The world in Harmony

Book Review: - Harmony, a new way of looking at our world.  By HRH The Prince of Wales.

I finished reading this book a couple of weeks ago, and I have since ordered myself a copy.  It is a really beautiful book, both physically and philosophically.

I grew up hearing about Prince Charles and his love of nature, he was often derided for 'talking to his plants', for being at the 'extreme' end of the green scale, and for butting his nose into the areas of architecture and town planning.  But we all know how the media likes a good story, and doesn't always let the full truth get in the way.

Reading this book will tell you more about Prince Charles as a person than you will ever get from any magazine or newspaper report.  It will reveal a man who was ahead of his time in his concern for the earth in a truly holistic way.  A man who has an incredible respect and even reverence for the different peoples, cultures and religions of the world, and sees their commonalities.  An intelligent, interested, well read & hard working man.  But don't think this is a self-congratulatory book, that is just the impression gained from the thoughts he expresses.

But learning about Prince Charles the man is far from being the primary reason for reading this book - it is for its holistic view of the interrelatedness of life on earth, how one thing affects another, of how our view of the world and our place in it has caused us to reach this point of imbalance, and how we might change our view and work towards rebalancing and renewing our connection and sense of place in the grand scheme.

He starts out with geometry.  Yes that's right, basic mathematics.  How beautifully complex patterns appear in nature over and over again and how ancient peoples identified these and used them in their sacred art and architecture.

He talks about how man viewed his place in the environment, and how that has changed over time. The importance of beauty and how our sense of what is beautiful relates back to the geometry found in nature.  Of walkable towns and civic design.  Of psychology and how our environment affects it. Rainforests and their importance in creating rain, especially the Amazon, the 'lungs of the world'.  Of education and organic farming methods (he's been farming organically for about 30 years).

Strong views are expressed - gently.

It is a lovely read.

This is the lecture that inspired me to read this book in the first place.

One of the foundations that Prince Charles has set up to work towards creating a better world is the Prince's Foundation for Building Community, but there are others.  Behind the scenes he must work pretty hard.

Ravs

Genetic Roulette

Book Review
Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods - by Jeffrey M. Smith

 I came across this book totally by chance - it was on display at the end of a row of shelves in our local library.  I picked it up, read the blurb on the back and decided it was something I really wanted to know more about.  Not knowing who Jeffrey M. Smith was, the fact that the foreword was written by Dr Rosemary Stanton, who I've grown up seeing promoting good nutrition, had some influence on my decision.
This is the Australian Edition, other editions are introduced by well known and respected people in their markets where they are sold.

This is not a light-weight book, it is full of scientific analysis, but it has been designed so that it can also be read by people who do not need all the technical data, and there are tips for the "quick scanner" and the "casual reader" on how to read it in the 'About the Author' section.  For example: "Part 1 (two-page spreads): Quick scanners can stick with the executive summary on the left page only.  Casual readers will have to pick and choose among the explanations on the right, since they vary considerably in their level of technical detail."

I came in under the heading 'those wanting it all' - i.e. I read virtually every word.  Partly because I can't help myself and partly because I decided fairly early on that this book was worth reviewing. Consequently it took me about 4 months to read.  Sometimes I went for a few days without reading any, sometimes I only read a few pages.  If you were to read it at the level of the quick scanner it would probably take only a couple of days to get what you want out of it.  This is one of the great things about it - it is accessible to all.

Now, molecular biology is not my field, and I struggle to get my head around genes, DNA, cells, chromosomes, proteins etc, but I do understand scientific method and the design of experiments, and this helped in understanding the details in the points made (i.e. the right hand side of the two-page spreads).  So many of the studies done by the GM developers are poorly designed, or analysed, yet have been used to justify approval for commercial propagation.

To give you some idea of the content - and the main points of the book (all backed by evidence and a 40 page small font list of references) - I will list the section titles from Part 1.

Section 1: Evidence of reactions in animals and humans
Section 2 : Gene insertion disrupts the DNA
Section 3: The protein produced by the inserted gene may create problems
Section 4: The foreign protein may be different than what is intended
Section 5: Transfer of genes to gut bacteria, internal organs, or viruses
Section 6: GM crops may increase environmental toxins and bioaccumulate toxins in the food chain
Section 7: Other types of GM foods carry risks
Section 8: Risks are greater for children and newborns
Connecting the dots: looking for patterns and causes

Trying to think of a few things that will definitely stick in my mind.

