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Turning to
our philosophy of oneness and our understanding that consciousness is
creative, we ask, "What is the consciousness that creates
conditions in which people all over the globe are starving?"
Among the causes is the absence of what we need to thrive. In
"Freedom From Stres," Dr. Ernest Holmes writes:
What limits us? Anything
which denies us our good. If we are hungry and have no food to eat,
the lack of that food is a limitation to us.
Paralyzing fear of others also plays a significant role, which,
considered from economic, political and social perspectives,
evidences itself as war, greed, misogyny, xenophobia, racism and
other “isms.” A recent shooting in a supermarket in Buffalo, New
York, by a white supremacist in a predominantly Black neighborhood,
brought awareness to food vulnerability in the area where the
supermarket was the only store serving that Black community.
As of June 2, 2022, despite
local leaders and the store's owners having announced intentions to
reopen, the store is still closed, leading to the reemergence of a
food desert: an area where there are no viable resources for healthy
food in the immediate area. [2]
Food deserts [3] are conditions that exist worldwide [4].
There are
numerous international, regional and local organizations that address
hunger [5], often with a courageous recognition of the
intersectionality of food insecurity with practices such as placing
profits over people and making race, ethnic and
nationality-based decisions about who gets food. There is also
growing documentation [6] of the
future costs to the entire world caused by children and families
being lost to starvation and malnutrition.
Food security may be the most deciding factor — perhaps
second only to clean water security — in
the quality of life all over the globe. In a fact sheet dated June 9,
2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated:
Every country in the
world is affected by one or more forms of malnutrition. Combating
malnutrition in all its forms is one of the greatest global health
challenges.
Perhaps the most disturbing fact about food insecurity is the number
of women and children impacted [7]. The same
report WHO notes that the decade from 2016 to 2025 was designated by
the United Nations General Assembly as “The United Nations Decade on
Nutrition Action.” As we approach the end of that decade, food
insecurity — specifically hunger and famine — remains inextricably
interwoven with climate change, war [8] and
poverty [9]. Food blockades [10] are
routinely used to deny food as tactics in the various wars around the
globe, largely impacting women and children.
There are distribution and societal factors as well. Consider how
farmers in the United States are paid [11] not to
grow food that would result in surplus crops that could feed
millions. Also, the topic of genetically modified food is complex and
divided with debate about human safety, environmental impact,
scientific research and the growing monopoly of biotech companies
that now hold more than half of the seed supply around the
world [12].
Turning again to our teaching of oneness and our understanding that
consciousness is creative, we ask, "What is the consciousness
that may eradicate these limitations of food insecurity?" CSL
teaches that a personal and social consciousness of unity and
mutuality is essential to revealing wholeness. In "A Holmes
Reader on Practical Wisdom," [13] Holmes
outlines the consciousness to aspire to:
The biggest life is the
one that gives the most, loves the most, includes the most, has the
greatest understanding and the greatest consciousness of Eternal
Good, and redistributes this Good to the largest number of people.
Through our core practice of sacred study, we strive to expand our
consciousness in this way, seeking to understand the nature of the
One, and through that understanding to become of service to the
world.
We invite you to add to your spiritual study an investigation into
social issues that contribute to the lack of food security worldwide
(see resources below) and to let that study prompt spiritual practice
and action toward food security in your neighborhood — and in the
world — as a pathway to creating a world that works for all.
Spiritually Motivated Social Engagement Committee
Rev. Edward Viljoen, D.D., Spiritual Leader, Centers for Spiritual
Living
Rev. Raymont Anderson, Ph.D., D.D., Chair
Rev. Andrea Nelson Asebedo, D.D., Co-Chair, Ethics and
Professionalism
Rev. Sunshine Michelle Coleman, Ph.D.
Rev. D. Jacquelyn Edwards, MPA, MCS
Rev. Cindy Grimes
Ayo McClennan, RScP, Liaison to the Leadership Council
Rev. Mike McMorrow, D.D.
Rev. Martha Quintana, Director, CSL Global Services
“Food brings people
together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and
body. It’s truly love.”
— Giada De Laurentiis
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