Introduction
As Catholic bishops, pastors, and teachers, we seek to address agriculture through the lens of our faith
because so much is at stake in moral and human terms. Food sustains life itself; it is not just another
product. Providing food for all is a Gospel imperative, not just another policy choice. For many, farming
is a way of life, not just another business or industry. Agriculture is the way farmers, ranchers, and
farmworkers provide a decent life for their families and help feed a hungry world. It is not just another
economic activity.
Agriculture is different because it touches all our lives, wherever we live or whatever we do. It is about
how we feed our own families, and the whole human family. It is about how we treat those who put food
on our table and those who do not have enough food. It is about what is happening to food and farming,
rural communities and villages, in the face of increasing concentration, new technology, and growing
globalization in agriculture. For believers, and especially for Catholics, who turn to the Scripture and church
teaching for guidance, these questions and choices in the world of agriculture have fundamental ethical and
human dimensions.
Too many in our Church and nation do not know the world of agriculture. For some, agriculture is a distant
reality, little seen and less understood. When we go to the supermarket, we rarely think about where our food
comes from, who produces it, who harvests it, or what it takes to process, package, and distribute it. When
many of us think about agriculture at all, we worry about the economic cost of groceries and not the
environmental cost to our land or the human cost to farmers, farmworkers, and rural communities in the
United States and around the world.
Our Purpose and Key Questions
In these reflections, we seek to challenge this lack of awareness, which can lead to indifference or excessive
self-interest. We focus on the ethics of how food and fiber are produced, how land is protected, and how
agriculture is structured, compensated, and regulated to serve the "common good." We also call Catholics to
think more about and act on these important but often neglected concerns in light of our faith.
In this document, we outline some "signs of the times," lift up principles from Catholic social teaching, and
suggest elements of an "agenda for action." We also highlight the global dimensions of agriculture today and
how they contribute to the growing gap between rich and poor at home and abroad. But more than anything
else, we seek to place the life and dignity of the human person at the center of the discussions and decisions
on agriculture.
We offer these reflections especially to three groups:
First, we recognize and encourage those who carry out and contribute to the work of agriculture in the United
States and abroad: farmers and farmworkers, leaders of rural communities, and those who serve them in our
Church. When we refer to farmers and farmworkers, our concern also extends to those who produce our food
and fiber, to ranchers, and to other agricultural workers. For all those who devote their lives to agriculture,
we offer words of support and appreciation, as well as a plea to work together more cooperatively and
constructively for the common good.
Second, we offer elements of a moral framework for those involved in agricultural policy: political leaders,
experts, advocates, and activists. We urge them to look at agricultural choices and at how these choices touch
the most vulnerable within agriculture and in the larger national and global community.
Third, we encourage members of the broader Catholic community to give greater attention and priority to
issues of food and agriculture and their connections to our faith.
We hope these reflections will contribute to a broader dialogue about the ethical and human dimensions of
agricultural policy. We invite those involved in and those affected by the global agricultural system to
consider several key questions:
How can hunger in the human family be overcome?
How can we ensure a safe, affordable, and sustainable food supply?
How can we ensure that farmworkers and owners of small farms, in the United States and around the
world, live and work with dignity?
How can land, water, and other elements of God’s creation be preserved, protected, and used well in the
service of the common good?
How can rural communities in our country and around the world survive and thrive?
We cannot ignore these questions or leave the answers only to those directly involved in agriculture.
They touch all of us.
Agricultural "Signs of the Times"
The agricultural "signs of the times" are complex and sometimes contradictory. Since our Conference last
addressed these questions (1), much has remained the same. U.S. agriculture has demonstrated remarkable
productivity and quality, thanks to the hard work, skills, and sacrifices of farmers and farmworkers. U.S.
agriculture has given Americans and the world plentiful food, fiber, and other products at affordable prices.
However, we live in a world where many are still hungry. We live in a nation where many family farmers
are still struggling and where many have lost farms in recent decades. We live in a society where many
farmworkers are still denied the opportunity to live a decent life.
 U.S. Agriculture: What Is Happening to Farms and Farmers?
