Food Faith-Based Ethic and Action

XPRIZE

Can we bring global faiths together based on scientific research and a unified sets of ethics around the best practices in food production, distribution, and consumption?

ClaireBaker

There is one organization, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, leading this effort as part of a much larger conservation effort. http://www.arcworld.org/projects.asp?projectID=520.

ACESChris

I think the strongest religion in the food space is the rising army against animal agriculture. Halal and Kosher are the main things I think of, but of course there are some that are strictly vegan as well. I'm not convinced this angle would be particularly expedient. People tend to hold on to their religious beliefs quite...religiously! I know the Clean Cookstove programs had a lot of trouble with cultural tastes, leading to what they called "stove stacking".

NickOttens

@balamliman, @PaulineB, @Duplicate, you might have thoughts on this as well.

balamliman

I agree with @ACESChris that the issue of Halal and Kosher should be treated with caution because Muslims and Jews do hold on to this aspect of their faiths quite 'religiously'. Any attempt at curtailing this aspect of agriculture will be met with heavy resistance and the effects of this will probably go beyond the issue of agricultural production and be hard to determine

ClaireBaker

@ACESChris and @balamliman - Here is a video about this approach as it relates to conservation (skip the fundraising into - start at 1:29 - this was filmed at a UNDP event at Windsor Castle). I completely agree that it is not a quick answer (it isn't really an Xprize breakthrough) and culture is extremely hard to modify. But, that also means that shifts have a long-term influence. And, when looking at religious doctrine, there is a lot of reference to food that has been diverted by modern culture (in the last century). https://youtu.be/COYtHSpn6KM?t=89