Global Voices » Food

Miguel Bosé on Peruvian Cuisine

Gabriela García Calderón — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:11:32 +0000

Spanish singer and artist Miguel Bosé, currently visiting Peru, became a trending topic on Twitter with the hashtag #PreguntasParaMiguelBose [questions for Miguel Bosé] when he refused to answer if he had tried pisco sour and cebiche during a press conference.
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PHOTOS: World Day Against Monsanto in Mexico

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:47:17 +0000

Upside Down World has posted a photo essay by Andalusia Knoll on World Day Against Monsanto in Mexico.

Square Foot Gardening in South Africa

Ndesanjo Macha — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:26:26 +0000

Learn about Square Foot Gardening in South Africa:

Very simply put, Square Foot Gardening (SFG) is a whole new way of gardening, growing vegetables & fruits and contributing handsomely to the kitchen table even with the smallest of gardens at your disposal.

Mauritania Faces Deadly Unprecedented Heatwave

Thalia Rahme — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:14:49 +0000

More than two dozen people have died from heat stroke, dehydration or suspected heat-related conditions in Mauritania, which is witnessing scorching temperatures exceeding 50°C (122°F), for the first time in 50 years.

Medical sources and locals have reported deaths in various regions. On May 26, 2013 three people died in the Province of Hodh Ech Chargui (can be translated into Eastern Basin) in Timbedra due to high temperatures. Twelve others suffered a similar fate in Brakna Province. Two women also succumbed to dehydration the town of Boulahrath in the Region of Assaba. In the town of Al Syasa, in Tagant, the local population talks about a mysterious disease – some sort of fever [ar] which had spread along with the heatwave, killing three people. Medical and health authorities, sent samples from the victims to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott to determine the cause of death. By the time this post is online, the number of victims could have increased. In Boutlimit, 64km south east of Nouakchott, after nine people also died from that odd disease, primary schools directors decided to reduce the daily teaching hours so as to avoid exposing students to the scorching sun.

Another kind of wave is also sweeping the country: Complaints and protests across Mauritanian cities against the shortage of drinking water.

Lack of drinking water is causing widespread protests in Mauritania. Photograph from Dedda Ould Cheikh Brahim blog. Used with permission.

Dedda Ould Cheikh Brahim blogs about this heatwave and about the reported death cases [ar]:

خلال يومين من الحر، خسرت بلادنا موريتانيا 17 شخصًا، بسبب الحرارة المرتفعة مات 12 منهم في ولاية لبراكنة وسيدتين في قرية بولحراث التابعة لولاية لعصابة. و3 أشخاص في قرية تسمى السياسة تتبع لولاية تكانت.

هذه الوفيات خلفت هلعا بين السكان المحليين، الذين ربطوا بين هذه الوفيات وموجة الحر التي تضرب المنطقة التي وصلت فيها درجات الحرارة إلى مستويات قياسية، تجاوزت حاجز الخمسين درجة مئوية، وهو أعلى مستوى تصله درجات الحرارة في موريتانيا خلال الخمسين سنة الماضية.

During two days of intense heat, our country Mauritania lost 17 people. Because of the heatwave, 12 died in the Brakna Province and two women in the Town of Boulahrath affiliated to the Assaba province, not to mention three from Al Syasa town in Tagant province.

These deaths instilled panic among the population who linked them with the heatwave hitting the region with temperatures reaching records and exceeding the threshold of 50°C. This is the highest level reached in Mauritania in the past 50 years.

Meanwhile, Alegcom blog cites an official source, attributing the causes of the deaths to Meningitis:

تربط الأوساط المحلية هذه الوفيات بموجة الحر التي تضرب المنطقة، التي وصلت فيها درجات الحرارة إلى مستويات قياسية، تجاوزت حاجز الخمسين درجة مئوية، وهو أعلى مستوى تصله درجات الحرارة في موريتانيا خلال الخمسين سنة الماضية.

Local experts tie these deaths with the heatwave hitting the region with temperatures reaching record numbers, exceeding 50° C which is the highest temperature on record in Mauritania during the past 50 years.

kankossainfo also spoke about how meningitis caused victims in Assaba province:

علمت كنكوصه إنفو من مصادر طبية متطابقة أن 14 شخصًا توفي حتي الآن في ولاية “لعصابة” جراء الإصابة بمرض التهاب السحايا المعروف محليا ببورويص الذي سُجلت منه حتى كتابة السطورر 34 حالة لدي الجهات الصحية تماثلت منها 18 للشفاء ولا يزال اثنان رهن الحجز الطبي في مستشفي كيفة يتلقون العلاج، وبين مجموع الحالات 3 من كنكوصه توفيت منها حالة واحدة في مستوصف كنكوصه وهي طفلة من منطقة (وسط المدينة) فجر السبت 5 من مايو/ أيار وهي آخر حالة تُسجل في المقاطعة إلي الآن.

Kankossain Info knew from medical sources that 14 persons died so far in Assaba province because of Meningitis known locally by “Bibourouis”. So far, and at the time of writing these lines, 34 cases were registered by the Health Authorities, 18 of whom healed and two are still under quarantine at Kifa Hospital for treatment. And out of the three cases in Kankossa, one passed away at Kankossa clinic. The victim, a 5-year-old child died in the early hours of May 5 and this is the last case to be reported so far.

Activist and journalist Djibril Diallo resorts to sarcasm when describing the situation:

العطش يحصد أرواح المواطنين في بلد يقول ولد عبد العزيز إن خزائنه مليئة بفائض من العملات الصعبة. الخزينة العامة ليست جعبة جنرال.