Scale. In 2001 there were an estimated 2.16 million U.S. farms,1 down from approximately 5.5
million in 1950;2 10% of these farms account for nearly 70% of all agriculture production.3
Farm Support Programs. Recent studies show that approximately two-thirds of subsidies
go to just 10% of farms. In fact, most fresh produce in supermarkets is grown without subsidies
and livestock producers are ineligible for most government payments, though they do benefit
indirectly from grain subsidies.4 From 1999 to 2001, agricultural support in the developed countries
totaled $329.6 billion. The U.S. share totaled $95.5 billion, while the European Union’s share was
$112.7 billion.5 Over the same time period, U.S. agricultural support was more than three times the
amount of U.S. foreign economic and humanitarian assistance. U.S. farm supports will significantly
increase in the future due to the passage of the 2002 farm bill.
Health and Safety. Of more than 41 million uninsured people in the United States, one in five
livesin rural areas. They are older, poorer, and less healthy than people living in urban areas.6 The
2002occupational fatality rate in agriculture was 22.7 per 100,000 people employed, compared to
12.2 in construction, 11.3 in transportation, and 23.5 in mining.7
1 National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) (2002), 23.
2 Bread for the World, Agriculture in the Global Economy, Hunger 2003, p. 36.
3 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock of the
New Century (September 2001), Appendix 1, Table A-1.
4 Congressional Quarterly, Farm Subsidies: Do They Favor Large Farming Operations?
12:19 (May 17, 2002): 436-437.
5 World Bank, Global Economic Prospects (2004), 120.
6 The Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Commission on Key Facts (April 2003).
7 U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (2002).
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We are also facing new challenges: for example, increasing concentration at every level of agriculture,
increasing focus on agricultural trade as a measure of economic vitality, and increasing globalization tying
together our lives and livelihoods wherever we live. Fewer people are making important decisions that
affect far more people than in the past. These choices have serious moral implications and human
consequences. These forces of increasing concentration and growing globalization are pushing some ahead
and leaving others behind. They are also pushing us toward a world where the powerful can take advantage
of the weak, where large institutions and corporations can overwhelm smaller structures, and where the
production and distribution of food and the protection of land lie in fewer hands.
Concentration and Vertical Integration: What Is Happening to Our Food
from Field to Shelf?
Food Retail. In 1997, the top five food retailers held 24% of the U.S. market; by 2000
that share increased to 42% of retail food sales.1
Livestock. Today the four largest beef firms process 81% of all the cattle; the four largest
pork firms process 59% of pork; and four chicken firms process 50% of all broilers.2
Grains. The four largest wheat processors have 61% of the market; the four largest soybean
processors have 80% of the market.3
1 Mary Hendrickson, William Heffernan, Philip Howard, and Judith Heffernan, Executive
Summary, Report to National Farmers Union, Consolidation in Food Retailing and Dairy:
Implications for Farmers and Consumers in a Global Food System (January 8, 2001).
2 William Heffernan, Multi-National Concentrated Food Processing and Marketing Systems
and the Farm Crisis, 7. A paper presented to the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, February 14-19, 2002.
3 Multi-National Concentrated Food Processing, 7.
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Global Agriculture: What Is Happening to Hungry People and Farmers Around
the World?
Scale. In 2001, 55% percent of all workers in developing countries were employed in
agriculture;1 70% of the poor in developing countries live in rural areas and derive livelihoods from
agriculturedirectly or indirectly.2 Among the developing regions, Africa has the greatest concentration
of low-income,food deficit countries that cannot produce enough food to feed their populations and
cannot afford to make up the deficit through imports.3 Also, in sub-Saharan Africa, women produce
up to 80% of basic food products.4
Hunger. An estimated 840 million people worldwide are malnourished,5 despite the fact that farmers
globally produce 2,800 calories of food per person per day:6 enough to adequately nourish everyone on
the planet. Further, 30,000 children die of hunger and related causes daily; 1.2 billion people live on less
than $1 per day, 70% of whom are found in rural areas.7
Trade/Aid. The United States is the largest exporter of agricultural goods in the world.8 Three
companies account for 81% of corn exports and 65% of soybeans; four companies account for 60%
of the grain terminals.9 In 2001, the developed countries gave six times as much in subsidies to their
own farmers as they gave in total foreign aid to poor countries. These agricultural subsidies cause
"direct harm to poor countries," because they lower the prices poor farmers would otherwise receive
for their products.10 U.S. global food aid in 2001 accounted for about 60% of all food donated
worldwide.11
1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Mobilizing the Political
Will and Resources to Banish World Hunger, prepared for World Summit Plus Five (2002), 63.
