You are on page 1of 8

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FOOD SYSTEM ANALYSIS

No. 284, September-October 2011


ISSN 0827-4053

Citizen, Subject, and Food Sovereignty


by Brewster Kneen
[T]he dividing line between those human and the rest less human is a line between those who labour on the land and those who do not. This divided world is inhabited by subjects on the one side and citizens on the other; their life is regulated by customary law on one side and modern law on the other; their beliefs are dismissed as pagan on this side and bear the status of religion on the other. . . in sum, the world of the savages [is] barricaded, in deed as in word, from the world of the civilized. Mahmood Mamdani, Citizen and Subject Recognizing how deeply the notions of civilized and uncivilized, urban and rural are embedded in western culture may be the first giant step in the construction of food sovereignty. This recognition may also serve to help us deal with tendencies to gentrify the food movement turning it into a trendy and expensive enclave of those with money in the same way that working class homes and neighbourhoods are taken over and gentrified. I turn to my college text book , A Survey of European Civilization, 2nd ed., published in 1952, wondering what I was being taught about European Civilization. It doesnt take long. On page 9, I find: The first words, like the first fist-hatchets, were no doubt shapeless and blunt, a composition of grunts and snarls accompanied by gestures. Some backward peoples even today depend so extensively upon signs to supplement their speech that they find it difficult to converse in darkness; and on page 12: Savages who remain at the hunting stage of culture cannot increase beyond the relatively low maximum which the wild life of the area can permanently sustain. [emphasis added] If this language was considered appropriate in the middle of the last century, what about a century earlier at the height of European colonization, or earlier yet with the global commercial colonization of the trading companies? In the last couple of years I have become engrossed in overcoming the deficiencies of my schooling and learning the history of colonialism and its heritage that we are living with today, whether within Canada, Africa, or elsewhere in the world. Whether our attention has been drawn to the civil war in Libya, the famine in Somalia, the continuing violence in Sudan, or the living conditions and social tragedies of First Nations peoples in Canada, to make any sense of events and conditions we have to look carefully at the history of colonization. How did the colonial powers rule their claimed territories, how did small numbers of colonial settlers manage to control if they actually did much larger native populations with long established forms of social and political organization? And to what extent was this facilitated by the way in which the colonizers view their colonized subjects? . . . continued next page

UNCIVILIZED

THE RAMS HORN

PAGE

Hugh Brody, in his wonderful book Maps and Dreams about his experience of mapping North East British Columbia prior to exploration for oil, describes a debate in mid 16th century between two Spanish monks, that reflects the intensity and nature of the controversy that had already come to surround questions about the nature of American Indian society. This debate . . . turned on a central and deceptively simple issue: did, or did not, the Indian occupants of Spains new territories have a way of life that deserved to be respected? In another idiom, this becomes a question about whether or not the Indians have a proper social and economic system that Europeans must legally and morally respect. The white mans inability or refusal even to see the existence of Indian economic systems [hunting, gathering, trapping and fishing] is the one theme that threads its way through the story of the New World. European beliefs that hunting people occupied the bottom rung of an evolutionary ladder. . . implied that their economies and forms of political and social life were neither recognized nor respected, and framed them as pre-civilized tribals with no recognizable government or economy. It was thus actually possible to debate whether they were humans to be respected, infidels to be slaughtered, or savages to be tamed. This bifurcation of civilized and uncivilized was integral to the notions of sovereign and sovereignty that figure large in colonial history, as European monarchs chartered explorers to claim, and companies and colonizers to exploit, new territories. The assertion of sovereignty, however, really came down not to the divinely ordained authority of the monarch but to arms and armies, the physical domination of others, and the capability of feeding and financing, i.e., taxation in one form or other, to maintain and hopefully extend the forces of oppression. Of course there is another reading of this history, one which gives more glory and stature to the role of sovereign and the practice of sovereignty. In this account the sovereign provides law and order for his or her subjects. This is most generally understood as the protection of property rights. With the transition to what we now refer to as states, the protection of private property became the states primary duty. Food sovereignty, as the term is now being used in the food movement, turns this on its head. Calling for the right to food or even food security is really an appeal to the sovereign who is expected to graciously fulfill these requests. As I have pointed out in previous issues of the Rams Horn and in my book The Tyranny of Rights, the actual provision of food may

