Happy Thanksgiving!

Libraries across the nation are adopting a new leniency policy for overdue books.  You might think this was an obvious or easy choice, I mean, how much money could people possibly owe the library?  More than you might think!  In Colorado, libraries are over several million dollars in the red.  Librarians feel that the unfortunate state of the economy is serving as a disincentive to use the library.  Denver Public Library feels that enforcing strict and steep fees on library users will functionally restrict access to information and discourage people from reading.  

So, as it is Thanksgiving Day, I thought it appropriate to get the word out about this clever solution to a timeless problem: how to get people to pay?  We adjust our expectations and motivations.  Many library systems are adopting the "food for fines" program which allows people to pay their library dues the old fashion way, bartering!  In exchange for nonperishable food like canned veggies and soups, the libraries will forgive the late fees.  

I always enjoy reading about programs that aim to fix several problems all at once: increasing library use, paying what is owed and working to end hunger in the United States.

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Police Vs UC Students

I had my very first nightmare about the police last night. Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy cops and they typically evoke a feeling of fear/paranoia when I pass them on the I-5, but I would not say that I am afraid of them...until now.  The Occupy movement has moved onto college campuses and, along with it, police forces.  The accompanying violence has been completely overwhelming and I can't quite wrap my head around it.

I want to be clear.  I do not think that students (or citizens in general) should be allowed to set up encampments.  The public health hazard claims that local governments argue are legitimate.  The encampments set up by students do NOT come with plumbing nor do they come with a garbage service nor do they come with street cleaners, electricity or running water.  What truly bothers me about the encampments is that they accumulate a substantial amount of waste that government clean-up crews have to deal with.  These workers are part of the 99% that the movement claims to protect and yet the protestors carelessly impose a large and, honestly, gross and undignified workload upon their shoulders. Check out UC Berkeley's The Public Health Advocate Blog for an article on the public health implications of Occupy.  

The public health implications of encampments do not justify police brutality.  The issue of encampments is separate from the issue of the Occupy movement as a whole, in fact, it is a loitering issue!  Since when is it legitimate for police to use violence to deal with loitering? Check out this link to read about the limitations of the First Amendment. Let's look at this issue in a vacuum, separate from the overall Occupy movement: how would you feel if police beat and pepper sprayed teenagers hanging out (aka loitering) in a privately owned parking lot?  People would be outraged, horrified and would want to collect all of the acting officers' badges.  I think the reactions to the police actions taken on UC campuses have been far too mild. People are offended, sure, but I think that, because UC campuses have aligned with Occupy, many people feel polarized, as if taking a stand against UCPD is the same thing as aligning with Occupy.

Aggies

Bears

Occupy Protestors: loitering is not covered by the First Amendment, neither are tents. Furthermore, if you are upset about tuition hikes then DON'T PAY YOUR TUITION.  Easy and effectual, certainly more impactful than camping outside of Sproul Hall...  

Police: Brutality in response to nonviolent loitering and/or protesting (depending on your interpretation) is neither legal nor ethical.  We are already experiencing a severe budget crisis in the state of California so please stop drawing so much legal attention to yourselves! That state can't afford your legal fees!  Furthermore, your actions cost money to address AND incite more aggression from protestors,  inciting more aggression from you...it is a perpetuating cycle that needs to stop.

The videos posted above are chilling.  I actually feel nervous walking through campus because I worry that, in the crowds that gather on Sproul, I might be confused as a protestor and be beaten by police officers.  The environment on campus has been hostile!  College campuses should be a safe space for experimentation and expression, especially the Berkeley campus because of our history!  I do not know why the Chancellors of the Universities are allowing UCPD to physically beat their students. There has got to be another way. I am shocked that Universities have chosen violence as an answer when...isn't their purpose, as institutions of academia, to teach and exhibit that strength comes from the pen not the sword?

Occupy LA

DISCLAIMER: This post does not necessarily reflect my views on the Occupy movement as a whole.  Rather, I comment on some pictures and let others speak for themselves. All of these pictures were taken at the Occupy LA camp at City Hall in Downtown, Los Angeles.  

There shall be no agreement until there is subject-verb agreement!!!

Clever little devil set up camp on a heating grate.

 

Always appreciate a shout-out to Public Health

I know Occupy is all about contradictions and accepting diverse view points but, I mean, come on...

