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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
• Reformed perspective, “every square inch”
– [Genesis 1 & Revelation 21]
– Genesis 2:15 “to serve and protect”
– Genesis 3 “the fall”
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
DegradationThe 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.”
Problem - Creation Care …
• Doesn’t appear to “sell” well
• Strengths
– Plaster Creek stewards
– Sustainability buzz
• Weaknesses
– It’s all about jobs, economy
– ~half U.S. GCC skeptical
– Oblivion on ‘where food comes from’
– Faith community? ‘Celebrates Creation’
Science, Sustainability, and the
Human Prospect (Raven, Science - 2001)
• 3M MT of pesticide active ingredients annually
• More nitrogen ‘fixed’ with fossil fuel than natural
• 66% of fisheries harvested faster than renewed
• 20% of topsoil, 1/3 forests lost in last 50 years
• Extinction rate 100 - 1000X geological baseline
• 1.2% of agricultural land base “developed” annually (like … ~35-40% of U.S. land base)
• 45% of net primary productivity used by humans
Ecological Report Card(Worldwatch Institute, 2001)
• 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
The World Food ProblemB.D. Singh (India, visiting Texas A&M; ASA, Nov 3 2013)
1. Growing population
2. Emerging climate change
3. Stagnant productivity gains for 20 years
4. Environmental pollution, low soil fertility
5. Increased pesticide and fertilizer use
6. Lack of new arable land
Thomas Malthus’ Two Postulata, 1798http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/malthus/malthus.0.html
• First, that food is necessary to the
existence of man.
• Secondly, that the passion between
the sexes is necessary and will
remain nearly in its present state.
• … Interpretation?
Powerful Predictions
(“Assuming …my postulata …, I say, that the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistencefor man.) “
• Population, when unchecked, increases in a exponential ratio.
• Subsistence increases only in an arithmeticalratio.
(“A slight acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second.”)
Emerging Climate Change (NOAA)
For every 1C increase in air temperature, crop productivity declines 10%.
Metaphorical Easter Island? (Jared Diamond, Collapse)
• ‘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
“Forget quaint notions of sustainability” “History
predicts we won’t survive” (Jared Diamond, ASA Meeting)
• Of the 12 problems that plagued past
civilizations, 10 are central to agronomy, top 5 -
– Deforestation
– Soil erosion
– Climate change
– Access to energy
– Human population
• Understanding the problem is one thing, how
we respond is quite another …
Two Proposed
Approaches2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the
land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a
sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six
years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 But in the
seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a
sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your
vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the
grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of
rest. (Lev. 25:2-5 … and Lev. 23:39, Lev. 26:34-35)
Intensify Industrial Agriculture
• Sustainable agriculture integrates three
main goals: environmental stewardship, farm
profitability, and prosperous farming
communities. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_agriculture)
• Essentially, SA is the industrialized approach
with attempts to reduce systemic problems of
monocultures:
– Reduce pesticide use
– Reduce soil erosion
– Increase soil organic matter
Protect Soils with No-Till
• Yield
implications
• Weed control
implies
pesticide use
• GMO –
Roundup
Ready
technology
• Agroecology: Defined as the application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems (Gleissman, 1998)
• Used imprecisely as a
– Collection of practices: polyculture, organic
– Theoretical movement toward an alternative food system
• Emergent qualities of ecosystems: energy flow, nutrient cycling, population regulation/biodiversity
Build a New Food System Model
Nutrition TransitionDo 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)
U.S. Consumption Choices (Δ 1970 => 2000)
• Calorie intake +24.5%
– Refined grains +9.5 pct pts (45%
increase)
– Fats and oils +9.0 (66% increase)
– Sugars +4.7
– Fruits and veggies +1
– Dairy and eggs -1.5
• +57 lb meat, -33% eggs
• Eating out – 32% of food consumed
• From 46% overweight in 1980 to
62% in 2000
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 1985(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 1990(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 1995(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2000(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2001(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2002
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2003(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2004(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2005(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2006(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2007(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2008(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2009(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults
BRFSS, 2010(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%
Healthcare Efficacy“2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a
mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the
man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matt 9:2)
“Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also
drove out many demons” (Mark 1:34)
World-class, Expensive …
• Miss directed? Should we treat …
– Symptoms
– Causes
• Two types of disease (just like acute and chronic hunger)
– Infectious – virus, bacterial, protozoan
– Chronic• CHD
• Hypertension
• Many cancers (colon, breast, prostate, …)
• Diabetes II
Epidemiological Transition is a CONSEQUENCE
of Nutrition Transition (Infectious to Chronic)
Developed Country
• Infectious disease deaths are negligible
• Predominant diseases– Coronary heart
disease
– High blood pressure
– Diabetes II
– Cancer
Developing Country
• ~50% deaths due to infectious disease
• Predominant diseases– Respiratory/parasites
(16M)
– Tuberculosis (3M)
– Malaria (2M)
– STD’s (AIDS, 1.5M)
– Hepatitis B (1M)
– Dengue, Ebola (0.5)
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 4 9
Neuropsychiatric
disorders
22 21.8 9 13.7
Injuries 14.5 13 15.2 21.1http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
Executive Office of the PresidentCouncil of Economic Advisers, June 2009
http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf
What could (should?)
