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Pew Campaign on Human Health & Industrial Farming March 5th, 2013
Doctors routinely instruct patients that antibiotics should be used only to treat bacterial infections, using the proper dosage, and for the full course of treatment. Otherwise, failure to follow these rules increases the likelihood that some of the bacteria will survive and mutate to become drug resistant.
Yet even if patients follow these medical instructions, they still may suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections. That is because many large producers of meat and poultry feed antibiotics to their healthy food animals to offset the effects of overcrowding and poor sanitation in CAFOs. Up to 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States go to healthy food animals.
Visit the Pew Campaign site to learn more.
Thanks to National Catholic Rural Life Conference for this information. Get their monthly newsletter by visiting their website.
UN Survey for Post 2015 Agenda March 5th, 2013
The United Nations is conducting a global survey asking you to choose your priorities for a better world. Our VIVAT International is a partner in this endeavor, and has asked us to make this available to you. our readers. Results of the survey will be shared with world leaders in setting the next global development agenda. Please go to this link for the survey tool: http://www.myworld2015.org/?partner=VIVAT
You can choose your own language. Contact the VIVAT staff if you have any question, problem or difficulty in accomplishing the survey. Thanks!
Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2013 February 28th, 2013
“Those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.” (Exodus 16:18)
“When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13-14)
Sign up today to attend the EAD 2013 gathering in Washington, DC scheduled for April 5-8. The theme for this year is “At God’s Table: Food Justice for a Healthy World”
Join 1,000+ Christian advocates at the 11th annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days to seek Food Justice for a Healthy World! In a world that produces enough food for everyone, EAD will explore the injustices in global food systems that leave one billion people hungry, create food price shocks that destabilize communities everywhere, and undermine God’s creation. At God’s Table, all are invited and fed, and the poorest in our midst are given a special place. Together we will seek the abundance and equality that we find reflected in the biblical image of God’s great banquet table (Exodus 16:16-18 & Luke 14:12-24). Inspiring speakers will offer a faith-based vision for fair and humane food policies and practices, along with grassroots advocacy training, all culminating with Monday’s Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.
More information at the EAD website….
Lenten Resources to Care for Creation February 12th, 2013
Thanks to the Franciscan Action Network for these suggested Lenten materials.
- The “Stations of the Cross with Blessed John Paul II: On the path of ecological conversion” is available in both English and Spanish.
- Sr. Terri MacKenzie, SHCJ has offered “Spirituality of Soil: A Lenten Journey from Cosmic Dust to Easter Garden,” a five-week program for groups or individuals.
Grounded in Lenten themes, Scripture, and the Universe Story, participants deepen their appreciation of Sister Mother Earth and the gift of soil. Reflections on the role of earth in the Gospels and in our evolution story highlight the importance of mitigating the current threats to Earth.
Each week contains a closing activity and suggestions for Earth-care action. Users can adapt this material in any way that will deepen participants’ consciousness of the sacred interconnection of all life and our part in co-creating a sustainable future.
This program is available online, for free.
3) Please also consider the Lent 4.5 program that uses the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to promote caring for God’s creation, embracing gospel justice, and nurturing spiritual fulfillment. The core of the program is a series of handouts or bulletin inserts distributed throughout the weeks of Lent. There is also a school resource book that comes with permission to reprint for all classes, and a discussion course book that is usable any time of the year, not just Lent.
4) Inspired by Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching on Creation and the environment, the Archdiocese of Washington (D.C.) Care for Creation Committee offers you a new “Caring for Creation Calendar” for Lent 2013 in the Year of Faith. The calendar offers practical ways you can grow in your understanding of what it means to be a wise steward of God’s Creation and to deepen your commitment to practices and attitudes which promote care for Creation.
Climate Change: A Priority for the Holy See January 24th, 2013
Since 2009, Pope Benedict XVI has explicitly supported the idea of an international treaty through the United Nations to address climate change. The Holy Father has offered this support in his 2009 Message to the Climate Change Summit, 2010 Message to the Diplomatic Corps, and his Angelus on November 27, 2011.
For 2013, it appears that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will make an international agreement a top priority as well. According to the Associated Press, one of his chief concerns in 2013 will be securing a binding international agreement to address climate change: Climate change is fast happening – much, much faster than one would have expected [. . .] Climate and ecosystems are under growing strain [. . .] I will do my best to mobilise the political will and resources so that the member states can agree to a new legally binding global agreement on climate change.