2 FAO, State of Food Insecurity in the World 2002, 12.
3 International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Drylands: A Call to Action (1998), 6.
4 FAO, Gender and Food Security.
5 FAO, State of Food Insecurity in the World 2001.
6 FAO, World Agriculture: Towards 2015-2030 (2003).
7 Mobilizing the Political Will, no. 3.3.
8 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock of the New
Century(September 2001), 40.
9 William Heffernan, Multi-National Concentrated Food Processing and Marketing Systems and
the Farm Crisis, 11. A paper presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
February 14-19, 2002.
10 United Nations Development Report, Human Development Report (2003), 155-156.
11 World Food Program, "Global Food Aid Flows," Food Aid Monitor (2001).
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With these reflections, we offer brief summaries of trends and relevant statistics. They are not a
comprehensive analysis of the forces at work in agriculture. They focus more on problems than progress,
more on human costs than economic achievements, more on who is left behind than on who is moving
ahead. Beyond the numbers are images and contrasts that haunt us.
We return home from the supermarket with its many choices and turn on the television to watch a young
girl half a world away pick through a garbage dump for something, anything to eat.
We know U.S. agriculture is changing in so many ways, but farmers still depend on whether it rains
and on other forces of nature.
We are urged to eat foods that promote health, but most of us never think about the health and safety of
those who harvest those fruits and vegetables. We are stunned by the headlines when eighteen people die
in a tractor trailer in Victoria, Texas, or in a desert, people who came seeking a better life, hoping to work
in our fields.
We have learned that more than half of the coffee industry’s permanent labor force has lost their jobs as
world coffee prices plummeted, affecting tens of thousands of workers and farmers throughout Central
America.
We celebrate the hard work and sacrifice of so many farm families and the traditional community values
in rural towns. However, many of us do not realize how these virtues and values are sometimes threatened
by powerful economic interests and other forces that make it more and more difficult for smaller farms and
communities to survive and thrive.
We heard the sad story at one of our listening sessions of a mother in Zimbabwe who stood in line for
days to get food for her two young children. As she waited, she watched both children die.
Our Faith Tradition
Because we are a community of faith, our response to these realities and trends in agriculture is shaped
by the truths of the Scripture and the principles of Catholic social teaching, not just by economics or
politics.
Scripture
When believers think about agriculture, we begin with the story of Creation. "God looked at everything
he had made, and he found it very good" (Gn 1:31). Those who provide our food are called to continue
God’s plan for creation.
Throughout the Scripture, we hear of an enduring vision of "new heavens and a new earth" (Is 65:17)
where God’s justice will reign (cf. 2 Pt 3:12, Rev 21:1). The Old Testament calls us to care for the land
and provide for those who need food, especially those who are poor and outcast. The tradition of the
Sabbath Year is one example: "But during the seventh year the land shall have a complete rest, a sabbath
for the Lord, when you may neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard" (Lv 25:4). God explains
to Moses that the land should be used to provide food for all who need it: "While the land has its sabbath,
all its produce will be food equally for you yourself and . . . for your hired help and the tenants who
live with you . . ." (Lv 25:6).
Time and again Jesus warned us against selfishness and greed and called us to feed the hungry and show
special concern for those who are poor. In the story of the Last Judgment, Jesus reminds us that one of
the fundamental measures of our lives will be how we cared for people in need: "For I was hungry and
you gave me food" (Mt 25:35).
The Word of God provides direction for our lives. The Church has applied these values and directions
in developing a body of doctrine known as Catholic social teaching. This teaching provides helpful
guidance for ourchoices as individuals and as a society on issues such as agriculture. To assess the
global agricultural system in the light of our faith, we need to understand the core principles of
Catholic social teaching.
Catholic Social Teaching
The essential starting point for Catholic social teaching is the dignity of every human life. Created by
God and redeemed by Christ, every person possesses a fundamental dignity that comes from God, not
from any human attribute or accomplishment. Because each person’s life is a sacred gift from God, all
people have a right to life that must be defended and protected from its beginning to its end. The dignity
of every person must always be respected because each person is a precious child of God. In light of our
commitment to the right to life of every person, we believe all people also have basic rights to material
and spiritual support, including the right to food, which are required to sustain life and to live a truly human
existence. This clear commitment to the dignity and value of every human life must be reflected both in
individual choices and actions and in the policies and structures of society.
