tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74042558133589805242024-03-21T21:18:17.416+08:00The Cotton StoryAs told by NukleusTeam Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-1242928128170423442014-06-19T14:07:00.000+08:002014-06-19T14:07:02.218+08:00CANCER, PESTICIDES AND YOU...What Can YOU Do To Save Yourself ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>DID YOU KNOW THAT MANY CHEMICALS USED ON CROPS, INCLUDING COTTON, CAUSE CANCER?<br />A new report <u><i>Breast Cancer Pesticides and You</i></u> from <a href="http://www.panap.net/" target="_blank">Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Asia</a> , shows just that. And women and children are the most at risk.</b><br />
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<br /><b>WORRYING FINDINGS</b><br />
RATES OF breast cancer are escalating throughout Asia in the wake of rising use of pesticides and other chemicals. <br /><br />Pesticides that cause cancer, disrupt the natural hormone system or alter the development of the mammary gland and contribute to the global epidemic of breast cancer. <br /><br /><i><b>There are CRITICAL PERIODS when exposure to even very low levels of pesticides can result in breast cancer later in life: in the womb, early childhood, menarche, the age of first childbirth, and around menopause.</b></i><br /><br /><b>AROUND ONE HUNDRED COMMON PESTICIDES ARE LINKED TO BREAST CANCER</b>...causing mammary tumours or growth of breast cancer cells in laboratory tests, or elevated rates of breast cancer in exposed women.<br /><br /><b>OTHER LIFESTYLE FACTORS...LIKE LACK OF EXERCISE, BEING OVERWEIGHT AND EATING MEAT AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS have been shown to cause around 50% of cases of breast cancer...</b><br /><br /><b>THE OTHER 50% CAUSED BY WHAT???</b><br />
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Some chemicals have been identified as either mammary carcinogens or likely to be contributing to breast cancer because of their influence on naturally occurring hormones. <br />
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<br /><br /><b>COMMON CHEMICALS IN DAILY LIFE...INCLUDING PESTICIDES..</b><br />These chemicals are <b>flame retardants</b>, <b>pharmaceuticals</b>, <b>solvents</b>, <b>dyes</b>, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bisphenol A and phthalates which are used in <b>plastics,</b> parabens, styrene, mercury, and <b>pesticides</b>. <br /><br /><i><b>Many pesticides known from laboratory studies to cause mammary tumours in rodents have been poorly, if at all, studied from a human breast cancer perspective.</b></i> AND COTTON IS ONE OF THE MOST PESTICIDE INTENSIVE CROP ON THE PLANET :(<br /><br /><u><b>CAN WE ASSUME THEY’RE SAFE? OR IS ‘BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY’ A BETTER APPROACH?</b></u><br /><br /><b>MORE CHEMICAL AND PESTICIDE USE = MORE CANCER</b><br />The increasing incidence of breast cancer, and other cancers, has paralleled the global proliferation of synthetic chemicals since World War 1.<br /><br />As countries industrialise and take up industrial agricultural practices, their breast cancer rates escalate towards those of the already chemicalised societies of the western world. <br />
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<br /><br /><b>PESTICIDES ACCUMULATE IN YOUR BODY...</b><br />Many chemicals, including pesticides, persist in the environment, accumulate in body fat, and can now be found in the breast tissue of women the world over.<br /><br /><b>THE MORE PESTICIDES YOU’RE EXPOSED TO...THE MORE LIKELY YOU’LL GET CANCER</b><br />Pesticide exposure, in combination with genetic pre- disposition, age at exposure, and hormonal condition, has a <b>cumulative effect</b> on breast cancer risk. <b>The lag in time between the chemicalisation of agriculture and the escalation of breast cancer rates is accounted for by the typically late onset of breast cancer—over 78 percent of breast cancer cases occur in postmenopausal women</b>.<br /><br /><b>HOW PESTICIDES ARE INVOLVED IN BREAST CANCER</b><br />
A GROWING BODY OF evidence, backed by laboratory studies, links exposure to pesticides with breast cancer. While a simple 'cause and effect' relationship between individual pesticides and breast cancer is difficult to demonstrate, studies suggest a number of ways in which pesticides may be instrumental in the breast cancer epidemic...<br /><br /><b>BY INITIATING CANCER...MANY COMMON PESTICIDES HAVE CAUSED TUMOURS IN LAB ANIMALS</b><br />By causing mutations in a gene, chromosomal damage, DNA damage, or formation of free radicals that cause oxidative stress leading to cancer. Pesticides have caused increased incidence of mammary tumours in rats and/or mice in laboratory studies .<br />
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<b>PESTICIDES COMPROMISE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM </b><br />By compromising the immune system and affecting a women’s defences against cancer, for example, by reducing the ability of Natural Killer T-cells to destroy tumour cells<br /><br />
<b>PESTICIDES DISRUPT THE BODY’S HORMONES</b><br />By disrupting the endocrine (HORMONE) system in MANY ways ...<br /><br /><b>The endocrine system is a complex system OF GLANDS AND HORMONES that regulates various biological and physical processes. These glands include the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal, testes and ovaries.</b><br /><br /><b>It also regulates functions such as physical and mental development, reproduction, metabolism, immunity and behaviour.</b><br /><br /><u><i><b>Researchers who tested 200 pesticides found that more than a quarter had effects on female reproductive cells. Over one third had effects on male reproductive cells.</b></i></u><br /><br /><b>Monsanto’s notorious Roundup herbicide, used extensively in cotton production, contains the active ingredient glyphosate which disrupts female hormones and is implicated in causing breast cancer .</b><br /><br /><b>RESEARCH CONTINUES...</b><br />The mechanisms by which pesticides might increase the risk of breast cancer through their effects on the hormonal system are varied and complex. Iti s not possible to give a ‘clean bill of health’ to any pesticide regarding its relationship to breast cancer.<br />
