared a meal for some friends as an act of love, one part of my Lenten practice.

When I set out to cook a meal for someone else once a week during Lent I had not considered that the process might be difficult. Lent is a time for sharing acts of love and upon reflection I considered how I might act in loving ways through my food choices. I deeply enjoy eating, preparing and sharing food. And I enjoy it even more when that food is farmed, produced, distributed and served in ways the bring healing and peace to God's creation and her people. (Check out one of my favorite organizations doing this work, the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network, by clicking above.)

I decided I would try to use fresh, local, organic and sustainable foods, so as to offer a gift of love to my community, and to the earth that would provide the ingredients. After I had come up with that idea I assumed enjoying a meal with friends once a week would be full of blessings. It has been surprisingly difficult.

The greatest surprise has been my own habit of critiquing. For example: While I'm picking produce I worry that I won't be purchasing enough (I'm new to cooking for groups). While I'm cooking I worry that I'll burn the fish, or cook the asparagus for too long. Last night I chided myself when I forgot to let the garlic heat in olive oil prior to adding vegetables.

What if we have to eat raw garlic?!?! I thought.

The real question should have been "Why am I so wrapped up in the perfection of a sauteed root vegetable?"

My anxiety about giving a not-exactly-perfect gift kept me from thinking about the process of giving as an act of love. The outcome was a slightly less than gourmet menu, however one that was full of love:

Asparagus: Slightly Mushy
Halibut: A Bit Dry
Hearty Bread and Fruit Salad: Loved By All

For more info on how I chose these products click the above links.

The cooking and dining experience this week reminded me of something that David Dompke once said at Earth Ministry's 2005 Celebration of St. Francis. He was speaking of environmental work and progress, and shared the following suggestion: "Do not sacrifice the good on the alter of the perfect." His words reminded me that we are only human.

Whether offering a small gift of love, like a home-made meal, or working toward changing huge environmental realities like global climate change we can offer our gifts, and trust that God will fill in the holes. For me this means mentally letting go of mushy asparagus or slightly undercooked garlic, and acknowledging the value in giving a gift, even when it is not perfect.

Ash Wednesday, Start of the Earth Ministry Lenten Blog!

By Jessie Dye, Program & Outreach Director

Remember, Man, that thou art dust and into dust thou shalt return.

We at Earth Ministry take Lent very seriously. Though from a wide variety of Christian denominations (Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Presbyterian, Lutheran, UCC, Episcopal) the journey and the discipline of Lent is something that means a great deal to each of us. We fling ourselves into fasting and prayer as enthusiastically as partiers in the French Quarter let the good times roll.

It’s not that we are ascetics in general. No one can get into the spirit of a costume party like the staff of Earth Ministry, and we have been known to let loose (most recently at the fabulous cocktail party at the Governor’s Mansion after Environmental Lobby Day). So it‘s not that we are a morose and sober bunch. In fact, we are fun loving and up-beat, and each of us has our share of guilty pleasures.

It’s just that during this long and recently crashed gilded age we’ve just been though when consumption was virtually a household deity, Earth Ministry preached simplicity and sustainability. It’s one thing to enjoy a good party, another to become addicted to endless stuff, be it food, plastic toys, cars or designer jeans. The real addiction we rail against is the mistaking of stuff for the presence of God.

Lent is a natural fit for Christians who wish to live in balance rather than excess. It’s the season when we let go of our own bad habits and feel the pain of saying no to ourselves. In the void left by our fasting comes awareness of our true feelings and needs. Into that empty space comes the possibility of intimacy with ourselves, with each other, and with God.

In making this a fast from our own excess and from environmentally destructive practices, we honor the Creator of this good Earth and the Redeemer whose journey we witness in the six weeks ahead. It’s a small price to pay, given that He whose story we follow in this season gave everything for us.

This year, I’m returning to the Irish Catholic traditions of my childhood. The adults in those years were forbidden to eat between meals, a mandatory fast for all grown-up Catholics; we kids only had to give up candy. And even now, no meat on Friday is still required in Lent. So I’m eating only three meals a day (eating a meal means I’m sitting down!) and a planned snack (again, sitting down at a table). We’ll be vegetarians on Ash Wednesday, for six Fridays, and during Holy Week. No more grazing through the kitchen after dinner, looking for love in all the wrong places. No more Dick’s milkshakes just because I crave one. We are moving down the food chain for six weeks.

