By Jessica Williams
At the risk of sounding sensationalist…did you know that a third of the world is at war, 30 million people in Africa are HIV positive and more than 150 countries use torture.
The facts and information provided in this book is often missed, glossed over or hidden by government and the media. So to continue: cars kill 2 people every minute, landmines kill or maim a person every hour…
You can join our library and get books and DVDs out for Free!
What do they do?
Christian World Service is a faith-based organization that works in partnership with communities across the developing world to help ensure people can build lives free from injustice and poverty. CWS responds to people’s needs regardless of race or religion, and is the development agency of New Zealand churches.
How can I be involved?
Come to an event where CWS is present, including the Parachute music festival, Samstock in Dunedin, Church national youth conferences and local churches. Local actions are regularly publicised on the website.
Sign up for regular resources: @world magazine (a 3 times a year report on actions), Youth topics (designed for youth groups) and World Watch (for 7-13 year olds). All of these include suggestions for local actions linked to international efforts.
Join in the campaign work - by signing petitions, organising stalls, hosting an event (eg in Fair Trade Fortnight) or by meeting with local political candidates. CWS is currently working in the area of economic justice (especially on debt cancellation for developing countries and trade justice through fairer international trade rules and expanding the fair trade market) banning cluster munitions and climate change It also focuses on specific country issues including Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sudan, West Papua and Zimbabwe. In July/August 2008 it held a Global Youth Encounter: Making Peace a Reality involving young people from partner groups in various parts of the country. Follow-up actions are planned and you are welcome to join the network.
Become a volunteer by helping out at an event or in the Christchurch office.
Donate to an emergency appeal or through the Global Neighbours scheme (enabling you to make a link with a specific long term funding partner). CWS also promotes an annual Wipe Out Poverty event for young people.
What do they do?
Caritas is the Catholic agency for justice, peace and development. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is part of Caritas Internationalis, which is a confederation of 154 Catholic aid, development and social justice agencies from around the world. Caritas agencies work in over 198 countries: delivering aid, supporting development, and working for justice.
How can I be involved?
Donate!
Campaigning – Caritas are involved in many campaigns, including Aid, Children, Cluster Munitions Crime and Punishment, Debt, Environmental Justice, HIV and AIDS, Human Rights Make Poverty History Millennium Development Goals, Submissions to NZ Government, and Trade. They offer excellent resources on their website to help you join with them to take action on these issues.
by Nicole Mesman
Throughout history food has been a source of energy, sustenance, income and enjoyment, and has played a significant role in cultural rituals and celebrations. Today however, with rising prices being experienced worldwide, food is becoming increasingly difficult to purchase, let alone enjoy.
CHINA
Yin and Yang
‘Illness starts from what goes into one’s mouth, while trouble starts from what comes out of it.’
An old Chinese saying.
Throughout their history the Chinese have followed the strict practice of Chinese medicine, which states the importance of balancing yin with yang. Its teachings led to healthy and harmonious practices amongst Chinese, such as consuming a large variety of vegetables, fruit and grains, with some meat, and avoiding excessively oily and sugary foods. However, in today’s China, the growing influence of the west is fast replacing these wise teachings of Chinese medicine with unhealthy western diets.
“As the food around them changes so does their appetite” says Chang, owner of a traditional Chinese restaurant in Beijing, China. He adds that, “people are moving away from their traditional diets and focusing on a more meat centred one”. In recent years western diets involving high consumption of meat and dairy products have become increasingly popular in China. This change in tradition has led to rising obesity levels – now 2% – and high inflation rates. Inflation in China is rising mainly because of the shortage in western foods, such as wheat, meat and dairy products, meaning less food available and at higher prices. The recent move towards biofuels is also contributing to inflation rates because more sugar and grain crops have been used to create fuel for vehicles than for human consumption. This diversion of crops away from food production has resulted in shortages and price rises throughout the food industry.
EGYPT
The gift of the Nile
Back in the days of the ancient Egyptians if you were cruising a street market you would find bread, rice and fish as main staples, as well as grapes, figs and a variety of vegetables, peas, onions, leeks, cabbages and turnips. Back then Egyptians did not grow sugar cane. Cakes were made using honey and, along with coconuts and olives, were brought only by the wealthy.
