The fight for organic food: the dangers of misinformation.

I have let my pen stay idle for a short while.

I work with issues pertaining to environmental justice, and am a staunch local and organic farming supporter.  I generally have a strong distaste for industrial farming and corporates that promote it — such as Cargill and the likes.

Recently, much information has been floating on the web regarding the food bill HR 875.  Many postings claim that the bill would suffocate local growers and doom the future of organic farming; and they are inciting a viral wave of livid responses from supporters of small-scale agriculture.  This is immensely dangerous: from my understanding, the bill in question does not strive to kill small farms, but to minimize unethical practices conducted by manufacturers — e.g. the recent salmonella cover-up of peanut butter maker King Nut in Ohio.

As stated in Factcheck, HR 875 is actually sponsored by a consortium of 41 public interest groups, including healthy food advocate Food and Water Watch; go to their website http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/about and you will see their position against industrialized farming.  It appears, that the bill aims to regulate against bottom-line-driven processes that may negate public health concerns–the same practices that propel us to stand against the Cargills and Monsantos–by creating a more independent agency that oversees food safety of large scale productions, not of small local growers.  This, is perhaps needed in a time when news of E.Coli outbreaks and other deleterious nuisances in mass production facilities become more frequent.

I write this because like you, I am a proponent of the organic and health food movement.  When there are copious amounts of unregulated content online, it is easy to be influenced by misinformation that fans our emotions — I nearly was.  It is important that we not be consumed by knee-jerk reactions, and kill something that maybe—I am no expert in HR 875, nor its downstream consequences—beneficial to public interest, and our well-being in the long-term.  The best we can do is to check the facts before reaching a verdict, and taking subsequent action.

The bill:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875

Fact checking:

Illegal Backyard Garden? (Factcheck.org, Mar 09)

“HR 875” Myth Sows Terror Among Organic Gardeners (Huffington Post, Oct 09)

Organic farming: in danger?

可喜可賀: 用中文寫作. Let’s recover the roots: a forray into Chinese writing.

我剛滿二十七歲, 自離開香港到現在少說也有＋五年, 當中用中文認真寫作的機會可謂近乎於零. 雖然一直也嘗試保留閱讀中文書籍的良好習慣, 但不知不覺間很多常用字莫名奇妙的從腦袋蒸發了; 就像把基本語文知識還給了老師般, 一去不復返. 前天心血來潮, 把我廣州之行的一些趣事發表在網上, 結果給老娘笑了個面黃. “錯別字甚多. 臘肉不是用蠟造的.” 老媽, 懇請你不要挖苦我, 尊嚴這東西可是很脆弱的.

雖然在這期間我的英語及西班牙文水平也算突飛猛進, 但自身的中國語文能力點滴流失畢竟還是非常可惜. 這次暑假有機會到國內考察三次, 燃燒起對中文寫作的興趣. 起碼, 能用自己的家鄉話描繪喜愛的美食 (如乳豬, 燒鴨, 叉燒), 會讓生活增添不少情趣.

今天下午到灣仔２９８電腦商場買下小蒙恬書寫板一塊; 知道今後能執筆用中文暢所欲言, 大樂.

As I turned 27 a week ago, I came to the stunning realization that it has been fifteen years since I wrote Chinese in a serious manner (I was packed and banished to the gulag at 12). Fifteen years, equivalent to 105 years of aging in dogs, is a long, long time; long enough for me to forget many basic characters utilized in the everyday Chinese language. Perhaps some of you would remember the irrelevant, tedious calculus classes you took during the first year of uni: whatever material taught during lectures entered your left ear, then exit the right. That is somewhat akin to my knowledge of Chinese – it evaporated without a trace, just like the soap. Simply put, I don’t think I make Confucius proud.

Although my English and Spanish abilities improved drastically in this time frame, losing mastery of one’s native tongue is always a shamockery (i.e. shame + mockery). I have had the opportunity to visit the motherland three times during my eight-week sojourn in Hong Kong; some good times and feasting later, I realized the importance of retaining my Chinese composition skills. At least, the ability to vividly depict beloved food items (roast duck, roast pork, wontons etc.) in the mother tongue should add joy aplenty to my life.

I wandered into the mall this afternoon to purchase myself a brand spanking new Chinese input tablet. The chance to regain–and for those of you who don’t speak it, gain– mastery over this language of two billion should be well embraced.

Yes, I might have forgotten some of these too.

與廣州結下情缘.

我老爸祖籍廣東台山，母親是江浙人氏。娘雖在台北長大，其實對上海文化還是廷偏心的；還記得小時候她跟我們三姊弟說‘廣東在古代只不過是南蠻地帶罷了’。可能是受了娘親影響吧，雖然一家人之間一直也主要以廣東話作交談，我不知不覺間變得較崇尚北方文化，而忽略對自身家鄉的了解。更甚，覺得南粤一帶只不過是香港文化的附屬地。說到底，自己認識的廣東歷史要人也莫過於孫中山，袁崇煥等寥寥數人而已，遠不及山東及江南等地般人才輩出。這兩天到廣州一遊，才知道自己井底之蛙，對廣東文化未免是小看了。

今天午後冒雨到陳家祠觀光，發現經典嶺南建築雖沒有北京古城那種宏偉氣派，但優雅清静的格局卻能與江浙的小橋流水嫓美。深黑色的天花與橋樑，襯托着灰色圍牆和夾着翠綠的庭園，给剛從繁撓市面到訪的旅客一種脫俗的感覺。再加上彩色斑爛的屋簷雕刻訴說着中國燴炙人口的故事，令我在一小時內看了個飽。觀賞完畢，到祠對面的臘味小店吃一大碗香噴噴的燒肉飯；我想，在天堂享福也不過如此光境罷。

對自己家鄉的偏見，一掃而空。

廣州陳家祠. The temple of the Chen clan.

和尚,六榕寺.

地道粤式便宜菜款: 六元一碗澳門燒肉飯.

Noodles and I. 敘愛: 北京拉麵與我.

I never knew eating roast duck while watching the creation of handmade noodles can be such an once-in-a-lifetime experience. The honey-dripped, delicate duck skin slowly dissolves on the palette of the tongue while the chef bashes, smashes, and morphs a ball of dough into fine strands of noodles that put even the most alluring female hair to shame. Fold after fold, twist after twist, the amorphous flour ball becomes one with the magician in white garments. Chef and noodles, noodles and chef. Art in god’s eyes must resemble something like this, I think.

The finished product is even better. Fresh, chilled and powdery, these angelic white strings of life have driven the Asian race to years upon years of innovation, production and survival. Five minutes of bubbling in hot water followed by one in the drainer, and you are ready to sear the batch with a dash of sesame oil and scallions. The immaculate after-party to the Peking Duck’s royal carnival.

Ancestors, I marvel at your unparalleled genius. Art in god’s eyes? It is in mine. With the taste of love.

The Magician.