Toward bringing everybody to the table

PARKLAND – "It is important to understand that ending hunger is not impossible."
That bold proclamation came from The Rev. Jim McDonald, managing director of Bread for the World, at the Oct. 15 kick-off of the synod’s Ethic of Eating conference at Trinity Lutheran Church and Pacific Lutheran University.
A "great exodus" out of global hunger and poverty has taken place between 1970, when one in three people went hungry, to 2000, when one in six needed food, he said.
That was particularly true in India and China, where more affluent, urban middle classes emerged from impoverished rural areas.
But the severe food-price wars that covered the globe in 2008 coupled with the unprecedented worldwide recession cause the fight against hunger to retreat, he said. Today, progress stands at 1970 levels.
In the United States, one in four children live in families struggling to put food on the table, he said.
McDonald suggested that to understand how some eat and some don’t in this world, and what can be done, he suggested two books by Michael Pollan, "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and his newest, "Food Rules."
McDonald urged listeners to contact their political representatives and let them know that alleviating hunger is a top priority. If they don’t respond, vote them out in November.
David Creech, ELCA director of hunger education, urged participants to become "critically aware" of what comes to the table, and respond, either simply through grace acknowledging the sacrifice, or joining a community-supported agriculture group.