A Christian Vision of Ethical Eating

I had the opportunity to give a special lecture at Nyack College to the Men of Letters group last Thursday. My lecture, “Being Stewards of Creation: A Christian Vision of Ethical Eating,” went well and the Q&A after the lecture touched on such diverse topics as eating kosher, Adam Smith’s economic philosophy and how food relates to Christian hospitality.

Abstract:

If we are to take our call to be stewards of Creation seriously, Christians need to re-think how we buy, eat and grow food. I will argue that food is an integral part of Christian spirituality and needs to be approached as a way we glorify God.

You can download the full lecture by clicking here: Being Stewards of Creation: A Christian Vision for Ethical Eating

An excerpt:

Food holds a central place in our everyday lives. It is essential to our long term health and short term sustenance. We feel hunger or delight or refreshment on a daily basis, all because of food. No matter how much life changes from generation to generation, from new technology to new technology, food will always be necessary.

Food has always been necessary, but it has not always been cheap or plentiful. Food is necessary but not a luxury. It doesn’t just happen. It is the product of a tremendous amount of manpower, horsepower, tractor-power, petroleum-power, water-power and solar power. To borrow from the authors of Scripture, food is toil.

I Hate Caring

This is the first post on the subject of Economic Care, one of the five spheres of a Christian ethic of eating. We discussed before Creation Care and Animal Care. In today’s world, the majority of people by food. As Christians, we need to begin to explore how the money we spend on food travels through the global economy and how where food comes from is a justice issue.

I hate caring about what I eat or where I spend money. I am a thrifty person. Or, as most other people say, I am a cheap skate. I was the type of kid in high school that hounded his friends to pay back that $5 I lent for a hamburger. I lived in a very me-centered economy.

As I grew older I began to resonate with matters of social justice. I began to see the whole chain of the economy, not just my needs and wants. I was studying postcolonial literature and reading up on economics and began to connect colonialism, economics and social justice together. The big picture is a complex world where fair wages and safe practices are not always common. There are no easy solutions.

I get why so many people do not want to change their habits. Life is easier when you don’t think about ethics: about sweatshops and bonded labor, or suicides in tech factories and cruel working conditions in warehouses, or about how we treat animals or where that McDonald’s hamburger or Taco Bell meat really comes from.

It used to be so easy for me to just consume with reckless abandon, not caring about my health, your health, the world’s health—just me, all me. I could just walk blissfully through life with my cheap spending habits, buying whatever junk (food or otherwise) I wanted without a worry in the world.

See, it is so hard to change your eating habits because it requires discipline, a characteristic that is not very common in a culture that accepts debt, shopping sprees and overspending as normal activities. We as a culture have so little discipline when it comes to how we spend our money that people like Dave Ramsey (money) or Jamie Oliver (food) having created whole industries out of selling common sense.

For the Christian it is even harder. Changing our eating habits to line up with our faith means that we need discipline’s Christian cousin: discipleship.

Changing the way we eat as Christians is not a sin or holiness issue. Peter’s vision of all food being clean sets a clear message for the church about what we eat. Instead, changing the way we eat as Christians is a justice issue. Is what we are eating providing justice to the earth, the animals, the soil and all of creation. Is God’s kingdom and will kissing the earth when we eat? Are we saying grace for our food and realizing the true cost in terms of land and sacrifice? These are the types of questions that start to surface when we view food as an issue of justice.

Food costs money. It is part of a global economy that is incredibly complex. Yet, Christians are called to spend our money wisely and to be stewards of what God has given us. That includes  learning where our money goes in the economic chain just like we have to respect where we are in the food chain.

Learning how to spend our money wisely and taking the time to learn how our food dollars affect the growers and pickers and butchers of our food takes discipline. As Christians, we are called to this kind of discipleship, to begin to see how the world economy can become more like God’s economy, even with such a seemingly innocent thing as food.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Carnitas

Part of our discussion of Creation Care was a recipe for Brie & Apple Sandwiches, so I did not want to leave the sphere of Animal Care without a simple and elegant recipe for carnitas. Talking about eating ethically is absolutely necessary, but if there is not a practical element to the Christian ethic of eating then its all an exercise in thought and not action. Use this recipe to enjoy meat that is ethically raised!

Carnitas is the name for Mexican pulled pork. It is not meant to be hidden with a bunch of lettuce or rice like some restaurants do. Instead, it is best served with warmed corn tortillas, salsa verde and some queso fresco. Have your rice and beans on the side.

Slow Cooker Carnitas
Makes 6-8 servings

3 lbs. pork shoulder or boneless pork butt, organic or ethically raised
1 T cumin
1 T Mexican style chili powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Accompaniments:
12 corn tortillas, organic
salsa verde
queso fresco
beans and rice (I think pinto beans and cilantro rice go best)

1. Mix together the cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder, salt and pepper. Use more or less of the chili powder and cayenne depending on how hot you like your food. I tend not to measure and just dump the spices on liberally, but I can never seem to make my food hot enough.
2. Coat the pork  with the spice mixture. You want to have a nice even dusting. Try to prevent the spices from lumping together (especially the hot ones).
3. Place the seasoned pork into a slow cooker and pour water until it is about one inch up the pork.
4. Slow cook the pork for six to eight hours.
5. After cooking has completed, remove the pork to a serving plate. Fork the pork until it is completely pulled and stringy.
6. Place the pork in a very large skillet with some oil and sear, until the pork begins to turn light brown on the edges.
7. Return to the serving plate. In the same skillet, warm up your tortillas.
8. Serve the carnitas with warm tortillas and top with salsa verde and queso fresco. Accompany the meal with your favorite mixture of beans and rice.

