China aims to phase out sale of live poultry at food markets

Yahoo – AFP, July 3, 2020

The virus is believed to have emerged at a market that sold live animals
in the central city of Wuhan late last year (AFP Photo/Hector RETAMAL)

China on Friday vowed to gradually phase out the slaughter and sale of live poultry at food markets, in a move welcomed by animal rights activists amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came as China stepped up inspections of wholesale food markets and outlawed the sale and consumption of wildlife, after a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing was traced to a major agricultural wholesale market.

The virus is believed to have emerged at a market that sold live animals in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

"China will restrict the trading and slaughter of live poultry, encourage the mass slaughter of live poultry in places with certain conditions, and gradually close live poultry markets," said Chen Xu, an official at the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press briefing.

Live poultry kept in cages is a common sight in agricultural wholesale food markets and "wet markets" -- smaller-scale fresh food markets -- across China.

The poultry is traditionally butchered on the spot by stallholders, or buyers can opt to slaughter the live animal at home.

Some Chinese people traditionally believe that this allows for maximum freshness. Live seafood, amphibians and other creatures are also commonly sold at wet markets.

Scientists believe the pathogen originated in bats before jumping to humans through a yet-unknown animal intermediary.

Chen urged local governments across China to "strengthen supervision of food safety at agricultural wholesale markets" and "investigate hidden safety risks", taking the Beijing Xinfadi market virus hotspot as an example.

"It is understood that more than 70 percent of meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables enter the market through wholesale agricultural markets," he said.

There are more than 4,100 wholesale markets nationwide, a commerce ministry official told the briefing.

The announcement was welcomed by animal rights groups.

"We are happy to see that live-poultry markets are on their way out in China," said Jason Baker, senior vice president of PETA Asia.

"PETA hopes the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration continues to stretch their wings and ban all live-animal markets nationwide."

Dutchman wins prestigious prize for work with seeds and small farmers

DutchNews, June 11, 2019

Photo: Marcel Bakker via World Food Prize Foundation

This year’s World Food Prize, the most important global prize in the field of farming and food, has been awarded to Dutchman Simon Groot for his work in helping millions of smallholder farmers to use good seeds. 

This work, the organising committee says, ‘enabled them to to earn greater incomes through enhanced vegetable production, benefitting hundreds of millions of consumers with greater access to nutritious vegetables for healthy diets’. 

‘Simon Groot has dedicated his life to improving the livelihoods of millions around the world,’ Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, said at the award announcement on Monday. 

Groot, now 84, and his partner in the Philippines, started East-West Seed in 1982. Today, the team has developed vegetable varieties with enhanced disease resistance and significantly higher yields which are now used across Asia and beyond. The company serves 19 million smallholder farmers in more than 60 tropical countries.

Announcing the 2019 World Food Prize Laureate, from the Netherlands, Mr. Simon N. Groot. #FoodPrize19 pic.twitter.com/LzKIefa3Nw

— The World Food Prize (@WorldFoodPrize) 10 juni 2019

In an interview with the Volkskrant, Groot said he thinks it regrettable that seed production is in the hands of a few big companies such as Bayer/Monsanto and Syngenta. 

The big companies, he said, are limiting supplies because there is little money to be made from minor breeds. ‘Big companies look at the importance of shareholders,’ he said. ‘Traditional seed companies put the interests of farmers first. We are friends to farmers.’ 

The prize was founded in 1986 by Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Groot is the first Dutch national to take the prize.

Vanilla and spice next to bloom in Dutch greenhouses

Yahoo – AFP, Maude Brulard, November 12, 2016

University of Wageningen researcher Filip van Noort and vanilla grower Joris
Elstgeest inspect vanilla orchids, part of four years of ground-breaking research
(AFP Photo/Maude Brulard)

Bleiswijk (Netherlands) (AFP) - Flowers more exotic than the humble tulip will soon flourish for the first time in Dutch greenhouses after intensive research into growing the capricious vanilla orchid to harvest one of the world's most expensive spices.

In the middle of potato fields in a central Dutch rural town, scientists from Wageningen University have for the past four years been nurturing vanilla orchids. And their research has been deemed a success.

