Transition Island Blog

Big cats protected in Kenya’s Maasai Mara game reserve are threatened by a fall in tourism.

Tourists have stayed away mainly because of the violence which followed last year’s disputed election.

But in time, rising fuel costs will reduce holiday flights, and income from richer countries will drop, leaving many endangered species with less protection.

Loss of compensation schemes could force local people to kill lions and leopards in order to protect livestock. There are also risks from locals hunting protected animals for meat as the food crisis worsens.

taking flight?

With cheap flights, international travel is in a boom era. But things are changing.

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The Irish and Polish Governments have both decided to prohibit the use of GMOs across the entire country.

Ireland won’t go so far as to ban GM animal feed, it is advising farmers to reject it “voluntarily”. Poland has gone the further step, by banning the whole lot, feed included.

GMO distrust

At a time when public demand for organic food has never been higher, there is still deep distrust of GM - reflected by the fact that M&S now guarantees all its eggs, milk and meat is produced without GM feeds, as do Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s on their frozen chickens and turkeys.

It’s still confusing though. A free-range label does not mean GM free and most imported meat and dairy products will contain it by default unless they are organic.

Greenpeace petition

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A new scientific study in the British Nutrition journal shows that children benefit from organic milk.

Those who eat organic dairy products are 36% less likely to suffer from eczema than children who are fed conventional dairy products.

But, it is not yet clear how it works against eczema.

 beneficial nutrients

While experts now agree that organic food contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients than non-organic foods Organic dairy food has increased levels of the beneficial (anti carcinogenic, anti diabetic and good for the immune system); “conjugated linoleic acid isomers”.

Another study has shown higher levels are also found in the breast milk of women who drink organic milk.

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One day, we may need toy models to remind us of what farm animals looked like.

It’s not just wild animals that are disappearing. Domesticated farm animals are also being lost according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

More than 20 per cent of the 7,600 breeds of farm animal and poultry breeds are at risk of extinction.

We’re losing around one breed a month.

The animals that developing countries rely on are fading away the fastest. Often these are the hardier breeds most suited to the poorer conditions that are being replaced by less suitable breeds from Europe and the US.

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Rice and Wheat shortages are due - at least in part - to droughts running right around the globe and conflict is following…

Spain

Spain is suffering its worst drought in more than four decades, pitting the country’s regions against each other in a fierce battle over water resources.

There has been 40 per cent less rain than usual since October 1 across the nation as a whole, according to the Meteorology Institute, although in some regions the impact has been far worse. Mediterranean regions such as Catalonia and Valencia have been the worst affected - they have had less rain than at any time since 1912.

Farmers in Catalonia fear they could lose their crops altogether if it does not rain in coming weeks, and Britons with homes on the coast could soon face restrictions on water.

The situation in Barcelona - Catalonia’s capital and top tourist centre - could soon become critical. Water reserves there are at 19 per cent of capacity - they must be shut down when they reach 15 per cent because there is too much sediment near the bottom. Jose Montilla, president of Catalonia, said: “We must prepare for the worst.”

Ironically, other regions along the “green” northern edge of Spain, such as the Basque Country, have recently had to release water from their reservoirs as rivers threatened to burst their banks. [more]

China

Northeastern China is facing its worst drought in 57 years. The areas of Hebei, from which Beijing intends to take water for the Olympics, have also grown parched.

Meanwhile, the drought is already affecting about 19.4 million hectares of crops. 6 million of these are in Heilongjiang, 51% of the farmland of the province that is the true “breadbasket” of the country, providing wheat, soyabeans, rice, and maize.

The news agency Xinhua foresees a shortage of drinking water for 5.82 million people. Meanwhile, is expected that during the Olympics Beijing, a city of 16 million residents, will require 2.75 million cubic metres of water a day, 30% more than normal. The city wants to bring it in from Hebei, in part through a new canal about 309 kilometres long, which draws from four basins.

But the water is low and “stagnant” in many of the reservoirs, there is not enough for the crops, and at least 500,000 inhabitants are suffering from a shortage of drinking water. The aquifers in Hebei have dropped by one to two metres in a year, and 50,000 wells have gone dry. [more]

Australia

Australia’s first known case of murder due to “water rage,” a dispute over a suburban man’s water usage led to him being beaten to death in front of his home.

