Catholic and Rural Conference 2015

If, like me, you had never heard of the annual Catholic & Rural Conference then read on! (see editors note!) I first encountered it whilst talking to a group of clergy about the place in Catholic Christianity of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation; so I went along to find out what F&J (Faith and Justice) issues the conference was highlighting. It was held in February in Garstang, Lancashire where the 40 or so delegates were welcomed by the Bishop of Lancaster, Rev Michael Campbell.

During two and a half days eight speakers covered topics ranging from the health of UK agriculture, through fracking, to a theology of creation. There was rural healthcare, use of the farm setting to offer educational and environmental opportunities to people disadvantaged by illness or a caring role, and presentations about evangelisation. So what F&J messages emerged?

Farmers say that agriculture has not been prioritised and systematically supported in the UK for more than two decades, and that markets are hardly regulated at all by the EU. Only 70% of our food is home-produced. World grain prices are high and volatile. As newly emerging countries become more affluent, thereby pushing up demand, there is a risk of Britons not being willing or able to pay the increasing world prices. This threatens national stability and peace at home; food riots could be a reality, and governments may topple. If oil prices remain depressed then oil producing nations too are at risk of internal instability.

In the interests of justice and peace should we be demanding a stronger and more consistent domestic agricultural policy alongside regulated trade in order to ensure our future sustenance?

What about FairTrade for milk? Some supermarkets pay less for milk than it costs to produce. We are used to thinking about the justice of overseas trade but what about trade conditions for producers in this country? UK retailers have to source from this country only milk for drinking. Hence we hear of the dairy industry being crushed by uneconomic prices imposed by some purchasers with little concern for the wider industry. The NFU says the number of dairy farms has halved in the last 12yrs - that's 10,000 farms lost. Some supermarkets (including Sainsbury's, Tesco, M&S, Waitrose and Booths) have agreed contracts with dairy farmers that allow them at least to recover the costs involved in producing milk. But those contracts cover only a small minority of British dairy farms, and even they may not leave farmers with any real profit. It seems undesirable to create a situation in which our future cheese and other milk products (found in many foodstuffs) come mainly from overseas.

Would it show justice and prudence to seek a Fair Trade premium for our dairy industry?

Fracking of course poses major dilemmas for environmental and inter-generational justice. This conference was not the forum to explore these in any independent detail but a theology of creation reveals both a transcendent all-powerful God (who says "Let there be light" and there is) and an immanent God very close to us and intimately involved in our lives - the potter with the clay, the Creator with the created. Our Christian love of God and neighbour calls us to seek changes that put us more in harmony with God. For me that means we should not be exploring for more gas just now but urgently investing in ways to reduce our consumption to sustainable levels and develop renewable energy.

We were reminded too of the ecological benefits of forestry, both as carbon capture and for biodiversity. Should we be urging more forestry in this country, as well as campaigning about deforestation and changing land use elsewhere?

Paul Kelly writes for the Environment Groups of the Lancaster Faith & Justice Commission and National J&P Network.

This was the tenth annual Rural Catholic conference.

For more information see:

http://ruralcatholics.org.uk/conference

www.lancasterfaithandjustice.co.uk/

See also ICN 30 March 2007 - Book: Rural Children, Rural Church recommended by Fr Robert Miller http://icnewstest.bondwaresite.com/news.php?viewStory=656