Genetically Modified Food, Children and Hunger

We always have good crowd of people in Sri Lanka busy impress on white men and their way of living. Bash on GM food in Sri Lanka also belong to that group of people. They may looks like Environmentalists, Nationalists, hardcore traditionalists or even Buddhist monks – whatever their appearances are, they always love to talk about white men’s way of living in TV and News papers as that is their own – as that is our own. I was looking at this unfair bash on GM food for last couple of years. Let’s see if the devil dark it they says.

GM food is not natural?
Almost all the food we consume today comes from genetically modified sources. Those plants may change inside a lab or inside a farm over the years. But one way or another we always modify plants to produce more, tastier and use less resources.

We humans survive today because of our ability to modify plants. Even the plate of Rice you eat today came from modified plants. My favorite modified rice is BG 360 created by Bathalegoda Rice Research center. That is absolutely delicious, 105 days maturity duration, required less water and produces more. Common name is “Kiri Samba”. Give it a try next time with Pol Sambol.

I do agree Organic food is better, “Natural” and healthier than GM food or any other food we buy from Village Market. Also I agree Benz looks better, faster and safer than a TATA bus. There is no hunger in Western European and American white community. They have more than enough food, now they have luxury of “choosing” better and healthier food. But we don’t have that luxury. We are not there yet. TATA buses are loud, uncomfortable and unsafe. It is true. Benz are safe and comfortable. It is true too. But only an idiot can tell us not to go in a TATA bus. And only an idiot can tell us not to produce GM food.

GM food is unhealthy?
Most of the natural plants are not edible for humans. Even the edible plants, we can’t eat right away. We need to boil them first, so delicate human stomach can handle it. Majority of the natural plants are not healthy for humans.

Then we produce selective plants - mostly grass varieties inside farmlands. They are not all that healthy either. Some have short-term effect and some have long-term effect. If you really want to experience short term effect, dine at the halal restaurant in Town Hall front of Muslim mosque (and HNB, and 128 bus halt) ;)

When it comes to Long Term effects, every food we eat have some sort of long term effect. Some food increase cholesterol, some increase blood pressure – some increase blood sugar, some food simply makes you fat. Some may increase sex drive and some decrease. Some even can create cancer. There is no perfect food out there. Every food genetically modified or not, has some sort of after effects. You can pick any food any time, do some research on it and find some bad after effect.

Then what is the big Deal?
In 1930s America and much of Europe faced great depression after Wall Street Crash in 1927. People were hungry, no money, no jobs, no international trade and everyone went bankrupt. Just like everyone invested on “.Com” business couple of years ago, back then everyone invested on Coffee, especially coffee in Brazil. With huge interest coming in to coffee market, every Brazilin farmer produces coffee and more coffee. Eventually the supply went bigger than the demand, causing sharp price drop and investors loosing their money originally borrowed from somewhere else. This creates a chain effect ultimately end up in Black Thursday Wall Street Crash. Increase food production not that good for Wall Street.

World food production dominates by few companies. More production means low prices and less profit for them. They don’t want that to happen. They want to maintain the demand vs the supply. They don’t want us farm wheat in Sri Lanka (or any other country in that case). They don’t want rice price to drop significantly than the wheat price.

So what they do? They use the Steve Jobs iPod trick. When every time someone asked Steve about mobile video device, he always said “bad idea! It will never work! People will never watch movies in a tiny screen”. Doing so he discourage his competitors enter in to the market until Apple released an iPod with video and iPhone with video. Bash on GM food also works the same way. That gives time for big companies to develop their own technology and ultimately dominate the food market on their own terms.

60% children under 5 in Sri Lanka suffer from malnutrition. Look at them. They are dark, skinny and hungry. They need food. They need more food. They need milk and eggs. Even it comes from chickens with three heads. When we have more than enough food, then we can talk about health food or organic food in TV. But till then, Bathalegoda must use whatever the technology available to produce more and better plants.

“The right time to eat is: for a rich man when he is hungry, for a poor man when he has something to eat” ~ a Mexican Proverb

Global Warming, Environmentalist and Sinners.

Al Gore’s Live Earth Concert was very successful last two days. It’s defiantly a wonderful thing to organize simultaneous musical concert all over the world. Without a doubt that makes media talk about Global Warming more – at least this weekend. Other hand Gorge Bush and American republicans does not believe in Global Warming, evaluation, fossils or anything else that is not in the Bible. But Europeans always seems to be more rational than American Republicans or Islamic radicals.

Al Gore was with Larry King other day. He introduced pledges that you can also sign online here. That brings me to the question, why - we Sri Lankans - should sign up for Al Gore’s pledge? Are we all Carbon sinners?

Now I don’t mean we should not care about Environment. We Sri Lankans are – most Asians are – very Environment friendly people indeed. It is in our roots. It is in our philosophy. We never believed the world was created for our use or we didn’t kill Jesus. And we didn’t create Global Warming either. But it seems there are people in our part of the world always busy trying to impress on the westerners that they are “Deferent from those uneducated primitive others", even willing to be Sinners if they can be closer to the white man and their believes. Even a carbon sinner.

When those people take over Environment issues in our part of the world, it starts to look very stupid. Just like our Polythene ban. We ban the thin polythene less than 20 microns, eventually ended up using more, thicker polythene.

And then there is other group screaming bloody murder for genetically modified food in Sri Lanka. Westerners have luxury of choosing what they eat. But we are not. By not using new technology, we end up using more land, more fertilizer, more pesticide and more environment damage at the end, not to mention number of children going to bed hungry.

Then we have another group always go against anything to do with rural development. New roads, power plants, air ports, harbors, you name it. Mostly that’s the urban middle class visit village side once in a while for leisure, while villages struggle to survive the day. As a result of stupid Environment friendliness, we end up burning more fuel in the traffic, having individual power generators making more environment damage.

China and India seems to be the biggest topic in Global Warming. Some are screaming in the west and westerners are like, they cannot save the plant while India and China is producing more carbon. Bloody hell! Giver the poor man a break!

Global average carbon emission is around 1.27 tonnes per a capita.In India it is 1.9 and in China it is 3.2. But in America it is humongous 19.8, Australia 5.6 and Britain have very good records this year: 2.5 per capita. Even though figures are low this year; Brits were producing more carbon in large numbers since our great great grandparent’s time. Even it is looks like China have a big number compared to UK, products they make ultimately end up in western consumer’s hands who demand for cheaper goods from China. And they are more a less responsible for China’s carbon emission too.

For me it looks more like, bunch of boys went in to a brothel there is only one whore. West went in first, while we wait behind the line. After they satisfied their needs - in every hole they can find, they come back to us and say “look guys, she is tired. Poor girl.. Do not go to her... Look .. Look.. we are fair. We won’t go to her any more too”.

You know what? Fuck you!

Hunger and poverty is more important than the Environment. When Westerners talk about Public Transportation, they do not talk about how we hold our dear life on a footboard of a TATA bus. When they talk about CFL bulbs they do not talk about how we can afford one or the fact half the country even do not have electricity. Having a bright light at night is a luxury in this part of the world. When they talk about energy efficient electronic, they don’t know how I studied under a kerosene lamp just like majority of Sri Lankans. When Westerners stomachs are full, they have luxury of talking about things like Environment, that they have fucked up in the first place.

If they want to introduce Carbon Tax to our part of the world, we should calculate that for last 200 years because we are paying now for what they have done in past 200 years.

We didn’t fuck up the environment. We don’t have Bling Bling. We don’t drive Hummer. We didn’t kill jesses. We are not Carbon sinners. West should pay for their sins first.