Reconnecting to our Earth Roots

The sun is dappled through the cucumber leaves and the tomatoes are showing the first blush of ripening. We are entering into the season of harvest and are privileged to enjoy the abundance of our earth. The sweet scents of summer are yielding to the ripening of a golden autumn season.

Yet, we know, the harvest is not being shared equitably. As large corporations take over food production increasingly, small farmers are edged out.  Agribusiness uses stealth and science to mask greed and control of the safety and diversity of our earth’s food supply. How did this come about? As human beings we have lost our connections to the sacredness of earth, denigrating in many subtle ways those who work with soil and hands. As we know the hierarchical, patriarchal systems of our Western culture and religions have served to sever the ties to the holiness of women and earth. In a recent Sisters of Earth conference in New York, the Indian food activist Vandana Shiva and her sister Mira, a physician, shared with us the systematic and often ruthless ways global corporations have run roughshod over the poorest and hungriest in countries such as India.

Modern global corporations see the world as something to be owned, a commodity for maximizing their profits.  Egregious corporations such as Monsanto determined that seeds are “intellectual property” and have sought patents. Many thousands have demonstrated against classifying seeds as property with rights of patent, it is a battle still being waged.  In India and in all documented cases, companies lure farmers with extravagant promises of increased crop yield from the use of these seeds. In fact, in India, the reality is that food production has decreased.  Farmers who have saved their seeds for generations are forced to buy the GM (Genetically Modified) seeds and the now necessary Western commercial fertilizers.  Monsanto claims that it “invented” wheat plants derived from a traditional Indian variety, which is nothing less than bio-piracy. Markets have been and are increasingly regulated so that only GM seed products are acceptable. Farmers in India have been incurring debt that has only deepened and spiraled each year, resulting in countless suicides. Such is the harvest in a de-sacralized world

There is, however, a different worldview, one of equality, diversity and respect for all beings.  As Thomas Berry often noted, “the earth is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.”  We live within a sacred global commons where the rights of all beings, human, animal, tree, river and wind have a place in the web of communion. There is much about which to despair but in equal measure there is much from which to draw hope.  We can each have a role in this time where the sacredness of all creation is threatened. Prayer is one deeply important response; our minds and hearts can chart a course each day toward healing of our earth. Key is an appreciation for and support of local farmers, advocating heritage seed saving, or growing a tomato plant. It is time to know that growing food for our sustenance is a holy task, a sacred agriculture.

As this reflection closes, the tomatoes are ripening yet and the harvest is still being gathered. The gift of a home-grown tomato sandwich is a celebration of deepest delight and a grace of holy communion. By this act we are reconnecting to our earth roots. May we bless all farmers and all beings for this gift of life.

See: Vandana Shiva, Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainabilty and Peace, Cambridge, Massachusetts: South End Press, 2005.

Copenhagen Summer

Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change:
A Canadian Youth Perspective

By Laura Tozer and Janet Speth CSJ Toronto

Laura Tozer

“I have been involved in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change international negotiations since 2005 as an advocate, a communicator, and a student. I work to represent young people who lack a voice in the negotiations that are deciding our future, and to communicate with the public directly about what is going on behind the scenes. I have gained a great deal of experience in this role and I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing young people that are dedicated advocates for action on climate change.

In Copenhagen, the world was supposed to conclude negotiating the new phase of greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation commitments to take place after the first period of the Kyoto Protocol ends. Our leaders failed us and the negotiations sputtered to an end with the Copenhagen Accord drawn up by the US, Brazil, South Africa, India and China, which was not an outcome of the UN negotiation process and has nowhere near the level of ambition and action required to confront climate change.

Canada’s involvement was so shameful that the coalition of over 400 international environmental organizations awarded it the Fossil of the Year award – an ‘honour’ reserved for the country that is the most obstructive to progress on reaching a climate change agreement. Representing a country that so clearly worked against international action on climate change made us harsh critics very quickly. However, we were very frustrated as they accredited 45,000 people but the venue only held 15,000. By the second week non-governmental organizations representatives were barred and so with disappointment we watched voiceless from afar.

In Copenhagen Canada’s representatives did not put forward any money to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change; they stuck with one of the worst greenhouse gas emission targets in the industrialized world, a 3% reduction from 1990 levels by 2020; they expressed a desire to replace the Kyoto framework, and they argued for a 2006 baseline (not 1990) that would forgive the emission growth that has happened in the interim.