have to be taken up as a subsequent demand. Law is one thing, regulations and enforcement are something else. Food sovereignty, however, is not an appeal to some sovereign power or state. It is an assertion of intent: we intend to bring the food system back into our own hands, with respect for Mother Earth and all the other beings among whom we live and on whom we depend. What our relationship to the sovereign state will be remains to be seen, and should certainly not be assumed to be what it is now. Given the developing political disaster that is Canadas current federal government now, the distinction between citizen and subject can be a useful analytical tool. When we refer to food sovereignty we are thinking of ourselves as responsible citizens, not as subjects of an imperial power or a dictator. Citizens have a say in how they are governed. The size (or effectiveness) of their say can depend on many factors, but in any case citizens have a voice which subjects do not. Subjects, on the other hand, are supposed to be obedient to the demands of the sovereign and grateful to their benefactors (rulers). While over the years the names given to the sovereign have changed queen, chief, dictator, president, ruler, Glorious Leader the character of the relationship between the resident and the ruler remains pretty much the same: the sovereign has the power to recruit and maintain an army and police force, and to tax and expropriate wealth, including land. The citizens may or may not benefit from the sovereigns arrangements, but they are at least protected by the sovereign. Subjects, on the other hand, live largely outside the city, without the rights of the citizens, subject to the will of the sovereign without recourse to the courts. Daily, under the Harper regime, the class of citizens is shrinking even as it grows wealthier, while more and more of us are reduced to the status of subjects, without a say in how we are governed or what the state does in our name.

No government: no state?
Belgium has been in political deadlock without a government since June 2010, as parties from both sides of the Dutch-French linguistic divide have consistently failed to agree on the future make-up of the country. So far, the country, which is currently administered by a caretaker government, has not gone up in smoke.

THE RAMS HORN PAGE 3

All About Grain (and GRAIN)


New from GRAIN Food and climate change: The forgotten link
Food is a key driver of climate change. How our food gets produced and how it ends up on our tables accounts for around half of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Chemical fertilizers, heavy machinery and other petroleum-dependant farm technologies contribute significantly. The impact of the food industry as a whole is even greater: destroying forests and savannahs to produce animal feed and generating climate-damaging waste through excess packaging, processing, refrigeration and the transport of food over long distances, despite leaving millions of people hungry. A new food system could be a key driver of solutions to climate change. People around the world are involved in struggles to defend or create ways of growing and sharing food that are healthier for their communities and for the planet. If measures are taken to restructure agriculture and the larger food system around food sovereignty, small scale farming, agro-ecology and local markets, we could cut global emissions in half within a few decades. We dont need carbon markets or techno-fixes. We need the right policies and programmes to dump the current industrial food system and create a sustainable, equitable and truly productive one instead.
Read this new issue of Against the Grain in English at grain.org/e/4357 The Rams Horn is delighted to pass along the news that GRAIN is one of four recipients of the 2011 Right Livelihood Awards announced September 28th in Stockholm. One of the awards is honorary; the three other laureates will share the Euro 150,000 cash award. GRAIN was chosen as a laureate for their worldwide work to protect the livelihoods and rights of farming communities and to expose the massive purchases of farmland in developing countries by foreign financial interests.

FDA is supposed to address. The problem, of course, is not the fault of the bacteria (unless you wish to describe the mega-corporations that dominate the industrial food system as giant poisonous bacteria). But needless to say, neither the New York Times, nor or any other paper dependent on corporate advertising, is going to identify the industrial food system and its corporate owners as the real culprits behind food poisoning. While on the subject of Cargill, we should add another note to last months tally of its recent acquisitions. Not only has Cargill acquired Provimi, it has purchased Raggio di Sole Mangimi, an Italian feed producer, Unilevers Brazilian tomato-products division, an 85% interest in an Indonesian food ingredients maker, and the 21,500 acre hog production site of Smithfield Foods in Texas for $33 million. Smithfield remains the largest pork producer in the US, with Tyson second and JBS Swift third. For Cargill junkies: you can find a rare BBC interview with Cargills chief, Greg Page, at: bbc.co.uk/ news/business-15077909

MEGA-BACTERIA

Canadian Wheat Board: Government regards farmers with contempt


In early September the Canadian Wheat Board conducted a very professional plebiscite of prairie grain farmers. 62% said they want the CWB to continue as the single-desk seller of Canadian wheat and barley. As is now standard procedure for the Harper regime, facts, evidence and citizens desires are irrelevant, as illustrated by Ag Minister Gerry Ritzs comments on the CWB plebiscite: No expensive survey can trump the individual right of farmers to market their own grain . . . Our government is committed to giving Western Canadian grain farmers the marketing freedom they want. GM 13/9/11 Note that Ritz does not even have the courtesy to refer to a carefully constructed plebiscite, but insists