At an Egyptian market today, you are likely to find dozens of hungry people, who can no longer afford even main staples such as rice, lentils and pasta, let alone the delicacies of meat, fruit and vegetables which are also needed for good nutrition. For low income Egyptians, the wages they are being paid no longer meet the cost of living and so now the only thing affordable is subsidised bread. The government subsidises bread in certain bakeries around Egypt and costs ten times less than unsubsidised bread. However, even with subsidised bread Egyptians are trapped. Unless wages start to rise soon, riots will continue as citizens campaign for a chance to eat. Mother of six Anippe, a resident of Cairo who voiced her thoughts on this Youtube video, explains that once her wages have been spent on the rent, water, electricity and food, none is left for her children’s future. “There is none left for anyone’s future,” she says.
BRAZIL
The melting pot
Brazil has long been a country influenced by many traditions. In the early eleventh century, during the Inca rule in Peru, the potato made its way across the border and became a staple. When the Spanish came in the 1500s, they brought at least one welcome addition with them – the sugarcane, which is still being turned into the traditional alcoholic drink Cachaca. Today, while still retaining its traditional dishes of rice, meat, beans and potato, Brazilian food continues to be influenced by people who have come to live there, adding a hint of African, Italian, and Middle East cuisine to the mix.
In a recent attempt to lower rising food prices the Brazilian government suspended taxes on wheat, the main ingredient for bread and pasta. The price of wheat in Brazil has risen because of international prices and the export ban placed on wheat in Argentina, Brazil’s main supplier. Argentina is placing export bans on many commodities to prevent farmers exporting and to create protective stockpiles thereby lowering prices within the country. While that may temporarily lower national prices in Argentina, it means that other countries which import wheat, such as Brazil, end up paying more.
AUSTRALIA
Gone walkabout
Early Australia was inhabited solely by the Aboriginal people who enjoyed a diet of meat, fish, root vegetables and fruit. With the arrival of the European colonists in the eighteenth century, Australian cuisine took a huge turn. The colonists brought their European diet with them and this still remains dominant today, despite modern influences from Asia.
This year in Australia catastrophe hit: after long droughts rice production fell by 98 percent. This is fast affecting the entire world and while some governments have reacted by placing export taxes (which make it costly for farmers and producers to send their produce overseas), many others must meekly receive the doubled price. At home the effects of the drought are being felt in price rises across the board. However, Aussies still enjoy their traditional pork roasts on a Sunday accompanied by whatever vegetables are in the fridge and apple sauce. (Sauces are a huge deal in Australia, with the tomato flavor topping the charts as the most widely consumed!).
GLOBAL PROBLEMS- A “PERFECT STORM” OF FACTORS
Why is this all happening? While some supermarkets, middle men and farmers are definitely profiting, the main reason prices are rising is oil. Almost everywhere in the food production and transport chain, oil is needed. Its retail price is now over NZ$2 a litre a sum accumulated by the expense of finding and exposing new oil supplies, company profits and high public demand. Climate change is another issue, leading to extreme weather conditions, such as the drought in Australia. Then there is the higher demand for food by a growing population, which is leading to insufficient food stores. The shortages are made worse by the increasing production of biofuels, which are directing land and resources away from food production.
And as world food prices continue to rise, more people all over the world are going hungry. When they turn to aid agencies for help they find the agencies also struggling, under increased demand for their services.
Hunger is not new. But all around the world, high food prices are now creating even more empty stomachs and angry people who want their basic human right to food.
TAKE ACTION
How can you help the world through this global food crisis?
LEARN MORE
References
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jul/05/energy.environment
http://chetday.com/braziliancuisine.htm
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Australia_probes_soaring_food_prices_999.html
http://www.sacu.org/food.html
http://intlxpatr.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/drought-and-rising-food-prices/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7288940.stm
By Hannah Robson
What is the issue?
We all know about global warming and climate change and we all know about the rising price of petrol, but do you know that cheap’ oil WILL RUN OUT?! The world is so dependent on oil, but it is becoming increasingly expensive, we are running out of easily accessible oil and soon it will take more energy to extract it than it is actually worth.
Who is it going affect?
The consequence of Peak Oil is a potential energy crisis and, like global warming, will affect EVERYONE. Oil is used for so many things in today’s society, from the fuel in our cars to heating, food and clothing production, petroleum products are used to make plastics, fabrics, even cosmetics and medicines. Basically, your parents will start complaining about the cost of petrol and everything else (even more than they do now!), and from there petrol will become so ridiculously expensive that no one will be able to afford it. This is going to have a dramatic affect on us and change the way we live our lives. The cost of transport will mean we will travel less, trade fewer goods with other countries and we will have to give up or find alternatives for many everyday objects, from lip-gloss, to fertiliser to CDs!