It will be the youth of today who will be left to deal with life in a changed world tomorrow, based on decisions made in Copenhagen. However, I feel hopeful because of the amazing people that I worked with that are dedicated to this issue and because I met so many decision makers from other jurisdictions that are acting on climate change, from cities to provinces to the World Council of Churches. We all need to follow this example and start building a hopeful future by addressing climate change boldly.”  …Laura Tozer

We, Sisters of St. Joseph, can join Canadian youth to raise the dashed hopes of Copenhagen out of the arid dust of distrust and denial. To think critically is to counter the culture of denial that is discrediting climate science through the power of corporations and media. This belief states that human activity is not significant in global warming. There is no global emergency and no reason to change attitudes and behaviours. Is this the gospel imperative we embody? No! Together let us be the voice for our wounded earth building relationships of mutual respect and integrity. 

Recommended reading: Heat by George Mondiot, particularly the chapter on “ Denial Industry”

Is there enough food for all?

The answer you will get to the question: “Is there enough food in the world to feed all the people of the globe?” depends on whom you ask, where you ask, and when you ask.

If you ask someone like the theologian Sally McFague you might hear: There is enough for abundant life for all – we need only share the resources more equitably.

Elizabeth Johnson’s, David Korten’s and Carol Zinn’s responses would be similar, as would Jesus’ response.

If you ask someone in a refugee camp in Darfur, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Columbia, Lebanon, Dominican Republic or Kenya you will get instead a response about the number of refugees dying daily from hunger.

If you ask a CSJ community member, a family member, an associate: “Is there enough food for you each day?” you might get very different responses.  And there would, for certain, be a different answer if you asked groups of financially secure Canadians, new Canadians and Aboriginal persons.

The CSJ Green Window perspective is that there are enough resources to feed all; however, there is a global food crisis that is very real – humanly constructed – but real. It is due much more to the inequities that our global financial systems and social systems create than it is to the failure of the earth to provide sufficient foodstuffs. It is due to our skewed priorities as individuals and nations, and to the priorities of some of our global political organizations. It is due to our lack of consciousness of the interdependence of all life communities, including the global human community in all its diversity.

Sister Sue Wilson, (London) at S.A.I.L. 2009, spoke about the kind of transformation of consciousness to which we CSJs are called. She named the emerging consciousness “symbiotic consciousness.” Such consciousness brings both personal and communal transformation.  In the dialogue with Sue and Joan Atkinson (London), S.A.I.L. participants gained additional insights. Sister Helen Smaggus, (Pembroke) a counsellor/therapist, reminded us that symbiosis facilitates the development of bonds of intimacy necessary for interpersonal relationships. Sister Mary Sheridan (Sault Ste. Marie), from her knowledge and experience as a biology teacher, reminded us that symbiosis is the life process by which one organism attaches itself to another in a mutually life-enhancing and interdependent relationship in which both benefit and both live. Sister Sue’s message was that symbiotic consciousness facilitates a deeper, ever-expanding awareness of how we need and depend upon God, and how God depends upon us to bring about personal and interpersonal transformation. According to Sue, symbiotic consciousness is how we relate to God. It describes the quality of that relationship.

In CSJ spirituality – a truly incarnational spirituality- symbiotic awareness also means developing and maintaining mutually life-enhancing relationships with the dear neighbour: relationships as basic as sharing food and ensuring enough for all.

What could that look like?

What if we chose, even institutionally, to buy locally whenever and wherever possible. For example, the London Sisters at 485 Windemere Road have decided to refrain from buying some items when they are not in season.  What if our Congregations, or small groups of Sisters, or some individuals tried to match more closely our food expenses to those of lower income people? What if we chose to pair up with refugee families, Aboriginal families, Ontario Works families, or families on disability pensions in Canada to try to create a more equitable food supply among us? Would it cause each of us to be inclined to spend less money on food, even as each of us makes sure our diet is healthy and sufficient?

There are two divergent ways of looking at having equitable global food supplies. Both approaches address hunger. One, “Food Security,” focuses on “the amount of food available and people’s access to it.” (www.devp.org) It functions within the current market economy of supply and demand.  Donor governments seek to alleviate hunger through shipping food supplies around the globe. The other, “Food Sovereignty,” is a concept developed by Via Campesina in 2007. This international group of peasant farmers and civil society activists define Food Sovereignty as follows:

“Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agricultural systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food policies rather than markets and corporations.” (Declaration of Nyeleni, Mali 2007, in Backgrounder 1 at: www.devp.org) Via Campesina has made a difference.

What difference can we make? What influence can we have on the global markets? What impacts do my attitude, purchases and use of food have?

Such questions may feel disempowering, but they can help us discern how we can use our voices and our actions to help make the changes needed to ensure food for all. These choices can be empowering! There are rich resources to help us respond.

Useful websites:

Development and Peace: http://www.devp.org

International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty: http://foodsovereignty.org

The Hunger Project www.thp.org

Bread and Faith www.bread.org

Carbon Footprint - Revised September 2009

As Sisters of St. Joseph and women of integrity, we are dedicated to preserving our beloved creation of which we are a part. We have a deep concern for our present and our future.  We have a sense of personal and communal responsibility for the seven generations that follow ours. We seek to know more about how we are part of the problem and how we can become part of the solution.

