Jesus has been preaching to thousands who are now hungry. The disciples tell Jesus, “‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have.’ Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, Jesus said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.”
Disciples give to Jesus enough food to feed a handful and receive back enough food to feed thousands, with a great amount left over. Better than a fair trade. The story is written as a miracle in the Gospel but experienced as reality in nature. Sharing in nature’s abundance and receiving the abundance results is the reality of family farming endeavors, grassroot farming entrepreneurs, and organic growers. Also, the reality of the many activists, community supported agriculture members, food democracy promoters, and workers who participate in in the social food democracy movement that includes Fair Trade. Fair Trade does not accurately describe the current capitalist food trade system which suffers from a long history of the wealth class plundering it. One example concerns seeds. Farmers, in their care for the earth and the food they grow for their own and other people’s livelihood, have always saved seeds. It is a life sustaining practice and capitalists are poisoning the practice. The poisoning is done by agrochemical companies like Monsanto, bought in 2018 by Bayer. Both Monsanto’s and Bayer’s histories include selling poison gases to both the Allied and Nazi war machines (e.g. Bayer’s Zyklon B was used in Nazi gas chambers). When WWII ended both companies kept poisoning humanity by repurposing their products to poison the earth through herbicides, pesticides, DDT, Agent Orange, Roundup,… thus continuing to poison humanity and all life. In 1980, corporations responsible for poisoning life persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a vital practice of the Office of Patent and Trademark. It had refused to patent life. In a most unfair trade, the Court gave poison corporations the right to patent life and the world received back life as a Frankenstein monster, genetically modified organisms, including seeds. But this monster does not wreck revenge only upon those who spawned it and instead upon all life. Genetically modified organisms have enabled the poison corporations to control the world’s food supply and thus the world’s poisoning. Few eat and are satisfied. Little if any leftovers are available. Frankenstein organisms spawn Frankenstein weeds and Frankenstein pests that need more Frankenstein poisons – producing a cycle of ever worsening toxic plunder. At the same time these money making corporations spawn toxic contamination through their poisons, they prevent healthy regeneration through their freak seeds. Their freak seeds produce plants whose own seeds cannot reproduce. Farmers around the world offer to humanity their very lives and receive back infertile seeds, mounting debt, and contaminated soil. Not a fair trade. These and other truths are detailed in a new book by Bartow J. Elmore, Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food Future. His research proves capitalist corporations like Monsanto and Bayer “wield outsized influence on our global economy.” Capitalist’s financial model bolsters corporations controlling and poisoning the earth, our food, and ourselves. As if all exist as their property for their private plunder. Elmore says capitalists’ poisoning of the earth and food should be “common knowledge.” It will better enable humanity to care for the earth and food by creating in capitalism’s place an abundant economy. Economic transformation for abundance is happening. Alternative economic models are being lived. They are not plundering models like capitalism but are profitable models that are necessarily post-capitalist and non-capitalist. Capitalists’ plunder is the theft and control of decisions, resources, labor and surplus, which they hide under their misuse of the word profit. Profit is accurately defined as ‘pro-forward’ to make progress on behalf of doing good. Doing good is healing the earth, our food, and ourselves. It requires a relationship model of communion so that ‘all eat and are satisfied with much leftover.’
“The trader welcomed the customer: he offered love – went unrecognized He gave free samples of understanding – taken, consumed, digested He searched his wares for something to offer to the customer who had extreme demands… Selflessness, love, the whole package… The customer yawned, bored… smiled “show me your soul and we will talk” He bared his soul Customer took a good look “not good enough. Just wrap up a package of concern, with a dash of friendship and extra helping of compliments” and walked away… ‘Fair Trade’ they say.” (The Haunted Soul – Leena)
Prayer: Spirit of Life, nurture us to give and receive.
Question: How can I participate in direct farmer fair trade?
June 19, 2022 Gospel Luke 9:11-17 Feast of Corpus Christi