Health, Happiness and Nature

Environmental issues affect quality of life, and quality of life and social justice are things that Jesus demonstrated he cared about time and time again.

People are happier and healthier in well-planned neighborhoods. By that, I mean that people are happier when they have green spaces, community gathering spaces, and strollable neighborhoods.

The Journal Health Promotion International published a study that promotes loss of contact with nature as one reason behind the sky-high rates of depression plaguing the developed world. The study authors also push forth the idea that nature should be incorporated into public health plans.

Key Points:

"People with access to nearby natural settings have been found to be healthier overall than other individuals. The longer-term, indirect impacts (of ‘nearby nature’) also include increased levels of satisfaction with one's home, one's job and with life in general’ [Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989 (p. 173)]."

Studies have found that people with views of nature in hospital rooms recovered faster with less pain and fewer complications than people with views of city scenes. Inmates were less stressed and sick when they had a view of nature. University students with a view of nature had better scores on tests than those without. (Paraphrased from the article)

One study found that "an experience of nature can help strengthen the activities of the right hemisphere of the brain, and restore harmony to the functions of the brain as a whole (Furnass, 1979)"


The scientific evidence is mounting, and it is on the side of nature. Is it surprising that the world that God created is where our heart longs to be? Where did Jesus take his walks of solitude when he needed recharging? In nature.

Why Christians Should Support Sustainable Agriculture: A Series Introduction

Everybody should support sustainable agriculture because it will help alleviate health problems, environmental pollution and help strengthen communities, - as I will show in later posts - but Christians have added incentive to do so, since it is mandated by Biblical principles and through teachings of Jesus.

Why should agriculture be so important to Christians, you may ask. Well:

~~~~~~First, agriculture is Biblically relevant - agricultural and food themes are ever present through allegory and metaphor in describing our faith. God is concerned with the way animals are raised and killed, crops are grown and food eaten, which he showed through numerous dietary and agricultural laws and guidelines in the Old Testament. Yes, we have the new covenant with Jesus which allows us freedom in eating choices, but the sentiment behind God's Law in the Old Testament still is important to us today, and was upheld by Jesus in the New Testament.

~~~~~~Second, agriculture has served as a cleavage between faith and works; our current industrial agriculture does not reflect biblical stewardship principles, it reflects exploitation. It is rife with human rights atrocities from pesticide-laden workers in banana farms to the unfairly shrinking salaries of small American farmers in the face of government-subsidized big agri-businesses. It also damages our environment, which in turn damages us and entire ecosystems. Continually through this blog, I will illustrate some of the biggest negative environmental and human impacts of industrial agriculture and explain why Christians should not support these practices.

~~~~~~Third, agriculture is important because food, the lack thereof and also too much, is a source of much human suffering, which Christians seek to alleviate as Christ did. Food security is an issue for millions of people worldwide. Malnutrition and obesity plague many countries. In America, over 13% of people are food insecure, which means they are unsure of where their next meal is coming from or they are actually hungry, while 60% are obese. (centeronhunger.org) Supporting sustainable agriculture means supporting a system that will provide people with access to healthful food. This is important because some people argue that industrial agriculture is good because it feeds more people, ergo, fewer people go hungry. In a later post, I will address the flaws of this statement.