Fast for Life! Ash Wednesday observance to reflect on consumption and global food security

The following is an Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance Action Alert. The original posting can be found here.

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Fast for Life! Ash Wednesday observance to reflect on consumption and global food security

Take one day - Ash Wednesday, 17 February to "Fast for Life" to reflect on our own consumption and commit to doing what we can to contribute to global food security.

More than one billion people are suffering from hunger around the world. Despite the goodness and bounty of God's gifts to us in creation, so many people experience scarcity: famine, hunger, deprivation and want. At the same time, there are people in all parts of the world who suffer the effects of "too much": too much salt, sugar, fat, calories. These are all dimensions of the unsustainable consumption of food. Our individual decisions, as well as collective ones, have increased the divide between the haves and the have nots. As a global society, our sense of balance and right relations is further strained.

Join with churches, Christian organizations and people of faith around the world in prayer and fasting on Ash Wednesday, 17 February and reflect on the numbers of hungry people and the human suffering behind them.

Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance and it marks the beginning of Lent. Ashes were used in ancient times, according to the Bible, to express mourning. Dusting oneself with ashes was the penitent's way of expressing sorrow for sins and faults. Let's take this as an opportunity to fast from food, fossil fuels and over-consumption as a symbolic gesture of support for people living with hunger and malnourished.

What can you do?
Join by taking either individual or collective action on 17 February:
i) Fast from food as a symbolic gesture in solidarity with people living with hunger.
ii) Fast from fossil fuels by parking your car and walk, ride a bike, or take public transport to help reduce greenhouse gases.
iii) Fast from over-consumption by leaving your wallet at home and commit to 'buy nothing' on 17 February.
iv) Organize a worship service on Ash Wednesday to reflect on the inequalities that allow for hunger and over-consumption in this world.
v) Share your resources on food consumption, reflections and prayers on Facebook on the Food for Life Campaign page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-for-Life-Campaign-Ecumenical-Advocacy...

or let us know of your activities by sending an email to amunzara@e-alliance.ch

Resources for worship, study and action are available at
http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/food/sustainable-consumption/

More resources on "Fast for Change" available from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank:
http://www.endhungerfast.com/

Guidelines on fasting can be found at: http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/downloads/fasting101.pdf

For past Action Alerts see http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/news/action-alerts/