Dignity of the Human Person
Human beings are created in the image of God. Any diminishment of that dignity is contrary to the moral law. The economy is for the human person; not the human person for the economy. Any reduction of the human self to a commodity or a cog in a machine violates that dignity.
"The founding of our country was basically an escape from the feudal system in Europe in which lords owned all of the land and serfs worked it for them. Now we’re moving into an industrial situation where the farmers become wage employees, and the masters are a few large corporations." (Dr. Harold Breimyer, agricultural economist emeritus, University of Missouri, Columbia)
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What can people do to uphold the dignity of family farmers?
We can oppose the industrialization of agriculture, animal factories, and policies that depopulate the countryside, give us food insecurity, gamble with food safety and food production, make serfs of family farmers, and despoil the environment.
We can support an alternative food system that is sustainable or regenerative.
We can use our church halls and parking lots for farmers markets and direct marketing.
We can have our community institutions buy locally and support a regional food system.
We can support policies that work against the loss of prime farm land, control urban sprawl, and develop balanced approaches to growth.
We can promote cookbooks that provide recipes for local produce and celebrate special days, seasons, and events for wider connection between spirituality, the land, and the use of food.
We can help find alternative sources of capital and insurance for our rural families.
We can encourage and support efforts for the humane treatment of animals.
We can encourage labeling that tells us where food is from and who produced it.
We can support anti-trust activity in food production.
We can be advocates for the dignity of the human person by participating in rallies, supporting sound legislative policies, promoting grassroots campaigns, and being part of a movement for change.
Eating is a Moral Act
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