What are people doing about it?
While some people (mostly scientists and politicians) are focusing on new technology and other sources of energy, over 500 communities all over the world (including New Zealand) are facing the challenges of climate change and peak oil by looking for ways to become less dependent on oil and reduce their impact on the planet. These towns are known as Transition Towns and their aim is to create vibrant and thriving communities that are prepared for life after oil. There are dozens of these communities all over Britain, as well as the Sunshine Coast, Australia and New Zealand’s very own Waiheke Island, Orewa and Kapiti Coast. All up over 1,527,000 people are involved!
While this is happening at a local level there are also national and global principles in action. Nationally, some governments use energy rationing systems to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and globally, the Oil Depletion Protocol encourages nations to collectively reduce consumption, both oil producing and consuming nations.
What can we do?
There are lots more towns around New Zealand that have expressed interest in participating in this initiative. What about YOUR town?
The 12 steps of Transition
Curing our addiction to oil.
1. Get a team together — you need a group of keen and dedicated people to get the project going
2. Awareness raising - start informing people and get them talking about the issues, show some films like A Crude Awakening: the oil crash or An Inconvenient Truth, get some speakers in….make some noise!
3. Lay the foundations — find out what people are already doing in your community, start networking and build relationships with local businesses, schools and community groups.
4. Organise a Great Unleashing — have a (eco!)party and share your vision with the whole community.
5. Form working groups - get people focused on specific aspects of the process like food, water, transport, waste etc.
6. Try Open Space — bring everyone together and explore a particular topic or issue, with no agenda, no timetable, no coordinator and no minute takers, just let the ideas and discussion flow and see what happens.
7. Less talk, more action! Don’t just organise lots of meetings, show people what you are achieving.
8. Facilitate the Great Re-skilling — we seem to have forgotten how to do lots of things. Organise workshops on cooking, cycle maintenance, sock darning, gardening and food growing etc.
9. Make friends with your Local Government - Whether it is planning issues, funding or providing connections, you need them on board.
10. Honour your elders — Our grandparents lived in a lower energy society, before the age of consumerism and convenience. We could learn a lot from them.
11. Go with the flow — once your community is behind this it might not always go as your planned. Be flexible.
12. Create an Energy Descent Plan — Sounds serious doesn’t it? This is about combining all the work and plans so you cope as oil gets more and more expensive.
For more details on the 12 Steps to Transition and heaps more information go to www.transitiontowns.org.nz
TAKE ACTION
You don’t have to be involved in Transition Towns to take action you could leave the car at home and catch a bus or train or walk— if you don’t need to drive, DON’T! — come on guys, you know the drill. Buy less, grow your own food, recycle. Don’t let the Peak Oil Crisis be another global issue that isn’t addressed until it becomes even more difficult Stop making excuses — it’s time to make ourselves aware and show we care!
LEARN MORE
Check out Beyond the Petrol Pump, by Omar Hamed
Borrow A Crude Awakening: the oil crash, An Inconvenient Truth, Syriana and loads more DVDs from the Global Education Centre
Check out the Green Party’s Peak Oil Campaign
Go to www.globalcool.org.uk and www.4million.org.nz for loads of ideas on reducing your personal carbon footprint
Check out some great tips for organic gardening at www.sustainablehouseholds.org.nz
Food for thought… 
Food is an integral part of human existence — we need it to survive. It is part of a global system linked to issues like trade, genetic modification famine, slavery, health, food miles and sustainability. Sounds complicated huh? It gets even more complicated when you consider the huge number of media messages and images we are bombarded with every day, telling us what to eat, how to look and what is beautiful. Basically, food corporations want us to eat cheaply produced food lacking in nutrition and stuffed with chemicals, harvested by poorly-paid labour and flown half way across the world, while advertisers and the media place unrealistic expectations on us to be thin and beautiful. An exaggeration? You decide.
Stuffed or starved? 