Linked to the dignity of human life is our understanding of the social nature of the person. As the creation
narratives tell us, we are made in the image of a Triune God and we are created in relationship to God and
to each other. Our inherently social nature means that the structures of social, political, and economic life
must reflect basic respect for the dignity of every human person as well as a commitment to the common
good. This begins with a deep commitment to the family as the foundation of society. It also leads to the
principle of solidarity, the understanding that as children of God we are all brothers and sisters, no matter
how different or distant we may seem. The Book of Genesis highlights the central relationship between
humankind and the rest of creation, which deserves our care and protection.
Our commitment to the dignity of every person requires special concern for those who are poor and
vulnerable, whose needs are greatest, and whose lives and dignity are often threatened by hunger,
poverty, and suffering. In order for people to live a life worthy of their God-given dignity, Catholic
social teaching affirms the right and duty to work, the right to economic initiative, the rights of workers
to safe working conditions, decent wages and benefits, and the right to organize and join associations to
secure these rights.
In light of these principles, our Conference will continue to advocate for policies that protect and
encourage family farming on a human scale. We also insist that all agriculture, whatever its scale or
structure, must meet fundamental moral criteria. Agriculture in all its forms should be evaluated,
regulated, and rewarded based on these principles.
The brief overview we have offered here does not begin to do justice to the depth and richness of the
Catholic social tradition. We hope Catholics and others will review the summary of key themes of
Catholic social teaching that are a part of this document, as well as the papal, conciliar, and episcopal
documents that express this teaching in its fullness.
A farm or agricultural system that ignores economic realities is in financial trouble. An agricultural
system or enterprise that ignores or neglects moral principles is in ethical trouble. We wish to recognize
and applaud so many farm families and others who live by these principles every day. For them, farming
is not just a way to make a living; it is a way of life. It is not just a job; it is a vocation and an expression
of faith.
Responding in Faith
Meeting Pastoral Needs
The Catholic Church has a pastoral presence throughout rural America and in rural communities around
the globe. Within our community of faith, farmers and farmworkers, land owners and contract growers,
business owners and workers are called to the one Eucharistic table to be nourished by the Body and
Blood of Christ.
Throughout history, rural parishes have built a sense of community, nurturing the spiritual and
sacramental lives of their people, and offering formation and faith development programs. Rural
parishes and many dioceses have sponsored schools, provided health care, supported community
activities, and offered essential services for people in need. As rural populations diminish and the
resources available in rural communities decrease, the role of the Church and those who serve it
becomes even more important.
Priests, deacons, religious, and other pastoral workers are often the first people to whom farm and
ranch families turn when they experience stress from economic and social forces beyond their control.
Rural pastors and pastoral workers serve, comfort, and stand with their people, build and form
community, and care for the needy in the face of many challenges. Some priests travel long distances
to meet sacramental needs. Diocesan clergy, women and men religious, and volunteers also regularly
travel to rural communities and farm labor camps to provide opportunities for adult faith formation,
prepare believers to receive the sacraments, and join in the celebration of the Eucharist. They often s
erve as counselors and advocates, responding to family separation, fears about immigration status,
and exploitation.
Around the world, the Catholic Church provides essential relief and development assistance in rural
communities that are home to some of the poorest people on earth. Catholic programs provide
emergency assistance in times of crisis and support a wide range of ongoing human, economic,
and agricultural development projects.
We wish to express our deep gratitude for the hard work and dedication of those who serve in rural
parishes and dioceses in the United States and around the world. They are supported by the work
of many diocesan programs and national organizations.(2) We hope this statement will be a source
of affirmation, support, and encouragement to continue their essential service to the Church and rural
communities.