I will let you know what I learn as I make the real choice to organize my life around something besides food. It’s a way to practice simplicity each day, like monks observing the hours. The other staff of Earth Ministry will write in this blog on their Lenten experiences as well so remember to check back each day for a new post. It’s a joyful thing to practice the Lenten discipline with a team. And it’s very satisfying to walk our talk!

A Green Thumb on the White House lawn

By Chris Olson, Outreach Coordinator

In early October of last year, as the Presidential election was entering is final and most heated stage, Michael Pollen, organic food advocate and author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto", wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine. The article was a letter to the soon to be elected President, whichever candidate that was to be, about the state of our American food system. He gave a number of policy suggestions on ways to move our nation's focus away from corporate, global agribusiness and instead towards healthy, local community farms. His last suggestion in his list was to create the position of White House farmer, much like the White House chef.

"Finally, there is the power of the example you set in the White House," Pollan writes, "If what’s needed is a change of culture in America’s thinking about food, then how America’s first household organizes its eating will set the national tone, focusing the light of public attention on the issue and communicating a simple set of values that can guide Americans toward sun-based foods and away from eating oil... Since enhancing the prestige of farming as an occupation is critical to developing the sun-based regional agriculture we need, the White House should appoint, in addition to a White House chef, a White House farmer. This new post would be charged with implementing what could turn out to be your most symbolically resonant step in building a new American food culture. And that is this: tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden."

He goes on to describe how Eleanor Roosevelt's example helped create the Victory Garden movement in 1943, which ended up contributing nearly 40 percent of the nations food during the WWII. That's incredible. People from around the nation agreed with Pollan's suggested change and a website, www.whitehousefarmer.com, was created to help spur the movement. Seventy five farmers from 23 states and the District of Columbia have been nominated in the past few months and anyone who visits the website can read their biographies and vote for who they would like to be the first White House Farmer.

As of today, the leading contenders are Carrie Anne Little and Claire Strader. During my time at the University of Wisonsin-Madison, I did a project where I had to work on an organic farm for a day (I think I even wrote about that experience in my first blog post!). The farm I worked on was Troy Gardens Community Farm and Claire was the farmer who worked with us all day, planting potatoes, picking invasive mustard plants, and giving us a tour of the grounds. I voted for her because of my personal experience working with her. That being said, the other leading nominee is Carrie and she is from Washington state. I don't know her personally but I bet she is a wonderful farmer as well. A number of both Wisconsin and Washington farmers have been nominated. Whether or not you vote for anyone, you should at least check out the website (www.whitehousefarmer.com) and see if you know any of those nominated or read Michael Pollan's article. Hopefully in the coming months we will hear news from DC about the new farmer reshaping the White House lawn!

A Holiday Season to Remember

By Chris Olson, Outreach Coordinator

I like to eat. In fact I love to eat. You could go so far as to saying that eating is one of my favorite activities. Over the last four months I have rediscovered my love of hearty and delicious meals and realized what a true privilege it is to have a bounty of food in the kitchen cupboards. The Lutheran Volunteer Corps gives each of us $95 for food that we pool together as a house (there are five of us) to buy groceries for the month. This is, in fact, plenty of money to get us through the month nourished and healthy. BUT...and this is a big but for me....I find that I do not have the plethora of food choices that I have had at all other times in my life, nor the general abundance of household food that, previous to LVC, I took for granted. We live on a limited budget which means that we need to get the basics, make sure that we have enough for supper each night, and maybe one extra "luxury" item each week. There aren't many snacks, leftovers, or taste enhancers in our house.

At first it was a struggle for me, especially since my housemates are vegetarians so we do not buy meat (a choice that I wholeheartedly support, although every once in awhile I get a craving for a turkey sandwich!). As the months pass by, however, I am learning to adapt and adjust to the food situation. The new limits have also allowed me space to become thankful for the food I do receive.

Thanksgiving held new meaning for me this year. My housemates and I were invited to the house of a former LVC member to share the day with her and a number of her friends. It was a potluck meal and as I stood in front of the kitchen counter I found myself thinking how thankful, absolutely thankful I was for all the food that was in front of me. It was a shared meal made from the wonderful generosity of 18 different people. I ate my fill that evening and savored every single bite.

