tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84100349016725837862024-03-21T21:37:21.034-07:00Susan's BlogA blog that explores systems and connections with a general focus on health, mental health, and ecology issues.Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-33285003305807582402019-01-27T19:19:00.000-08:002019-01-27T19:19:30.749-08:00Biodiversity in New Zealand--DoC submission<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Zealanders have an opportunity to share their thoughts on what the country's biodiversity strategy should be over the next fifty years. Submissions are due 28 February, 2019 to the Department of Conservation. The submission form (<a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/have-your-say/all-consultations/2018/new-zealand-biodiversity-strategy/" target="_blank">here</a>) has several questions on it. Below are my answers. If you care about biodiversity in New Zealand, take time to make your own submission. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are free to "borrow" some of my thoughts if you want, but please reword them.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why does biodiversity
matter to you and your community?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think for a lot of people, biodiversity matters mostly
because they’ve been told it should matter. Few people have actually put much
thought into this, and some don’t even know what biodiversity means. Most of
our agricultural industry, which is the economic backbone of New Zealand, is much
more interested in monocropping and growing/raising conforming plants and
animals (they’re easier to manage and harvest) than encouraging biodiversity
because having a little of everything is not easily managed, and not very
profitable. That said, biodiversity is hugely important because an ecosystem is
made stronger when it is made up of a diverse range of bioforms, rendering it
capable of withstanding environmental stresses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What does
biodiversity mean to you? What other words would you use to describe
biodiversity?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The definition of biodiversity is “the variety of plant and
animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is
desirable.” New Zealand’s conservationists seem to have hijacked this word by
inserting “indigenous” or “endemic” or “native” into the definition (often
implied). The natural world, however, isn’t at all concerned with where a species
came from—that’s a societal construct that enables people to label some species
as more desirable than others. Such value judgments create the concept of
“good” and “bad” plants and animals, which implies humans have the right (indeed,
some would say obligation) to step in and manage them by nurturing the desired
ones, and killing the undesired ones. As a nation of farmers and gardeners,
with a farming and gardening mentality, this comes as little surprise. Me? I
like the proper definition better. I think we DO need biodiversity, especially
in our wild spaces, and without the “indigenous” constraint. I love to see what
Mother Nature does to repair and create life in all of the various ecological
niches using all of the many species she has on hand to work with. Nature is
not static. Monocrops are not natural. Limiting the number of species in an
ecosystem is not natural and makes it less resilient, less healthy. New Zealand
is blessed with many unique species, but an appreciation of biodiversity does
not mean to me that only those unique species that we claim as indigenous (or
profitable, and fenced) should have value and a right of protection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are your
aspirations for biodiversity in New Zealand?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would like to see New Zealand’s natural spaces allowed to
be natural, without man’s interference. I would like to see recognition and
appreciation for all living things without judgement. I would like to see
Nature’s creativity encouraged, with evolution and change being recognized not as
something to be fought against, but as processes to be understood and
appreciated. I would like to see all plants and animals, not just indigenous
ones, valued and understood for the roles they fill in creating and sustaining
an ecosystem. I would like to see more “bottom up” science where natural
ecosystems are studied and understood without fear-mongering, media-hype, political
agendas, and interventions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What kinds of goals
or objectives should a strategy aim to achieve?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most important goal is to make New Zealand a safe,
wholesome place to live where the joys, delights, wonders, and beauties of
nature are accessible to everyone, and where people come to understand that
they are part of nature, not the bosses over it. The “clean, green” motto is a
worthy aspiration/goal. To do that, we need to get chemicals and poisons out of
our ecosystem, and stop our reliance on the “quickest, cheapest fix”. Indeed,
we need to stop trying to “fix” Nature. She isn’t broken. It is time for a new
paradigm. Pull the money out of chemicals and poisons, invest it in education
and parks and access to what we already have. Encourage the establishment of
new wild places. Urban/suburban parks, which are managed, are good too, as
places near towns and cities where people can interact with nature. Let the dog
run, kids climb trees and play cricket, as well as discover plants, thrill at
the sight of a kaka, a pheasant, a hare, a swath of manuka in bloom, a Monarch
butterfly. Plantings of both natives and exotics can enhance barren areas, and
in well-used parks these, of course, need some ongoing maintenance. Build
biodiversity by allowing a wide range of plants and animals to intermingle and
interact. Watch. Observe. Put more money into “bottom-up” science funding for
understanding how species interact and affect their environment, less on
management. We know too little, and assume too much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are the key
challenges facing biodiversity that you think a new strategy needs to address?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest challenge is changing the existing management
paradigm and mindset with its war-like seek and destroy mission aimed at
invasive plants and animals, and the over-handed management of indigenous
species—e.g., regular handling of wild birds and handicapping them with radio
collars or planting indigenous plants in places no longer optimum for them due
to climate change or human terraforming. This means also means back-tracking on
the “Predator Free” initiative (which will never happen) without losing face.
It means trying to retain jobs and budgets while redirecting funds to more
positive uses. Changing these attitudes and ways of doing things both within
DoC, and within the minds of the general public, is an enormous task. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some unique native species in New Zealand that
need special protection. Offshore islands and areas like Zealandia with
predator-proof fences do not create truly “natural” areas, but they are
important for the protection of some of our most vulnerable species and
certainly superior to zoos with cages. More areas like these are an excellent
direction for resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scientifically, more bottom-up observational science of the
inter-relationships within any given ecosystem is essential, and keeping the
public educated and informed through media. Overseas, for example, we are
learning of the extraordinary loss of insect life that forms a foundation food
source for many species. Is that being studied here? What effect does the use
of poison (both herbicides and pesticides) have on our insects? Or, what about
water quality? If our ponds, lakes, streams, estuaries, and shorelines are
contaminated by farm runoff, urban sewerage outflows, and the use of
agricultural chemicals, herbicides and poisons, what run-on effect does this
have on our biodiversity? And what steps do we need to take to stop or at least
mitigate the harm?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you have examples
of successful biodiversity management in your area?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I live on the Kapiti Coast, and there is a strong environmental
interest here. We have many parks and fine places to walk with good paths
through natural-seeming areas. Many local people participate in beach clean-ups
and indigenous plantings. These are positive things. Personally, I believe
herbicides like Roundup and pest poisons like brodifacoum are way over-used,
and some individuals are over-zealous in their approach to natives--I remember
a few years back a when a lot of native plants were removed after being identified
as not actually indigenous to the Kapiti coast <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per se</i>. Again, this comes back to the definition of biodiversity.
Strictly speaking, any limiting of species in an area goes against the true
meaning of biodiversity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What would it take to
make a strategy meaningful to you? What is the best format for it—a document,
website, etc?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meaningful? Whatever strategy is taken, it has meaning for
me because I care about the environment, our land, our water, our ecosystems, and
our planet. Personally, I use a computer quite a lot, and both PDF documents
and websites are useful for information, but “meaningful” implies something
more—it implies, perhaps, “I care”. I will care about an official biodiversity
strategy and support it if it aligns with my personal values (e.g., “first, do no harm”). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you help to
develop a title / analogy for the New Zealand biodiversity strategy?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clean water, clean air, clean forests. Valuing all life in
its many forms. Compassionate conservation. Allowing evolution to happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other Comments</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-39625948041869838622018-11-26T12:24:00.002-08:002018-11-26T12:24:47.737-08:00Chickens and Eggs, Pasture to Plate<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had an interesting day out last weekend on the Horowhenua
Taste Trail, where a handful of Horowhenua food producers--Horowhenua is a
region in New Zealand--opened their doors and offered factory tours, tastings,
and such to the public. At some venues, various restaurants and chefs had set
up to offer “tasting plates” made with the products. The idea of this annual
event is to share with ordinary people the “paddock to plate” process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I drove up to the town of Foxton for my first venue, and
started there with a visit to <a href="https://www.turks.co.nz/our-business-our-history/" target="_blank">Turk’s chicken</a>. Now I don’t think a chicken
factory is a happy place, but I do think knowing where food comes from is important
knowledge. Still, this is truly red pill, blue pill territory, or to quote the
government propaganda in George Orwell’s novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1984</i>, “Ignorance is Bliss”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
everybody wants to know, or cares to see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turks produces corn-fed (not GMO corn) free-range “premium” chicken
and chicken products that are sold primarily around the North Island of New Zealand.
They are a local company employing over 200 workers and contractors in the
operation, so they are a major employer in this small, rural town. They process
around 125,000 chickens a week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbQ0EaesO1riZ_RU_PMOZFi4FKV_9CTowXw-NwDBLKb5Jk6lxqCYss-A3bQ_99eba5Vxb550KJi5QcKx0_NjV4RClMcttbwaCZL4t-sbw74RHcfU9SW3shpgcFLfYTN-m3XeSY4VnNyA/s1600/Turks+Chickens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="602" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbQ0EaesO1riZ_RU_PMOZFi4FKV_9CTowXw-NwDBLKb5Jk6lxqCYss-A3bQ_99eba5Vxb550KJi5QcKx0_NjV4RClMcttbwaCZL4t-sbw74RHcfU9SW3shpgcFLfYTN-m3XeSY4VnNyA/s320/Turks+Chickens.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">38 day old Turk's chickens</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We didn’t get an opportunity to see the free-range chickens in
the barns and paddocks run by Turks’ contractors, but at the entrance as we
went in, they showed us a few chickens: first a bunch of fluffy yellow
2-day-old chicks you could pick up, and then some larger birds in a larger pen that
were 38 days old: grossly overweight, and somewhat featherless, two days short
of slaughter. Given the chickens are kept in barns until they are 3 weeks old, and
they are killed just shy of 6 weeks’ old, their “free-range life” outdoors is pretty
short. You can see more about the barns and outdoor spaces, and learn about the
company, in <a href="https://www.ruraldelivery.net.nz/stories/Turks-Poultry-Production" target="_blank">this clip</a> from the tv show “Rural Delivery”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4ENUzMpwQaIHQGsukkRBQv4QBp2kdDFpVwgi1tRaD4rbcQ3lTQMJ-93PD7G1SQsBwMeaRs2GHRB3XE9qWeGeLdI-BcFPL8pFlcA2XmokV5QTxJmBfq-pShBhXnqqxx5a96WvWmieuA0/s1600/chicken+on+a+hook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="434" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4ENUzMpwQaIHQGsukkRBQv4QBp2kdDFpVwgi1tRaD4rbcQ3lTQMJ-93PD7G1SQsBwMeaRs2GHRB3XE9qWeGeLdI-BcFPL8pFlcA2XmokV5QTxJmBfq-pShBhXnqqxx5a96WvWmieuA0/s320/chicken+on+a+hook.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the Turks factory, sample chicken (not a working day)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On tour inside the factory (they don’t operate on weekends),
we viewed a huge and efficient, spotlessly clean stainless steel processing plant,
and in each room workers explained what they do and what the various machines
do. This is a big factory, highly automated, and Turks workers are clearly proud
of the efficiencies they have in butchering, marinating, processing, bagging,
packaging, and boxing their premium products, in whatever cuts and sizes their
customers request. Once the breast meat has been removed and the legs and
thighs and wings (nibbles) cut off, a machine extracts all the “meat” from
stripped carcasses for human consumption, and that will be formed into various chicken
products like nuggets and patties and sausages; the residual bone material is ground
and extracted for use in pet food. Nothing goes to waste. In the small goods
room they have smokers for smoking chicken and chicken sausages. In another
room, they mix marinades, bag, and box. It’s all very clinical and efficient,
designed to produce a variety of safe chicken products for the commercial
market. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Outside the factory, the barbeques were going full-bore with
generous samples of barbequed chicken breast pieces prepared with various
marinades, sizzling hot off the grill, available on platters, free for
sampling. I must confess that my appetite for chicken, low to begin with as I’m
mostly vegetarian, had pretty much disappeared by this point (though it was
lunch time), but in the spirit of the event, I tried a couple of pieces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the Foxton Turks factory I drove south to the town of
Levin, and set off to explore more about chickens at the <a href="https://www.ultimateegg.co.nz/" target="_blank">Ultimate Egg Company</a>.
This free-range egg “factory” gets an SPCA blue tick, and an SPCA lady was
there talking to visitors about chicken welfare, and showing examples of the cramped
single and colony cages used on some farms (not this one). All of The Ultimate
Egg Company’s chickens are free to move about the barns and have access to the
outdoors. None are caged. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4HvwOdFI9OcdZyjFIq0o0XFPA5YbAuR5wz4hdD7NqHEAzu6YGDTZqF2sA0m68-3nXdZklX0pvfKxt3eWn0E0uTX3hDGW1KV9HcUSPCOirb0o6SG42qYkg6yon8JnOMGpDi6nsd9d2V8/s1600/free+range+chooks+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="639" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4HvwOdFI9OcdZyjFIq0o0XFPA5YbAuR5wz4hdD7NqHEAzu6YGDTZqF2sA0m68-3nXdZklX0pvfKxt3eWn0E0uTX3hDGW1KV9HcUSPCOirb0o6SG42qYkg6yon8JnOMGpDi6nsd9d2V8/s320/free+range+chooks+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ultimate Egg free range hens in the front paddock</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I noticed first off is that the paddock out the front,
visible from the front driveway, is quite appealing with lots of grass, big
trees, little shade houses for the birds, and what appear to be lots of big,
brown, happy-looking chickens poking about, exploring the paddock, and behaving
like chickens (though I note their beaks had been clipped). As you walk down
the row of barns--there were five or six long shed/barns--the paddocks outside
the barns appeared less inviting with less grass and few trees, and fewer
chickens were seen out frolicking. Outside the farthest barn, half a dozen
chickens pecked aimlessly at the dirt outside the doorways in a mostly bare
paddock, while all the rest stayed crowded in the barn, hen-pecking and
hen-pecked. They could go out—the doors were open--but chose not to. I was
surprised that this was the barn they allowed us to look inside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZgBg5ykLti1B5G8vXRoDJYmReUrBeVnVJ0jwjbbckdZ6SxB4JYeLs9D158ScVK0VpQrtEiPHweHkGkcflIUYaDWVIVw1_2yOlJvX4ob51I_HrSkEg_M2vXs3MNkBzzMKVFAcNRfNh2U/s1600/free+range+chooks+in+barn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="799" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZgBg5ykLti1B5G8vXRoDJYmReUrBeVnVJ0jwjbbckdZ6SxB4JYeLs9D158ScVK0VpQrtEiPHweHkGkcflIUYaDWVIVw1_2yOlJvX4ob51I_HrSkEg_M2vXs3MNkBzzMKVFAcNRfNh2U/s320/free+range+chooks+in+barn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ultimate Egg free range hens in the barn</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was most heart-wrenched by a hen just on the other side of
the fence in that farthest paddock (one of the few outside) whose tail feathers
had all been plucked out leaving a bare-skin behind, and whose comb appeared to
have been virtually pecked off as well. She had made it outside, but to what?
Dirt and stones, a bit of grass farther away, and of course she would have to
go back inside the barn for food and water and to lay her requisite egg. It was
the saddest sight I saw all day. I just wanted to pick her up, give her a
cuddle, and bring her home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtO0Au8WBW3LT3fhQZRq1bOVz0xazl-RfzcWYWbLnyw0i4J1IFKD5vH8wQRnFJ3guXRsL20-NodFj0n7FcfQoGhC4-e4zH9Xr5A2O4f4cMPlngZu9PHvVodbz4NSKLZcoDm8jOx59DXgY/s1600/Ultimate+eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="799" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtO0Au8WBW3LT3fhQZRq1bOVz0xazl-RfzcWYWbLnyw0i4J1IFKD5vH8wQRnFJ3guXRsL20-NodFj0n7FcfQoGhC4-e4zH9Xr5A2O4f4cMPlngZu9PHvVodbz4NSKLZcoDm8jOx59DXgY/s320/Ultimate+eggs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ultimate Eggs stacked on pallets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ultimate Egg Company is a smaller operation than Turks,
but much is still automated: hundreds of eggs roll down conveyor belts from the
barns and are mechanically sorted and deposited on trays. An inspector looks
for cracks and breaks, then stacks the trays onto pallets which are lifted into
trucks with a fork-lift. The Ultimate Egg Company was in operation the day we
were there (obviously chickens don’t take a day off), and I don’t remember the
stats we were told about how many employees they have, or how many chickens, or
how many eggs are produced, and their website does not supply that information.
I seem to remember someone saying the chickens are kept for about two years
before they too end up as meat birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After these two chicken stops, I meandered on to several
other food producers (Woodhaven Gardens, Genoese Pesto, and Thoroughbread Foods
who make bread) before calling it a day. In short, I can say those were more
pleasant stops, but not the topic of this post. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think it is brave of producers like Turks and the Ultimate
Egg Company to open their doors like this to the public. I don’t think it is
likely to generate new or more enthusiastic customers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to be beguiled in the supermarket by
those “free range” labels where chickens and eggs are sold, and to assume that
those chickens have led reasonably pleasant lives before their deaths. Mostly,
I think they do not. I did not find either of these visits made me want to go
out and buy either chicken or eggs, or to eat them and support these industries.
What I missed most was some recognition that these chickens are sentient animals
with personalities and lives that matter, not just “products”. The egg
production process seemed as mechanical and product-oriented as the meat
factory. None of these chickens—and their numbers are vast—is allowed to have a
name, a personality, or the recognition of a being that matters as anything
other than as a mechanical (though breathing) egg producer, or carcass for
processing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so… While this appears to be a post about chickens and eggs, I
think it’s really more a post about who we are as human beings. Sobering. Many
things in this world make me sad.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-14284216897526825232018-11-08T20:51:00.000-08:002018-11-08T21:42:51.862-08:00House Shopping Around the World<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used to work in real estate, and I have always loved
houses. I also love to travel. This post combines the two, if only via the
internet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wellington’s booming house prices continually make the news,
as do Auckland’s house prices. At the moment, the average sale price for a
house in Wellington is NZ$615,000 for a 3-4 bedroom home—very high by
international standards we are told. I thought it might be interesting to see
what sort of house this budget would buy in some other parts of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2I_0QBT8yxIBMJ6qjW5thwk1JU_ekadBm2ZH-MjHUuBnWgo-JA95qGP16yd7zID7noaXJ6mb8WxdoBfMpLW5KOzPN9En3yqJdIt0aiW51KRyGamtQsDXSE-04s769VgNadJS6pRZGWCM/s1600/Karori+townhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2I_0QBT8yxIBMJ6qjW5thwk1JU_ekadBm2ZH-MjHUuBnWgo-JA95qGP16yd7zID7noaXJ6mb8WxdoBfMpLW5KOzPN9En3yqJdIt0aiW51KRyGamtQsDXSE-04s769VgNadJS6pRZGWCM/s200/Karori+townhouse.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karori Townhouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, a Wellington home—my baseline. Most houses here are
marketed without price:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>auction", "tender",
or “by negotiation” is what’s usually in the price box, so it is hard to guess
what a property will sell for. One house currently on the market with an actual price
indicator (“offers above NZ$595,000”) is a modern two-storey, 3-bedroom,
2-bathroom townhouse with a single garage in the city suburb of Karori. It
offers a floor area of 127m2 and a tiny land area of 142m2 in a new development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this front photo is anything to go by, it can be described as "box-like".
