Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Further, even the secular culture engages in its
rituals
involving food. Morning
coffee or “an apple a day” may be considered food rituals. One woman told a public
television producer that at the end of her stressful day at the office, it was her ritual at
home to put her feet up, watch reruns of the gentle children's host “Mr. Rogers,” and
have a glass of wine and some cheese. “Take me out to the ball game … buy me some
peanuts and Cracker Jack” or a hot dog. When a death occurs in the neighborhood,
food arrives, not just to ease the labor of planning and cooking meals, but to express
friendship, support, and consolation. Family celebrations include the food rituals of
birthday and wedding cakes or “Mom's apple pie,” savoring favorite regional dishes,
family reunion barbecues, and perhaps expressions of gratitude for the feast.
While pleasurable and comforting experiences such as those cited may be exam-
ples of spiritually uplifting food consumption, they are not necessarily understood
as “religious” experiences. In considering the meaning of food in global religious
history and traditions, ancient beliefs and deeply held convictions feed contemporary
understanding of the gift and responsible stewardship of food.
food And RelIgIous belIef
One may distinguish general spirituality from religious belief in this way: Those
who express appreciation and gratitude for food in a religious context understand
food as a gift of not only the Earth and its natural resources, but as the gift of a
divine Giver, or Creator, or God. A traditional Jewish prayer makes this generaliza-
tion more explicit. “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who
createst many living beings with their wants, for all the means Thou hast created to
sustain the life of each of them. Blessed is he who is the life of all worlds” (Hedges,
1972). One account of creation in the Torah reads, “God said, 'See, I give you every
seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing
fruit; they shall be yours for food. … And it was so” (Genesis 1:29, 30b, Jewish
Publication Society [JPS], 1962) Among even older writings, a Zoroastrian statement
affirms, “We worship God (Ahura Mazda) who created the cattle, the water, and the
wholesome plants” (Zend-Avesta, as quoted in Hedges, 1972).
The Hebrew Scriptures resound with concrete, down-to-earth themes that relate
to food and eating (Jung, 2004). It is clear that God, whose image is that of Creator,
but also Gardener, provides abundance for every creature. According to the Psalmist,
God causes “the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring
forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart” (Psalm 104:14, 15a;
Metzger and Murphy, 1991; Metzger and Coogan, 1993). The creature's immediate
welfare and future destiny depend on the stewardship of the gift of the garden, to
cultivate and protect it. In response to the Creator's beneficence, the grateful crea-
ture is moved to act responsibly and obediently, to honor the gift of food by enjoying
and delighting in it and by respecting the boundaries or restrictions found in sacred
texts or understood from long tradition. The themes of gratitude, responsibility, and
obedience are prominent in most of the major religions of the world. Offered in this
chapter are only brief summaries of topics worth exploring in more depth through
further reading and personal research. (See the reference resources for more detail.)
