By Gaura Sakti das
In the last few days those of us who are having some sense of REAL ISSUES of the world, might pick up the reports about the increasing stress of lack of food worlwide and it is leading to increased stress and even “food riots” in different areas in the world.
Climate change is speeding up this process because in the areas where from the food is traditionally coming are affected by climatic extremities like droughts. it is leading to increased demand for food in India and China. On the other hand while the potency for producing food is decreasing the production cost is increasing a lot.
The present constant high level of the prices of fossil energy is quickly increasing the need for “biofuel” and that is taking off great agricultural areas from global food supplay system.
Professionals in all areas are warning the global community about this very dangerous spiral of crises.
Let”s owerview few latest articles (pls click to titles for reading the whole article):
The cost of food: Facts and figures /BBC NEWS Tuesday, 8 April 2008/
Explore the facts and figures behind the rising price of food across the globe.
Asian states feel rice pinch /BBC NEWS 11 April 2008/
Asian countries have been struggling to cope as the cost of rice has reached record levels.
World Bank tackles food emergency /BBC NEWS Monday, 14 April 2008/
The World Bank has announced emergency measures to tackle rising food prices around the world. World Bank head Robert Zoellick warned that 100 million people in poor countries could be pushed deeper into poverty by spiralling prices. The crisis has sparked recent food riots in several countries including Haiti and Egypt.
The World Bank endorsed Mr Zoellick”s “new deal” action plan for a long-term boost to agricultural production. Emergency help would include an additional $10m (£5m) to Haiti, where several people were killed in food riots last week, and a doubling of agricultural loans to African farmers.
UN calls for farming revolution /BBC NEWS 15 April 2008/
Food price rises threaten millions more people with poverty. Haiti, Egypt, the Philippines and parts of West Africa have seen riots recently over the costs of rice, wheat and soya. A UN-sponsored report has called for urgent changes to the way food is produced, as soaring food prices risk driving millions of people to poverty.
The Unesco study recommends better safeguards to protect resources and more sustainable farming practices, such as producing food locally. More natural and ecological farming techniques should be used, it says. A group of 400 experts (IAASTD) spent three years researching the report, which was unveiled on Tuesday at Unesco in Paris.
The authors found:
– Progress in agriculture has reaped very unequal benefits and has come at a high social and environmental cost
– Food producers should try using “natural processes” like crop rotation and use of organic fertilisers
– The distance between the produce and consumer should also be reduced
UNESCO says wheat prices have risen 130% percent since March 2007 while soy prices have jumped 87%. “The status quo is no longer an option,” Guilhem Calvo, a Unesco expert, told a news conference in Paris. We must develop agriculture less dependent on fossil fuels, that favours the use of locally available resources.”
You may study the whole document by reading the report (click to title):
Executive Summary of the Synthesis Report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
The sad thing is that the global leadership was leading the world to these critical situation. They are responsible for doing noting about to stop global climate change, and the same as for stopping others to be able to act on it. They are responsible for applaying regulations like allowing the use of artifical fertilisers that leads to poisoning drinking water in almost everywhere, and so on. But after taking a deep breath we have to an even more sad fact that we are also responsible for the whole thing by living the unsustanable and enviromentally suicide lifestyle created around us. Each and every one of us facing to the consequences now.
And now the question is arising: What will be left for our children”
I do agree with that what I heard from Al Gore”s latest TED speach. We should understand what is going on, and thus WE SHOULD REALLY DEVELOPE THE FEELING OF URGENCY IN OURSELVES and try to act the best way we can. Please don”t underestimate the importance of that little thing what you and me, we all together can do today and every coming day. But may be better to hear about it from Al Gore:
Here in Hungary in Central Europe we have built a beautiful village of
150 devotees who beleives in the chance of changing the current trends to a better spiritual and “green” way. We descided to sacrifice our lives to serve this purpose by following the principles of rural Vedic Lifestyle by the guidance of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
This year we celebrate the 15th years of establishing New Vraja Dhama, commonly known also as Krishna-valley. Our Ecological Village Community is reaching the level so it may serve as a working example for others who also want to step on the path of real change and try to find the way out from the present global insanity.
I hope this article (especially if you were studying the given articles) helps to increase the understanding of some global problems and also the urgent need of rural community developement (varnashrama projects) within ISKCON. In new Vraja Dhama, we are more then happy to cooperate with other devotees to establish or deveope rural communities. The next coming event is the “Frist Europen Cow Protection Conference – 20-21 May 2008.” where we try to work on a proactive program on the social and agricultural developement of our European farm communities. If you are interested in reading more about the live of our community in New Vraja Dhama please visit us also on our blog at http://smileofkrishna.com.
