Pioneer Christian Monthly - December, 1980

World Hunger - Is It My Concern?
Marian Kabbes

The first speaker was Diane Englestad from the Committee for Justice and Liberty. She was extremely informative in that she gave us the facts about the food crises. Canada is a major importer of food whereas third world countries are a major exporter. Is this really the way it should be? She talked about the food industry as we see it from the supermarket, by using various products as examples. There are four major food industries that provide our weekly supply of groceries, one of which controls 70% of food chain stores. These companies compete in terms of advertising and cost reduction, rather than quality for the consumer; therefore, they move to third world countries where labour is cheap. Yet, this is not reflected in the price we pay. For example, for every dollar of bananas we buy, the third world countries make $.II and the workers receive even less. She talked about no-name brands, junk food and Kraft. The major theme of her talk was that we need to become aware of what is happening around us. 

Many questions were asked regarding who is to blame for the food crises. Is it multi-national corporations, or our political leaders, or the Canadian labour force that refuses to work for low wages? Diane's response was that it is a vicious circle and that no one component in society is responsible. However, we need to make ourselves aware of the various aspects and learn all we can to perhaps affect some change. 

The second speaker was a representative of the Mennonite Central Committee, Paul Bowntan. The main objectives of M.C.C. are to provide relief, aid in development and encourage social justice. Paul had recently spent three years in Brazil, where he worked with the poor, teaching them about agriculture and helping them dig wells. His wife taught the women about health and nutrition. In his talk, he responded to the questions of what can we do. 

First of all, we can give of our time, get involved in a program or give funds to various causes. Secondly, we should become educated and seek alternative sources of information to find the causes of the situation in various countries. With this new information we can attempt to provoke some action for change. And finally, we need to look at our lifestyle to see what it symbolizes. "The rich must live simpler, so the poor can simply live." Simple living involves freeing ourselves for service to others. 

The last speaker for the afternoon was Rev. Chic Boersma, the Campus Director of Grand Valley State College, Allendale, Michigan. He elaborated on the aspect of a simple lifestyle. He gave us many examples of ways in which to simplify our way of living such as keeping your thermostat at 68 degrees F, or making dishwashing a family affair instead of buying a dishwasher. Living simpler helps us to think more about how fortunate we are, often at the expense of others. It also helps us to reveal to others how we feel about the situation. He also provided a list of books that could help us to learn more about this aspect of service. 

At the conclusion of the day, we faced with the question, where were do we go from here? There was a desire for some action to be taken within the Reformed Church with regards to the world hunger situation. Has there been a lack of concern in the past? In addition, perhaps each one of us individually needs to do some thin- king. Many in the world are starving and yet the earth produces enough food to feed them all. Do we have any Christian responsibility to try to right that which is wrong? "And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me'." Matthew 25:40