Thirst is claiming the lives of citizens in a country which treasury boasts a surplus of hard currencies says Ould Abdelaziz. The Public Treasury is not a general's pocket.

Mohammed Val Ould Cheik also describes the suffering of the Mauritanians:

حالات الوفاة جراء موجة الحر الحالية حصدت 12 شخصا حتي الآن في ولاية لبراكنة وحدها وخمسة قري في لبراكنه تتظاهر عطشا، وخمسة وعشرون قرية أخري يمنعها العطش والحر من التظاهر!!! لك الله من مفجوعة يالبراكنة!!!

Death cases due to the current heatwave killed 12 people so far in Brakna region alone. Five towns in that province are protesting because of thirst while 25 other villages are unable to do so because of the thirst and heat precisely. Oh Brakna, May God be with you in your affliction !!!

Mauritanian doctor Moktar Ould Weddih casts doubts on his Facebook about the real reason behind deaths. According to him it is not the heatwave but a pandemic disease:

منذ ايام وحالات وفاة غامضة تظهر هنا وهناك في البدء صرّح مسئولو وزارة الصحة أن السبب هو التعرض لأشعة الشمس الحارقة وهو الأمر المعروف طبيا بضربة شمس!!!

لكن حالات الوفيات ازدادت وظهرت أمور جديدة تدل على أن السبب ليس ضربة شمس وإنما هو وباء ينتشر بين الناس، ومن الغريب أن المسئولين بدلا من الاضطلاع بمهامهم في البحث والاستنتاج وتوجيه الموارد اللازمة والاستعانة بخبراء في مجال الأوبئة مازالو متمسكين بنفس النظرية!!!

لذا أطالب بأن يعرض أصحاب هذه النظرية السخيفة إلى أشعة الشمس الحارقة هذه الأيام لكي يدركوا جيدا ما هي أعراض ضربة الشمس!!!

Mysterious death cases have been showing here and there for days. In the beginning, officials at the Ministry of Health stated that the reason is exposure to the burning sun rays. Which is medically known as heat stroke.
But deaths increased and new elements appeared showing that the reason is not heat stroke but an epidemic spreading among people. What is rather odd about that is that officials instead of carrying out their tasks in looking, analyzing, deducing and allocating the necessary resources and resorting to experts in epidemiology are still holding on to the same theory.!!!
That's why I demand to expose those who profess that silly theory to scorching sun rays these days so they truly realize what are the symptoms of heat stroke!!!

VIDEO: Brazilian Toddler's Vegetarian Wisdom Goes Viral

Paula Góes — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:54:46 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese-language pages.]

A YouTube video of three-year-old Luiz Antonio explaining to his mother why he does not want to eat octopus gnocchi for lunch has become the latest must-see worldwide.

The young Brazilian argues that he doesn't like to eat meat because “when we eat animals, they die,” and that he likes to see the animals “on their feet, happy”, and explains that we must “look after them, not eat them.”

The original video in Portuguese, uploaded to YouTube on May 15, 2013, has reached nearly 1,500,000 views in only two weeks. The English version was published on May 29 and has been seen over 900,000 times in only three days.

In a country where only a very small percentage of the population has opted for a vegetarian diet, the viral video has sparked a heated debate about vegetarianism on YouTube and Facebook. Carlos Augusto Andrade explained the reasons:

O vídeo viralizou ontem no Facebook, daqueles que todo tipo de gente compartilha: sua mãe, sua tia, seus amigos descolados, os contatos da época do colégio… E apesar de alguns grupos no Facebook e no Youtube terem usado o vídeo para discutir o vegetarianismo, a gente entende que ele viralizou pelo que é, mesmo: um vídeo fofo de uma criança sendo curiosamente eloquente pra sua idade e refletindo sobre algo que nem todos nós nos damos ao trabalho de parar pra refletir.

The video has gone viral on Facebook yesterday [May 29, 2013], it is one of those you share with all sorts of people: your mother, your aunt, your hipster friends, contacts from school times… And although some groups on Facebook and YouTube have used the video to discuss vegetarianism, we understand that it has gone viral just for what is: a cute video of a child being curiously eloquent for his age and reflecting on something that not everyone among us bother to stop and reflect.

Flavio Giusti, the chef at the forefront of VegetariRANGO – a YouTube show on “Vegetarian Cooking Without Fuss” – published an homage to “the little boy who has touched everyone on the internet” on his Facebook page. This banner alone has been shared more than 1,145 times:

Luiz Antonio's philosophy: “When we eat animals they die. I don't like it, I like them on their feet, happy. We must look after them, not eat them.”

Inspired by the simplicity of the child's argument, some people have decided to adopt a meat-free lifestyle, such as many of the friends with whom blogger Viviane Zandonadi shared the video. A food writer, she wondered about what she is going to do when her daughter starts to ask the same kind of questions:

Fico apreensiva. Quando chegar a minha vez, se a Cata questionar a lógica da cadeia alimentar, não faço ideia do que vou dizer. O Luiz Antonio derrubou meus argumentos.

I'm apprehensive. When my turn comes, if Cata questions the logic of the food chain, I have no idea what I will say. Luiz Antonio has overthrown my arguments.

