Small Mercy

News (BBC Radio 4) that the last battery hen has been freed uplifted briefly, a small mercy in a world of injustice. She will end her days as a hen should, free to roam, and live outside. Hens are still generally kept in cages, albeit larger ones with a few comforts. In many other European countries they are still kept in wire cages with no room to move, and die of exhaustion when they can lay no more. Of course one must not ignore the economic reasons for this. Many producers simply cannot afford to make the required changes, the amount they are paid for their eggs being insufficient to allow this.

Supermarkets and the 'consumer' are no doubt to blame for this, often preferring to import and buy cheaper eggs from elsewhere. Eggs are considered to be cheap, as are poultry, pork and many other kinds of produce. They should be valued more and we should be prepared to pay more for them, in the knowledge that the creatures we are asking to work for us or we are consuming can at least live with some comfort and dignity. I will never forget the look of despair and hopelessness in the eyes of pigs kept indoors in a battery style system with only concrete for a vista and hardly any room to move. I felt really ashamed. Pigs are happy creatures, and this shows when they are kept in plenty of space and the ability to go wild (rather like children) outdoors. I still like eating them, though, and perhaps all this concern for their welfare is only hypocrisy on my part.

In any case the moral is: find out how and where it is made and buy the best you can afford, preferably from a local producer.

The New Curriculum

School books ?

I read recently that someone gaining an A grade at A Level today would have achieved a D a number of years ago. There has been much debate surrounding the phenomenon of grade inflation in recent times, and it does seem to have become easier to stand out in exams today than it used to be in the past. This is not surprising, given the improvement in teaching standards (or perhaps more precisely the concentration on teaching for results), the plethora of resources available to pupils to research their subjects, specialised coaching and a myriad other things never available to students in times gone by. All we had when I was at school were the text books such as they were and any other background matter one could dig out in a library or come by with an enquiring mind. Well done to all those who can achieve excellent grades in today's A Levels; they will need all the help they can get when they start looking for a job or finding a place in university.

Rather than fearing this debasement of grading, I am more concerned by the subjects taught in schools - or rather the subjects not taught, or taught sufficiently or with enough force. Is any time given to James Lovelock's work and inventions, or even Charles Darwin, beyond a cursory mention ? Evolution and its true meaning and significance ? The Gaia theory ? Or the Medean hypothesis ? Or the inexorable rise of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, or the origin and evolution of life, the soil and their future ? Are humans placed in their context - one species among many, gifted with intelligence and self reflection perhaps, but no more equal or worthy than earthworms or plants. What books are studied other than the same tired 'classics' ? In this country, we are not exposed to a wide range of knowledge during our education and many subjects are ignored unless one makes a conscious decision to study them. Hence generations of young people (and I was one a long time ago) who have little knowledge of science, history and many other areas of learning, ill prepared for the grave challenges facing our world.

I myself, after stumbling beginnings many years ago when I dabbled in protests and being at least mildly radical and vaguely realising that all was not well with the world have finally seen the light as it were. I have at long last rejected the silly notions that economic growth ad infinitum is either possible or desirable, and the notion that humans are somehow on the Earth but not of the Earth, divorced from the natural world. I have read the works of Lovelock and made the effort to understand Darwin, learned about the soil, the biology of plants, been impressed by Tim Flannery, been a subscriber to the Ecologist, grow food, don't fly any more etc. I want desperately to learn more about this planet and our duty to it. But how many people are exposed to these wonders and given this same hunger for knowledge unless they have had the good fortune to have come across, say, Lovelock in the course of their reading. Very few I would say.

Everyone should be given the chance to learn about our planet. Youngsters should be given the opportunity to travel to the poles and to the tropics and to the different habitats of our own country, to see and feel for themselves, to realise that science is liberating. Education can save us and all the species we share the world with. A New Curriculum is needed to do this in which the works of the great scientists and ecologists are to the fore; a massive investment in education. What is not needed is 'academies' financed through PPP extortion schemes, grade inflation, league tables and the division of children into those who can access a good (i.e. in this country private) education and those who can not. Before you vote again ask your prospective candidate if he or she or their party are prepared to do the right thing; and take a keen interest in what your children are being taught in school. If they are not being taught about the real world, make sure you fill in the blanks yourself. There is hope.

A Christmassy Post

Mostly foraged from the wood !

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to put the decorations up and think of presents if you can afford them and what to drink to keep the chill out. Personally I can't stand mulled wine, so I take refuge in the wines of southern France - Les Vignerons d'Estézargues' different cuvées or Domaine des Chênes Rivesaltes Tuilé for example.

The Earth has finally gone to sleep after a few cold, wet days so there is no need to feel guilty for not being in the garden. There are already signs of next year's harvest - broad beans, onions and garlic are all peeping out. Something to look forward to; now that the area has been cleared of invasive perennial plants, getting things started next February and March will be a pleasure.

I will no doubt be writing on other subjects soon, but I wish anyone who reads this a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I hope you can be with your family and friends. In any case enjoy the time, reflect on the year gone by and on the one to come. With any luck, good fortune and happiness will come running up to you and hold you in a solid embrace.

Pre-Mature

This was very frightening. Goose pimples and hair standing up on the back of the neck frightening. If you have any idea what phtalates and bisphenol A are, then you will no doubt already be aware of the disquieting effects of these substances.

Just picture this scene: a young girl, only six years old who is starting her puberty; her breasts are starting to swell and she is developing pilosity in all the places which in a young child should be pristine and baby-smooth. Her schoolmates have begun to notice. She has no idea what is happening to her and her parents are at their wits' end. Tests and examinations by specialists follow and reveal that her body prematurely initiated the changes usually associated with puberty (at the usual age of puberty) and if this is not halted by a series of regular injections for a number of years, may cause her to stop growing altogether. Further investigations reveal that various substances present in plastics and, through migration, in cosmetics, food and drink may be responsible for this disruption of the endocrinian system. Far from being a rare phenomenon it is becoming more and more common. It affects girls - sometimes as young as 4 years - more than boys, although they are also concerned. The consequences of premature puberty in girls and infertility in boys can hardly be exaggerated. Experiments carried out in a closed lake on a species of small fish (unfortunately I cannot remember the name) particularly sensitive to this class of chemical showed that within 3 years no fish were left because they were unable to reproduce.

We have all heard stories about the harmful effects of chemicals, but this report on Envoyé Spécial (an investigative programme on France 2 Television shown on TV5 last Friday) was truly horrific. There was the added and significant fact that the little girl and her parents lived near vineyards. Now you may or may not know that French vineyards are among the most avid users of chemicals of all sorts - sprayed on vines to control fungal, insect and other pests - in potentially dangerous cocktails with unknown effects. There have been many instances over the years of vineyard workers dying young of mysterious illnesses, often associated with the use or misuse of these chemicals over the years. Not much publicity is ever given to these deaths and few are keen to investigate, such is the power and influence of the proponents of 'conventional' or 'traditional' agriculture and viticulture. When I lived in Kent, surrounded by wheat and salad growers I often noticed the whiff of chemicals in the air when various sprays were applied in the fields. I now feel rather safer here in the great metropolis, although there is much to worried about here as well (perhaps for another time). What other hitherto unknown effects are stalking us as a consequence of the use of these substances ?

All of the above lead me to favour, even more than I already do, growing my own food as much as possible, seeking out wines made using organic or biodynamic practices, although not yet throwing out all plastic food containers (as one mother in the France 2 report did). Even if you care little for the environment, our fellow creatures of the Earth, Gaia or any other tree-hugging you should take heed of this and try to change what you eat and do, for your own sake, and for the sake of your children.