Life is a Web

The world we inhabit is a contingent world. What I mean by "contingent world" is that all facets of human existence are interdependent or conditional. Mahatma Gandhi wrote, "Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being." We would be wise to cast of any remaining delusions that America enjoys complete independence. I would suggest we also go so far as to stop emphasizing individual independence over mutual interdependence. The world is small but we need to begin thinking big.

Take the crisis in Syria, for example. The civil war that has displaced millions of Syrians was precipitated, in large part, by an historic drought. For several years, drought has been forcing people in remote regions of Syria into the cities where there are more resources available to starving people. Those who are living remotely are unwelcome in the cities because they are religious and ethnic minorities. Centuries of anger and fear, held at bay by severe political oppression, have boiled over as a result of this sudden admixture of many out-groups with a deeply-entrenched in-group. We should not, then, think of the two million refugees as victims of war. They are first victims of famine caused by sudden and catastrophic climate variations. The violence in Syria (and throughout the Middle East) is food-related and resulting from a conviction that benefits of power inure solely to those in power. I suggest that we begin to understand food production, policy, and security as something of greater concern than expensive eggs. Getting serious about climate change and sustainable agricultural methods presents an existential crisis. Syria is, for us, a reminder that ethnic and religious fragmentation, even the nascent (but growing) fractures we're experiencing in the U.S., is a foundational instability that we cannot afford to abide.

My friend and former classmate from George Fox Evangelical Seminary published a book entitled, Spiritual Foodways: An Ecofeminist Perspective on Our Sacred Journey with Food. Her publisher page can be found here: http://foodstudies.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.292/prod.3

It's an interesting look at our spiritual connection with what we eat. She says that food should be understood as both "whole and holy." Check it out.

Ned

McDonald's announced recently that, beginning October 6, 2015, they will begin serving breakfast all day. The announcement has met with widespread enthusiasm from McDonald's aficionados but there is some concern about what further impact this might have on America's egg shortage. In the first half of 2015 48 million birds had to be destroyed because of a bird flu epidemic. The resulting deficit in production had driven prices up considerably. Egg prices per dozen are already a third more expensive than projected and may continue to rise far higher than the $2.59 national average. Bloomberg Business reported this week that restaurants and other food companies have already been struggling to get enough eggs and that McDonald's move to serve breakfast all day will put a greater strain on the supply. McD's CEO, Steve Easterbrook, identified the move as an effort to revive domestic sales. Domestic sales at McD's have been trending downward for some time now. Tom Elam, president of agricultural research firm FarmEcon LLC, said, "It's a net increase in demand for shell eggs in what's already a tight market situation. It just adds more pressure."

So, Uncle Ned wants to know: What, if anything, should be done about McD's decision to increase its use of eggs? Do we let the free market decide? Do we regulate their ability to do so?

Ned
(aka: "Stupid Sexy Flanders")

Uncle Ned is going to be waxing eloquent and cracking wise right here on this little slice of virtual real estate. He'll be offering his opinions on matters of sustainability, agriculture, food production, food policy, and food security. What, you ask, does Uncle Ned know about food? Well, he's been eating it his whole life and anticipates eating it far into the future. But if he is going to continue eating, he has to figure out how to tackle issues of land use, food supply, global overpopulation, and social justice. But fret not! He won't be doing it alone. He's going to have the help of a bunch of really smart students from the Olivet Nazarene University honors program. Honors Cohort 8 (The Octovetians) are going to show Uncle Ned the way to a future of healthy, secure, and sustainable eating. You are welcome to join the journey here because if there's one thing that Uncle Ned hates more than hunger, it is traveling alone.