For leftovers, I love to pan fry the carnitas in a skillet with potatoes and onion and serve with huevos rancheros (eggs and salsa). It makes a great breakfast!

A Rule for Eating Meat Ethically

This is the eighth post on the subject of Animal Care, one of the five spheres of a Christian ethic of eating. We discussed before what ethical treatment of animals means, how it is accomplished and why it is so important. Now we will turn our attention to  a discussion of a “rule” to eat ethically.

People tend to chafe at rules. We like to think of ourselves as free thinking individuals, ruled by only our own grit and know how.

Christians are called to something different. We are called to no longer hold to the patterns of this world and to transform ourselves by the renewing of our minds.

The abuse of animals in industrial agriculture is a pattern of the world.

How can the Christian transform his or her self by the renewing of the mind when it comes to the ethical treatment of animals?

By adhering to a rule.

No, not a rule like “the law.” This is not a law versus gospel argument.

I am talking about a rule in the monastic sense.

Monks, starting with St. Benedict, had a rule for their order. It was not a list of do’s or don’ts. It was what they held in common. It was their creed, their bond, their manifesto. The Rule of St. Benedict is not about what you cannot do but what you most certainly should do. It is positive. It is about passing along the goodness and uniqueness of the community from generation to generation.

We need a rule for eating meat ethically. Like a monastic rule, it is a list of what we should do to uphold the moral and ethical duty of our faith when it comes to eating meat.

1) Take your stewardship of God’s creation seriously. We are all stewards of God’s creation. We are appointed to serve as God’s diplomats in the world, approaching creation as he approached it: with a loving and creative hand. Ask yourself as you eat: Would God be pleased with how this animal was raised? Did the farm that raised this animal act as a steward of God’s creation?

2) You cannot serve both God and Money, so spend your money on what is right. Eating ethically can be more expensive than eating a conventional diet, depending on your eating habits. A choice must be made between spending money on what is right or spending money on what is cheap. You may end up having to change your eating habits, but this change is part of no longer being caught up in the pattern of this world.

3) Praise God for the bounty of creation. Saying a blessing at a meal is so ingrained in many of us that we overlook the depth and beauty of these simple prayers: to thank God for our food. This rule calls us to look beyond ourselves and our own nourishment to thank God for how the food was raised for us. If it was not raised in an ethical way, can we truly be thankful?

4) Food defines us. Food is a life source. It might be cliché, but we really are what we eat. Food truly does define us: our culture and our heritage. Should it not define our faith as well?

5) Care deeply about your food. Food reminds us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. It reminds us that we are connected to the economy of our country: from tractor parts to food prices to dented grocery carts. It should remind us that we are living in God’s economy as well. God’s economy is a kingdom where the world is being changed into a more just and beautiful world. Let what you eat make the world a more just and beautiful place.

I humbly submit this rule to you as a jumping off point. Eating meat ethically is a complicated issue that is not solved in a few easy steps. It takes personal dedication, patience and humility to cultivate a deep appreciation for God’s creation and the rich bounty it produces every single day. Let this rule guide you in the throwing off of the pattern of this world to treat animals unethically for the sake of profits. Let this rule guide you in the renewing of your mind.

Hungering and Thirsting After Righteousness

This is a special post in my continuing series on a Christian ethic of eating. In light of the beginning of Lent tomorrow on Ash Wednesday, I wanted to take the opportunity to explore the theme “What Do We Hunger and Thirst For?” that Christine Sine of Mustard Seed Associates is contemplating this year.

When Christ tells us to “hunger and thirst after righteousness” or to pray that God “give us our daily bread” our full, first world bellies automatically think in spiritual terms. Most of us know nothing of hunger accept when we choose hunger for spiritual reasons, like fasting during Lent.

For better or worse, we are intertwined in an agriculture system that has distorted our relationship with food. We live divorced from food. Our food comes to us in saran wrap and cans, comfortably packaged so that we have as little mess, fuss or contact with the dirty world of food and food preparation.

We do not know where the tuna in a can or the burger on a bed of foam comes from, and we are happy with that. It is what our mothers and grandmothers worked so hard to obtain after the Great Depression. Time spent doing such laborious and revolting chores like baking and cooking have been minimized or gotten rid of altogether, and we can live in a wonderful world of pre-packaged, ready-to-eat meals, fast food and take out. We have conquered the evil specter of reliance on the seasons and freshness. We have taught ourselves to believe that we have conquered rotting and death.