CARGILL Notes
In our last issue we had a little item about Cargills recall of 16 million kilos of ground turkey. Subsequently, the New York Times ran an article describing the problems facing the US Food and Drug Administration as it tries to write rules for the food industry for increased food safety. It mentions Cargills turkey, refers to a 30-acre lettuce farm and a 65-acre organic vegetable farm, but nowhere mentions the cause of the problem food containing or carrying bad bacteria the

THE RAMS HORN

PAGE

on referring to it as a survey. But more than that, the individualistic right-wing ideology of the Harper regime comes through in his emphasis on the right of individual farmers to act against the expressed interests of the majority. This ideological ide fixe is also demonstrated by the lack of cost-accounting. Indeed, only now has the government decided to hire an auditor to determine how much getting rid of the CWB will cost taxpayers. The auditor winning the contract will be paid between $500,000 and $1 million to figure out the cost of employee severance and pension costs, potential legal costs for broken long-term contracts and other costs. A CWB analysis already carried out and reviewed by the accounting firm KPMG concluded that the costs will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. These potential costs to the public should be treated as a subsidy to the grain traders. One corporation that will surely benefit from the disappearance of the CWB is Viterra, the blatantly capitalist successor to the three Prairie grain coops. In addition to grain handling, Viterra has fertilizer interests, and in its most recent quarter, saw fertilizer sales increase 23%.

PepsiCoolie
You will be pleased to know that PepsiCo, Inc., not nearly as well-known for its agro-ecologial prowess as for its beverages and salty snacks, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Peoples Republic of China to promote sustainable agriculture projects and accelerate the development of the Chinese countryside. As part of the joint initiative, PepsiCo and the Ministry of Agriculture will build and operate demonstration farms that leverage the most advanced irrigation, fertilization and crop management techniques. They also will collaborate to promote best practices across Chinas farming system to improve yields, increase income levels and raise living standards for farmers throughout the country. PepsiCo is one of the largest agricultural enterprises in the world, growing and using more than four million tons of potatoes for its Frito-Lay snacks, 600,000 tons of oats for its Quaker food products, and three million tons of oranges and other fruits and vegetables for its Tropicana and other juice brands every year. PepsiCo offers the worlds largest portfolio of billiondollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola also make hundreds of other enjoyable foods and beverages.
PRNewswire, 19/9/11

Fair Trade or Not . . .


Have you contributed to the welfare of Tim Hortons CEO? The acting CEO, Paul House, is to receive $750,000 a year since he took over the job in May. He will also be eligible for a bonus of $1.5 million if Tims exceeds its maximum profit targets, and he has been given stock awards of $1.8 million, most of which he will lose if the company doesnt meet its targets.
GM, 23/8/11

A plus for ethanol, a minus for food


Syngenta has developed a variety of GE maize specifically for the production of ethanol. The new variety is edible, but not suitable for maize-based food products because of the same traits that make the modified corn attractive to the ethanol industry. The swift breakdown of starches would be a disaster for the food industry, turning corn chips into shapeless lumps, and stripping the thickening properties from corn starch. Even a small amount of the amylase corn, one kernel out of 10,000, could damage food products, according to data supplied to the North American Millers Association by Syngenta. The maize is being grown this year on about 2000 acres in Kansas, having been approved by the USDA last February. GW 19/8/11

And the wages of those who serve you your coffee? Who benefits from the rising price of food commodities? Glencore International PLC, for one. Glencore is the largest publicly-traded commodities company which is aggressively studying mergers and acquisitions after reporting a 57% jump in first-half profit.They tell it as it is: We are an opportunistic company. . .
source: GM, 26/8/11

