Katz cradle

"Dr. Katz said the impetus for developing a rating system for groceries was his real-life experience as a doctor and father of five children. His patients and his family struggled to interpret the labels on food packaging.

For instance, a consumer may think that Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise is healthier than the company’s regular mayonnaise. In fact, it has less saturated fat than the regular mayonnaise but more sodium; over all, by Dr. Katz’s calculation, the regular mayonnaise is healthier.

A preliminary ranking of foods found many predictable results, but some that were surprising. Cocoa Krispies scored last for nutrition among breakfast cereals, and salmon was tops among meats. Kiwifruit rated at the top among fruit.

Oh, and Cheerios, by Dr. Katz’s method, are better for you than Special K. Chunky Chips Ahoy turn out to be slightly worse than Nilla Wafers." (thanks D.)

Zira3a.net

Some of you may have noticed a banner for Ziraa.net on the right hand side of the screen, below the Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign banner. I dont put banners on this blog (sure, sure...) besides the NBRC. But i really liked the arabic blog on agriculture, it's a great source of technical infos and most importantly it is in Arabic. I checked the information and they make sense. So when Aouni offered to swap banners, i said, what the heck...resolutions are made to be broken. Check it, it is really nice.

Badael-Alternatives

The new installment of the Badael page in al akhbar: my opinion piece about the duties of the state and those of NGOs. An article by Nader Fawz who is asking what happened to spontaneous civil society groups who emerged in July 2006 to help the refugees from the Israeli attack, and who also asks: where were they during the Nahr el Bared crisis? Plus the usual stuff about traditional foods (rose water) and medicinal herbs (cannabis, yes it is medicinal).

Organic Lebanon

"The organic movement has gained remarkable momentum in Europe and the United States in the last decade, but in Lebanon the sector has become sluggish. "Certified organic foods make up 7 percent of Italian agricultural production, and 10 percent in Switzerland," Andrea Tamburini, the project coordinator for UCODEP, told The Daily Star. "In Lebanon the percentage is 0.2."

"The sector is completely stagnant," he added."

Yes it is stagnant Andrea, and you know why, of course, it is because we have entirely fabricated this sector. Farmers did not request it, it did not even come from consumer demand. It came from the project proposals of a group of well meaning, perhaps, but certainly project-eager development "specialists", people whose main task is to think: where can we go next, because there is money (and in this case mostly from USAID) to fund projects in the agricultural sector, especially projects that would result in produce of an exportable nature. I know what I'm talking about because i was among the first people to write such a proposal and obtain funding, first from an IFAD/WB/Lebanese government and then from USAID to implement it. My funds were relatively limited, but USAID gave millions to the organic sector in Lebanon through World Vision.

In spite of the $millions spent, organic never really picked up. In spite of our marketing acrobatics, and the creation of a community supported agriculture program tailored to lebanese demand (meaning you have to give subscribers all kinds of fruits and vegetables year round, which goes contrary to the essence of CSA, but then again Lebanon is a country where McDonalds have valet parking), in spite of that, I would estimate that the organic market in lebanon is in the order of $500,000 a year, and, worse, that it has not grown for at least 2 years.

There are many problems with the organic sector, and I could go on for a while, but there is one good thing: Most of the organic produce from Lebanon is sold locally. We have sent small consignmentsto Dubai and Bahrain , World Vision is also doing that, but it is only economically feasible if it is heavily subsidized by development money. Subsidies take many forms, some farmers get direct subsidies in the form of inputs like drip systems, others get their certification paid for, etc... In Egypt and Tunisia and Morocco, organic production is much more important than Lebanon, but the produce is immediately exported to the UK or France, and the farms are industrial production systems. This is one of the great issues in organic today: should you plant for export, when the people cannot access clean food? How organic is it if you account for the food miles? How accessible is international organic certification to small farmers? Who is eating the organic food? Is organic monoculture (strawberries in egypt) acceptable? and many many other questions.

Organic farming, whether one takes it seriously or not, was initiated primarily as a philosophical movement, based on the respect of natural cycles in order to conserve the land. It was NOT created to provide pesticide free foods to those who can afford it. Let this be known.

PS: I ran a survey a few years back on why did people buy organic food in Lebanon. The options were: 1. to protect your health, 2. To protect the environment and 3. to help small farmers 9who were the target group of our program). 85% said for own health, 14% said environment and 1% said help to small farmers.

