I think I can fairly say that the loss of biodiversity in the world is something the media reports regularly. We hear about polar bears and how many other animals face extinction. We hear about how much rain forest is being cut down each day and what a loss that presents not only for the animals and plants that live there, but also the future of pharmaceutical discovery.

What I personally have heard less about is the loss of crop diversity. Here’s something I came across today on the Web site of the Global Crop Diversity Trust: “…of the 7100 varieties of apple cultivated in USA 100 years ago, 6800 have disappeared forever.”

We’re down to 300 varieties of apples here. That’s nearly a 96% drop! Of something we eat! They also say that about 165,000 crop varieties (all types of food) are currently endangered. It’s not boding well for food security in the world.

The Global Crop Diversity Trust site gives several reasons that crop diversity is dropping, and one of them is climate change. Rising temperatures and drought are not helpful to many crops, especially in places that already trend toward the hot and dry.

There are lots of ways that climate change affects hunger in the world. Killing off the things we eat is the most direct one I’ve considered.

I’ve heard the statistic several times before: about 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger related diseases. I knew that translated into about one death every 3.6 seconds, or about the time it takes an adult to take a deep breath (if you have not already, check out this multimedia presentation on the ELCA World Hunger website). That is a scary thought. Here’s another way to see it–this next year, nearly 9 million people will die of hunger or a hunger related disease. That’s one and a half times the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. In one year. When faced with the horror of the Holocaust, the aptly named “Confessing Church” in Germany stood up against the powers and structures that allowed such an atrocity. Will the Church today follow their example?

I was planning on posting on water today. While I was perusing the web, I came across this excellent slideshow (with audio) and an accompanying brief article. Both deserve some time. Several points are noteworthy and I will mention two. First, waterborne illnesses, which according to their figures affect 2 million people annually (this is probably an underestimate), are preventable. All that is needed is access to clean water, and we have the technology to either move or purify water relatively cheaply (if you have not done so already, check out what the ELCA World Hunger did in Peru for only $7,000). Second, even for those who have access to clean water, very often that water is miles away. It is usually the women who are responsible for the gathering of water. There is a tragic picture in the slideshow of a four year old girl with a large bucket on her head, on her way to fetch water. She will fetch water instead of going to school. This is the plight of millions of women, and without education there is no hope to break the cycle of poverty.

So what can we do? I was thinking about water because when I was in Washington this last weekend at the 2008 Hunger Symposium, I learned that the SW Washington synod had committed to getting off of bottled water. They had taken the challenge offered at http://www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org/, and were working to get the word out (check out the website, they have facts and resources, including a great reusable water bottle that makes quite a statement). Bottled water is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, and according to this NYT op-ed piece, if Americans spent only one quarter of what they spent on bottled water to address global water issues, we would have a very good start on getting clean water to all (not to mention all the environmental costs that we would avoid in manufacturing and shipping bottles). So get your reusable bottle, and donate the money you save to address this pressing issue.

David Creech

While thinking about my third month anniversary of entering the ELCA universe of World Hunger & Disaster Appeal, I am both excited and humbled by my assignment. Never during my entire professional life have I been in such a supportive environment of colleagues. The learning curve is high and the mission of helping people both at home and across the borders is taken seriously and done with great passion and hard work. Fortunately, I have never lived through a natural disaster and I promise you, I have never experienced true hunger. I have been very blessed. So, in order to evolve my understanding and identification to others less fortunate in these experiences and consider the great importance of our efforts, I recently visited the Field Museum’s “Nature Unleashed – Inside Natural Disasters.” I walked through the Earth’s history of natural disasters in the formats of visual and audio recordings, pictures, interactive exercises and explanations of Hurricanes, Tornados, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes. I came across the following quote in seeking an answer for why these disasters happen:

“Hurricanes, Tornados, Earthquakes and Volcanoes can be disastrous for people. But on a planet fueled by heat, these vents are simply signs that the engine is running. Life on this dynamic Earth will not always be easy. Our challenge – to live here as safely as possible.” Unknown Author

I learned that heat in the Earth’s core and from the Sun cause such events to occur. My next question was, “what kind of good things can come from such unfortunate experiences, both here and abroad?” I later read these words:

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”. By William Shakespeare

Out of something as horrible as suffering from natural disasters, arise partnerships fueled by compassion. Walls of division that normally keep us captive in our own section of the world are torn down. As a result, we create new relationships and provide shelter, food, funding and most of all hope to families for a better tomorrow. This is my new place. A team of hope carriers that help make this volatile Earth we share connect and become a family.

For the last couple years, my computer’s home webpage has been www.thehungersite.com. When I log onto the internet, the website’s page opens up with a nice orange button. When I click on that button, 1.1 cups of staple food is donated to hungry people all around the world. Sponsors pay for the advertisements (and most of the products are earth and hunger friendly) so all it costs me is about 5 seconds of my time. You should try it sometime!