By going to further-out suburbs, it is possible to find older, 3-bedroom houses
with a bit of garden space in this price range. (For comparison sake, at the moment,
NZ$595,000 = US$402,000, <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">€</span>354,000, <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>307,500 and C$547,000).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wellington is a coastal city (and NZ’s capital) with a
population of a little over 400,000. Where practicable, I’ve tried to echo
that, and other similar traits, to some extent, in my global property search.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next stop? Portland, Oregon, USA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I lived in Oregon for two years, many years ago, and I loved
it there. Portland is a city of 648,000 and is situated on the Columbia River,
but it is not far from the coast and it is officially a major shipping port. It
is famous for coffee, craft beer, parks, and an environmentally-aware attitude.
It is surrounded by wine country, dairy farms, forestry, and orchards, and
nearby Mt Hood attracts skiers, hikers, mountaineers, and photographers. Good
place to live. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEQ3TZYtyil1-cqoJfGk6XKJgXQ-uWjm8sy4t0OMrhTN_uyG3E9xrE3VqKhmhHk4pxcI-kkjt85G0s2MtY2GO2ve3ErRXhzt3UyAHTVv3YDGD53Y9PlKWuiYNPp8OpbMyP4HDszJyyzU/s1600/portland+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEQ3TZYtyil1-cqoJfGk6XKJgXQ-uWjm8sy4t0OMrhTN_uyG3E9xrE3VqKhmhHk4pxcI-kkjt85G0s2MtY2GO2ve3ErRXhzt3UyAHTVv3YDGD53Y9PlKWuiYNPp8OpbMyP4HDszJyyzU/s200/portland+house.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lovely-looking house in a nice suburb in Portland has an
asking price of US$399,500 (NZ$592,000). This 246m2 single-storey house on just
under half an acre of landscaped woodland has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and an
internal-access double garage. The interior is modern and spacious with high,
light-coloured timber ceilings. They don’t mention double glazing or central
heating, but this is a modern American home so one can safely assume both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Multi-cultural Vancouver, Canada, population 632,000, is
also a coastal city and, like Wellington, is famous for sky-high real estate
prices. Also like Wellington, it is coastal, environmentally-focused, artsy,
and full of beautiful parks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found no listings for free-standing houses in Vancouver
in this price range at all, only condominiums (sort of what in NZ we call “unit title”,
or “units”). For C$549,000 (NZ$618,000) you can buy a 97m2 2-bedroom, 2-bath
corner ground-floor unit in North Vancouver with a monthly fee of C$400, no dogs
allowed. As with an American home, one can assume double glazing and central
heating. But no bargains!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taking a hop, skip and a great, big jump over to the UK, the
city of Bristol is coastal like Wellington, and has a population of 440,000. It
has a thriving arts and creative technology scene, was the first British city
to be named “European Green Capital”, and it too has lovely parks and open
spaces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My internet browse in Bristol found an attractive and modernized
3-bedroom 1-bath semi-detached 2-storey home with a conservatory, single garage,
and a large back garden. It is double-glazed, has a gas fire, and has a
pleasant rural outlook. The house and section size were not noted on the
internet listing. This is priced at <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>325,000 (NZ$629,000), a smidgen over
our budget but asking prices are often a bit higher than what a seller will actually
accept.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsvWoc0mQbt1yvq_Chag4Vh-XVr_no1XB5zNt9vkTZP_qW4OUVnl2Kd3OTkDClIq4e7cMYnOh3Mqi3qsbQIp_k9YR-5o_TEjXpVIHIh65pNSkiJ8GnL-ay30swpFV93pHhKhp40vmyTs/s1600/Spanish+villa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsvWoc0mQbt1yvq_Chag4Vh-XVr_no1XB5zNt9vkTZP_qW4OUVnl2Kd3OTkDClIq4e7cMYnOh3Mqi3qsbQIp_k9YR-5o_TEjXpVIHIh65pNSkiJ8GnL-ay30swpFV93pHhKhp40vmyTs/s200/Spanish+villa.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valencia villa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ve only been to Spain once, but I immediately fell in love
with this vibrant, sunny country. Valencia is a popular and beautiful coastal
city, with a population about twice the size of Wellington, so I did a little
outreach from there into the countryside. Within a 30-minute drive of central
Valencia, I found a charming, modern two-storey Spanish villa of 265m2 with
four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a pretty swimming pool with an asking price
of <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">(NZ$606,000)</span>. At 400m2, the section is
small but nicely landscaped and easily managed, and the property appears to be surrounded
by similar nice houses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trans-Tasman rivalry being what it is, I can’t leave Australia
out of the mix. While Melbourne and Brisbane beckon many Kiwis, both cities are
really large. So for my comparison I’ve jumped to smaller Newcastle, a bit
north of Sydney on Australia’s east coast, with a population of 550,000.
Newcastle has the largest coal-exporting harbour in the world, but it is also
known for great surf beaches, a lovely climate, good food, and proximity to not
only the beaches but also to the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Newcastle housing market in this price range seems to be
dominated by 2-bedroom apartments, but I found a nice, modern,
2-storey, 2-bedroom + study, 2-bathroom 115m2 townhouse with a single garage
and a pretty private courtyard for A$550,000 (NZ$591,000) in a complex of 8
ground-floor units. It’s pretty similar to the Wellington offering, although—I thought--
more attractive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tJgXwj0pYnS6JALs3uFwpMHcLzdesBxBUFPJdEOiPFaWWRWhmdbyjoxgPwrxgWIC3jxtMI8am6daX7tOls6Zwf1Wlt0SYbi5x-4JsUu-raTFJtNmJfDoWOw1Idmt5u_imAQIGn_yHDU/s1600/Maroochdore+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tJgXwj0pYnS6JALs3uFwpMHcLzdesBxBUFPJdEOiPFaWWRWhmdbyjoxgPwrxgWIC3jxtMI8am6daX7tOls6Zwf1Wlt0SYbi5x-4JsUu-raTFJtNmJfDoWOw1Idmt5u_imAQIGn_yHDU/s200/Maroochdore+house.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maroochydore house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For better value for money, a quick browse up on the Sunshine
Coast north of Brisbane yields a number of modern 3- and 4-bedroom homes on
small to mid-sized sections. This one in Maroochydore, for example, is a
single-story, modern and rather pretty home with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a
double carport on an 807m2 section. The price is “buyer enquiry over $570,000”
(NZ$613,000).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thailand is a popular holiday destination for a lot of folks,
and the island of Koh Samui (population 65,000) has many Western residents as
well as holiday makers. No wonder. Money goes quite a long way in Thailand. For
12,000,000 Thai baht (NZ$538,000) you can buy a brand new single storey
3-bedroom, 4-bathroom (all bedrooms have ensuites, plus there’s a guest
bathroom off the living area) 200m2 house on a 300m2 section with a private
infinity pool, just 300 metres from popular Chawang Beach in a new development.
It has sea views. It is—in a word—gorgeous! I believe foreigners can only buy
property lease-hold there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRyH-C2uTaf6-oO8S1p0HeSHUaCIQqmrvEfmn9wwuhQO52NhMOgBOxPEJ66r1Kc1Lltc2O7nQ95gayxN3bmyLGkF0Ik_yvJk_bvDoNYoR4_RMIw-SjIvjT1eVSbX5W_ios_76reNthS0/s1600/Bali+pool+house+for+sale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="600" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRyH-C2uTaf6-oO8S1p0HeSHUaCIQqmrvEfmn9wwuhQO52NhMOgBOxPEJ66r1Kc1Lltc2O7nQ95gayxN3bmyLGkF0Ik_yvJk_bvDoNYoR4_RMIw-SjIvjT1eVSbX5W_ios_76reNthS0/s200/Bali+pool+house+for+sale.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bali villa pool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bali is another tourist hotspot. Most properties there are
leasehold. For around 6 billion Indonesian Rupiah (that’s NZ$607,000) you can
get a 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom (but tiny tourist-sized kitchen!) villa with private
pool, 5 minutes’ walk from the beach at Sanur. Or a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom
property with a small private pool and large, modern kitchen on a 300m2 section in
Seminyak. Or a 2-storey, 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom 300m2 “villa” with private pool and sea
view in Jimbaran near the airport—modern, white, elegant, and curvy—available freehold.
(Actually, that last one is listed at 7 billion—don’t you feel rich?--but with
numbers like these, and we’re only dreaming anyway, what’s an extra billion or
so?)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: PMingLiU; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there you have it—a quick hop around the world looking at
real estate. I think that little house in Karori in Wellington looks very basic
for over half a million dollars. I think the Portland house comes out as my
favourite to actually live in, for the money. Both Bristol and Valencia would
be great bases for exploring Europe, if one could work a lifestyle out of
either city, and both of those houses are nice. The Sunshine Coast of Australia wouldn't be a bad place to park, and many Kiwis do. Vancouver is just crazy
expensive—yah, nah—though it is one of my favourite cities to visit (feels a
bit like “home”—Southeast Alaska). And Koh Samui and Bali? Ah, they’re gorgeous
of course, but I’d rather just go there on holiday… I’m not a full-time tropics
girl myself…</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-67358126077259594052018-09-08T15:59:00.000-07:002018-09-08T15:59:44.312-07:001080 Facts--A Quick Summary<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XlwB5XG44k_MBcfuN639QNjopeBR56OxnSV69178Uejofq0K6IEqP7qvW0mltJDa7sf7T9AhVH-TGvtDq3jZfOl_65u-f14GGoTa6SMjW0i2IyRdgsLMTSAzJo_HFBjZkW2Zz6rjGMs/s1600/1080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XlwB5XG44k_MBcfuN639QNjopeBR56OxnSV69178Uejofq0K6IEqP7qvW0mltJDa7sf7T9AhVH-TGvtDq3jZfOl_65u-f14GGoTa6SMjW0i2IyRdgsLMTSAzJo_HFBjZkW2Zz6rjGMs/s1600/1080.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> 1080 poison-laced cereal baits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1080 is a synthetically-produced, tasteless, odourless poison,
scientifically known as sodium fluoroacetate (or monofluoroacetate). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Poisonous fluoroacetates also occur naturally in a handful
of plants in low concentrations. Fluoroacetate is believed to be a plant defense mechanism that
discourages grazers and browsers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1080 has no antidote. Because it is so toxic and dangerous,
very few countries choose to use it. New Zealand uses over 80% of the world’s
supply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1080 affects all mammals, birds, fish, insects,
worms—everything that depends upon oxygen. Basically, it stops cellular
respiration. Some animals, such as dogs, are more susceptible than others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Animals and birds can become ill and many die by ingesting
1080 directly, or by consuming the flesh of dead or poisoned animals. Thus ruru (morepork owls) and weka that feed off poisoned carcasses, or catch poisoned mice to feed to
their young, will be affected. Kiwi (birds) that eat poisoned worms and grubs are
harmed. 1080 affects the entire ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is always a risk that 1080 will enter the human food
chain, if it isn’t there already. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Death by 1080 is prolonged and agonizingly painful—some say it is like getting hundreds of electric shocks. Many people object to deliberately
inflicting such torture on animals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Zealand government agencies spend millions of dollars
each year to aerial drop 1080 over roughly 726,000 hectares of bush under the
“Battle for the Birds” banner alone (the Department of Conservation's 2017/2018 figures). The overall coverage is probably over a million hectares (2.4 million acres) if you include aerial drops by regional councils and through OSPRI (TB-free) funding. The stated goal is to eradicate "pests" in the target areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rodent populations often boom the year following 1080
applications—rats seem to have tremendous rebound capacities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Zealand has been using 1080 since the 1950s. It has not
been successful in eradicating unwanted animals, or in “saving” native species.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">----------------------</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The above is adapted from an A5-sized flyer I recently handed out to onlookers during a 1080 protest. I have written a number of blog posts previously about 1080, which I believe should be banned. Some of these posts are </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2014/11/predator-free-new-zealand-brave-new.html" target="_blank">Predator Free New Zealand -- A Brave New World or an Asinine Proposition</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2013/02/1080-update.html" target="_blank">1080 Update</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And way back in 2011, I wrote this post: <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2011/10/1080.html" target="_blank">1080</a></span></div>
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<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-43184119766543719642018-06-24T21:19:00.000-07:002018-06-24T21:19:01.367-07:00Compassionate Conservation<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-invasion-biology-movement-in.html" target="_blank">Invasion Biology</a> (if it doesn’t come from here it
doesn’t belong here) holds sway in much of the conservation world, the new kid
in town is <a href="http://compassionateconservation.net/about/" target="_blank">compassionate conservation</a>. The keystone concepts of compassionate
conservation are <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqP_t7c1KgzGGPz7P7xExv-jcgBHvlQP7cvUpda4bg9xLBJpjl3ygx_4ie7nrxiKAbZd_KvpnUIoWY8Fu9QOWt55AotUdCmA15IvvXmgMBwYj7gjNmb10UTQazf5Igmsk2jJuEpLJ7PlA/s1600/Compassionate+Conservation+seagulls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="349" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqP_t7c1KgzGGPz7P7xExv-jcgBHvlQP7cvUpda4bg9xLBJpjl3ygx_4ie7nrxiKAbZd_KvpnUIoWY8Fu9QOWt55AotUdCmA15IvvXmgMBwYj7gjNmb10UTQazf5Igmsk2jJuEpLJ7PlA/s320/Compassionate+Conservation+seagulls.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--First, do no harm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--Individuals matter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--All wildlife has value<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--Peaceful coexistence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traditional conservation is ultimately about resource
management, and that means people are continually making choices about how to “manage”
and “control” the conservation estate. The [unproven] assumption that the
elimination of introduced species will benefit native species leads to an inevitable
death sentence for many undesirable animals. Sometimes populations of particular
animals, even endemic ones like Australia’s kangaroos and dingoes, are
considered too abundant in an area, and are thus ripe for culling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But this raises a question. Should animal welfare be a significant
part of conservation? While many people assume it is, the reality is different.
Compassionate conservation comes up and along with and part of our growing
awareness of the sentience of animals, and the animal rights’ movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sentience is the ability to experience negative and positive
emotions such as affection and loyalty and fear, and respond to those emotions,
and also to feel and respond to pain. Those of us who have pets have no doubt
our “fur babies” experience emotions and react to pain. It doesn’t take much to
extrapolate this beyond our household pets to include our livestock, and then,
eventually, to animals in the wild. <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/68363264/new-zealand-legally-recognises-animals-as-sentient-beings" target="_blank">In New Zealand, animal sentience was written into law in 2015</a>, but the law—curiously enough—only applies to “owned”
animals—unowned animals (feral) apparently have no legal right to sentience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems almost bizarre to me that animal sentience seems to
have been questioned for so long. And yet the reason seems obvious: people like
to use animals, and using them implies taking advantage of them, and sometimes--often--that means hurting them. Obviously, we eat many of them. We use them in
research. We remove newborn calves from their mothers so we can process and drink
the cows’ milk. We wage war on "pests". Many people enjoy the “sports” of hunting and fishing. If we
acknowledge animal sentience, then there are some implicit moral and ethical
dilemmas that come with these food, conservation, and lifestyle choices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But back to “conservation”. The invasive biology model purports
that to save endemic and vulnerable animals and plants, “pest” animals must be "managed" and that usually means killed. Our current methods for killing unwanted feral animals are fairly blunt
and brutal. Poison is top of the pops in New Zealand (often applied aerial, as
with 1080), and traps of various sorts are popular. Sometimes deadly viruses, like
myxomatosis and calicivirus for rabbits, are released. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In both New Zealand and Australia, shooting is
also common. In Australia, shot kangaroos (endemic, but not endangered--check out this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Oaeaqndd7g" target="_blank">documentary film trailer</a>) are “harvested”
for their skins and meat; in New Zealand possum shoots or hunts even become
<a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2017/07/school-possum-hunt-fundraiser-and.html" target="_blank">school fundraisers</a>; sometimes the skins are harvested. Baby kangaroos and
possums, like bobby calves in the dairy industry and male chicks, are nothing
more than unwanted byproducts. Compassionate conservation, in contrast, has as
its first tenant “First, do no harm”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traditional conservation is all about management and
balancing numbers and resources. Individual animals don’t count, as long as
there are more than a few hundred left. It’s all about “populations”. And while
science and farming are generally about “bulk” numbers (statistics don’t work
with one or two, you need whole populations for them to be valid), with compassionate
conservation individuals DO count. The life of one tui, one possum, one skink,
one deer…each of them matters, and no one more than the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few questions to ponder on this theme:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Should animal welfare be a part of conservation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it acceptable to kill animals in the name of
conservation? How many animals is it acceptable to kill?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it ethically justifiable to kill many common or "nuisance" animals in
the hope of saving a few rare animals or plants?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is the life of one kind of animal of more value than the
life of another? If so, who makes the judgement call? (Compassionate
conservation says no, ALL individuals matter.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given death by poison is slow and agonizing, and the use of
traps followed by a bash on the head is little better, is killing animals by
more “humane” methods acceptable?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If invasive species do threaten rare endemic species, is it
okay to allow those vulnerable species to remain at risk of extinction?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have found this post of interest, you might also like</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2018/06/biodiversity.html" target="_blank">Biodiversity</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-invasion-biology-movement-in.html" target="_blank">The Invasion Biology Movement in Conservation</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-brief-history-of-conservation-movement.html" target="_blank">A Brief History of the Conservation Movement</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2017/07/school-possum-hunt-fundraiser-and.html" target="_blank">School Possum Hunt Fundraiser and Drowned Joeys</a></span>Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-23234101070952742982018-06-05T15:08:00.000-07:002018-06-05T15:08:42.048-07:00The Invasion Biology Movement in Conservation<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0M_77HCpMSU514Dsov_fOK2-GNUzpB_QCET1-EZ07z5PR3cP9yUl2KFQma-NfQUSAPFhZ1Vktp1P7R9YaM-meIRtLvESs0HSHGzbjn7uCtikbaC78KI_lVkd8aVzEori_2pzTQM0QzA/s1600/starling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="470" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0M_77HCpMSU514Dsov_fOK2-GNUzpB_QCET1-EZ07z5PR3cP9yUl2KFQma-NfQUSAPFhZ1Vktp1P7R9YaM-meIRtLvESs0HSHGzbjn7uCtikbaC78KI_lVkd8aVzEori_2pzTQM0QzA/s320/starling.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common starling--a master invasive species. Photo<br />from <a href="http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/common-starling" target="_blank">New Zealand Birds Online</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Invasion biology is the study of the introduction, infiltration,
establishment, and control or elimination of non-native species in a given
eco-system. It is a discipline that has come about primarily as a result of international
trade and travel, which has increased the mixing of species worldwide. In many
places, these biological “invaders” have raised concerns, particularly where
agriculture and other industries find themselves threatened by the
establishment of “alien” species, or where control of invasive species can, in
and of itself, become an industry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The science of invasion biology began in 1958 with the
publication of <a href="http://academic.sun.ac.za/cib/events/Richardson_Pysek_2007_PIPG_Elton_review.pdf" target="_blank">Charles Sutherland Elton’s book</a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ecology of Invasion by Animals and Plants.</i> An animal ecologist
and research fellow at Oxford University, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sutherland_Elton" target="_blank">Elton</a> was given the task of finding
ways to control the proliferation of rats and mice in stored grain during World
War II. After the war, he continued his research into the connections between invasive/pest
animals and human activity, and may also have been the first to suggest that
invasive species might impact on native species and biodiversity in general, particularly when introduced into isolated habitats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A “war” against invasive species was declared in the US in 1999
when an executive order “directed several federal agencies ‘to prevent the
introduction of invasive species and provide for their control and to minimize
the economic, ecological, and human health impacts that invasive species cause.’” (see <a href="http://plato.wilmington.edu/faculty/kcipolli/InvasiveSpeciesPopulationBiology.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some invasive species are clearly destructive. One example
is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_elm_disease" target="_blank">Dutch elm disease</a>, caused by a fungus native to Asia where trees are
naturally resistant to it. The disease, which is spread by bark beetles, first
appeared in Europe in 1910, and over the next century spread to North America
and New Zealand. By 1990, few mature elms were left in Europe or the UK, and
vast swathes of North America’s elm forests had been destroyed. Today, disease-resistant
elms are being bred, fungicides can be injected into infected trees, and a
vaccine has been developed for injection into non-infected trees that seems to
provide some protection against the fungus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other invasive species have been of benefit to nature and sometimes
to man. Honey bees, for example, are native to Europe, but are “non-native invasives”
in the Americas and in countries like Australia and New Zealand; much of
our agricultural pollination and our honey industries depend upon them. Many “invasive”
plants and non-native garden plants gone feral are enjoyed by native birds,
providing valuable sources of food and shelter. The Japanese white eye, a small
silver-eye-type bird, is an invasive bird species in Hawaii, but its
introduction means several native plants are now being pollinated, something
that became a problem after the indigenous birds that used to pollinate the
flowers became extinct. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some places have taken the invasion biology approach to
conservation to heart. In New Zealand, much of the conservation movement is
aimed at the removal of non-indigenous species in an attempt to recreate uninhabited
areas that appear to present a more “nativist” landscape. Even in towns and
cities, there is a strong drive to exterminate wild mammals (before Man
arrived, New Zealand had no mammals other than bats), and many public parks and
private gardens are planted predominately—sometimes exclusively—in native
plants. <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/war-on-weeds/" target="_blank">The Department of Conservation has a long list of “weed” species under the [usually chemical] gun</a>, and every Kiwi is deliberately <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>indoctrinated to believe that rats, stoats,
possums, and feral cats are public enemy number one (two, three, four…). New
Zealand has become a land of poisons and traps for unwary four-foots. It is a
profitable industry. (For more on this, see my blog posts <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2014/11/predator-free-new-zealand-brave-new.html" target="_blank">Predator Free New Zealand</a> and <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2016/02/how-belief-about-nature-of-nature.html" target="_blank">How Belief About the Nature of Nature Impacts Conservation Decisions</a>.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the primary arguments presented by invasion biologist
enthusiasts, especially in places like New Zealand, is that controlling or
exterminating invasive species in an ecosystem helps improve biodiversity. See
<a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2018/06/biodiversity.html" target="_blank">my previous post on biodiversity</a> for a bit more on that issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certainly, studying the effects invasive species have on an
ecosystem and its inhabitants provides tremendous opportunities for
understanding how ecosystems function. While much of the current movement is
directed towards removing visible species identified as “pests,” I think much
could be gained in simply observing what Nature does without human
interference. It can be argued that Man, rather than Nature, is responsible for
moving species out of their native habitats and into alien ecosystems, and
therefore He has a responsibility to remedy those “mistakes”. Yet, once
established in the new ecosystem, invasive species become a part of that
system, and their removal results in yet more chaos for Nature to repair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a lot we don’t know. We are just beginning to
understand and appreciate the interconnections between individuals and species.