There are 800 million people in the world who go hungry every day and there are over a BILLION people who are obese. There is enough food in the world for everyone, but the systems in place mean that some people don’t get enough food and others have access to lots of unnutritious food. Fast food outlets and supermarkets have made food convenient and easy… you don’t have to think, just eat! Un-conscious eating is making us unhealthy and a lot of us obese. But as we keep over-consuming in the developed world, many people in the developing work — including those who pick our cocoa beans, coffee beans, bananas and tomatoes — are struggling because they don’t have access to affordable food. More info: stuffedandstarved.org Killing us softly 
Fiji, a country that traditionally valued the fuller figure’, was affected by an outbreak of eating disorders three year after television arrived in 1995. A study by Harvard Medical School found that 74% if teenage girls surveyed felt they were “too big or fat” and 15% of the girls reported they had vomited to control weight. The introduction of western values and (unrealistic) images of beauty was seen as the likely cause of the increase in eating disorders. More info: Borrow the movie Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising Images of Women (DVD) from the Global Education Centre library Freeganomics 
In the US it is estimated that half of the food produced each year is thrown away. You probably know about vegans but have you heard about Freegans? Freegans are a group of people who live solely off the waste of others and distance themselves from big corporations and consumerism. They go through dumpsters outside supermarkets and other shops (known as dumpster diving’) and pick out the unspoiled food that has been thrown away. They also grow their own food or contribute to community gardens. They are not poor or homeless, they do this in an attempt to minimise their impact on the planet. More info: http://freegan.info When cows lay eggs?! 
Not sure where your food comes from? You’re not the only one. A recent survey of 1,000 British kids aged eight to fifteen revealed some strange ideas. In answer to the question: If cows ate grass, what colour would their milk be?’, eight percent answered brown, green or not sure. Ten percent of the city kids in the survey (the country kids did a little better) didn’t know where yoghurt came from and eight percent were unable to say which animal beef comes from. Of the same group, two percent thought that bacon might be from cows or sheep, and that eggs come from cows. More info: www.foodroutes.org Are biofuels worth it? 
Although recently highlighted as a key solution to another pressing global issue — climate change — the production of biofuels may actually be causing more harm than good, particularly when it comes to food. Biofuels need a large amount of water and fertile land — land often found in developing countries which could otherwise be used to grow food crops. The UK government’s Chief Scientific Adviser recently described the global rush to grow biofuels as “profoundly stupid”, pointing out that a global food crisis is going to hit before some of the more serious impacts of climate change. More info here. LEARN MORE: Find out about food production and distribution at Food First or Global Issues TAKE ACTION! It can seem too big and complicated to do anything about, but taking action is the ONLY way things change, so here are a few suggestions to get you started. Get reconnected with your food by growing your own veggies. Check out the action section on www.sustainablehouseholds.org.nz for some great tips on organic gardening. Watch these DVDs, all available to hire FOR FREE at the Global Education Centre: Media that Matters — Good Food A Selection of Short Films on Food and Sustainability What’s Really In Our Food? InsideNew Zealand SuperSizeMe The Future of Food This article originally appeared in Tearaway magazine as part of the Global Focus project.
Kayt Bronnimann
When you think of issues of global justice, vegetarianism is not one that immediately comes to mind. Many would think that choosing to become a vegetarian is less important than other issues that we should be campaigning for.
It may seem that vegetarianism is an individual choice has little effect in the wider scheme of things. However, the benefits of a vegetarian diet are widespread and effect more than just animals.
Vegetarianism’s links to global issues/why be a vegetarian:
Meat and the Environment/Pollution…
Since the industrial age the world has seen a rapid destruction of the environment around us, including increased pollution and global warming Much of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed in order to make way for cattle ranches where cows are fattened up and slaughtered to become tomorrow night’s dinner. McDonalds in particular, along with all its other injustices, is guilty of this crime. (See the McSpotlight website for more info)
Unlike the indigenous Indians of the Amazon who use traditional deforestation techniques, including slash and burn, that allow the forest to renew itself after a time, the techniques that McDonalds some cattle ranchers employ ensures that nothing will be growing in that spot once they’re done. Eventually they exhaust the land and have to move on destroying more and more rainforest in their wake. The Amazon is responsible for a large part of the world’s oxygen yet we carnivores seem hell-bent on getting our products no matter what the cost may be.
It’s not only the big multi-nationals that are guilty of contributing to environmental pollution. Farmers are part of the problem too. For years, in New Zealand farming practices were unregulated, allowing the effluent from their activities to be dumped anywhere, most often in our waterways. Although there are much stricter laws concerning this now, with farmers being expected to build settling ponds, the damage has already been done. New Zealand used to be a place where people could swim and drink from most rivers or lakes around the country without fear of contamination, but this is fast becoming a thing of the past.
