Lutherans Address Farm Issues at NCC Mission Board Session

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (ELCA) -- Lutherans were key contributors to an ecumenical meeting here in April that examined a variety of agricultural and rural issues. The Agricultural Mission Board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) met in its annual study session with the theme "Agriculture, Food Security and Globalization: The Impact on Rural Sustainability."
"The rural crisis is again in the media and is again being addressed by church groups," according to the Rev. Eva Jensen, New York. "The way the issue is covered in the media does not address the problem of the concentration of agriculture," she said. Jensen, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is director of agricultural missions for the National Council of Churches of Christ.
Jensen said she hopes for more careful analysis of the problem, "analysis that takes into consideration the varied experiences of rural people and communities and looks for positive alternatives and strategies." The event here brought to light some of that variety and explored options for farmers worldwide.
The goals of the session were to study the impact of globalization on local production and access to food, small farm operations, markets and livelihood; to identify strategies toward sustainable local production and food security; and to seek ways to bring U.S. churches and their members into the issue.
"The industrialization of agriculture is not a solution but part of the problem, together with trade policies," Jensen said. "Churches are extremely concerned. They want to accompany people and communities in the grief and pain that comes with the loss of a farm, sometimes in the loss of life through suicide."
In the opening overview, "Globalization and the International Industrial Food System," presenters from the Institute for Agricultural and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, summarized economic and demographic data.
Steven Suppan, director of research for the institute, said he respects the work of church study groups, social statements and advocacy efforts around agricultural policies. Despite these activities, members of U.S. congregations reflect Americans' general lack of understanding of the implications of agricultural policy, he said. Suppan is a member of All Saints Lutheran Church, Minnetonka, Minn.
"The economy of the Bible is fundamentally a rural economy," Suppan said. He pointed to a metaphor from the apostle, Paul: "The husbandman that laboreth must be the first partaker of the fruits." This passage is engraved in the portico over the central entrance to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., he said. According to Suppan, 20 percent of the U.S. population is somehow involved "in the work of husbandry, whether you interpret 'husbandman' to mean 'farmer,' 'rancher,' 'farm worker,' 'chicken de-boner' or any of the myriad workers" involved in food systems. "The question is, who is receiving the first fruits of that work?" he said.
"Farmers need negotiating power," Suppan said. Farm input costs increase but farmers do not receive compensation for their products or come close to their expenses without government subsidies, he said.
"Taxpayers are underwriting a policy designed to alienate urban constituents from rural communities and farmers. The need for subsidies is presented by the government and agribusiness as a bail-out for farmers; at the same time they'd have you believe U.S. food is cheaper than anywhere in the world. And that policy looks to farmers like a subsidy to agribusiness," Suppan said. A study in Wisconsin indicated that 56 percent of the state's dairy farmers are eligible for food stamps, he said.
Five to 6 percent of farm owners possess 80 percent of American farm land, Suppan said. Resources for smaller farmers are not sufficient, he said. "A staff of two at the U.S. Small Farms Commission represents about 1.8 million farmers," Suppan said.
"U.S. food policy options sound like science fiction, " Suppan said. "Developing countries are encouraged to play the futures market, the kind of risky speculation normally advised for only the most secure investors."
"One thing to think about is building alliances among organizations, unions and communities of faith to recuperate democracy from a condition in which you have to pay to play," Suppan said.
"Farmers cannot survive without a community, and the committed community accepts the risk with the farmer," said Job Ebenezer, director for environmental stewardship and hunger education, ELCA Division for Church in Society, Chicago.
Participants got a look at sustainable alternatives to large commodity farming when they visited two farms west of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Riverbend Farm at Delano, Minn., is a certified organic farm operated by Greg and Mary Reynolds. The Reynolds grow about 50 different vegetables and herbs and sell them to co-ops and restaurants as well as to a subscription group. Gary Schmieg owns Sweet Meadow Farm at Howard Lake, Minn. His dairy operation is grass-based grazing and organic.
Anne Kanten, a farmer from Hawick, Minn., called the Riverbend effort "impressive." Greg Reynolds has technical expertise, she said, "and he is learning as he goes along." Kanten is a member of Nordland Lutheran Church, Paynesville, Minn.
The transition to organic farming "takes time, patience and deep pockets," Kanten said. "For most young farmers that transition is not easy: they have families to raise, kids to put through college and so on." She pointed out that demand for organic vegetables is up among urban consumers, "who are beginning to care about what they put in their bodies."
Schmieg is working on his grandfather's farm. The family has never used chemicals or pesticides of any kind. He milks 40 cows, and the farm is 360 acres.
"He has a passion for what he's doing, all without biotechnology or chemicals," Kanten said.
"The ground is alive, and I'm not going to poison it," Schmieg told the group. He sends his milk to Wisconsin for processing, and on the market his milk is worth twice the price of regular milk. "Without the organic option, my son could never be brought into the operation," Schmieg said.
"His farm shows us another piece of agriculture. An educated consumer has increased the demand," Kanten said. She pointed out that these farms are relatively close to the urban area. "The Kanten farm is two hours west, on the plains. It's a lot harder," she said.
"The focus of this session is organic, sustainable farming; these farmers prove it can work. These are the premiere vegetable and dairy operations," Kanten said. "The organic world is exciting. In 1972 our neighbors said we would fail if we tried to go sustainable; now I see them failing, and I can turn our operation over to my son," she said.
In urban areas such as Minneapolis-St. Paul, non-profit agencies dedicated to making food available to the poor have gone right to the source making small, specialty farming possible, providing markets, organizing cooperatives and teaching the essentials of farming.
Melissa MacKimm of the Minnesota Food Association described the organization's work as a bridge providing access to food for low-income people. "The low-income population has few food choices in the city," she said, "and small farmer operations need markets." MacKimm described the success of efforts to match "special cultural food interests, such as black-footed chicken and goat meat," with efforts by members of the city's immigrant groups to begin farming.
Perdita Butler explained the work of the Youth Farm and Market Project, teaching gardening skills to inner-city teens in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The project is five years old and has achieved important partnerships, such as with the city park boards that make possible