Criteria for Agricultural Policy and Advocacy
Beyond meeting pastoral needs, the Catholic community has a responsibility to raise the ethical dimensions
of issues that shape rural life and agricultural policy. As a Vatican statement on public life states, the
Church has a "right and duty to provide a moral judgment on temporal matters"(3) and to "instruct and
illuminate the consciences of the faithful, particularly those involved in political life, so that their actions
may always serve the integral promotion of the human person and the common good."(4)
As bishops, we shall continue to share Catholic social teaching, to apply it to the ethical and human
dimensions of agricultural issues, and to bring our values to agricultural decision making. We hope
that Catholics throughout our country, in urban, suburban, and rural areas, will join in the effort to
promote a food and agricultural system more focused on overcoming hunger, providing a decent
living for farmers and farmworkers, and protecting the earth and its resources. Drawing on Catholic
social teaching and the experience of the Church in rural communities, we offer criteria that should
guide agricultural policy.
Overcoming Hunger and Poverty. The presence of so much hunger and poverty in our communities,
nation, and around the world is a grave moral scandal. The primary goals of agricultural policies
should be providing food for all people and reducing poverty among farmers and farmworkers in this
country and abroad. A key measure of every agricultural program and legislative initiative is whether
it helps the most vulnerable farmers, farmworkers, and their families and whether it contributes to a
global food system that provides basic nutrition for all.
Providing a Safe, Affordable, and Sustainable Food Supply. Agricultural systems in the United States
have been remarkably successful in providing sufficient, safe, and affordable food for consumers. These
strengths should be directed toward serving better the needs and interests of hungry and poor people in
the United States and abroad. Caring for land and water resources has become an increasingly important
focus within U.S. agriculture. Farmers should expand the use of environmentally sustainable methods
so that farmland in the United States can provide food for generations to come. We are concerned that as
a society we continue to lose productive farm land for development as communities and transportation
expand. In other parts of the world, agricultural and food supply systems also need to be strengthened.
An important measure of international trade and agricultural policies should be how they promote safe
and affordable food and sustainable, environmentally sound farming practices.
Ensuring a Decent Life for Farmers and Farmworkers. Food can remain safe and affordable without
sacrificing the incomes, health, or lives of farmers and farmworkers. Catholic social teaching insists
that all workers deserve wages and benefits sufficient to support a family and live a decent life. Farmers
must be able to support themselves and their families through their work and to provide for important
needs such as health care and retirement. Farmers and their employees receive less and less of every dollar
spent on food. This is a matter of justice that should be addressed.5 Agricultural policies must take into
consideration the risks associated with farming that are beyond a farmer’s control, such as weather and
changes in global markets. Trade policies should better reflect the right to economic opportunity of all
farmers wherever they may live. Agricultural policies should help ensure basic income security and
provide opportunities for economic initiative for farmers in the United States and throughout the world,
with special attention to small producers.
Likewise, public policies must address the needs of agricultural workers. A key measure of agricultural,
immigration, and labor policies is whether they reflect fundamental respect for the dignity, rights, and
safety of agricultural workers and whether they help agricultural workers to provide a decent life for
themselves and their families.
Agricultural Workers: What Is Happening to Those Who Harvest and Process
Our Food?
Scale. Approximately 1.8 million farmworkers live in the United States, 80% of whom are
foreign born and more than 50% of whom are undocumented. The percentage of foreign-born
agricultural workers has grown from about 60% to 80% of the workforce in the past 20 years; the
majority are Mexican.1
Conditions. On average, the real wage rates of agricultural workers have declined nearly 20%
over the past ten years, resulting in a poverty rate of approximately 60%.
1 Department of Labor, Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey, A Demographic
and Employment Profile of the United States Farmworkers (March 2000), 5.
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Sustaining and Strengthening Rural Communities. In rural areas of the United States and throughout the
world, small towns and villages are the backbone of social and economic life. As rural populations decline
and rural economies suffer, basic structures of rural life are at risk. Public policies should encourage a wide
variety of economic development strategies in rural areas. They should continue to promote and support
farming, especially family farms, as a strategy for rural development. Likewise, the practices and policies
of Catholic institutions on leasing and ownership of farmland should be consistent with our principles,
especially in the area of encouraging young people to enter farming. A key measure of agricultural and
development policies is whether they encourage widespread diversity in farm ownership and advance rural
development in this country and abroad, promoting and maintaining the culture and values of rural
communities.
Rural America: What Is Happening to Rural Communities and Culture?
