Good food
Subtitle: grounded practical theology
By: Jennifer R. Ayres
Publisher: Baylor University Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Waco
Language: eng
Number of pages: 233
ISBN-13: 9781602589841
Subjects: Food; Agriculture; Christianity
Description: Christians in the United States are on a quest for good food. And yet at every turn, they confront brokenness in the food system. Access to healthy food is not secure. Farmers and laborers struggle to find meaningful agricultural work that pays a livable wage. Animals and the land are abused. At the public policy level, legislation has increasingly favored mass-produced products in order to provide the largest amount of food to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible prices -- regardless of the consequences. Unable to trace the sources of their food, and perhaps even the ingredients, consumers are vulnerable to a deep and abiding alienation. Still, many religions, including the Christian tradition, orient themselves around the table, a site for connection and nourishment. Good Food is a practical theology grounded in a rich ethnographic study of the food practices of diverse faith communities and populations. In the midst of the food system's woundedness and harm, they are hopeful but not naïve, and in their imaginative work, the seeds for a thriving food system are taking root. Grounded in unflinching analysis and encompassing both theological and moral implications, Ayres examines actual religious practices of food justice, discovering in the process a grounded theology for food. Ayres challenges people of faith to participate in communal initiatives that will make a real difference -- to support local farmers, grow their own food, and advocate for fair food policies. Good Food equips readers with the theological and practical tools needed to safeguard that which sustains us: food.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-226) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : a grounded practical theology of food -- -- PART I.; title: Primer on the global food system : people, places, planet --; title: Primer on the global food system : policies --; title: Making room at the table : a theology and ethics of food -- -- PART II.; title: Church-supported farming : building relationships and supporting sustainable agriculture --; title: Growing food : from food insecurity to food sovereignty --; title: Transformative travel : education, encountering the other, and political advocacy --; title: Vocational sustainability : agriculture and ingenuity on the college farm --; title: Conclusion : unearthing beauty : everyday visionaries and hope for the food system.