At the end of the video, Luiz Antonio's mother, moved to tears, asks her son to eat just the rice and potatoes. Writing for Acerto de Contas blog, Guilherme Carvalho hoped that other parents start to respect the sensitivity of their children, and stop resorting to lies or simplistic arguments to force kids to change their minds:

Portanto, em pleno 2013, já é tempo de parar de enganar nossas crianças e abafar seu sentimento de compaixão quando demonstram inclinação para não comer animais. Respeitemos, e valorizemos, essa postura altruísta e compassiva. Ter um filho vegetariano não é um problema, e hoje há ampla literatura científica garantindo os potenciais benefícios desta opção à saúde. O vídeo de Luiz Antonio tem deixado muita gente emocionada — e esperançosa.

So, right in 2013, it is time we stopped deceiving our children and suppressing their feelings of compassion when they show no inclination to eat animals. Let's respect and value this altruistic and compassionate stance. Having a vegetarian child is not a problem, and today there is extensive literature showing the potential health benefits of this option. Luiz Antonio's video has left many people moved – and hopeful.

Independent Projects of Ecological Solidarity Flourish in Puerto Rico

Natalie Southwick — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:00:31 +0000

Ecological solidarity is getting stronger every day in Puerto Rico, thanks to the people working hard to develop independent projects. Here are a few examples that confirm once again that the goal of preserving nature, cultivating non-toxic products and advocating for sustainability isn't an impossible dream.

The Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Eco-orgánica (Puerto Rican Eco-Organic Agriculture Organization) [es] brings together a diverse group of farmers and individuals interested in learning how to cultivate products in a sustainable way. They organize action squads, seed exchanges, and recently established the first Puerto Rican certification for ecologic crops. Their web page distributes free books and videos (interviews) that document the real work of Puerto Rican farmers. Here is a video posted by bartus allen, in which you can listen to Edgardo Alvarado, a founding member of Boricúa:

Desde mi huerto (From My Orchard) [es] is a great family initiative! A couple of ecological farmers, Raúl and Ivonne, have dedicated themselves to teaching people about effective ways to create organic home orchards. From their farmhouse, located close to the Bosque Carite, they plant “all kinds of vegetables, medicinal plants, aromatic herbs and fruit for your use, sales and consumption.” On their web page you can find useful information about organic seeds, orchard care and even listings of land for sale.

The Cooperativa Orgánica Madre Tierra [Mother Earth Organic Cooperative][es] organizes open-air markets on the first and third Sundays of each month in the Roosevelt de Hato Rey square, Puerto Rico. These markets bring together farmers, bakers, masseuses, educators, and organic and natural food lovers, among others, to share their knowledge and resources. The researcher Carmelo Ruiz says that this institution, created by a team of volunteers, is one of the most solid of the movement.

In addition to publishing valuable books and articles about food security in the Caribbean and Latin America, Carmelo Ruiz has since 2004 maintained a blog called Proyecto Bioseguridad de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Biosecurity Project) [es], where he has compiled a wealth of information about the harmful impact of genetically modified foods. He also announces encouraging news about the approval of laws that demand labeling of these types of products, and the successes of organizations working for greater access to healthy food.

La Chiwihna is the first fair trade store, located in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The founding couple, Joel and Karla, say it's difficult to put into words everything their meeting space has to offer. For those considering a a visit to this urban oasis, we tell you ahead of time that they offer delicious local and international organic products, lunches prepared by contributing chefs, and that they organize an endless number of cultural activities.

Photo by Josué Guarionex

Chef Verónica Rodríguez Ojeda shares her passion for food, art and activism through her private and group cooking classes, community workshops and articles. The graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts co-founded ASIQUESI, a small natural restaurant, and Slow Food Calalú in Puerto Rico. Her experience as a sous chef in the Omega Institute, where she discovered “the biggest, best vegetarian kitchen in the United States,” was an formative part of her path. Now, back on the island once again, she will be coming up with new and exciting ideas.

El Departamento de la Comida (The Food Department) [es] is an eco-business committed to distributing organically-grown food from artisanal seeds. It also offers services for markets, parties and demonstrations such as the Global March Against Monsanto that took place on May 25. To learn more about the extraordinary story of Tara Rodríguez Besosa, who created this project along with Olga Casellas, watch Tedex San Juan: “Food is My Social Network”.

Foto publicada en la página de Facebook.

The Centro para la Recuperación de Artículos para su Uso, Reuso y Reciclaje (ReusArte) (Center for Recovery of Objects for Use, Reuse and Recycling) [es] is a project directed by Wanda I. Rodríguez that aims to support sustainable development. Almost every weekend, Wanda opens the doors of her house to organize bazaars, talks and workshops; and people from every part of the island come together to explore the different ways in which clothing, plastic and other valuable object can be reused or transformed. This communal space, with a view of the Guayama mountains, nourishes the vitality of the artisans, historians, poets and friends who come to share their passions.

La Casa-Tienda Tierra de la Luna (The Store-House of the Land of the Moon) [es] focuses on healing and peace; and it prioritizes products made by local and international artisans “that share their culture, tradition, love and respect for our Mother Earth.” They also use the space, in Caguas, to organize workshops about ecology, spirituality and health. In the most recent activity, participants discussed the symbolism of weaving, feminine wisdom and the menstrual cycle.

In her workshops and books, empirical ethnobotanist and educator Maria Benedetti shares her vast knowledge of medicinal plants and the Puerto Rican curative tradition. ¡Hasta los baños te curan! and Sembrando y sanando en Puerto Rico: Tradiciones y visiones para un futuro verde and Bendiciones botánicas para Boriquén are some of her worthwhile publications. Click here to listen to an interview with her from the radio program “Piedra, Papel y Tijera” (Rock, Paper, Scissors) transmitted by the University of Puerto Rico's radio station.

