Post AB9NmURv5FPCultghs by nurinoas@social.tchncs.de
(DIR) More posts by nurinoas@social.tchncs.de
(DIR) Post #AB9DCdBe7a942yY1Oy by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T09:36:08Z
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"At the root of this economic catastrophe is a bizarre overnight flip by Rajapaksa’s government on 29 April to ban the import of chemical fertilisers and any other agrochemicals to make the Indian Ocean nation the first in the world to practice organic-only agriculture. The result: prices of daily food items like sugar, rice and onions have soared over twice, with sugar even touching record Rs 200/kg"https://theprint.in/world/how-sri-lankas-overnight-flip-to-total-organic-farming-has-led-to-an-economic-disaster/728414/#organic
(DIR) Post #AB9DOKcIzRFhvbb36u by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T09:38:16Z
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Fortunately, Western environmentalists won't be affected - they can continue arguing about the need for a transition to organic-only farming while sipping their organic kombucha made by what is left of Sri-Lankan tea industry - which they can afford thanks to welfare created in their countries by cheap food from modern agriculture 🤷
(DIR) Post #AB9LBS8YWBb97W3FOi by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:05:30Z
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@openrisk Unfortunately, majority of that farming-related activism does indeed originate from European and US "environmental" NGOs. They apply heavy pressure and misinformation on African or Asian governments, for example to prevent them from using genetically engineered crops that would improve health and well-being of farmers there.It was specifically Greenpeace that was fiercely battling Golden Rice in the situation where thousands of people suffer from vitamin A deficit.
(DIR) Post #AB9LWRoiu1MMD2mnFQ by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:09:19Z
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@openrisk It was also Greenpeace that blackmailed African governments to reject US donations of food during 2001-2002 famine in Zambia only because they contained GM soya bean.This is excerpt from "Whole Earth Discipline" by Stewart Brand, one of leading US environmentalists, who is also very critical over anti-scientific stance of Greenpeace and FoE.
(DIR) Post #AB9Loeftpw8LIcLBjs by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:12:38Z
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@openrisk Regarding Sri-Lanka, the ban on inorganic fertilizers and pesticides did not originate in the local government - it was result of long-term lobbying by environmental NGOs, most notably Vandana Shiva who was actually hired adviser of the government, and publicly celebrated the introduction of the ban:https://navdanyainternational.org/sri-lankas-shift-towards-organic-farming/
(DIR) Post #AB9MOIVLk4q0xsOy7U by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:19:04Z
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@openrisk My point about "tea sipping" being, they treat developed countries as an experimental field for their poorly designed and often utopian proposals, using their disadvantaged economic position and weak democratic institutions. But for the people on the ground it's not about abstract ideas or experiments, it's life-or-death situation.Do you think an overnight ban on "inorganic" fertilizers and pesticides could be passed in any EU country? That's why they've gone to Sri-Lanka.
(DIR) Post #AB9NhgQX7jEKcAxNAm by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:33:47Z
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@openrisk You missed these paragraphs:> ban importing chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and to replace them with organic inputs and methods. This decision was supported by many, including the Global Alliance for Organic Districts> According to her, Sri Lanka’s shift to become a 100% organic country means turning to an economy of permanence and prosperity for all beings> Dr. Shiva said: “The reason I am glad about the approach of the Sri Lankan government
(DIR) Post #AB9NmURv5FPCultghs by nurinoas@social.tchncs.de
2021-09-08T11:34:39Z
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@kravietz> Do you think an overnight banAre mainly arguing around time scales of actions?I think many places could need a transformation away from poinsioning aspect of current agricultural practice. There are examples all over.@openrisk
(DIR) Post #AB9Nvmah0GfjmmQpLk by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:36:20Z
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@openrisk The smooth transition comes apparently from one of the three speakers mentioned in the last paragraph. You don't really see them pulling their teeth over this topic, though.This statement by Shiva is however the most idiotic:> Dr. Shiva said: “The reason I am glad about the approach of the Sri Lankan government is because it connects three things, namely stopping dependency on importsWhat really happened:https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-allocates-3-8-bn-for-organic-fertilizer-purchase-set-to-import-nutrients-85405/
(DIR) Post #AB9OcisofEsojrNtB2 by LovesTha@floss.social
2021-09-08T11:44:06Z
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@kravietz slowly introducing such a law might be a good idea, but doing it suddenly is terrible.
(DIR) Post #AB9OjQgohoSsL6yBEG by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:45:19Z
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@nurinoas @openrisk I'm mainly arguing that an approach, where someone makes an arbitrary decision how farming should be done based on pseudo-scientific and sectarian criteria is not sustainable from both environmental and socio-economic point of view.And the most widespread definition of #organic, where say copper sulphate is "organic" but say glyphosate is "inorganic", is indeed sectarian and pseudo-scientific.Just to be clear, I don't mind permaculture and other sound farming practices.
(DIR) Post #AB9PgjaE6R0C1TAKx6 by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T11:56:02Z
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@nurinoas @openrisk The result of the sectarian approach is that the "certified organic" farming actually uses *more* land, has more impact on diversity, results in higher CO2 emissions... and to add to that is way much more expensive for consumers.But in the West it's kind of the whole point of it - we buy "more natural food" than the ordinary mortals because we can afford it. "Hand-picked", "artisan", "home-made", "organic" is all part of the same marketing targeted at rich people.
(DIR) Post #AB9QDInqgyYMWO4Dzc by kravietz@social.privacytools.io
2021-09-08T12:01:55Z
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@openrisk @nurinoas > forestall any and all actionThat's a valid concern, but just as overnight 100% ban on fertilizers wouldn't have a chance in the EU, in the same way a 100% unregulated fertilizer market also won't pass.It's not because of some extraordinary wisdom of EU officers, but thanks to the extremely comprehensive consensus-based consultation policies.Sri-Lanka didn't have that - their scientific and farming community has been warning long before the ban about it's impact.
(DIR) Post #AB9nvuM6jQjcfyKWQq by isagalaev@mastodon.social
2021-09-08T16:27:41Z
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@kravietz one quoted guy in the article has math problems: "we will lose 50 per cent of the crop, (but) we are not going to get 50 per cent higher prices". To offset 50% drop in crops one needs 100% rise in prices!