My friend Zachary Rempel recently wrote “A recipe to reverse the economy” for Canadian Mennonite.  Rempel works as a climate researcher in Winnipeg. He earned a master’s degree in natural resources management from the University of Manitoba in 2019. He grew up in a Mennonite home, went to a Mennonite church and school, and even speaks German! As I approached him to pick his brain regarding “degrowth,” he was quick to point out how much he realized his upbringing shaped him to be an environmentalist, anti-capitalist and conscious of how much we affect each other and creation.

Regarding his inspiration for the Canadian Mennonite article, he explained this started when he became interested in a series of Mennonite Central Committee publications concerning degrowth. When the environmental movement started in the 1960s, the narrative was very much rooted in simplicity and degrowth. However, over time it was poisoned with the mainstream culture that promoted the same amount of consumerism under an eco-friendly and more sustainable label. Nevertheless, Rempel is impressed that the church retained the essence of it, promoting simplicity, less consumption, repurposing and reusing things, and being mindful of where our resources come from.

“I think that it is something the Mennonite church has done well,” he told me. Despite their shortcomings, the church also deserves credit where credit is due. It also means that we should continue to highlight it as a core value, particularly as it resonates with so many young people in our culture.

He explained to me that already back in the 1980s there were a bunch of publications talking about “living more with less” within Mennonite circles. An example of this is the beloved cookbook under that same name “More-with-Less.” The premise of these publications was essentially trying to connect the ideology promoted by the church of living simply. Now, we also have the more modern concept of degrowth to connect to this church principal. Rempel helped me narrow down five takeaways to consider when thinking theologically about degrowth in terms of the environment. Here are our thoughts:

1. Following Jesus’ example

Of course, this may come off as a cliche. However, isn’t this where all of our faith reasoning as Christians stems from? Therefore, consider the life Jesus lived. By all accounts, it was quite a simple life. Not only that, but there were no signs of exploitative behavior toward others or the environment. Quite the opposite. Jesus shared most of what he had with others, including food when there might not have been enough. 

2. Being mindful of other people’s circumstances

This could easily fit under the Jesus point as well. However, it is important to recognize that regardless of your beliefs or situation, the way we consume affects others. You might not see it or feel it, but it is happening nonetheless.

This is also tied to the point of degrowth being specific to “developed” countries. In the U.S. and Canada — as well as other Western countries such as those in Europe — we have too much. There is essentially an excess of everything. However, the same planning and action strategies do not apply to other countries around the world where people still struggle to find basic necessities.

3. Thinking about how we can use less resources

We can make our cities more walkable and use our cars less. We can also design cities with simple living in mind. For example, grocery stores could be closer to homes and within neighborhoods. Schools can be within walking distance and we can invest in maintaining sidewalks and bike lanes.

We can also cultivate community spaces for food growth. That can look like community gardening, or landscaping our community spaces with edible plants to encourage foraging.

4. Reuse

Thrifting and fixing! We can think creatively on how to reuse materials that no longer serve their original purpose.

5. Broader economic theory

Despite degrowth being in part an intellectual movement that requires engagement at planning and strategy levels, it is also an incredibly active and easily accessible movement for everyday folk. We all have the power to change our worldview. We have the power to define what kind of consumer we’d like to be; what kind of commuter we’d like to be; what kind of creation caretaker we want to be.