And finally, Mi Puerto Rico Verde (My Green Puerto Rico), founded by Ernesto Amador and José E. Maldonado, “promotes the knowledge and participation of the community through interactive social media tools.” This is an excellent site to keep up to date with the contributions of these and other important initiatives on the island.

Coffee Art Goes 3D in Japan

Ayako Yokota — Tue, 28 May 2013 12:05:54 +0000

In the land where green tea remains the hot beverage of choice, 3D coffee art is winning hearts one foamy cup at a time.

More and more cafe goers in Japan, inspired by popular photos on social media that show steamed milk creations rising out of a coffee drink, are asking that their latte be topped with a similar work of lofty art.

Japan is no stranger to coffee. The All Japan Coffee Association has reported that Japan is third in terms of total consumption among importing countries.

In 2010, Haruna Murayama of Japan won the World Latte Art Championship.

Flat latte art is already popular around the island nation. A search of “latte art“ [ja] on Twitter returns many photos of special lattes bearing the shapes of hearts, leaves, teddy bears, popular anime characters, and even Internet icons.

A vending machine in Haneda Airport, Tokyo's international airport, even serves cappuccino [ja] with the face of a classic Japanese female, designed and produced by Kyoto's well-known cosmetic company Yojiya.

YouTube user Nowtoo Sugi uploaded the following video explaining how he drew character onto a coffee latte with chocolate syrup:

Reaching new heights

But baristas have pushed this creative coffee phenomena to a new level with foamy 3D sculptures.

3D latte art by Twitter user @george_10g: “A cat is looking at golden fish.”

Kazuki Yamamoto (@george_10g), the latte art master who uploads his latte art on Twitter, wrote in his blog that he works at a Belgian beer house in Osaka. He calls his latte art “spare time cappuccino” [暇カプチーノ], a creation out of boredom or spare time, of course with great efforts and labor of love. He once posted to Twitter recalling numerous works of latte art that he had drawn:

@george_10g:最近気づいた怖いこと。去年から始めて1000杯くらい描いているけど作品も描いた時期も飲んだ人も覚えてる。

@george_10g: I started drawing on lattes in 2011 and I've drawn and served roughly about 1,000 cups by 2012 but somehow I still remember when and what I've drawn and who I served it for. It's kind of creepy.

Twitter user @petakopetako responded [ja] to his comment praising his specialty:

@petakopetako: じょーじさんこんにちは。私は人物写真を撮るのが好きですが人の顔を覚えるのは超苦手です。が、写真を撮らせてもらうと場所や会話がすぐに思い出せます。思い入れがあるからでしょうかね。

@petakopetako: I like taking photos. Normally I am bad at remembering people's faces, but once I take photos of them, I can remember where it was and what they were talking about. Maybe people remember things better when doing something they are passionate about.

The social media effect

Cafe owners and baristas in Japan have uploaded photos of their secret, off-the-menu 3D latte art to social media. These images were circulated widely and later gained the attention of local broadcasters and magazines.

The publicity has attracted so many new clients to some coffee houses that owners are struggling to keep up. The owner of Cafe Bar Jihan in Shizuoka prefecture wrote about Facebook effect in his blog [ja]:

お客様のリクエストがきっかけで始めた3Dラテアート。お遊びのつもりでfecebookにアップしたその日、物凄い数の『いいね！』とシェアにビックリしました。
その拡散がきっかけで取材の問い合わせが幾つかありました。中でも東京のTVメディアからの出演依頼には戸惑いました。(*^_^*)

I started serving 3D latte art after my long-time customer asked me to do it. I uploaded the picture on Facebook page just for fun, then I was astonished to see the enormous number of people who liked the photo. With the image widely amplified, several media outlets asked me that they wanted to cover our coffeehouse. I was a bit confused by being asked to appear on television in Tokyo!

Facebook photo by caffe.bar.jihan. A cat is taking a bath in espresso coffee.

He also wrote [ja]:

このニャン子は、作るのにとっても時間が掛かりますので混雑時はお受け出来ないのが目下の悩みです。
平日の18時からでしたら比較的にお時間が取れると思いますので、どうしても3Dラテアートを…というお客様はこの時間帯のリクエストをお願いいたします。

This kitty cat latte art requires so much time that I can't take orders when things are busy in our cafe. I've been struggling with what to do about this situation. At least the cafe is relatively slow after 6 p.m. on weekdays, so if you are visiting for 3D latte art, please come around these times.

This post was originally written by Ayako Yokota. Keiko Tanaka edited her post and L. Finch sub-edited.

Activists Protest Monsanto Offices in Tokyo

Keiko Tanaka — Sun, 26 May 2013 01:51:38 +0000

Activists in Tokyo demonstrated against agricultural giant Monsanto in front of their local offices, joining 279,723 protesters in 57 other countries around the world for March Against Monsanto day on May 25, 2013. Project 99% [ja], an anti-nuclear power and anti-Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement [so called TPP] coalition of activists and groups in Japan working to create society for the 99 percent, organized the action. Some of the activists performed a short original theatrical play entitled “Keep the Monsanto Police out of Japan! [ja]“.
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PHOTO: Locusts Invade Madagascar After Cyclone

Rakotomalala — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:52:48 +0000

Locust invasion in down town Fianaratsoa, Madagascar

Locust swarmed many regions of Madagascar and even a few of its cities. This disaster comes as a result of the humid conditions[fr] that remained after cyclone Haruna's landing. The FAO states that 60% of rice production will be affected by the invasion.