What a happy little sign!

The witty ones almost make up for all of the terrible and inarticulate ones

Print media? What kind of revolution is this?

I saw this on a US-issued Humvee once too...context is everything 

When can we go home???  

That better be a hybrid!

These protestors say the sweetest things

Best excuse for loitering...ever.

Apparently Occupy LA people are huge Bring It On fans.  They love spirit fingers! 

(see video)

I absolutely love the use of what they are calling "The People's Mic."  One person speaks and, regardless of whether or not they agree with the argument,  eveyrone within earshot repeats the words in unison so that those farther away can hear as well.

After today, I find that I dislike about 99% of the people who call themselves the 99%, though find myself sympathetic towards the movement as a whole.  I met some fabulous intellectuals today but also encountered some people and some sentiments that truly alarmed me.  From what I experienced today, Occupy LA is basically a big camping trip with a bunch of very opinionated people. 

100 Years Of Conflicting Nutrition Advice

Government-sponsored nutrition advice, though scientific and fact-based, has varied and conflicted greatly over the past 100 years.  In fact, present day advice is literally the antithesis of the advice given 92 years ago.  Many scholars and academics reflect on this issue often blaming lack of technology and research, all the time wondering how it is possible that we were so wrong and uniformed before.

My thoughts? They weren't wrong before.  We aren't wrong now. The nutritional advice delved out by the federal government reflects the contextual and nutritional needs of the population.  In 1919 the US created a poster featuring a young girl sitting at the dinner table with bread, a jug of milk and a plate of cookies in front of her.  The caption on the bottom: "Simple Suppers Are Best."  At the time, the government advised cutting back on fruits and vegetables while bulking up on milk, whole milk that is.  The government encouraged parents to make sure to butter their children's bread and provide a glass of whole milk as often as possible.

Nutritionists today would physically cringe at the thought of such a diet.  Emphasizing refined flours found in bread and cookies in addition to promoting whole milk, one of the fattiest and least nutritive foods.  This trend of advice continued on up until around the 80s.  For a while, butter and margarine had their own section on the food pyramid.

Note that butter and margarine have their own section

So how can I defend such advice as being accurate?  This advice reflects the nutritional needs of the population at the time.  Nutrition can't be evaluated in a vacuum.  To determine nutritional advice you must look at the choleric demands of the population.  In the 20's and 40's, a large portion of the population was employed by factories, demanding physical labor.  People needed to, essentially, carbo-load to survive.  The period from 1920-1950s also represents a time when children were chronically hungry.  The government began trying to develop school lunch problems to address the fact that kids were literally wasting away.  The nutritional advice from the federal government aimed to help the country survive.  In a time with little money, physically demanding work and starving children, it made sense to encourage citizens to eat cheap, high calorie foods.

Today, America is in crisis due to unprecedented rates of obesity and diabetes. Over 2/3 of adults in the United States are either overweight or obese and over 25 million people are diagnosed with diabetes.  In addition, each year over 13,000 children are newly diagnosed with diabetes.  The USDA is slowly starting to adjust their nutrition standards to reflect the needs of the population.

I say slowly because, despite great changes in nutritional advice and promotions, the government still enforces a caloric quota for lunches provided by public schools.  This policy was incredibly effective in the 20's and 40's but, today, it should be criminal to literally add empty (nonnutritive) calories to a child's plate in America's current state of unhealthy abundance and illness.

Several years ago we saw the infamous food pyramid, which favored eating high levels of grains and breads, meats and dairy, replaced with "myPyramid."  MyPyramid confused the population.  No one knew what it meant!  Each part of the graphic had a deeper meaning, unfortunately, the government did not adequately explain those deeper meanings to the general population.

Stairs = exercise AND each of the six steps represents something (thus, the confusion)

Width of each triangle = relative amount per day

Image based on proportions, not serving size

In January,  myPlate replaced myPyramid.  The plate offers a visualization of what a well balanced meal should look like.  Notably, dairy is off to the side, whereas in many previous posters, it was the centerpiece.