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<b>WHAT CAN YOU DO?</b><br />There are many ways in which we can make our bodies stronger and less suceptable to cancers and other serious illness.<br /><br />*DIET by eating fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses and choosing organic as much as possible<br /><br />*EXERCISE by taking at least half an hour’s exercise (enough to sweat) every day<br /><br />*LIMITING EXPOSURE TO TOXIC CHEMICALS in daily life - by avoiding or minimising the use of any kind of chemical products.<br /><br />These include toiletries, cosmetics, cleaning products, flame retardants, plastics and most chemical products found in stores.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU5mhvXSUnZWaULlRtXKIgvKDnZ_hYzOPg88xVPOZek2oPGCnsVF1LEEiSlwo6zIihfmuCmhi0f7FFBKgSY0KeXJHMvDdAso4UG15my71E-f7Vi0feqJQKh-u0tne16Rj1y0GIxIDjneO/s1600/Kathmandu+tee+&+Allamanda+Tee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU5mhvXSUnZWaULlRtXKIgvKDnZ_hYzOPg88xVPOZek2oPGCnsVF1LEEiSlwo6zIihfmuCmhi0f7FFBKgSY0KeXJHMvDdAso4UG15my71E-f7Vi0feqJQKh-u0tne16Rj1y0GIxIDjneO/s1600/Kathmandu+tee+&+Allamanda+Tee.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a><b>CHECK ONLINE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THESE CHEMICALS</b><br />At Nukleus we find and share information about these dangerous chemicals. <b>As you understand more about their health impacts, you can make informed choices for the welfare and safety of yourself and your loved ones.</b><br /><br />We believe this is as important to you as it is to us...which is why we want to give you the choice of chemical-free innerwear and basics.<br />
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DO YOU WANT TO RISK YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING BY WEARING INNERWEAR DRENCHED IN CARCINOGENIC CHEMICALS? Or might it be wiser to be better safe than sorry and choose organic? YOUR BODY, YOUR CHOICE...<br />
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<b><i>All images Nukleus organic cotton tees and innerwear. Click <a href="http://www.nukleusshop.com/" target="_blank">here</a> to see our full range and find a store near you. </i></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nukleus, the small brand with the big heart...caring for you...and the Planet.</span></i><br />
<u><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">INTERNATIONAL STYLE, MALAYSIAN PRICES...WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE, LAH?</span></b></u><br />
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pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-74099008911796692862014-05-17T15:06:00.000+08:002014-05-17T15:06:50.596+08:00THE TERRIFYING TRUTH ABOUT PESTICIDES AND THE ENVIRONMENT - ESSENTIAL INFORMATION WHICH THE CHEMICAL COMPANIES DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do
you ever wonder what happens when pesticides and agrochemicals enter
‘the environment’? Nukleus has uncovered facts about toxic
pesticides - <u><i>information which chemical companies like Monsanto
would prefer you didn’t know</i></u> - which reveal horrific
contamination of soil, water, even air, and the widespread
destruction of birds, insects and other wildlife.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WE’VE
READ <a href="http://www.pan-uk.org/publications/the-deadly-chemicals-in-cotton">REPORTS</a> THAT CHEMICAL COMPANIES LIKE MONSANTO DON’T WANT YOU
TO SEE</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
what we found shocked even us.</span></div>
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‘<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>AN
ASTONISHING PICTURE OF HARM</i>’</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
report reveals the way in which most of the developing world’s
cotton farmers work and the hazardous pesticides which contaminate
their environment and threaten their health. It talks about an
astonishing picture of the harm caused by pesticides.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pesticide Clearly Labelled as Poison </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>EARTH,
WATER, AIR, ANIMALS, BIRDS AND INSECTS...AND HUMANS...SICK AND DYING,
POISONED BY CHEMICAL PESTICIDES...</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">According
to a report from the UK's Pesticide Action Network, <a href="http://www.pan-uk.org/publications/the-deadly-chemicals-in-cotton"><i>The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton</i></a> ‘Cotton is the world’s most
important non-food agricultural commodity.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">US$
2 billion of chemical pesticides are used in its production every
year, of <i><b>which almost half are considered toxic enough to be
classified as hazardous by the World Health Organisation (WHO). </b></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cotton
accounts for 16% of global insecticide use – more than any other
single crop. Almost 1.0 kilogram of hazardous pesticides is applied
for every hectare of cotton. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
India, home to over one third of the world’s cotton farmers, cotton
