Something missing in the "education" system is an emphasis on media literacy. I'm writing this blog and co-hosting a radio show because I'm fed up with the majority of media surrounding me. Why do we trust a comedian (Jon Stewart) with our news? I love Jon, but even he has pointed out the absurdity of the system:
So in the interest of promoting a media literate society, here is an article that calls out the Washington Post (and mainstream media in general), on pulling a double-standard when it came to torture in the Bush Administration versus a foreign war criminal...
Huffington Post: WashPost Finally Tells It Like It Is
How much time did we spend in the last few years arguing over whether waterboarding is torture or not? That was just a distraction. Dude, "simulated drowning"? Come on.
.peacepeace.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Community Gardens and Food Security
I left this article sitting in my e-mail from this past December. After working in a community food project that hosted a community garden, I've been alert for other stories of community food initiatives.
This article (hosted on the awesome Common Dreams site) had one excerpt that stood out:
Urban agriculture projects like this issues like food insecurity, ill health and poverty are addressed. As in the rest of Africa, women in South Africa are the backbone of the small-farmer agriculture. The Philippi project will benefit women who are responsible for looking after the sick of the community, who earn a living through selling their vegetables and who look after their grandchildren who are left behind when their parents die of AIDS. It also addresses environmental issues as the farmers are taught how to re-use grey water (mostly used for personal hygiene and for washing dishes).
This is another frame for looking at food as a catalyst to solve other issues. The City of Cape Town is in a partnership to develop the Philippi project. We should work to get more support here at home for community food projects. This is one of those articles, although different in specifics, illuminates the concept of a glocal community (thinking GLobal, acting loCAL).
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/29-2
.peacepeace.
This article (hosted on the awesome Common Dreams site) had one excerpt that stood out:
Urban agriculture projects like this issues like food insecurity, ill health and poverty are addressed. As in the rest of Africa, women in South Africa are the backbone of the small-farmer agriculture. The Philippi project will benefit women who are responsible for looking after the sick of the community, who earn a living through selling their vegetables and who look after their grandchildren who are left behind when their parents die of AIDS. It also addresses environmental issues as the farmers are taught how to re-use grey water (mostly used for personal hygiene and for washing dishes).
This is another frame for looking at food as a catalyst to solve other issues. The City of Cape Town is in a partnership to develop the Philippi project. We should work to get more support here at home for community food projects. This is one of those articles, although different in specifics, illuminates the concept of a glocal community (thinking GLobal, acting loCAL).
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/29-2
.peacepeace.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Mike Pollan Fixes Dinner: Mother Jones Interview
When talking about food revolutions, its hard not to hear Pollan's name cited. I've read Omnivore's Dilemma and it only fueled my appetite for more food knowledge bombs. I have The Botany of Desire waiting for me, and many have told me to check out Pollan's food manifesto, In Defense of Food. He does have his share of critics and I appreciate him ruling out any notion of heading up a Department of Food, but his writings definitely need to be heard and pondered.
The Fourth Estate is in a critical time, but Mother Jones is still publishing, and here's their latest wide-ranging interview with Mike.
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants"
-Michael Pollan
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