Its not often that we are made to face the privilege and prosperity that so many of us blindly grow up with in the United States. For me, food has always been one of those things I have not had to think about. I always had the means to buy whatever I wanted at the grocery store, but for billions of people around the world that is not the case. As I said before we are in no way starving at our LVC house and I do not mean to compare our situation to the truly dire situations of many, but just that LVC is giving me the chance to step back, to think about my place in our global food system. How I eat and what I eat is intimately and ultimately linked with planetary social and environmental justice issues. There is something powerful in living out a way of life that is different from your own. For me, LVC is giving me a clearer understanding of many issues just by placing me in situations that were foreign to me until now. As I think back to my excited anticipation for my Thanksgiving meal and look forward to the many shared meals with family and friends over my Christmas break, I know I will be ever more grateful for the gifts I am given and that this will be a holiday season I won't forget.

Healthy Thanksgiving Choices

by Beth Anderson
Thanksgiving dinner is one of those special times during the year when many of us get together with family or friends to celebrate our connections to one another and to our Creator. I have a few tips to pass along that will help you create a blessed and healthy gathering for your loved ones...


CLEANING PRODUCTS: Whether you’re preparing your house to host a dinner for 20, or simply doing your normal weekly chores, use the safest cleaners possible. Need to remove the crust from inside your oven? Instead of using a hazardous commercial oven cleaner, try applying a paste of baking soda and water and using good
old-fashioned elbow grease to remove the mess.
Click here for more information
about safe and healthy home cleaning solutions.


FOOD: Buy organic and locally-produced items whenever possible. In some cases, that may mean adapting a traditional recipe to include vegetables that are currently in season or paying a bit more for a sustainably-raised turkey.

Here’s a link to a resource for making environmentally-conscious food choices while still staying within your financial means and another link to ideas for a local, organic Thanksgiving.



COOKWARE: This tip requires a long-term commitment, and perhaps a bit of an upfront investment, but this seems like an appropriate time of year to consider switching from Teflon-coated cookware to a less toxic option. Our friends at Washington Toxics Coalition just put together some great information on this topic in the article, “What’s cookin'? Make it safe!” They advise switching from non-stick cookware to glass, stainless steel, or cast iron.

Many blessings for a healthy and holy Thanksgiving holiday!

Swimming Against the Current

By Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Outreach Associate

As I turned on the computer this morning the first thing I saw on my to do list was SUSHI. You might be surprised at how large a role sushi plays in my vocation. The truth is, I love sushi, and that love tends to creep into most areas of my life.

My sushi beginnings were humble. After a long day in the halls of my high school I would convince my friends to drive to the local QFC so that I could pick stale rolls of cucumber, rice and fish out of tiny plastic boxes. Surprisingly they were not as taken with this delicacy as I was. Looking back I assume I have either a stomach of steel or unimaginable good luck for having avoided food poisoning for so long.

I'll be honest, I've always had a small amount of indigestion, and as I increased the quality of my sushi purchases I realized it wasn't due to the gray lumps of wasabi from QFC. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had a feeling that sushi wasn't a particularly neutral practice, environmentally speaking.

The first hint came in my sophomore year of college when I read about the clearing of coastal mangrove swamps in the tropics for shrimp farms. Mangrove forests house aquatic and terrestrial life in the zone between fresh and salt water. Human populations have co-existed with the mangrove swamps and reaped the benefits of diversity in these lively ecosystems. The Monterey Bay Aquarium states that over 3.7 million acres of the swamps have been converted to shrimp farms, an industry that requires farmers to move on after an area has been used because of the pollution left. This leaves a destroyed ecosystem and a transient population dependent on being able to find more untouched land.

Each time I sat down to enjoy a tuna role I realized that very fish had been swimming somewhere until relatively recently. I didn't know how healthy its population was, what continents it swam near, or how many flights it had taken to arrive on my dinner plate. I was disgusted. Sushi in Japanese tradition arose from an appreciation for simplicity and subtlety and yet it was overwrought by conflict and injustice.

No one seemed to know how to help. The seafood industry's transport maps look like bird's nests and sustainable harvesting methods are continually undermined by the fact that fishing laws have been created independently by countries. Everyone has a right to fish the oceans dry as they are not under the jurisdiction of any one governing body.

Although I felt alone in my seafood confusion thankfully far greater powers were at work creating change. Enter Seafood Watch. In 1999 The Monterey Bay Aquarium created a list of sustainable seafood for concerned visitors. From there an extensive program called Seafood Watch blossomed.