"Based on our information, businesses believe vanilla is a plant with a lot of potential for Dutch greenhouses and have decided to start growing it," said researcher Filip van Noort.

How many orchids will be planted will be decided at the start of the next growing season in the spring, and it will take at least three years before the first Dutch-grown vanilla hits the market.

In Bleiswijk, home to the ground-breaking research, vines from about 100 plants stretch metres high in hot, tropical greenhouses. Hidden under fleshy, oval-shaped leaves are the buds, that will eventually become the vanilla pods so prised by chefs the world over.

"The challenge is to ensure the plants blossom and then to be able to pollinate them in a cost-effective way," said van Noort.

Cultivation of the vanilla orchid is hugely labour intensive as the orchid's flowers 

only last one day and must be pollinated by hand if they are to produce fruit

 (AFP Photo/Maude Brulard)

Black gold

Cultivation is hugely labour intensive. The orchid's flowers only last one day and must be pollinated by hand if they are to produce fruit. So it was an apt challenge for the Dutch -- renowned for their green fingers and their expertise in greenhouse cultivation.

"A few years ago we were looking for new plants which could be grown in Dutch greenhouses," explained van Noort.

The aim was to increase the variety of crops grown by Dutch farmers as they search for improved profits.

Vanilla made sense. Currently the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar holds a quasi-monopoly over world supply producing some 80 percent of global vanilla bean stocks.

It is also the world's second most expensive spice, with prices climbing to 350 euros ($380) a kilo this month -- compared with 60 euros in 2014.

"In the past the price was too low to be interesting. But today, with demand increasing, the prices are rising," said orchid expert Joris Elstgeest.

The long, black vanilla pods, with their distinctive caramel and at times woody scent, have to be collected by hand from the vines and then dried before being sold.

It is the sticky tiny black seeds scraped from inside the pods which are a baker's delight, lending an almost intoxicating flavour to everything from cakes and ice-cream.

The long, black vanilla pods, with their distinctive caramel and at times woody scent, 

have to be collected by hand from the vines and then dried before being sold 

(AFP Photo/Maude Brulard)

All organic

Originating from Mexico, the vanilla orchid was brought to Europe by Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus. But all attempts to grow it in milder climates failed for lack of the type of bee which pollinated the flowers.

It was not until 1841 that someone on the island of Reunion figured out how to pollinate the flowers one-by-one.

That method finally paved the way towards large-scale production, with Madagascar proving the most effective of growers.

But even if prices fall and as other countries explore possible vanilla crops, Dutch growers believe it will prove a good investment.

In past decades, synthetic vanilla flavourings were increasingly adopted by the food industry. But with a return to all things authentic and organic, the real stuff is making a welcome return.

Bleiswijk vanilla is wholly organic, say its Dutch growers, unlike in Madagascar, they claim.

Vanilla is also the world's second most expensive spice, with prices climbing

 to 350 euros ($380) a kilo this month -- compared with 60 euros in 2014 

(AFP Photo/Maude Brulard)

Half of Madagascar's vanilla is exported to Europe, and a third to the United States. But clients say the quality has been slipping, with producers harvesting the pods before they reach maturity to cash in on the price boom.

Some Madagascans even speculate the vanilla industry is being used as a front for the illegal trade in rosewood –- a sought-after product in China.

The Dutch consortium behind the project says it has already received lots of interest from local high-end restaurants as well as food companies.

The Netherlands is a global leader in the art of greenhouse growing with almost 10,000 hectares of this lowlands country set with rows of glasshouses growing all kinds of flowers, fruits and vegetables -- compared to just 1,900 hectares in France.

And researchers are already setting their sights on other spices.

"We've also got black pepper, which seems to be adapting well," said van Noort, adding indigo used to dye blue jeans was another project.

And perhaps saffron -- the world's most expensive spice derived from the saffron crocus -- could be next to flourish here.

Scotland to ban genetically modified crops

Scotland's government says it plans to ban the cultivation of genetically modified crops. While widely grown in the Americas and Asia, there is more skepticism over the practice in Europe.

Deutsche Welle, 9 Aug 2015

Scotland's Environment Ministry announced Sunday it intended to ban the growth of genetically modified crops on its territory in order to cultivate its "clean and green brand" of products.