THE RAMS HORN PAGE 5

Indias miracle cotton unravels


Cotton has been the biggest success story in Indian agriculture since the Green Revolution. In a country struggling with stagnant yields in most crops, production has soared from 13.6 million bales (each bale is 170 kg) in 2002-03 to 31.2 mb in 2010-11, a figure that catapulted India into the big league, as it was 23 per cent of global production last year. Poor quality cotton with high trash content has given way to the kind of lint that the world is ready to pay good money for, allowing the country to export between 600,000 tonnes and 1.5 million tonnes of raw cotton each year after 2005. The popular narrative is that introduction of genetically modified (Bt) cotton brought this transformation. The Bt technology came to India in 2002 when Monsanto entered into an agreement with its Indian partner, Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company or Mahyco. The joint enterprise they set up to purvey this technology enjoyed rapid-fire success, despite steep upfront charges and royalty fees. The result was commercial release of several hundred Bt hybrids containing the same Cry genes, approved by the then regulator, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). Within four years, Bt cotton reduced insecticide use to half the previous level. For farmers, the returns were extraordinary. One statistic, however, has not kept pace yields. While yields did go up from an average 302 kg per ha in 2002-03 to 554 kg in 2007-08, productivity has been stagnant for the past five years, according to the chief of the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Keshav Kranthi. The yield was 463 kg per ha when the Bt cotton area was 5.6% of the total 11.1 million ha under cotton cultivation in 2004 and reached a mere 506 kg per ha when the area under Bt cotton increased to 85% of the total. More worrying, says Kranthi, is the increasing problems of sap-sucking insects, such as leaf hoppers, aphids, whiteflies and thrips, on the vast majority of susceptible Bt hybrids. New pathogens have started affecting the new Bt hybrids as well as previously unknown insect populations of mealybugs, gall midges, mosquito bugs and safflower caterpillars. One reason could be the huge number of Bt hybrids estimated at over 780 that have flooded the market. Farmers are not able to choose the Bt hybrids most suitable for their soils and farming conditions. Recommendations on a proven package of practices and the suitability of hybrids for specific agro-ecological sub-zones would have greatly helped push productivity.

Kranthi makes it clear that these issues have nothing to do with Bt technology, which he believes is good, but he worries about the issues that have become a major concern with farmers. Prime among these is the steady increase in insecticide use. Farmers now pay as much as they did in 2002 for management of the new pests. When Monsanto says, Indian farmers are the worlds fastest adopters of Bt cotton technology it actually highlights the problem. US anthropologist Glenn Stone, who has been studying the questions surrounding the use of Bt technology in India for over a decade, finds that farmers are on a seed and pesticide treadmill, and this is right at the heart of the problem.
source: Business Standard, India, 25/7/11

GMO Success: India


Step into the fields with your shoes on and you realise why it makes sense to walk barefoot like Rameshwar Golewar of Kolejhari in Vidarbhas suicide country. It has rained so much in the last week that my entire crop is ruined, points out Golewar as he looks around the wilting cotton crop on his 12 acre field. Not only has the rain halted the flowering of his cotton midway, it has also led to rampant growth of weeds. If I employ labour to remove weeds, the cost is prohibitive, so I have decided to use weedicide instead. Even a drop of the strong chemical is enough to destroy whatever is left of the cotton. But what choice do I have? Farmers like him are caught in a bind even while agro MNCs with a nod from the government are laughing their way to the bank. Authorities first encouraged farmers in Vidarbha to opt for genetically modified Bt cotton, saying the yield will be huge. Despite initial resistance, aggressive campaigning by brand ambassadors like Nana Patekar saw many a farmer convert in the hope they would make a killing. With our native species, even if flowering failed due to excessive rain in the first half of the season, we would still manage at least some yield since the plants flower again. Bt cotton only flowers once and any failure means re-sowing the expensive Rs1,200-a-packet seeds, says Golewars neighbour, Ambadas Rathod, who is also calculating his losses. The blitzkrieg on high yield hadnt informed farmers of how high the cost of fertiliser would be or how pesticide-intensive this species is. At Rs1,000 a kilo, I spent nearly Rs10,000 on fertiliser alone, and a further Rs12,000 per litre on 6-litre pesticide. Now all that money and my hard work has been washed away, says Rathod. Daily News and Analysis, India, 25/9/11

THE RAMS HORN PAGE 6

GMO Success: USA


Growers, consultants, weed scientists, researchers and government agency officials who participated in the July 2010 launch of the Respect the Rotation initiative have taken measureable steps toward progress in the fight against the proliferation of glyphosate-resistant weeds. But university experts still believe the system will fail if current practices continue. Glyphosate-resistant marestail costs soybean growers an added $11.50 per acre, said Jason Norsworthy of the University of Arkansas. Glyphosate-resistant Palmer pigweed costs cotton growers $19.45 per acre. Resistance is impacting land values, conservation tillage and more. The system, the way it is currently set up, is not sustainable. Bayer CropScience, 14/9/11

