At the request of the executive secretariat at Brussels  in respect of the forth coming meeting of the European branches of the group; Faith and Justice, dedicated to Food Sovereignty, the branch of Strasbourg (France) deliver in this document, in the form of theological reflection, its contribution to the subject at hand. Isn’t the elaboration of such a concept, in a purely theological term, a challenging task?  

To attain our goal, it appears necessary to us, to begin with our own missionary experience, by taking into consideration the situation(s) at hand. Hence, each of us in his/her own personal experience, endeavour to see if one was not finding oneself in  situations whereby the population with which one was living, was having problems with food security1 or sovereignty.2 It is out of these situations that a deep reflection can be offered from the perspective of the impact of globalisation and the changes that needs to be effected, as well as from the point of view of evangelical and ethical demands.

Awareness

We have identified two situations both of which are located within the context of Cameroon:

                        a. It concerns the region of Eton, which is 100 km north of Yaoundé and counts about 150 inhabitants per km2. The improvement of the living and health conditions has thrown off balance the already existing burdensome population rate which was at 35 inhabitants per km2. 

                        b. Some years ago, the Cameroonian government had decided to import rice from Italy. The presence of this imported rice on the market of Yaoundé which is being sold at 45 FCFA per kilo was competing with the locally produced rice which sells below 52 FCFA per kilo. We discover there, a problem of food sovereignty. This applies equally to the mission in Bibé.3

The outcome of these two situations is the creation of the awareness of our collective responsibility. In the first case it pertains to the colonial era while in second, it is as a result of the rules and regulations put in place by the WTO or bilateral agreements where each of the partners seeks only its own immediate interest.4

1 Food security is defined as: « being the situation in which every person, in every moment, has physical and economic access to a nourishing food which meets their dietician needs and their alimentary preference for a healthy life.” Definition given by The World Summit on Food in 1996.

2 Food sovereignty is defined as: « the right of the individual, of a community, of a country to define their agrarian, food, fishing, pastoral, agricultural, and trade union politic which must be ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their peculiar situation. This includes the right to produce food to feed oneself, which means every person has the right to a reliable, nutritive and culturally appropriate food and the right to productive food resources which has the capacity to be enough for oneself and one’s society.” Definition given by the Forum for Food Sovereignty in Rome in 2002.

3 See the article of B. Foy in Echo de la Mission, Jan/Feb. 2005 p. IV. He cited this example to demonstrate how the dumping practiced  by Europe destroys the desire to produce in Africa.

4 As stated by Thierry Brésillon : « changing the rules of the world trade will not be enough.  Is it necessary that States still invest in durable development, that we invent new cultural techniques, that we facilitate access to credit and water, access to research benefits directed towards the needs of peasant agriculture and no more to

A call to action.

This awareness invites us to act. Some will seek to respond to this problem by means of lobbying or appealing (this is the objective of a network such as ours) to the leaders who decide on the relationships between the North and the South. Others prefer undertaking actions such as individual charity and big humanitarian projects. All these are good and useful. But is it enough?

We think there is a need to start a deep reflection. The consequences of misery in many countries demand a transformation. The logic of today’s globalised trade escapes every social or political control, and we are faced with attitudes and personal motivations marked by the spirit of consumption and the desire to possess wealth. 

Globalisation effects a profound human change

Globalisation has changed relationships in the world as well as the deepest being of each of us. Today, no person is as he or she used to be, about ten years ago. My being is a being of relation. However, the relational dimension has evolved; it has changed from a local to a global nature. Whatever takes place in any part of the world, wherever it is, constructs my being and forms integral part of my being. Hence when a human being suffers (be it near or far), his or her suffering becomes mine.5 The pathetic condition of the majority of the population on the planet, tormented by the scourge of misery and hunger, poses a fundamental question of belonging and the promotion of the common good. Indeed, why accept, in the light of the human dignity, the systematic violation of right to meaningful and just life and its inherent rights?6

This new condition of the world whereby the suffering and the joy of one becomes the suffering and the joy of all, is similar to what we are living in the mystical body of Christ in the Church, a universal communion in Christ. “It is in the commitment to transform unjust structures in order to re-establish the dignity of man created in the image and likeness of God, that the Eucharist becomes in life, what it signifies in the celebration,” stated by the synod of bishops gathered in Rome, last November. Gabriel Marc, in a commentary on the input of the synod on the Eucharist in La Croix (7)7, expresses his joy about the proposition that links the Eucharist to solidarity.

If, in certain parts of the world there is something wrong, then there is something wrong with us equally.  It is up to us to do something so that, those parts of the world find their normal situations. The other who suffers in misery or hunger, challenges and questions our own human identity.

industrial agribusiness. » In Faim et Développement, N° 208, December 2005, p.18. All the articles dedicated to the challenges to be eradicated in peasant agriculture are of much interest.

5

 Cf. 1 Cor 12, 12-27. St Paul uses the comparison of the human body. This applies perfectly well to the situation of globalisation described here. “God wants that there be no division in the body and that the different parts take care of one another. If a member suffers, all the members partake in the suffering; if a member is honoured, all share in the joy. For you are the body of Christ and each of you, are the members of this body.”

