The spread of genetically modified crops endangers an important Chilean tradition and farmers worldwide.
By Amy Woolam Echeverria

Within 12 hours of touching down on Chilean soil for the first time, I was treated to onces, one of the most important yet routine rituals of daily life. Comparable to afternoon tea, English style, this sacred time for both physical and emotional nourishment is like no other meal of the day. Onces is a time for gathering and sharing: Families talk about their day, neighbors stop by to chat about local news, and community meetings often are scheduled around this not-to-be-missed meal.

When you come to the table for Chilean onces, you may find any number of treats from homemade pastries and jams to rich cheeses and avocado, depending on the economic status of the family. But the one thing you will always find, whether you are in the most modest or elegant of homes, is bread—the most common of which are the marraqueta and hallulla.

The marraqueta, like a roll, has a crunchy crust with light, airy dough inside. The hallulla, unlike anything I’ve found in the United States, is heavier, bun-shaped bread. For a real treat, you can buy homemade bread, which usually has a rich, buttery taste. Other breads, such as sweet rolls and the Chilean tortilla (a heavy square bread, similar to a Sicilian pizza crust), also can be found in country stores. The variety of bread speaks to the importance it holds in Chilean culture.

It is said that Chileans consume the largest amount of bread in South America. It is no wonder, given that fresh bread is delivered three times a day to tiny markets on every street corner. These markets also sell other daily necessities, such as cheese, eggs, luncheon meat, fresh produce, and milk, all onces staples. Bread is bought by the kilo.

In nearly every Chilean home, you will find a homemade cloth bag, often times embellished with hand-painted flowers or lacy trim, made by the women of the house to carry and store daily bread purchases. Many women will have matching cloth liners for breadbaskets that are placed on the table for serving. Though onces is not an elegant meal in some ways, there’s notable attention to preparation and presentation.

The onces ritual does not begin when you sit at the table. It begins with the trip to the market to buy the bread. The trip, although usually no more than a block away, can easily take a half an hour or more. Stopping to chat with the neighbor or store owner is customary and cannot be rushed.

Once at the table, onces does not end when you’ve finished eating. Often the conversation can linger well after the table has been cleared. If you’re invited to have onces, consider yourself an honored guest, because it is the most daily of rituals that offers an intimate glimpse into Chilean life.

Bread is perhaps the most simple yet deeply spiritual symbol of God’s eternal love for us. By giving to the world His son Jesus, who came to break bread with us and share in our fragile human condition, God expressed His most intimate care for and connection with us.

The image of bread as a sign of life and community is repeated throughout the Gospels. Is it possible to imagine the Last Supper without Jesus offering us bread? Is it coincidence that Jesus fed thousands with just five loaves? Jesus knew that by using bread, the most basic of human staples, He could share His message of love and hope.

Two thousand years later, bread still holds that unique mix of sacred and common. That’s no truer than in Chile, especially as embodied in the onces ritual.

Breeding A Tomato With A Fish
What could threaten the simple yet multilayered tradition of Chilean onces? Today, in the name of science, a new technology has been developed through genetic engineering.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are the result of scientific manipulation of living organisms through biochemical techniques.

Essentially this means that desirable genes from one species are injected into another, creating a modified organism. For example, by introducing a natural bacterium into different crops, such as corn, cotton, rice or potatoes, they become insecticide crops that kill pests that attack them.

Other types of GMOs include crops tolerant to specific herbicides; crops richer in nutritional properties; crops resistant to viral, bacterial, and fungal infections; and crops that can survive under specific or extreme conditions.

The difference between traditional and GMO crops is that with GMOs, engineers cross species boundaries established by nature.

While it is possible in nature to crossbreed different potato species, it is not possible to crossbreed a fish with a tomato. And yet this is being done in laboratories here in the United States and elsewhere. Is this what God has in mind when He calls us to be stewards of nature?

Although it appears such technology can do much good, as Christians we should be wary of GMOs and the companies that invest in their research. Beyond the scientific debate, there is an ethical debate that requires reflection.

Ultimately the goal of the companies that promote GMO technology is to patent the new seeds they “create.” This has implications for farmers, especially small-scale, organic, women and indigenous farmers, around the world.

For thousands of years, farmers have collected and shared seeds with neighboring farmers to optimize their crop yield. Today, most of the world’s farmers in developing countries are women. Women are the ones who plant, harvest and prepare the food for their communities and international export. Women in agriculture are a crucial part of the world’s economy.

Under the GMO and patenting system of agribusiness, farmers are required to pay for the right to plant specific seeds and are no longer able to save or share them. Most of the world’s farmers do not have the money to purchase seeds year after year.

The implications are simple: the status of women is seriously threatened, and these farmers could lose their livelihood and autonomy over their food supply.

Sacred Traditions At Risk
This controversial GMO and patent system is being implemented around the world, particularly in Asia, Latin America and Africa where the world’s poorest live. Columbans serve nations, such as the Philippines, Korea, Japan, and China, where GMOs and seed patents are being aggressively implemented.

Chile, too, is not immune. I fear for Chilean wheat farmers who could face hardship, and even the extinction of their farms, because they will be unable to compete with global agribusiness companies.

If the cost of flour rises due to the need to import, I wonder if bread consumption would continue to be as high. Would onces lose its organic and sacred tradition and become just another meal?

These are questions of speculation, but you can already see the loss of cultural traditions because of GMOs in places such as the Philippines and southern Africa. How many cultural traditions are being lost because people cannot continue to harvest their traditional crops?

When Jesus invites us to His table, we are all invited—both literally and figuratively. In places where we see GMOs and seed patents implemented, many people are excluded from their tables and, therefore, are excluded from His table.

As people of faith, we must be vigilant about anything that keeps all people from enjoying the bread of life and the love and hope it represents.

Amy Woolam Echeverria is the director of the U.S. Columban Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Office in Washington D.C. She was the Columban JPIC coordinator in Chile before taking her current position.