permaculture

[John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net>]

Aloha,

More in the vein of religious groups recognizing their true 
responsibilities according to da Man...

Imua,
John S.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        [gefreehi] Fw: [Geactivists] World Council of Churches & GE
Date:   Thu, 16 Feb 2006 05:42:37 -1000
From:   GMO-FREE MAUI <gmofreemaui@hawaii.rr.com>
To:     gefreehi <gefreehi@yahoogroups.com>

Greetings, Friends in this effort,

I have found the World Council of Churches' 28 page 'discussion document
' Caring for Life: Genetics, Agriculture, and Human Life' most helpful,
both for its depth and conclusions, and for giving credibility to my
arguments with some people who represent a considerable part of our
population, including some politicians.  And it has encouraged me that
our concerns are being shared in powerful circles--at least this one.

Below are this paper's conclusions which are calls to action and include
such statements as:
"To build partnerships with civil society, people’s movements, small
scale farmer groups and Indigenous Peoples in opposing the science,
philosophy and practice of genetic engineering in agriculture..."


* The way forward.*

In the light of our work on genetic engineering agriculture we therefore
call upon the WCC, member Churches, individual Christians and people of
good will to embark on the following six forms of action

1. To build partnerships with civil society, people’s movements, small
scale farmer groups and Indigenous Peoples in opposing the science,
philosophy and practice of genetic engineering in agriculture

2. To challenge Christians in the employ of those promoting genetic
engineering
to reflect upon the implications of their work in the light of the
Gospel’s concern
for truth and justice, and to consider the possibility of being
whistle-blowers and
conscientious objectors

3. To encourage Christian theological reflection to shift from issues of
food
security to issues of food sovereignty so that our concerns for justice,
freedom
and participation are not compromised.

4. To encourage Christians involved in medical research to continue to
investigate the impact of genetic engineering in agriculture upon human
health,
as called for by the European Commission.

5. To stand in solidarity with those working in local communities to promote
healthy food and good nutrition amongst the deprived, especially in a
time of
HIV/AIDS.

6. To recognize in our work and reflection the way in which access to
food stands
on the interface between ecology and economy in the struggle for life
against
commodification and control

7. To engage biblically and theologically in reflection on food, faith
and freedom,
and especially to consider the possibility that the agapé meal at the
heart of
Christian worship – the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist – could be envisaged as a
sacrament of resistance against those who seek to control food. In doing
these things, we stand in continuity with the AGAPE document, and
particularly
section 3.3., “from food security to food sovereignty”:
We believe that God’s economy of solidarity and justice for the
household of creation includes the promise that the people of the world
have the right to produce their own food and control the resources
belonging to their livelihoods, including biodiversity. It is therefore
the right and responsibility of governments to support the livelihoods
of small farmers in the South and in the North. It is their right to
refuse the demands of agribusinesses that seek to control every aspect
of the cycle of life. Such an approach requires respect for indigenous
spiritual relationships to land and the bounties of mother earth.12
12 World Council of Churches, JPC Team, Alternative Globalization
Addressing Peoples and Earth, Geneva 2005, p 22

The full document can be seen at:

www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/geneticengineering.pdf

Or, I can forward it to you electronically as an attachment.

A short discussion of biotechnology on the World Council of Churches web
site is at:

http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/ecearth-biotech.html


Susan Hope Bower
Special Projects Coordinator
Institute for Responsible Technology
www.seedsofdeception.org
Co-Director
Steward Creation!
www.stewardcreation.org
P.O. Box 1510
Hayfork, CA  96041
Ph.  530 628-5004
Fax  530 628-4960
Email  sbower@trinityalps.net


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--

John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design
------------------------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Whole Systems Design Services
People - Place - Learning - Integration
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net