The Seafood Watch program provides information to "empower consumers and businesses to make choices for healthy oceans." The most recent addition to the extensive website is (drum roll please...) a Sushi Pocket Guide. The guide includes a list of best choices, good alternatives and seafood to avoid when enjoying your sushi. What is more it provides us with the information we need to be able to tell our chefs what we want. Communicating to sushi restaurants that we want sustainable seafood is one way that you and I can make a difference. Join me and swim against the current of unsustainable seafood culture.

Enjoy!

Sources: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program www.mbayaq.org

Celebrating Even if We Stumble to the Finish Line

By Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Outreach Associate

Congratulations!! We crossed the finish line!! Our Three Month 300 Mile Food Challenge was successfully completed yesterday!! I must say though, my part of the completion was not as successful as I had hoped.

Okay... to be honest I practically fell across the finish line. It was hard!! Eating only local food for three months was more challenging than I could have expected, but even the times that I messed up provided opportunities for learning.

Two years ago University of Washington Professor David Domke addressed members and friends of Earth Ministry at our annual Celebration of St. Francis. I was attending as a volunteer, and I remember standing outside the sanctuary where he was speaking, straightening up brochures and snacks for the reception. From in the lobby I heard him say something that I will never forget. Professor Domke said that in the environmental community all too often "we sacrifice the good on the alter of perfection".

Having spent the last three years in an environmental studies B.A. program I know exactly what he was talking about. In my program I felt like I was practically eating, sleeping and breathing environmental topics. Pollution, extinction and degradation were all around and it was easy to fall into legalistic patterns of control when trying to cope with the impending doom I was reading about.

"All too often we sacrifice the good on the alter of perfection."

- Professor David Domke

Not surprisingly, this legalism can be accompanied by a holier-than-thou attitude, and I know because I had it! I started to believe that if I did everything right I could actually avoid being a part of the degradation of our natural world. This belief is clearly contradicted by the teachings of our faith:

Romans 3:23 says, "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God."

It is also contradicted by the realities of our world. By participating in the systems of contemporary society, we become part of the injustice they bring about.

Unfortunately, I think it is this legalistic and arrogant attitude which keeps many people from getting involved in environmental action. I consider myself a part of the environmental community and I still hate it when someone makes me feel guilty.

Perhaps the greatest contribution the Christian faith community can make to environmental work is the acknowledgment that we are a fallen people. We don't have our act together, we unavoidably participate in the unjust processes in our world that victimize our fellow human beings and God's creation.

Yet, as Professor Domke explained, the inability to be perfect does not mean we should cease striving to do good. Our Three Months 300 Miles food challenge was just that, a challenge. But it was a good experience for me. It taught me to use muscles that I haven't been aware of before. Like the muscle of intentional meal planning that is required when I try to only buy seasonal produce each week. And the scheduling habits necessary for only shopping when the farmers markets are actually open.

Even though our food challenge is over the Earth Ministry staff is still still working to support local organic food. This week we'll be heading out to help bring in the harvest with New Hope Baptist Church! We'll be participating in the Clean Greens Project with a farm located in Duvall Washington. New Hope Baptist church has been working hard all season to bring in the crops that they planted themselves in the spring. If you're interested, please join us and New Hope members for a day of working in the earth and bringing local food to local people who need it.

Clean Greens Harvest Party
Friday, October 3rd, 9AM
Meet at New Hope Baptist Church, 116 21st Ave Seattle WA 98122
or at the farm, 20121 W. Snoqualmie River Rd. NE, Duvall WA 98019
Water will be provided, but please bring food for your lunch.

I hope to see you there!
Mikaila

Fear of Produce?

By Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Outreach Associate

I've come to realize that I cannot buy a piece of fruit alone. No, I have not developed a produce phobia. But as Earth Ministry's Three Months 300 Miles food challenge continues I have realized how difficult it is to live out my beliefs in on a daily basis.

The realization came after reading Field Maloney, of Slate online magazine, point out that not all organic is good organic. Slate's article Is Wholefoods Wholesome? articulates a critical weakness in the trendy organic and health-food movement: the promise of a silver bullet.

The typical Wholefoods' or Trader Joes' customer might ask: When organic tomatoes can be purchased from Chile and conventional tomatoes purchased from within 200 miles, which is the better choice? Unfortunately, it is complicated.