In spite of Darwin’s theory that species thrive through competition and that only
the fittest will survive, we are beginning to understand that many species have
symbiotic relationships with other species, some species are surprisingly
nurturing to others, and that when one thing is changed in a system, many
things change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-69742137175065814702018-06-01T17:13:00.000-07:002018-06-01T17:17:03.916-07:00Biodiversity<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The term “biodiversity” gets used a lot in modern
conservation, though there seems to be some confusion as to what it actually
means. Invasive biology proponents—those who believe that the invasive infiltration
of non-indigenous species into an ecosystem inhibits the thrivability of
indigenous ones—often assume “biodiversity” refers to just endemic populations
in situ, something to be protected at all costs. In New Zealand, this is a big
issue, and one of the key assumptions that is used to justify the “Predator
Free New Zealand by 2050” movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKNpGsM7AvK6QT6N3fqDBuCVmbUilnjdIxDgfFdtPb4CPZvzBel6B48kKEWh1ZpBrkPmNVO4vMXsdNe53FobPeR9LlAlCedtxVQLWk1EX4y6wbQ33rFhdOl9Nm9yjeckkrrRhLnrYKIg/s1600/Biodiversity+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="819" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKNpGsM7AvK6QT6N3fqDBuCVmbUilnjdIxDgfFdtPb4CPZvzBel6B48kKEWh1ZpBrkPmNVO4vMXsdNe53FobPeR9LlAlCedtxVQLWk1EX4y6wbQ33rFhdOl9Nm9yjeckkrrRhLnrYKIg/s320/Biodiversity+poster.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome <a href="https://www.designboom.com/design/shortlisted-poster-designs-iida-awards-2010/" target="_blank">Poster by Pedro Teixeira </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Oxford <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/biodiversity" target="_blank">dictionary defines biodiversity</a> as “the variety
of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level
of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.” There is nothing
in this definition about a species being endemic. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here’s why this matters: If a species
exists, and perhaps even thrives, outside of its native natural habitat (and
therefore might be considered an invasive species in another habitat), but it
no longer thrives--or perhaps even exists--in its native habitat, is that a
loss of biodiversity? If a plant or animal exists in a controlled environment
but not in the wild, is that a loss of biodiversity? For more on this line of
thinking, see my <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2017/12/endangered-species-examining-numbers.html" target="_blank">post on endangered species.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And while we’re on the subject of definitions, words like
endemic and native are often wrongly used interchangeably, so just to clarify...
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Endemic refers to an indigenous species
found naturally nowhere else on the planet. Native species, by contrast, are
species that naturally occur in a place, and they also occur elsewhere. In New
Zealand, for example, the kiwi and the tui (birds) are endemic, while fantails
and pukekos (birds) are natives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some numbers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According
to Wikipedia (they have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity" target="_blank">a pretty decent article</a> on biodiversity I think), 99.9%
of all animals that have lived on this planet are extinct. The estimated current
number of different species on earth ranges between 10 million and 1 trillion,
of which a little over a million have been identified. Which means scientist
haven’t really got a clue about how much biodiversity there really is on this
planet. (I suspect the trillion figure may include micro-organisms.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The earth
has undergone five mass extinctions that we know about, and it is generally accepted
that we are undergoing a sixth mass extinction now, a human-generated
catastrophe caused primarily by habitat destruction. The <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/biodiversity/" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund estimates</a> the annual number of extinctions as between 200 and 100,000,
while the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/17/un-environment-programme-_n_684562.html" target="_blank">UN Environment Program estimates</a> 150-200 species become extinct daily. Such diverse numbers suggest nobody really has a clue. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is estimated
between 5000 and 10,000 new species are discovered/identified every year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> centuries,
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acclimatisation_society" target="_blank">acclimatisation societies</a> sought to increase biodiversity by introducing
non-native species into newly-colonized lands. These societies were popular in
the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. Numerous birds and game species were
introduced by settlers to make their new homes feel a bit more like their old
homes, for farming purposes, and to provide wild meat and fish for the table
and hunting and fishing pleasures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today there is a strong movement to reverse many of these
deliberate introductions ostensibly because of a concern that introduced
species puts the survivability of indigenous species at risk, though <a href="http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/grosholz/InvasionReadings.pdf" target="_blank">the actual risk from introduced species may be fairly small</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ultimately, most scientists agree that the greatest threat
to the planet’s biodiversity is humanity. We decimate wild ecosystems and
habitats with our forest clearings, and our agriculture, our seas of plastics, and
our toxic chemicals that contaminate our lands and our waterways, our seas and
our skies. One recent study in Germany documents an astounding <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/10/germany-s-insects-are-disappearing" target="_blank">75% decline in insects biomass in Germany</a> over the past 30 years. We tend to walk carelessly across
the surface of our planet with hobnail boots and are headless of our tread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of my other posts on the conservation theme:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-brief-history-of-conservation-movement.html" target="_blank">A Brief History of the Conservation Movement</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2017/12/endangered-species-examining-numbers.html" target="_blank">Endangered Species: Examining the Numbers</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2017/06/assumptions-in-conservation-new-zealand.html" target="_blank">Assumptions in Conservation: New Zealand</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2016/02/how-belief-about-nature-of-nature.html" target="_blank">How Belief About the Nature of Nature Impacts Conservation Decisions</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.com/2014/11/predator-free-new-zealand-brave-new.html" target="_blank">Predator Free New Zealand: A Brave New World or an Asinine Proposition?</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-65850274278042851032018-05-27T15:56:00.000-07:002018-05-27T15:58:01.136-07:00A Brief History of the Conservation Movement<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQBO2zeIu24cWsn05oHJMu8Ab0L8uPHxjUPU6lKiKs2tPjTmGpMGddUbYheuRprIWOKKBUwBJnVzLGeLC4YRLj29Z8n2ad7d1gyCrY3iWRNDnVE3WoZyertLcBiY9d7EQZ7rU5KQ102g/s1600/Sylva_paper_1662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="209" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQBO2zeIu24cWsn05oHJMu8Ab0L8uPHxjUPU6lKiKs2tPjTmGpMGddUbYheuRprIWOKKBUwBJnVzLGeLC4YRLj29Z8n2ad7d1gyCrY3iWRNDnVE3WoZyertLcBiY9d7EQZ7rU5KQ102g/s320/Sylva_paper_1662.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early conservation writing:<br />
1662 paper by John Evelyn,<br />
cited by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_movement" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> as a beginning<br />
point of the conservation<br />
movement</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Historically, the conservation movement as most people know
it comes from a sort of business model for forest management that was first
promoted in 17<sup>th</sup> century England to encourage more sustainable
timber harvests. This concept was refined in the 19<sup>th</sup> century and solidified
around three core assumptions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">--Human activity damages the environment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">--The natural environment needs to be maintained for future
generations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">--Scientific methods should be applied to conserve forests</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">19<sup>th</sup> century conservation in America probably has its philosophical roots going back to <a href="https://www.walden.org/thoreau/" target="_blank">Henry David Thoreau</a> and his writings about nature
at Waldon Pond—an observational and reverential approach to the environment—and
the naturalist <a href="https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx" target="_blank">John Muir</a>, often called “the father of national parks”. The
earliest political push for conservation in the US probably came from <a href="http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/historical/roosevelt/" target="_blank">President Teddy Roosevelt</a> and his desire to preserve what was left of North America’s big
game species. He was an avid big game hunter, and he created the US Forest Service, established five national parks, and four national game preserves as well as other public forests and reserves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Practically—after all, we live in
a world driven by economics, and they did back then too—the stated American government
conservation goal was to maximize natural resources for long-term economic benefit.
Today the US Environmental Protection Agency is government-funded, and
continues to serve that goal, at least more or less. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of non-government,
non-business conservation organisations sprang up, started by concerned
citizens who felt government guidelines and regulations didn’t match the true need
for conservancy and environmental protection. These were groups such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpeace" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Fund_for_Nature" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>,
and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends_of_the_Earth" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth</a>. The focus of these groups was moving away from an emphasis
on forests to include the whole range of “natural” environments, and from
conservation of economic reserves to conservation in its own right—a desire to
save the natural environment and at-risk species, and to mitigate man's impact upon the planet (different organisations have somewhat different goals). To get the private
donations they needed to do this, they learned to build campaigns around poster
animals such as whales, tigers, elephants, and polar bears—wild at-risk animals
that it is relatively easy to get people to care about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In New Zealand, as in many pockets of the world, we have had a mix of government and
non-profit organizations working towards “conservation”. And I put that word in
quotes here because meanings are a little fuzzy sometimes. In almost all cases,
economics remains a primary driver, nature is seen as a commodity, and results
are measured using pseudo-scientific methods. Poster animals are used to
capture public support for various campaigns: save the kakapo, kill the possum
sort of things. Winning the hearts and minds of the public for various projects ensures funding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Conservation today has become a sort of “farming” of the common land,
done using all of the tools farmers use to shape their land and make a profit.
Conservationists choose which plants and animals to nurture, or ignore, or cull; they manage wildlife and plants as
class groups rather than individuals. Until it is down to the last few members
of a species, individuals don’t really count. A stated goal is to protect
biodiversity. But what, exactly, does that mean?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In an up-coming post, I’ll be looking at that biodiversity
issue along with the conservation movement themes of ecological restoration and
invasion biology. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-16855515008183874272018-01-13T13:40:00.002-08:002018-01-13T13:40:26.837-08:00In Defence of Wilding Pines<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1yWGFKPvvIul2hD3QpU6mgGjBb5HGrCvMm0TNEkAG9fcVxRWo3DJ2EvGVkJLy_NEP_ogDG6OeAJgwcm0QyulbuMownvShc2ynGRyzw2KZ-xlaT0XyFoCXPSTvJpIV9RFwMFhQevMuWk/s1600/poisoned+pines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1yWGFKPvvIul2hD3QpU6mgGjBb5HGrCvMm0TNEkAG9fcVxRWo3DJ2EvGVkJLy_NEP_ogDG6OeAJgwcm0QyulbuMownvShc2ynGRyzw2KZ-xlaT0XyFoCXPSTvJpIV9RFwMFhQevMuWk/s320/poisoned+pines.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poisoned pines, from article <b><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/92486787/Spray-tactics-The-16m-war-on-wilding-conifers-but-what-comes-next" target="_blank">here</a>, </b>similar to grove in news clip</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other day I caught a television news story about a house
fire in Skipper’s Canyon in New Zealand. Part way into the news clip, they
panned over the area around the house, and the journalist commented on how
lucky they were the fire hadn’t spread to the dead pine trees. Behind the house, a whole grove of dead pines—undoubtedly
poisoned—looked, well, dead. “Those are not only seriously unsightly,” I<i> </i>thought to myself,<i> </i>“but also a huge fire risk. This is nuts!” (You can see the news clip in the video <a href="http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/01/historic-otago-homestead-burns-down-amidst-fire-ban.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>; the trees and comment about them are at 58 seconds into the clip. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) has been at war
against “invasive” pine trees for some years now--see their website page on it <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/common-weeds/wilding-conifers/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. In the category of “pine”
trees—which they have defined as “weeds”--they include not only eight species
of pine (lodgepole, mountain <i>mugo</i> pine,
Corsican pine, maritime pine, Ponderosa pine, Scotch pine, bishop pine, and radiata
pine) but also Douglas fir and European larch. Radiata pine and Douglas fir are
also grown as commercial timber crops in New Zealand, which is fine, just so
long as they stay in their neatly tended rows and don’t “jump the fence”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpm3S1e0-Ybd3iiOJkNaFPjuljsnEbQ1lAdMp3z6vjUoY8j8p3pPgWmJQiOdd6TYJj98PdG5__9RBotSBBmMz5Q_2M4jmk2O5w5G7OyY4qHKtmuv-IJ0FryUtlRRcDX4eWsnKH8zsHW9M/s1600/DOC+wilding-pines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpm3S1e0-Ybd3iiOJkNaFPjuljsnEbQ1lAdMp3z6vjUoY8j8p3pPgWmJQiOdd6TYJj98PdG5__9RBotSBBmMz5Q_2M4jmk2O5w5G7OyY4qHKtmuv-IJ0FryUtlRRcDX4eWsnKH8zsHW9M/s320/DOC+wilding-pines.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of wild pines by Neville Peat on <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/common-weeds/wilding-conifers/" target="_blank"><b>DOC website page</b></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting rid of invasive pines is challenging. Cutting and
grubbing out “wilding” pines, or injecting poison into individual trunks
requires intensive hands-on management, so increasingly vast tracts are simply<b>
<a href="http://wildingconifers.org.nz/index.php/research/control/using-herbicides/12-using-herbicides-to-control-wildings" target="_blank">aerial sprayed with herbicide</a></b>, generally with a mix of glyphosate and metsulfuron.
