Local Chickens Lay Great Eggs

12 05 2010

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

Many of you know that I love the radio show/podcast Deconstructing Dinner. It is a weekly radio show produced in Nelson, B.C., that deals with issues to do with food production, food distribution, and food security. The May 6, 2010 show is titled “’Crack’ down of backyard chickens and farm-fresh eggs”.  The first part of the show describes recent incidents where inspectors from the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have visited small businesses in the Kootenay region of B.C. The inspectors are enforcing a regulation that prohibits the selling of “un-graded” eggs by retail outlets. The grading of eggs is the process where the eggs are sent to an approved grading station to be checked for quality, size, etc.  There are some oddities to this regulation however, as a farmer may sell un-graded eggs from the “farm gate” but not through a retail establishment.

The comment is made in the show that the process behind an inspector focusing on a particular issue, like un-graded eggs, is largely complaint driven. It is interesting to note that to make these eggs legal they would need to be sent to a registered grading station. These grading stations are normally attached to a large factory egg farm. I have often wondered how long it would take for the larger food producers, who are likely to be impacted by the recent shift to buying local foods, to react in some way. You make the connections.

In the future, I believe we will see more and more of these kinds of events. Moreover, there will likely be new legislation that makes local food production more difficult and favors the corporate food producers.  Support your local farmers and tell your government representatives that you want continued access to these resources.  Tell ‘em it supports the local economy.


Comments : 1 Comment »

Categories : Activism, Food Security

Oil spills and big mines are my fault!

27 04 2010

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

I have felt quite incensed by a number of issues that are currently in the news. First, there was the oil well accident in Gulf of Mexico that cost 11 lives and the on-going attempts to cap the leaking well. The well is still pumping 42,000 gallons of oil a day into the ocean. Then there has been the issue of Taseko Mines Limited wanting to turn Fish Lake in the Chilcotin Region of British Columbia into a tailings pond. Taseko claims that the proposed Prosperity Mine has “One of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in Canada”. To mine this area would mean destroying a fish bearing lake and putting an open-pit mine in the middle of traditional indigenous land. Media coverage from the CBC here.

At first I wanted to rail against the ecological destruction caused by the oil industry, and the short sightedness of such projects in the name of jobs and resource extraction. Not to mention the complicity of the Provincial government for their approval of the Prosperity Mine. But then I realized it was all my fault. And really, yours too. You see, every time gas prices go up over $1.10 a liter we all freak out and complain about the high prices and how we are being ripped off. We also think it is ok to jump on a plane and fly to Mexico for a week and are totally pumped if we can get a “great deal” for a cheap flight to some resort. We also are more than happy to buy a new cell phone, computer, iPod, big-screen tv, or some other piece of electronic equipment that contains large amounts of copper and gold every couple of years and always look for the “rippin’ deal”. So, we are all responsible for driving the demand of low-priced natural resources. Make the connections.

In the case of the Prosperity Mine and the destruction of Fish Lake, the CEO of Taseko Mines is widely reported as saying “But there was no viable alternative found despite our effort to do so. The lake and the deposit sit side by side. It’s not possible to have one without the loss of the other.” And for some people this seems to be a reasonable response, even though the Taseko website states that the project is expected t have “a 30% pre-tax internal rate of return”.  And how much profit has BP been making as it’s damaged well pumps raw crude into the ocean eco-system of the Gulf of Mexico? Forbes Magazine has just reported that “BP posted a big surge in earnings Tuesday, to $6.1 billion, from $2.6 billion last year.”

Clearly, it is not only our fault for wanting to buy all of this stuff at bargain basement prices, it is also our fault for not demanding more environmental accountability from resource-based corporations who are profiting from trashing our planet. What to do?? Here are my thoughts:

  1. Really think about every purchase you make? Do I really need this? Is what I already have sufficient?
  2. Pay a little more for good products that will last longer. You get what you pay for generally holds true. Buying a quality product once for $40.00 is better than buying a crap product for $10 four times. Its better for you and better for the planet.
  3. Write to your federal and provincial members of parliament, and the leaders of each party. Tell them that the environment is more important to you than the economy. Having a great house with lots of toys is not worth destroying the planet. Demand greater environmental accountability from resource companies.
  4. Tell other what you are doing and why.

