In Nepal, people are reviving traditional farming. Producer cooperatives help farmers retain more profits on traditional and local food crops, while also protecting biodiversity and the health of their families. I was thinking how cooperatives are the wave of the future in farming, so plugged in that phrase and sure enough – Value-added cooperatives: Wave of the Future? was at the top of the list. Here in the United States, Organic Valley Cooperative is a example of a large, successful producer cooperative that continues to grow and diversity. Then of course, there is the worker-owned cooperative of Equal Exchange, our partner in the Presbyterian Coffee Project. Co-ops rock.

Dive into the world of food and farming with this amazing smörgåsbord of links from the Greenhorns, a land-based non profit serving young farmers across America. A Farmers Love Alemany Farm Almond Bean Atrazine Lovers Basia Winograd Beginning Farmer &…

The first winter I was out of college, living in an apartment on my own, I did what I thought was the environmentally responsible thing, and ran out to buy an artificial Christmas tree. I convinced my parents to do the same thing. “How can we cut down all these trees?” was my main argument. However, over the years since then, I have heard another side of the debate, which has many more facts attached to it than my gut-reaction to Christmas trees. This morning, NPR had an interesting story about environmental issues attached to Christmas trees. You can listen to the story here. via presbyterian.typepad.com I’m still debating whether to get a Christmas tree or not. I just put up a string of lights in our dining room, so that just maybe clinch it. No tree. For several years, my boss would give me one of those miniature cedars wrapped in shiny red foil. They always died. But one finally survived, so I planted it in our yard and it grew like a weed on manure. Three years later, I chopped it down for the tallest tree we’ve ever had. (they are so darn expensive!) But, this year, unless my teenagers rebel (you know, they just don’t make teenagers as rebellious as they used to…), no tree for us. What’s the Christmas tree all about anyway?! Here are some reflections from Katie Holmes on the Christmas tree conundrum. Enjoy.

Climate change is a serious issue and one that threatens our survival and all species on the planet. The solutions that are needed are urgent and must be initiated at the local level, then institutionalized in our institutions. But who said it can’t be fun solving the problems that face us; combining creativity with human evolution should be a fun path to travel on. Enjoy the voices of change.

Traveling through Cancun has been a profound and empowering experience. It was ironic, as I spent more time in Cancun, the reality of the United States became clearer. Here in the states we’re told that consumption and growth are the keys to progress. In the Global South they are told that you must work for a corporation’s workshop, and your land is no longer yours but a tool for exploitation. The chasm between reckless consumption and consumerism, and social and environmental degradation is vast and creates the actual reality in which we all live: the climate is warming at an alarming rate, world food supplies are dwindling, and the natural world is being eroded beyond the possibility of being healed.

In Cancún, Mexico, governments have yet another opportunity to commit to a global action plan to save the planet. Will they? Update below gives some indication, but only time will tell. And while we wait for Blain’s next post, the…

In our modern world of medicine cabinets and pharmaceuticals, our food is not omitted from the pill-bottle dependency. Which means, the meat we eat is infused with chemical stimulations such as antibiotics. In this Associated Press report on antibiotics in…

Blain Snipstal, HEART Road Trip alumnus, is currently in Cancun during the UN COP-16 Climate Talks on a Rural Coalition delegation and sponsored by the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Along with thousands of people from civil society, many coming by caravan through Mexico, he is participating in the Alternative Global Forum on Climate Change and Social Justice (see news report about small farmer participation). Here are some of his thoughts prior to going to Cancun on Dec. 3rd, while finishing up his college studies. I write this to you as I am experiencing the final days of my academic experiment (well, at least for now). Academia, for me, was a microcosm for experiencing the dualities, tri-alities, and quasi-alities that our collective amalgamation of life, which we call the world, can offer. In my final days; the world is shrinking; its once enormity is now no more than an infinitesimal dot or splash in a sea of consciousness. Perhaps, nothing is what it seems.

How can an acronym be born and have a birthday?! When it was born 10 years ago and stands for Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance! Okay, that was dumb. But we do celebrate these 10 years of collaborative action and the Presbyterian Church USA’s past seven years of involvement! The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), one of the most diverse international Christian organizations existing today, celebrates its tenth anniversary on 9 December. Over 70 churches and Christian organizations are currently members of the Alliance, from Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. These members, representing a combined constituency of tens of millions of people around the world, are committed to working together in public witness and action for justice on defined issues of common concern. The need for an alliance to strengthen campaigning efforts for peace, justice and human dignity was identified in meetings between the World Council of Churches and heads of Christian development agencies in the late 1990s. The EAA was created to focus advocacy by churches and related organizations on a few selected topics, and provide a space where diverse churches, organizations and Christian groups could collaborate. The founding assembly of the EAA was held in Geneva, 7-9 December 2000. Trade and HIV and AIDS were the first two issues selected for joint action. Members of the EAA currently collaborate in ongoing campaigns on Food (‘Food for Life’) and HIV and AIDS (‘Live the Promise’). “I have seen the EAA grow from an idea to a solid and effective, internationally recognized agent for change,” stated Rev. Dr Richard Fee, General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and Chairperson of the EAA’s Board of Directors. “We’ve marked many successes over these past ten years but there is no doubt that the need for churches and Christians to continue to speak and act together is as urgent as ever.” “The Global Week of Action has become a dynamic way for congregations in the United States to educate and act around critical trade and food justice issues that affect our partners overseas as well as people in our own communities,” says Andrew Kang Bartlett of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, who serves on EAA’s Food for Life Campaign strategy group. While you may not make the anniversary celebration at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 9 December (you knew that was coming with the ‘Centre’ spelling, right?), but you can get engaged by downloading the Week of Action on Food Guide to use as an educational tool with your congregation! Download the beautiful PDF Food Week guide right here The list of current EAA members is available here And you can view a timeline of highlights over the past ten years here (PDF)

Recently I have been hearing a lot about an opportunity for people of faith to think about eco-justice issues through art. Leaps and Bounds is a one-woman theatrical performance that explores how faith speaks to economic and environmental issues. Through multiple tools including song, prayer, storytelling, and movement, performer and developer Tevyn East helps communities of faith explore the intersections of “faith, ecology, and the global economy.” Watch a promotional video for the performance. From Eco-Journey!