After the pines are killed, they are almost always left standing, <i>in situ</i>, grey skeletal hulks of no
benefit to man nor beast and—to my mind at least—a huge eyesore and potential
fire risk. It will be many years, maybe decades, before these dead trees
eventually rot and fall. Ironically, the photo at the top of the DOC webpage on
wilding conifers doesn’t show a hillside covered in dead trees, but one dotted with
live ones. I think it’s rather pretty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides the aesthetic appeal of a green, living tree over a
dead one, live trees provide shade and shelter and homes for birds and
livestock and a variety of insects. They help stabilize the ground and prevent
land slips (which is why many farm trees were planted in the first place). They
offset global warming by absorbing CO<sub>2</sub>. When mature, in some areas
they could be harvested for timber, firewood, or wood pump. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhereq2jiDRJc7osFV9ysaIVo7kKGDOdLrjehONyFFP5TNxQKCAF4568Q2qM8hHZiQe38o6pAtMLz_eDJeWF2iJY1bNDXuiJwgRUt_TSfS2UN341gDe4qO22dZ0TpZZsRjFnxWYwJN3oig/s1600/forest+cover+NZ+before+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhereq2jiDRJc7osFV9ysaIVo7kKGDOdLrjehONyFFP5TNxQKCAF4568Q2qM8hHZiQe38o6pAtMLz_eDJeWF2iJY1bNDXuiJwgRUt_TSfS2UN341gDe4qO22dZ0TpZZsRjFnxWYwJN3oig/s320/forest+cover+NZ+before+man.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/23596/forest-cover-before-human-habitation" target="_blank"><b>NZ forest cover before man</b></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One argument against these trees is simply that they are not
native to New Zealand. Many of the areas they colonize, however, were forested
before the first humans arrived here. Little attempt has been made, or is being
made, to plant natives in these areas or to replace the unwanted pines with
indigenous trees. I reckon the truth is, folks are so used to seeing bare
hillsides of grass or tussock that the prospect of trees in historically
grassed areas seems almost unnatural. It isn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another argument that DOC purports against wilding pines—and
trees in general—is that trees reduce the amount of water in catchment areas
because they pull it up from the ground and release it into the atmosphere—a
big issue for farmers in dry areas. While trees do pull up water and release
water vapour into the atmosphere, <a href="https://forestsnews.cifor.org/49010/linking-trees-and-water?fnl=en" target="_blank"><b>current scientific studies show that trees cool the air and create more rainfall</b></a>—overall probably a win rather than a loss. Trees—not ocean evaporation--are responsible for an estimated 70% of earth’s
atmospheric moisture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A last argument that DOC uses on <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/common-weeds/wilding-conifers/" target="_blank"><b>their webpage</b></a> to support their campaign
against wilding pines is that they “impact tourism”. I find it a stretch to
imagine they think Asian tourists—who revere <a href="https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/pine-trees" target="_blank"><b>the pine as a symbol of peace, longevity, and virtue</b></a>—want to come to New Zealand to see how we poison pines,
or to see “wild” hillsides dotted with dead trees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John McCrone wrote a good article last year titled <b>“<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/92486787/Spray-tactics-The-16m-war-on-wilding-conifers-but-what-comes-next" target="_blank">SprayTactics: The $16m War on Wilding Conifers</a>” </b>which also examines some of these
issues, and more. It is worth reading.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-31075656732614498192017-12-30T20:57:00.000-08:002017-12-30T21:07:43.458-08:00Endangered Species: Examining the Numbers<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How many animals in New Zealand are actually endangered, and
how much can poisoning our environment save them? A Facebook friend posted a
comment on one of my Facebook posts today citing the sometimes-touted
"fact" that 11% of the world's endangered species are endemic to New
Zealand. I am skeptical--the world is a big place, and NZ is a small one--so I
went looking for some numbers. Here's what I found:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqX2O4TCvokDOtrPF9pM2PlEZ80JdkhpiE9h6NQw3TuRKMYmcPiCoNL2H41SYdu71cK8EQfyJkhV0Rr5v0syI2zTub7tI0IHDRanchA7Kx4aTIyJQCqSOlL7f-VHt7rpfPtdALihdPNI/s1600/archeys-frog-north-island-1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="460" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqX2O4TCvokDOtrPF9pM2PlEZ80JdkhpiE9h6NQw3TuRKMYmcPiCoNL2H41SYdu71cK8EQfyJkhV0Rr5v0syI2zTub7tI0IHDRanchA7Kx4aTIyJQCqSOlL7f-VHt7rpfPtdALihdPNI/s320/archeys-frog-north-island-1200.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archie's Frog, an ancient species. Photo from <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/frogs-pepeketua/archeys-frog/" target="_blank"><b>DOC</b></a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The <a href="https://www.iucn.org/about" target="_blank"><b>International Union for Conservation of Nature</b> </a>(IUCN)
lists 2464 endangered animals worldwide. Of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_world%27s_100_most_threatened_species" target="_blank"><b>the world's top 100 most endangered species</b></a>, including plants, on the IUCN red list posted on Wikipedia, only
Archie's Frog is endemic to New Zealand. (That would be 1%). But <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/frogs-pepeketua/archeys-frog/" target="_blank"><b>Archie's frog</b></a>
is an odd pick for the Top 100. After an 80% decline in the Archie's Frog
population last century, possibly due to disease/fungus, Archie’s frog has now
stabilized in three locations and they are also being successfully captive-bred—so
is it really one of the world’s top 100 most endangered species? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nhc.net.nz/index.html" target="_blank"><b>NZ's national heritage site</b></a> lists 2788 endangered species in
New Zealand including plants, insects, and fish. The top 10 most endangered
animal species in NZ, according to a <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10797165" target="_blank"><b>2012 Herald article</b></a>, are Maui's dolphin,
the NZ fairy tern, the kakapo, the white heron (noted in the article as "common" in
Australia), the black stilt, greater short-tailed bat, Bryde's whale, southern
elephant seal, and the NZ sea lion (there are also populations in Australia).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchkcgmwdnJQn9ZyKECHF0WHJ49mwATsp0uQ5QscqnXtGUorNBzThKhTjZRA_cMoaZMSM0hTPKnPyHV1FgMVdr5ZRIAIeAuXpyLaJ7ahVSzijtGWWUA6qqYFKnqpC4ibIB9_BGUUA9ySY/s1600/Two_Maui%2527s_dolphins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="138" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchkcgmwdnJQn9ZyKECHF0WHJ49mwATsp0uQ5QscqnXtGUorNBzThKhTjZRA_cMoaZMSM0hTPKnPyHV1FgMVdr5ZRIAIeAuXpyLaJ7ahVSzijtGWWUA6qqYFKnqpC4ibIB9_BGUUA9ySY/s1600/Two_Maui%2527s_dolphins.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maui%27s_dolphin" target="_blank">Maui's dolphin, photo</a> from Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.endangeredspecies.org.nz/about-us/who-we-are" target="_blank"><b>New Zealand's Endangered Species Foundation</b></a> (ESF), in
conjunction with the<b> <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/" target="_blank">NZ Department of Conservation</a> </b>(DOC), compiled their own
list of the 10 most threatened New Zealand species. These are the Maui’s
dolphin, Canterbury knobbled weevil, Mokohinau stag beetle, quillwort (an
aquatic fern), fairy tern, limestone cress, Chesterfield skink, coastal peppercress,
eyelash seaweed, and the dune swale Daphne. The ESF claim there are 4000 New
Zealand species “in danger of being lost”. Their website gives cost estimates
for saving each of the top-10 species, and it's not trivial money; they’re a
non-profit organisation raising money for “targeted intervention”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you really start looking at the actual lists of
endangered species, they’re all over the place. A lot of animals and plants are
cited as "possibly extinct", so the "most endangered" list
becomes somewhat meaningless as these are rarely included on those lists. These
are animals like the Haditha cave fish (only in Iraq--nobody's monitoring at
the moment), and Bachman's warbler (US/Cuba).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Public profile matters a lot too. In New Zealand we hear a lot
about kiwi being at risk (estimated count around 100,000) and wood pigeons (not
threatened, no number available), but not so much about fairy terns (40
individuals) or the Chatham Islands oystercatcher (est. 300 birds) or grey
ducks (“nationally critical” but no estimated headcount available and they're
legal to hunt). Could the skew be due to a desire to emphasize forest birds
over shore/sea birds promotionally because poisoning the forests--ostensibly to
kill the feral mammals and “save the birds”--is a big industry in New Zealand?
Could it be that easily-recognized, appealing species perceived as at risk are
more likely to generate cash donations and government conservation money than
weevils and quillwort?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incidentally, and just as an ironic side note, the IUCN lists the<b> <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/21858/0" target="_blank">southern bluefin tuna</a></b> as "critically endangered" (on their "red list"). The NZ commercial annual catch quota of southern bluefin tuna is set at 1000 tonnes; Australia's quota is 5665 tonnes, similar to Japan’s. I guess a "critically endangered" label doesn't seem to count for much if there's money to be made. (Rhino poachers and conservationists in Africa would agree.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clearly, these lists and numbers are somewhat arbitrary. For
most species, there is no clear idea how many individuals are remaining in the
wild. Mostly lists don’t include probable extinctions, and some include plants and animals that are being successfully bred in captivity. Some endangered species,
like the tuna and the grey duck, are actively hunted/harvested. Some New
Zealand lists of endangered animals include species that are also endemic—and
not so endangered--elsewhere, like the white heron and the New Zealand sea
lion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So…does New Zealand really have 11% of the world’s
endangered species? I didn't find 11% mentioned anywhere, and I don’t believe
that figure for a minute. Can we “save” our most vulnerable species by dropping
1080 or brodificoum poison in our forests? Given most of our endangered species
are not forest dwellers, that seems unlikely, even supposing poisoning an
animal's or plant's environment is helpful--and that's a pretty big
supposition.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-59240392667128591082017-12-16T20:54:00.002-08:002017-12-16T21:03:43.199-08:00When There's Something in the Water<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The drinking<b> <a href="http://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/services/A---Z-Council-Services-and-Facilities/Water/Water-Treatment/" target="_blank">water on the Kapiti Coast</a></b> is fluoridated and
chlorinated. This time of year (summer) it smells like a swimming pool.
Numerous health studies question the benefits of these chemicals for human
health, and many suggest these chemicals are actively harmful. Studies show
drinking chlorinated drinking water, for example, significantly <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-tapped-out/" target="_blank"><b>increases your cancer risk</b></a>, and I’ve blogged about the problems with fluoride before, see <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/fluoride-in-your-water.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I lived in the Hutt Valley, I brought home drinking
water from the artesian aquifer taps in Petone and at the Dowse, even though the
tap water in the Hutt valley tastes pretty good. Hutt Valley water is fluoridated, but
you can’t taste that. Now that I’ve moved to the Kapiti Coast, the Hutt Valley
community taps are too far away for routine pick-ups. I’ve resorted to buying bottled
water for drinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are, of course various problems with bottled water.
Not only are you paying for it, but the amount of plastic generated from
numerous bottles of water used over a week is seriously disconcerting. And studies suggest plastic isn't a healthy container choice for your food or water. There
has to be a better way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One option would be a home water filter system, not so much to
catch the bad bacteria that can lurk in our municipal water, but to filter out
the chemical additives that make it “safe”. I had heard about stainless steel<b>
<a href="https://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkey-water-filters/" target="_blank">Burkey water filters</a></b>, made in Texas, that sit on your kitchen bench and filter a
couple of gallons of water every couple of hours. I know several health gurus absolutely
love them (see Chris Wark’s video<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph3D6OVGJsA" target="_blank"> <b>here</b>,</a> as an example). So I spent some time
researching the Berkey site, and reading the data and filter results, and
customer comments. Burkey claims their filters screen out not only bad bugs,
but over 95% of chlorine and, if you add a fluoride filter, over 95% of fluoride.
Berkeys are gravity-fed so don’t depend on electricity to run. Two filters are good for cleaning about 6000 gallons of water. What’s not to
like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Never one to rest on company data and promotion, I flicked
over to Amazon and several other sites to read user reviews. I learned that
filters need to be primed well, leaks sometimes occur if washers and nuts don’t
make a tight seal (you assemble it yourself), and one reader was unhappy that
her product from Amazon arrived with a dent in it. There apparently has been a
problem in the past with the glue used on the filters failing, which Berkey
says they have rectified. Some users conducted their own tests of water
purification, and all seemed pretty happy with results. Overall, lots of 5-star
happy purchasers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love the idea, and would appreciate the convenience of just
using my tap water and getting a safer (in my mind) product with fewer chemical
contaminates, and no plastic bottles. So what’s the catch? I started by looking
for a NZ supplier. A google search (“Berkey water filters NZ”) kicked up
<b><a href="https://www.truwater.co.nz/countertop-filter-systems/gravity-water-purifiers/berkey-purification-systems/big-berkey-stainless-steel-water-filter-system-urn-black-8l?cPath=&" target="_blank">TruWater</a> </b>who want NZ$469 for a Big Berkey with 2 black filters plus 2 fluoride
filters. Serious moolah here! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having never heard of TruWater, I wondered where they are
located. The website showed an Auckland phone number but no address. I google
again, and discovered their office is in New South Wales. On<b> <a href="https://www.productreview.com.au/p/tru-water-filters.html" target="_blank">product review</a></b> for
Tru Water, I found 118 people rated them as “terrible” and 12 people rated them
as “excellent”—only 4 sort-of in-be-tweeners rated the company as “bad”. Do
they have 12 company shills? Um. Uh, nah. Not going there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe—I thought—I could just get a Big Berkey from the US
through Amazon. Price check: US$416 including shipping and import fees. With
the current currency exchange, that’s NZ$595. That’s even more serious moolah.
Gah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems to me that there must be a massive market for units
like this. So many people like me want clean, fresh water without chemical
additives, and without adding more plastic bottles to the recyclers, or having
to have easy access to an artesian well. The units could also be used for
purifying rain water from the roof, or well or creek water. If some enterprising
Kiwi—and aren’t we known for our #8 wire mentality?—went into the business of
creating home water filter units based on the Berkey concept, I’m sure they
could undercut Amazon and have a very ready market. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, I’m still buying supermarket water in plastic
bottles (sigh!), and when I have an excuse to go to the Hutt Valley, I fill up
my big glass bottles. I will start looking at jugs next..<b>.<a href="https://www.seychelle.com/water-pitcher" target="_blank">Seychelle</a></b> maybe? But they're not easily sourced in New Zealand either, and the filters (expensive) have a really short life (150 gallons) compared to Burkey filters. Sigh again. Bit of a mine field, really.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-58759836980198294212017-07-08T17:07:00.001-07:002017-07-08T17:18:50.082-07:00School Possum Hunt Fundraiser and Drowned Joeys<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The drowning of baby possums, allegedly by
children/teenagers, as part of a school fundraiser, was <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/94301098/animal-welfare-complaint-laid-after-possum-joeys-drowned-at-school-fundraising-event" target="_blank">reported in national news media</a> this week in New Zealand. It has generated a good deal of discussion—some
of it quite vitriolic—on Facebook and talk-back radio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSVzybKQTvLJ92iuwWZoZEY7-iQF_U8nq1gfgGYn35m1cnVTpDL8iL2TjIdn4jxqUrv6CD-jV5siv-unj0JXvnIREUZ_Op_SG9KC9MtX4vJAw-N6QI61iJ8hMvC4VGEh0GelqjQIjkiA/s1600/possum+in+pouch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="450" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSVzybKQTvLJ92iuwWZoZEY7-iQF_U8nq1gfgGYn35m1cnVTpDL8iL2TjIdn4jxqUrv6CD-jV5siv-unj0JXvnIREUZ_Op_SG9KC9MtX4vJAw-N6QI61iJ8hMvC4VGEh0GelqjQIjkiA/s320/possum+in+pouch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possum joey in pouch, from <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2009/09/10/cute-picture-alert-possum-joey-in-pouch-401550/" target="_blank">this webpage</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fundraiser was a local wild possum hunt held by <a href="http://www.drury.school.nz/Site/Home_2.ashx" target="_blank">Drury primary school</a> near Auckland. Over 1100 wild possums were shot over three
nights, with the money from fur sales going back to the school. As possum joeys (babies) are of no commercial value, these were allegedly pulled out of possum pouches by
teenage volunteers and drowned. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0k99-1Ls1o&t=327s" target="_blank">This video </a>shows the genial, convivial, almost
carnival atmosphere around this clearly family event (no animals are seen actually
being killed in the video, although there are plenty of dead ones), and the “Dueling Banjos” riff—not, I think,
inappropriate—makes me chuckle, wryly. I've seen "Deliverance". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When an animal rights activist Lynley Tulloch waded in and
started a petition protesting school possum hunts in general (this wasn’t the
first in New Zealand), the SPCA got involved and threw their focus specifically
(and only) on the inhumanity of drowning the joeys. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The issues here are numerous, and on several levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Firstly, a little possum background. Brushtail possums were
brought to New Zealand from Australia in 1837 to start a fur trade. They
thrived here, better than in their native Australia, and in 1946 possums had
become enough of a problem (mostly to farmers) that they were declared a “pest”.
I wrote about possums in <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/possums-in-new-zealand.html" target="_blank">another post</a> some years ago. Today they are active “pest”
targets. Vast government poisoning campaigns using toxins such as 1080, brodifacoum,
and cyanide to target possums (and rats) raise controversy over environmental ethics
and animal rights. Traps are also popular control methods, and shooting. Possums
that aren’t poisoned have high-value pelts and fur, and the meat could be used (and
occasionally is) for pet food. Poisoned animals are of no value to anyone, and
are left to rot (slowly, as animals and insects that feed on the carcasses are
also often killed by secondary poisoning).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The SPCA issue of whether the baby possums were killed
humanely by drowning them in a bucket of water is, to my mind, a bizarre side
track. Ultimately, with the mother possums shot, providing a quick death for
their babies—deemed of no “value”—seems the kindest thing. While death by
drowning might not be nice—what sort of death IS nice?—it is far quicker and
less distressing than death by poison (acceptable, apparently) or by trapping
an animal—leg perhaps caught in a painful vice grip trap, perhaps for days,
before the trapper dispatches the possum with a blow to the head. The SPCA says
their preferred method of killing possums is shooting them, which presents a
problem given a joey may be small enough to fit into the cup of your hand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">More disturbing to many is that such a cavalier attitude to
killing animals is the backbone of a school fundraising event. Schools help our
youngest generation learn adult values. Of course “adult values” are not
uniform across our culture; they vary from one community to another. Clearly—just
watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0k99-1Ls1o&t=327s" target="_blank">the video</a>—the values in this community are family-oriented and education-supportive.
As some commentators have pointed out, possum hunts like these are far “greener”
ways to eliminate possums and better for the environment than poisoning with
the likes of aerial-dropped 1080.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdxAvu_go2SYIFjOzqZcNAG38uM6gIID2nIGCeGH8aC9FIqW2_hnj-UQnX2Cz6JyXY1SBWCgscAj6TlpeEALroIdWeMp_CPShr73iwodphA8vAN_DtzGCXzsR8vQcZXLC5hFcIzb8rNc/s1600/possums-and-rats-eat-birds-and-eggs+1_zpsryttifpd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="640" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdxAvu_go2SYIFjOzqZcNAG38uM6gIID2nIGCeGH8aC9FIqW2_hnj-UQnX2Cz6JyXY1SBWCgscAj6TlpeEALroIdWeMp_CPShr73iwodphA8vAN_DtzGCXzsR8vQcZXLC5hFcIzb8rNc/s200/possums-and-rats-eat-birds-and-eggs+1_zpsryttifpd.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of this, of course, pre-supposes that possums are a
menace that needs to be dealt with in the first placed. While research shows
possums to be almost exclusively vegetarian, anti-possum promoters often expound
on their danger to native birds, often supported by this single staged photo. In
actual fact, <a href="http://newzealandecology.org/nzje/2207.pdf" target="_blank">analysis of possum stomach contents</a> reveals a varied plant diet with virtually no
indication of bird or egg predation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There have also been arguments raised that <a href="http://newzealandecology.org/nzje/2207.pdf" target="_blank">possums eat the foliage of native trees</a> (true, what else would they eat?), that <a href="https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/06/can-we-stop-the-lying-about-possums-and-tb-now-please/" target="_blank">they carry TB</a>, and—their most heinous crime of all—possums aren’t native to New Zealand. Thus,
like rats and stoats, magpies and peacocks, they are relegated into the “pest”
category. And what a powerful word that is. Pest. It conjures up images of
cockroaches and wasps in the house, and weeds growing rampant in the garden. Originally, the word comes from pestilence, most specifically the Plague. And
in our culture, a “pest” is something so totally unwanted, so awful, it can be demolished
without feeling or consideration. Certainly it can be dispatched without
respect. The world is--by definition--better off without.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think this whole issue is far more a moral and ethical
issue than it is about conservation or fundraising (I almost typed "funraising" there, a punnishly curious Freudian slip). Our country, like all countries, is
made up of various communities which do not share a universal perspective on
many issues, even seemingly fundamental ones. We teach our children as we are,
to share our personal, parental values. Our personal values mostly come from
our community, and these may reflect guidance from government, science,
religious leaders, economics/finances, and heart instinct. In this case, the New Zealand government and
the conservation science it promotes actively encourage the removal (i.e.,
killing) of possums in the wild environment. In that context, a possum hunt
(more humane and environmentally “safe” than 1080 poison forest bombardment at the very
least) as a school fundraiser makes sense. Drowning the joeys of the dead mums makes
sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For those with a heart instinct that feels this is
fundamentally wrong, that the wonton killing and blatant disregard of the
welfare of an animal for no purpose but to get rid of it, the idea of a school
fundraiser based around possum killing is simply abhorrent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two extremes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We all draw animal rights lines in the sand. For some, the misery visited upon dogs destined for the meat markets of Asia is beyond the pale, but a t-bone steak (cow) for dinner is absolutely fine. The thought
of the anguish of newborn calves being removed from their mothers so we can
drink the cows’ milk makes some folks so uncomfortable, they become vegan. For others,
hunting wild game is not only an enjoyable recreational pastime but also a good
way to stock the freezer, and many hunters do so with a sense of appreciation—even
honour and respect—for the wild deer or pig they kill. Some people are so
oblivious to the connection between the meat they eat and the animal that dies to
provide it--meat just comes hermetically sealed in a plastic coffin at the supermarket, what's the issue?-- that these conflicts don’t even register. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And some enjoy killing just for
the sake/fun of killing. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(And there’s research to suggest that </span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-equation/201104/children-who-are-cruel-animals-when-worry" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">those in the latter camp</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> are often more callous towards other people too, and we all know New Zealand has a
pretty abysmal record of family violence and abuse. But that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax that I’m not actually going to get into.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The truth is, most Kiwis probably haven’t even noticed this relatively
minor news story about a possum-kill school fundraiser, and if they
have, it has no more meaning or significance to them than news of a mumps
outbreak in some town other than where they live. That's the "norm". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Such is our society.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-69547497623586374162017-06-16T17:38:00.001-07:002017-06-16T17:38:25.591-07:00Assumptions in Conservation: New Zealand<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWk8FHpF8e6VTWosf5Ipczd1QYS0cy4EqD2HGTumG_JaAhqpRSUAVhmi_f9LUwmgLE_U9OQvlW57tO_dPCUMkNOYFBuRt93lsdz81LUHXXWyIyolcG7P6P5MzfJofS1_bQmqwZQL4knM/s1600/Got+Assumptions.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="690" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWk8FHpF8e6VTWosf5Ipczd1QYS0cy4EqD2HGTumG_JaAhqpRSUAVhmi_f9LUwmgLE_U9OQvlW57tO_dPCUMkNOYFBuRt93lsdz81LUHXXWyIyolcG7P6P5MzfJofS1_bQmqwZQL4knM/s320/Got+Assumptions.png" width="243" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“<b>Animal pests are a major threat to New Zealand’s native
species. Controlling these pests is essential for the survival of our special
native plants and animals</b>,” writes the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) on <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/animal-pests" target="_blank">their website</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These statements are presented as facts, but just how true
are they? If you want to talk about prove-able true, they aren’t. These are <u>assumptions</u>:
beliefs that are presented as facts, and often understood as facts, but they are, in truth, just beliefs. There is no hard science behind them, and no hard evidence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There
are a few real-life examples where some native species have been encouraged to
thrive in a pest-eradicated environment. Locally, <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/kapitiisland" target="_blank">Kapiti Island</a> and <a href="https://www.visitzealandia.com/" target="_blank">Zealandia</a>
come to mind. In both cases, ongoing supervision is essential and vigilant, and
the public are only allowed into these areas on a ticketed basis. These "successes" are “soft” science at best. And they are not self-sustaining, because these are islands (real and metaphorically), bastioned by man against the randomness of Nature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the other hand, studies like <a href="http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2011-news/Carlo2-2011" target="_blank">this one</a> show invasive species (in this case, honeysuckle) can often be beneficial for both native fauna and plants, and should have us asking if removal of many invasive species is harmful rather than beneficial. This morning I noticed a whole flock of tiny native silver-eyes feasting on the flowers of a winter-blooming Australian bottlebrush, and I thought "These birds don't care if the plant is a foreigner--they're just grateful for the winter tucker."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In New Zealand, which is currently working on an initiative
to become “<a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/predator-free-2050" target="_blank">predator free</a>” by 2050, the idea is to completely eradicate some invasive animal species, defined as “<a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/animal-pests" target="_blank">pests</a>” and “predators” (as if these two words
were synonyms) from the entire country. In the direct firing line are rats,
Australian brushtail possums, and stoats, with allowed/encouraged bykill of other animal <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/animal-pests" target="_blank">pests</a> including feral deer, goats, cats, and horses, plus hedgehogs, rabbits, even rainbow lorikeets
(who have the audacity to be of Australian origin!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the plant department, pine trees that grow wild and random rather
than in neat rows in a farmed plantation setting are first-line targets for poison. Also on
<a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/dirtydozen" target="_blank">the Dirty Dozen hit list</a> put out by DOC are wild ginger, English ivy, woolly
nightshade, buddleia, banana passionfruit, and honeysuckle. That's just the tippy top of DOCs list of 350 “environmental weeds”. These are naughty plants! Pines dare
to grow where farmers want grassland. Ivy, passionfruit, and honeysuckle dare
to be vines in the forest where their presence may smother native plants.
