Sustainable food

COWS UNITE

Here is what you can read when you visit this site:

"A recent poll conducted for Food & Water Watch indicates that 80 percent of consumers want milk from cows not treated with the hormone to be labeled “rBGH-free" but Monsanto, the manufacturer of rBGH, has asked for such labels to be restricted."

You bet! In your opinion who stands to gain ?

Visit the PCSI blog there are links to the Meatrix and Farm wars, two enjoyable video pastiches

Cloned meat and animal-human embryo: Brave New World revisited?

Today food for thought and meat to chew! And two questions:

The FDA’s Center for food safety has given the go ahead to the commercialization of meat from cloned animals. In the States of course. What about Europe? According to an article published in the Daily Telegraph, the European Food Safety Authority declared that meat from cloned animals and their progeny was highly unlikely to be different from meat from conventionally bred animal.
Would you mind eating meat from cloned animals or, yuck, do you find the idea revolting and disgusting?

A few days later, British scientists who had been battling for a year to be allowed to create the first animal-human embryo were finally victorious and their experiments will be allowed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. It consists in injecting human DNA into empty eggs from cows to produce hybrids 99.9% human in genetic terms.
The Times said that the public was broadly supportive. However opponents say this is no longer necessary since a breakthrough in reprogramming technique has made it possible to turn an adult tissue into “pluripotent stem cells, with embryo-like properties”.
What is your personal reaction to the possibility of making an animal-human embryo?

No end to slavery: from Africans to Indians

The slave trade was officially abolished throughout the British Empire in 1807.

This plan (found here) of a slave ship developed by Clarkson and his co-workers shocked the public when it appeared in 1789. It shows how 482 slaves could be packed on board the Brookes of Liverpool for the 6 to 8 week voyage to the West Indies. The Brookes actually carried 609 slaves on one voyage.

On top of that, watch this very interesting video "Coolies: How Britain reinvented slavery" This documentary reveals one of Britain's darkest secrets: a form of slavery that continued well into the 20th century - the story of Indian indentured labour.
It describes how Indians replaced Africans when slavery was abolished in the British Empire.

Kenyan opposition calls for new rallies and sanctions

Here is Jérémy's summary of his oral presentation.
- Kenya's opposition leaders called for 3 days of nationwide protests this week and recommended foreign governments to impose sanctions over the country's flawed elections last month. The elections resulted in killings, destructions and travel restrictions. Let's take a look at what happened.
Kenya is divided into several tribes. Mr Kibaki, the former president, belongs to the Kikuyu tribe whereas his opponent Mr Odinga belongs to the Luo tribe. Kibaki's party has governed the country since its independence in 1963, but according to the polls Mr Odinga was very likely to win these elections.
However, the vote-counting process was slowed down, and apparently the election commission hadn't been operating independently. With half of votes counted Odinga led with 57 percent and Kibaki had only 39 percent. Odinga's party accused Kibaki of cheating and it turns out that it's true. Indeed 3 areas appear suspicious. For instance, in one of them Kibaki received 105,000 votes even though there were only 70,000 registered voters. Kibaki eventually won the elections.
The opposition called for new elections, but Kibaki's party refused. The tension between the tribes is growing. About 600 people have been killed so far. Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary General, has agreed to lead a panel of African dignitaries to help find a political solution. The government has banned all political rallies and live news media coverage of election related events. Opposition leaders have called for the rallies to be peaceful, but most major protests have degenerated into bloodshed.

Elections in Kenya and the USA

"Kenyan opposition calls for new rallies and sanctions" is the article that Jérémy will deal with on Tuesday January 15th.

Céline will tackle the topic of American caucuses and primaries : Obama vs Clinton.

Both articles deal with political elections. Worlds apart?

Martin Luther King's Day

The story of the struggle waged by Black people against segregation in pictures: the civil rights movement.

US Presidential Elections : The Race to the White House

Visit this site to understand the terms that will be used all along the campaign.