Eat Good Things Project Trains Muslims In Environmental Leadership

The Muslim activism scene in England is exciting. I marvelled at how The Leaf Network trained Muslims to learn about the environment and take on leadership roles.

You probably aren't aware of the human rights campaigners, eco-Muslims and life coaches who dedicate themselves to our communities. But they're here. And instead of creating walls they build bridges.

One branch project of The Leaf Network is called Eat Of The Good Things and it has immense opportunity for a wholesome identity.

"Waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters." (Qur’an, 7:31)

Eat Good Things aims to connect Muslim youth with issues of food production. According to the site nearly 1 billion people face hunger every day. That's 1/6th of the entire population. A quarter of all food bought by consumers in rich countries goes to waste which isn't surprising when you look at how much is left over and chucked at the end of the week.

"Corruption has appeared on the land and in the sea because of what the hands of humans have wrought." (Qur’an, 30:41)

The project educates young Muslims on the effects of climate change as it is the poorer countries that will be affected the most. Countries like Sudan and Senegal could face a 50% decline in food yields from famine and draught.

In Bangladesh for example, fishing populations are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Fishing communities there are subject not only to sea-level rise, but also flooding and increased typhoons.

"If all of us in the UK stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the impact on the climate would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road! This would go a long way to limiting climate change and would help farmers in poorer countries." - Eat Of The Good Things.

How to get involved
Eat Good Things has recruited this year's 20 students to train them for their communities where they can take actions against waste and for healthier living.

However, it is possible for you to get involved and change these injustices by participating in:

• A practical sessions at Spitalfields City Farm (London) in November to learn about food production
• Attend regular film screenings where all these issues will be discussed in a relaxed group setting
• Connect with likeminded young people who are interested in learning more and in tackling these injustices
• Say NO to bottled water and start drinking tap! Bottled water wastes resources, damages the environment and adds to the food crisis. Find out more about the campaign here.
• Sign the ONE petition calling on world leaders to keep their commitments for financing long-term solutions to Africa’s food crisis
• Make sure that farmers get a fair price for their produce by purchasing fairly traded tea and other products such as dates, fruit and chocolate. 

I love it with a capital L. Delicious.

+ Eat Of The Good Things
+ Twitter tag #EatGoodThings

Image + flickr

More:
A Halal's Day Work at the People Produce Project
The Leaf Network, British Muslims Giving Back To Environment
This Is What A Muslim Vegetarian Looks Like
30 Mosques in 30 States: USA's Organic Muslims