"The poor are not those who have been "left behind, they are the ones who have been robbed." - Vandana Shiva, Indian environmental activist.
Industrialization and capitalism have strangled the natural way of life of humankind. For the most part of human history, we have lived in harmony with nature, taking only what we need and when we do take something, always remember the 7 generations after us...with the rise of industrialization, the newly "civilized" and "prosperous" nations seized the land, the natural resources and the souls of people in non-industrialized countries and tribes, under the pretense of bettering their lives. In truth, it was genocide, whether by direct killing of the people, the trees, the native species, the earth and the rivers; or more indirectly, by spreading the ideas of industrialization and capitalism, plaguing our minds to this day even after the original colonizers have left the colonies. Thus even the natives have sold their souls in pursuit of a false "betterment" of themselves. In the 20th century, we have seen the most drastic damage to our planet, CHEMICAL AND COMMERCIAL FARMING as my current concern. The invention of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers were a way to get rid of excess chemicals produced for weapons in WWII, now they become the standard way of growing food and raising animals for consumption. Commercial farming rised out of a profit- and quantity- driven market and is combined with chemical farming to produce the most units with the largest, "prettiest" appearance in the shortest time, reaching cities and countries as far as possible. The result: We no longer know our food, and our food doesn't know us- food that is grown chemically and undustainably and shipped in from faraway places no longer nourish our bodies. In a study comparing nutritional content of vegetables in 1940 vs. 1991, Brocoli now contains 75% less calcium, and spinach a wopping 96% less copper than their 1940 counterparts. The more we eat, the more we're malnutritioned! The world's overconsumption of meat causes forest to be cut down to grow crops for cattle, half of the world's production of grains is for animal feed, and the meat industry is the SINGLE biggest consumer of world's water. With the rise of the Organic movement, "developed" nations have banned many chemicals and genetically engineered seeds used in their countries' farms, while still selling them to "developing" nations! I can go on, but I feel that I'm running out of time. I want to see a different world in my lifetime.The cause of most of the world's problems start with one thing: our lost connection to the land. We can only learn from the indigenous people of the world who still live by ancient wisdom. This is the only way to save the human race.I'm back home in the most beautiful country in the world; that is, before the Han Chinese, Japanese and KMT regimes invaded and pillaged our Mother Earth. Now I have lots of work to do. We have lots of work to do!
Calling out to all the comrades in Taiwan and around the world. Let's bring together our diverse talents to restore the world we want us, and the 7 generations after us, to live in.