No GM crops are currently grown commercially in Britain, though the central government in London says it supports the use of GM crops if they are safe.

Richard Lochhead, the Scottish government's minister for the environment, food and rural affairs, said Sunday he planned to take advantage of new European Union rules allowing countries to opt out of growing EU-authorized GM crops.

GM crops, including maize, have been the
subject of numerous protests in the EU

"The Scottish government will shortly submit a request that Scotland is excluded from any European consents for the cultivation of GM crops, including the variety of genetically modified maize already approved and six other GM crops that are awaiting authorization," Lochhead said in a statement.

The minister said there is no domestic market for GM crops and it wanted to strengthen its brand of exports, especially its food and drink sector worth an annual 19.78 billion euros ($21.7 billion).

"Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment - and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status," Lochhead said.

Health debate

GM crops are the subject of global debate, with some environmental and health groups questioning their environmental impact. Producers, however, insist they are safe.

The Scottish government in Edinburgh has been responsible for mainly domestic policies, including agriculture, since 1999 when power was devolved from the central government in London.

jar/cmk (Reuters, AFP)

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"The Biggest Filter" - July 18-19, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version) - New

“..  Health

Normal good health is turning to simple physics for some of the simplest things. New kinds of foods are being grown with new physics, not chemistry. These will be physic-foods [Kryon name] that are not genetically altered or chemically altered, but benevolently enhanced by physics! This causes a new kind of super growth that can feed the planet in a way it's never been fed before. It will create food that is resistant to absolutely everything - insects, bacteria and disease - all through physics. Who thought of that? What you're expecting in the future regarding health is based upon the past. The big filter of past knowledge keeps you from thinking out of the box. You don't know what you don't know.  ….”

Cancer tumours destroyed by berry found in Queensland rainforest

Drug derived from the fruit of the blushwood tree kills cancerous tumours long-term in animals in 70% of cases

theguardian.com, Melissa Davey, Wednesday 8 October 2014

Berries on the blushwood tree, a plant only found in specific areas of the Atherton
 Tablelands in tropical north Queensland. Photograph: QIMR Berghofer Medical
Research Institute

Scientists have managed to destroy cancerous tumours by using an experimental drug derived from the seeds of a fruit found in north Queensland rainforests.

The drug, called EBC-46, was produced by extracting a compound from the berry of the blushwood tree, a plant only found in specific areas of the Atherton Tablelands.

A single injection of the drug directly into melanoma models in the laboratory, as well as into cancers of the head, neck and colon in animals, destroyed the tumours long-term in more than 70% of cases, the study’s lead author, Dr Glen Boyle, said.

“In preclinical trials we injected it into our models and within five minutes, you see a purpling of the area that looks like a bruise,” Boyle, from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute said.

“About 24 hours later, the tumour area goes black, a couple of days later you see a scab, and at around the 1.5 week mark, the scab falls off, leaving clean skin with no tumour there. The speed certainly surprised me.”

Researchers believe the drug triggers a cellular response which cuts off the blood supply to the tumour by opening it up.

“That’s why we see a bruise-like situation forming in the tumour,” Boyle said. “This seems to lead to an activation of the body’s own immune system which then comes in and cleans up the mess.”

It has been used by veterinarians in about 300 cases of cancer in companion animals including dogs, cats and horses.

There was no evidence EBC-46 would be effective to treat cancers that had spread to other parts of the body, known as metastatic cancers, Boyle said.

The drug is being developed as a human and veterinary pharmaceutical through QBiotics, a subsidiary of the company which discovered the drug, called EcoBiotics. The company is also examining the potential for a blushwood plantation.

Ethical approval was recently granted for phase 1 human clinical trials, but even if those proved successful, it was unlikely the drug would replace conventional chemotherapy treatment, Boyle said.

“Chemotherapy is still used because it is very effective for a lot of people,” he said. “But EBC-46 could perhaps be used in people who, for some reason, chemotherapy doesn’t work [for], or for elderly patients whose body can’t sustain another round of chemotherapy treatment.”

The preclinical trial was funded by QIMR Berghofer and the National Health and Medical Research Council and the results were published in the journal PLOS One.