a sustainable food
system look like?14 if my people, who are called by my name, will
humble themselves and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and
will heal their land. (II Chron. 7:14)
Animal Fat Consumption is Correlated
with Breast and Prostate Cancer
Carroll, K. K. (1975) Experimental evidence
of dietary factors and hormone-dependent
cancers. Cancer Res 35:3374-3383.
The China Study“Western” v. Traditional Chinese Diet
Study Metrics
• >50 diseases
• 65 counties
• 130 villages
• 50 adults per village
• Blood, urine, food, histories
• 1983-1984
• 367 correlations
Campbell et al., 1998 “Diet, Lifestyle, and the Etiology of Coronary Artery
Disease: The Cornell China Study” (Am. J. Cardiology)
Diet Alone Can Reverse CHD
• 18 individuals, 49 infarctions
• Aggressive plant-based diet
• 12 year duration
• Reduced cholesterol
• No recurrent coronary events, 75% with regression
• Angiogram: 44 yr. old cardiologist
– 32 mos.
– No cholesterol drugs
– From 156 (97 LDL) mg/dL cholesterol to 89 mg/dL (38 LDL)
(Esselstyn. 2001. “Resolving the Coronary Artery disease Epidemic Through Plant-Based Nutrition” Preventive Cardiology 171-177)
Diet + Statins
“Nutritional, population, and interventional studies support the effectiveness of a plant-based diet and aggressive lipid-lowering to arrest, prevent, and selectively reverse heart disease.”
Challenge the
MessengersInfluencer 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.”
Marketing Ethics v. Buyer BewareAre ED drugs (e.g., Viagra) ethical?
http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf
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
Other Messengers
Better (Best) Messenger?
• The church on Nature (Creation)
• Biblical truths speak to glory of Nature, its
brokenness, our responsibility, and what will be!
– Genesis
– Leviticus
– Job
– Psalms
– I Corinthians
– II Timothy
– Revelation
Food x Faith: Consumptive Choices Could Solve
TWO Big Global Problems AND Save Money
• 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
If Less Meat, Improved Global
Food Security• J.D. Singh (India) – global food requirement! (from a
vegetarian Hindu)– Individual diet: 2600 cal/day/person ~ 1000
kg/year/person• Cereals: 2400 cal/day/person
• Pulses and oilseeds: 200 cal/day/person
– Global today: 7.2 B MT/year
– Global 2050: 9.5 B MT/year, 26% increase, or 0.7% increase in productivity per year
• Each step up in trophic level results in food energy inefficiency (assuming CAFO efficiency)– 1 calorie of beef => 8 calories feed (corn, soy)
– 1 calorie of pork => 4 calories
– 1 calorie of poultry/fish => 2 calories
If Polycultures, More Quality Calories/m2 &
Improved Environmental Health
• Food production capacity (U.S.) could ~2X
– Tilman et al., +238% (16 spp. grass, legumes,
forbs)
– Shaeffer et al., +28% (8 spp.)
– Picasso et al., +73% (2-6 spp.)
• Reduce many environmental problems by
improving efficiencies: N, fossil fuel, …
• Problem …. Labor!!! (anyone need a job?)
If Less Meat and Processed Food,
Improved Env. & Human Health
• Food, Livestock Production, Energy,
Climate Change and Health (Lancet 370:1253-
1263, 2007)
– Food production - 35% GHG emissions
– Meat production, esp. beef, >50% of food
emissions
– Recommend “contraction and convergence
policy” for meat consumption … 90 g/p/day
• Save $
And Save Money
• $2.8T spent in U.S. during 2012 on
healthcare (https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-
Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-
Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf )
• 75% of healthcare costs due to chronic
disease (http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/chronic.htm )
• Or, up to $2.1T is at play … annually! …
delayed return, … but seriously?
Conclusion
Reformed Christians should be self
motivated to live within God’s will by
adopting a WFPBD plants-based diet to
treat our body as the Spirit’s temple,
thereby enhancing future global food
security, improving environmental
health, and modeling a more
appropriate life style with the global
community. (and save $)