Many of the world’s plant and animal species are now extinct; hunted to death in a senseless display of man’s bloodlust. And it’s still happening at an ever-increasing rate.
World Hunger
World hunger is something that can be helped in part by adopting a vegetarian diet. A large number of the world crops are grown to be fed to animals that end up on the dinner plate of many a rich Westerner. A huge percentage of agricultural land is used to grow feed for animals. And the developing world also provides much of our animal feed. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that this is an illogical system. With the crisis of world hunger growing worse every year, it is not justifiable to continue taking away valuable land and food from developing countries so that we can enjoy a nice Sunday roast.
In terms of energy and protein it is much more efficient to grow food directly for human consumption. And with obesity becoming a problem in Western countries it is obvious we are consuming far more than our energy needs require. Our meat consumption is directly affecting the lives of billions of people.
Meat and Oppression
In her book The Sexual Politics of Meat’ Carol J. Adams links meat consumption to an oppressive, patriarchal, war mongering society. If we can so easily kill animals for our own gratification and not link the slab of meat (or more aptly put, corpse) in front of us to a dead animal, how can we be expected to spare a thought for the millions who have been killed in senseless wars over the years?
Pacifism and vegetarianism have often gone hand in hand - with the belief that it is hypocritical to condemn war, and killing around the world, while buying in to the culture of meat eating. If one can justify killing animals, it is only a small step to justify taking human life. Killing, whether of a human or a cow, should never be justified. What right do we have to take another creature’s (human or otherwise) life so that we can continue with our existence?
Challenge the status quo
This constant need for expansion, growth, consumption of more, More, MORE!! that capitalism advocates is destroying our environment, extinguishing species, and keeping the poor in poverty so we can enjoy our comfortable lifestyle.
Obviously vegetarianism isn’t going to solve all the world’s problems, but it’s a step in the right direction. We need to combat the apathy that we all seem to have, realise our privileged position, and think how our actions may be affecting the rest of the world. And extending this consideration to animals can’t hurt. Ignorance is not bliss, it’s time we opened our eyes and start giving a damn about the world we inhabit.
LEARN MORE
The Vegetarian Society
The Vegan Society
The New Zealand Vegetarian Society
McSpotlight
TAKE ACTION!
By Lena Stahlschmidt
The information that the film presents is so interesting and terrifying that I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Although the format is what some may call a little dry’ the movie had my full attention the entire time. This is the type of film that you’d expect to see in class; educational, informative and no Hollywood action scenes’.
The movie presents food in the 21st century: the way we grow it, the way we mess with it and the current corruption, deceit, and dangers that exist. It also gives an even dimmer outlook of our planet’s future related to food. The movie looks at the many aspects of genetic engineering ranging from the cellular make-up to its global impact. The main focus is on the lack of studies, precautions, and knowledge about the effects of GE and the role that the American government and agriculture companies played in the development of GE food.
It is a documentation of corruption, deceit, money, and power that has lead to our generation being the guinea pig in the fight for the global control over food. The issues raised in this movie are crucial to the sustainability of our planet and existence.
Stars: 4 ****
Find out more.
Learn more about where New Zealand stands in genetic engineering Here is what another Just Focus members had to say.
Take Action!!!
Eva Lawrence, Just Focus Coordinator
People say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a movie must be worth a million then.
Films provide a way for us to get a view into someone else’s world — be it real or imagined. They can be creative, entertaining, tragic, action packed and informative.
Over the last few years there seem to have been a heap of brilliant documentaries as well as based on true life and fictional films that bring up some aspects of important issues like human rights corporations, war, fast food and all that jazz.
While we’re feeding our faces with popcorn, we can feed our minds with new ideas.
TOP 5s
So I know what films I like, but I wanted to get an idea of what movies other young people love. So I put on my best investigative outfit and scoured the net and started a couple of threads on forums and got you possibly the best 5 docos and 5 films with a bit of social conscience.