Sources of Income. In 1999, net farm cash income was $55.7 billion, while other sources of
income contributed $124 billion to the total income of farm families.1 Most rural counties do not
depend on agriculture for their economies; on average, seven of eight rural counties derive income
from a mix of farming, manufacturing, services, and other activities.2
Rural Poverty. Poverty in rural areas has been consistent for the last 40 years, with rates of
20% or more in the rural South, Appalachia, the Ozarks, the Mississippi Delta, and the Rio Grande
Valley.3 Poverty rates in most agriculturally-based counties in six of the major agriculture-producing
states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) are greater than in the
metropolitan counties in those states; the rates in the smallest agriculturally-based counties are 60%
higher.4
Culture. Studies for the past 50 years show a correlation between a growing concentration in
agriculture and a loss of businesses and civic society in rural towns. Fewer farms and ranches mean
fewer agricultural support services and farm-related businesses, since larger and more intensive farms
can deal directly with national or global agribusiness. Fewer farm families mean fewer children in rural
schools, fewer community services, and fewer churches; the average age of a farmer is estimated to be
about 55 years.5
1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock of the
New Century (September 2001), 4.
2 Food and Agricultural Policy, 12.
3 Food and Agricultural Policy, 90.
4 Jon M. Bailey and Kim Preston, for the Center for Rural Affairs, Swept Away:
Chronic Hardship and Fresh Promise on the Rural Great Plains (June 2003), 1.
5 U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1997 Census of Agriculture, Table 1.
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Protecting God’s Creation. Care for God’s creation is a central calling for believers. Agricultural and
food policies should reward practices that protect human life, encourage soil conservation, improve
water quality, protect wildlife, and maintain the diversity of the ecosystem. An essential measure of
agricultural and food policies is whether they protect the environment and its diversity and promote
sustainable agricultural practices in the United States and abroad.
Agriculture and Environment: What Is Happening to Land and Water?
Scale of Soil Erosion. From 1982 to 1995, erosion on cropland and land enrolled in the USDA’s
Conservation Reserve Program declined 38%. Since 1995, erosion in the United States has leveled
off, but 29% of cropland is still determined to be excessively eroding. This severe erosion affects
general water and air quality.1
An estimated 23% of all usable land globally is affected by degradation, and soil erosion is a major
factor. Causes include overgrazing, deforestation, and excessive use of chemicals.2 In Africa, 25% of
the land is prone to water erosion and 22% to wind.3
Scale of Water Needs. The usable portion of all freshwater in the globe is less than 1%. More than
50% of all runoff occurs in Asia and South America. About one-third of the world’s population lives in
countries suffering moderate to high water stress. Some 80 countries, constituting 40% of the world’s
population, suffered from serious water shortages in the 1990s. While the number of those served with
improved water quality grew, 1.1 billion people still lack access to safe water. By 2020, water use is
expected to increase by 40%, and 17% more water will be needed for agriculture, particularly irrigated
agriculture.4 In the United States, agriculture relies on groundwater for 62% of its irrigated farmland.5
1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1997 National
Resources Inventory: Highlights, rev. ed. (December 2000), 2.
2 United Nations Environment Program, Global Environmental Outlook 3, (2002), 64.
3 Global Environmental Outlook, 71.
4 Global Environmental Outlook, 150-152.
5 Global Environmental Outlook, 170.
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Expanding Participation. To achieve an agricultural system consistent with these criteria, widespread
participation and dialogue in the development of agricultural policies should be encouraged. Truly
effective policies will be developed when people who are most affected have adequate information,
time, and opportunities for real contributions to legislation, regulations, programs, and trade agreements.
These six criteria provide a framework for measuring policies related to agriculture in light of Catholic
social teaching and the requirements of the common good. They are not comprehensive, nor do they s
uggest predictable positions on important issues. We hope they will encourage serious, thoughtful debate
and dialogue on U.S. agricultural policy, the global agricultural system, and the impact both have on
human dignity. As our contribution to this discussion, we offer an "Agenda for Action" that seeks to
apply these criteria to key agricultural policies.
Members of the Catholic community can differ about the specific application of these criteria. We come
to these issues from very different perspectives: as farmers and farmworkers, landowners and contract
growers, business operators and workers, producers, processors, and consumers. But as Catholics we
share a fundamental concern for human life and dignity and a basic commitment to the common good.
As bishops, we invite Catholics and others to use these criteria to explore, discuss, and advocate for
agricultural policies that protect human life and dignity and advance the well-being of all God’s creation.
