Eco-Challenge: Examine your food’s lifecycle

As part of our commitment to Earth via our Laudato Si’ Action Plan, we are inviting everyone who shares in our charism to take a monthly Eco-Challenge with us.

Eating is a moral issue

We often think about what food we eat and its effects on the health of our bodies. We also need to be aware of the impact our food has on the health of our planet. Our food has a lifecycle: production, sale, consumption and disposal.

Consider these options to minimize the impacts of your diet’s lifecycle.

Responsible food purchasing

Conscious grocery shopping

Look around inside the markets you frequent. Is there a locally-owned grocery store in your area? Most markets have organic and local choices in various departments.

• First and simplest of all, bring your reusable cloth bags and refuse single-use plastic ones at check out.
• Look for and prioritize purchasing local fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products.
• Check out the bulk food aisle where you can find grains, cereals, beans, rice, snacks and often shampoo and honey with far less packaging. The plastic bags used for these products can in many cases be reused and kept in your cloth shopping bag.
• Choose products packaged in glass jars and bottles, not plastic.
• Budget higher costs for organic foods. The monetary cost may be higher, but the cost to Earth is much lower.

If your preferred store doesn’t have a good selection of local and sustainably packaged products, contact their store owners and managers with your feedback. Many stores ask you to fill out surveys after checking out—use them to provide your input about eco-conscious options.

Food co-ops

A food co-op is a business owned and governed by its member customers. The purpose isn’t to accumulate profit for investors but to meet community goals. Any surplus is invested in the business or returned to member-owners. Most food co-ops prioritize organic food, locally grown food, humanely raised animal products that are sustainably sourced, and non-GMO products that are free of artificial preservatives, flavorings and colorings. Food co-ops offer the opportunity to buy foods in bulk that can be purchased in reusable containers or bags. If you do not shop at a co-op, consider visiting one.

Farmers’ Markets

Farmers’ markets provide tasty, fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. They support local growers and minimize transportation costs.

“Sustainability is the overarching theme in this system,” according to the Farmers Market Coalition. “Farmers engage in sustainable farming practices to produce healthy food to sustain the local community, who in turn provide the money necessary to sustain the farmers. Each shares in the success of the other in a mutually beneficial relationship that has become a model for sustainability.”

Reducing Food Waste

Nearly one-fifth of all food produced each year is squandered or lost before it can be consumed, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. This amounts to one billion meals a day. Sixty percent of food waste happens at the household level. “In many rich countries, this food waste happens in the kitchen—when we prepare foods that go uneaten, or leave food to spoil in fridges and kitchen cabinets.”

Cook food in amounts your household will eat in a meal, and plan to repurpose extras for second meals or snacks. You have a sense of the amount your household eats, so take this and what your family will really eat as leftovers into account. Consider simply halving a recipe if you know it will make more than you will consume. Make sure those leftovers don’t go to waste by properly storing them immediately to minimize spoilage.

Composting

Compost is a mixture of food scraps that decompose for use in fertilizing and improving the soil. The benefits of compost include providing nutrients to crops as fertilizer, acting as a soil conditioner, and introducing beneficial colonies of microbes that help to suppress pathogens in the soil. Depending on your living situation and commitment level, there are different options for composting:

• Municipal composting: Many townships or municipalities have available composting services for residents. Check with your city, and let them know it’s a service you desire.
• Composting services: Look online for commercial composting services in your area. These services will generally give you a bucket to fill and pick up your scraps on a weekly basis.
• Home composting: You can find many online tutorials for creating a home composting pile. Level up your composting using worms. Vermiculture is the cultivation of worms to break down food scraps into compost.

Be mindful about your food

We encourage you to pray in gratitude for your food and reflect on all the people who are part of its lifecycle. The more mindful we are about the full lifecycle of our food, the easier it will be to prioritize moral choices.

Prayer of Gratitude

Let us pray in gratitude for the rich soil, watered and cared for, seeds planted and cultivated, giving us food to keep us healthy. Let us also pray for all who in any way are responsible for bringing this harvest to our table.

For the farmer and farm workers who plow, plant and harvest the crops. Good and Gracious God, we give thanks.

For the sorters at the processing plant cleaning and preparing food for distribution. Good and Gracious God, we give thanks.

For the truck drivers who bring the food from the fields to the processing plant to the distribution centers. Good and Gracious God, we give thanks.

For the grocery store personnel who prepare the products for purchase. Good and Gracious God, we give thanks.

For all cooks who create nutritious meals for consumption. Good and Gracious God, we give thanks.

Please add your own thoughts, reflections or intentions.

Creator of the Universe, we give you thanks for providing for us in such abundance. Let us not forget those who suffer food insecurity. We ask your special and continued blessing on the good soil and for all who bring food to our table. Amen

Take the Eco-Challenge

In what ways can you be more mindful of your food’s full lifecycle?

Spread the word

1. Share your commitment in the comments section below.
2. Invite others to take the August Eco-Challenge by sharing our post on Facebook and/or Instagram.