Khiar

"Lebanese cucumbers – with their small, sweet fruit encased in a thin, edible skin – have become increasingly popular. Their versatility, tender flavour and burpless qualities have made them summer salad favourites.

Sadly, for lovers of this cucumber variety, crop failures in recent years have led to a shortage of seed. But at last there’s good news: the supply hiccup has been resolved, there’s stock available and, hence, Lebanese Cucumber has been selected as Yates Seed of the Month for November 2007."(Thanks Barbara)

From an advert by a seed company. Why do they call them Lebanese cucumbers? Were they selected by Lebanese farmers? Did Yates (the company) pay royalties? Or is it going to sell them back to the Lebanese farmers?

Serious oil

Excellent series of peer reviewed articles on the health benefits of olive oil and Mediterranean diet, from a special issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research (Wiley InterScience). Check it, it's a very rich, reliable source for all those seriously interested in the nutritional aspects of olive oil. Thanks Loubna

Next pope: Al Gore

"Pope Benedict XVI has called for the upholding of ‘green culture’, and the Vatican has announced that it will soon become the world’s first carbon neutral state. A Hungarian entrepreneur plans to plant trees on a denuded island in the Tisza River to offset the Papal carbon emissions. The newly planted 37 acres of holy land, to be renamed the Vatican Climate Forest, is supposed to absorb as much carbon dioxide as the Vatican emits. At a ceremony publicising the initiative, Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, noted that ‘the book of Genesis tells us of a beginning in which God placed man as guardian over the earth to make it fruitful’ (4). As far as some Vatican leaders are concerned, offsetting carbon emissions plays a role analogous to that of fasting or self-mortification in previous times. Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca Alameda, an official at the Council for Culture, argues that ‘one can emit less CO2 by not using heating and not driving a car, or one can do penance by intervening to offset emissions, in this case by planting trees’." (thanks D.)

After Islam, now a Catholic fatwawawa (courtesy of angry arab). I don't have time today, but this is a gold mine for facile humour. Can i plant trees for next ramadan?

Conspiracy DeNile

"The "Israeli" policy aims at threatening Arab security including of course that of Egypt through increasing "Israel's" influence in the States controlling the Nile waters at its sources, by concentrating on agricultural projects that rely on pumping its water requirements from Lake Victoria. To reach this goal "Israeli" policy aims at increasing tension between Arab and African States, which shall distract Egypt's attention away from the Palestinian cause. "Israel" also aims at obtaining facilities for establishing military bases in the Nile basin States and the use of their air and maritime bases, as it got facilities in Ethiopia during its 1967 aggression, and the intend upon using these States as bases for espionage against Arab States and also as markets for its military industrial products, creating local military cadres loyal to it.

Besides these goals, "Israel" had always been interested in solving the problem of getting new water supplies, and diverting part of the Nile waters through the Sinai Peninsula to the Negev Desert. This is an old project, it was first presented by to the British government Herzl in 1903, and these "Israeli" intensive trials were repeated since the 1970s. In spite of the Egyptian governmental and popular rejection of the project, the Zionist State never gave up hope, it is a Zionist dream, awaiting the right occasion for it to come true, and to propose it anew and importune for its fulfillment when the political and economic occasion in the region permits."

Long, good article about israel's efforts to control the sources of the Nile.through intelligence, military, politics and trade. None of these approaches are new to the zionists.Translated fro Arabic, so kindly replace all instances of "international bank" with "world bank". I post this for my friend Kirsten who does not believe (while i do) in the israeli conspiracy to foment trouble and use existing tension to get a hold on the nile waters. (thanks maysoun)

Muqawama...to GMO

"This resistance to GM crops could be a setback for an industry struggling to get off the ground in Europe. European GM growers reported 77 percent growth (CORDIS) last year, in terms of total area planted. Yet even with these gains, only about one percent of the world’s genetically modified corn is grown in Europe, and sixty varieties of crops remain backlogged for approval. EuropaBio, a European biotech lobby group, called for automatic approval of GM foods that pass their risk assessments. The United States, Argentina, Canada, and Brazil pick up the slack, accounting for 94 percent (PDF) of global GMO plantings, according to a 2006 paper published by Harvard’s Belfer Center. The paper notes that the environmental effects from GM crops planted in these countries have been “strongly positive to date.”" (thanks D.)

