More Background about the Food and Faith Project
What is the food system and how did it evolve?
Our current food system was created to produce the greatest amount of food as cheaply as possible. Beginning in the 1940s, we began to drastically increase crop yields by planting thousands of acres with one single crop, farming became largely mechanized, and new pesticides and herbicides were used to help reduce crop damage caused by insects, disease, and weeds. By many accounts, all of these things enabled us to be successful in our efforts to increase crop yields - indeed, we now have enough food to feed everyone (although it is not distributed equitably) and that food is cheap. Unfortunately, the very methods that increased our productivity now threaten our ability to continue to do so. Pesticides and weed killers are less effective and are permanently altering our soil and water. The nature of the plants and animals that we eat is being changed through genetic engineering. The web of life in which plants, animals, land, water, air, and human beings are interwoven is being threatened. Hunger remains a problem because of inequitable distribution and high cost of some food. A growing number of Americans are overweight or obese in part because of a lack of access to and high cost of healthy foods, and shortcomings in nutrition and health education. Farm workers frequently work in harsh conditions often for less than the minimum wage. The good news is that there is a growing and important movement to support farmers' who produce meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetables in ways that respect farm workers, animals, and the earth. The number of farmers markets grows significantly each year throughout the United States, and people are starting to make food purchasing choices that are good for the health of themselves, their families, their communities, and the environment. 
What does faith have to do with the food system? Religious denominations, faith communities, and organizations from many faith traditions have a long history of seeking to improve the human social condition, and they are increasingly taking up the cause of caring for our environment, folding it into the social justice frameworks that have long been supported in their communities. One of the ways in which they've done this is by starting to consider how we as a society are responsible for our current food production system and the problems associated with it. Nearly all of the Baltimore Food and Faith Project's partners come from traditions in which theological implications for food consumption and distribution already exist; sacred texts talk about eating, producing, and giving thanks for food as a spiritual act; and rituals and holidays celebrate and include certain foods as a central element. Our faith partners are also becoming involved because: - They want to ensure that future generations will inherit a healthy planet;
- They hope to promote justice and care for the least of these (including the disenfranchised such as the poor, the exploited, and animals);
- They wish to help build community by supporting those whose work is essential to our society's well being; and
- They feel that caring for others and the earth represents an act of love for God's creation.
How does the BFFP partner with faith communities to improve the food system?
The Baltimore Food and Faith Project works with our faith community partners and others to: - Create programs and presentations that are useful, interesting, and appropriate for each faith community.
- Provide technical assistance and funding to faith communities, faith-based organizations, and parochial schools as they explore this topic and decide to implement certain program activities.
- Develop a learning network of faith communities and faith-based organizations that can network with one another, and share successes, challenges, and lessons learned in their efforts to create food and faith initiatives.
- Host regular events such as interfaith workshops on specific food system-related topics and an annual summer film series.
- Provide resources to help people learn more, begin projects, work together, etc.
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