Toward Commitment, Hope and Challenge
As a result of the listening sessions and dialogues that led to these reflections, we call upon the standing
committees of our Conference (the Committees on Domestic Policy, International Policy, and Migration)
to continue educating the Catholic community, policy makers, and the larger society about the ethical
dimensions of agriculture and to follow through on our recommendations and policies with new urgency
and priority. The wide range of concerns raised in our listening sessions requires the Conference to
continue integrating the issues of agriculture into the agendas of its various committees and structures.
We believe that this strategy of integration and collaboration will ensure a sustained, comprehensive,
and necessary approach to pastoral care, policy development, and advocacy on issues of food, agriculture,
trade, and international assistance.
A Word of Hope
Fundamentally, food and agriculture are about life: life for the hungry and for all who depend on farmers
and farmworkers for what we eat every day. But they are also about life for farmworkers who risk their
health to pick our food, sometimes not knowing what pesticides are in the field. They are about life for
subsistence farmers in Africa trying to feed a family and make a meager living. They are about a way of
life for farm families in the United States who are unable to meet debt payments and face selling a farm
that has been in the family for generations. These reflections call all of us to make the protection of life
and dignity the foundation of our choices on agriculture.
We know these are not easy times, but as believers we have hope for the days ahead:
We have the capacity to overcome hunger in our nation and around the world. What an achievement
that would be!
We stand with farmers, particularly those who own small and family farms here and abroad, in their
struggle to live with dignity, to preserve a way of life, and to strengthen rural communities.
We insist that agricultural workers be treated with dignity—decent wages, safe working conditions,
and a real voice in the workplace.
We advocate care for creation to protect the fields and streams, which are gifts of God.
We find in our faith—the lessons of Genesis, the passion of the prophets, and the words and life of
Jesus—the ultimate source of hope.
The Challenge Ahead
Through the eyes of faith, these tasks are not options, but obligations. The Catholic community is
discovering with new urgency that our faith calls us to strengthen our presence and witness, our
advocacy and action in defense of the human life and dignity of hungry people, farmers and
farmworkers, and God’s creation.
Our Conference has called all Catholics to work to ensure A Place At The Table (6) for all God’s children.
Agriculture is at the heart of this moral challenge. As we have pointed out:
A table is where families gather for food, but some have little food or no table at all.
A table is where leaders gather in government and international negotiations and other forums to make
decisions on trade and aid, subsidies and access. But some have no real voice at these tables.
For Catholics, the table is the altar at which we gather for Eucharist to transform "the fruit of the vine
and work of human hands" into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is also the table from which we are
sent forth to secure "a place at the table" for all.
We cannot secure a place at the table for all without a more just agricultural system. Some small farmers
are losing their place at the table. Some farmworkers never had a place. And so many people in our own
land and around the world, seeking to feed their children, have no real place at that table. The moral
measure of our efforts is how our community of faith works together to secure a place at the table of life
for all God’s children.
End Notes
(1) Cf. National Conference of Catholic Bishop/United States Catholic Conference,
Report of the
Ad Hoc Task Force on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Concerns (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1988);
United States Catholic Conference,
Food Policy in a Hungry World: The Links That Bind Us Together
(Washington, DC: USCCB, 1989).
(2) Among the key national Catholic organizations are the Catholic Committee on Appalachia,
Catholic Extension, Catholic Relief Services, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, and the
USCCB Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Secretariat for Home Missions.
(3) Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the
Participation of Catholics in Political Life (November 24, 2002), no. 3,
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_
20021124_politica_en.html (accessed in November 2003).
(4)
Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in
Political Life, no. 6.
(5) USCCB,
Economic Justice for All: Tenth Anniversary Edition (Washington, DC:
USCCB, 1997): "U.S. food policy has had a parallel goal of keeping the consumer cost of food low.
As a result, Americans today spend less of their disposable income on food than people in any other
industrialized country. . . . while low food prices benefit consumers who are left with additional income
to spend on other goods, these pricing policies put pressure on farmers to increase output and hold down
costs. This has led them to replace human labor with cheaper energy, expand farm size to employ new
technologies favoring larger scale operations, neglect soil and water conservation, underpay farmworkers,
and oppose farmworker unionization" (nos. 219-220).
(6) Cf. USCCB,
A Place at the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to
Respect the Dignity of All God’s Creation (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2002).