These problems are automatically solved with even a little Krishna consciousness in society. Ecology describes food consumption in terms of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and so on. The producers are the plants, which are the food of the primary consumers. Secondary consumers (carnivores) eat primary consumers (herbivorous animals) and tertiary consumers (also carnivores) eat secondary consumers. Every step up this food chain disperses about 90% of the energy of the food that animal has eaten, as it is used for metabolism, building parts that people wouldn’t eat, etc.
The result is that a vegetarian can be fed on about 1/10 of the land required to feed a meat-eater. Therefore, a society becoming vegetarian could potentially reduce the land they need for food production by 90%. This would leave abundant farmland for other purposes, whether growing biofuels crops or whatever, without driving up food prices.
Unfortunately, neither the popular media nor mainstream environmental groups are willing to report these facts yet.
Great presentation by Al Gore on climate change, especially his closing line that what is
needed to solve the problem is a higher level of consciousness.
Great work you are doing, Gaura Sakti prabhu. Our movement needs to focus more on
demonstrating plain living and high thinking, i.e., how to produce the necessities of life and still save time for Krishna consciousness.
I’d like to see devotees put together a similar slide show explaining how the Krishna consciousness movement plans to resolve the dilemma faced by modern society concerning food shortages, air pollution, peak oil and global climate change. Al Gore has gotten everyone’s attention. Now, all we have to do is speak up!
Guara Shakti Prabhu,
Do u know any devotees who have made”Al Gore style” Krishna Conscious presentations?
Could I have your email ID since i like to communicate with you regarding presenting KC in a clear scientific manner.
Bharat
Thanks for your comments.
I agree that KC is solving this global problems, but what we actually see is that we don’t solve them even in our own society. Are all the devotees are eating organic food, or drinking milk from lovingly protected cows? Are the flowers of garlands coming from the gardens of the deities? Do we offer KC education for our children? Do we have institution for protecting the elderlies, the widows or orphans? Somewhere may be little bits…
In our society we are not really focusing neither on varnashrama nor even rural developement. So we heard from Srila Prabhupada what is the solution. It is to preach and practise KC, but practise also includes application of socio-economic practices of KC which is “varnashrama”. So if ISKCON would really be dedicated to it then we would see thousands of devotees living in newly established dharmic willages, and we would have hundreds of New A…-Z… Dhamas all around the world.
The World today needs nothing else so despertly then to see communities where people live together accordingly to principles of Krishna-dharma. We may all join in a prayer for Krishna’s mercy so He gives inspiration and strength to the leaders of our society to not just recognise the need of this projects but they start to focus on establishing them, as it was without a doubt a very intimate desire of our beloved spiritual father/grandfather: Srila Prabhupada. He was showing the way but – even difficult – we should try to live that way…
Some little bits you may also read in English about Krishna-valley at: http://smileofkrishna.com
Dear Bharat prabhu, actually what is going on in NVD is that we established “Research Institute for Sustainability Sciences”, and so yes, we have that type of presentation. It is a very interesting issue. We established a whole wide range ecological preaching project called “Eco-valley” and we made a 14 minutes film about it also which was broadcasted in the Hungarian TV channels also…. but let me wrote about it in an other entry.
I am very happy to correspond with you about it and with any devotees who are dedicated to establish or develope rural community projects.
ys. Gaura
e-mail: gs@1108.cc
my english blog: http://smileofkrishna.com
Eco-valley project: http://ecovalley.hu/
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
I have recently seen a presentation on the project in Hungary and it looks very inviting. I am a devotee living in the US and have extensive knowledge of green building and sustainable practice, I am LEED accredited and have traveled all over the US giving seminars etc. Prabhupada and his vedic knowledge do indeed contain all answers to these problems. I have several companies addressing these issues and am working with FFLG and MVT to help green some of our ISKCON projects. I would like to be in contact with your institute and with any devotees invloved or interested in these issues.
Hare Krsna
Saranamdd@yahoo.com
www.fullcircleplanet.com
www.planitgreener.com
www.blissworks.org
Hare Krsna, I myself have been downloading www.ted.com seminars for a little while, finding great ideas for self sustainability, free power creation and so on that i cant wait to put to use at farms in Australia. On Bio-Fuels, it should little more then our rotten fruit and other waste products in conjunction with smart designing, even on a world scale, to produce more then we need. While there does seem to be some stupid people using perfectly good food to go into a process that rots and ferments, It seem to be used as a way for them to avoid the issue of slaughtering animals being the biggest problem with food. (Another good one on TED is from Mark Bittman on this topic, but im not sure how to link it. he says it all very well)
So i Thank Srila Prabhupada for our hopeful communities which are to (one day) have the answer to not just food and power, but everything through Krsna Consciousness examples. Thank you.
-Shyam