Pandering to the crowd: panda accused of faking pregnancy in bun fraud case

Ai Hin showed all the signs she was expecting but only wanted extra food and the trappings of celebrity, say keepers

theguardian.com, AFP, Beijing, Thursday 28 August 2014

Giant panda Ai Hin put on a ‘phantom pregnancy’, possibly because she wanted
special treatment, her Chinese keepers say. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Hopes that tiny panda paws would be seen in the world’s first live-broadcast cub delivery have been dashed after Chinese experts suggested the “mother” may have been focusing more on extra bun rations than giving birth.

The slated star of the show, giant panda Ai Hin, had shown signs of pregnancy at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A live broadcast of the event was planned but Xinhua said her “behaviours and physiological indexes returned to normal”, citing experts saying she experienced a “phantom pregnancy”.

The breeding centre, in China’s south-western province of Sichuan, commonly moves pandas that are thought to be pregnant into single rooms with air conditioning and around-the-clock care.

“They also receive more buns, fruits and bamboo, so some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life,” Wu Kongju, an expert at the base told Xinhua.

Phantom pregnancy is said to be common among the endangered animals. Many continued to display pregnant behaviour after noticing the difference in treatment they received, Xinhua said.

Six-year-old Ai Hin showed reduced appetite, less mobility and a surge in hormones when her “pregnancy” was first detected, the news agency said, before further observations concluded it was fake.

The giant panda’s natural habitat is in the mountainous south-west of China. But they have a notoriously low reproductive rate and are under pressure from factors such as habitat loss.

China has about 1,600 pandas living in the wild and another 300 held in captivity.

“Only 24% of females in captivity give birth, posing a serious threat to the survival of the species,” Xinhua said.

Defecated beans used to make five-star coffee

Deutsche Welle, 7 June 2013

Elephants are the latest animals to digest coffee and fruits which are later picked from their dung for human consumption. While the idea may make for good business, conservations worry about the animals.

Elephants rescued from exploitation in northern Thailand are now being harnessed to help humans enjoy a better tasting cup of coffee. Around 20 elephants from the Golden Triangle sanctuary in Chiang Saen are used in the production of "elephant dung coffee."

The animals are fed the coffee cherries along with their daily fodder. Later the cherries are collected from the elephants' faeces and washed. The beans are then extracted and are sent to Bangkok to be roasted. The end result is reported to be the world's most expensive coffee, with a cup costing as much as $50 in some five star hotels.

"When elephants digest the food, there's an enzymatic reaction that occurs," said Blake Dinkin, the Canadian businessman behind the idea. "The enzymes break down the protein which is one factor responsible for bitterness. So less protein means a less bitter tasting coffee."

Blake Dinkin, founder of Black Ivory
Coffee, and 'employee'

As elephants are herbivores, their stomachs also act as "natural fermentation tanks" which help infuse the fruit into the bean, Dinkin explained to DW.

After spending 10 years and sinking $400,000 (310,000 euros) of his own money into the idea, the 42-year-old entrepreneur was keen to avoid the unethical production methods associated with another animal ingested coffee.

The other side

Kopi Luwak received international attention as it is made with coffee beans excreted by the Indonesian palm civet cat. In recent years some producers have been criticized by animal conservationists, angry at the use of intensive farming methods. The civets are often kept in cages where they are forced fed the coffee beans. One estimate also suggests that more than 60 percent of civet coffee is counterfeit.

Earlier this year, a report released by Traffic, the anti-wildlife crime NGO warned about the growing use of civets to produce coffee, claiming that many species were already under threat from habitat loss.

"We're worried that this coffee is leading to more civet hunting in the wild," said Petch Manopawitr, a program manager at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). "The civet is an unprotected species in Indonesia so consumers should be very wary of trying civet coffee."

By contrast Manopawitr sees elephant dung coffee as more "innovative," as the elephants are already domesticated and there are benefits for the sanctuary owner which helps ensure the future welfare of the elephants.

Dinkin says he donates eight percent of his sales back to the foundation to ensure that elephant dung coffee - which goes by the brand name Black Ivory - is not exploitative.

