"That Abundance May Flourish"
(Psalm 72:7)

A Catholic Perspective on Rural Life in Illinois

Catholic Conference of Illinois
Spring 2001

Dear Pastors, Church Workers, Catholics
and all people of good will in Illinois,

The Catholic Conference of Illinois has prepared this reflection on the growing rural life crisis in our state and nation today. It is a crisis that affects us all-those in rural areas as well as those living in cities or suburbs. This critical situation demands education, reflection, awareness and action by all people of good will. We take as a reference point the words of Pope John Paul II in his November 12, 1979, address to the Food and Agriculture Organization. The Holy Father said of agriculture that it "may be considered the most important sector in the world economy...it is also a sector far too long excluded from improvements in standards of living, a sector which the rapid and far-reaching social and cultural changes of our time affect in a particularly painful way, exposing the injustices inherited from the past, destroying the stability of individuals, families and societies, heaping up frustrations and provoking migrations, massive and chaotic."

The situation of rural life in our state, nation and world prove that the message of Pope John Paul II was wise and prophetic. We are hopeful that the observations in this booklet will help the people in Illinois to face the challenges present in rural life communities.

In Christ,

His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Chicago

Most Reverend Joseph L. Imesch,
Bishop of Joliet

Most Reverend John J. Myers,
Bishop of Peoria

Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory,
Bishop of Belleville

Most Reverend Thomas G. Doran,
Bishop of Rockford

Most Reverend George J. Lucas,
Bishop of Springfield-in-Illinois


Our Concern

In the midst of this Jubilee celebration which marks the dawn of the Third Christian Millennium, we, the Catholic Bishops of Illinois, find ourselves called to acknowledge our state's rich legacy of rural life and abundant food production. As we do that, we have become acutely aware of two things. First, we must have a deep sense of gratitude for the bountiful graces God has seen fit to bestow upon the people of Illinois; and, secondly, we must express our growing sense of anxiety regarding our collective stewardship of our state's rich agricultural resources and the people who nurture and harvest these resources for the common good.

We hold Illinois' long tradition of abundant agricultural production in the highest esteem and, for that reason, we cannot fail to acknowledge our immediate concerns regarding the threats we see to Illinois' rich and life-giving legacy of family-based, owner-operated food production.

Today in our state, we are in the midst of a farm crisis. In fact, this farm crisis affects all of us because it is ultimately a food crisis. The production and consumption of food are but two sides of the same coin and the city or suburban dweller who ignores the plight of Illinois' family farmers today does so at his or her own peril in the days ahead. Farmers are a small portion of the state's population. Most of our state's citizens have for generations lived, worked and played in large urban and sprawling suburban areas quite removed from the places where their food is produced Thus, it is easy to understand why many in Illinois are simply unaware of the crisis in its current stage. However, the longer our farm crisis persists, the more serious our food crisis becomes. We believe that the resources of this planet are a sacred trust from God for which we must be good stewards. For this reason we find ourselves compelled to speak on this issue.

What is at stake?

The forces affecting farm production and marketing in Illinois today not only have immediate and long-term effects on our food supply, they threaten to undermine a cherished way of life. What is at stake is the existence of family-based, owner-operated farms. Today their welfare is being severely tested by a series of factors that are diminishing open and competitive grain and livestock markets:

The shift from small and moderate-sized, family-based production to industrial-scale, factory-like production systems.

The increase in concentrated ownership of the means to produce food in our state and nation.

Vertical integration of production, processing, marketing and retailing.

The trend toward corporate farming, which creates concern about market control and leaves little room for independent producers.

These forces threaten to change the face of food production in our state and nation. They are already taking an enormous human toll on those involved in family farming. The pressures and stress are high and mounting. Rural pastors hear expressions of anxiety, distress and desperation. Throughout the countryside we find disturbing fears resulting from uncertainty regarding the future of our state's system of agriculture.

The economic toll is real, but the distress does not end there. Low prices and rising uncertainty about the future place a toll on personal relation-ships, marriages and the fabric of family life.

Meanwhile, the precarious situation of family farming threatens the welfare of businesses, schools, churches and community services. Thousands of communities in the Illinois countryside which have been our state's source of strength and stability through good times as well as bad times are affected.

What is at stake? Nothing less than a cherished and irreplaceable way of life that has blessed all of us in Illinois for years with a stable, abundant and safe supply of food.

To whom do we speak?

We address this pastoral letter to many audiences. We speak first to the state's family farmers. To you we hold out our hands in solidarity. We promise you our prayers and our energies in the pursuit of your well being. We depend on you for our state and our nation's food supply.