All of these government sponsored public health campaigns, though conflicting, represent a long-term and aggressive effort to protect the health and safety of US citizens.  The government works to promote the best and most contextually necessary nutrition advice.  Had the government had a bit more foresight and changed their campaigns from high carbohydrate, high calorie foods to low calorie, high nutritive foods sooner, we might have seen a different set of disease statistics.  For example, if the USDA had changed their campaign in the early 70's, we could have adjusted the attitudes of the population in time t change the fact that 1 in 3 children born in 2000 and later will have diabetes by age 50.  The USDA needs to start looking ahead and making predictions about how the population will change based on their campaigns.  

You Say Tomato, I Say...

Everything about the tomato industry alarms me. Barry Estrabook's most recent work, Tomatoland, exposes some of the worst aspects of the tomato industry.  From egregious working conditions to unsustainable farming practices to sheer lack of quality,  I am shocked that there has yet to be any sort of intervention to alleviate the problems.

Working Conditions:
Estrabook is not the first to highlight some of the worker's rights violations that are occurring in the tomato industry.  In fact, the working conditions in Immokalee are often described as modern day slavery.  Workers are paid about 40 cents per bucket of tomatoes where one bucket weighs about thiry two pounds. Some math: for an annual income of 15,000 a worker would have to pick 37,500 buckets of tomatoes which is over 1 million pounds of hand-picked tomatoes. Please note that the poverty level for 2011 is $22,350 for a family of four.  Can you even imagine bearing a weight of over 1 million pounds and still being significantly below the poverty line?

In addition to being underpaid, the workers are not only uncared for but are actually coerced into neglecting their health. Tomatoland  describes the stories of three pregnant workers who were forced (via financial threats) to work in the fields throughout their pregnancy despite the risks of fetal exposure to pesticides. The employers have significant control over their workers because many rely on their employers for food and housing in addition to their annual income.  Not shockingly, all three women gave birth to babies with serious birth defects linked to pesticide exposure.  

Environmental Sustainability:
About a third of the fresh tomatoes sold in the United States are from Immokalee, Florida.  This is a very strange fact considering that Florida's physical environment is pretty much the worst for raising a crop.  The quality of the soil in Immokalee is atrocious.  Instead of rich dark soil, you see what appears to be white sand.  This type of soil is not only completely devoid of nutrients which must be synthetically supplemented and is incapable of retaining water meaning that the crops require much more water than crops grown in other regions.  To give you some perspective: agricultural ventures in Florida use about eight times more chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers) per acreage than crops in California.

Quality:
Sky-high demands on the industry have changed the way we farm tomatoes.  The largest purchasers of tomatoes are companies like McDonald's and Burger King and they want hard tomatoes which are best for easy slicing.  So the industry responded to their main consumers' desires and began harvesting the tomatoes long before they are ripe.  The only reason the tomatoes appear red in the stores is because they have been chemically "de-greened."  Don't be fooled by their rosy appearance, the tomatoes we buy and eat are unripe.

Solutions?
The tomato industry perfectly demonstrates all of the failures of industrial agrcitulture.  The most frustrating part of it all is that there have been proposed solutions that were either ignored or shot down by politicians and corporations alike.  One possible solution in the works right now is the Penny-a-Pound project which suggests charging 1 penny more per pound of tomatoes to wholesale purchasers in order to increase the wages of farm workers.



 

Organic Food: Price vs. Cost

Many of my classes at Cal either focus on or find a sneaky way to incorporate a discussion of the benefits of eating organic produce.  Discussions at Berkeley are often awkwardly skewed to the left, to the point where even opponents of the organic food movement still somehow sound like leftists.  Opponents mainly focus on the high cost and low accessibility of organic foods while conceding the sustainability and health benefits of such products. I want to address the cost debate:

Conventional food is low price, but it is not low cost.  Non-organic products are able to sell at lower prices because their producers externalize cost into the environment and into the social system. The environment externalities: nonorganic farms require more energy, deplete nutritive soil and use large amounts of pesticides which contaminate water and habitats due to runoff.  The social externalities: pesticide use poses a potential threat to human health, overproduction fuels the obesity crisis and Big Ag  firms tend to underpay farm workers, creating a class divide and imposing food insecurity on the that population.  If prices are so low that it seems to good to be true, it probably is.  Ironically, we seem forget the American mantra, "there is no such thing as a free lunch," when it comes to purchasing food!