1. Gene insertion is not exact.  It is not like a surgeon inserting a stent into the exact artery of the heart that needs expanding.  It is more like a novice shooting to break in a game of pool, you are unlikely to be able to predict exactly where you are going to hit, or where all the balls are going to end up.  The gene you are trying to insert may get broken up, or it may land in the middle of other gene sequences, disrupting their operation.
2. Even if the inserted gene sequence remains intact it may produce different proteins to that desired, or the desired protein differently folded, and this can change the effect.
3. The new proteins will be produced in every cell of the organism, so they can't be avoided by only using one part.  For example "Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a soil bacterium that produces a pesticide" (Section 3.3 p95). "Bt spray is applied in organic agriculture only during high insect infestation emergencies. It is applied on the plant's surface and the concentration of the toxin quickly dissipates. .... it is broken down within a few days to two weeks upon exposure to UV light from the sun. "It is also degraded rapidly by high temperatures and substances on plants' leaves.  It is also washed from leaves into the soil by rainfall" or can be washed off by consumers" (Section 3.4 p97).  "A Bt crop, however, makes the toxin in every cell on a continuous basis.  The concentration does not dissipate by the weather and it cannot be washed off." (Section 3.4p97)
4. Most genetically modified crops have an antibiotic resistant marker (used to determine if the gene has been successfully inserted).  Should this transfer across to gut bacteria during digestion, and evidence suggests that the genes can, though it is uncommon, it could convey antibiotic resistance to them, giving them a survival advantage and resulting in severe infections.  The more GM food eaten the greater the chance that this will occur.
5. GM crops have been given a survival advantage and can easily become weeds.
6. Even if a GM crop is not intended for human consumption, should it be fed to animals it can still get through into our food.
7. GM crops have contaminated other crops.  It is extremely difficult to then get rid of.
8. GM crops are patented and the farmers are not permitted to seed-save (even assuming they crops bred true-to-type), they have to buy new seed each year.
9. 'Round-up Ready' and similar herbicide resistant crops are designed to survive spraying by the accompanying chemical, while everything else is killed.  This actually results in more herbicide being used.  Some of the weeds are consequently already developing resistance to the herbicide as well and new generation GM crops are being developed which can survive yet stronger herbicides - all this going into our soil, water, air and food supply (and creating super-weeds).
10. GM food will not 'solve the problem of world hunger'. We already produce more than enough food to feed the world, the problem is that many people can not afford it.  Vitamin A enriched GM rice (golden rice, one of the very few crops being developed for a nutritional benefit, though more likely it is purely a public relations exercise) will not solve the problems of Vitamin A deficiency in the areas where it is a problem.  A 2yo child would need to eat over 3kgs of rice a day to get enough Vitamin A this way.  In addition the body cannot convert beta-carotene to Vitamin A when severely malnourished.  Much cheaper, simpler & healthier alternatives exist.  Michael Pollan (In Defence of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma) suggests, in his New York Times Magazine article, The Great Yellow Hype, teaching "people how to grow green vegetables [that are rich in vitamin A and other nutrients] on the margins of their rice fields, and maybe even give them the seeds to do so".  Another alternative, already being done, is to hand out high potency Vitamin A tablets, strong enough that only 2 are required per year to prevent blindness, at a cost of 5 cents a tablet.
11. I am far from a conspiracy theorist - but how much influence do Monsanto, Syngenta and the like have over our regulatory bodies, politicians and scientific community?  There are many examples in this book of scientists being bullied, losing their jobs or funding, or being prevented from studying the organisms in question.  When reading this type of thing I always ask myself "What does this person / organisation have to gain by promoting their side of the argument?"  And the GM companies have everything to gain (up to the possibility of control of a large portion of the world's food supply and never-ending and increasing sales of their herbicides), while the scientists putting the alternative research have nothing of major significance to gain.  I have great difficulty understanding people who put profit and their own benefit above the long term survival of our community.  For me it is like trying to understand why someone would break a bottle on the rocks at the beach where they have just enjoyed a picnic, or at the extreme end, Martin Bryant and the Port Arthur Massacre.  How can they think like that?  What is wrong with the wiring of their brains?  (Of course they might think exactly the same of me "Why should she care?")

Is that enough do you think?  The evidence presented is certainly enough to convince me to start avoiding GM food.  I am thinking of proposing that our school tuckshop endeavour to go GM free too (and doing the research to help them achieve it).  In Australia we have a much lower proportion of GM food than in the US, but probably more than the EU, and it is hard to be sure about any imported food, seeing as labelling is not required here.  As of the publication date of this book (2007) 89% of soy, 75% of canola and 60% of corn grown in the USA was estimated to be genetically modified.