Climate change is a serious problem caused primarily by the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuel like oil, coal and gas.

Carbon footprint refers to the amount of greenhouse gases a person releases through the activities in which one participates.

Carbon footprint calculator is an easy, on-line way to determine this amount: http://www..livclean.ca/calculator.php

Carbon offsets refers to the issue of being able to pay to counteract the effect we are having on the earth.  The principle is that since climate change is a global problem, an emission reduction made elsewhere has the same effect as one made locally.  By purchasing carbon offsets you help fund a project that prevents one ton of greenhouse gases from being emitted for each ton that you have caused.  Carbon dioxide providers sell the greenhouse gas reductions associated with projects like wind farms or methane-capture facilities to customers who want to offset the emissions they caused by flying, driving or using electricity.  Although they are called ‘carbon’ offsets, they offset all greenhouse gases that cause global warming from carbon dioxide to methane.  Many of the organizations are non-profit.  While carbon offsets help, the best response is not to create greenhouse gases in the first place.

By making personal changes to reduce our carbon footprint and by purchasing carbon offsets we can become carbon neutral.  The web is full of helpful ways we can start to reduce our carbon footprint.  Here are just a few:

1. Turning the thermostat up in the summer or down in the winter by just two degrees will prevent hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from being released each year.

2. Turn off and unplug the computer, TV and other electronics when you are not using them. Even electronics in sleep mode draw power, and most T.V.s are “instant on” and are kept “warmed up”

3. Use power bars for all office equipment and T.V., DVD players etc. Put in an accessible place where its easy to switch off (like not behind and underneath the desk!).

4. Change all light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, which use 75% less energy.

5. Do your laundry or run a dishwasher only when you have a full load. For laundry use Cold water (there are several cold laundry detergents). Big power savings by not heating water.

6. Eat local. The emissions due to long transport are avoidable by eating local.

7. Reduce use of plastics including bottled water and other beverages, plastic bags.

8. Bring your own coffee mug when you buy coffee at Tim’s.

9. Plant a tree. Grow some flowers and a few tomatoes. Plants and trees help reduce greenhouse gases.

10. Consolidate car trips. Plan and consolidate trips to reduce gas use.

Let us continue to empower one another in the passionate living of our mission of active and inclusive love in our relationship with all of God’s creation.

Helpful Websites: Power Wise – http://www.powerwise.ca/ Every Kilowatt Counts – http://everykilowattcounts.ca/ Ontario Tenants:  Powerwise Tips – http://www.ontariotenants.ca

Green Window Introduction

The Federation Ecology Committee would like to introduce you to its new section of the Federation Newsletter. It is dedicated to reflecting upon the critical issues of our day through a green perspective or an ecological lens. Attentiveness to our charism’s call for the formation of the holistic communion of all beings is heightened by our growing grasp of new scientific understandings and insights. The CSJ spirituality strongly aligns with the fostering of sustainable development and right relations with the earth.

For many in today’s highly technological world, the first thought that comes to mind with the mention of windows is Microsoft’s Windows Operating System rather than the historical, transparent, openings in buildings. Either of these two meanings of windows might aptly apply to our use of the metaphor window.  Today’s society is caught up in its reliance on new technologies. Industry, economics, and habit often dull us to the negative impact our ways have on the life of the planet and its myriad of living inhabitants. Many believe that society is in need of an upgraded  “attitudinal operating system”. This new way of operating would provide space for fresh thinking, a common language and workable strategies to address the vast issues of the present ecological crisis.

When we show an interest in traditional windows, we are following in the spirit of Mother St. John. It is told that she desired that large windows be installed in the renovated building that was to be the home of the reformed Sisters of St. Joseph. Her wish was vehemently opposed by the local ordinary. However, through biding her time with the local bishop she eventually got her wish.  Whether it was her desire that we, as Sisters of St. Joseph, not close ourselves off from the dear neighbour or her gratitude for nature and sunlight after her experience in prison is uncertain. No doubt, she would be in sync with the aspirations of the contemporary Sister of St. Joseph. It is quite appropriate that her descendants endeavour to be more ecologically minded.

We use the image of the green window to symbolize the desire we have to invite and allow God’s Spirit to inform our minds and hearts, as we engage in meaningful ways with the most critical issue of our times. In truth the very survival of life on the planet rests on our choices and our actions.  We, the 21st century CSJs, desire to behold earth anew, wonder at it, celebrate it, and take practical steps toward healing and preserving it for future generations. We, as religious, have an important role to play in the survival of our planet through our choices and our advocacy for environmental change.

Be on the lookout for future reflections in The Green Window which will appear in upcoming issues of the Federation Newsletter.