It’s just a start, but in the words of one of my favorite songwriters, Paul Kelly, “from little things, big things grow”.

I will be taking a break from contributing for about 10 days. In the mean time, post some comments about what you are doing to make a difference.


Comments : 6 Comments »

Categories : Activism, Consumption, Habitat Destruction, Polution

Transition, Plastic, Oil, and Run of the River.

25 04 2010

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

Good Stuff

Transition Towns

On Saturday night I was very excited to attend the first meeting of Transition Town Kelowna. It was a first step where we met some like-minded folks who have a feeling in their guts there is something out of wack and we need to do something about it. One of the great things about the Transition Town philosophy is the re-building of community and the sharing of skills. I am excited and I will report more on what happens in the future.

Addicted to Plastic

Being the documentary junkie that I am I really enjoyed Addicted to Plastic. Yeah, I know it is a few years old, but I cant get to them all! While a lot of this film does really fit in the Bad Stuff category, I’m putting it up here because there is such a positive end to it. I never really knew about many of the developments that are happening in the area of bio-plastics. These are plastics that are made from organic products and readily decompose and appear to be non-toxic. Cool stuff. A couple of companies to check out are Nature Works and Plantic. I also feel it to be a positive film because we all came away thinking about ways to use less and start using glass for storing our leftovers in the fridge.

The Bad Stuff revealed in the film was not 100% new to me, but was still very disturbing. Once again we see industry mouth-pieces telling us there is nothing wrong with their products and all the science has come up clean. They are unsuccessfully telling us to “move on, these are not the ‘droids you are looking for”.  Meanwhile, we see interviews with independent scientists that have a very different perspective. So much so that these people are excluding plastics from their lives at every opportunity due to its toxic nature. Just to make things a little worse, due to pollution, plastic has become pervasive in the marine food chain. One sample of water pulled from the mid-pacific contained a 10:1 ratio of plastic to plankton. Kind of ties in with my last post on Sweat Pants, Plastic, More Found in Dead Whale.

I’ll get off this plastic rant in a minute, after all this is the Good Stuff section, but I just want to mention health care. Our personal heath, in my view, is one of the greatest victims of corporate and consumer negative externalities. That is, others gain a benefit, and make a profit, and the end result is our health becomes impaired. What I am referring to here are the toxins we ingest that are either directly or indirectly introduced into the food chain via plastics. These toxins can cause a myriad of issues, that then becomes the burden of the the heath care system to address. In Canada, social heath care (which I support) is a multi-billion dollar millstone that continues to grow about the necks of the Canadian people. However, many of the maladies that we complain of–diabetes, cancer, various behavioral disorders–are being traced to things that are either in our diet or our immediate environment. It just doesn’t make sense to me.  Let’s connect the dots here folks!!

So, my little caveat emptor here. I have just made some rather sweeping and unsupported generalizations here. Sorry. I believe them to be true though.  So, if you think I’m wrong, challenge me in the comment section and I’ll dig up some supporting literature.

Bad Stuff

CBC News – Robot subs trying to stop Gulf oil leak.

Another environmental disaster thanks to the oil industry.

Crews were working Sunday at the site of a wrecked drilling platform to try to stop a leak that is pouring 1,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico. Robot submarines are being used to activate valves at the well head in hopes of cutting off the leak, which threatens the Gulf Coast’s fragile ecosystem of shrimp, fish, birds and coral.

Not much to say about this one. It’s just another good reason to keep drilling out of pristine areas.

Wilderness Committee – Low Environmental Standards and Poor Oversight Plague Private Hydro Power Projects in BC.