accounts for 54% of all pesticides used annually – despite occupying just 5% of land under crops. ‘</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>HALF
A CENTURY OF POLLUTION : THE TRAGEDY OF UZBEKISTAN</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
‘<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
Uzbekistan, the world’s second largest cotton exporter, toxic
agrochemicals applied to cotton 50 years ago now pollute the
country’s land, air, food and drinking water. Despite the
substantial damage that these chemicals cause to human health and the
environment, Uzbekistan’s leaders still allow the use of cotton
pesticides so toxic that they were banned under the Soviets. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>THE
DIRTIEST CROP IN THE WORLD?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Insecticides
account for 60% of all agrochemicals applied to cotton. </span>
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<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Insecticides
act by impairing biological processes such as the nervous and
reproductive systems – which are common among all animals;
including humans.</span></div>
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<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cotton
farmers apply US$ 1,310 million of insecticides to cotton each year:
far more than is applied to any other single crop, making it <b>the
world’s ‘dirtiest’ crop</b>.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite
accounting for just 2.5% of global cropland, cotton in responsible
for the release of 16% of global insecticides. </span>
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</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>DESIGNED
TO KILL</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pesticides
are designed to kill <i>pests</i></b><b>...but
the damage doesn’t stop there... </b></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">*They
work by impairing biological processes and systems, like reproduction
and the nervous system. </span>
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<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">*<b>They
affect not only the physiology of the species they are intended
to control, but also other species, AND humans.</b> </span>
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<ul>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of
the 201 agrochemicals classified by the WHO as being either
‘Extremely’, ‘Highly’ or ‘Moderately’ hazardous,
insecticides are by far the biggest group (52%). </span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">*
In 1984 in the world’s worst man-made chemical disaster, a cloud of
toxic gas leaked from a factory in Bhopal, India, manufacturing
aldicarb (WHO Ia) and carbaryl (WHO II) for use in Indian cotton
production. 20,000 people were killed: 120,000 people were injured.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/search/foee/glyphosate"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>MONSANTO’SROUNDUP: CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION ON A GLOBAL SCALE</b></span></a></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Glyphosate</b>
is the world’s best-selling chemical herbicide.
Glyphosate-containing herbicides, such as <b>Monsanto’s Roundup</b>
are used in the production of genetically modified crops like
chemical cotton in India.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scientific
studies have questioned glyphosate’s safety. There have been calls
for glyphosate-containing herbicides to be banned in Europe. New
research by Friends of the Earth has <b>detected glyphosate residues
in the urine of 44 percent of people tested, from 18 different
European countries</b>.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/search/foee/glyphosate">WILDLIFEHAS NO ESCAPE FROM THE TOXIC SPRAY</a> </b></span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glyphosate-containing herbicides are used to control plants
considered to be weeds. But other plants, animals, insects and
micro-organisms are also exposed to glyphosate-containing herbicides:</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">insects
flying through spray </span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">from
eating treated crops, or by eating prey that has been feeding on
treated crops</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">chemicals
washed by the rain into groundwater, streams, rivers and coastal
waters </span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>DID
YOU EVER WONDER WHY HUGE CORPORATIONS LIKE MONSANTO TARGET POOR
INDIAN FARMERS? </b></span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Indian
cotton farmers use
US$ 344 million of pesticides annually.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is 55% of the country’s total expenditure on agricultural
pesticide</span></div>
</li>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">cotton
accounts for just 5% of India’s total cropland</span></div>
</li>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
staggering US$ 235 million is spent trying to control bollworm
alone.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>WHAT
IS HAPPENING TO THE ANIMALS, INSECTS, BIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE BEING
SPRAYED?</i> THESE WARNINGS ON PESTICIDES GIVE US AN IDEA OF THE HARM
THEY CAUSE...</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Many
different hazardous pesticides used on cotton crops have been
detected in rivers, streams and wells in the USA, India, Pakistan,
Uzbekistan, Brazil, Australia, Greece and in West Africa.</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Endosulfan</b>
has adverse effects on aquatic systems, and is highly toxic to fish,