No elephants harmed

The elephants are fed coffee berries,
which are only partially digested

"For the elephant, the coffee is just a snack, it's not meant to replace their diet. Elephants eat about 250 kilos a day and a tiny fraction of that would be coffee," he said, adding that scientists confirmed that the elephants don't absorb any caffeine.

For anyone worried about the possibility of drinking small particles of elephant dung, Dinkin says the coffee berries are thoroughly washed and tested to ensure the highest hygienic standards.

After selling out the first batch of 70 kilos, the company has ramped up production six-fold but plans to remain an artisanal brand aimed at a distinguished consumer.

"They'd have to be open minded, adventurous, affluent enough to want to spend the extra money for the coffee and probably someone who likes telling a good story."

Already on sale at several luxury hotel brands in Thailand, Dubai and the Maldives, food and beverage managers say customers are not put off by the unusual fermentation process.

Durian and dung?

If elephant dung coffee isn't unconventional enough, a pungent fruit, popular throughout Southeast Asia, is also being fed to animals. The durian is often described as smelling like unwashed socks or rotting flesh and that's before it passes through an elephant's digestive system.

Dinkin says the caffeine does not harm the elephants

Malaysian media reports that an indigenous group - the Orang Asli - wait for elephants to swallow small durians whole, and then follow them until they excrete the fruit. It is collected, cleaned up and sold for its apparent aphrodisiac properties. The fermentation process also enhances the taste, according to reports.

"It's fair enough to try something new, so long as it doesn't have negative consequences for the wild population," said Manopawitr who is bemused by the idea.

"I'd be worried if it was creating more demand for strange things which negatively impacted exotic species. That would really be a step backwards, especially when in some cases there is no scientific proof of benefit."

The New Straits Times reported that some businessmen were prepared to pay up to $300 for the elephant dung durian.

But whether the odoriferous fruit is an urban legend, animal ingested foods are here to stay. Conservationists worry that as large food companies try to get in on the act, animal welfare will take a back seat in the rush for profits.

A wild civet eats ripe Arabika coffee fruits at a coffee plantation

 producing the expensive Luwak coffee in Bangli district on

 Bali Island in July. Suppliers of the coffee in Lampung province

are reporting increased sales of the world's most expensive coffee

 after religious scholars initiated talk of a fatwa. (AFP Photo)

Related Articles:

Fatwa Boosts Luwak Coffee Sales in Indonesia

Indonesia’s Coffee Bean-Excreting Civet Cats a Distinct Species: Scientists

Hualien farmer shares fruit with passing cyclists

Want China Times, Yang Han-sheng and Staff Reporter 2013-03-09

Wang Chin-tsai in front of the cyclist rest area he built. (Photo/Yang
Han-sheng)

An old farmer in eastern Taiwan has made headlines for offering free fruit to passing cyclists, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

The fruit orchard belonging to 62-year-old Hualien resident Wang Chin-tsai was severely damaged three years ago during a typhoon, rendering the fruits unmarketable to customers because of their unappealing appearance. Rather than let the fruit go to waste, Wang built a shack on the side of the local bicycle track as a rest stop for cyclists who would like to take a break and enjoy some fruit. Wang does not charge for the fruit but accepts donations from those who appreciate the gesture.

Wang spent more than a month building the shack on the side of the 193 county highway with wood from a tree near his orchard in Fenglin. He admits it was not an easy task because he had no assistance.

None of the fruit at the shack used pesticides. Banana is provided all year round, while orange is available in spring and grapefruit in autumn. Besides fruit, Wang also spends NT$1,000 (US$33.70) a month on mineral water, also provided to the riders free of charge.

"I only want to share. It has now become a habit. So I come back every week to see if everything is okay," Wang said.

"All the fruits and mineral water are for free [to have there], but it costs NT$10 (US$0.37) for take away. There is an old cash drawer in the shack and visitors are free to pay and take their change. Although these fruits do not look appealing from their appearance, they are still good on the inside. Even birds fly in here to taste them," Wang said.

The cash drawer is usually filled with coins of all denominations as well as banknotes.

People who have tasted Wang's fruit sometimes leave him a kind message on the walls, one of the most touching is "You taught me what sharing actually is."　