Peru: Is Junk Food Synonymous with Freedom?

Victoria Robertson — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:18:56 +0000

[Links are to Spanish-language pages, except where otherwise noted.]

Peruvian gastronomy [en] is a hot topic both in and outside the country. But lately, the culinary theme on everyone's lips has not been the quality of the dishes or the traditional ingredients—instead it is the recently adopted legislation of President Ollanta Humala, known as the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating by Boys, Girls, and Adolescents.

The law, whose wording was published on May 17, states that its objective is to “effectively promote and protect people's right to public health and proper growth and development through education, strengthening and fostering physical activity, establishing healthy food stands and lunchrooms in elementary and secondary educational institutions, as well as monitoring advertising, information, and any other practices related to food and non-alcoholic beverages targeted at children and adolescents.”

Once the law was adopted by Congress on May 2, congressman Luis Galarreta declared that it had a “completely interventionist vision that I think jeopardizes both the media and its financing.” At the same time, the former Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Alfredo Ferrero, argued that the ambiguities of the law could “affect broadcasting of the Brazil World Cup in 2014.”

Photo via Lokendra Nath Roychoudhury, lokenrc on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Peru's national association of industries (SNI in Spanish) has requested a repeal of the law because, by prohibiting the sale of packaged food in schools, it encourages the consumption of unregulated products to the detriment of the health of school children; and moreover, schools are not in a position to assume the task of feeding children.

On the other hand, Fernando Leanes, a representative from the Pan-American Health Organization (OPS in Spanish) and the World Health Organization (WHO) supports the law and declared that “(we are trying to avoid) silent diseases such as diabetes or hypertension that can contribute to children developing health problems when they are 40 or 50 years old.”

In social networks opinions are equally divided, and the debate is seasoned with pictures of succulent sandwiches and other fare usually labeled junk food. On Twitter Miguel Mellado (@miguelm1504) expressed an opinion apparently shared by many:

@miguelm1504: Ningún publicista o medio de comunicación va estar a favor de la ley sobre la comida chatarra.

@miguelm1504: No advertising professional or media outlet is going to be in favour of a law on junk food.

On Facebook, writer Sonia Luz Carrillo shared her feelings while watching a television interview on the subject:

La publicidad de los productos menos saludables y hasta francamente dañinos a la salud según los especialistas – nutricionistas debidamente acreditados, por ejemplo- es uno de los principales ‘alimentos’ de las empresas de comunicación, especialmente la televisión. Eso explica la campaña en contra de la Ley y cualquier otro dispositivo que coloque la necesidad de conocimiento conveniente para que el público pueda optar por una alimentación saludable.

The marketing of products that are less healthy and frankly almost harmful to our health according to experts—certified nutritionists for example—is one of the main sources of fodder for the communications companies, especially television. This explains the campaign against the law and whatever other measure there is that makes it possible for the public to find out how to make healthier food choices.

The controversy grew when Cardinal and Archbishop of Lima Juan Luis Cipriani [en], declared that it has been a while since he has eaten junk food and believes that much of it is harmful, but at the same time he is against legislating what people can or cannot eat.

In a widely discussed article shared on social networks, the advertising professional Robby Ralston wrote that in his view the law was poorly conceived, which “leaves so many grey areas that can invite criticism”, adding that “this leads inevitably down the road to advertising censorship and corruption”. Finally Ralston mentioned that “what really bothers me is that they are limiting my freedom to advertise and above all the freedom of Peruvians to see and enjoy advertising.”

The journalist Isabel Guerra commented on Facebook, echoing another of Ralston's arguments:

El Tribunal Constitucional ha despenalizado las relaciones sexuales presuntamente consentidas con menores de entre 14 y 17 años. Ahora tenemos una ley que supuestamente prohibirá que a esos mismos menores se les venda “comida chatarra”. Es decir, un adulto se puede llevar a la cama a una nena de 14 años, pero no le puede vender un pan con hot dog… :S #yodigonomás :S

The Constitutional Court has decriminalized presumably consensual sexual relations with minors of 14 to 17 years of age. Now we have a law that supposedly prohibits the sale of “junk food” to these same minors. In other words, an adult can bed a 14-year-old girl, but cannot sell her a hot dog on a bun…:S #yodigonomás (that's all I have to say) :S

The discussion reached a new low when a journalist tweeted a photo of Presidente Humala's daughters and commented that one of them seemed to be overweight. The tweet garnered a battery of criticism.

Given that the Ministry of Health has 60 days to issue the regulations for the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating, debate and pressure from various interest groups is expected to continue.

Original post published in Juan Arellano's blog Globalizado.

Cadmium-Laced Rice Found in China

Abby — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:15:32 +0000

Rice contaminated with high levels of the toxic heavy metal cadmium, dubbed “cadmium rice,” is the latest food scandal in China to trigger public panic and anger among the country's consumers.

The Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration revealed[zh] on May 16 that eight out of 18 rice samples tested in local markets contained excessive levels of cadmium. Most of the polluted rice comes from the southern province of Hunan, China’s top rice producing province.

“Cadmium in rice usually comes from the soil where it grows, and the soil was polluted by mining and chemical wastes,” Fan Zhihong, a food safety expert at China Agricultural University in Beijing, told the state-run Global Times.