The reality, as Slate points out, is that the conventional tomatoes will involve far less carbon emissions, and probably be fresher than their organic Chile counterparts. With the complexities of food systems, it is not always easy to tell how environmentally or socially sound an item is by its label. We can't count on a quick-fix to the ethical food dilemmas of the day. And this is where it gets difficult, as people of faith seeking peace, justice and humility through the work of our lives we need to be informed about the complexities of the system. This will take resources, energy and a critical eye.

How many Christians does it take to buy a piece of produce?

Two at least, but ten is better.

"But who has time, and who has the money?" you may be asking. This is why we need community. We need help finding a loaf of bread that fits our ethics when we don't have the time or the money to research it. We need help finding empowerment when we face the mountains of newspapers reporting on the doom of Global Climate Change. We need help picking out our produce, because the world around us is impacted by our choices.

So as people of faith, and as communities of faith we need to put our energy together. We need to lean on one another in the work of service. At Earth Ministry we work to "Inspire and mobilize" people of faith in taking action on environmental issues. We are a part of your community, and you can lean on us. Here are a few suggestions that we've found helpful.

• Get started as a congregation: Earth Ministry's Caring for All Creation: At the Table publication will provide you with guidelines for liturgy, education and community activities focused on how to make faith-based food choices.
• Benefit from the work that has already been done: Consider joining a co-operative grocer that purchases along your ethical lines (they should talk about their purchasing guidelines in their membership information!) As a member you will benefit from the research, time and resources that they put into their purchasing.
• Know the lingo: A few minutes of vocab research can can help you understand what your labels are actually saying. Check out the Consumer Reports Greener Choices Eco-Labels Center.

Greetings from a Wisconsinite!

Hello, Hello!

My name is Chris Olson and I am the new volunteer from the Lutheran Volunteer Corps at Earth Ministry. I come to you from the little town of Cumberland in northwestern Wisconsin. I recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I studied rural sociology and environmental studies.

"Rural sociology?" you say, "What the devil is that?" Well, rural sociology examines rural people and the numerous issues facing rural (or relatively urbanized) populations. These issues include urban sprawl and loss of farmland, changes in rural populations over time, poverty in the rural setting, the evolution of agriculture and agricultural technologies, organic farming in rural and urban environments, sustainability issues, and natural resource consumption and conservation to name a few. It took me almost two years to I settle on rural sociology as a major but it was an experience during the second semester of my freshman year that pointed me on a path that would help me discover my passion for the environment and how people interact with the world around them.

During the spring of 2005 I took a class titled Environmental Studies:The Social Perspective taught by Jack Kloppenburg, who would later become my rural soc. adviser and good friend. One of the projects for the class was to spend a morning working on a nearby CSA farm. Waking up one cool, spring morning I gathered with a small group of other students to carpool across town. As I arrived at the CSA and stepped out of the car, I soaked in the view of the rolling fields stretching out before me. Over the next few hours I took comfort as the morning sun slowly warmed my back as I crouched to plant potatoes, felt the dark soil give way as I learned how to use a push plow, and listened to the stories of those working in the field next to me. I was connected to the earth and the people around me in ways I had never been before. This experience stirred something deep inside me and over the next year I struggled to understand its significance. Knowing how my food was grown, where it came from, and who was affected by it became very important issues to me as I thought about the implications of our global and local food systems. I finally realized that I was being called to work for social and environmental justice and through the rural sociology major I could study issues that would empower me to do that.

I'm excited to spend a year as an LVC volunteer where I will focus on living out the ideas of social justice, intentional community, and simple living. I'm also very excited to join the Earth Ministry team where I will learn to empower others working to integrate the tenets of sustainability and creation care into their congregations and faith communities. I look forward to a year of challenge and growth as well as one of fun and celebration.

Thundering Hooves

By Jessie Dye

Have you ever seen that which is in your imagination, that which you have read about or heard tell of, come to full fabulous life as if by some miracle of God or mind? This has happened to me twice; may I live to see it happen again.

The first time, my little son lost his small stuffed wolf (Wolfie) under sad circumstances. One year later he found a tiny abandoned puppy, a Navajo res dog not four weeks old, dumped and alone in Monument Valley. That puppy looked just like the lost stuffed one. “Wolfie, you are a real dog now!” we said. He came home with us and he’s now 75 pounds of big, joyful and goofy dog-hood.