birds, bees and other wildlife.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Methyl
parathion</b> is highly toxic for aquatic invertebrates, and
moderately toxic to mammals such as rats, dogs and rabbits. <i>It has
been implicated in the deaths of waterfowl and the acute poisoning of
fish, birds, cattle and wild animals. In 1995 a mixture of methyl
parathion and endosulfan led to the death of over 240,000 fish in
Alabama, when heavy rain washed the pesticides washed from the cotton
fields and into rivers</i>.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBf2P0i2othXirgKrBaPF1x_RM6-lE0VfU2TMbWGHcyrtfLV0oegtogl8_ovx97nm4CTATIJm7DA2iJGUTeE2HWJyRTlSX3NdDyPaIUQRWnWFtw-Bk4RNGJWarV6yvuLgZ1VD_AusRfFF_/s1600/preparation+of+herbay+spray+for+organic+farming.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBf2P0i2othXirgKrBaPF1x_RM6-lE0VfU2TMbWGHcyrtfLV0oegtogl8_ovx97nm4CTATIJm7DA2iJGUTeE2HWJyRTlSX3NdDyPaIUQRWnWFtw-Bk4RNGJWarV6yvuLgZ1VD_AusRfFF_/s1600/preparation+of+herbay+spray+for+organic+farming.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indian Farmer Preparing Herbal Pesticide</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>ORGANIC
COTTON HELPS WILDLIFE, PEOPLE AND NATURE</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
● <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Global
consumption of cotton has almost doubled in the last 30 years. </span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">*
Purchasing decisions made by consumers directly impact production
methods and so both environmental security and social equity. </span>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
● <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Organic
cotton production works in harmony with Nature, using natural methods
of pest control.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLgSW0JJaPZuBFjiieGmv8sJ7sYaiZdKl4Zlp9iDWRuISaGQSCSp3WKcUGp-5dP_ceBtuEjI1SLh_CljWDmFo74dD9dm-x_YaETL_eisNdCWgQQktDBx_4c71XmHJ2FF8S3PPDzBBkZK2/s1600/organic+cotton+farmer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLgSW0JJaPZuBFjiieGmv8sJ7sYaiZdKl4Zlp9iDWRuISaGQSCSp3WKcUGp-5dP_ceBtuEjI1SLh_CljWDmFo74dD9dm-x_YaETL_eisNdCWgQQktDBx_4c71XmHJ2FF8S3PPDzBBkZK2/s1600/organic+cotton+farmer.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cultivating Organic Cotton in India</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Consumer
demand for organic cotton currently stands at between US$ 800
million and US$1 billion, and is growing rapidly.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Organic
cotton is environmentally and socially sustainable alternative to
chemical cotton. </span>
</div>
</li>
<li><div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demand
for organic products among consumers is growing. <b>In a 2005 survey
almost half of British consumers reported buying organic products,
with many stating environmental concerns. </b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>LOOK
FOR THIS SECRET INGREDIENT OF TRULY ORGANIC PRODUCTS</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comprehensive
labeling allows consumers to make informed choices about the type of
cotton they buy. This ensures transparency and traceability
throughout the supply chain. Organic cotton can be a powerful force
for improving the lives of millions of cotton farmers.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
buying organic cotton clothing, you are helping make the world a
better, more sustainable place.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><u><b>NUKLEUS,
THE SMALL BRAND WITH THE BIG HEART...CARING FOR YOU AND THE PLANET</b></u></i></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pesticides</b>: general term referring to poisonous chemicals designed to kill anything seen as a '<b>pest</b>'. Includes <b>insecticides</b>, aimed at poisonous chemicals designed to kill <b>insects</b>. <b>Herbicides</b>: poisonous chemicals designed to kill unwanted <b>plants</b>.<i><u><b> </b></u></i></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
</div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-74072041622438665102014-04-15T10:36:00.000+08:002014-04-15T10:36:43.121+08:00ORGANIC COTTON - IT'S A HEALTH THING...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); widows: 2; orphans: 2; }P.western { font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; }A:link { }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">Health is important to all of us. But sometimes we struggle to make healthy
choices. We get into bad habits, then face the consequences: sickness and crippling medical bills for ourselves or our family .</span></b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><b>We can choose. But how would it be to
have to work day in and day out with chemicals which you know are
toxic, which are destroying your health and that of your family...but
to have little or no choice about this? </b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><b>Imagine
having to work in an environment which you knew was
making you sick. And imagine that you were so poorly paid that when
you got sick, you were unable to afford to pay for the medicine and
healthcare which you needed. </b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">This
is the grim situation faced by cotton farmers across Africa and Asia
growing non-organic cotton. As PAN (<a href="http://www.pan-uk.org/">Pesticide Action Network</a>) show in
their video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHZR5SyA-CQ">Moral Fibre</a> of farmers