Eat more, talk less

Do you know why Lebanese olive farmers (sometimes) have a problem selling their produce? Because the Lebanese don't eat enough olive oil! According the World Olive Oil Council, the per capita consumption of olive oil in Lebanon is a measly 2.4 kg per year. Compare to Syria (5.3 kg), Spain (11.2 kg) and Greece (an unbelievable 20.7). Instead of singing its praise, go buy some of your own olive oil. And stop cooking with soy oil.

How to beet GMOs

"Seven years ago, beet breeders were on the verge of introducing Roundup-resistant seeds. But they had to pull back after sugar-using food companies like Hershey and Mars, fearing consumer resistance, balked at the idea of biotech beets. Now, though, sensing that those concerns have subsided, many processors have cleared their growers to plant the Roundup-resistant beets next spring.

A Kellogg spokeswoman, Kris Charles, said her company “would not have any issues” buying such sugar for products sold in the United States, where she said “most consumers are not concerned about biotech.”

When genetically engineered versions of soybeans and corn — as well as cotton and canola — were introduced in the mid-1990s, farmers quickly adopted them. But opposition to genetically engineered crops then took hold, particularly in Europe. Food companies, fearing protests or loss of customers, pressured farmers not to grow the crops." (Thanks D.)

Let me list them for you to make things easier: Genetically modified crops on the global commodities market include today:

Corn, soybean, sugar beet, canola (rape seed), wheat, cotton. Most of the feed animals eat to make meat and dairy, the flour we bake, the oil we cook with, the clothes we wear. And the pop corn at the movies.

I dont eat pop corn, I use olive oil whenever I can, and sunflower oil when I can't. I've still got to replace sugar with grape molasses or honey, and wear Syria cotton (Syria is one of the world's largest cotton producer) and then I can avoid GMOs. Alternatively, buy everything marked organic, but that is becoming corporatized too. Que faire?

Toum and Jerry

"“People have known garlic was important and has health benefits for centuries,'’ said Dr. David W. Kraus, associate professor of environmental science and biology at the University of Alabama. “Even the Greeks would feed garlic to their athletes before they competed in the Olympic games.'’

The power to boost hydrogen sulfide production may help explain why a garlic-rich diet appears to protect against various cancers, including breast, prostate and colon cancer, say the study authors. Higher hydrogen sulfide might also protect the heart, according to other experts. Although garlic has not consistently been shown to lower cholesterol levels, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine earlier this year found that injecting hydrogen sulfide into mice almost completely prevented the damage to heart muscle caused by a heart attack.

Many home chefs mistakenly cook garlic immediately after crushing or chopping it, added Dr. Kraus. To maximize the health benefits, you should crush the garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes. That triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic."

Toilet to tap

“It is one of the most expensive kinds of water you can create,” said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the mayor. “It is a large investment for a very small return.”

Mzungu

Pemba, Zanzibar - For years, Salim Haji was told by government officials and international group that his methods of fishing were destroying the coral and weren't sustainable. But few fishermen on this small island off Tanzania's coast paid much heed.

Then, the local imam told him that using dragnets to fish and spears to catch octopuses was wrong.

As a devout Muslim, he listened.

"I've learned that the way I fished was destructive to the environment," says Mr. Haji, "This side of conservation isn't from the mzungu," he says, using the Swahili word for white man, "it's from the Koran." (Thanks D.)

Imported cultures

"The global food market experiences an increasing demand for dairy products with low fat or low sugar claims. During the last year more than 30% of new dairy/food products globally came with a low fat claim and 7% with a low sugar claim (Mintel GNPD). And the trend shows no sign of cessation.

“We develop high quality solutions that meet the global health trend, which in yoghurt often translates into low fat and/or low sugar. With our Yo-Flex® range, which we launched last year, we have succeeded in creating a series of cultures for low fat yoghurt with high texture and mild flavor. And we have taken the range one step further with our freeze-dried line extension that also provides new flavor characteristics, “explains Morten Boesen, Marketing Manager, Yoghurt Cultures, Chr. Hansen."