We speak also to all our sisters and brothers in our cities and suburbs. As we have already said, the farm crisis is a food crisis. Unless we all realize that and respond in a prudent fashion, the crisis can only become worse. There is no shame in consumers wanting a food supply that is as inexpen-sive as it is safe, stable and plentiful. It would be a dreadful shame if we did not realize -- or if we permit ourselves to forget -- that we Americans enjoy the safest, most stable, most plentiful and least costly food supply in all of history. This has come to us as a result of the labors of family farmers.

We address our message to educators -- and who among us is not an educator in some respect? Only one percent of our nation's people live on farms. They are easy to forget. Yet because they produce our food and the food of people the whole world over, to forget their plight is to put our own welfare at grave risk.

We also address ourselves to our lawmakers at all levels of government. You have been charged with protecting the common good within the boundaries of your respective jurisdictions. While many of us are tempted to act on the prospect of short-term, individual benefits, you must be moved by greater considerations.

What is the problem?

For centuries a system of sustainable agricultural practices has developed in our nation around the most basic and fundamental unity of society, the family. It has become the model for the world to emulate. Today, however, this approach to providing our basic foodstuffs is imperiled by a host of forces.

Today we are seeing the industrialization of farming which threatens to undermine the cherished institution of the family farm. It also poses a new threat to the critical natural resources of Illinois. Today we are seeing animal confinement operations on a scale well beyond what a family farm could sustain.

These operations raise serious concerns for the quality of land, water and air in our state. The concentration of ownership of both the land and the means of production is a concern.

How low are current farm prices? Farmers in Illinois today are being paid near-record low prices for most of their products. Yet this is not reflected in savings for consumers at the supermarket. How can the family farmer live on the income generated from these low prices? T he truth is that many cannot. That some can is a testimony to the incredible, unprecedented efficiencies that have permitted today's family farmers to produce far more than their grandparents did, so loved ones get by on considerably less per unit of production. But there are practical limits to these sorts of efficien-cies -- and one can never sell below cost and hope to survive on increased volumes of production. In 1956, a box of Wheaties cost the consumer 28 cents, of which the farmer received two cents. Today that same box of Wheaties costs the consumer $3.51 --and the farmer receives just four cents.

It is a sad fact that in our so-called consumer-driven culture today, an athlete is likely to be paid more for permitting his or her face to be printed on a box of cereal than the farmer will receive for the grain that fills the box.

There are many ways to measure the income level of the average family farmer. Perhaps the best way for urban and suburban people to understand it is to express it in terms of how much he is paid per hour. If a typical family farmer worked 40 hours a week, his pay would come out to just $2.53 per hour. Of course, farmers generally work much more than 40 hours a week -- but their income does not go up as a result. Their average per-hour pay is generally much lower than $2.50 per hour. If they work 50 hours, their pay is barely more than $2 an hour.

Our family farm population is aging quickly. Why is this so? The problem is a lack of opportunity. If current trends continue, the great American legacy of the family farm -- the source of such wealth and well-being for everyone in our society -- will disappear almost by default. The process is already underway, and if we do not intervene it will soon reach its logical, yet perilous conclusion. The trend is clear when we look at the average age of farm operators. According to the Census Bureau, in 1997 over 25% of farm operators were over the age of 65. In 1910, only 8% were over the age of 65. In 1997, 7% of farm operators were between the ages of 25-34. In 1910, 22% were between these ages.

It is one of the cruel ironies of current food production economics that the American farmer produces enough grain to feed 180 people for one year, yet the income received from selling that grain on the U.S. market is not sufficient to feed a family of four through that same year. How long can we permit this imbalance to continue without imperiling the source of our nation's safe and stable food supply?

The depopulation of rural and small town America will have social costs that all of us must bear. It accelerates the need to expand city and suburban public utilities and services. It contributes to urban clutter and exacerbates rush hour congestion. It amplifies every challenge posed by growth in urban and suburban settings, even while it leaves a vacuum behind in rural areas. Who is left to keep small town commerce alive? Who remains to fill, staff and underwrite the cost of small town schools? What happens to the landscape when vital social processes like education and commerce cannot endure and when human interests are subordinated to market demands?

There is not a great deal of time. People must become more aware of the connections between today’s farm crisis and the long-term security of the nation’s food supply and between the interests of our nation’s food producers and its food consumers.

Current policy

The Freedom to Farm Act is not an adequate response on the part of the federal government. When it expires in 2002, it should be replaced by legislation that puts the common good ahead of personal gain, that gives more weight to current economic realities than to political realities and considers the future.