in Benin ....</span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7mBYYF9BBNLAmigRXx8F3P2xJ8r-x9nKEVM0O8-477biQ0i0GInFqYwwHGHZHVnpVaXcDD1ddvxdAFXa-BknU73VY8d8p9h5RRsG1ngFgl56uqI01WJsb4P5rIBcyKuoy219S4Bpt6Pp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.06.19.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7mBYYF9BBNLAmigRXx8F3P2xJ8r-x9nKEVM0O8-477biQ0i0GInFqYwwHGHZHVnpVaXcDD1ddvxdAFXa-BknU73VY8d8p9h5RRsG1ngFgl56uqI01WJsb4P5rIBcyKuoy219S4Bpt6Pp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.06.19.png" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drinking canned milk to feel better</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">'<i>After treatment [of the cotton with pesticide] I feel burning on my arms, I have digestive trouble and dizziness for up to 72 hours. It's so bad that if we weren't dependent on cotton as a cash crop we'd all stop growing cotton</i>,' says one farmer, speaking with his identity concealed. '<i>After treatment we usually buy concentrated milk and drink that...sometimes three tins to make ourselves feel better</i>.'</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">The anonymous farmer's observations are confirmed by British toxicologist, Dr V Howard. 'Organo-phosphates were developed from nerve gases. People who are exposed from them can get very ill, or die.'</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuyiBPQspM7k1E0tBMOrUvdljUPAw3tc0nqHpKUX5L__4FdmdUlf8n7SCnwob3ogTZIGsRgxrvL0Z9ylp3sJP1uuGPuOKzpI1GdiTpT9yOL-oe9nNVwSEa-HTCxX6LJSnTxlKINfBPJPA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.12.48.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuyiBPQspM7k1E0tBMOrUvdljUPAw3tc0nqHpKUX5L__4FdmdUlf8n7SCnwob3ogTZIGsRgxrvL0Z9ylp3sJP1uuGPuOKzpI1GdiTpT9yOL-oe9nNVwSEa-HTCxX6LJSnTxlKINfBPJPA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.12.48.png" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The label is clear</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Another farmer, Ernest Agbolewafi, who stopped growing cotton because of the impacts of pesticides on his and his family's health, comments, '<i>After treatment [spraying the crop] I used to get itching then a bad rash which spread all over my body and began to ooze liquid. One day I fainted. My neighbours took me to the health centre, but I didn't know where I was until evening. I'm really anti cotton as a result of my experience.</i>" <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9hnAIPB4s8mrEO7PHW1ypUy2H3CAqWpbVSSRhrINYcYYo4xOORpv7h1peSwHKpdol9BOdMiyRA3RWOYRT40vfo757e7QRyml_UZwhXduJy6hmsvEQdmzzvt75psn1KNuyE5n2kkk9YNg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.09.33.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9hnAIPB4s8mrEO7PHW1ypUy2H3CAqWpbVSSRhrINYcYYo4xOORpv7h1peSwHKpdol9BOdMiyRA3RWOYRT40vfo757e7QRyml_UZwhXduJy6hmsvEQdmzzvt75psn1KNuyE5n2kkk9YNg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.09.33.png" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This farmer stopped growing cotton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">The health impacts of pesticides are not small. According to PAN, 220,000 people have died from pesticide poisoning, while one million have been made ill.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Dizziness, breathing problems, nausea, headaches, and weakness are the result of pesticide exposure, as well as reproductive health issues and impacts on the foetus. In one cotton growing area of Benin, there were 314 acute poisoning cases and 61 deaths.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Farmers cannot afford to buy protective clothing...and even if they do, it's unsuitable for use in tropical climates with high humidity and temperatures around 40C. So it's common for farmers to spend fifty per cent of their income on health care costs, particularly if family members are affected.</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBHWJniHqBb4u1ILhFkSEYvkkWwNhDFZnlFdkCr7hlahSoxngXQ_v_7OktaDYYC1-4TIMF1rsSnvRF5NC7RWIVy3jS_FmwhOHV1NYQKF9weSaQ9Y02CfGWw-XkQn-Ls6WBqHgGthrcvnZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.00.36.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBHWJniHqBb4u1ILhFkSEYvkkWwNhDFZnlFdkCr7hlahSoxngXQ_v_7OktaDYYC1-4TIMF1rsSnvRF5NC7RWIVy3jS_FmwhOHV1NYQKF9weSaQ9Y02CfGWw-XkQn-Ls6WBqHgGthrcvnZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.00.36.png" height="223" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Label indicates protective clothing required</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">As the anonymous farmer observes, "<i>Pesticide companies should really look at the products they're making and start making them less toxic. If you sit down and do a detailed costing, I lose a lot of money because of the impact on my health. They should be responsible for public health and develop products which don't harm people.</i>" </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">We may have a long wait before the likes of Monsanto come up with a solution. And of course there is still the question of toxic residues left in cotton clothing...so what is the answer?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">"We can't allow our clothing to kill the people who grow the fibre that goes into it," says Simon Ferrigno of PAN. While British designer Katherine Hamnett is just one of a growing number of fashion industry leaders who is pushing for change. "By using organic cotton, I can make clothes without having blood on my hands," she says. </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">At
Nukleus we believe that simple changes can make such a huge
difference, not just for us at home, but for people far away in other
places. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">In
India, more than 80%of all cotton seeds are now Bt GMOs(genetically
modified organisms), largely due to the collaboration between US
transnational corporation (TNC) Monsanto and the Indian government.
