FROM THE EDITORS October 23, 2006 Issue

PRAYER AND THE FOOD WE EAT

LAST MONTH, people in 26 states in the US were reported to have become ill from eating contaminated spinach, and at least one death was attributed to this outbreak. Around that same time, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in Washington, DC, issued a September 13 report warning that, based on current trends, 20 percent of American children are likely to be at risk for obesity by the year 2010. These are just some of the latest in a string of news stories in recent months that have brought what we are eating—the quality and quantity and safety of it—to the forefront of public discussion.

In some parts of the world, food has become so affordable and plentiful that the population is struggling to prevent the dangers of overconsumption. At the same time, famine and starvation are ongoing tragedies for millions of others. In both cases, there's a cry for help, a search for solutions that will ultimately be satisfied only through higher, more God-inspirated thoughts and actions.

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