6

 A concrete contrast between the situation of misery and wealth, between towns and suburbs with the development of prostitution and drug as the only means of survival.

7 Cf, ‘A Synod for nothing? in La Croix, the edition of  8 march 2006.

“To be unchallenged and not to act on behalf of a person humiliated by misery is to dehumanise oneself.  To participate in the protection of the dignity of the other, is to humanise oneself with him or her. In so far as there will be human victims of misery or hunger, it is the whole humanity which will suffer and be offended in its dignity”8.

Today, we can no more escape, because we form one and the same world.  And we, Christians “have to work to bring forth a new world.” Social injustice is an offence to God and it is opposed to the fraternal commandment of the love of God which Jesus has instituted as the eternal law of the new covenant. The respect and the commitment to the dignity of the poor can not limit itself to urgent aid, but requires a transformation of the society and the economy in a new order that moves towards the common good ( in line with the Body of Christ- the Kingdom of God). And this transformation can not take place without a profound change of mentality.

It is necessary to offer the African farmer the means of enjoying, in a dignified way, the work of his/her labour, to participate in the development of his/her country and not only to be a consumer – like a bird from the sky fed by the father- but equally an actor in his/her own development. The respect for the dignity of the human person can not be lived in a perpetual assistance.9 If we can not close our doors to the one who is hungry, all our effort must be channelled through the service of what will give him/her the possibility of obtaining his/her her needs. It is only by then that he/she could live in equality with others, having acquired autonomy, a condition for a true freedom.10

A rethinking of the issues in a different way.

                        The only position that one could have today, in relation to Others, is dialogue, since the Other helps in my existence. He/she is part of me. Hence it is only dialogue that can create the space that permits me to realise myself. But for we Christians, there is a position which is equally essential and fundamental; solidarity. A solidarity which is expressed in the name of the gospel.  Christ Himself who was dialogue and the Word, the Word made flesh, showed solidarity equally and totally with humanity, particularly with the weak, the outcast and as far as giving up His own life on the Cross, in the name of this solidarity based on love.

                        Every culture, every people and all religions are bearers of the Spirit and for that matter, a truth expressed in the Word of God. We (Christians) do not have the totality of the Truth. For which reason it is important to accept, to listen to parts of the Truth that are expressed in other cultures and from other people (especially in relation to colonialism and imperialism).

                        No human language can pretend to say everything about God.

8 Cf.  Documentation Catholique N°2293, june 2003, p.559.

9 To sustain the food security of the people. 

10 This approach is necessary, all the more as the Gospel acknowledges that human responsibility can only be expressed in relation  to the phenomenon of under development, hunger and misery. This is what John Paul II calls “structures of sin” in the encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis.

Evangelical call  

God, the Creator and the master of life, with largess, has created the world and all that is contained in it and he continues to fecundate and to protect it for the well being all human communities. He has given us the means and talents so that we may continue to develop the world, protect it and use intelligently the natural resources without wasting them. (Cf. Ps. 104).

The Old Testament narrates the experience and faith of the People of Israel; it is from them that we have the roots of our Christian faith. According to the Bible, it was in Israel that the ethical conscience of the victory over misery and hunger was firstly manifested. The teachings of the Prophets draw attention to the existing links between the cult offered to God and the practices of justice in defending the rights of the oppressed, helping the poor, and protecting the widow. (Is 1, 17; Jr 7, 3-7).

In the New Testament, Jesus surpasses the tradition of his people and he presents himself as the Bread of Life which nourishes all forms of life.  He gives us his body as food for the eternal life. He taught us to ask from the Father our daily bread and to share it with our brothers and sisters in need. Through his salvific action and his redeeming death, he revealed him as compassionate and misericordial Master (Mt 19, 35-39)

Jesus spent all of his life in doing good. He came to the world so that we may have life, and have it abundantly ( Jn 10, 10). He made himself flesh for all human kind. He took side with the little ones - the marginalised, the foreigners, the sinners, etc. In so doing, he acted against marginalisation of people. He constantly fought against the profound social, economic, political and religious marginalisation. He was and is the Good News to the poor. He taught with authority. Authority that was expressed in his services and compassion. Admirably, this is witnessed by both the Beatitude (Mt 5, 1-12) and the Good Samaritan narrations.

Jesus wants his disciples to act like him. He wants them to be the major actors of the work he started.  Before the “hungered throng”, Jesus had a compassion on them. He asked the disciples to “give them something to eat”. (Mc 6, 37).

“To give food to the hungry, clothe to the naked and visiting the sick and those in prison, … (Mt 25, 31-46)” should not just be reduced to a mere existential practice. As Brazilian Bishops wrote:  “When we content ourselves in responding only to the immediate needs of the poor, we run the danger of perpetuating the existing social inequalities”11 . Evangelical charity is the foundation of any Christian action – but this should as well imply promotion and integral liberation of the oppressed. It is the example given in the Acts of Apostles by the fist Christian communities. Following Jesus’ example, sharing the sufferings of the other is not giving material things but giving oneself. It is giving ones time and to be at the service of the one suffering. It is empowering him so that he may open up his eyes, organise himself, get back his lost identity, his values and his self esteem. In one word: become an upright man; free, responsible and capable to act on his own. 