In other countries like Benin and other African nations, Bt seeds are
not such a major issue but the farmers are still plagued by the
high input costs of pesticides/chemicals. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">And
the high input costs of growing non-organic or Bt cotton - hugely
expensive pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, boosting the profits
of TNCs like Monsanto and Bayer - also contribute to farmers’
financial problems and their inability to pay for healthcare.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">With
organic cotton, using cheaper and natural methods of pest control,
and fertilizer, input costs are reduced, so farmers’ profits
increase. For the farmers and their families it’s a win won
situation, since they are no longer forced to work with the deadly
poisons which are the pesticides. Not only are they healthier, but
they have more profits to set aside for other family commitments,
like healthcare, or education. A simple and easy solution, not just
for the farmers, but for consumers.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW607T9mlffX1nZN660Z8LQ4Iro2h0mTK9rX215k7VH_0gtUp2S_Bo8ShWKij9I5SrQL4CUHpy8I7RBaX19CJ1DP9X-lYI3qC9Z9XnnGtSuQAsRBziU4EK3Lmzc-87-aAxDNAZjG4hIABb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.23.16.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW607T9mlffX1nZN660Z8LQ4Iro2h0mTK9rX215k7VH_0gtUp2S_Bo8ShWKij9I5SrQL4CUHpy8I7RBaX19CJ1DP9X-lYI3qC9Z9XnnGtSuQAsRBziU4EK3Lmzc-87-aAxDNAZjG4hIABb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.23.16.png" height="146" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organic cotton farmers in India/Nandan Saxena </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Organic cotton clothing gives consumers peace of mind. Not
only because of the benefits of wearing a non-toxic product close to our
skin, but we can also relax in the knowledge that we are helping improve the health of others...and the environment.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">We
benefit because, particularly with innerwear, which lies close to the
skin and we wear all day long, we know
that there are no toxic chemical residues leaching their way from the
fibres into our bodies. And, in the same way, during the production
process, no toxic chemicals are leaching from the organic cotton
factories contaminating the natural environment.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
Nukleus organic cotton mission is to turn everyone into a
winner, creating more health for people and a less polluted
environment. It’s a simple and responsible solution to so many
issues. The organic cotton farmers have from a
healthier, less risky and more profitable lifestyle.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYu33gsy8aVwX9xOX2ZssJ3-stQjHIOPpCFhq3dqQOslsYQ1ZXhUXewDQkqrCB60BQqkJnJo6ARPs3o3t5V7nH1IWoZtBg87hzOyRGnWMoQ03uu0wW8UThEIxCPUJ4qkadWAMfN_xQNGHg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.27.14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYu33gsy8aVwX9xOX2ZssJ3-stQjHIOPpCFhq3dqQOslsYQ1ZXhUXewDQkqrCB60BQqkJnJo6ARPs3o3t5V7nH1IWoZtBg87hzOyRGnWMoQ03uu0wW8UThEIxCPUJ4qkadWAMfN_xQNGHg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-14+at+16.27.14.png" height="222" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nukleus Innerwear for him...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Organic
cotton products are a healthy option, for us and the environment, too. So when you buy organic cotton, you can feel healthier
and less stressed...and congratulate yourself on taking action that
makes a real and positive difference...to everyone....and the planet.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">We
all face a confusing array of choices every day. And of course
worrying about anything is stressful, and we all want to be less
stressed. So doesn’t it make sense to make a few easy decisions to
improve our health: exercise a bit more, eat more healthy food, cut
down on sugar...and buy more organic cotton products?</span></span> </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
</div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-25958651147413530432014-03-11T17:28:00.000+08:002014-03-11T17:28:08.031+08:00WHAT IS THE TRUE COST OF COTTON?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">You’re
a small-scale farmer in India. </span></span>
</b><br />
<b>
</b>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUf39La0SeBuSh9zzEX-2xpcnAs-6MwGnD4CNS76_AsWAgZsjmUzKJoqwExkA7SdhfG8piRO0c3PaphN62lxAWjUhUimeZBh4tkTrmkmgATDNsd_fiFbgfyL_AvUV6RAMaVQOVPsjOp7I/s1600/SAM_5668.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUf39La0SeBuSh9zzEX-2xpcnAs-6MwGnD4CNS76_AsWAgZsjmUzKJoqwExkA7SdhfG8piRO0c3PaphN62lxAWjUhUimeZBh4tkTrmkmgATDNsd_fiFbgfyL_AvUV6RAMaVQOVPsjOp7I/s1600/SAM_5668.JPG" height="320" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For the small scale farmer, debt is a huge problem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">You
used to combine growing cotton with growing food crops, but then the
government started telling you about a new wonder cotton which would
make you rich. Ads appeared on TV...happy farmers, like you, only
with plenty of money for daughters‘ weddings and for parents
healthcare crops. The ads, from companies like Monsanto - American,
‘modern‘ and therefore good in your eyes - promised a better,
more successful farming life if you used their special genetically
modified (GM) Bt cotton seeds. You trusted them, turned over your
entire crop production to cotton....and, then, as the years
progressed, like tens of thousands of small scale farmers, you started
to wonder what you’d let yourself in for.</span></span></b></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
ads hadn’t explained how costly the new Bt seeds would be and that
producing chemical cotton is an expensive process, with no guarantee
of success.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">According
to a farmer in the 2007 documentary <i>Cotton for my Shroud</i>,
seeds used to be 30 rs per kg. Then hybrid seeds went on the market
at around 200 rs per kg, then Bt seeds cost 4-5000 rs per kg. This
huge increase in the cost of basic seeds is out of all proportion to
an increase in yield. And with one kg of seeds needed to sow one
acre, farmers are facing a substantial outlay. Fertilizer, which used
to cost 30 rs per pack is now rs 200.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Most
shocking is the increase in the cost of pesticide. Previously
pesticide was around 30 rs per litre. But with the advent of Bt GM
cotton, the average cost of pesticide produced by transnational
agrichemical giants like Bayer, Dupont, and Monsanto, is around rs
8000 to 15,000 per litre. </span></span>
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Simultaneously,
the output and fertility of the land has decreased, as the soil is
weakened by continual sowing and resowing with the same, chemically
dependent cotton crops. Soil has no chance to replenish itself as it
is not possible to plant alternative crops due to high outlays.
