Food Justice 101

40 DAYS FOR FOOD JUSTICE: The Prequel

Scripture contains hundreds of references to the idea of justice: teaching that it is part of the nature of God, commending the doing of justice as the task of a faithful people, calling for injustices to be remedied, and suggesting that the foundation of broad societal justice is for each person to be living in “right relationships.”

The season of Lent (the forty days before Easter, excluding Sundays) is a time when it is common to focus on issues of justice, as the season is both an opportunity to commit oneself more fully to acts of justice in one’s daily life, as well as an opportunity to consider the personal sacrifice that acts of justice require.

The subject of food justice speaks to a very particular kind of justice, in a very particular realm of daily life, but still refers both to acts that foster relationships of fairness and equity, and to acts that attempt to rectify existing injustices.

Food Justice not only includes issues related to how our daily food choices affect the health of our bodies and the health of our planet, but also questions whether our current food system allows all people equal access to healthy food.

Food Justice asks us to consider the working conditions of farmworkers, the practices of food corporations, and the plight of small farmers, whether around the corner or halfway around the world.

Food Justice contemplates a broad spectrum of issues from obesity and poverty to the ingredients on the food label and the distance from farm to market to table.

Food Justice reminds us that every day – three times a day – we support one kind of food system or another, either just or unjust.

Food Justice invites us to see food as a gift, to shop and cook and eat mindfully (rather than mindlessly), and to become aware that greater attention to our food choices can bring us more fully into right relationship with God, our neighbors, the natural world, and our own bodies.

During the forty days of Lent, you are invited to learn more about food justice with the “40 Days for Food Justice” project. Each daily meditation (posted on this blog) will be an invitation to consider the choice between food justice and food injustice, by offering stories, images, scripture, prayers, and/or reflection questions.

And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?  Micah 6:8 NRSV

Photo by Rev. MargaretAnne Overstreet

In addition to being the founder and editor-in-chief of the “40 Days for Food Justice Project”, the Rev. MargaretAnne Overstreet is a Presbyterian pastor and food justice advocate. When not preaching, teaching or writing, she likes hiking with her dogs and growing things in her garden. Find out more about her (including why she preaches with bare feet) at  www.AnInBetweenPlace.us

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