The rice joins a growing list of food scares to hit China in recent years. Earlier this month, it was revealed that rat and fox meat was sold as lamb in the Shanghai and Jiangsu.

Contaminated rice has been a problem in China for decades. According to Global Times, a Nanjing Agricultural University research project in 2011 found that around 10 percent of rice sold across the nation contained excessive amounts of cadmium. According to another report, up to 70% of China’s soil is contaminated with heavy metals and fertilizers.

But officials are usually not forthcoming with information about such pollution. Earlier this year, environmental authorities refused a Beijing lawyer's request to publish the soil pollution data in China, saying it’s a “state secret”.

An insider was quoted by communist party newspaper People’s Daily as saying:

Map of China's rice pollution is widely shared on Weibo. (Image from Weibo)

对于含有镉这类“慢性中毒”的食品，一般情况下不会突然引发大的食品安全事故，有关部门负责人迫于经济发展压力，对食品企业违法行为睁一只眼闭一只眼，自身既不易受法律制裁，也能保住“乌纱帽”。

The food that contains cadmium is “chronically poisoned” food, which under normal circumstances will not lead to major food safety incidents. Under the pressure of economic development, some related departments turned a blind eye to food enterprises that broke the rules. They are unlikely to be punished by the law and they can still keep their posts.

In response to the news, the Chinese government's official mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency ran a piece, titled [zh] “Experts Recommend People Should Not Eat Rice from One Region All the Time,” that suggested people should diversify their rice sources to lower the risk.

The advice sparked lots of criticism online. On popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, one netizen “Bolin” wrote [zh] sarcastically:

人民日报告诉我们，中国贩运有毒食品是合法的，有毒食品参杂服用，就不只会死于一种有毒食品

People's Daily tells us that it is legal to sell toxic food. By eating all types of toxic food, we won't die from one kind of toxic food.

Shanghai-based writer “Lei Wenke” echoed [zh]:

就是要均衡各种污染么？

Does it mean [we should] maintain a balance of different types of pollution?

Environmentalist Dong Liangjie posed [zh] a rhetorical question:

在市场上不仅有镉大米、还有铅大米砷大米，有的是两个或三个同时超标；产地不仅是湖南，湖北、江西、广西、广东、河南、河北等都有；数量不是万吨，而是上百万吨。这么多产地和数量，如何轮着吃？体制内专家不追根求源、不谈真相，吃着纳税人给的俸禄，转移焦点，职业道德何在？

Not only cadmium rice, but lead rice and arsenic rice are also in the market; some have two or three excessive chemicals at the same time. [The polluted rice is] not only from Hunan, but also from Hubei, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong, Henan, Hebei, and other provinces. It's not just tens of thousands of tons, but millions of tons. So much polluted rice from so many places, how do you take turns to eat it? Experts within the system don't track the source of the problem or talk about the truth; they use taxpayers’ money and try to shift people's attention. What's happened to professional ethics?

Online personality and social critic “Xue Manzi” suggested [zh] that labels should list the amount of heavy metals that the rice contains:

鉴于最近大米重金属超标曝光后，大米的污染成了全国人民关注的焦点。为了食品安全，建议在大米白面的外包装上注明其重金属含量。我们实在不希望再重演进口洋奶粉的现象。奶粉还可以背，大米白面实在背不动。印上这个，大家可以放心食用了。大伙儿支持吗?

In view of the recent exposure of rice containing excessive levels of cadmium, rice pollution has become the focus of attention for the whole country. For food safety, I recommend that the packaging of rice and flour all have the amounts of heavy metals in them on the package. We really do not want to repeat the scene of importing foreign milk powder. We can carry the milk powder, but rice and flour are really too heavy to carry back [from abroad]. By printing this information on the package, we can feel safe to eat it. Anyone support my idea?

One user “Beiou jixu mengxiang zhilv” complained [zh]:

当空气、水、粮食均被污染后，我们能做的就不是挑选无污染食品，而是跟有污染食品抗争，看我们中国人体内到底能自我排出多少毒了！

When air, water, and food are contaminated, we can not pick pollution-free food, but fight with contaminated food to see how much poison can be self-discharged from the Chinese people's body!

Caijing Commentator Ye Tan called on [zh] the Hunan government to be more transparent about the food safety issues. However, as it shows on the shared map of China's rice pollution, the problem is not only limited to Hunan, but found in China at large.:

湖南方面应该拿出解决的诚意，公开信息。不公开信息，不承认本地的重金属污染，消费者无法确切地分辨湖南所产大米毒与非毒，最简单的做法是对所有的湖南大米敬而远之。如果公开信息，湖南大米可以被区分为被污染的，与安全的，不公开信息，会让湖南大米出现整体的信用危机，占全国13%的稻田成为废墟。

The Hunan government should sincerely work to solve the problem by making the information public. Without transparent information and recognition of the heavy metal pollution in the soil, consumers can not distinguish poisonous rice from non-poisonous rice produced in Hunan. The simplest approach for them is to turn away from all the rice in Hunan. If information is made public, then Hunan rice can be divided into contaminated and safe rice. If the information is not made public, Hunan will face an overall credit crisis. The land, accounting for 13 percent of the country's rice fields, will become ruins.

KFC Deliveries Smuggled into Palestine Through Secret Tunnels

Amira Al Hussaini — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:15:33 +0000

Palestinian Anas Hamra, from Gaza, claims he got his Kentucky Fried Chicken delivered – after a seven hour wait. His story tallies with a recent New York Times report which says that Gazans are getting their KFC deliveries, from Al Arish, in Egypt, where they are smuggled through secret tunnels.