Overuse and over-reliance on scarce water supplies means that
irrigation becomes increasingly difficult.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">As
one farmer observes, ‘<i>You keep sowing an unprofitable crop and
your loss keeps growing. Those who accumulate heavy losses, when the
banks shut their doors, go to moneylenders. If the debt is unpaid the
moneylenders take their land, and house.’</i> </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">And
if the cotton crop survives and the market price is reasonable, the
corporate lobby applies pressure to government, and cotton is
imported. Local rates crash again and more farmers die. <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">A
report submitted to the Indian parliament suggested that there
were a</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">round</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
291,000 farmer suicides from 1995 till Aug 2011... about one suicide
every 30 mins.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Countries
like the US, which gives $4 billion subsidy to its cotton farmers,
are constantly scouting for new markets. Under pressure from the WTO
(World Trade Organisation), the Indian government removed all
quantitative restrictions on imports. Cheap cotton from rich
countries benefitting from substantial subsidies, made cotton
production even less profitable for Indian farmers. </span></span>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL6aP4tjxik7UBQJ0LC68z4Nnax6TKPkWEY7fJTtLNJEAZuN6PZBKXrhuiMjzIIT4JaY3qYXuQ9KCRc_cEui1hbMi5Dts1PAzPlA5RBKbIMQ5hQ1zwaqLuOzh47DD0gGfavBGos6riTA/s1600/Mandi+at+Pandharkawda.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL6aP4tjxik7UBQJ0LC68z4Nnax6TKPkWEY7fJTtLNJEAZuN6PZBKXrhuiMjzIIT4JaY3qYXuQ9KCRc_cEui1hbMi5Dts1PAzPlA5RBKbIMQ5hQ1zwaqLuOzh47DD0gGfavBGos6riTA/s1600/Mandi+at+Pandharkawda.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The local cotton market...competing with US$ 4 billion subsidies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">And
the trend of expensive Bt cotton continues to this day. Vivekananda
Nemana of the blog <a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/in-india-gm-crops-come-at-a-high-price/">India Ink</a>
reports that at a recent UN summit on GMOs in Hyderabad, south
India, organised by the pro-biotechnology International Service for
the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), representatives
from the group said GM cotton was a success. Farmers no longer
suffered from bollworms, which once ruined large sections of their
crop, and saved time and money.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
farmers themselves told a different story. According to one, T
Venkatesh, ‘<i>We’re getting higher yields, but we’re not
better off. Our costs have gone up much faster than the price of
cotton.’</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Another
farmer, Srinivas Reddy agreed. ‘<i>We buy our seeds on the black
market and we pay three, sometimes five times as much as we did for
normal seeds. But nobody is selling non Bt seeds anymore.</i>’
Costs for farmhands and pesticides had also gone up, he said.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">In
June 2013, the news magazine India Today </span></span><a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/acute-shortage-of-bt-cotton-seeds-in-andhra-pradesh/1/202206.html"><span style="color: #000099;"><span lang="en-US"><u>reported</u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">
that Andhra Pradesh faced an acute shortage of Bt cotton seeds,
driving up black market prices to as high as 2,000 rupees per packet
and leading to a profusion of bootlegged seeds.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">Though
proponents of GM agriculture, as well as some </span></span><a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/a-limit-to-gains-from-genetically-engineered-cotton/"><span style="color: #000099;"><span lang="en-US"><u>independent
studies,</u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">
say that higher yields offset the costs of the seeds, farmers have
seen other costs rise as well. The Andhra farmers said their crops
were now affected by aphids, which replaced the bollworms that Bt
cotton was designed to resist. The new pesticides require fewer
applications, they said, but are far more expensive.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: black;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><i>The
old pesticide used to cost us 200 rupees per litre</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">,’
said one farmer, who has been planting Bt cotton for six years. ‘</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Now
I have to pay between 2,000 to 3,000 rupees. And I need to apply it
more and more every year.</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">’</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Some
critics of GM seeds see a never-ending cycle of rising costs – and
debts – for farmers. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: black;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Farmers
buy the seeds, and the costs of the pesticides, which they buy from
the same companies, are probably tenfold what they used to pay</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">,’
said Shivani Shah, a campaigner for Greenpeace in India. ‘</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><i>So
it’s creating a system of dependency. It is a deliberate idea of
increasing costs and increasing royalties – there is no intention
of reducing those costs through economies of scale</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">.’</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">Lim
Li Ching, a researcher with the Third World Network, a nonprofit
devoted to developmental issues, said the increased costs from the
rise of aphids was an expected turn of events. ‘</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><i>As
ecologists have pointed out from the start, you take out a target
pest, you’re likely to have secondary pests coming because that’s
how ecology works: you vacate one niche, you’ll have another niche
take its place</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">,’she
said.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Higher
seed and pesticide costs have left small farmers in India – and
other developing countries – more vulnerable to failed monsoons and
other climate change-related dangers.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">For
small farmers, the consequences can be tragic. When weak monsoon
