Immigration/Food Justice March 29, 2009

Immigration and Food Justice:
A Multi-Faith Dialogue
Hosted by Faith Mennonite Church.
Held on March 29, 2009.

Audio recordings of the forum will be posted here in April.

We welcome you to join us in examining these questions in the forum today:

In the production and distribution of food in the U.S., what impact do immigrants as people and immigration policy have? Who benefits from these impacts? Who suffers?
How do the values of justice and respect apply to the connections between immigration and food? What do different faith traditions have to say about how we should approach these situations?

About the panelists:
Tisha M. Rajendra has been teaching theology at the University of St. Thomas since 2007. She is completing her dissertation on Christian perspectives on transnational migration and human rights at Boston College. She is an enthusiastic advocate of local foods and enjoys cooking in her spare time.

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin lives and works in Northfield, MN as the Founder and Director of the Rural Enterprise Center. The Center’s mission is to strengthen communities by organizing programs, resources, and the support infrastructure needed to maximize the success potential of rural Latino entrepreneurs.

Reginaldo talked about free range chickens grown by Latino families in Southern Minnesota. For information about buying these chickens: Pollo de Campo

Rabbi Morris Allen is the Rabbi at Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights. Rabbi Allen is also the creator and founder of the Hekhsher Tzedek initiative, which promotes a certification seal for kosher food companies based on criteria about employee health, safety and training; wages and benefits; the company’s environmental impact; corporate transparency, and product development.
Rabbi Allen’s blog

Awais Bayunus is the President of the Islamic Center of Minnesota , the largest and oldest Islamic group in Minnesota, established in 1969. The Center is involved in many areas of community need, including education, interfaith activities, hosting a food shelf, weddings, funerals, a free clinic, community outreach and counseling.

Action opportunities:
Jewish Community Action and their partners invite you to join us the Progress by Pesach (Hebrew for Passover) campaign. The goal is simple: an end to immigration raids by Passover. To sign the petition to call upon President Obama to issue an executive order ending immigration raids immediately, visit http://www.jewishcommunityaction.org .

MN Clergy and Laity Concerned About Immigration is coordinating local interfaith action based on the national Interfaith Coalition on Immigration’s Statement and Principles as a starting point (www.interfaithimmigration.org). Contact Loren McGrail (lorenmcgrail @mac.com) for more information.

Take action in support of policy that builds a sustainable and equitable food system. Talk to a Land Stewardship Project organizer visit http://www.landstewardshipproject.org to find out how you can act today to support progressive food and agricultural policy.

Thank you to the co-sponsors of this forum:
Faith Mennonite Church, Islamic Center of Minnesota, Jewish Community Action, Bread for the World Upper Midwest Office, Oxfam Action Corps Minnesota, Community of St. Martin, Pan-African Community Organization, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, The Church of St. Albert the Great, University of St. Thomas Christian-Muslim Dialogue Center, University of St. Thomas Justice and Peace Program, Students for Justice, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, and the Land Stewardship Project.