Buddleia dares to “exclude native species” (DOC’s words, not mine). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I find the attack-imported-species approach to conservation reductionist
and limiting. Unlike Man, Nature does not single out specific species as good or
bad, useful or unwanted. She is holistic, and allows plants and animals to
thrive in appropriate <a href="http://study.com/academy/lesson/ecological-niche-definition-lesson-quiz.html" target="_blank">ecological niches</a>, recognizing their value. If a niche is
vacant, she fills it so the whole ecosystem can function effectively. When an ecosystem is thrown out of kilter,
Nature adapts. She has to. The success
of an ecosystem is dependent upon the many roles and functions fulfilled by a wide variety of plants and animals, as well as the environment they inhabit. We as a
species are just beginning to learn about all these connections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">New Zealand is a country of farmers and gardeners, plopped
like Adam and Eve into the Garden of Eden of <a href="https://www.godzone.com/gods-own-country/" target="_blank">God’s Own Country</a>. And, to be fair, this is an
agricultural country with many highly-productive farms and some truly glorious gardens. But the
concept of land management now goes way beyond the farm fence and the backyard garden into our supposedly-wild spaces. Where once Kiwi settlers brought their favourite plants and
animals from “home” so they could enjoy them here, the “new age” thinking/fashion is to eradicate all those imported plants and animals to create a sort of mythical pre-European-human wilderness utopia. (Note, that's not pre-Maori; early <a href="https://envirohistorynz.com/2010/12/18/vanishing-forests-pre-european-transformation-of-the-south-island/" target="_blank">Maori burned off much of the country’s forests</a> and are credited with <a href="http://terranature.org/extinctbirds.htm" target="_blank">38 bird extinctions</a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Never mind that some of the native plants and animals that
once thrived in New Zealand are now gone (the browsing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moa" target="_blank">moa</a>, now replaced ecologically by deer and goats, is the largest and best-known example), or
that the “best” and most habitable lands have been taken over by agriculture,
criss-crossed by roads, dotted with towns and cities, splattered with
windfarms, and altered forever. Never mind the mounding piles of plastic
rubbish and old tyres, the air pollution from cars and trucks and woodfires, the
phosphates and nitrogen runoff from the fertilizers and dairy cow poos and wees sinking
into the soil and running down into our streams and rivers. Never mind the
environmental impact of climate change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our world, and this country, is not what it was 100 years ago, 300 years ago, 500 years ago, 1000 years ago. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Like it or not, the old pristine New Zealand wilderness is
fast disappearing even in the very few places where it still, sort of, exists.
We are in the process of terraforming a new landscape. The new, current goal is
to create a landscape without “imports” (unless they're farm animals and plants firmly contained on farms). Plants and animals that have, like us, integrated into the new landscape
and filled ecological niches, are no longer wanted. U</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">nfortunately, the most powerful “tool” available for the goal of eradicating all these imports </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">is poison. Hence regular aerial drops into our forest of killer poisons
like 1080 and brodifacoum. Hence the rampant use of <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-us/science-publications/conservation-publications/protecting-and-restoring-our-natural-heritage-a-practical-guide/common-herbicides-used-to-control-weeds/" target="_blank">poisonous weed killers</a> like
glyphosate (Roundup), Interceptor and Versatil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ll flick back to the beginning idea here. These are key
assumptions: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><b>Pests are a major threat to New Zealand’s native
species.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2 If pests are eradicated, New Zealand’s native
species will thrive.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are both of these statements true? Is either of these statement true? Are they
true even if their environment is whittled away and poisoned? Even if ecological
niches are left unfilled? </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-18056450958283664762017-06-07T21:14:00.000-07:002017-06-07T21:40:34.423-07:00Eating Meat<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to start this post by saying that I am not a
vegetarian. I grew up eating meat, all of my family eat meat, and most of my
friends eat meat. A decade or two ago, I rarely thought about the meat I was
eating. As a child I was uncomfortable with, even repelled by, the sight of
deer carcasses hanging from the tree in the yard, but I always enjoyed the
roast venison and succulent stews. My father killed them, my mother cooked them, and we had food on the table, for which we were grateful. I did not hunt myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLzWp6yGonAag95A8YaBtQeQaZjurrnnXC2OmBAHgkUJVI-3mzgsrKfiltkt9QeNlgXOa02uB9xbV93tix6Ei_yaYClJj3LBOuWD2lY5KZ97kqOWA5ZPXuimMquqQhjWdE_ZtE6mXhbw/s1600/sheep+portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1093" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLzWp6yGonAag95A8YaBtQeQaZjurrnnXC2OmBAHgkUJVI-3mzgsrKfiltkt9QeNlgXOa02uB9xbV93tix6Ei_yaYClJj3LBOuWD2lY5KZ97kqOWA5ZPXuimMquqQhjWdE_ZtE6mXhbw/s320/sheep+portrait.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Later, living on a lifestyle block in New Zealand, I hated
the autumn kill day when our 6-month-old lambs began their inevitable transition
from paddock to freezer, but I was happy enough to eat the barbequed lamb chops
and those glorious, melt-in-your-mouth glutinous lamb shanks, slow-roasted in a
rich tomato and onion gravy, served with a heap of buttery mashed potatoes and a side of peas. Ah! See how easy it is to transform oneself from animal
carer to foodie in less than a sentence? (And we will choose to forget the cries of the ewe
mums standing at the fence in the paddock adjacent to the killing pen, mourning
the loss of their babies. It is what it is.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But as I grow older (certainly), and wiser (perhaps), I find
myself increasingly uncomfortable with the dilemma of caring for and about
animals, and seeing them as intelligent and sentient beings with as much right
to live—and potentially as much meaning in their lives—as I do/have, and then eating
them. Meanwhile, the historically-touted health benefits of meat consumption
have dwindled down in modern times to nearly—if not totally—negligible. Meat
consumption is linked to <a href="http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/projects/meatless_monday/resources/meat_consumption.html" target="_blank">heart disease, diabetes, and several cancers,</a>
especially bowel cancer, and concerns grow regarding industrial farming methods
and the use of GMO feeds and livestock feed additives, antibiotic use, animal
welfare issues, water contamination, and animal waste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Does a cow value its life more than I enjoy a barbeque?”
asks conservationist Damien Mander in this TED talk, and I think this is a
question worth pondering. Because that’s what it comes down to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9FCsyK4aRXQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9FCsyK4aRXQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">More simply, a small child stages an act of defiance, crying
“I won’t eat animals” and offering the persuasive argument "they don't really like being cooked" in this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Npv2Mpbd3w" target="_blank">popular you-tube clip</a>. (It's cute. Watch.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me? I don’t eat much meat anymore. I don’t even like it much
anymore. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can no longer totally divorce
in my head the meat on my plate from the animal that was killed to become this
food ingredient I don’t need for my own health or survival or well-being. Still,
when eating with friends, perhaps at someone’s house or at a restaurant without
appealing vegetarian options on the menu, or when travelling, I will—mindfully—enjoy
that roast lamb or Thai beef salad or cassoulet with chorizo. I am a bit of a “foodie”
after all. And I’m not giving up my occasional (once a month or so) fish’n’chips
anytime soon, though I include fish in my head as “animals”. But my own meat
consumption is definitely down to “occasionally” and “mindfully”. It’s a
compromise position.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just my thoughts. Each of us will make our own choices,
after all. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-980079465804542642017-05-30T15:45:00.001-07:002017-05-30T15:51:36.645-07:00When Language Gets Hijacked<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In New Zealand at the moment there is a big ecological push
to flush out and exterminate the country’s “predators”. I put the word in
quotes because, by dictionary definition, a predator is “an animal that hunts,
kills, and eats other animals.” Animals like lions, tigers, wolves, hawks, and
owls might spring to mind. Implied in the word is a connotation of “dangerous”
and “bad”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtlCkFwPCstKMpgIz8woNkPtBHrsIcZtZW3mrDIXuAC7HLYLC6gFFNlwxFrYyzG_QQ_1dBvvZA7bXxNYP3KA42Mt0QI8wf8eY6DW_GAkPytFKCS5QN6VRgF_su-Fa9uxHGTE8lLehEAQs/s1600/brushtail+possum+predator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtlCkFwPCstKMpgIz8woNkPtBHrsIcZtZW3mrDIXuAC7HLYLC6gFFNlwxFrYyzG_QQ_1dBvvZA7bXxNYP3KA42Mt0QI8wf8eY6DW_GAkPytFKCS5QN6VRgF_su-Fa9uxHGTE8lLehEAQs/s1600/brushtail+possum+predator.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brushtail Possum, photo from Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In New Zealand, however, the word “predator” is coming to
mean any animal not native to New Zealand, regardless of its diet, which is
assumed to be harmful to New Zealand’s indigenous flora and fauna. This, oddly
enough (if you honour the traditional definition) includes <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/possums-in-new-zealand.html" target="_blank">brushtail possums</a>,
rats, deer, feral pigs, and magpies, as well as stoats and feral cats (which are “true”
predators), but NOT native hawks or owls or tuatara or insect-eating fantails and weta
(large indigenous insects themselves) which are also “true”
predators. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It bothers me when a word is hijacked by politicians or marketers
and given a new meaning that is simply accepted by the public, usually opening
up opportunities for somebody to make a whole bunch of money. In this case, it’s the chemical
poison industry, who get to drop tonnes of 1080 baits over New Zealand’s
forests every year, and manufacture and lay brodificoum and cyanide ground
poisons. That’s great for not only production but also employment—people’s jobs
are on the line. The latest political splash, which has gained some notoriety around
the world, is a plan to make New Zealand “predator-free” by 2050—and they’re
not talking about lions and tigers. Or tuatara or wetas or native hawks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have some pretty strong thoughts on the roles of various
animals in natural ecosystems, but this post is about language use, so I’ll
leave that issue for another piece of writing. Instead, I’d like to bring up
another personal language “peeve”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2yhyphenhyphenwiwQrwlaBNNgeuQeKBwJzIuKx3RotEEV8G062KxybCJC4MZLnGPIvgCgA8cteHq4TMxI9JilhlNz9Z1zXDNfdgWkM_c9sDwMwYL1dxR7n54qjfT7RCElXpNvglEO6_PLAW0Cq6I/s1600/antidepressants+man+pills+CBS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2yhyphenhyphenwiwQrwlaBNNgeuQeKBwJzIuKx3RotEEV8G062KxybCJC4MZLnGPIvgCgA8cteHq4TMxI9JilhlNz9Z1zXDNfdgWkM_c9sDwMwYL1dxR7n54qjfT7RCElXpNvglEO6_PLAW0Cq6I/s320/antidepressants+man+pills+CBS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from CBS article linked in text.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The word “antidepressant” first appeared in 1959 in the <i>New York Times</i> to describe two new
drugs, imipramine and ipronazid, which appeared to ‘reverse psychic states’.
This appealing word took the world by storm, and was soon on the lips—and in
the advertising--of every pharmaceutical marketer wanting to market new drugs.
Clinical trials, almost all run by the drug companies who make the drugs, all
showed<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172306/" target="_blank"> limited benefit over placebo</a> (a fake “med”) of their “antidepressants” and
often a bevy of side effects to boot, but when a drug was marketed as an “antidepressant”,
both patients and doctors were eager to buy and try. After all, nobody wants to be
depressed, right? Today we know that <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-antidepressants-cause-depression-what-new-study-says/" target="_blank">antidepressant drugs can make depression worse in the long term</a>, and can even <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/14/antidepressants-can-raise-the-risk-of-suicide-biggest-ever-revie/" target="_blank">cause suicidality</a>, but the power of the
word, and the idea that something can easily fix depression is so powerful that
few people can even grasp the idea that an “antidepressant” may not be—in dictionary
terms—an anti-depressant at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These examples aside, I accept and appreciate that our
language is an evolving entity, and that dictionary definitions are not created
by word police but by us, ourselves, with our language usage. I’m not bothered
by new words that creep into everyday conversations and, eventually, make it
into dictionaries like lol, app, and google as a verb. Nor am I usually
bothered by words whose meanings change, often dramatically; think <i>gay, ace, cool,</i> and <i>hot</i> for starters, though I still snag sometimes at <i>mother.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On this theme of our changing language, and to end this post
on a positive and more generic note, <a href="http://ideas.ted.com/20-words-that-once-meant-something-very-different/" target="_blank">this link</a> goes to an interesting list of 20 common words (i.e., nice,
awful, fizzle, wench) whose meanings have significantly changed over time, and an excellent
TED talk on language change from Ann Curzan. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-30594253882753326822017-05-28T14:45:00.000-07:002017-05-28T15:04:01.251-07:00Gut Bacteria Influences Health and Well-Being<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrJaljc4UF3b9Ellc0GyqS2MRg_poVVtJG79gTLXw8EDbOmTVcK9bm_jDfi2a7lJ1vu5O1osY1Z7Gwf3UC6hrihlfokP1Ag9DoTfFILuG2EVbyfXRV94hLwnJzWpH-qCQHjJ9gY3_tI58/s1600/gut+bacteria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="628" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrJaljc4UF3b9Ellc0GyqS2MRg_poVVtJG79gTLXw8EDbOmTVcK9bm_jDfi2a7lJ1vu5O1osY1Z7Gwf3UC6hrihlfokP1Ag9DoTfFILuG2EVbyfXRV94hLwnJzWpH-qCQHjJ9gY3_tI58/s320/gut+bacteria.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gut bacteria photo from the article on the link between <br />
anxiety and gut bacteria (linked left)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were several posts that came up on my Facebook feed
this morning about gut health and various illnesses. One linked <a href="https://blogs.psychcentral.com/bipolar-laid-bare/2017/01/gut-bacteria-may-affect-bipolar-disorder-schizophrenia/" target="_blank">bipolar “disease” to an unusual and deficient gut biome</a> while another one explored <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170210085532.htm" target="_blank">the link between the gut biome and Alzheimer’s</a>. Neither of these diseases were common 100
years ago. And here's a slightly older story on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/04/gut-bacteria-mental-healt_n_6391014.html" target="_blank">the link between gut bacteria and anxiety</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what is happening in our digestive tract now that wasn’t
happening in the past? It’s fairly obvious that
we have a lot of processed foods in our diets that our grandparents and great
grandparents never ate. Food additives—artificial colours, artificial flavours,
flavour enhancers, preservatives, mouth-feel/texture ingredients—are often identified by numbers on food
packets, or disguised as something else. “Flavour” sounds less alarming than “artificial
flavour,” “brown rice syrup” sounds healthier than “sugar”, and hydrolyzed vegetable
protein sounds fairly benign but it contains MSG (monosodium glutamate), a “nasty”. Those are fairly obvious things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then we have packaging. Everything these days seems to come
in plastic bags or wraps: snacks, breakfast cereals, pet foods, fresh meat,
fresh vegetables. We have plastic-lined cans, plastic lined boxes, plastic milk
containers and plastic juice containers. Buying a cooked chicken at the supermarket
deli? Bet it comes wrapped in hot plastic. Yes, we even cook in plastic, from
<a href="http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/microwaving-food-in-plastic-dangerous-or-not" target="_blank">microwaving in plastic containers</a> to frying meat in <a href="http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-living/whats-deal-with-nonstick-cookware-are-they-safe-20160801-gqitvd" target="_blank">Teflon pans</a> and <a href="https://wellnessmama.com/25952/silicone-safe-for-baking/" target="_blank">baking muffins in pink silicone “tins”</a>. Besides being a disaster for our landfills and
rubbish dumps, there is growing concern about the impact of the leaching of
harmful molecules from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/26/is-plastic-food-packaging-dangerous" target="_blank">plastic food wraps</a>, containers and cookware into our
food and bodies. The jury is still out, but long-term accumulation of toxins
from plastic in the body seems likely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile our commercial food crops are grown with a bevy of
toxic chemicals: weed-killers and pest-killers are scattered and sprayed over
crops, sometimes shortly before harvest. For example, some farmers actively spray
their wheat and potato crops with glyphosate (RoundUp) before harvest to make
harvesting easier and more profitable. They call it “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_desiccation" target="_blank">desiccation</a>;” which sounds less ominous than poisoning--the power of vocabulary. The plants take up these poisons
systemically and retain it, and it doesn’t wash off. Even the <a href="http://www.turfprousa.com/health_effects_of_synthetic_fertilizer_3006a.html" target="_blank">chemical fertilizers</a> used to encourage growth in tired soils are toxic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think meat and dairy products are better options? That all
depends upon what the animals have been eating. <a href="http://www.gmoinside.org/gmos-in-animal-feed/" target="_blank">GMO corn and soy are common ingredients in animal feed</a> (probably including what you’re feeding your dog or
cat), and even “grass fed” beef and sheep are sometimes grazed on sprayed
pastures. Food animals are also treated with antibiotics, chemical wormers and
drenches, and some may be given growth hormones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our water, too, is contaminated with chemicals. <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/07/case-against-chlorinated-tap-water" target="_blank">Chlorine</a>
(which kills bacteria, including the bacteria in your gut) and fluoride are the
two most talked about chemical additives in our tap water. Chlorine kills not only the bad bacteria, like <i>e coli</i>, that may be lurking in our water, but also the good bacteria in our digestive tracts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the pills we take to fix our various ailments also alter our gut
bacteria. Antibiotics are notorious, of course (killing bacteria is their job),
but most drugs alter the gut biome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our whole economic system is geared around making a profit,
not around enhancing human health, and the chemical companies reign. While most
foods and products we buy are not toxic in a single-serving sense, years of
accumulated toxic load on our systems may affect all of our organs, and even
single servings may have temporary or longer-term effects on gut flora and
fauna. And we need all those eager little gut bacteria to stay healthy and digest
our food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are, of course, a few things you can do right now to
make a difference. Buy organic food products as much as you can or grown your
own food. Avoid “junk” food and highly processed foods. Do your own cooking. Don’t
cook in plastic, and limit the amount of plastic used in contact with foodstuffs.
