May News
I come from a family line of farmers. Although I grew up in the big city of Charlotte, North Carolina, we still had a garden and some chickens in the backyard. But each summer I spent a week or more with my grandparents on their egg farm, which also grew corn, soybeans, pigs, cows, and various other crops through the years. Sadly, that farm went the way of so many family farms that couldn’t compete with the big agricultural production scale systems that have dominated for the last few decades.
Along with drastic increases in crop yields, factory farming has also produced many destructive systems. The Green Revolution of the 1960s and beyond was a promise to feed the masses of people being born into our world with the help of modern science. But in order to reach “scale” and keep prices low, the sustainability, diversity, and responsibility found on family farms was discarded. This has resulted in our food system becoming an extractive commodity, an oppressive employer, and a generator of greenhouse gasses. The environmental justice issues of modern-day agriculture are just beginning to be dealt with on global and local levels, including in the faith community.
In this May newsletter from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, we share a variety of stories, resources, and ideas for how people of faith are bringing restorative practices to the soil, redesigning agricultural systems to be sustainable and just, and producing food with greater nutritional value while making it available to some of the most vulnerable people in society. Not only do we think you will find this issue full of hope, may the seeds you find here inspire you and your church to become part of a growing movement for a more just food system from soil to plate.
Finding Nourishment,
Jonathan Brake
jbrake@wnccumc.net
Rev. Jonathan Brake is an ordained elder in the UMC, serving a local church outside of Charlotte, NC. He is a commissioned UM EarthKeeper, serves on the UMCJM Coordinating and Communications Teams, works with the Western NC Conference Creation Care Ministry, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree from Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio with a concentration in Ecology and Justice Ministry.