While reading chapter 3 (Societal Determinants of Health) of the Global Health and Global Health Ethics book edited by Solomon Benatar and Gillian Brock, I came across an interesting quote which lead me to this compelling, political article (once again, ironic that it is not available for download publicly).The multiple crises of today—in energy, water, food, the environment, finance, science,information, and democracy—must be recognized as capitalist crises and
addressed as such.[...] In short, the invisible hand of the market must be replaced by the visible hand of social justice.
Huge propaganda efforts in what has been aptly termed “ethical cleansing” have been required to persuade people, against their better moral judgment, that even very large inequalities are not only inevitable but natural and acceptable. In fact, people have a very keen sense of what is fair and unfair and, when the connections are explained to them they are uncomfortable with the idea that their relative comforts are achieved through exploitation of others far away.
As a final point, despite mountains of literature on environmental determinants of “intelligence,” the vast majority of people are viewed as intellectually weak and suited only to dull, repetitive work. A strict division of labor is essential to the capitalist system, and enormous efforts are devoted to maintaining an artificial division between intellectual and physical work, exaggerating differences between individuals in intellectual ability, assigning greater value to intellectual over all other activities, and above all, ensuring, through elitist educational systems, that intellectual potential is maximized among, and opportunities confined to, the privileged classes.
The Six Pillars of Food SovereigntyDeveloped at Nyéléni 2007
1. Focuses on Food for People:
• insists on the right to food for everyone
• insists that food is more than a commodity
Food sovereignty puts the right to sufficient, healthy and culturally appropriate food for all individuals, peoples and communities, including those who are hungry, under occupation, in conflict zones and marginalised, at the centre of food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries policies; and rejects the proposition that food is just another commodity or component for international agri-business.
2. Values Food Providers:
• supports the right to produce food
• supports sustainable livelihoods
Food sovereignty values and supports the contributions, and respects the rights, of women and men, peasants and small scale family farmers, pastoralists, artisanal fisherfolk, forest dwellers, indigenous peoples and agricultural and fisheries workers, including migrants, who cultivate, grow, harvest and process food; and rejects those policies, actions and programmes that undervalue them, threaten their livelihoods and eliminate them.
3. Localises Food Systems:
• places providers and consumers at the centre of decision-making
• rejects dumping and inappropriate food aid
• resists dependency on remote and unaccountable corporations
Food sovereignty brings food providers and consumers closer together; puts providers and consumers at the centre of decision-making on food issues; protects food providers from the dumping of food and food aid in local markets; protects consumers from poor quality and unhealthy food, inappropriate food aid and food tainted with genetically modified organisms; and resists governance structures, agreements and practices that depend on and promote unsustainable and inequitable international trade and give power to remote and unaccountable corporations.
4. Puts Control Locally:
• places control in the hands of local food providers
• recognizes the need to inhabit and to share territories
• rejects the privatization of ‘natural resources’
Food sovereignty places control over territory, land, grazing, water, seeds, livestock and fish populations on local food providers and respects their rights. They can use and share them in socially and environmentally sustainable ways which conserve diversity; it recognizes that local territories often cross geopolitical borders and ensures the right of local communities to inhabit and use their territories; it promotes positive interaction between food providers in different regions and territories and from different sectors that helps resolve internal conflicts or conflicts with local and national authorities; and rejects the privatisation of natural resources through laws, commercial contracts and intellectual
property rights regimes.
5. Builds Knowledge and Skills:
• builds on traditional knowledge
• uses research to support and pass this knowledge to future generations
• rejects technologies that undermine or contaminate local food systems
Food sovereignty builds on the skills and local knowledge of food providers and their local organisations that conserve, develop and manage localised food production and harvesting systems, developing appropriate research systems to support this and passing on this wisdom to future generations; and rejects technologies that undermine, threaten or contaminate these, e.g. genetic engineering.
6. Works with Nature:
• uses the contributions of nature in sustainable food systems
• maximizes resilience
• rejects energy intensive, monocultural, industrialized, destructive production methods
Food sovereignty uses the contributions of nature in diverse, low external input agroecological production and harvesting methods that maximise the contribution of ecosystems and improve resilience and adaptation, especially in the face of climate change; it seeks to heal the planet so that the planet may heal us; and, rejects methods that harm beneficial ecosystem functions, that depend on energy intensive monocultures and livestock factories, destructive fishing practices and other industrialised production methods, which damage the environment and contribute to global warming.
In Greek mythology, Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with the beautiful nymph Minthe. Hades’ wife, Persephone (the daughter of Zeus), became jealous and changed Minthe into the herb mint.
Hades could not bring Minthe back to human form, but he gave the herb a fragrant aroma and arranged it so that the more Minthe was trod upon, the sweeter her smell. Hence the popularity of mint as a strewing herb. In medieval times, strewn mint not only helped as an air freshener, but also had antiviral and antibacterial qualities that were reputed to combat the plague.
- Bruce Burnett, "Versatile Mint" for Alive Magazine
Spearmint and Spearmint oil are used as carminatives (to relieve gas), and primarily to disguise the flavor of other medicines. [...] The leaf tea has been used for stomachaches, diarrhea, nausea, colds, headaches, cramps, fevers, and is a folk cancer remedy.Peppermint has similar properties medicinally but has a purplish stem.
Recent research on the Ontario labour market shows a shift to an hourglass shape with jobs concentrated at the high and low ends, and a disappearing middle. Increasing numbers of workers and an increasing share of the total labour force are at the bottom of that hourglass and endure low incomes and increased insecurity.
"[...] the negative impact on health is not limited to unemployment. Precarious employment encompasses forms of work that have limited social benefits and statutory entitlements, job insecurity, low wages, and high risks of ill health. Increasing numbers of Canadians are precariously employed."
"In 2009, for the first time, the number of temporary workers entering Canada exceeded the number of new permanent residents."
Low-income and middle-income countries increasingly face the double burden of infectious disease and cardiovascular risk factors.
Cardiovascular diseases and their nutritional risk factors are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity globallyIt is predicted, that with an increasing aging population, the rates will only increase further.
Possible reasons for BMI increase include systematic changes in diet and physical activity due to increased access to private transportation, television, and manufactured/packaged foods as a result of technological change, urbanization, and organization of work.It is important to consider that if globalization results in globally adopting a "western diet" then we're all increasing our saturated fat and sugar and not eating enough fibre, thus placing ourselves at risk for a multitude of diseases.
Current intervention options for obesity in principle include those that reduce caloric intake (e.g., agriculture and food policy and pricing) and those that increase energy expenditure (e.g., urban design and transportation)
Currently, the East Gallery has a exhibit running (until tomorrow) called Vietnam Now!. For the Opening Reception they had Camilla Gibb come in to read a passage from her novel "The Beauty of the Humanity Movement" set in Vietnam.
