Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

suspended in her jar

Home
Catholic
Why Supporting Local Agriculture is Pro-Life

Why Supporting Local Agriculture is Pro-Life

Last updated on: April 30, 2018 at 10:54 pm by Guest Contributor

Why Supporting Local Agriculture is Pro-Life 2018-04-30T22:54:24-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Guest Writer Anna O’Neil

At least half of my toddler’s books take place on the farm. The sky is blue, the barn is clean, and Old Macdonald whistles while he picks apples and weeds the vegetable patch. Of course, the sky is blue wherever you go, but the rest of that story is a myth. In America, the farm is not generally a happy place to be.

It’s not a secret. The U.S. Department of Labor cites agriculture as one of the most dangerous industries to work in. Of the 2.5 to 3 million farmworkers in America, half a million are under 18, (Children as young as 12 are legally allowed to work in these fields.) More than half of farmworkers are undocumented immigrants with no legal recourse to improve working conditions. The women in the industry often resort to dressing as men to escape the rampant sexual harassment and abuse they regularly encounter. Pesticide poisoning, heat stroke, substandard living conditions, lack of access to clean water, all of this and more is a part of their daily life.

The system has been called modern day slavery, for good reason. For all their work, according to the Farmworker Advocacy Network, the worker’s average annual income is only $11,000, or $16,000, for a family. Loopholes, such as paying workers based on how much they pick, get around minimum wage laws, and at the same time, penalize workers for taking any breaks. There’s a reason that heat stroke is the “leading cause of work related death” among farmworkers.

These people are tremendously vulnerable, and they’re being exploited by a system that commotifies human lives in order to meet our demand for cheap, varied, fresh food, in season and out. I’m not trying to make the case that it’s wrong to buy from supermarkets, whose prices usually rely on this system being the way it is. We need to feed our families.

At the same time, Pope Francis has made it very clear that our duty towards protecting the unborn, who are so uniquely vulnerable, extends to all the most vulnerable among us, including the exploited, commodified poor. “Our defense of the innocent unborn,” he writes in Gaudete et Exsultate “needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life. … Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, …the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection. We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty.”

We can’t ignore the injustice that’s built into our mass produced food system. Still, there’s rarely only one right way to respond to injustice. I pray for the unborn, but I don’t have the mental and physical energy to do what it takes to offer them direct help. I don’t have the ability to lobby in the legal sphere, or the time to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. I can only do what I can do.

So no, I’m not insisting everybody has to turn their budget inside out in order to take support and demand away from these massive, abusive corporations. Only you know what’s right for your family, and short of becoming completely self-sufficient, I can’t think of a way to distance yourself one hundred percent.

But is there a Farmer’s Market near you? Even though it’s more expensive than we’re used to, a lot of them accept EBT benefits, and even more of them take WIC. Or could you sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture program? Can you look locally for what’s in season, when it’s least expensive, and then freeze, can, or dry it? Supporting local agriculture might not be as far out of reach as it initially seems.

This is not just a boycott. It’s not just that you’re taking your dollars away from corporations which perpetuate systemic abuse, by their greed. You’re moving that money, using it to support the people in your own community, the ones who are doing it right. Nobody struggles to keep their small farm afloat for the lucrative payout and ample vacation time. They do it because it matters to them, and because it’s a labor of love.

If it’s possible for you to buy more locally, even if you’re just making a few small changes, understand that these actions are essentially and authentically pro-life. Mother Theresa said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one at a time, and always start with those nearest you.” Supporting local is a very real way to uphold the dignity of all life, starting in your own community.

image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MIGRANT_WORKERS_IN_FIELD_-_NARA_-_543845.jpg

Previous Post

April 22, 2018

About That Church Militant Article Going Around, and That Alumni Letter...

Next Post

May 1, 2018 Merton's Mona Lisa Smile

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion anti-semitism art Atwood Betrothed church clergy abuse coronavirus culture economics education environmentalism ethics faith family feminism gardening gun violence immigration Judaism literature MaddAddam New Pro Life Movement news pandemic personalism poem politics politics blue Pope Francis racism religion salvation sexuality social justice spirituality Station eleven Stephen King The Stand Trump Uncategorized war World Health Organization

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul say is the greatest of faith, hope, and love?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Love Grace Faith Hope

Support this
Column