Faith, Food, and the Environment

Did you know that modern food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions?  

According to Catholic Rural Life, a national, Catholic nonprofit organization dedicated to the vitality of the American countryside, the use of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides can be hugely damaging to our environment and to human health. “Yet, farmers, farmworkers, and rural communities are also disproportionally impacted by climate change and chemical pollution. In some ways, they are both the canaries and the prophets of how we change the current unsustainable agricultural paradigm.”
 
James F. Ennis, Executive Director, Catholic Rural Life, will discuss faith, food, and the environment in a webinar scheduled for November 3 at 2 p.m. The webinar will be recorded and a link to the recording will be sent to all who register.
 
According to description of the event, Catholic Rural Life has focused on answering the critical questions: 

• Can our farming methods give back as well as take from creation? 
• Can we rediscover a more intimate, conscious, and respectful relationship to Earth, its biodiversity, and its creatures? 
• Can we organize economic enterprises in such a way to sustain us while also broadening our awareness of the ecological whole? 
 
For more information or to register, click here.

October 25 - learn about voting and conscience formation

With Election Day just two weeks away, the St. Columban Mission for Justice, Peace and Ecology is offering a free webinar on voting and conscience formation tomorrow (October 25) at 7:30 p.m. The speaker is Jill Rauh, Director of Education and Outreach for the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Among the questions she will address in the 90-minute session are these: 
-       How do you cast a vote that's in line with your values and is best for your community? 
-       How do you form your conscience? 
-       How do you evaluate what's true and not? 
-       What role does faith play in this?
 
Before joining the USCCB in 2007, Rauh developed Catholic social teaching resources with the Education for Justice project at the Center of Concern, worked in civic engagement with Latino youth, contributed to parish and campus ministry efforts, and served as an international volunteer with Rostro de Cristo in Ecuador.
 
Click here to register.