Use filtered water if you can. Don't take drugs you don’t really need. Avoid,
or at least limit, your own chemical contamination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ultimately, though, the system needs to change if we want to
live in a world where making healthy, natural choices isn’t dependent upon
personal awareness, education, and financial situation. Awareness is growing.
And that’s a good start.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-1030609074599321162016-02-21T16:30:00.000-08:002016-02-21T16:30:53.260-08:00How Belief About the Nature of Nature Impacts Conservation Decisions<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DDo6Um1Xeir6zUlJADf1puGemv7Q4llLRA-a-f0i9I-DKWyNI7w71iPRGYLF0n7yizvKcTLksmsRhONP9jZTGeDtZAwwMWSEbuiOl5qa_EVGHedQ66fvi0zFbU8xz-QasdgsyK2RU7o/s1600/Beyond+the+War+Invasive+Species.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DDo6Um1Xeir6zUlJADf1puGemv7Q4llLRA-a-f0i9I-DKWyNI7w71iPRGYLF0n7yizvKcTLksmsRhONP9jZTGeDtZAwwMWSEbuiOl5qa_EVGHedQ66fvi0zFbU8xz-QasdgsyK2RU7o/s200/Beyond+the+War+Invasive+Species.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What to do about invasive species is a hot topic in the
conservation world. Yet, how an individual views that world—nature—by and large
determines how s/he wants to treat it. In her book “Beyond the War on Invasive
Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration” author Tao Orion
summarizes some key fundamental beliefs about nature as described by Canadian
ecologist Crawford Holling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found the observation that an individual’s beliefs about
nature determine his/her approach to conservation an enlightening idea,
especially given the apparent impasse that divides the “slash/kill/burn/poison
the invaders” conservationists vs. the “let nature be and stop trying to
manipulate it” ecologists. Coming from an NLP background, I know that beliefs
drive thoughts, attitudes, convictions, and behaviours, so this makes perfect
sense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, what are these fundamental beliefs about nature? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, firstly there’s taking a scientific management approach to
conservation, which is also the mindset behind conventional farming and
forestry. People with a rational, scientific belief system assume nature is basically
stable, and that any changes that may occur are understandable, predictable,
and manageable. Within this paradigm, intruders (weeds, pests) should be kept
at bay to ensure the ecosystem remains stable and unchanged. People who
hold this paradigm as fundamental assume the ecosystem has historically been in
equilibrium, at least until recent disturbances (often caused by man’s
intrusion) upset the balance, and that it can be returned to that "natural" equilibrium state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another common assumption about nature is that it is resilient.
This runs somewhat in contrast, but is also complimentary, to the “we have to
manage it to keep it in balance” belief, and relies on the assumption that
nature can bounce back and will then be able to take care of itself, given time. Combining these two
beliefs, it is assumed that if invasive species are removed from a natural
environment, the ecosystem will recover and resume its previous form. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A contrasting and emerging view of ecosystems, on the other
hand, suggests that natural environments are not static, but rather are
evolutionary and constantly in a state of transition. This view assumes resilience
is not inherent, and resumption of a former form following an ecological
disturbance is unlikely, regardless of human intervention. It also assumes that
a changed or altered system can still be stable. As environments and climates
change, whether man-driven or otherwise, ecological systems will adapt, utilizing
whatever products and species are made available to fill particular ecological
niches needed to create and maintain system stability. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgug8E8glFrCRLy0doFZBpsI7FhQy2xawAXsep8z3oJq9nbMj_KdhGm3TI7ueBZrfBNDHNgzqVodeA7MBRgDS7xu9svEJGto_HfsIEqWTyBdTDUsuuSwEjYpjlGxBDVgZIWfgs-21tvRrA/s1600/Salt+cedar+Colorado+River.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgug8E8glFrCRLy0doFZBpsI7FhQy2xawAXsep8z3oJq9nbMj_KdhGm3TI7ueBZrfBNDHNgzqVodeA7MBRgDS7xu9svEJGto_HfsIEqWTyBdTDUsuuSwEjYpjlGxBDVgZIWfgs-21tvRrA/s200/Salt+cedar+Colorado+River.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt Cedar, Colorado River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flowing out of the evolutionary/transitory assumption is the
idea that an unmanaged natural environment is more stable than a managed one,
even if it includes what man has identified as “unwanted, invasive” species. In
her book, Orion gives a wonderful example of the salt cedar growing along the
Colorado River. While salt cedar is perceived as invasive and displacing the traditional
willow, it is also true that willow thrives best where there is occasional
flooding, something that no longer occurs along a river so controlled and
managed with dams and water removal. Salt cedar, on the other hand, may not be “native”
to the area, but it thrives there now because it can tolerate higher salt
levels from runoff leaching and it does not need frequent flooding to keep it healthy.
Birds are as willing to nest in salt cedar as they are in willow, and no matter
how much salt cedar is cut and poisoned, and no matter how many willows are
planted, in an altered ecosystem where one environmental niche is damaged and
another one emerges, it is a natural evolution for species to change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understanding that underlying beliefs shape attitudes and behaviours, it is
easy to see why there are environmentalists on both sides of this issue. From
one point of view, conservation is about saving and/or restoring and/or maintaining what is or
used to be there, and from the other point of view, non-intervention eco-management
is about allowing wild places to remain undisturbed with a focus on natural
processes to enable stable, functioning, self-sustaining ecosystems. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-67804538593920305492015-11-30T15:00:00.000-08:002015-11-30T18:20:09.515-08:00The Dirty Face of Dairy<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The dairy industry has been in the spotlight in New Zealand
over the past few days following <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday-news/down-farm-video-6427831" target="_blank">the broadcast on TV One’s <i>Sunday</i> program</a> that showed shocking footage of calf abuse at the
hands of farmers, truckers, and abattoir workers. Obtained under cover by
animal rights group <a href="http://www.safe.org.nz/" target="_blank">SAFE</a>, <a href="http://safe.org.nz/nz-dairy-industry-exposed" target="_blank">the footage</a> shows newly born calves being separated
from their mothers; held in roadside holding pens for hours without shelter,
food, or water; being manhandled (thrown in many cases) onto trucks; and then
thrown, beaten, and bashed in abattoir stock pens. (WARNING: these clips are disturbing.)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQAViqYNkXrZVtJKWM62DhCgxZZDtV1LWTep6lIl_j9lUzA5GHSrKiPDNOo3Y3m_VAnQxL_M1SCbc3ElU9iYFi-VRt8mcWxq7kxPSzflsbMJ0WxBZ4jJ1nuzmJSSPb7lenMdAni195Sk/s1600/calf+waste+product.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQAViqYNkXrZVtJKWM62DhCgxZZDtV1LWTep6lIl_j9lUzA5GHSrKiPDNOo3Y3m_VAnQxL_M1SCbc3ElU9iYFi-VRt8mcWxq7kxPSzflsbMJ0WxBZ4jJ1nuzmJSSPb7lenMdAni195Sk/s400/calf+waste+product.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from SAFE website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The revelations have understandably caused a public outcry,
and outcry from many farmers too, who claim to run caring and humane dairy
farms. While New Zealand’s biggest dairy company </span><a href="http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/Fonterra_NewZealand_en/Fonterra/Hub%20Sites/News%20and%20Media/Media%20Releases/Fonterra%20statement%20on%20SAFE%20NZ%20animal%20cruelty%20footage/Fonterra%20statement%20on%20SAFE%20NZ%20animal%20cruelty%20footage?pageID=Z6QReDeO9ECMSGC1JCAMMS6N1D8JMG6J9OCMM8CMPO6JM47IPO8JSK61BEC6H5C13" style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Fonterra insists animal welfare is a priority</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> for them, and the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan
Guy says they have commenced an investigation (albeit, two months after they were given the footage and not, apparently, before it became public), the issue brings some home
truths to the New Zealand public.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While this kind of animal abuse is profoundly disturbing and
probably not the norm on dairy farms in general (although it may be at many abattoirs),
there are numerous issues raised by the dairy industry that are less obvious. The
basic truth is: to create the milk in
our fridges, our ice cream, yogurt, and toasted cheese sandwiches, cows must be
impregnated yearly and their calves must be removed from them (almost always
within the first 24 hours) so that we can harvest the milk that nature intended
for the calves. Many of those calves are superfluous to requirements, being either
male or of a breed not suitable for meat production such as Jersey, and thus they
are killed when just a few days old. We call them bobby calves (regardless of sex). Most go into
the pet food industry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dairying is hard on cows too. Heifers (female cows that haven’t yet
had a calf) can be bred 9-12 months after they are born. Dairy cows will have several annual
calves, and when their milk production drops after a few years because they are
worn out, they are sold off to the meat works. Milking normally occurs once or
twice a day, not more often as it would be with a calf at heel. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastitis_in_dairy_cattle" target="_blank">Mastitis</a> is common.
Modern pasturage rarely allows cows to pick and choose what plants they want to
eat. And as for the issue of calf removal, it is well known that cows and
calves both <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJPbrxdn8w" target="_blank">find this process stressful even if done “kindly”</a>, and some cows mourn the loss of their baby for days after the separation—<a href="http://www.vegsource.com/sarah-taylor/dairy-cows-and-their-calves-when-mother-is-separated-from-baby.html" target="_blank">a cow’s maternal instinct</a> is huge. (And they’re smarter than we often give them credit for—see <a href="https://www.thedodo.com/dairy-cow-calf-baby-rescue-1010627123.html" target="_blank">this story</a> of a protective motherly cow who hid her calf--spoiler: happy ending.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most of the public is so far removed from the farm gate
that, other than knowing that milk comes from cows, little thought or awareness
is given to the actual process. I have a cousin in the US who told me once
that she’d never eat lamb or veal because she doesn’t want to eat baby animals.
She has no hesitation, however, in dowsing her strawberries with cream or
pouring milk over her corn flakes, oblivious to the distress caused to both cow
and calf by the dairy industry. Another example: a friend, upon hearing about
the current NZ dairy exposé, said that she considers herself an intelligent,
well-educated woman living in a dairy-exporting country and yet she’d never really
realized that cows have to get pregnant and have a calf every year to provide our
milk. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dairying in New Zealand picks up a pretty bad environmental
rap too. Run-off from dairy contaminates land and waterways, and there are no
easy answers to this issue unless cow numbers are reduced, and that’s not good
for profits—money remains the trump driver here, as it does in all industries.
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/10685548/New-Zealands-dairy-dilemma" target="_blank">This article</a> seems to advocate the popular American concept of housed cows
rather than pasture-feeding as a possible solution for New Zealand. Ultimately
dairy, along with other livestock production, is environmentally unsustainable
as a growth industry in the long term. I really have to do a plug here for the excellent
documentary “Cowspiracy” which certainly affected my way of thinking when I
watched it a month or two ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TtAhBdv_R28/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TtAhBdv_R28?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is also a growing contingent of health professionals
who are questioning the health value of including <a href="http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_understand_foods/dairy.html" target="_blank">dairy in our diet</a>. If you do
want to continue consuming dairy products, organic seems to be the way to go—not
necessarily less cruel, but almost certainly healthier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly, if a growing awareness of the cruelty and/or
environmental issues generated by the dairy industry bothers you, or you are
concerned that you’re consuming more dairy products than are good for you, there
are alternatives. While I’m not ready to go totally dairy free myself, I’ve found
it easy to cut back on dairy consumption. Milk is easy to replace, as is ice
cream. Cheese is a little harder, as is yogurt, and margarine is no way a
healthy substitute for butter (but try coconut oil or olive oil for cooking).
If going cold turkey on dairy won’t work for you, try cutting down. Try rice
milk or almond milk or coconut milk on your cereal and in your smoothee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2hUvm8q5KBkn-akD08W8n9R5GbaNYp5qZtt5RpxJdmXkMgtSfrdOQ9t5mKgp9fo9SuaY2wWWOV6iu-ZnNBhASQdRp-gG922cYgFYpSbq8Ke-zKYEVq5fYyXu5KorzX6RQbcy1nlMl7w/s1600/alternative-to-milk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2hUvm8q5KBkn-akD08W8n9R5GbaNYp5qZtt5RpxJdmXkMgtSfrdOQ9t5mKgp9fo9SuaY2wWWOV6iu-ZnNBhASQdRp-gG922cYgFYpSbq8Ke-zKYEVq5fYyXu5KorzX6RQbcy1nlMl7w/s320/alternative-to-milk.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dairying is an industry. The cow has become a production unit.
Her calf is a by-product. We as consumers don’t have to support this framework
and ideology. Just because we’ve [seemingly] always done it this way doesn’t
mean we need to continue to do so. Think, before you drink, and let your
choices be conscious ones.</span></div>
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Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-16889605615487927042015-10-08T00:31:00.000-07:002015-10-18T13:11:28.373-07:00Cancer Resources and Stories That Inspire<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cancer is a funny old thing. Most of us sort of assume it’s
something people get, and the causes are likely to be a mix of environmental
and genetic, and that doctors know best about how to treat it—surgery,
drugs/chemotherapy, and radiation. Most folks find a cancer diagnosis pretty
scary. But there are some inspirational people out there whose stories may
challenge conventional thought. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following along from <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2015/10/why-i-walked-out-on-breast-radiation.html" target="_blank">my last blog post</a> about my own
experience with radiation following breast cancer surgery, I’d like to share
this handful of interesting and inspiring resources:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpDVephc1ddAm1xg3x4OH56kS0UxQx68vnOxaebWTt8PYX9YVlNPwp5OHt7IJNFO8CnccUzaJG6b6_Rx7NeNkn5YgnZgV7Hn66fXZOnY-3tHJops9Dakw5AThLHPG21U_l-udks22K8k/s1600/Lissa+Rankin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpDVephc1ddAm1xg3x4OH56kS0UxQx68vnOxaebWTt8PYX9YVlNPwp5OHt7IJNFO8CnccUzaJG6b6_Rx7NeNkn5YgnZgV7Hn66fXZOnY-3tHJops9Dakw5AThLHPG21U_l-udks22K8k/s320/Lissa+Rankin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Lissa Rankin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m currently reading Dr Lissa Rankin’s latest book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Cure-Cultivating-Courage-Medicine/dp/1401944264/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1444287437&sr=8-3&keywords=Lissa+Rankin" target="_blank">The Fear Cure</a></i>, in which she examines the
role of stress and our response to it as a factor in chronic diseases including
cancer and heart disease. While stressful events are a moderate predictor of
ill health, our individual responses to those stressful events, and our overall
view of the world—is it safe or dangerous?—is an even bigger predictor. She
includes useful exercises and guidelines for folks who might want to change to
a more health-promoting mindset. Lissa’s earlier book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Over-Medicine-Scientific-Yourself/dp/1401939996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444287437&sr=8-1&keywords=Lissa+Rankin" target="_blank">Mind Over Medicine</a></i> is also excellent. And worth sharing is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lissarankin/posts/636774866351938" target="_blank">this Facebook post from Lissa</a> on the key recovery factors identified by over 3500
individuals in the Spontaneous Remissions Project—these are all folks who defied
prediction and recovered from apparently incurable, terminal conditions
including cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number one most common factor from the Spontaneous
Remissions Project is food. In general, a switch to organic foods—mostly fruits
and vegetables—with a tight curb on sugar, meat, dairy, and processed foods was
identified by many as an essential element for recovery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIvRgRjzeV06KVfHrbIZsZ7stliqiuo3RiT5epWZ2dXtpwOHG17fPi46KweBaXH2ro3R6z9u8p-VuxCyLFioaIGTMY1G9Q5XixHWTXEwo3X6J9Rg9UKwJro82Tkm8kHB1gRYANR2qG38/s1600/Jaxon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIvRgRjzeV06KVfHrbIZsZ7stliqiuo3RiT5epWZ2dXtpwOHG17fPi46KweBaXH2ro3R6z9u8p-VuxCyLFioaIGTMY1G9Q5XixHWTXEwo3X6J9Rg9UKwJro82Tkm8kHB1gRYANR2qG38/s200/Jaxon.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jaxon (from his website)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One Kiwi who has shared his story and enthusiasm for green
juices, smoothees, and alternative treatments is Jaxon who, in 2008, at the age
of 26 was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He’s still here, and looks
amazing! His website <a href="http://www.acreepsguidetocancer.com/" target="_blank">A Creeps Guide to Cancer</a> is an inspiration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a similar vein, Chris Work, now 36, had surgery for stage
3 bowel cancer twelve years ago. He’s still here today, does an awesome website
called <a href="http://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/" target="_blank">Chris Beat Cancer</a>, and he also looks amazing. Like Jaxon, he pushes
healthy food hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cover says “Number 1 best-selling book on cancer in the
world”—this is Dr David Servan-Schreiber’s <i><a href="http://www.anticancerbook.com/" target="_blank">Anti-Cancer:A New Way of Life</a></i> which documents his crusade to change our perception of
cancer following his own diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. Observing that we
all have cancer cells in our bodies, he wondered why some people develop cancer
and others do not. Again, he hits nutrition hard, recognizes the role of
stress, and advocates mediation. This is a wonderful personal story of survival
and quest with a ton of useful information packed in. Five-star stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One woman’s miracle cancer story is <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dying-To-Be-Me-Journey/dp/1401937535" target="_blank">Dying to be Me</a></i> by Anita Moorjani. This is not only a cancer
survival story but also an account of a transformational near death experience.
