Oh to be back in Amsterdam! - sigh!
Alarmingly it has been reported this week that Australia has become a net importer of food - scary stuff - & so much for 'Free Trade Agreements'!!...
...which, as we explore them further, reveal that Australian legislative provisions enshrine that a percentage of 'Genetically Modified' ingredients can be part of our foodstuffs without being disclosed on food-labels. Apparently such disclosure would be terribly bad for business as currently we're none too keen to gobble-up willy nilly 'GM' goodies without being informed that we're gobbling them up!!
Who did we actually elect in August?...because it seems to me that behind the closed political doors all the major political (& geo-political) decisions are made by:
* BIG BANK
* BIG PRESS
* BIG OIL
* BIG PHARMA
* BIG FOOD
These "BIGS" are un-elected power-brokers, and 'pollies' of all political persuasion dance only too merrily to their tunes.
Of course we mustn't forget our Australian 'home-grown' "biggie" either:
*BIG HELMA (so refreshingly absent in Dutch politics!)
...who provide a further corporate trough for Australian politicians to snuffle in. With regard to the helmet equation, I think it's fairly safe to conclude that we've been a net importer of bicycle helmets for decades.
But back to "BIG FOOD" and their clutches on the global food market, thank 'whoever-we-all-individually-thank' for Dr Vandana Shiva, recipient of the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize, and her legendary seed activism - she is truly a 'human-rights-defending-giant' and we need more of her!!
...can't wait to hear her give the City of Sydney Peace Prize Lecture in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House tomorrow night!
How on earth did that happen ? Australia is a huge place and really ought to be able to grow enough food to feed the population.
ReplyDeleteBy contrast (and I know it's not actually a comparable figure), the Netherlands is the world's second biggest agricultural exporter. That from a country which has 3/4 of Australia's population, in a land area which is 180th of the size of Australia...
There are often "coincidences" like this. It must have something to do with running a country well.
And somehow none of it ever seems to correspond with having compulsory helmet wearing !
"Grocery products were the largest contributor (55.6 per cent) - chiefly medicines, due to their high value, and cosmetics and soaps." since when where these items considered food, and may help explain the figures but not excuse them. Richard
ReplyDeleteI've lost all faith in Ross Gittins - one would have thought he'd have made some thoughtful remarks today about CBA and their excessive interest rate hike announced yesterday - whose payroll is he on?
ReplyDeletePlus how can he possibly excuse Australia's propensity for digging & living off our 'capital' whilst pretending it's 'income'?
David, thank you for those links...really interesting & as always you're spot on
ReplyDelete...wish you were our prime minister!!!!