Documentaries
Sometimes when I think of documentaries I think of those boring channel one wildlife shows my parents used to make me watch cos they’re educational’ — cringe - like I need to be educated on the mating rituals of tortoises! But there are some brilliant, heartbreaking and inspirin’ ones out there, with no tortoises in sight:
Top 5 docos
Darwin’s Nightmare— Set around Lake Victoria in central Africa, it shows the industry of fish for guns’ that exists. This doco is a clear and harsh illustration of globalisation. My mate ed has been raving about this for months! *
Bowling for Columbine - one of Michael Moores classics about the kids who shot up their school and how this violence is related to the culture of war in the USA
The Corporation “is excellent. Possibly slightly biased. All about the development of corporations, especially in America, and how they are designed to legally be a person” (Pippy) *
The Yes Men— This hilarious and scary insight into the World Trade Organisation and its followers shows what a bunch of activists can do with a lycra suit and a computer on a phallus. *
Supersize Me — look what happens when your average fit healthy American dude eats only McDonalds for a month. Watch his pounds pack on, his libido drop off and his doctors get more and more freaked out. It’s funny, it’s gross, it’s scary. *
Films
Films about real issues, based on true stories or fictional, are often entertaining and also have a little bit more beef than your average romantic comedy
The Constant Gardener - This fictional film came to the screens last year. It’s about drug companies testing medicine on slum dwellers in Kenya. It’s a murder mystery that makes you think. “Constant Gardener is one of my favourite movies but I cried so much!” (suspense)
Lord of War— This movie starring Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto and Ethan Hawke is a thriller about arms dealing, and the personal and political results of cashing in on violence. *
Hotel Rwanda - Ten years ago some of the worst crimes in the history of humanity took place in the country of Rwanda in Africa. This film is the true story of a hotel manager who sheltered more than a thousand Tutsi refugees during the attempted genocide by the Hutu militia. “If that movie wasn’t made I probably wouldn’t have ever even heard of what happened in Rwanda.” (Nicole) *
City of God — This film is pretty hardcore but damn good. It’s about kids in a housing project in Rio de Janeiro who struggle to survive and thrive while involved in crime and gang warfare. It shows how one guy works his way out of the slums through his photography. The actors were mostly street kids and many of them were dead within a year of the film. “To those who like the Constant Gardener - they should see City of God - same director - better film.” (Luke)
Motorcycle Diaries — This recent film is based on the motorcycle trip of the Cuban revolution’s poster boy Ernesto Che’ Guevara’s travels around South America with his mate. Experiencing poverty and volunteering in a leper colony changes his view of the world and moves him to make a difference. Plus, added bonus, it stars super-hot Mexican actor Gael Garcàa Bernal!
Film Festival
Film Festivals have heaps of great films. The Human Rights Festival took place in May 2006 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. A couple of the picks were:
Drowned Out — When a dam in India threatens to destroy people’s homes, the locals decide to stay and drown in protest. Author Arundhati Roy asks us some hard questions on the rights and wrongs of human sacrifice for the sake of industrialisation.
Ngatahi: Know the Links - This rapumentary from Upper Hutt Posse legend Dean Hapeta shows the links between Hip Hop and indigenous and other minority cultures around the world.
TAKE ACTION!
LEARN MORE
This article was originally published in Jet Magazine.
Cameron Walker
New Zealand nearly became the only country of the 132 nations who are party to the Cartagena Protocol to block an agreement on labeling GE organisms traded between nations. The Protocol is an international agreement that allows nations to decide whether to regulate the introduction and trade of genetically engineered (GE) crops or seed if they believe it will endanger traditional crops, biodiversity or indigenous farming communities.
Should we have labels for Genetically Engineered food?
At the Second Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol’ in May 2005 in Montreal, New Zealand and Brazil vetoed any decision on labeling traded GE seed and crops. Every other country at the meeting supported clearly labeling imports of crops or seeds that are known to be GE “Does Contain GMO” (genetically modified organisms). NZ and Brazil insisted on a much weaker and vague label “May Contain GMO”. At the Third Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol’ Brazil completely dropped its opposition to the proposals. Brazil’s Environment Ministry even declared that within four years they would have the proper procedures to test all exports for GE content and then label them as so. Only after rather tense pressure from other nations, and an international email protest campaign, did the New Zealand delegation change their stand on the final day of the conference.
Why do people oppose GE?
Many farmers around the world, especially in developing nations, oppose the introduction of GE crops because the technology will give multinational chemical companies, such as the USA’s Monsanto, immense power over their livelihoods. Monsanto, which produces the majority of the World’s GE crops, has strict global patent protection over its products. Farmers are strictly prohibited from saving seeds from year to year, and must pay a large license fee for use of the seeds. Furthermore, Monsanto has developed GE technologies, such as the infamous “Terminator” seed that do not reproduce, thus saving seeds is made impossible. Most of the World’s farmers (who make up half of the World’s population) rely on saving seeds from year to year in order to afford to grow food.