Her story is not about food but about self-forgiveness and spiritual awareness.
An interesting and inspirational read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Donna Eden’s wonderful book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Medicine-energies-optimum-vitality-ebook/dp/B00C69IKU0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444287762&sr=1-1&keywords=Donna+Eden" target="_blank">Energy Medicine</a></i> is not about cancer or any other diseases, but
about being healthy and joyous through understanding and nurturing the lines
and patterns and sources of energy within and around your body. It won’t be
everyone’s cup of tea, but if you want to increase your understanding of how
your body circulates fluid and energy, how to clear stagnant areas and
strengthen meridians and chakras, and useful exercises for all sorts of
problems, this book is a gold mine of wisdom.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MO54cqgMVvvJHwaCVXIDbYenAJgDrE9GUt91dht9lgb-04K-XOpCzSRVOyzU6JNRibJH5H_D7PU2tnWs5d5vSf44eP_2Z-3qR2Kh1MGy-L3tlv5VYqoC1KGlvFeBUMwTkrGCkorO4fA/s1600/Donna+Eden+Latticework.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MO54cqgMVvvJHwaCVXIDbYenAJgDrE9GUt91dht9lgb-04K-XOpCzSRVOyzU6JNRibJH5H_D7PU2tnWs5d5vSf44eP_2Z-3qR2Kh1MGy-L3tlv5VYqoC1KGlvFeBUMwTkrGCkorO4fA/s320/Donna+Eden+Latticework.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, the
</span><a href="https://community.breastcancer.org/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">breastcancer.org discussion boards </a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are a great place to meet up with others in
the same boat and share stories, worries, tips, and learnings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimately, the most important thing you can do when faced with a cancer diagnosis--yours or for someone you love--is become educated. Don't blindly assume the cut/burn/poison routine is not only best, but the only thing you can do. Before and while you are making health care decisions, the best single resource I can recommend is Ty Bollinger's new documentary series "The Truth About Cancer: A Global Quest". <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNB9E7d4pdM" target="_blank">This trailer</a> doesn't do it justice--there is just so much information here from so many health care professionals, scientists, and individual who have beat cancer about what they know, what they've learned, and what they've done. (At the moment, the documentary is being run live and for free, but I suspect after that, you'll only find snippits on YouTube and will have to buy it to see the whole series. It's not being run on television, but it should be!)</span><br />
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Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-62370435405850199192015-10-07T14:11:00.000-07:002015-10-11T14:46:46.812-07:00Why I Walked Out on Breast Radiation<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of my friends and family know I’ve recently had a bout
with breast cancer. Others don’t. It’s not something I’ve shouted from the
rooftops or felt like posting about on Facebook, like one often does with
holidays, sunsets and magical meals. I’ve
considered the pros and cons of writing a blog post (or several) on the topic,
which opens it up to a bigger and even less personal audience, and have been
hesitant about that. But I feel like I want to share a bit of my experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday of this week, I called up the hospital where I’ve
been undergoing radiation—7 treatments completed, 12 to go—and told them I
wanted to cancel not only the day’s appointment, but that I wanted to pull out
of the program entirely. “Radiation,” I told them, “is just not working for me.”
Not surprisingly, I got a call back a few minutes later and a request for me to
come in and talk to the oncologist on call, “Just to make sure you have all the
information you need and that you understand the ramifications of withdrawing
from the program.” I did go in and spoke with a very nice doctor, but he did
not change my mind about withdrawing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve written several blog posts on cancer previously (and
before my diagnosis): <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/do-antiperspirants-cause-breast-cancer.html" target="_blank">Do Antidepressants Cause Breast Cancer?</a>, <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/are-mammograms-good-for-you.html" target="_blank">Are MammogramsGood for You?</a>, and <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/rip-david-servan-schreiber-tribute-to.html" target="_blank">RIP David Servan-Schreiber—A Tribute to the Anti-Cancer Man</a>
among others. So this is not a topic that was unfamiliar to me prior to
diagnosis. I can say, however, that actually HAVING a cancer diagnosis involves
not only a pretty sharp learning curve, but it can also be an emotional roller
coaster as you confront not only thoughts about your own mortality, but
constant choices about what to do and what not to do, both medically and within
your personal life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am pretty lucky. My single tumour was small and “stage 1”
meaning it had not gone into the lymph nodes (see <a href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/stages-of-cancer" target="_blank">cancer stages</a>), and when
removed surgically the margins were deemed “clear” (meaning the cancer cells
hadn’t spread into the tissue surrounding the tumour). Surgery was performed as
a day procedure and involved a lumpectomy plus removal of four underarm lymph
nodes for biopsy. Upon analysis, the tumour was found to have “medullary
features”, which puts it into a fairly rare class as cancer tumours go (see
<a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/medullary" target="_blank">medullary breast cancer</a>), although going by appearance it was ranked “grade 3”
which means aggressive (see <a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/cell_grade" target="_blank">cancer grades</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a no-brainer for me to turn down the offered
chemotherapy. Anyone who had read a number of my blog posts, or who knows me
personally, will know I’m seriously against blanket poisoning of environments
to eradicate pests (anti-1080 folks will be LOL). Radiation, though, was on the
cards from day one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day I got the news from the surgeon that my lump biopsy
showed cancer, he followed in almost the same breath, with “I’ve scheduled your
surgery for Friday. I can do either a mastectomy (breast removal) or breast
conservation surgery (lumpectomy) which means removing the cancer and some
surrounding tissue but preserving the bulk of the breast, but if I do that, you
will have to follow that up with several weeks of radiation. If you don’t agree
to do the radiation, I will need to do a mastectomy. What do you want to do?”
Or words to that effect. Of course I opted for the less-invasive option and the
matter of doing radiation seemed to be <i>fait
accompli</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t until I met with my radiation oncologist six weeks
after surgery, and she explained the plan and procedure and gave me a fact
sheet that I began to have second thoughts. Breast radiation is used to kill any
errant cancer cells that might have been left behind after surgery in the
breast, and it reduces the risk of cancer recurring in the treated breast by
20-30%. That’s according to my oncologist, but statistics seem to vary. One recent study followed 1010 women who had had lumpectomies for 16 years. Half of
the women had radiation following surgery, and half did not. Of those who had
radiation, 18% had a tumour recurrence in the affected breast during that 16
years; of those who did not have a radiation follow-up, 31% had a local recurrence,
yielding an impressive reduced recurrence rate of 48% with radiation. There was
no difference in overall survival rate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Radiation specifically targets fast-growing cells but it is
not capable of knowing the difference between cancer cells and ordinary body
cells, so any cells in the target area that are growing fast and dividing are
killed or at least seriously compromised. That’s why the most common and
obvious side effect of breast radiation is skin damage, because your skin cells
are constantly renewing themselves and are fast-dividing cells, and because
your skin is visible. Commonly, this results in a sunburn effect with reddened
skin, sometimes peeling, and some skin discomfort which can be soothed (but not
prevented) with allowed lotions. However, all of the cells within a breast are
affected, and because they can’t actually tighten the beams of radiation
enough, or go around curves, a bit of lung tissue, local ribs, and sometimes
even a bit of the heart are also affected. Tiredness is a common early (and
usually temporary) side effect, perhaps as a result of the impairing of the immune
system (radiation kills lymphocytes), along with breast swelling, a sore chest
wall, and sometimes the development of a cough due to lung damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Long term effects from radiation include a general “aging”
and re-shaping of the breast, increased firmness of breast tissue, especially
around the surgery scar(s), a slightly increased risk of rib fractures, and a slightly
increased risk of developing cancer elsewhere. Radiation exposure does, after
all, cause cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhHz8wf-Ktj1iJjCzxOCoKVpsHlTXZ2B-Z8IGoFiu7UVpzAn6tT3JcbK6SyFfWEMmQgTPJfQrO7W7r-4DVgW3ywyfrzHlrDMnBEJMXoR6eBGwcvp9uqHlYFGg1c9Q9KJTm2HsNxlHq2c/s1600/breast+radiation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhHz8wf-Ktj1iJjCzxOCoKVpsHlTXZ2B-Z8IGoFiu7UVpzAn6tT3JcbK6SyFfWEMmQgTPJfQrO7W7r-4DVgW3ywyfrzHlrDMnBEJMXoR6eBGwcvp9uqHlYFGg1c9Q9KJTm2HsNxlHq2c/s320/breast+radiation.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mayo Clinic illustration </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having promised my surgeon that I’d do radiation, and
encouraged to do so by everyone I met within the medical community and most
friends and family members (the others tactfully giving no opinion other than, “Only
you can make that decision”) I ploughed ahead and signed the paperwork
authorizing the treatment. A few days later I found myself stretched out on the
table as two cheerful technicians marked me up, aligned the equipment, and
applied the tattoos (three mole-sized permanent marks). The following week, it
was game on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The odd thing was, every day I walked out of the hospital after
my treatment—it is quick, and doesn’t hurt while it is happening—with the most
horrible sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and a lump in my throat, and
more than once I was crying. Why did doing this upset me so much?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seemed like a betrayal to my body. Having been doing its
best to counteract a problem (medullary cancers are attacked by the immune
system, so my body was fighting the cancer even before the surgery), I first
let it be cut up with surgery (and I’d do that again) and then just when
recovery was looking pretty good and the wounds were looking somewhat healed,
here I was, further damaging my poor breast tissue, all under the assumption
that there MIGHT be some errant cancer cells doing a walkabout in my breast,
and that if so, they’d be fast-enough growing to be whacked by the radiation. (Medullary
cancers, I’ve learned, are often not fast growing). Furthermore, I kept
thinking “at least when this is over, I can begin to heal. In a month.” Um…wait
a minute. When this is over I can <u>begin</u>?
Shouldn’t medicine be about healing and supporting health <u>now</u>? Why
inflict further damage to already damaged tissue as a “preventative”? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realized that I was doing these radiation treatments mostly
because other people thought I should. I realized my gut feeling was to walk away.
My heart and throat told me to walk away after each dose. And even my
cognitive/head thinking was finding it increasingly difficult to justify the
pro over the cons. My body wasn’t in alignment with my actions. And nothing
about undergoing radiation was in alignment with my core belief that the body
is a self-healing ecosystem that should be nurtured and helped to heal at all times. It felt wrong. “What would you do if fear wasn’t
stopping you?” I asked myself. And the answer was clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FWsB0iKr7FYBVL1js9IRWq1IVgVHKcO37VXR162rxUVNyOCVmE3lbcKYm-sHFNv6U2PE13vKiLVVQtM_xHIOfhb1GkHers5ROfR8rLc9IloSRIOTd_YeX5CHlcIrJ8WPntj8hoYAkNM/s1600/Jessica+Hagy+quote+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FWsB0iKr7FYBVL1js9IRWq1IVgVHKcO37VXR162rxUVNyOCVmE3lbcKYm-sHFNv6U2PE13vKiLVVQtM_xHIOfhb1GkHers5ROfR8rLc9IloSRIOTd_YeX5CHlcIrJ8WPntj8hoYAkNM/s400/Jessica+Hagy+quote+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It took courage to call the hospital and say I wasn’t going
back. It meant accepting that I could be making a mistake, and the cancer could
come back, and the authorities will scold me if it does. But it feels like a
weight has lifted. Whatever comes in the future, I accept the results of my
decision. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And although I find it hard to
consider this cancer experience a blessing as some “more advanced souls” might
do, I acknowledge the power of this episode to broaden my experiences and clarify
my values.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See my <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2015/10/cancer-resources-and-stories-that.html" target="_blank">next post</a> for recommended resources and inspirational stories about cancer survival.</span></div>
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Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-81914283325321618262015-05-11T17:39:00.000-07:002015-05-12T14:06:37.173-07:00Rotten Tomatoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyGefskgkSGV1_sT_lRRPx7RPUntNiIABvivQTaj-eJ7YfUVpne8ycjkQPU4rVyl-6GHEIUK_4LSM-Jg-_AqGGRqLHmBU32dQ5IlrWUUZfI_uth60o-tiU6Eitxu8xViQnYDI77uh94k/s1600/flavr+savr+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyGefskgkSGV1_sT_lRRPx7RPUntNiIABvivQTaj-eJ7YfUVpne8ycjkQPU4rVyl-6GHEIUK_4LSM-Jg-_AqGGRqLHmBU32dQ5IlrWUUZfI_uth60o-tiU6Eitxu8xViQnYDI77uh94k/s320/flavr+savr+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like most folks, I’ve carried around this sort of vague idea
of how genetic engineering works, with images of white-coated scientists bent
over their super microscopes, physically cutting and splicing gene sequences
between species to create new varieties. Authorities proclaim them “safe”,
anti-GMO folks say they’re not. I climbed on the anti-GMO bandwagon not so much
because of safety concerns over GMOs themselves—after all, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) tell us they are “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS)—but because they entice farmers
to overuse agri-chemical killers (herbicides and pesticides) that many GMO
plants are altered to resist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reading Steven Druker’s new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Genes-Twisted-Truth-Systematically/dp/0985616903" target="_blank">“Altered Genes, TwistedTruth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food has Subverted Science,Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public”</a> has been a
profound eye-opener. I think the story from the book that best encapsulates for
me the danger, not only of these foods, but also the danger of the cavalier attitude of authorities that are supposedly responsible for our food safety, is the story
of Calgene’s Flavr Savr™ tomato. I’d like to briefly share that tale here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in the early 1990s when genetic engineering was in its
infancy, California genetics company Calgene (later acquired by Monsanto) took
on the tomato. It was well known that consumers preferred vine-ripened
tomatoes, but by the time ripe tomatoes were picked, processed, packaged,
transported, and landed on supermarket shelves, they had often gone soft.
Tomatoes picked green stayed firm, but lacked flavour. Calgene tackled this
problem with genetic engineering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Calgene scientists modified their tomatoes by supressing the
PG enzyme that causes fruit to go soft. They did this by copying out that
section of the enzyme gene and reversing it, then reinserting the flipped
segment back into the enzyme with the aid of the 35s promoter from the
cauliflower mosaic virus. (That detail isn’t all that important, except to
point out that the <a href="http://agbiosafety.unl.edu/education/summary.htm" target="_blank">process of genetic modification</a> is far more complicated than
most folks realize.) The new tomato looked good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The US FDA encouraged Calgene to do a safely trial on rats,
so they did. In that first 28-day trial, some rats ate the GE Flavr Savr tomatoes, some
ate ordinary tomatoes, and some ate no tomatoes at all. At the end of the trial,
they found that 10% (4 out of 40) of the rats who had eaten the Flavr Savr™
variety had developed stomach lesions (bleeding) while the others hadn’t.
Fluke? They hoped so. They tried the test again, and this time 20% of the Flavr
Savr™ rats had stomach lesions. So they tried the test a third time, and this time,
again, 20% of the Flavr Savr™ rats had stomach lesions, but so did a few of the
non-Flavr Savr™ rats. Understandably concerned, the researchers took their results to the FDA.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the scientists at the FDA who looked at the results expressed their serious concerns about the safety of these tomatoes too, but while they were
considering what to do, the administrative branch of the FDA brought in a new ruling
stating that GM foods were to be considered GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe)
and that safety studies involving animal test subjects need not be done because
<a href="http://fas.org/biosecurity/education/dualuse-agriculture/2.-agricultural-biotechnology/us-regulation-of-genetically-engineered-crops.html" target="_blank">GM foods are, by definition, “substantially equivalent” to non-GM foods</a> and
therefore need no pre-market approval (1992). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since animal testing was no longer required, results of
these rat tests on Flavr Savr™ could be ignored. The FDA ruling allowed Calgene to proceed
with Flavr Savr™ production, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavr_Savr" target="_blank">Flavr Savr™ tomatoes</a> were brought to the
market in 1994 as a premium-price product. They were discontinued in 1997, ostensibly due to Calgenes "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavr_Savr" target="_blank">inexperience in business</a>."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is an even more frightening kicker here. In the Flavr
Savr™ study documents, there is a small endnote that reports that 7 rats of the
original study DIED within two weeks of consuming the tomatoes. The researchers attributed the deaths vaguely to “husbandry”,
and replaced the dead rats, apparently DURING THE TRIAL PERIOD, with fresh,
healthy rats. Rather than being investigated, this astounding revelation and
violation of standard testing practice appears simply as a note in the study.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YSCZwCrlE1PUrmOhl1tvBlvd8251qBwa1n5_JYAIZ08Ew_CZTtFwivTYgnLStC5KtAW7eApaZJwi-7p72K6meKd3k5ud9oowFRVA8PEqxVDCYjTKZSqnBjfhwhJrY0DvGkfy7XPjyzA/s1600/altered+genes+twisted+truth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YSCZwCrlE1PUrmOhl1tvBlvd8251qBwa1n5_JYAIZ08Ew_CZTtFwivTYgnLStC5KtAW7eApaZJwi-7p72K6meKd3k5ud9oowFRVA8PEqxVDCYjTKZSqnBjfhwhJrY0DvGkfy7XPjyzA/s200/altered+genes+twisted+truth.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Flavr Savr™ tomato did not survive in the marketplace,
but the FDA precedent set—that GM foods do not require animal testing because
they are assumed safe—and safer than food additives, which do require testing— has survived. I
believe this assumption is profoundly disturbing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I highly recommend <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Genes-Twisted-Truth-Systematically/dp/0985616903" target="_blank">Steven Druker’s book</a>. Druker is a public
interest attorney, and although at times the book reads more like a legal
argument than a general-interest or scientific analysis, it is clear he has
done his homework. He helped initiate a lawsuit against the FDA forcing them to
release their files on genetically engineered foods, and his specialty area of
expertise is food safety.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-51680202465426618852015-05-10T16:23:00.000-07:002015-05-10T16:23:19.767-07:00Food Matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg0kTGvBvLV-VqywfqyWESTk__MPVW2_i9YworaYf5aGEVKEU3QMu3HKYnW68Mid6ki_02QhAo2MOoH8hXsdONEurUD39KmQXlaejWnOtzpUqNhOQfyqEcizeWfU3-pNCVxL87_J45e4/s1600/Market+day+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpyhfQElsGRUPfZRbqjISSLaa3yjWqcEf_g8IxtnMp99wA7i25ps_1-cP81c7pakj01f4sF6wbo5O3HuQLZktYiG7OnSbJoZtpTM-6qF10v5gZLX_yhm1TZrRgRXdtrew4hwx6VNzSn4/s1600/Market+day+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpyhfQElsGRUPfZRbqjISSLaa3yjWqcEf_g8IxtnMp99wA7i25ps_1-cP81c7pakj01f4sF6wbo5O3HuQLZktYiG7OnSbJoZtpTM-6qF10v5gZLX_yhm1TZrRgRXdtrew4hwx6VNzSn4/s320/Market+day+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of us in the Western World sort of take food for
granted. And most of us assume the foods we eat help us to stay healthy. We
hear about the dangers of “junk food”, of course, and are reminded that fats
and sugar are naughty, and we may limit our salt intake, and pop a few vitamins, but
most of us assume that what we eat, assuming we don’t live on Coke and French
fries, is generally okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I think there’s a quiet revelation AND a quiet
revolution taking place. More and more, folks are starting to ask questions
like <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Is industrial-farmed food really good for us? As good
as it can be?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Are the old food guidelines still accurate?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">What about genetically modified food?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">What about herbicides and pesticides on/in our
food?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">What is this acid/alkaline business?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Should I be eating organic? Or is that a waste
of money?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">What about probiotics and bacteria in the gut?</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Why is gluten such a big deal these days?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve gone to eating more and more organic foods. I’m not
being fanatical about it—price and convenience still matter—but where I can
make organic choices easily and within budget I do so. I also recognize my
buying power as a consumer to make a statement saying “this is food I want”.
