People have been altering our plants and crops since time immemorial so why is there concern over genetic engineering? What is it about this that is different from selective breeding or hybridization?
Is it ethical to change the DNA of plants and animals for our own use and is it safe? Did Mother Nature get it so wrong when she ‘created’ our world that we need to fix it?
Are the far reaching claims used, as the basis for extensive promotion of genetically engineered crops by the biotech industry, governments, government agencies and proponents of GE technology really true?
400 scientists from 60 countries concluded, back in 2008, that genetic engineering was no solution to food shortages in the developing world.
This research was detailed in the UN’s International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report.
The 2008 report concluded that GE raises numerous contentious issues for developing countries, such as gene transfer, contamination of organic and conventional crops, undermining of local practices, reduced food security and unpredictable or reduced yields.
Add to that the issues of liability and the health effects on both humans and animals that are increasing over time, then there are clearly huge concerns about the future of farming with genetic engineering in the environment.
If GE paints such a bleak picture, then why are huge corporations such as Monsanto bothering to push their products onto the market? Consumers overwhelmingly are voting with their feet so why keep expanding the market? Who is trying to stop the labeling of food to show GE or GE free?
These and other questions will be answered by Jon Carapiet, spokesperson for GE Free NZ and trustee for Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility.
Over the last ten years, Jon has been a leading consumer advocate in the area of food safety and consumer rights. He has regularly commented in the media and actively participated in the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification and other regulatory processes through ERMA.
Jon’s advocacy work has centered on the risks of commercial release of genetically engineered organisms to public health, the environment, and to New Zealand’s exports and tourism-based economy.
He has drawn on his professional expertise in marketing, as a senior market researcher, to highlight the necessity to protect “Brand New Zealand” and to pursue an ethical biotechnology strategy that is based on the precautionary principle and respect for community values.
Jon is motivated by his humanitarian concerns for people and the planet that are at risk from those seeking to exploit the world’s supply of food, our animals, and the environment.
Join us to get a real handle on where we are around GE in 2012 and to understand that one of the key ways to oppose GE is to insist on the labelling of our food, right now.
WRITE to The Herald.
Jon Carapiet
http://www.organicnz.org.nz/node/419
http://press.gefree.org.nz/press/20120815.htm
What effect do human emotions have on the environment and beyond? These and other questions are being put to the test in a bold, scientific experiment to measure the impact of both positive and negative thoughts and feelings on the earth's magnetic grid.
Worldwide, project initiated by the Institute of HeartMath LLC, a US based institution focused on bringing positive change to the world is a science-based, co-creative project to unite people in heart-focused care and intention, to facilitate the shift in global consciousness from instability and discord to balance, cooperation and enduring peace.
It is planned for numerous sensor sites to be strategically place around the world. Three are already in place in California, Saudi Arabia and England with four more funded and soon to be functioning in Canada, New Zealand, Brazil and South Africa. The sensors are funded entirely by charitable donation.
Emotional-intelligence (EQ) Tele summit 2012
EQ abbreviation:
1. (Psychology) emotional quotient, a (notional) measure of a person's adequacy in such areas as self-awareness, empathy, and dealing sensitively with other people.
This unique Summit is being initiated by Kim Knight, Director of the Art of Health, nominated last year for New Zealand Woman of the year for her innovative work in health and science. The summit will feature 26 world experts in the field of human emotion.
Presenters will demonstrate through proven methodologies how developing and using EQ is essential for personal health, healthy relationships, business achievement, successful education and authentic wealth creation. Above and beyond this, they will also share how the use of EQ (as opposed to only IQ) is a pre-requisite for the positive development of the human race and earth, and how the future of the planet may even depend on it.
Luminaries such as Dr Bradley Nelson (US), Richard Moat PhD (NZ), Rob van Overbruggen (NL), Richard Flook (CAN) and Kim Knight (NZ) will be joining the summit to share their revolutionary findings on how emotions have been discovered to be at the core of many chronic illnesses.
