National Catholic Rural Life Bulletin

Dear Reader: Our bulletin this week is more international than usual. Human health and social justice concerns once again reveal the world-wide connections of agriculture, food and the environment in our lives. We appreciate your devoted attention to these areas of rural life.

In this issue

Mexico's Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease
Pax Christi Statement on Global Flu Crisis
Care of Creation and sustainability updates
Farmworkers and foodservice company forge fair working conditions
Report: "Land Grabbing" by foreign investors in developing countries
Job Openings at USCCB Department of JPHD
St. Isidore feastday, May 15

Mexico's Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease

Laura Carlsen of Americas Program writes: Mexico has long been considered the laboratory of globalization. Now a potentially deadly virus has germinated in that laboratory, finding ideal conditions to move quickly along a path toward global pandemic. Those conditions include: a rapid transition from small livestock production to industrial meat farms after NAFTA established incentives for foreign investment, the failed decentralization of Mexico's health system along lines established by multilateral lending banks, lax and non-enforced environmental and health regulations as the Mexican government was forced to downsize, the increased flow of goods and persons across borders, and restricted access to life-saving medicines due to NAFTA intellectual property monopolies for pharmaceutical companies.

See Laura's blog at
http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/2009/04/mexicos-swine-flu-and-globalization-of.html

Her other analyses can be seen at www.americaspolicy.org

"With Crisis Comes Opportunity" -- Pax Christi Statement on Global Flu Crisis

Pax Christi USA, a national Catholic peace movement, offers their deepest condolences to the families of all those who have died from the recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, the United States and around the world. They also hold in prayer all those who are suffering from this virus and those who may be vulnerable to infection. In a recent statement, they write:

"This outbreak reminds us that we are all connected to each other on this planet, that no person or nation is an island unto themselves and that the fate of each person touches every other person. We can no longer think of ourselves as only citizens of the United States. We are members of one human family, made in the image of God. Unfortunately this global health crisis is also being used by those who reject this vision of the unity of the human family."

To read the full statement, visit
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_statements_more.asp?id=1636

The Vatican's steady move toward sustainability

The media reported a couple of weeks ago that "The world's smallest state (The Vatican) now intends to build the biggest solar plant in Europe on 740 acres near the medieval village of Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aO042nyR0px4&refer=europe

But according to Catholic News Service reporter Carol Glatz, she reports that the Director of Technical Services for Vatican City said while that may be on Vatican engineers' wish list, to be making such claims "is extremely premature right now."
http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/jumping-the-gun-on-the-greening-of-the-vatican/

It is true, however, that the Vatican's engineers have several other environmental projects on the planning board. According to Glatz, "Their goal is to have Vatican City using renewable energy for 20 percent of its needs by 2020, a target set for all the European Union." The roof of the Vatican's Paul VI auditorium is covered with 2,400 solar panels to produce 300 kilowatt hours of energy a year, enough for 100 households, cutting carbon-dioxide emissions by about 225 tons. An additional solar panel system will begin heating and cooling the Vatican's 300-seat staff cafeteria later this year.

U.S. congregations also "walking the walk"

Congregations throughout the United States are moving in a similar direction. Rabbi Brant Rosen of the Jewish Reconstructionist synagogue in Evanston, a Chicago suburb says, "If we were going to talk the talk, we need to walk the walk." The $9-million synagogue opened in February 2008, and last September became the only house of worship in the United States to receive the highest green-building rating from the non-profit U.S. Green Buildings Council, whose standards are considered the benchmark for environmentally friendly buildings.

Fifty-four congregations nationally have applied for the council's certification for environmentally friendly buildings, called the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification. According to Associated Press Writer Caryn Rousseau, "Among the applicants are seminaries, chapels, sanctuaries, monasteries, student centers and church offices (from) Jewish, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Wesleyan and Lutheran (traditions).

For an article, see http://www.heraldonline.com/416/story/1304359.html

NCRLC keeping track of greening Catholic institutions

NCRLC is expanding its database of religious communities moving toward sustainability to include other Catholic institutions, such as parishes, colleges, diocesan pastoral centers, schools, and hospitals. Nearly 40 religious communities and more than 30 Catholic colleges have provided NCRLC with information that will be added to our webpage "Catholic Institutions: Practicing Sustainability" this summer.

Parishes and Catholic schools, hospitals and dioceses are encouraged to share such information with NCRLC by completing a brief questionnaire. Please visit:
http://www.ncrlc.com/new_section/Practicing_Sustainability.html

Farmworkers and foodservice company forge fair working conditions

The Coalition for Immokalee Workers and the sustainable foodservice leader Bon Appetit Management Company have forged a new model for fair labor standards in Florida's tomato fields. The new model frames acceptable working conditions, including a wage premium that reflects the rigors and uncertainty of farm labor, standards requiring growers to implement time clocks to ensure that workers will be paid for every hour worked and every pound picked, a process for workers to pursue complaints without fear of retribution, a worker-controlled health and safety committee, a strict code of conduct, and third-party monitoring.

Bon Appetit operates more than 400 university and corporate cafes and is known for its commitment to environmentally sound and local food sourcing.
For more details on the agreement, visit http://www.interfaithact.org/latestnews
You may also be interested in the Washington Post article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800835.html

Bon Appetit is the first foodservice company to "put an end to tomatoes tinged with the bitter taste of exploitation" since the launch of the Student/Farmworker Alliance's Dine with Dignity campaign. Learn more at http://sfalliance.org/FSCresources.html

"Land Grabbing" by foreign investors in developing countries

International Food Policy Research Institute report

One of the lingering effects of the food price crisis of 2007-08 on the world food system is the proliferating acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries seeking to ensure their food supplies. Increased pressures on natural resources, water scarcity, export restrictions imposed by major producers when food prices were high, and growing distrust in the functioning of regional and global markets have pushed countries short in land and water to find alternative means of producing food. These land acquisitions have the potential to inject much-needed investment into agriculture and rural areas in poor developing countries, but they also raise concerns about the impacts on poor local people, who risk losing access to and control over land on which they depend. It is crucial to ensure that these land deals, and the environment within which they take place, are designed in ways that will reduce the threats and facilitate the opportunities for all parties involved.

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/bp/bp013.asp

St. Isidore Feastday, May 15

NCRLC patron saint St. Isidore -- patron saint of all American farmers -- has a feastday coming up next Friday, May 15. This is an opportunity to pray for our farmers across the countryside and to continually pray for farm families. Some rural parishes also use this occasion to bless seeds and the soil, whether for kitchen gardens or farm fields.

Visit our website for more about St. Isidore and, if you like, to order prayer cards:
http://www.ncrlc.com/isidoreandmaria.html

Let us pray: Grant, O Lord, that through the intercession of blessed Isidore, the husbandman, we may follow his example of patience and humility, and walk faithfully in his footsteps, so that in the evening of life we may be able to present to You an abundant harvest of merit and good works. We ask this through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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