This week’s New York Times Magazine is all about food (see it here). In the issue, Michael Pollan, one of my favorite food authors, offers several food policy suggestions to the next president. He links health care, energy independence, and climate change to current (unsustainable) agricultural practices. The whole article is worth reading and reflection. My thoughts have been drawn repeatedly to one statistic cited in the piece–the average American consumes over 190 pounds of meat annually. Since it takes about 8 pounds of feed for 1 pound of beef, that means that the average American consumes 1,520 pounds of food annually, just in meat. That’s 3/4 of a ton! Given the environmental toll of US agricultural practices, and the fact that the poor (both at home and abroad) are most vulnerable to the effects of global climate change, I think I’ll have a salad for dinner tonight.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is David Creech and I am the new Director of Global Hunger Education at the ELCA Churchwide Office. I am just finishing up (hopefully) my PhD in Theology, with an emphasis in New Testament and early Christianity. I am excited to participate in that long stream of Christian tradition that looks out for widows and orphans, or, in our context, the most vulnerable people in our global village.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus came announcing that the kingdom of God had arrived. Its coming meant that the poor would hear the good news, the sick would be healed, and the hungry would be fed. Throughout his ministry Jesus invited his disciples to join him in living out the kingdom. The first followers of Jesus were notorious for their care of the orphan and the widow. Greek and Roman authors mercilessly ridiculed the early Christians for their naïve (and self-sacrificing) attention given to the most vulnerable persons in the Roman Empire. 2,000 years later the Church is still called to live out the kingdom of God by meeting the needs of those who are most desperate.

Today, the most vulnerable in our global village are the chronically hungry. Though the statistics may be familiar, they are worth repeating:

• Over 850 million people wake up and go through their day until they finally go to bed without ever having their hunger assuaged. That’s nearly one in six people. Sadly, one in six people are also over fed.
• Every day, more than 31,000 children die of hunger and other related, and preventable, causes.
• Approximately one-half of the people in the world are malnourished.
• Perhaps most frightening of all, there is enough food for every person in the world—men, women, and children—to have 2,500 calories per day.

The numbers are staggering. They can be paralyzing. They call the Church to be and do what it has historically been and done. I am so thrilled to be a part of that mission and I look forward to conversations with all who want to see God’s kingdom here on earth.

The following was written by Emily Davila, Assistant Director, Lutheran Office for World Community.

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I spent the last week in Papua New Guinea – not something I ever expected to do! With over 800 languages, communication in PNG is fascinating. There is no internet and even phones are hard to come by, a few cell phones are here and there. Most people I met promised to write me – as in a letter. We will see how that goes.

I went to PNG as an invited guest to a Lutheran women’s conference. Colonized by Germans, more than one-fifth of the country is Lutheran. One of the key features of the conference was a bible study called “Jesus Liberates women in PNG from male dominated cultures.”

Growing up, Pastor Michael, a seminary professor, watched his mother suffer in a polygamous marriage. His father, a “bigman” would forceably take the pigs she raised so that he could enjoy a high status in the community, beating her if necessary. When menstruating, women were (and still are in some places) secluded, and some believe that even the food they touch is contaminated so they are not allowed to cook meals. After the age of 13, Michael was discouraged from spending time with his mother. Because of a tradition called the “Bride price” -similar to a dowry- a woman cannot divorce her husband because her family is expected to pay the money back. By paying for their wives, it encourages a culture where many men consider their wives a possession. In the case of Michael’s sister, despite the fact that she was often beaten by her husband, culturally, it was impossible to divorce him and she eventually committed suicide.

All this caused Pastor Michael to read the bible searching for stories of women’s liberation. At the conference he distributed a 60-page book written in Pidgin (the national language) and English that systematically unwraps the stories of women in the bible to deliver a message of respect and encouragement for women’s leadership. It ends with a chapter: “Jesus’ approach to the Samaritan Women (and others) could be a model for PNG men to follow.” Some of the suggestions:
-PNG men should put aside their beliefs of gender-based concepts of clean and unclean…
-Women ought to be given equal invitation and opportunity for leadership roles in the church
-Women should be given equal theological education…
-Women should be ordained

Now – the format of this communication was not modern: it came in a dense booklet – footnotes – even the original greek in some cases. But he systematically made the argument for gender equality in a country where it is an urgent life or death issue with one of the highest infant and maternal death rates in the world. He took nearly 8 hours over four days to deliver his lecture to 1,000 women and some men, including high ranking pastors and the Bishop.

But this is an oral culture, so the women may not read this thesis booklet. But they will remember his new interpretations of the Samaritan woman and the woman at the well, and they will take it home to their villages and retell the stories. They asked him to address the synod meeting next year, which will be mainly men, and hopefully this will happen. In a male-dominated culture, it will help women gain credibility to have a man – and the Bible – speaking on their behalf.

I think this was a historic occasion in PNG, and it speaks to the power of education. He went to school and chose to study this subject, and is now preaching a new gospel in his own language in a country that is hungry for it. The “West” cannot export gender equality, it has to come from the grassroots within. PNG is a very religious country. They have mixed Christianity with their own beliefs and it permeates almost everything they do. I can’t think of a more credible way for a gender equality movement to gain foothold in this country.