According to police, 66-year-old Ken Proctor was watering the lawn in front of his home in Sydney on October 31 at approximately 5:30 p.m. when a passerby made a comment to him about wasting water. Proctor then turned his hose on the other man, who knocked him to the ground and began to punch and kick him. The attacker was tackled by two bystanders, including an off-duty policeman, and an ambulance came for Proctor. Proctor later died in the hospital after experiencing a massive heart attack.

Due to a severe, nearly eight-year drought, intensive water restrictions are in place across most of Australia. Nearly all states have banned garden sprinklers and the use of hoses on cars or sidewalks. [more]

food shortages

A global rice shortage that has seen prices of one of the world’s most important staple foods increase by 50 per cent in the past two weeks alone is triggering an international crisis, with countries banning export and threatening serious punishment for hoarders.

After America, Australia is normally the second largest exporter of grain, but the country remains in the grip of the worst drought in a century, which is why the 2006 crop yielded less than half the usual amount.

conflict

Rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability, the UN’s top humanitarian official warned yesterday after two days of rioting in Egypt over the doubling of prices of basic foods in a year and protests in other parts of the world. [more]

Prices have risen 40% on average globally since last summer: the rising cost and scarcity of food has been blamed for:

· Riots in Haiti last week that killed four people

· Violent protests in Ivory Coast

· Price riots in Cameroon in February that left 40 people dead

· Heated demonstrations in Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal

· Protests in Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia and Indonesia

See also:
Famine will get us first
Global food crisis looms
Food shortage predicted
Glaciers melting away 

Pesticides continue to be linked to serious illness.

The Pesticide Action Network points out:

‘They are the only manufactured chemicals specifically designed to be toxic.’

‘They are also the only group of toxic chemicals routinely intentionally dispersed in the environment.’

So why are we encouraging our children to eat more?

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The House of Commons All Party Small Shops Group estimates that there will be no independent shops by 2015.

This equates to the closure of over 50,000 small businesses and a massive knock-on effect for other small businesses in the local community.

The Federation of Small Businesses is campaigning on Keeping Trade Local.

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The Soil Association’s definitive annual Organic Market Report in 2007 showed continued strong growth and increasing public support for organic food, drink, textiles and health and beauty products.

beyond food

Organic textiles and the booming organic health and beauty sector are experiencing particularly strong growth. In 2006, they had already increased by 30 per cent in the number licensed with the Soil Association.

beyond supermarkets

Retail sales of organic products through organic box and mail order schemes and other direct routes increased from £95 million in 2005 to £146 million in 2006 - a staggering 53 per cent growth, more than double that experienced by the major supermarkets.

One reason may be that organic farmers are three times as likely to market their products locally or directly as non-organic farmers in the UK. People like local. People buy from people they like. Local growers are easier to like than supermarkets, even though many of us are gripped by the habit of the once-weekly supermarket-dash.

organic fakes?

But we’ve heard a rumour that not all supermarket food labelled ‘organic’ actually comes from organic sources. It has been said that while the room that does the packaging may be certified organic, the food can come from anywhere. And because the ‘assembly room’ is organic, the packaged food can legally be labelled ‘organic’.

Can this be true?

HRH Prince Charles meet senior hospital managers to discuss hospital food.

Examining links between environmental issues, including climate change, and human health were his concerns.

Climate change is likely to place increasing demand on the NHS.

The National Audit Office estimated in 2003 that obesity costs the NHS at least £500m a year - and the wider economy more than £2bn a year in lost productivity. In fact, we may be following the USA in the weight obesity places - it may threaten the future of NHS.

About £500m is spent on hospital food in England each year - about 60p for each meal. But poor-quality food in hospitals means that 13million meals are thrown away every year, at a cost of £2.65 each.

 go organic

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An Open Food Co-op is a partnership of people who like locally-sourced, high quality food and deliberately build a sustainable supply-and-communications network.

It builds on what is there now: existing producer’s co-ops, farms and farmers’ markets, processors (bakers, cheesemakers, etc), distributors, shops, box schemes, regional support groups.

It adds new local food clubs.

It adds food-related social events.

It links them with an innovative communication & information management system.

This idea comes from Gary Alexander, author of eGaia, Growing a peaceful, sustainable Earth through communications.

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