Prayer
Metaphor for Change
Spring is a metaphor for change.
Some changes we eagerly await, and some we abhor.
Some changes we plan, and others arrive uninvited.
To all these changes we ask the gift of Your perspective, beckoning us to expectation, hope, and rebirth.
May the sunlight and the rain be reminders that You are at work renewing the earth.
As a God of renewal, You are ever at work in our lives, too.
Open our eyes and lives to the needed changes in our lives this Spring.
Awaken us to new life and perspective, for we pray in Jesus’ name.
Source: Spring Prayer
Knowledge
In this edition of our Lenten YLBG series on how our food choices affect our health and the health of the planet, we will focus on animal consumption, food waste, and the effects on the environment.
Tuesday was the first day of spring, a time of rebirth and renewal. This edition of YLBG will highlight how we can actually renew our food waste and why we should! It’s a bit of a stretch to include this in the Lenten Series of YLBG which has focused on reasons to reduce our meat consumption, but there is this parallel – it is difficult to compost animal protein. It can be done, but it is a bit energy-consuming. Composting all other foods is relatively easy and takes no energy input, except for sunshine.
Why is composting important and what does it have to do with our environment? Feeding America estimates that up to 1/3 of all food in the US gets wasted. This represents 170 million metric tons of emissions – that’s the same as 42 coal-fired power plants. Food that is left in a landfill breaks down through anaerobic digestion. This process creates Methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more climate warming than CO2. If we all composted in the US, we could cut landfill methane production by up to 82%, according to the scientific journal Nature. That is a huge amount.
Action
I hope you will reflect on the good you are doing on these Fridays of Lent if you are able to go meat free!
Composting renews old food into a new soil-like product. It makes something life-giving from garbage. You can compost at home in various ways, even if you won’t use it yourself. Google “local compost drop-off locations” to see if they exist in your town. They do in Cincinnati!
Check out Share Waste online to find a neighbor who wants your food scraps.
If you wish, you can compost in your backyard and use the soil in your flower beds or on the lawn. I have pet worms who eat my garbage!