Recently, in a discussion facilitated by Berkeley's Edible Education series, guest speaker, Jib Ellison,  founder and CEO of Blu Skye Strategy Consulting, gave a great example of how to reduce the cost of food in an innovative and impactful way.   He told us the story of Dale Lewis and COMACO:


Dale Lewis loves elephants.  As a researcher in Northern Zambia, he watched in horror as poachers decimated his beloved elephant population.  He began to fight against the poachers' activities.  That drew a lot of negative attention to himself and his family from poachers ultimately resulting in his attempted murder.  Luckily, the authorities were able to find and imprison the poachers who had threatened Dale's life.  In the hopes of confronting his assailants, Dale went to the prison.  Instead of closure, Dale left the prison even more troubled because of what he had seen.  The sight of starving men drowning in their oversized clothes, made him realize that they would never stop poaching. They were literally starving to death and needed to do something -- anything -- to feed themselves and their families. 


This inspired Dale to change his approach to solving the poaching problem by creating COMACO (Community Markets from Conservation).  This organization cuts deals with poachers: in exchange for their guns, snares and their word that they will never poach again, COMACO will teach them how to farm.  COMACO partners with many agricultural and business organizations that help train Zambians to farm, process and market their agricultural products.   


This led to the creation of the highly successful brand It's Wild!. This product is 100% organic, high quality and low in price and has given the the participating farmers in Zambia food and economic security.

We need to find ways to replicate and scale this success story and incorporate these ideals into the US food system in order to achieve sustainability and profitability.  The answers aren't always where we expect to find them.  To solve the world's food crisis, we need innovative and passionate people, the kind of people that can transform a love of elephants into a sustainable agricultural business model.

Literature and Social Media

We've all encountered at least one reluctant reader in our lifetimes , whether it be a classmate, a friend or a son or daughter.  The days of dreading reading hour in the classroom may be coming to an end. Authors now use interactive social media sites to increase their readership and to promote their current and future literary works.   For people who dislike reading, an interactive website not only provides a medium that they will find more enjoyable, it also provides dedicated fans with a source for more information about their favorite characters, plot-lines etc.  Pottermore, J.K. Rowling's new venture with online media, is a perfect example of a website beautifully marrying social media, gaming and literature.

Currently open to only one million (incredibly lucky!) people, Pottermore is still in its Beta phase.  Web developers are using this phase to interview users and see how and why people are using the site to optimize desired features. To give you an idea how addictive and compelling the site is: with only one million viewers, there have been over 550 million hits on the site within the span of one month.   Imagine how much more traffic will Pottermore generate once it is open to the public.

So what does Pottermore offer and how does is encourage people to read the novels?


Gaming
For unregistered users, Pottermore created the "Magical Quill Challenge" as a way of extending Beta-level membership to more people. Webdesigners "hid" a quill in on the homepage of Pottermore.  To play the game all you had to do was find the quill and correctly answer a few Harry Potter trivia questions.  The first few people to complete the challenge were granted access to the site as Beta testers.


For registered Beta users, Pottermore has many games including puzzle-type games and social/interactive games.  For example, you can compete with other users in "wizard duels" or take the time to try and correctly brew various potions.  Turning the features of the books into games is an effective way to make kids want to read them.


Social Network
The site has a virtual sorting hat place users into one of the four houses of Hogwarts.  Once in a house, you can comment on your houses common-room wall and interact with members of your house.  Pottermore encouraged people of various houses to compete to have the most twitter updates promoting house pride by tweeting #gryffindorpride or equivalent.


Additional Reading Material
Pottermore has Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone up on the site with beautiful illustrations and additional reading material not found in the printed copy of the book. Rowling provides insight into the lives of the characters as well as never-before-seen stories about Harry's parents. Rowling will be posting more additional reading material as the site evolves.


The site will eventually be selling eBook versions of the entire series providing immediate access to the entire series, yet another way to increase Rowling's readership.


Literary phenomena similar to Harry Potter like The Lord Of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and future book series will probably start promoting their work by creating interactive websites like Pottermore. These promotional tools are a great way to encourage children to read. For example, Pottermore offers the book in a variety of formats (audio, digital, print, interactive gaming, social networking) all of which tell the story of Harry Potter -- making it accessible and enjoyable to a larger audience.

For more information check out Pottermore's blog!