Here's the deal: like with plant varieties, globalization of taste is leading to the reduction in the genetic variability of yoghurt cultures. Ever wondered why different kinds of laban and labneh taste differently? and why yoghurt in Europe (yaourt in France) tastes differently from the laban from Lebanon? and why suddenly the taste of factory-made laban has changed and is now less acidic? and why the yoghurt (laban) from the village (dai3a) tastes differently, and is more acidic than the shop-bought laban? It's all in the culture. In villages and in some homes in beirut (although much less now) people make laban at home using a starter culture called "rawbeh" from the previous laban batch, or from the neighbour's laban. Over time, this culture becomes specific to people and to environments, and produces a typical taste that varies from home to home and from village to village. This is the essence of food biodiversity. Enter corporations and industries: They identified strains with "desirable qualities" and commercialized them. The danger: Most yoghurt is made from the same culture, with similar taste: bye bye diversity of tastes, now we all eat the same thing. And it is so much easier for corporations to make only one "taste" while varying other ingredients like colors and sugar content, and to drop the "special" yoghurts (which were the run of the mill originally). But the corporations and the industry are not solely responsible for that: consumers who accept without questioning or demanding something else, share part of this blame, although it is understandable that they should prefer the cheapest, mass-produced product that is dumped on them instead of looking for that "special taste". People are too busy making a living and trying to make ends meet to go "discern" from shop to shop. Policies are needed for that, strong food policies promoting food biodiversity.

I wrote earlier about wheat and how Lebanon, the place of origin of wheat, now eats bread exclusively made from imported wheat, bred for different climes, and how we are about to lose our local races of bread wheat, and become totally dependent on Australian and Canadian and US wheat. How ridiculous. How outrageous. Now for laban: when I was little, my teachers told me that Lebanon (in arabic lubnan) was called this way because its snowy peaks looked white like laban and also because it is the country of laban and asal (milk or yoghurt and honey). Well, now we have to import the starter cultures to make the food that gave Lebanon its name. How befitting.

"Where I live," she said. "I want to have an olive tree living with me."

They don't want Iran's nuts, just its nukes

"Israel has asked the United States for help in cracking down on illegal pistachio nut imports from Iran, an official said, after Washington warned that the trade was hurting efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. Israel imports pistachios worth $26 million annually, mostly from Turkey. But Washington says nuts from Iran are mixed in with the shipments, undermining economic sanctions meant to force Iran to stop developing its nuclear abilities. An Agriculture Ministry official said Israel was willing to help but, as in the past, the problem was how to figure out the nuts’ origin."

Inverted sugar

"Sugar prices, already depressed by a global glut, have further room to fall in the coming months due to the weight of exports from India as the country becomes the world's top supplier of the sweetener.

India is set to overtake Brazil as the world's leading sugar producer in the current crop year, and is forecast to harvest a second consecutive record crop of 32-33 million tonnes.

A key question was how much of this tonnage will be sold to the huge al-Khaleej refinery in Dubai."

So while the price of all other commodities is rising due (in part) to the increase in oil price, sugar price is decreasing, and this in spite of the shift in the use of sugarcane in Brazil from sugar production to ethanol?

soy ultrajado

"The big soya farmers also use debt to get their hands on our land. To grow soya these days requires expensive machinery, and there’s a private credit agency that gives loans to small farmers around here. Because they have no capital, the agency asks for their land as a guarantee. The small farmers all believe that next year they’ll be able to pay it off, but they never do. Growing soya is only profitable on a big scale. Most local farmers have 30 or 40 hectares at most, and you need at least 1,000 hectares to make money. When they default, the agency seizes their land and sells it on at a profit to the Brazilians.

As well as gradually driving rural families off their land, the expansion of soya is also immensely destructive in environmental terms. Since around the year 2000, the big soya growers have all been using genetically-modified seeds. They are made by Monsanto, a huge company in the US. The seeds are designed to be resistant to toxic herbicides, so the soya farmers just pour as much veneno [poison] on them as they like.

The land is ruined now. The trees don’t bare fruit, for example, and the animals die from the contamination in the water. Last year one of my neighbours saw 18 of his cows die in the space of just two months. The pressure to expand into new areas is also causing woods and forests to be cut down across Paraguay. Deforestation rates were so high that the government recently put a temporary ban on cutting down more trees, but the big soya farmers carry on just the same. "

Perennial garden

More on perennial plants, this time a list of vegetables to chose from and addresses to purchase to obtain them from (if you live in california). Also sent by Leila.