The second time I saw something of fiction spring to glorious life happened last week. LeeAnne Beres and I met Joel Huesbey of Thundering Hooves in his pasture during a warm sunset in the Walla Walla Valley. Joel spoke eloquently about the end of oil, the need for healthy agricultural systems, his grandfather’s farm ethic, and the Omega 3’s and 6’s of pasture finished beef. It was as if Wendell Barry’s Mad Farmer had sprung to wiry, handsome life in front of us and was extolling sustainable agriculture in real time.

Joel is one member of a multi-generation family farm in Touchet (pronounced too-chee), Washington. Their German Lutheran immigrant ancestors founded Thundering Hooves more than 100 years ago. It was a good farm, a team effort to raise the beef cows that supported them. The family worked hard and made a living for most of a century. They still do, but a new vision came to the ranch when Joes graduated from Washington State University in agriculture.

Water was scarce, petroleum based fertilizer expensive, and feed lots grew more inhumane. Joel realized cows could be raised for beef differently than the huge agri-business spreads that bought from his neighbors and paid the farmers darn little for their work. He decided to pasture-finish his cows, feed them what God and nature wanted ruminants to eat (author’s note: not corn), and preserve them from the heath risks and awfulness of feedlots.

To do this, the family had to market their beef differently; Clarice and Keith Swanson, Joel’s sister and brother in law, joined to manage the business end. I met Clarice seven years ago at the University District Farmer’s Market in Seattle on a clear Saturday morning in October. I’ve been buying their meat ever since, to the satisfaction of my coronary arteries and the spirits of the cows I eat.

T. Hooves continued in Jessie’s next blog; or see www.thunderinghooves.net

The Cowness Of It All

By: Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Intern

The "unadulterated cowness", as Billy Collins writes, grounds me. Or is it the "black and white maps of their sides" that captures my imagination? For a hundred reasons the image of a cow on green pasture under a bright blue sky tells me that the world is at peace.


Sadly, this image, though familiar to many American's is less and less a real representation of how cows actually live in the U.S. As you may know, most conventional diary operations (and conventional now means large-scale) are a industrial mix of laboratory and production line, appropriately dubbed factory farms. These factories turn out dairy products quickly and in huge quantities, but at what price and with what quality?

One of the best parts of our 3 Months 300 Miles Food Challenge so far
has been getting to know the fabulously "unconventional" Golden Glen Creamery located in Bow Washington. This family run dairy produces the finest milk, butter and cheese I've ever tasted and all with a commitment to healthy cows and healthy environments!

One aspect of this commitment is Golden Glen's choice to be rBGH free. Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone has been a controversial topic since its approval by the FDA in 1993. Physicians and nutritionists have made strong cases against its use for human and environmental health reasons. However, going against the flow can cost small dairies like Golden Glen Creamery a lot. In a 2007 press release Puget Consumer Cooperative explained that rBGH cows produce on average ten percent more milk than non-rBGH cows do.

Unfortunately, our country's farming policies don't help Golden Glen out either: “The use of rBGH has been banned by every developed country in the world, including Canada and members of the European Union, except the U.S. . . . this is due in part to the fact that rBGH has been proven to increase the amount of IGF-1, Insulin-like Growth Factor, in cows milk and that further research strongly links IGF-1 to colon, breast and prostate cancers". rGBH is not a safe option for human health, but what about the cows?

"The use of rBGH has been banned by every developed country in the world, including Canada and members of the European Union, except the U.S."

rGBH also affects the dairy cows that are injected with it. According to the same 2007 press release rGBH has been linked to higher udder infection rates and hoof disorders, causing pain and discomfort to the cows themselves. Supporting family run and rBGH free dairy farms strengthens local economies, protects human and environmental health and promotes treating God’s animals with care. Golden Glen Creamery also keeps their cows in the pasture as much as possible, meaning the cows are actually eating the green stuff they are supposed to!

So as a part of our 3 Months 300 Miles Food challenge I am committing to buy from Golden Glen Creamery. Their milk can be found all over Seattle at PCC Markets in beautiful glass bottles (that's right! Like the ones the milkman used to deliver!). Or check out one of the farmers markets where they will be selling in person! Just go to their website and check out their Calendar of Events.

What if you don't have Golden Glen Creamery products near you? Ask for them! As a small business literally churning out high quality products Golden Glen's success is dependent on you and I requesting them! So chat up your local super market and tell them that you want to see the milk from the green pastures and the blue skies!



Sources:
- Dairy Products rGBH Free. http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/.
- http://riannanworld.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/10/afternoon_with_.html