-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
July 31, 2008
what is the truth, said jesting Pilate
It is not that anger and desire are inherently evil or that we should feel ashamed when they arise. It is a matter of seeing them as the delusions that they are: distorted conceptions that paint a false picture of reality. They are negative because they lead to unhappiness and confusion.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
July 23, 2008
while in this body
The oldest wisdom in the world tells us we can consciously unite with the divine while in this body; for this man is really born. If he misses his destiny, Nature is not in a hurry; she will catch him up some day, and compel him to fulfill her secret purpose.
~ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)
~ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)
July 11, 2008
frankenfoods
When it comes to concerns about genetically modified (GM) crops and food ingredients, the proverbial cat is already out of the bag -- and on the loose . . . And then there's the issue of GM animals
A time to sow? GM food could curb cost of staples
By Clive Cookson, Financial Times, July 10 2008
So widely are genetically modified crops now grown around the world, for use in animal feed and as processed food ingredients, that feed importers in Europe and Asia are finding it difficult to supply customers who want non-GM soya or maize.
“You have to pay 10-15 per cent more for non-GM corn – if you can get it at all,” says Ross Korves, a leading US agricultural economist.
As world food prices surge and shortages loom, genetically modified crops look increasingly tempting as a way to raise agricultural yields without using more energy or chemicals. Even in Europe, where GM crops have faced the strongest public resistance, more politicians, experts and farmers’ leaders are speaking out in their favour. Sir David King, the UK government’s former chief scientist, is one who says GM is the only technology available to solve the world food price crisis. . . .
Americans may have come to accept food from genetically modified plants but GM animals seem to be a step too far even for US consumer opinion.
Scientists first added genes from other species to farm animals in the mid-1980s, at about the same time as they began to make experimental GM crops. Technically there is no reason why the fields should not be alive by now with sheep and cows genetically engineered to resist diseases such as mastitis or produce leaner meat and more nutritious milk.
Yet while millions of GM mice are used every year in pharmaceutical and biomedical research, an adverse political and regulatory environment has inhibited most development and all commercialisation of GM farm animals.
Last month the US Biotechnology Industry Organization issued a report enthusing about the potential of GM animals to “enhance human health, food production, environmental protection, animal health and cutting-edge industrial applications”. Scott Gottlieb, the report’s co-author, says: “The practical benefits of this technology have not yet reached patients and consumers primarily because of regulatory and political obstacles rather than the limits of science.” . . .
Complete story here
A time to sow? GM food could curb cost of staples
By Clive Cookson, Financial Times, July 10 2008
So widely are genetically modified crops now grown around the world, for use in animal feed and as processed food ingredients, that feed importers in Europe and Asia are finding it difficult to supply customers who want non-GM soya or maize.
“You have to pay 10-15 per cent more for non-GM corn – if you can get it at all,” says Ross Korves, a leading US agricultural economist.
As world food prices surge and shortages loom, genetically modified crops look increasingly tempting as a way to raise agricultural yields without using more energy or chemicals. Even in Europe, where GM crops have faced the strongest public resistance, more politicians, experts and farmers’ leaders are speaking out in their favour. Sir David King, the UK government’s former chief scientist, is one who says GM is the only technology available to solve the world food price crisis. . . .
Americans may have come to accept food from genetically modified plants but GM animals seem to be a step too far even for US consumer opinion.
Scientists first added genes from other species to farm animals in the mid-1980s, at about the same time as they began to make experimental GM crops. Technically there is no reason why the fields should not be alive by now with sheep and cows genetically engineered to resist diseases such as mastitis or produce leaner meat and more nutritious milk.
Yet while millions of GM mice are used every year in pharmaceutical and biomedical research, an adverse political and regulatory environment has inhibited most development and all commercialisation of GM farm animals.
Last month the US Biotechnology Industry Organization issued a report enthusing about the potential of GM animals to “enhance human health, food production, environmental protection, animal health and cutting-edge industrial applications”. Scott Gottlieb, the report’s co-author, says: “The practical benefits of this technology have not yet reached patients and consumers primarily because of regulatory and political obstacles rather than the limits of science.” . . .
Complete story here
impermanence
No village law, no law of market town,No law of a single house is this—
Of all the world and the worlds of gods
This only is the Law, that all things are impermanent.
-- "Buddhist Parables," translated by E.W. Burlingame
(from "Teachings of the Buddha," edited by Jack Kornfield, 1993)
At left: "Mujo." Also: "anitya" in Sanskrit, "wuchang" in Mandarin, "mi rtag pa" in Tibetan, "impermanence" in English
// via The Invisible Cat
enough gluttony to go around
Why are we not surprised by this kind of insensitivity and stupidity?
World leaders feast amidst a food shortage
Kimberly Maul, PR Week, July 10 2008
World leaders brought a large amount of media attention to the G8 Summit in Japan, but not in the best way: They hosted lavish feasts after discussing the world food crisis. From July 7 to 9, heads from eight of the world's wealthy nations, including President George Bush, discussed major global issues, including how to solve the rising costs of food.
But just a day after the discussions on households wasting food, the leaders enjoyed what the UK's Daily Mail termed a "gastronomic extravaganza," courtesy of Michelin-star winning Japanese chef Katsuhiro Nakamura. Menu items for the six-course lunch and eight-course dinner, with more than a dozen dishes, included caviar, tuna, grilled eel, milk-fed lamb, and a G8 "Fantasy" dessert, according to the Daily Mail. . . .
Complete story here
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