Adventures in Local Food IX: or Adventures in No Food--The Climate Emergency ...

I engaged in a 22 hour fast Tuesday September 4. Why? To support the efforts of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council. I was not alone. In fact, nearly 1,200 people from all 50 states and 14 countries fasted. Fasting traditionally has been more of a spiritual practice for me, not political. But given the changes that I have observed in my short 40-some years on this Earth (including the change in Indiana's hardiness zone from 1990 to 2006, see www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm), to which I unknowingly and knowingly have contributed, this action seemed to be a logical extension of my spiritual practice.

Some might ask why I would do this and what difference it would make. Those are valid questions. Fasting always increases awareness of my body and how it works: a life system so complex that it has not been replicated in the lab. As I experience hunger pangs, I am reminded of some children I once encountered at a Nicaraguan gas station who swarmed our vehicle, asking for food or money, with glue bottles in hand; I am reminded of the growing numbers of homeless people around this city, left vulnerable because of rising prices of, well, everything. As I look around and see squirrels and wrens and butterflies darting around for sustenance, I am reminded that the abundance they enjoy is not shared by all humans—and we know better, don't we?

As I fill the time normally spent eating, preparing to eat, or cleaning up after eating, I am reminded of the resources that were not used to make food available to me ... no plastics, no fossil fuels, no water … I am reminded that virtually all we do happens around or in consideration of food. And yet, our food choices do indeed contribute to climate change.

How? In a study titled, "Diet, Energy and Global Warming," the writers include many statistics, such as this one: "In 2002, the [U.S.] food production system accounted for 17 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States." The article concludes by saying that an American consuming a mixed diet (meat and vegetables) contributes 6 percent more of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions than an American who eats a plant-based diet. (The article is available online at
http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutriEI.pdf.)


Yes, I fasted for only a day. Some have continued their fast. In the scheme of things, one person for one day probably did not make that much difference. But I was one of 1,200. Next time, maybe two to three times that number of people will voluntarily fast ... meanwhile, the opportunity, or the luxury to fast (because too many don't have a choice, they simply go hungry, even in Indianapolis) has afforded me an opportunity to more mindfully consider the choices I make and how those choices affect those around me and the climate.