Why go organic? Well, this tends to mean less/fewer/no chemicals in/on the
food, supporting growers who care about the soil and land as well as selling a
product, and if not necessarily a significantly healthier product than that
produced by industrial farming, at least organic foods are not a less healthy
choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m also reading about GM foods (and don’t much like what I’m
reading), getting increasingly concerned about the long-term (and usually
subtle) negative health effects of food routinely sprayed with chemicals (and
how that is affecting our environment), exploring new theories on the negative
impact of foods that makes your body too acidic, and taking a real interest in
the important role of gut bacteria and how the foods we eat affect that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is just a first pass on these topics, just raising
the issues. Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to do individual posts on
each of these topics. I’ll keep you “posted”. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-65350071468632932902015-04-13T17:55:00.000-07:002015-04-13T17:55:12.867-07:00Fat Versus Sugar<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both of these bad boys (sugar and fat) have a bum rap, so it’s not
surprising that the BBC <i>Horizon</i> show took it on to compare and contrast them. They
found two identical-twin doctors and for a month, put the lads on contrasting
diets. While one doc only got to eat sugary and high-carb foods, the other
spent his month chowing down on all the meat, fat, and dairy products he wanted.
While it made for a moderately-entertaining program, there were some unexpected surprises in
the results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0ZagbgmEvlz9EdY6LP0T6f2ME_kMtxe3BrQD2YgQjoqEf4hoVVtVH4xmu0xOmz1UGSpCyGDLBoMxjQYEoC6oJIbInzfCylDFwaJWZuJYF8ybXo1j-VDyPFOaHUV1kH52myPfJEX_Fik/s1600/twins+on+diets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0ZagbgmEvlz9EdY6LP0T6f2ME_kMtxe3BrQD2YgQjoqEf4hoVVtVH4xmu0xOmz1UGSpCyGDLBoMxjQYEoC6oJIbInzfCylDFwaJWZuJYF8ybXo1j-VDyPFOaHUV1kH52myPfJEX_Fik/s1600/twins+on+diets.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Diet Docs: Chris & Alexander van Tulleken</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two docs were tested before, during, and after the
month, and here’s a brief summary of some of the things they
found.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--The doc on the high-sugar/carb diet
performed better than his high-fat-diet brother during the month on all
activities requiring intense concentration or physical exertion. Whether
playing to win an intense stock-market simulation game or pedalling their bikes
uphill, the sugar-diet doc cruised while the fat-diet doc struggled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--The doc on the sugar/carb diet
was happier and more upbeat than his high-fat-food brother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--Neither diet had any effect on
cholesterol levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--While the sugar-diet doc lost a
little weight over the month, the fat-diet doc lost a whopping 4 kilos (9
pounds). The bad news is that half of that was muscle-loss.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t think it was quite a fair comparison, however,
because the sugar/carb doc got to include fruit and vegetables in his diet,
while his high-fat brother did not. Not only are fruits and vegetables
nutritional powerhouses (too long on a no-fruit/veg diet could have left Fat
Food Doc with scurvy, for example), they provide fiber necessary for proper gut
and bowel function. So I think it would have been a more meaningful contest if
Fat Food Doc had been allowed at least some salad greens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The program went on to talk about some of the actual
scientific studies done on the fat vs. sugar diet issue. One study involved
rats. They found that rats fed sugary diets, like rats fed fatty diets, did not
overeat or gain weight. However, offer the rats cheesecake or ice cream, where
high levels of fat and sugar are combined in a tasty way, and they turned into
rodent blimps in no time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I can’t seem to find a link to the whole doco on the
net, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2546975/One-twin-gave-sugar-gave-fat-Their-experiment-change-YOUR-life.html" target="_blank">this write-up</a> about the experiment by twin-doc Alexander van Tulleken (the
fat-diet Doc) is interesting.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, managing our diets for optimum health isn’t an
either/or proposition. Some fats are essential for good health; nutritional
power foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are essential for good
health; and a moderate intake of a whole variety of foods coupled with daily
exercise may sound like old, boring advice but it still stands up as a sound strategy. Just remember to go easy on the cheesecake. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-45679068583850514552014-12-08T14:39:00.000-08:002014-12-08T17:36:29.719-08:00What is Agenda 21?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other day a friend made a comment on one of my Facebook
posts referring to Agenda 21. Although I’d heard reference to Agenda 21 before,
I really didn’t know much about it. This post is the result of my [admittedly
cursory] exploration. Agenda 21, I discovered, is a really BIG topic that has
huge ramifications for many areas of our lives. This post just touches on some
of the barest basics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Agenda 21 began as a 1992 UN resolution to encourage
sustainable development. Defined by the UN, “Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan
of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the
United Nations system, governments and major groups in every area in which
humans impact on the environment.” Stated goals include the elimination of
poverty, the protection of natural environments (earth, water, air), the encouragement
of sustainable consumption, universal education, and gender equality. Most of
us would find these goals pretty commendable, and a first impression might be
“sounds sensible”. The problem comes with the implementation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q8W1QProahUoDquMZ7XjPIorDXItW4N7bM1M9C6jez6F-kGHCINXHag4VqdqY2142zrB6TEqd55-9TPF41QXtl5I5zOGXurUUcMPOA4gU_SJ5UKJd9VdinFWgpQnCNOl7ez-GtBu-Zo/s1600/individual+collective.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q8W1QProahUoDquMZ7XjPIorDXItW4N7bM1M9C6jez6F-kGHCINXHag4VqdqY2142zrB6TEqd55-9TPF41QXtl5I5zOGXurUUcMPOA4gU_SJ5UKJd9VdinFWgpQnCNOl7ez-GtBu-Zo/s1600/individual+collective.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest problem with Agenda 21 is a really fundamental
one in terms of personal perspective. Do you perceive your life as all about
you (ego, individual), or about mankind/planet-kind in general (the
collective)? Do you cry, “me, my, mine” or “we, us, ours?” This is the
fundamental conflict between the political Right (protecting personal
interests) and the Political Left (socialist, collective, sharing, best choice
for all) and its huge incumbent question, “Who has the right to make the
decisions for the group as a whole?” No one likes being told what to do, and this
is not necessarily “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Agenda
21 implies the role of the UN, or some other international body, as being
allowed to set up an overall framework and regulation for various communities,
organisations, and even sovereign nations to support these UN principles, without allowing for a system of
checks and balances or democratic vote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three arenas where references to Agenda 21 frequently crop
up in the conspiratorial media are global warming/carbon tax, land ownership,
and population control. Briefly, these are the cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeOUfF1W1Rd74r3HVGsLPOgdvb5oixXE_K0eKS1gXaVWkZJVUZQul7vSP9tvvQWJyu5hZcjpG2spDRdPiiKs3u8YwAX45LYeannEqR3AbeNDZNgTHinTkv32uPHBq8R1G66V1XIru9-U/s1600/CO2-Temperature.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has
pushed the global warming agenda hard, and if you follow the money trail you’ll
understand the idea of taxing people for pollution (<a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/carbon-tax-and-climate-change.html" target="_blank">carbon tax</a>) is at the core.
The UN, after all, is a big organization, and somebody needs to pay the piper. This
is a global taxation to be leveed on [presumably] environmentally damaging
development, and while the incentive (ahem, penalty) is to get folks to pollute
less, it is based on two shaky assumptions: that CO<sub>2</sub> levels in the
atmosphere contribute to global warming (which is perceived as bad for all),
and that man is the primary contributor to global warming through CO<sub>2</sub>
production. The facts that the earth has not been warming for 20 years, that CO<sub>2</sub>
is not only a minor player but that increased CO<sub>2</sub> levels might
actually be good for plant growth, and that although historically CO<sub>2</sub>
levels and temperature have been linked, correlation does not imply causality,
a point which is becoming more evident as CO<sub>2</sub> levels continue to
rise while earth temperatures do not. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of these points have been blatantly
ignored, sometimes out of ignorance, but more often for political and economic
reasons. Science does not trump politics or economics in this case.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeOUfF1W1Rd74r3HVGsLPOgdvb5oixXE_K0eKS1gXaVWkZJVUZQul7vSP9tvvQWJyu5hZcjpG2spDRdPiiKs3u8YwAX45LYeannEqR3AbeNDZNgTHinTkv32uPHBq8R1G66V1XIru9-U/s1600/CO2-Temperature.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeOUfF1W1Rd74r3HVGsLPOgdvb5oixXE_K0eKS1gXaVWkZJVUZQul7vSP9tvvQWJyu5hZcjpG2spDRdPiiKs3u8YwAX45LYeannEqR3AbeNDZNgTHinTkv32uPHBq8R1G66V1XIru9-U/s1600/CO2-Temperature.gif" height="227" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Land ownership is another big issue. Agenda 21 documents identify private land
ownership as a principal instrument of wealth and accumulation of wealth when
land should be used [according to Agenda 21 precepts] in the interests of
society as a whole. A startling map of the US identifying no-go and
limited-access areas under the associated Wildlands Project “as mandated by the
convention in biological diversity” caused more than a little alarm within the
Republican Party and some factions of the Democratic Party when it became
public. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLm846AtN0sZSMP13qgpkjy4vQ0uwnCG8QJAgOn9r3bINbbRDdakjR28lE4_scK3dTgsjSu3d_nDx6EMOIVNLZ77lAVBNfx57Bc0RPyhonxrF_-qVMK5R4iZ13tIvtV5nTf-yCLRqEjk/s1600/Biodiversity-Mapagenda21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLm846AtN0sZSMP13qgpkjy4vQ0uwnCG8QJAgOn9r3bINbbRDdakjR28lE4_scK3dTgsjSu3d_nDx6EMOIVNLZ77lAVBNfx57Bc0RPyhonxrF_-qVMK5R4iZ13tIvtV5nTf-yCLRqEjk/s1600/Biodiversity-Mapagenda21.jpg" height="271" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Wildlands Project is being pushed by the International Council for
Local Environmental Initiatives (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICLEI" target="_blank">ICLEI</a>), another Agenda 21-linked organization active
in 70 countries and committed to sustainable development through [opponents
argue] the curtailment of individual choice in areas such as housing,
transport, land access, and food. Again, this becomes an issue of mine vs. ours…does
the “we” trump the “my”, and under what circumstances? And who has the power of
decision and control?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A third area where Agenda 21 is raising eyebrows (not to
mention concern, paranoia, and anger) is population control. While limiting
population growth makes sense given the limited resources of this planet,
enforced family planning on a personal level is also perceived as a violation
of human rights. While Agenda 21 openly promotes general family planning and
the widespread use of birth control, sterilization, and [safe] abortion, there
are voices--few in number but compensatorially vocal--who believe that Agenda 21
provides a UN mandate for actively decreasing human population through various
methods including warfare, fluoridated water, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, chem trails, GMO foods, pesticide/herbicide
use, and deliberate or uncontrolled disease outbreaks (AIDS, Ebola, SARS,
etc.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgks9ESIK4q0kURdOSNWb1KrPQ4Hc83ZnEM6is493LA2z6BQtn_dC7SLat21GEjwzzaPgh-xUxzJgre_RSRIwReHQIeJKO_4D7UpovvvfA5y4LTtklU_pT8-o7GorGLMjfdPigY_OimYRs/s1600/global-depopulation-460x201.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgks9ESIK4q0kURdOSNWb1KrPQ4Hc83ZnEM6is493LA2z6BQtn_dC7SLat21GEjwzzaPgh-xUxzJgre_RSRIwReHQIeJKO_4D7UpovvvfA5y4LTtklU_pT8-o7GorGLMjfdPigY_OimYRs/s1600/global-depopulation-460x201.gif" height="139" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">For a sample, see "<a href="http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/the-illuminati-depopulation-agenda-explained/" target="_blank">The Illuminati Depopulation Agenda</a>"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While being rather alarmist and conspiratorial, this documentary on Agenda 21 and depopulation will leave you thinking, with news clips and quotes from the likes of Ted Turner and Bill Gates on the topic.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2MQlIpJ2lmM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although a more “leftist” philosophy in general, one can
find both support for and opposition to Agenda 21 across the political
spectrum. While raising awareness of how mankind is impacting this planet, our
home, and suggesting positive ways forward to mitigate that impact, Agenda 21
also raises huge issues concerning individual rights and the granting of
unprecedented global power to a few elite decision-makers. In a world where big
corporations have more economic and political clout than many sovereign
nations, I’d be really reluctant to hand over control of my life and
environment to a few “wise” guys who think they know what’s best for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s my bit on Agenda 21 for now. For more
reasonably-unbiased information and discussion on Agenda 21, I recommend Ben
Davidson’s <a href="http://www.suspicious0bservers.org/" target="_blank">Suspicious0bservers site</a>, although you have to be a paid member
($3/month or $20/year) to access this particular topic, listed under "premium content". (Most of Ben’s stuff is
on planetary and space weather, and much is free to public access including his
daily news.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also, in my flicks around the net, came across this <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130422123042.htm" target="_blank">interesting article</a> on how bacteria (!) sometimes act for the collective good for the
colony and other times operate out of self-interest. That’s way off the topic
of Agenda 21, but I was intrigued by how the same I/we issue raised by Agenda
21 for humans exists even for single-celled creatures.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8410034901672583786.post-2485286099699755832014-11-19T18:13:00.002-08:002014-11-19T18:13:18.863-08:00Predator Free New Zealand - A Brave New World or An Asinine Proposition?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think it sounds like an absurd proposition, but Federated
Farmers (FF) and New Zealand’s conservation group Forest and Bird (F&B)
announced this week—in all seriousness—their intended goal of creating a New Zealand free of predators (see <a href="https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/25546803/fedfarmers-forest-and-bird-welcome-predator-free-nz-project/" target="_blank">here</a>). This
extraordinary initiative, first sounded by the <a href="http://predatorfreenz.org/" target="_blank">Predator Free NZ</a> Trust in 2013, is
achievable, they claim, by completely eliminating all of the rats, stoats, ferrets,
possums, and feral cats in the country. It certainly is an ambitious goal. Can
it be done? And more importantly, SHOULD it be done?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65LLLPBkdAtr9fCbhxDKcSnmxxfCLk-31a6g4Bs2ZGKFBzKVNV4vNF5XEulceMwRapfm19My4HQ5tQhifW4Wdb1zN8gAkTdbvJOcwVvbyV0HaePOTqwtyd97kfbVwBVo49ou3Y1dib68/s1600/rat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65LLLPBkdAtr9fCbhxDKcSnmxxfCLk-31a6g4Bs2ZGKFBzKVNV4vNF5XEulceMwRapfm19My4HQ5tQhifW4Wdb1zN8gAkTdbvJOcwVvbyV0HaePOTqwtyd97kfbVwBVo49ou3Y1dib68/s1600/rat.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Zealand evolved without predatory mammals, and the first
rats presumably didn’t arrive until the first Polynesian settlers did sometime
in the 13<sup>th</sup> century (although radiocarbon dating of rat bones and paleontological
examination of chewed seed hint they could have been here earlier, see <a href="http://theatavism.blogspot.co.nz/2010/07/first-new-zealanders-and-their-rats.html" target="_blank">here</a>). European
settlers brought a variety of familiar animals with them, and imported <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/possums-in-new-zealand.html" target="_blank">brushtailed possums</a> from Australia to build a fur trade. Escapees soon inhabited New
Zealand’s forests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, the rats and stoats and possums and ferrets and wild
domestic cats are all on the blacklist. While many farmers want to control
<a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/threats-and-impacts/animal-pests/methods-of-control/1080-poison-for-pest-control/the-use-of-1080-for-pest-control/3-why-we-use-1080-for-pest-control/3_1-possums-as-reservoirs-of-bovine-tuberculosis/" target="_blank">bovine TB</a> (rare in New Zealand, but not eradicated, and possums are carriers),
conservationists argue that native birds-- 37 native <a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/land-birds-overview/page-4" target="_blank">New Zealand birds</a> are classified as “threatened”—<a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/land-birds-overview/page-4" target="_blank">are at risk</a> as long as predators roam the forests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While pest trapping occurs in some areas, the various
conservation departments and farming organisations tend to favour poisons for their pest control. The aerial use of highly-toxic <a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/1080.html" target="_blank">1080 </a>is the most <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080_usage_in_New_Zealand" target="_blank">controversial</a> of the poisons used, especially given the aerial method of application. New
Zealand uses about 85% of the world’s supply of 1080, and rather than import it from the US, the West Coast Regional Council has invested in a
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11343620" target="_blank">1080-manufacturing plant in Rolleston</a>, an “innovative business decision”. This
year (2014) has seen the most comprehensive coverage of New Zealand native
forest with aerial drops of 1080 </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(see </span><a href="http://susan-thrasher.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/1080-new-zealand-2014.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">under a Department of Conservation
campaign titled “</span><a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/threats-and-impacts/battle-for-our-birds/battle-for-our-birds-beech-mast-2014.pdf" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Battle for Our Birds</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">”, based on the argument that beech tree masting in 2014 will result in so much food that the forests will be over-run with rats, and when the seed runs out they'll turn to birds for food. (The fact that beech trees mast on a regular basis and this hasn't happened before appears irrelevant--but that's off the topic.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides the absurdity of thinking all of the predatory animals in New Zealand can be eradicated, and the ridiculous amount of poison that would have to be dumped on the country to do that (presumably without endangering humans, pets, and livestock), there is a very real question here about the ecological value and benefit of removing predators from the environment. Indeed, the removal of predators from an ecological system almost always has detrimental effects.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elsewhere
in the world, ecologists are increasingly becoming aware of the important role
predators play in maintaining a stable ecosystem and encouraging biodiversity.
Whether talking about large predators such as wolves and lions or small
predators such as sea stars or codfish or armadillos or spiders, the trophic
cascade that develops when predators in the ecological system are removed has
profound implications for the health of the other residents in that system, often
putting the most vulnerable creatures—those most in need of protection—at even
greater risk. (See Caroline Fraser’s <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_crucial_role_of_predators_a_new_perspective_on_ecology/2442/" target="_blank">The Crucial Role of Predators</a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a great little you tube video that shows what
happened when wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in the
US. The impact on, and enhancement of, the entire ecosystem was profound and surprising. The removal of such animals would undoubtedly have the reverse
effect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While rats and stoats may not be wolves, and conservationists might
argue that New Zealand wildlife developed without mammalian predators and has
no need for them, the fact remains that their removal would undoubtedly have
profound and unexpected implications for our wild spaces now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Zealand is a unique island nation, but it is no longer
isolated. Man has come here, with his cows and his sheep, his horses, and deer, and
dogs, and cats. Early Maori exterminated the moa, large flightless birds that once
browsed the forests, and used fire to turn thick forests into more amenable grasslands.
Modern man has brought his crops of corn and wheat and ryegrass, his aeroplanes, his herbicides, and his
pesticides to these island, and he has now decided that the wilds must not be
allowed to develop naturally under the auspices of Mother Nature (who no doubt delights in having a good variety of plants and animals to play with), but that even the wild lands must be
managed, just like any good farm. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Susan Thrasherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311326119473874934noreply@blogger.com0