Many such illnesses have often been deemed 'incurable' in the prevailing medical paradigm, and presenters will share the dramatic and often instantaneous recoveries thousands of people have experienced using their ground breaking methodologies.
Other well-respected EQ experts included Joshua Freedman (US), COO of 6 Seconds, who will covering the role of EQ in education, Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton (UK), aka the 'Punk Scientist' best known for her revolutionary findings in the field of quantum physics, and Pat Armitstead, the world's first joyologist.
Other cutting-edge topics include Adriane Hartigan von Strauch's (NZ) seminar on 'Quantum Intimacy', Brittany Watkins' (US) seminar on overcoming emotional obesity and Patricia Evans'seminar on emotional abuse.
The online global event will kick off Mon 3 September (US) with Marvin Oka, co-author with Grant Soosalu of the ground-breaking new book 'mBraining' and the 'mBIT' multiple brain integration technique, who will share how the latest findings in neuro-science show we have three complex and functional brains and how we can harness and integrate these multiple brains for greater success, wisdom and happiness.
The Summit will run for 2 weeks from 3 September until 18 September, with several live and pre-recorded 'virtual' events. Listeners can tune in from anywhere in the world via the internet and phone in for the live events to interact with presenters.
Free listening options are available, although the goal of the paid option is to donate 10% of proceeds from premium ticket sales to the Global Coherence Initiative.
For detailed information and registration see:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3741721590/EQ2012/20938544958
For details of the Global Coherence Initiative see
http://artofhealth.co.nz/s-events-telesummit-emotional-intelligence2012-global-coherence.htm
Kim Knight
www.artofhealth.co.nz
In 1983 Gerry started a ginger group, Engineers for Social Responsibility. The president of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers, Sir John Ingram (also chair of NZ Steel) tagged them ‘the lunatic fringe’, but his successor Alec Stirrat was kinder. He called them ‘the conscience of the engineering profession’.
In the early days of ESR, some uninformed IPENZ members expressed their concerns;
“that ESR is an activist group associating with non-engineers known to incite treason".
This was initially concerned with the the possibility of Global Nuclear War and the conservative element in NZ, wanted NZ to remain within the Western Alliances's Nuclear Umbrella.
In association with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and Scientists Against Nuclear Arms (SANA), ESR under the Chairmanship of Professor Jack Woodward prepared a series of 17 fact sheets.
These sheets were designed to describe in a concise manner important facts from scientific and medical literature about the dangers of nuclear war in a way which could be easily understood by non-technical people.
The fact sheets were distributed to secondary schools, and libraries in the Auckland area, members of Parliament and other decision makers throughout New Zealand, and to certain embassies and South Pacific heads of state. Users were encouraged to copy and redistribute the sheets. The sheets receive much commendation.
So what of today, how are we as an individual and as a collective to be socially responsible? Especially as we learn daily of the escalating challenges that come to meet us via the local and global media plus earth changes and strange weather patterns.
This interview with Gerry Coates in a more private capacity, looks at the current challenges facing us as both a nation and from a global perspective.
Recent news of the huge melting of ice in the Arctic circle and that between January and July 2012, the United States has broken 40,000 heat temperature records, ramps up the challenge of global warming, even as we have suffered from the opposite swing of the pendulum and experience cold wet snaps here in NZ.
The question of population too is an ever increasing dilemma that is verging on a crisis.
However, due to the overwhelming nature of the predicaments that we are faced with, how do we 'snap' out of our indifference to what is 'lapping up' to the very foundations of our civilization?
Covering diverse subject matter of:
Dealing with business people who think that they can carry on with business as usual, as if there is no concern to exploiting our planet continuously.
Where are our champions for our planet and future?
Mentioning James Lovelock, Al Gore and their drawbacks and the forthright articulations by David Suzuki and previously Teddy Goldsmith and the sad loss of Sir Peter Blake. Plus Tim Flannery who recently stated 'if we want change we have to get people to get the politicians to change.'
