Ethical Eating
Food matters for personal, public, and planetary well-being
Covenants & Pledges
For one set of calls to action, see the statements that various religious groups have adopted related to food justice.Each of these singly or combined with others can become a focus for how you or a group can become the change you wish in the world. To do so publicly, with a community of support and mutual understanding, can be a powerful tool to not just change one group of people, but to influence larger communities. For this reason, we suggest here that after careful reflection and understanding of the issues and your experiences, that you, along with others, fashion a covenant or a pledge to guide you in changing your eating behaviors and choices. Do not try to change everything at once, but start slow, celebrate your accomplishments, mourn your lack of progress, and constantly reflect on what is yours to do. Change your covenant as you go, as you learn what is realistic for you and what is not, with the goal of making ever more economically just, healthful, and humane choices.
Example of a family pledge
I pledge, with my family, to offer words of blessings before every meal we consume. If dining with strangers, I will invite them to do so likewise, and if needed, will give my personal thanks in silence.
Example of congregational pledges
1. As an expression of our [name of religion] values, we pledge to [make this behavioral change], [from our commitment to live as faithful stewards of God's creation / for the sake the Earth and all who live on it / etc. ]
a. As an expression of our Jewish values, we pledge to study and discuss what labels like "natural," "farm-raised," "organic," and "humane" do and do not mean, and to make informed choices accordingly, as part of our commitment to live as faithful stewards of God's creation.
b. As an expression of our Unitarian Universalist values, we pledge to respond to the 2011 UUA Statement of Conscience "Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice" by covenanting to make food choices in service of personal, public, and planetary well-being.
2. We the members of the First Congregation pledge to serve only fair, just, and plant based foods at all congregational events. At potlucks, we will write down the ingredients of all foods which includes a story of where and how the food came to be a blessing upon our community tables.
3. We believe that the following twelve principles should frame food and agriculture policy, to ensure that it will contribute to the health and wealth of the nation and the world. A healthy food and agriculture policy:
1. Forms the foundation of secure and prosperous societies, healthy communities, and healthy people.
2. Provides access to affordable, nutritious food to everyone.
3. Prevents the exploitation of farmers, workers, and natural resources; the domination of genomes and markets; and the cruel treatment of animals, by any nation, corporation or individual.
4. Upholds the dignity, safety, and quality of life for all who work to feed us.
5. Commits resources to teach children the skills and knowledge essential to food production, preparation, nutrition, and enjoyment.
6. Protects the finite resources of productive soils, fresh water, and biological diversity.
7. Strives to remove fossil fuel from every link in the food chain and replace it with renewable resources and energy.
8. Originates from a biological rather than an industrial framework.
9. Fosters diversity in all its relevant forms: diversity of domestic and wild species; diversity of foods, flavors and traditions; diversity of ownership.
10. Requires a national dialog concerning technologies used in production, and allows regions to adopt their own respective guidelines on such matters.
11. Enforces transparency so that citizens know how their food is produced, where it comes from, and what it contains.
12. Promotes economic structures and supports programs to nurture the development of just and sustainable regional farm and food networks.
Our pursuit of healthy food and agriculture unites us as people and as communities, across geographic boundaries, and social and economic lines. We pledge our votes, our purchases, our creativity, and our energies to this urgent cause.
Please add your own pledges and covenants below as a comment, or in the forum on covenants and pledges.
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© 2013 Created by the President's Ethical Eating Advisory Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).
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