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Though “A Synod at Table with the Hungry” only lasts this one year, Lutherans have been focusing on hunger for over 35 years. Friday evening’s keynote address from Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, spoke on this focus. He expressed concern that, “The world is making progress against hunger, poverty and disease,” but the United States is not making the same progress. The number of people who live on less than $1 a day has dropped 50% since the early 1980s along with a decrease in infant mortality and increases for health care for children and families. At the same time poverty in the United States continues to rise. Beckmann raised the question, “If [the rest of the world] can reduce poverty, why can’t we do it here?” He believes that Americans are not serious about making the kind of big changes that make serious progress. Beckmann praised the theological and political importance of a ministry like Bread for the World. By bringing together people from many denominations, it demonstrates that hunger knows no theological boundaries. Politically, senators and other representatives hear from a broad range of constituents, and “that’s what moves politics.” The address closed with an overview of the work of Bread for the World, which includes providing user-friendly materials such as informative e-mails with specific advocacy opportunities and congregational tools such as kits for hosting an offering of letters, which gives a group of people the opportunity to write letters to their representatives. Advocacy can play such an influential role by influencing policies regarding national food programs, including the food stamp program, which feed significantly more people that all food pantries and other local programs combined. There was also some time for questions and answers. Some difficult questions were asked including questions about the relationship between global food prices and ethanol and about fair trade. Beckmann made it clear that the issues Bread for the World usually address, but shared his thoughts based on his experience and the research that the Bread for the World Institute has done. Regarding ethanol, he believes there are better solutions than the current ethanol programs, but that it is not the main contributor to the raise in global food prices. Fair trade, also, is complex because expanded trade is good, but it needs to include everyone. If a policy hurts the environment or people are going to go hungry, it is not an effective plan. Beckmann also addressed more basic questions, such as clarifying that Bread for the World is about advocacy, not directly shipping food to those who need it. He also share the research that letters are not necessarily better than e-mails, though handwritten advocacy letters still hold a lot of power, but all correspondence should be made personal, rather than looking like they were sent by a machine. Finally, he clarified the problems with international food aid distribution. Except in emergency situations such as refugee camps, most of the hungry would be better off with money rather than food because of the expense of shipping as well as the specific needs they have, such as building roads to better transport food to remote areas. |