Monsanto officials contend that problems are limited to areas with unusually heavy rootworm populations that overwhelm the plants defenses. Critics say Monsanto is underplaying the threat. They point out that Monsanto made a similar argument eight years ago when weeds resistant to Monsanto herbicides appeared. Monsanto officials now acknowledge there are resistant weeds. Its estimated theyve spread to more than 10 million acres of U.S. farmland.
Minnesota Public Radio, 20/9/11

DuPont: Deadly Landscaping


by Jim Hightower (slightly edited) We are investigating the reports of these unfavorable tree symptoms. Dupont, referring to the death of hundreds of thousands of trees all across the country. The culprit turns out to be Imprelis, a DuPont weed-killer widely applied to lawns, golf courses, and ironically cemeteries. Rather than just poisoning dandelions and other weeds, the herbicide also seems to be causing spruces, pines, willows, poplars, and other unintended victims to croak. At first, DuPont tried to dodge responsibility, claiming that landscape workers might be applying the herbicide improperly. The corporation even urged customers to be patient and leave the tree corpses on their lawns to see if theyd come back to life in a few years. However, faith-based landscaping was a hard sell. Disgruntled homeowners began filing lawsuits. Then DuPont had its own aha! moment when trees on the grounds of the DuPont Country Club also developed the unfavorable symptoms of Imprelis poisoning. So, with DuPonts cooperation, the EPA has finally banned sales of the tree-killing herbicide. But because of inadequate testing and a rush to profit, the poison will remain in the soil and our water for many moons. Trees will continue to die. Will we never learn?
17/9/11, OtherWords

Monsantos Bt corn is toppling over in northwestern Illinois fields, a sign that rootworms may have developed resistance to the genetically modified crop. Michael Gray, an agricultural entomologist at the University of Illinois, is studying whether western corn rootworms collected last month in two counties are resistant to an insect-killing protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The insects were collected in two fields where corn had toppled after roots were eaten by rootworms. Bloomberg, 3/9/11 The resurgence of a major corn pest has led to a growing debate about the role of genetically modified corn, and cast doubts on the economic and environmental benefits of one of the nations most popular seed lines. Rootworms have damaged corn plants in Minnesota and other states, and research suggests rootworms have developed immunity to the protections in Monsantos genetically modified corn. Officials at Monsanto, the nations leading seed corn company, deny that the pest is developing a resistance to the protein. Instead, they contend that overwhelming numbers of rootworms are to blame for the damage. Insect experts who doubt the companys theory include Michael McNeill, who farms in northern Iowa. In a test patch in McNeils cornfields, where a recent wind storm left some varieties unhurt, stalks of Monsantos genetically engineered corn are lying on the ground. You can see how the plant is tipped over, McNeill said. The root ball is partially sticking out of the ground. As McNeil pried a corn stalk out of the soil and used a knife to knock the dirt off the plant, he quickly spotted root damage. This whole side is chewed off, he said. You can see where the rootworm has moved up the side of the root, chewed a little tunnel.

UNINTENDED VICTIMS

THE RAMS HORN PAGE 7

Feeding the Future


Not only are primped cemetery grounds often awash with pesticides, but the use of formaldehyde in embalming releases carcinogenic chemicals, too. It was the realisation that a traditional burial is far from green that led Ken West, a former manager of Carlisle Cemetery in the UK, to pioneer natural burial in the 1990s. It entails interring the unembalmed corpse within a simple cardboard or willow coffin in a shallow grave to ensure it decomposes naturally and quickly. If a headstone is used at all, it is a rock or piece of rough-cut limestone placed flat on the ground. Often just a tree marks the spot, and sometimes GPS coordinates are the only way to identify the graves location. Once a natural burial site is full the land either becomes a conservation area or managed woodland, or is returned to its previous use as grazing land. New Scientist, 17/8/11

In India conservative estimates for small scale farmers indicate that use of biotech cotton has increased yield by 31%, decreased insecticide application by 39%, and increased profitability by 88%. And then, reminiscent of Monsantos Florence Wambugu: The speaker for the outreach seminar is Dr. Hortense Dodo, professor and Fulbright scholar from Elizabeth city, North Carolina. Dr. Dodo is an Ivorian by birth who taught food biotechnology and molecular biology at Alabama A&M University. She is currently the president of a biotech startup company with a focus on R&D and commercialization of transgenic agricultural crops. She is brought [bought?] by the Economic Bureau of the U.S. Department of State.
Foroyaa, Gambia, 18/9/11

