Were you able to attend last Monday night's Zoom discussion, presented by the Diocese of San Jose and Maryknoll? It was the first of four sessions meant to help us simplify, and find new ways to challenge the Throwaway Culture.
The webinar hosts gave a helpful overview of the pollution issues our world faces due to what’s known as “Fast Fashion”. In summary, the presenters challenged us to reduce new clothing purchases, and especially to stop buying new clothes just because we're being offered new colors or styles. They also asked us to avoid clothing made with polyester and other plastics, and to think about who is making our clothing. This last point is because clothing is often made in places where conditions are poor and the pay barely supports the worker. So, a good price for us as shoppers might come at a high personal cost to the person sewing the garment.
This week’s Zoom will take on another important topic –Food Waste and how to reduce it. Shockingly, our own USDA estimates food waste in the United States is between 30 and 40 percent of the food supply. 30-40%! https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis laments that, “whenever food is thrown out, it's as if it were stolen from the table of the poor”. Additionally, resources that go into producing food – land, water, power, the lives of animals, the work of people, transportation, storage, refrigeration, packaging – are wasted.
If you’d like to hear about and discuss solutions, join our San Jose and Maryknoll Creation Care colleagues this Monday from 7 – 8 p.m.
Zoom Meeting ID: 974 0842 2719 Passcode: 842387
+++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, we send our good wishes for this Saturday afternoon, along a few more lines from Laudato Si’ reflecting on the beautiful custom of giving thanks before and after a meal:
"That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labours provide us with these goods; and it reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++