After ordering his meal, he jokes [ar]:

راحت علينا الكنتاكي الحكومة صادرت وجبتي يفضح عرظها

@AnsRed: We have lost our Kentucky meal. The government has confiscated it, may it [the government] be scandalised

He then adds:

تم الإفراج حسب الإتصال عن 100 وجبة كنتاكي من لجنة الأنفاق التابعة لحكومة حماس الان وجبتي قادمة تباً خوفتيني عليكي يا وجبة!

@AnsRed: I was told on the phone that 100 Kentucky meals have been released by the tunnels committee run by the Hamas government now and that my meal is arriving. I have been worried about my meal.

Anas Hamra, from Gaza, claims he got his KFC after a seven hour wait

And he continues:

@AnsRed: am still WAITEN, actually am gonna have it as my breakfast for the next day! Sigh!!

When he finally gets his meal, Hamra shares its picture on both tumblr and Instagram.

On Instagram, many question whether his post was for real and Hamra confirms that he has indeed ordered a family size KFC meal. His assessment of the meal?

like an Egyptian KFC lol but cold

Mohammed Hassona, from Gaza, tweets [ar]:

أكل الكنتاكي علينا حق #غزة

@impalestinian: Eating Kentucky is our right #Gaza

And Michael Heaton quips:

@MichaelHeathon5: Kentucky Fried Chicken in Gaza? Havent those people suffered enough?

However, the Facebook page of the enterprise which runs the delievery service has since announced the discontinuation of the deliveries:

زبائننا الاعزاء : تم ايقاف طلبيات الكنتاكي وذلك لظروف خارجة عن ارادتنا… شكرا لاهتمامكم جميعا بهذا الموضوع

Dear customers,
The Kentucky deliveries have been stopped due to reasons beyond our control. Thank you all for your interest in this topic

At least Hamra got his KFC treat and tweeted and Instagramed the experience.

Australia’s SandwichGate: PM Julia Gillard Better Take Cover

Kevin Rennie — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:48:35 +0000

The mainstream media have been accused of trivialising political coverage in Australia over an incident involving Prime Minister Julia Gillard and a sandwich on 8 May 2013. Apparently, it even went viral overseas both in the press and online.

Gawker got into the act with a tasteless [sic] image as lead and an unproven claim about the projectile [Vegemite is an iconic Australian sandwich spread]:

On Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was visiting a high school in Brisbane when someone threw a sandwich at her.

And then, for a second, the world stopped.

Vegemite – Image courtesy: Flickr user Stephen Mitchell (CC License 2.0)

Or exploded, if the instant emergence of the #sandwichgate Twitter hashtag was any indication. It wasn’t to David Horton’s taste:

‏@watermelon_man: FFS journalists, with Sandwichgate you've finally lost, after many last chances, any claim to be thought of as a profession.

Craig must be a cuisine conspiracy theorist:

‏@Cutto1: So there was two sandwiches thrown at the pm. One from the book suppository, and one from the crusty roll, it’s a conspiracy. #sandwichgate

But this was not just a story of tweet oneliners. The Oz blogosphere also answered the call. Insert Clever Title Here satirized the mainstream media’s approach to reporting politics with a series of questions including:

1. Who threw the sandwich, what is their Facebook link and what is the worst photo of them that media can use.

4. What was the carbon impact of the sandwich?

5. What was in the sandwich?

9. Has Newspoll conducted detailed push polling on sandwich

Yale Stephens at The Red And The Blue wanted to hear about school policies not schoolyard pranks:

THE THROWING of a sandwich at Prime Minister Julia Gillard at a Brisbane school today really is small bier; it wasn’t an egg or something really capable of making a mark, and in any case — it missed. Yet this beat-up is even being reported in London tonight [The Telegraph], and people should move on to worthier issues.

However, he couldn’t resist a pun:

Forget about the sandwich folks; at the risk of mixing metaphors, it’s a red herring.

The whole incident seemed preordained as the Prime Minister was visiting a school fundraiser for breast cancer charity Australia's Biggest Morning Tea. Lyrics from Down Under by the iconic Men At Work area are apt:

He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,

“I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”

Crikey cartoonist First Dog on the Moon presented this exclusive interview:

Head Ranga in sanger clanger!
Courtesy: First Dog on the Moon

Now if you think that #sandwichgate is inconsequential, the #skywhale narrative is the latest Oz happening to trend internationally. It is something else that might cause politicians to take cover.

Andrea Carew mused about the nation’s Capital, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary:

@UTLAU: Unfathomable, kind of weird but some of us like it, controversial, + full of hot air – yes #skywhale really DOES represent #Canberra

Vivien Mitchell who works for the Centenary of Canberra unit gave us a sneak preview:

@Viv54: #skywhale Australia's newest mega fauna; gracing our skies from 11 May 2013 @theskywhale_ pic.twitter.com/2valK1w6EV

Leaked Development Plan Raises Land Grab Fears in Mozambique

Janet Gunter — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:37:16 +0000

Against a backdrop of growing concern about ‘land grabs‘ in Africa and the conversion of smallholder agriculture to large-scale commercial agriculture, a leak from a controversial economic development plan has raised alarm in Mozambique, as well as Brazil and Japan [ja], two key donors.

According to Mozambican NGO Justiça Ambiental and a number of other co-signing organizations, a leaked copy of the so-called Master Plan for the ProSAVANA program, dated March 2013, reveals the ‘land grabbing’ plans of the governments of Japan, Brazil and Mozambique.