Kenya law allows biotech crops


Kenya has become the fourth country in Africa, following South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso, to open up to genetically modified crops after approving laws to allow their production and importation. Kenyas state-run National Safety Authority last week said it was in the process of creating a legal framework to approve importation of GM maize into the country to mitigate a looming shortage. The law will open the Kenyan market, which faces frequent grain deficits, to major suppliers such as South Africa whose exports were affected by the previous ban. The Legal Notice added that it was illegal to conduct any activity involving GM organisms without the written approval of the National Safety Authority. The act contains the very same definition of genetic engineering that the industry has insisted on for two decades: Genetically Modified Organism means any organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology techniques. Thomson Reuters, 4/7/11

US State Dept / biotech sales rep


In mid-September the US Embassy in the small west African country of Gambia held a one day outreach seminar on Biotechnology for policymakers in the Gambia at the Kairaba Beach Hotel. Theme of the day was Using Biotechnology to fight hunger and poverty in Africa. According to the report, The United States Department of State has arranged for an expert on biotechnology to visit a number of West African countries to speak to policymakers, farmers and members of the scientific community on the use of biotechnology to promote agricultural production and achieve food self sufficiency. Gambia is one of the countries included in the tour. Delivering the opening address, Cynthia Gregg, Charge dAffaires at the US Embassy said she is very excited to have Dr. Dodo in the Gambia because agricultural biotechnology has great potential in the process of addressing the challenges of food insecurity. Food production, she said must doubled by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing world and it must do so in a more sustainable manner. Biotechnology, she said, is one of many new technologies that have raised the efficiency and productivity of agricultural resources over the last decade. While not a cure, it is part of a package of new technologies that will increase agricultural production and result in poverty reduction. As reported, Gregg then recited a pack of lies about the success of GE crops, for example,

Local, Colourful (and non-GMO)


Australian researcher Graham Lyons from Adelaide University leads a project in the Solomon Islands that has identified high-vitamin A varieties of sweet potato that are also high yielding, pest resistant, and suitable to local growing conditions. Prior to the project, some farmers grew a small amount of Orange Sweet Potatoes (OSP), but they were often unaware of the nutritional benefits of this colourful crop.

THE RAMS HORN PAGE 8

In recent years, residents of the Solomon Islands have grown increasingly dependent on processed foods, which are contributing to rising rates of diabetes, chronic heart disease, and malnutrition. To combat this growing reliance on less nutritious, imported foods, the project focused not only on distributing OSP vines to households but also on promoting consumption of a wide range of locally grown, vitamin A-rich foods. Islanders diets have become overly dependent on heavily processed imported food at the expense of local fruit, vegetables and fish. The result is an epidemic of diabetes, chronic disease and malnourishment. A sweet potato, whether its white or yellow or purple or whatever, is a much better product than rice and they can produce plenty of these root crops per hectare for next to nothing. And yet its white rice, white flour and white sugar and high fat Western imported foods that are dominating the Solomons diet. A lot of them seem to think that something that comes in a packet from Australia or maybe China is better because its packaged and its been processed so its a more prestigious sort of food than their local food that they can grow in the garden.
Australian Broadcasting Corp, 10/7/10; Harvest Plus (USA), 19/8/11

Editors Note: If you enjoy the Rams Horn, please pass it along to your friends, neighbours, and colleagues, and urge them to subscribe! Details are at our website, www.ramshorn.ca. The drawing below was sent (along with a renewal subscription) by Ricardo Ramirez.

Published by

Brewster and Cathleen Kneen

phone/fax: (613) 828-6047 email: brewster@ramshorn.ca www.ramshorn.ca

Subscriptions: Canada, $25(regular), $50 (patron) United States: US$25, CDN $27 outside North America: $28 (airmail)
cheques payable to The Rams Horn

If you would like a paper copy of The Rams Horn, please subscribe (see rates and address above). You are also invited to suppport our work through a donation to help cover costs of research, writing, and circulation of the print version for free to people who cannot afford it, especially those in the global south.

The publishers of The Rams Horn do not claim copyright protection for this material. It is in the public domain to be freely used and built upon. We appreciate mention of the source. Line drawings not otherwise identified are the work of Cathleen Kneen.

Published 10 times a year; subscriptions expire with the issue number on the label.

You might also like