In particular we need a business champion with drive, mana and charisma.
Lester Brown, of World Watch …… his new book called World on the Edge covers three ways of instigating the much needed change if we are to bring our civilization back from the very brink of collapse. This will entail huge limits to growth. Limits that we have in many ways already exceeded.
Covering the costing of finite resources and the priorities of expenditure re armaments and that well over a trillion dollars is spent by the global military annually.
Plus, what is the 'true' story regarding the amount of oil we have = peak oil?
All this and more as we as a global family urgently have to come to grips with denial to avoidance to indifference ... to our common future.
www.esr.org.nz
As well as this excellent NZ site;
http://hot-topic.co.nz
With your host Lisa Er standing in for Tim Lynch.
Can we make the world a better place? Yes we can!
This is an underlying hope and drive behind all Christine does. While speaking about the unprecedented pressures on the Earth’s resources and growing inequalities, Christine inspires with solutions.
Living her beliefs by acting sustainably, and through her commitment to solving the problems of the coming times, Christine makes an impact on the world.
What are the emerging threats to our way of life? Is there such a thing as sustainable growth, and if not what is the new growth paradigm? Are we failing women, and what is the role for women in this post growth future?
These questions and more are covered in this delightfully frank discussion with Christine.
Acknowledging the awe inspiring beauty of the world, and the resilience and positivity of the human spirit, Christine speaks clearly about the decimation of Maui and Hectors dolphins - death by set net – in New Zealand.
She describes the tragedy of the commons:“The law locks up the man or woman; who steals the goose from off the common;. But leaves the greater villain loose. The one who steals the commons from off the goose.”
Finally she tells of the belief system behind all that she does, which includes that all important word, LOVE.
Christine served the Rodney area as an elected representative for the 15 years between 1995 and 2010. She was Deputy Mayor of the Rodney District Council, and Deputy Chair of the Auckland Regional Council.
She chaired various committees including the ARC’s Transport Committee and the Regional Land Transport Committee.
Christine has a first class honours degree in political science, and philosophy from Auckland University, where she also taught politics. She has been a supporter of both Greenpeace and Forest and Bird for over 20 years, serving in various governance roles.
Christine has also led significant environmental campaigns, most notably working with the Labour Government to protect Maui and Hector dolphins. She is a strong advocate of sustainable transport for Auckland. Christine was a candidate for the Labour Party in 2011 for the Rodney District.
You can also follow Christine on her blog:
http://christinerosenz.tumblr.com
This programme is sponsored by The Awareness Party
Dennis Frank standing in for Tim Lynch.
Dennis Frank presents 4 different contemporary applications of green technology that provide a substantial contribution to our progress toward a sustainable economy. He continues his discussion with business consultant psychologist Bill Watson from our broadcast on July the 5th.
Bill illuminates the cultural nuances of our economic relations with China, explaining key concepts that both create and bridge the cultural divide between China and the West. He describes ancient Chinese beliefs and their relevance in todays world.
When the focus moves to geopolitical relations, Bill anticipates a strategic shift in China as it reacts to the current imbalance in its interdependent power relations with the USA, and its economic relations with the West as a whole. Is the enormous debt now owed by Americans to China okay? If so, why is European debt not okay? Is the game changing??
They discuss how our common interests come into play. Dennis outlines key features of identity politics. Since we identify with groups we belong to, group psychodynamics tend to produce identity politics. Our motivations derive from our sense of personal identity, which emerges from the roles we play in groups.
As we change roles & groups, our self-image and behaviour shifts, so we often end up with various identities each deriving from a particular group context. Whereas westerners trend toward multi-dimensional identities, people in eastern countries are bound by tradition into unitary identity.
Dennis then expands his view of why an alternative political movement is now essential, and how it can be designed to be an effective change agent to get us all through the transition in the best possible way. Are you happy to go with the flow in the collective drift towards the gurgler? If not, you need to join those who can create the alternative.