References:

Wang Chin-tsai　　王金財

Organic pioneers in Ivory Coast

Deutsche Welle, 26 December 2012

Some four years ago, German importer Biotriopic introduced organic farming to Ivory Coast. Investment in Africa has not always been easy, but so far it's been a success story.

There's a scent of lemon in the cold storage complex outside of the German city of Duisburg. Boxes and shelves with bananas, mangos, coconuts, lemons, oranges and pineapples fill the halls from floor to ceiling. At the open gate, a forklift is piling goods onto a waiting truck.

Biotropic is one of Germany's largest importers of organic fruits and vegetables. It all started back in 1997, with organic bananas from the Dominican Republic. Today it's anything from kiwis, nuts, dates to oranges - shipped from all corners of the earth.

Pineapples from Ivory Coast

It all started with pineapples grown
in the Dominican Republic

Four years ago, Biotropic began campaigning for organic pineapple to be grown in Ivory Coast. The German company worked with the local cooperative Ivoire Organics. "We only had a few earlier attempts in a few other countries such as Cameron, where it didn't work out," explained Kuemkwong Siemefo, head of Africa operations at Biotronic.

"Then we went to Ivory Coast where the infrastructure was excellent. We were lucky that the farmers we worked with have a long tradition of growing pineapple," Siemefo added.

Since the 1970s, the West African country has been one of the largest pineapple producers for the European market. But around the turn of the century, production shrunk by more than 20 percent. The civil war scared off investors and buyers, and especially smaller producers had trouble getting their goods onto the international market. For many farmers, this meant unemployment.

Creating jobs

Thanks to the cooperation with Biotropic, plenty of jobs have been created, said Paul Stephane Goa Pegnene, CEO of Ivoire Organics. "We've recruited people from the villages for the work. The smaller producers used to not have the resources to continue growing pineapple. But with the investments of Biotropic, we were able to support them."

The German company got help from Sequa, a development cooperation organization in Bonn, Germany. In 2008 and 2010, Sequa helped with know-how, and above all with money.

Investments in Africa bear a high risk, said Siemefo. "Sequa was the right partner to minimize those risks. Without that financial backing we would not have made that step," he added.

Organic cocoa production is next on the list of new projects for Biotropic

Goals left to reach

For Sequa, it was not just about pineapples, but also about knowledge transfer. A new institute founded at the Abodo Adjame University was supposed to spread technical organic farming expertise across the country. But the cooperation with the university failed for political reasons, said Susanne Sattlegger of Sequa. Nonetheless, she still concludes, positively, that cooperation with the local farmers has worked out well.

"The reason why not all of the development policy goals were archived here, was because of such extreme factors like environment, climate, and also the problematic cooperation with the university for political reasons," Sattlegger explained.

"But those are all things that neither we nor Biotropic would have been able to influence one way or another," she said.

Despite problems, Biotropic has extended it's investments in Ivory Coast. It started with 10 employees and an area of just two hectares some four years ago - today there are around 50 farmers working 70 hectares for Biotropic. An additional 20 small farmers sell their produce to Ivoire Organics.

Biotropic supplies the cooperative with seeds and machinery, and finances the organic certification process. Aside from pineapple, the farmers now also grow cashew nuts, mangos and coconuts for Biotropic. Soon, bananas and cocoa will be added to this list.

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It’s Not a Fairytale: Seattle to Build Nation’s First Food Forest

Forget meadows. The city’s new park will be filled with edible plants, and everything from pears to herbs will be free for the taking. 

Take Part, by Clare Leschin-Hoar, February 21, 2012

Hungry? Just head over to the park. Seattle's new food forest aims to be
an edible wilderness. (Photo: Buena Vista Images/Getty Images)

Seattle’s vision of an urban food oasis is going forward. A seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with hundreds of different kinds of edibles: walnut and chestnut trees; blueberry and raspberry bushes; fruit trees, including apples and pears; exotics like pineapple, yuzu citrus, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, and lingonberries; herbs; and more. All will be available for public plucking to anyone who wanders into the city’s first food forest.

“This is totally innovative, and has never been done before in a public park,” Margarett Harrison, lead landscape architect for the Beacon Food Forest project, tells TakePart. Harrison is working on construction and permit drawings now and expects to break ground this summer.