For those of you that don’t know, our provincial government here in British Columbia has been selling off sections of our rivers to private companies for “Run-of-the-River Green Energy” projects. There has been quite a bit of controversy around these relatively small-scale hydro electricity projects and many have questioned the environmental practices during construction of these “Green Projects”.  Unfortunately, a recent review of environmental oversight suggests that these concerns are well founded.

An independent legal review of the environmental regulation of private hydropower projects in BC shows the projects are beset by low environmental standards, reduced regulatory thresholds, and ineffective monitoring and compliance. “The surprising thing about this legal review is just how weak environmental regulations for private power projects are in BC. Over the past 10 years this government has repealed environmental laws, repeatedly gutted the Ministry of Environment staffing, and removed long-standing safeguards. This legal opinion documents in painstaking detail the massive chasm between what is actually happening to BC rivers and the government’s ridiculous claim that we have some of the toughest environmental regulations in the world,” said Gwen Barlee, policy director with the Wilderness Committee.


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Activism, Health, Plastic, Polution, Transition Towns

The obligatory Earth Day post

22 04 2010

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day designated to promote the awareness and appreciation of the Earth–our home and provider. Looking around the world it would be easy to think that Earth Day has not been entirely successful, as you will see later in this post. However, there are some reasons to be optimistic.

Good Stuff

I recently finished reading Paul Hawken’s book Blessed Unrest. The by-line gives a good indication as to what the book is about – “How the largest movement in the world came into being and why no one saw it coming“. The book discusses the rise of millions (yes, millions) of not-for-profit groups, worldwide, that have either an environmental or social justice focus. Hawken argues that this mass of uncoordinated and individual activism is a watershed of change for our society and represents a greater awakening. Hawken also makes the point that any environmental action can be linked to social justice. This is all good news!

Looking around my immediate world, I can readily see these connections. The fight against the Alberta Tar Sands is now focusing on the high cancer rate of indigenous people downstream of the mine and also the poisoning of wildlife. My own community is forming Permaculture and backyard farming groups as well as lobbying city council for the ability to keep chickens in urban areas.  On the web we see the organizations like the new Movement For Happiness and the New Economics Foundation. Each organization on their own may only make a small impact, if any at all; however, the growing number represents a grassroots movement of people that are disenchanted with the status quo and are willing to do something about it. Take a look at Wandari Maathai’s telling of the humming bird parable.

Bad Stuff

CBS News – Sweat Pants, Plastic, More Found in Dead Whale.

Biologists conducted an examination on the stomach of a  gray whale that had recently died in Puget Sound and found it contained a large amount of garbage. They noted that the garbage only consisted of 1-2% of the stomach contents, however, 1% of the 50 gallons in the whales stomach is still quite a lot!

In a news release, the research organization said the animal found on the beach Thursday had more than 50 gallons of material in its stomach. Most was algae – typical of the bottom-feeding whales – but “a surprising amount of human debris” also was found.  Besides the pants and golf ball, the trash included more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, plastic pieces and duct tape.

Information is Beautiful – Planes or Volcano’s? What’s emitting the most CO2 per day?

This is a great graphic that a friend posted on his facebook page (thanks Curtis!). It gives a comparison between the amount of CO2 emitted by the daily air traffic over Europe, versus the CO2 coming out of Eyjafjallajoekull in Iceland. Now, by Information is Beautiful’s own admission, CO2 emissions from the volcano can be as high as 300,000 tons a day. However, this is still less than the European aviation industry.  So, this is one of these mixed blessing numbers. When we consider the international aviation industry, the amount of CO2 pumped into our atmosphere on a daily basis is enormous. Could you imagine the impact of volcano’s like this on erupting continuously all over the world?   Moreover, when you consider how much of our economic trade and food transportation is facilitated by aviation you begin to understand the changes that need to happen if we are really going to make a difference in the realm of CO2 emissions.

Planes vs. Volcanoes


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Activism, Climate Change, Habitat Destruction

Monsanto and Habitat Destruction (not related)

12 04 2010

Here is the installment for April 12th. Quite a lot of stuff about my friends at Monsanto. What they wont do for a little publicity.