11 Ibid., p. 558

Ethical imperative

We want to affirm that the dignity of being human implies the duty to preserve human life. In this context, food should not only be a right of those who have money, neither of those who produce, but a right to all people. Therefore, no body should feel threatened by poverty, suffer from hunger, or depend on others for his basic needs. Food should not be treated as any other merchandise produced and stocked to suit only the needs of the owners. As long as some individuals suffer from hunger, it is immoral to stock food for the purpose of obtaining speculative benefits. It is the role of governments to be vigilant and to intervene so as to ensure good regulation of commodities and to hinder the production of new forms of misery and hunger. 

The late Pope John Paul II, in his actualisation of the Populorum progression during the year 2000 jubilee, spoke of the necessity to respect each human life. In his talk, he asked himself: “How can it be that, in out modern time, there is still some people who die of hunger, who are condemned to illiteracy, who are excluded from basic medical treatment, and who have even no permanent shelter?”

As Pope Paul VI underlines it “development is the new name of Peace”. We will obtain Peace only and only if when the economy and all market laws are reversed and used at the service for the human beings.

From human dignity flows also the call for solidarity. We should lean from the lesson given by poor people who share the little they have so that every one in their society may survive. This popular ethical conduct calls up all human societies to live humanly - not only today but also in the future - so that all other people may live in dignity; in order to attain this goal, we need to live more simple life styles as well as to say no to all forms of consumerism that literally kills our societies. Above all, we need to put in practice “a globalised solidarity inspired” by the Gospel values. 

In order to ensure food for all, every one of us is called to make a personal engagement. There is a need to guarantee the rights of people and countries to produce so as to satisfy their basic needs. To realise this, there is a need to have new world order in relation to work, management of natural resources and a lay down new economic strategies based on cooperation and solidarity in all levels - his is the primary role of any government. 

Conclusion:  “sovereignty at the risk of the Gospel”

The Gospel revels us two things: 

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he called “his father”, is a loving father to all human kind. This Father desires only one thing: to make every man and woman participate in own nature and to be what he is - this is where our salvation lies.

That a man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God. Since God is a loving father, he took the risk to create man and woman as entirely free beings

- but what type of liberation to human kind?

God is the supreme master of all new relationships between man and man. Whatever can be about dialogue, can only be traced from God himself - dialogue is the only way that a globalized person can interact or live with others.

God our Father always listens to both man and woman. This is how he comes into contact with his own Spirit living in man and, in so doing, he creates his own habitation in him. God shares sufferings of man; he participates in his search for responses to his various questionings.

Being Christians and above all, being free creatures before God the Father, we are condemned to be creative.  Through the presence of God’s Spirit in the world, we are all called to participate in his dynamism to recreate the world. To be co-creators with the Spirit that God continues go give the world today. Our creativity should be guided by a true spirit of love, justice and respect to other human beings. We should constantly follow the examples given by the Gospel where the permanent concern is always to help “the other” so that he may be able to stand on his own feet. We should start acting ourselves in changing the situation instead of constantly lament on what should have been done by others.

Today, what is most essential is not so the “acts” but “what we are”. We should then ask ourselves “What am I supposed to be?” and from there the question “What must I need to do?

So this is then the work that we need to continue to do in our christian and religious communities as well as in the society at large. If, in our different communities, we do not live all that, the “Mission we have” will become impossible because any “mission” without witness” has no any impact to the society that we want to change. Our communities should then be “living witnesses” to christian values, to new way of looking at different realities in our modern world. We should be communities that meet God through all that we do. Meeting him because he is the first to meet man in his own history. The meeting of God in our doings is the way to deepen our knowledge of God. Here the concept of truth becomes a way of dialogue between God and Man and between man and other beings.

Today’s world needs communities which are living witnesses so that it may continue to emerge in becoming a better world.

Prepared by Faith & Justice France/ group from Strasbourg
Alois KITU sma, Berard FOI, Claude DRUI cssp, Guy MIDY omi, 
Marie Hélène SWILLER sdpv, Marie Pierre TAILLARD bpa, Martial TSIKATA,
Nicholas TSRI cssp, Odile KIRSTETTER cdp, René SOSSIA sma, Séverin VOEDZO,

DOCUMENTS CONSULTED

‘Exigences évangéliques et éthiques pour surmonter la misère et la faim’, texte de la conférence des évêques du Brésil, Documentation Catholique, N°2293, Juin 2003.

‘La mission de l’Eglise dans le monde d’aujourd’hui. L’Evangile, force de libération’,

conférence de B. FOY, à l’occasion de la journée des missionnaires en congé du diocèse d’Alsace, Centre St Thomas, Juillet 2005.

‘Maîtriser l’agriculture par la solidarité’, Echo de la Mission , janv- févr 2005.

‘L’agriculture paysanne peut-elle nourrir le monde ?’, Faim et Développement, N°208, Décembre 2005.

G. MARC ‘Un Synode pour rien ?’ La Croix, édition du 8/03/2006.