It should reflect our national experience that there is no better way to assure a safe and secure food supply at the lowest possible cost than to foster the viability of family farms. Currently, the largest farms receive the lion's share of federal dollars in terms of loans, price supports and money to put into marketing and agricultural research.

Biotechnology

With respect to our food supply, some very promising results have already been achieved. Both crop and livestock yields have been improved and better crop resistance to the perils of pests and weather has contributed to a more stable food supply.

At the same time, we urge that the utmost prudence be exercised in applying new biotechnologies in the production of our food supplies. Apparent short-term economic benefits, either to producers or to the agribusiness suppliers from which they buy, cannot drive decisions about the implementation of new biotechnologies. These decisions are almost certain to have long-term impacts on the entire ecology of our planet.

We urge great caution in the application of complex biotechnologies which alter the genetic makeup of our planet's flora and fauna. Their predictable impact on the ecology and the economy must be calculated as carefully and precisely as possible over the longest term that can be reasonably anticipated.

We do not wish to fan the flames of unreasoned resistance to genetic engineering and the development of other biotechnologies. The benefits of careful agricultural research, in company with prudent application of the fruits of that research, are abundantly clear to us.

We are but stewards of God's great beneficence, and we are called to be good stewards. Since we all benefit from the regenerative powers of the Earth’s flora and fauna, we are obliged to look after and protect those powers as a sacred trust from God given to us for our welfare and the welfare of future generations.

What we can do!

Pray that those who make farm policy recognize the need to preserve family farming as the backbone of our nation's food supply; that those who are family farmers are blessed with the imagination, fortitude and cooperation to find new and creative means of 1lroduction and marketing that preserve their way of life and the benefits to the common good that result; and also that all of us. food producers and consumers alike, recognize our fundamental solidarity and unity of purpose.

Educate yourselves and your children about the realities and most of all the connections between sound farm policies and a safe, stable and cost-effective food supply.

Advocate for just, sensible governmental policies that help assure the economic health of family farms.

Ask your state and federal representatives and candidates for political office about their stand on food and farm issues. Urge them to listen to our state's family farmers and advocate for policies that provide for an ample food supply by sustainable food production practices.

We urge farm families to:

Pursue aggressively new marketing strategies and processing opportunities by working together to identify, create and stimulate creative approaches to sell products h, a more direct fashion to consumers.

Turn to your parish communities for the solidarity, support and encouragement you need to persevere in the face of the forces that threaten your way of life.

We urge members of rural parishes to:

Recognize that you have a unique role to play in the lives of your neighbors who operate famiIy farms. Be open to ways that you and your whole parish community can provide the social, emotional, spiritual and material support that farming members of your faith community may need today and in the days ahead.

Try to be especially mindful of the need to stay involved in the life of your faith community and civic community, and encourage others to seek out any assistance they or their children may need in times of stress or hardship.

We urge all members of urban and suburban parishes to:

Look for ways to buy more of your foodstuffs from local farmers, and patronize grocery stores that carry commodities produced by local farmers.

Pay special attention to the need for those of us who are removed from the day-to-day activities of food production and marketing -- and especially our young people -- to seek out opportunities to interact with and learn from those whose vocation it is to produce our food.

Encourage parish exchange and information programs that foster greater awareness of how our food is produced and how the people live, work, play and pray in our rural communities.

Encourage the special novena in honor of St. Isidore and St. Maria, patrons of farmers, and foster other forms of prayer and worship that remind us of our connection to and dependence on the land and its bounty, and our solidarity with those who nurture and harvest that bounty on our behalf.

Lift up your voices in the political arena on behalf of family farming, because without you the small number of farmers who produce our abundant food supply have no voice.

Finally, we ask everyone to join us in affirming our confidence in the goodness of God, our hope for the future, and our commitment of charitable concern for those family farmers whose vocation it is to feed us. Because the forces at work in our economy are so impersonal, so daunting and on such a vast scale, we recognize the temptation to become overwhelmed with a great sense of helplessness. We bid everyone not to give into that temptation, but to face the future bound together by the faith, hope and charity that is our legacy as children of God, sisters and brothers of Christ, who suffered and died to save us.


Closing Prayer

The world of today aspires to two great achievements: peace and bread.
May people live in peace on earth and thus find the bread which is
necessary for them. – Pope John XXIII

God our Father, we acknowledge you as the only source of growth and
abundance. With your help we plant our crops and by your power they
produce our harvest. In your kindness and love make up for what is
lacking in our efforts. – The Sacramentary