We have, in a way, but that has come at a great cost of justice. When we are hungry or thirsty, we now live in a world where our hunger and thirst are actual ethical choices. When we hunger and thirst after righteousness it is more than spiritual, it is literal. It is the choice between fair trade coffee or coffee grown at great cost to the land and to workers. It is a choice between organic vegetables or the heavy use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that pollute and destroy the earth and our own bodies. It is a choice between buying food from a local farmer and supporting a local economy or by buying from large, multi-national businesses that seek to destroy local farmers through lawsuits and business practices that are unfair and unethical. It is a choice to eat meat that is from ethically treated animals or to buy meat that comes from animals that have been treated in horrendous, inhumane ways that are not right for any person to participate in, directly or not.

We cannot accept the lie from marketers, advertisers and politicians that food can be compartmentalized and treated like a sterile science. Food is the fruit of an intricate web of cycles in creation that affect every aspect of our daily lives and touches every aspect of creation. We are all in this together. Our food choices are ethical choices. We can no longer afford to interpret hunger and thirst for righteousness as a spiritual choice. That is to buy into our society’s lie that we can divorce body and soul. Our spirituality is embodied. We live in the light of Christ’s physical resurrection, and our remembrance of his death and resurrection during Lent is a constant reminder that food is a means of grace and righteousness in our world. Christ’s presence is there whenever we break bread.

So, when we hunger and thirst for the bread and the cup, let us in the same way hunger and thirst for a great breakfast of coffee, toast, eggs and bacon that are products of integrity, righteousness and justice, and not the empty food of a world focused on greed, ill-treatment and consumption.

Bacon, Idol Worship and the Kingdom

This is the seventh post on the subject of Animal Care, one of the five spheres of a Christian ethic of eating. We discussed before what ethical treatment of animals means, how it is accomplished and why it is so important. Now we will turn our attention to meat eating in the New Testament, particularly the area of sacrifice. After this discussion we will move into a discussion of a “rule” to eat ethically.

There are three main passages that detail the eating of food, particularly meat, in the New Testament. The first one is in Acts 10, when the apostle Peter has a vision from God that tells him all animals are now clean and acceptable to eat. This Christian is most thankful for this vision, because without it I would be living in a world without bacon, and that’s not the kind of world I want to live in.

The next two passages are in 1 Corinthians. Paul makes two major statements about food sacrificed to idols (this was almost always animal sacrifice). Once Gentiles became Christians they were confronted with a problem that did not affect Jewish converts: what to do about non-kosher food, particular food that was part of idol worship. Throughout the Greco-Roman world the butcher’s work was integrally tied into temple worship: the food sold at the market by the butcher was from animal sacrifices. The early Christians, understandably, became wary of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul offers his advice on the subject in 1 Corinthians 8:

Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

He picks up the discussion again in 1 Corinthians 10:

Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

The messages in these three passages are united around one common point: meat can be part of the diet for a Christian, even meat considered unclean by the Jewish faith.  1 Corinthians 8 & 10 seem to conflict on the food that is dedicated to idols. When it comes to spiritual knowledge in 1 Corinthians 8, Paul is advising that people not get so wound up in a proper theological justification for eating meat that is sacrificed to idols that they cause former idol-worshipers to stumble. The conversation seems to allow for the fact that food sacrificed to idols is not tainted in any way by the sacrifice, since idols aren’t real. Paul turns the whole argument upside down in 1 Corinthians 10 though, as he makes a case concerning food sacrificed to idols not in terms of knowledge but in terms of worship. Reading between the lines, what Paul seems to be saying is that while we may know that eating food sacrificed to idols does not taint the meat or make it unclean in anyway, the fact that it was sacrificed to idols means that the person who consumes it is participating in the sacrificial act. It is interesting that the conversation would turn this way, but what I think Paul is doing is making a point about allegiance to the new covenant of Christ’s kingdom. Animal sacrifice is a sign of a covenant relationship with a god. So, if we follow this logic, the Christian sign of the covenant relationship is the Lord’s Supper. Paul is arguing that eating food sacrificed to idols is to capitulate to the Roman culture. To abstain from food sacrificed to idols is then a sign of allegiance, a counter-cultural act that designates the Christian as a citizen of Christ’s kingdom and not a citizen of Rome.

This leads me to a very provocative point, and one I have thought long and hard about. I truly believe that these passages still speak to us today. When we view these passages in light of our modern day agricultural practices, I believe that idolatry is alive and well today. The way the majority of animals are treated in the industrial food system is influenced by the idols of money, violence and consumerism.

Ask yourself: could that bacon cheeseburger you just ate be food sacrificed to an idol?

Bottom line: it should be a matter of conscience that the meat in our supermarkets and restaurants is meat sacrificed to the idols of money and violence. To eat meat that is not sacrificed to idols, we should look to farmers and businesses that raise animals humanely and sell meat that is butchered in a humane manner. Jesus told us that we could not serve both God and money. Even though stone and wood idols have fallen out of the norm, Paul reminds us that our allegiance is to Christ’s kingdom. We renew the new covenant every time we eat the body and blood of Christ during communion. With food being so central to the practice of Christ’s kingdom, we can in turn do our part to build Christ’s kingdom in this world by renouncing food that is sacrificed to the idols of money, violence and consumerism.