In the Appendix there are sections about how to stay up-to-date in the risks of GM food (try the Genetic Roulette site and http://www.responsibletechnology.org/), How to avoid eating genetically modified foods (two ideas, go Organic or use shopping guides, an Australian one can be found at http://www.truefood.org.au/), A list of GM crops, Food enzymes from GM organisms and a special alert on aspartame (e.g. Nutrasweet, Equal etc).

If you believe that GM foods are a bad idea, and that crops shouldn't be grown in this country, there are many ways you can have an influence, starting by trying to only buy products you know are GM free. Campaigning for compulsory labelling of GM content in food would be good too.  Then there is encouraging your local members, environment and agriculture ministers to learn about it, and get them to campaign so that our food regulatory body FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) demands proper research and full disclosure before approving crops, or imports, and that all test crops are grown in sealed greenhouses so no contamination can occur.  It would also be good if legislation were enacted such that the GM companies were held responsible every time contamination of other crops did occur.  The list could go on...and more ideas for creating a 'tipping point' can be found at the Institute for Responsible Technology, including an Action Tool Kit!

Anyway - if you want to know more read the book.  It is well written and you don't have to read every word like I did to get a lot of benefit.

Fight for the Future

It is easy when reading about climate change and peak oil to get into a panic.  Easy, but not useful.  So whenever I start feeling this way I try to step back and think about what positive steps I can take to mitigate the situation, remembering that I am only one person with an individual set of skills, resources and emotional energy.  Nobody can do everything.

So, here are some ideas, in no particular order.  Some are things to help my individual family, some are about my local community, and some are concerned with the wider national & world community.  Some are things I am already doing, some are ones that I am considering & others are ideas for the future.  I think these are important issues because I believe we are going to see significant effects, if not within my lifetime, certainly within that of my children.

Cradle to Cradle

I have just finished another really thought provoking book, "Cradle to Cradle; Remaking the way we make things" but Michael Braungart and William McDonough.

OK - not anything to do with the book - but it is a 'Cradle' in a (almost) pristine environment - and a really nice picture.

I came across it when ordering my copy of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.  It looked interesting so I put it on hold through the library.

It's only a relatively slim volume, 186 pages plus notes, but the ideas are wide ranging.

I started reading it to learn more about what we can do to reduce our impact on the environment - but this book isn't about that.

It's premise is that we should be moving towards redesigning all we do so that our ecology, economy and culture (equity) is enhanced by our actions.  That biological and technological 'nutrients' (such as metals) need not be squandered, but that the systems and objects in which they are used should be designed such that they are returned to the nutrient pool at the end of one 'life', ready to begin another, at a similar level of quality.

It is far more than a book about saving the environment - it is a whole different way of looking at economics, design, resources, and society.  About effectiveness, rather than just efficiency.  Professor Braungart has a great summary of their vision here.

It is a long road to travel, and I felt a bit overwhelmed & depressed in the middle - everything looked so complex and so bleak.  But there are some inspiring stories of major companies starting to look at their business in new ways, and the final chapter points to the value of each step on the journey to a world enriched by our presence, not damaged by it.

Now we just have to get it onto the reading lists of all engineering, economic, business, legal, architecture, chemistry, design......schools on the planet, and build a generation of thinkers to take us there.

Highly recommended reading.

Burgled!

Sorry folks - can't give you any photos for this update, we were burgled on the weekend.

Not too much taken - think he had to be quick to catch the bus (which only runs once per hour).  But it did include the cameras.

The main thing I wanted to photograph was the inside of the bee hive!  We put the super on on Sunday.  That is super as in superstructure, ie it goes on top.  There is a small hole through which the bees can enter and a perspex top.  You put the original lid back on to keep out the light and seal the hive.  When it is full we will remove the honey comb, and put it back for them to fill all over again!

We have also had peas, some baby carrots (from thinning) and bok choy from the garden.

Will have a new camera soon - so hope to show you photos then.

On another environmental note: if the invasion of Coal Seam Gas extraction into our country, and the rest of the world, scares you as much as it does me, then please visit this site.  You may want to think about joining Get Up - and make a difference to issues that matter to you. Remember - being a member doesn't mean you have to agree with, or support, every issue that Get Up campaigns on, just the ones that matter to you.  It is not a political party.
Would love to hear what you think though.
Enough for now.
Ravs