The concept of a food forest certainly pushes the envelope on urban agriculture and is grounded in the concept of permaculture, which means it will be perennial and self-sustaining, like a forest is in the wild. Not only is this forest Seattle’s first large-scale permaculture project, but it’s also believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

“The concept means we consider the soils, companion plants, insects, bugs—everything will be mutually beneficial to each other,” says Harrison.

That the plan came together at all is remarkable on its own. What started as a group project for a permaculture design course ended up as a textbook example of community outreach gone right.

“Friends of the Food Forest undertook heroic outreach efforts to secure neighborhood support. The team mailed over 6,000 postcards in five different languages, tabled at events and fairs, and posted fliers,” writes Robert Mellinger for Crosscut.

Neighborhood input was so valued by the organizers, they even used translators to help Chinese residents have a voice in the planning.

So just who gets to harvest all that low-hanging fruit when the time comes?

“Anyone and everyone,” says Harrison. “There was major discussion about it. People worried, ‘What if someone comes and takes all the blueberries?’ That could very well happen, but maybe someone needed those blueberries. We look at it this way—if we have none at the end of blueberry season, then it means we’re successful.”

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Gamalama Eruption Leaves Bitter Taste, Dead Crops in Spice Islands

Jakarta Globe, Antara, December 27, 2011

Mount Gamalama spews thick ashes and gas as seen from Ternate,
 Indonesia, on Dec. 5. The mud and ash left from the explosion have
 decimated local farmers' crops, leaving many with little hope of making
ends meet. (EPA Photo)   

    

Related articles

• Ternate Islanders Struggle to Cope After Eruption
• Gamalama Eruption Forces Precautions, but No Disaster

Muhammad Kasim, a 35-year-old clove farmer, has had to delay his plan to go on the Hajj pilgrimage next year because of damage to his crops on the slopes of Mount Gamalama following an eruption earlier this month.

The clove fields surrounding Moya subdistrict in Ternate, North Maluku, have been blanketed in volcanic ash since the Dec. 5 eruption.

“The crops are damaged and the harvest this year will not bring in anything significant,” Kasim said.

He said he had been counting on receiving Rp 70 million ($7,705) for his crops, Rp 32 million of which he would have set aside to fund his pilgrimage.

Kasim, however, can count himself more fortunate than many of his neighbors, as he also runs a small store close to his home that brings him Rp 2 million a month.

Kirman, a nutmeg farmer, said he had initially planned on using the proceeds from the harvest to build a house, but the eruption has put an end to such prospects.

The volcanic ash has destroyed most of his mangosteen and durian crops as well.

“I don’t know how I’ll make ends meet,” he said. “I don’t have any other source of income.”

Thousands of farmers in Ternate face similarly bleak prospects, but they are not the only victims of the disaster. The lahar — mudflow of volcanic debris deposited in rivers and streams — has destroyed more than 100 houses along riverbanks, the municipal administration reports.

“We estimate the cost of the damage due to the eruption at Rp 15 billion,” said Jemmy D. Brifing, head of the local Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

Members of the Ternate legislative council called on the Ternate and North Maluku administrations, as well as the central government, to send aid to farmers and other affected residents .

Local councilor Asgar Saleh said that people in the area were struggling to pull through.

“I’ve asked Ternate officials to gather data on the affected people so any assistance we can offer them can be included in the administration’s budget,” he said.

If funds from the Ternate budget are insufficient, Asgar added, he will seek funds from the provincial and central governments. He also called on large businesses in the province to step in and aid the relief effort.

Marlison Hakim, the central bank representative in Ternate, said there was a need for farmers to manage their finances better.

Clove and nutmeg farmers in the area reap tens of millions of rupiah, and sometimes hundreds of millions, during each harvest. However, the money is quickly spent on consumer goods, he said, adding that if a certain amount were put in a savings account after each harvest, the farmers would have a financial safety net.

Ternate Mayor Burhan Abdurrahman said the city and provincial administrations were committed to helping the victims of the eruption rebuild.

Mt. Gamalama’s most recent eruptions were in 1980, 1992 and 2003. The largest eruption on record took place in 1712. Debris from that eruption can today be seen throughout Ternate.