WCC Public Policy Positions: Promote Sustainable Farming
Here we continue to elaborate on each of the WCC’s 2025 Public Policy Positions. You can learn more about Catholic Social Teaching on the USCCB website.
Promote sustainable farming. Agriculture is not just another economic activity; it is vital to human existence. What is grown and how it is grown affects everyone’s health and the future of humanity. Wisconsin must promote sustainable farming that provides fair prices so that farmers can make a decent living, raise animals ethically, and maintain sound management practices. For the sake of food security and healthy diets, Wisconsin should also promote the production and consumption of local foods.
Farmers help sustain life by raising and harvesting food for human flourishing. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church notes the “important social, cultural, and economic role” that agriculture and agricultural labor play around the globe (299).
In Genesis, God gave people dominion over the earth, its plants, and animals (Gen 1:26-30). The Catholic Church further teaches that although humans have dominion, they must be true stewards of God’s creation. Accordingly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, that the “mineral, vegetable and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives” (CCC 2415).
In today’s world, there is “a need to break with the logic of mere consumption and promote forms of agricultural and industrial production that respect the order of creation and satisfy the basic human needs of all” (Compendium 486). Put another way, this is the principle of “the universal destination of goods.” This principle is based on the fact that the original source of all creation is God, and that “God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity” (Compendium 171).
Farmers are called to be true stewards of God’s creation. Scientific and technological innovation in agriculture (and accordingly all industries) must “respect men and women, which must also be accompanied by a necessary attitude of respect for other living creatures” (Compendium 459). While agricultural technology can be “a priceless tool in solving many serious problems … [including] hunger,” it also raises “grave concerns” (Compendium 458). For example, the “indiscriminate genetic manipulation” and “unscrupulous development of new forms of plant and animal life” can produce harmful long-term effects (Compendium 459). This underscores the reality that “we cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of such interference in other areas and to the well-being of future generations” (Compendium 459).
Agriculture is the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy. Wisconsin farmers help feed our state, our nation, and the world. The importance of ensuring farmers’ ability to make a decent living with sound management, ethical farming practices, and safe working conditions cannot be overstated. Public policy must ensure that the good of all—from producer to consumer—is kept at the forefront. |
