Check out the following article in the New York Times from yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/dining/22eco.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (Of Church and Steak: Farming for the Soul.)
There are a couple of key points in this article that describe the current state of affairs in a broad context,
"In the past few years protecting the environment has emerged as a religious issue. Now, something similar is taking place in the way people of faith view their daily bread."