An example of transnational corporations against local farmers
In 1998 Monsanto launched court proceedings against the Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser for breaching copyright of their patented canola seed. Unbeknown to Schmeiser, GE canola seeds from a neighbouring farm had blown onto his land and contaminated his crop. Neighbouring farmers rang Monsanto’s special toll-free snitch line when they noticed Schmeiser’s canola did not wither when he sprayed it with Monsanto’s Roundup spray. The seeds were specifically engineered to be resistant to Roundup. After many years of costly legal proceedings Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in Monsanto’s favour. Monsanto’s antics managed to put a farmer from a rich nation under incredible financial strain. Imagine if this happened to a poor peasant in the developing world!
What is the environmental impact?
GE crops have also had a huge environmental impact. The introduction of herbicide resistant crops has come hand in hand with the evolution of noxious herbicide resistant weeds. This has meant farmers have been forced to use greater amounts of herbicide. A hard hitting 2004 investigation in the New Scientist revealed that in parts of rural Argentina herbicide resistant weeds were forcing farmers to use so much herbicide that toxic clouds were drifting over villages and making children terribly ill.
What’s important in NZ politics?
While members of the National Party were holding the government to task over an MP’s alleged behaviour 20 years ago, the Green Party was taking the Labour government to task over its despicable stand against Third World farmers. Green MP Nandor Tanczos said “We have been the object of international condemnation for some time for being one of the only countries to block agreement. Now to our shame we stand alone in wanting to deny developing countries the protection of a robust international standard”.
The involvement of the USA
He also believes New Zealand appears to be a “stalking-horse” for the United States, who is not party to Cartagena, in blocking consensus on the agreement. The US Government has put huge pressure on other nations to allow GE crops through intellectual property rights clauses in trade agreements. Laws pushed through by the US Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in the early stages of the occupation of Iraq even specified that Iraqi farmers have no right to save patented seeds. Monsanto and other American biotech corporations are large donors to both the Democrat and Republican Parties.
Should we be wary of Terminator Seeds?
Even though New Zealand fortunately changed its position late in the conference our government has also been trying to undermine international controls on “Terminator” seeds. When Monsanto first announced to the World they had developed this technology in the 1990’s Asian and African nations called for an immediate global ban. Not long afterwards in 2000 a de facto moratorium was put in place by nations meeting at a UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference.
NZ support for Terminator seeds?
In February 2005 NZ and Canada caused international outrage when they attempted to overturn the moratorium. Environment Minister, Marion Hobbs said “New Zealand has no firm view on the merits of new organisms involving seed sterilisation [Terminator] technology but supports their case-by-case assessment rather than a blanket ban”. In January 2006, at a preliminary meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Spain, New Zealand and Australia repeated the idea that there should be a case by case’ assessment of Terminator technology.
NZ Parliament debate on GE issues
In Parliament Nandor Tanczos asked Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters:
“Is the Minister aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade does not regard genetically engineered terminator technology as either good or bad, even though it is specifically designed to make plants sterile so that farmers cannot replant their seeds; and hence will jeopardise food security for millions of people?”
Peters responded:
“I am aware of what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s policy is. I am also very much aware that when such conventions or other agreements and treaties apply, and in fact exist—unlike the question’s imputation—then those matters will be decided by domestic policy, at which point I say that the Minister for the Environment and Minister of Agriculture should have been asked the question in the first place.”
Winston Peters’ avoidance of The Green MP’s questions was so bad that Act leader Rodney Hide (hardly a Green fan) raised a point of order with Parliament’s Speaker. The next day in Parliament Peters once again showed he did not take the extremely important issue of Terminator technology when fellow NZ First MP Doug Woolerton asked him if he was aware of any other substances that effect sterility. Peters answered “The answer is yes, for it is generally accepted that smoking cannabis has an impact on driving capacity, on mental capacity, on social capacity, and on the issue of sterility, which was the primary question asked yesterday. It can be a real terminator.”
Can we be proud of the NZ government’s international profile?
Some members of the Labour Party at university I’ve met claim that under the Labour led Government NZ has been a good international citizen, especially for standing up to the US by keeping out of the Iraq invasion. Unfortunately our government seems just as happy to undermine international agreements as the Bush Administration. We have a government in power that seems to not care about the majority of the World’s population.
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Apple photo by Holly Greening, others from stock.xchng