Good Stuff

From Pacific Scoop NZ: Group sets out on Pacific voyage to highlight “pollution, ocean noise, habitat destruction, overfishing, acidification and de-oxidation and climate change“

I think I will put this in Good Stuff as it represent some mainstream press acknowledging some issues and looking for solutions. From the NY Times, Building a Green Economy.  The article starts off with the question:  “But is it possible to make drastic cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions without destroying our economy?” I always cringe at this one, but that just reflects my ideology. I mean, if the environment is screwed,  we have other things to worry about besides the economy!

Hey, another Good News, this is what people are doing story. This one is about a conference happening in Bolivia. Bolivian climate change conference offers peoples’ alternative: “Greenhouse gas emissions are not the cause of this crisis,” Solón stated. “They are an effect of a system of consumption, production and profit — a system of exploitation and a culture that helps to accomplish the goal of more and more profit. This system is not based on humans as they are, but based on what they have.”

Bad Stuff

Habitat Destruction

Lehigh Valley Wild has a report on the Second Annual Save the Frogs Day (April 30th). “The goal is to raise awareness of the rapid disappearance of frog species worldwide.”  “Amphibian populations worldwide have been declining at unprecedented rates, and nearly one-third of the world’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction. . . . Amphibians are faced with an onslaught of environmental problems, including climate change, pollution, infectious diseases, habitat loss, invasive species, and over-harvesting for the pet and food trades. ‘Habitat destruction is the primary threat to frogs worldwide’ says Dr. Kerry Kriger, founder of SAVE THE FROGS!” A past co-worker, who held a zoology degree once said to me that “the amphibians will be first, and when they are gone we will really be in trouble”.

Climate Change

The Times of India has a story indicating that “2009 was the warmest year ever recorded [in India] while March 2010 was the second hottest March since 1900 — strongly suggested that this was the influence of climate change.” Check out Climate change debate hots up for more details.

Also, The Canadian Press has a story covering “Inuit weather wisdom says it’s getting warmer and weirder in the North” From the article: “Hunters used to be able to count on stable weather, but were increasingly complaining that conditions were swinging wildly from day to day, making their traditional prediction skills less useful and endangering them on the land. . . . researchers combined weather information from detailed, lengthy hunter interviews together with hourly temperature logs dating back more than 40 years. The two information sources backed each other up.”

Industrial Agriculture

Investors Could Reap Profits From Monsanto while this article in-of-itself is not that exciting, I thought this quote was relevant: “Although the company’s bioengineered crop seeds have delivered exceptional performance (and profits) over time, farmers have begun to complain over the last couple of years that Monsanto was pricing its newest seeds well ahead of the demonstrated performance.“  Hmmm

Over on the Pakistan Daily Time we have the story: Pakistan, Monsanto sign MoU for Bt cotton “Federal Secretary Minfa Zia ur Rehman and Rick Gaudet, Global Cotton Marketing Lead for Monsanto signed the MoU. Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Mohammad Gondal said Bt cotton is the demand of the whole country and hoped it would bring agriculture revolution in the country. The MoU provided a framework to continue discussions focused on introducing Monsanto’s advance Bollgard II technology (Bt Cotton) in Pakistan.”

Ah, the same Bt cotton that has been driving farmers to suicide in India. From the Guardian: Escaping India’s pesticide trap “Financial difficulties resulting in rising debts to seed and chemical traders have been brought to a head by a spate of suicides amongst cotton farmers. Although farmers spray less for GM crops (theoretically having less need for pesticides), seeds are more expensive by around 10 to 20% and initial increases in yield have been accompanied by rising numbers of previously unknown pests, which has seen pesticides back on the increase.”

There is another story on the same subject from Radio Netherlands : Drought and debt drives more farmers to suicide


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Activism, Climate Change, Habitat Destruction, Monsanto

« Previous Entries Next Entries »


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.