There is an inner world of transition (see Goal 3, Integrating food into educational processes, Redesign).
"the notion of ‘spirituality’ can be seen as part of people’s inner dimensions being rooted in a specific religious or non-religious understanding and/or practice of personal growth and transformation" and "the relationship of inner and outer transformation would be about inner and outer integration of both the physical and subtle realities of the world" and "people’s values, beliefs, worldviews and associated emotional/cognitive and relational capacities that, when activated can influence different sustainability outcomes and elements" and "Increased self-reflection and awareness can also relate to the activation of core values (such as pro-social, pro-environmental or transcendental values) and the narrowing of value-action gaps, leading to more sustainable individual and collective behavior" and "A variety of religious and spiritual worldviews and related practices, often of eastern or indigenous origin, do include and strengthen a sense of interconnectedness and compassion with the human and non-human world as well as an active engagement to change/work on oneself" Woiwode, C., Schäpke, N., Bina, O. et al. Inner transformation to sustainability as a deep leverage point: fostering new avenues for change through dialogue and reflection. Sustain Sci (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00882-y
Supporting inner transformation skills Wamsler C (2020) Education for Sustainability: fostering a more conscious society and transformation to sustainability. Int J Sustain Higher Edu 21(1): 112–130. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSHE-04-2019-0152/full/html
Food as spiritual practice historically in many cultures (cf. Christianson, A.J. Who shall be a sustainer: maize and human meditation in the Maya Popol Vuh. p. 93-106 in A Global History of Literature and the Environment. Cambridge U. Press. Parham, J and Westlng, L. (eds).
"religious institutions are ideally positioned to engage with the inner lives of individuals as they relate to sustainability and to promote inner change." (Ives et al., 2020)
Ives et al. (2020) reference Pope Francis who stated that “the ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion… I am interested in how such a spirituality can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world” (Pope Francis 2015). The Dalai Lama (1999) argued that attending to our inner worlds would provide a foundation for a more ethical and sustainable global community.
Reviving grace/reflection/gratitude, whether religious prayer or spiritual expression in congregate and individual environments
Six functions of food in spiritual practice (adapted from Monterossa et al., 2020; Fieldhouse P.Food and Nutrition: Customs andCulture. Second. Springer; 1995):
1) communication with God, gods or other spiritual forces,
(2) faith through rituals,
(3) ascetuc behaviour,
(4) feelings of identity or belonging,
(5) expression of separateness from others not part of the religion, and
(6) ecological pragmatism.
Food, spirituality and social determinants of health
Michel and Ellen Desjardins
Desjardins, M. (2022). Religious food guidance. Canadian Food Studies / La Revue Canadienne Des études Sur l’alimentation, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v9i1.514
Desjardins, M. (2013). Religious studies that reallyschmecks: Introducing food to the academic study of religion. In W. Arnal, W. Braun & R. McCutcheon (Eds.), Failure and nerve in the study of religion (pp. 147-156). Equinox
Desjardins, M. (2015). “Imagining Jesus, with food.” Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis26, 47-63. Desjardins, M. (2016).
The Desjardins diet for world religions paradigm loss. In C. R.Cotter & D. G. Robertson (Eds.), After world religions: Reconstructing the introductory course in religious studies(pp. 123-137).Acumen.
Desjardins, M. & Desjardins, E. (2009). Food that builds community: The Sikh langar in Canada. Cuizine: The Journal of Canadian Food Cultures/Revue des cultures culinaires au Canada, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.7202/037851ar
Desjardins, M. & Desjardins, E. (2012). The role of food in Canadian forms of Christianity: Continuity and change. In F. Iacovetta, V. Korinek & M. Epp (Eds.), Edible histories, cultural politics: Towards a Canadian food history(pp. 116-132).University of Toronto Press.
Desjardins, M. & Mulhern, A. (2015). Living sacrifice: Rethinking Abrahamic religious sacrifice using field narratives of Eid ul-Adha. In V. D. Arbel, J. R. C. Cousland, R. Menkis & D. Neufeld (Eds.),Not sparing the child: Human sacrifice in the ancient world and beyond(pp. 190-212).Bloomsbury
