WORLD HUNGER
WHEREAS due to shifting climates, the infection of Western medicine into traditional societies, and the existence of social structures which distribute food unevenly, there are more starving people alive today than ever before; and
WHEREAS Christians cannot simply turn away from hungry people; and
WHEREAS current efforts of the Lutheran Church bodies have focused on the urgent and visible need to directly relieve the suffering itself, while the causes remain; and
WHEREAS Bread For the World is an ecumenical Christian citizens' group working through our political system to alleviate hunger and poverty throughout the world;
BE IT RESOLVED:
1. That the Lutheran Student Movement recognizes that the present Lutheran policy of concentrating on direct relief of hunger is a humane and Christian policy; and
2.. That consequently individual Lutheran students be encouraged to actively participate in Bread for the World, and that the LSM Council obtain from Bread For The World and distribute to all LSM members materials on world hunger; and
3. That the LSM also recognizes that to feed the hungry
without affecting the causes of hunger only fans the
flames and makes the problem larger in the end; and
4. That the LSM accordingly requests Lutheran bodies
to carefully examine the logic of their policies toward the problem of world hunger and requests especially --that:
a. The officials of each synod insure that Lutheran investments are not supporting production of non-food cash crops when that production denies food to local citizens, whether at home or abroad.
b. The officials of the Lutheran World Federation expand their policy objectives to include population planning aid as well as aid (direct and indirect) aimed at increasing the food supply for growing numbers of hungry people.
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ACTION TAKEN:
In the Spirit of the Hunger Resolution are Campus Activities Like:
The Following is an Article on Bread For the World printed in a newsletter this year, written by Rev. Bob Schmidt, campus pastor at Colorado State University.
Is there more to do about world hunger than donating a little money for food and hoping it gets to the people who need it? Bread for the ;World, a Christian citizens, group to combat world hunger says, "YES". Hunger is caused by many complex factors in our nation and in the poorer nations of the world. Rather than throwing up our hands over this complexity, Bread for the World urges Christian to study the problem and act responsibly, particularly in the political field.
Every month a Bread for the World newsletter is sent out informing the membership of current legislation before the Congress. Bread for the World members supported the most recent foreign aid bill, H.R. 9005. The bill was the first one in the last 25 years to separate economic aid from political aid. It also had innovative provisions in it
promoting "immediate technology" and earmarking aid, particularly for the rural poor.
Bread for the World was begun by a group in New York several years ago. As they studied the problems of hunger and poverty, they realized that voluntary contributions, while good and necessary, were simply not enough in the face of massive starvation. The group in New York quickly involved national figures in their organization, like Eugene Carson Blake, Senator Mark Hatfield, Rep. Father Drinan, and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit. The executive director is a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastor, Art Simon, who has spent much of his ministry in the slums of New York.
The movement is broadly ecumenical and provides a worthy focus for conversations between Christians of all denominations. Local groups are often formed to warship,
study and educate people in local communities about hunger concerns. Some very effective groups have already been established in campus communities. Professors, returned Peace Corps volunteers and concerned Christian students provide a stimulating mix where much good can happen. While Bread For the World seeks to foster such groups, individual memberships are also promoted.
A current project of Bread For the World is to send one million letters to the US Congress asking them to pass a "Right To Food" policy as a cornerstone of US Food Policy for the next several decades. This policy states that every human being in the world has a "right to food" and that this right is inalienable. Lutheran students can do much to swell this flood of letters.
If students wish to begin a Bread For the World Chapter at their campuses or as individuals wish to find out more about the movement and its purposes, they should write to:
Bread For the World 235 E. 49th Street New York, NY, 10017
RESOURCES AVAILABLE:
*"Christian. Responsibility and World Hunger", produced by a task force for World Hunger of LSE and presented at the 1975 Legislative assembly. Provides an extensive bibliography of recent books, articles, organizations. Available from the National LSM Office.
*World Food Crisis-A' Self Education Package, prepared by a
collective exploring the political and economic forces affecting
the control of food. The perspective reflects involvement in church, community, feminist, student, food coop., anti-imperialist and health groups. It is available by writing to: Committee for Self Education
11 Garden Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, $2.