A Mozambican farmer. Photo used on a CC BY-NC 2.0 license, by Flickr user Bread for the World

Brazilian activist Fátima Mello explains what ProSAVANA is, and gives some important background on the project in an interview with Instituto Humanitas [pt]:

O ProSavana é um programa de cooperação e investimentos entre três governos: Brasil, Japão e Moçambique. É um programa agrícola que abrange três províncias no norte de Moçambique, numa área estimada em 14,5 milhões de hectares, onde vivem aproximadamente 5,5 milhões de camponeses que produzem, a partir de um sistema de base familiar, alimentos. O ProSavana deriva do Prodecer, um programa que foi desenvolvido no Cerrado brasileiro, em Mato Grosso, realizado pela cooperação japonesa com o Brasil nos anos 1980 e que produziu as características que conhecemos no Cerrado: gigantescos monocultivos de soja em larga escala voltados para a exportação, intenso uso de agrotóxicos, expulsão de populações tradicionais, concentração da propriedade da terra, contaminação do solo e criação de um poderio econômico do latifúndio e do agronegócio, que se traduziu em poder político…

Prosavana is an aid and investment program between three governments: Brazil, Japan, and Mozambique. It is an agricultural program that spans three provinces in the north of Mozambique, in an area estimated at 14.5 million hectares, where approximately 5.5 million people produce food as family farmers. Prosavana derives from Prodecer, a program that was developed in the Brazilian “cerrado” (grasslands), in Mato Grosso, undertaken by Japanese aid with Brazil in the 1980s and that produced the characteristics that we know in the Cerrado: gigantic monocultures of soy on a large scale for export, intense use of agrotoxins, expulsion of traditional crops, concentration of land, contamination of the soil and creation of an economic powerhouse of land-owning elites and agribusiness, which translated into political power…

The land area in question in the “Nacala Corridor” is the size of Switzerland and Austria. The agencies sponsoring this project and the government had not yet made maps available to farmers and citizens, detailing what land will be included. Farmers organizations have felt totally shut out of the shaping of this project and policy.

The National Farmers Union of Mozambique (UNAC) said last year:

We, peasant farmers, condemn the way in which the ProSavana programme was drafted and the way it is intended to be implemented in Mozambique, which has been characterised by reduced transparency and the exclusion of civil society organisations throughout the process, especially peasant organisations.

On the blog Delegoa Bay, a blogger called ABM writes [pt]:

Conversando com camponeses ao longo do Corredor de Nacala fica claro que brasileiros e japoneses estão indo às comunidades para avisar que o ProSavana está chegando. Depois afirmarão que fizeram as chamadas consultas a sociedade civil. Isso que estão fazendo não é consulta…

Conversing with family farmers along the Nacala Corridor it becomes clear that Brazilians and Japanese are going to communities to warn that ProSavana is coming. Then they will maintain that they did so-called consultations with civil society. What they are doing is not consulting.

In March, under increasing pressure the Mozambican government stated [pt] that “dialogue [with communities] must be permanent”. Brazilian diplomats have responded to the calls for transparency by stating that small farmers will be included in the plans to develop Mozambique's Nacala Corridor. Head of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, Fernando Abreu, was quoted last month [pt] as saying that more information was needed, also claiming that there were no plans to resettle or move farmers from their land.

The leaks contain maps, showing which districts will be targeted for large-scale farming for export, allowing civil society organizations to verify exactly which communities could be affected in order to get a better idea of the potential impact. The leaked document identifies seven “clusters” for intensive development.

Justiça Ambiental and co-signers describe what kind of agriculture the plan will bring

Some of the projects within the plan will provide large areas of land to investors. The Integrated Grain Cluster, which is planned for Majune District, Niassa Province, will be managed by one vertically integrated company that will operate nine 5,000 ha farms, within a 60,000 ha zone, to produce a rotation of maize, soybeans and sunflower, mainly for export. According to the plan, ‘the project has a high profitability and the internal rate of return was calculated at 20.3% and the payback is 9 years.’

They go on to question whether there are any benefits for the Mozambicans in the region:

It is telling that only one of the seven clusters in the Master Plan is aimed at small scale farmers and family food production. And this cluster only proposes the same old failed green revolution model of development. The Master Plan puts no real thought and energy into the needs and capacities of peasants in the Nacala Corridor.

Corporations are the big beneficiaries of this Master Plan. They will get control over land and production and they will control the trade of the foods produced, which will be exported along the roads, rail lines and Nacala port that other foreign corporations will be paid to construct with public funds from Mozambique and Japan.

The National Farmer's Union foresaw a host of problems arising from the ProSAVANA project already last year. Landlessness, social upheaval, impoverishment, corruption, water pollution and ecological imbalance due to deforestation, the Union warned, could become a reality if the project went ahead as planned.

Avoid Mycetism, Mushroom Pickers!

Chris Rickleton — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:09:56 +0000

Postage stamps featuring some of Kyrgyzstan's wild mushrooms – edible and non-edible. Images taken from ianbek.kg, used with permission.

“Never eat overripe, clammy, flabby, wormy or spoiled mushrooms,” writes Ian Claytor, translating advice from Kyrgyzstan's Department for Disease Prevention and Expertise in his blog, Postcard from Bishkek. With the mushroom picking season underway in the former Soviet state, the Ministry of Health have come up [ru] with guidelines to help pickers enjoy the pastime safely.