rains led to crop failures in 2005, hundreds of debt-ridden Bt cotton
farmers in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra committed
suicide by drinking pesticide. A </span></span><a href="http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/07/seeds_of_suicid.html"><span style="color: #000099;"><span lang="en-US"><u>PBS
documentary</u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US">
on the suicides by Chad Heeter reported that the indebtedness was
largely due to expensive GM seeds and pesticides. And each growing
season, the suicides of indebted cotton farmers continue.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">As
a small business, trying to carve a niche in the competitive fashion
industry, Nukleus understands the plight of small scale farmers. We
acknowledge and honour the persistence of farmers who switch from
chemically-dependent GM/Bt cotton to organic cotton...a process that
takes three years, in which they will have little or no income. These
farmers, like Nukleus and our fans have a vision of a better, more
sustainable world, in which cotton does not cost the earth.</span></span></b></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpbdl6_wasfsLGaDK4c4UMRWANqvKoJixu-zKIXSeDft_pgKK8vhTSak2QVZ0U_6-WmaoL0NQQitayy2W9-ZqyjjX-X4kqrtt5NFx9-WJe6HQinlc7Nvl_CFtxnvyvVzvNBmz-hg4jRE/s1600/115.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpbdl6_wasfsLGaDK4c4UMRWANqvKoJixu-zKIXSeDft_pgKK8vhTSak2QVZ0U_6-WmaoL0NQQitayy2W9-ZqyjjX-X4kqrtt5NFx9-WJe6HQinlc7Nvl_CFtxnvyvVzvNBmz-hg4jRE/s1600/115.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Not all cotton needs to cost the earth</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">
</span></span></b></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<b>
</b>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: d%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">We
salute and support the organic cotton farmers of India, who are
struggling so valiantly to make a decent living for themselves and
their families...and we salute our fans who make this possible.
Buying organic cotton items may cost a little more, and we are all
financially challenged. But spending a little more cash is an
investment in our health, and the future, for ourselves and the
planet...because we’re worth it. </span></span></b>
</div>
</div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-4895984087267651852014-02-04T14:55:00.000+08:002014-02-08T15:23:52.822+08:00EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GMOs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Nukleus
is committed to empowering our customers on the importance of using
organic cotton. Key to understanding the cotton issue is to
understand the seeds issue. In this blog we will be looking at seeds
and GMOs. We were startled and shocked by what we found and share so
you can make more informed choices about the kind of cotton products
you buy and why organic cotton is safest.</span></b></i></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">WHAT
EXACTLY ARE GMOS?</span></b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">GMOs
(Genetically Modified Organisms) have been created by the GM
(genetic modification) process. According to <i>GMO
Myths and Truths, </i>a heavily researched and
sourced report produced by the <a href="http://www.nongmoproject.org/">Non GMO Projec</a>t<b>
:</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><b>GM
is completely different from natural breeding and poses different
risks.</b> Natural breeding can only take place between closely
related forms of life (e.g. cats with cats, not cats with dogs; wheat
with wheat, not wheat with tomatoes or fish). </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">But<b>
</b><b>GM crops have had genetic material from other species inserted
into them</b> eg non-plant into plant, with the hope that this will
give the target plant specific properties. But there can be
unexpected and unwanted changes in the GMO plant.<b> The</b><b>se</b><b>
could include toxic and allergenic effects, </b><i><u><b>poor crop
performance</b></u></i><u><b>, and </b></u><i><u><b>generation of
characteristics that harm the environment.</b></u></i> This is a
far-cry from the corporate ballyhoo in the case of cotton, about
increased yield. With organic cotton, as sourced by Nukleus, you can
be sure that your cotton garment is safe and not harming the
environment.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">FOREVER
POISONED</span></b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">These
unexpected changes are especially dangerous because they are
<b>irreversible</b>. Even the worst chemical pollution diminishes
over time as the pollutant is degraded by physical and biological
mechanisms. But GMOs are living organisms. <i><b>Once released into
the ecosystem,they do not degrade and cannot be recalled, but
multiply in the environment and pass on their GM genes to future
generations.</b></i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Nukleus
thinks the environment it too important to risk this kind of
contamination.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">POTENTIAL
HEALTH HAZARDS</span></b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Corporates
say that their GMOs are safe. We're not so sure. When independent
scientists in France analysed data on GM Bt maize they found that
<b>Monsanto’s own feeding trial </b><b>on </b><b>rats revealed
serious health effects –</b> <b>including liver and kidney toxicity</b>
– that had been <b>hidden from the public</b>. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">This
is relevant to GM/Bt cotton for two reasons: cotton seeds are used in
animal and human food products and so enter the food chain. Secondly,
if the company information on maize was inaccurate, how do we know
what the potential health hazards of Bt cotton are? At Nukleus we
would rather be safe than sorry.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">HAZARDS
OF Bt CROPS</span></b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Bt
cotton is a genetically modified form of cotton, produced by
Monsanto. Bt stands for <i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i>, a bacteria
which produces toxins harmful to moths, butterflies and other
insects.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">With
GM Bt crops the plant is engineered to express the Bt toxin in every
cell. <b>T</b><b>he plant itself becomes a pesticide, and people and
animals that eat the plant are </b><u><b>eating a pesticide</b></u><b>.
</b></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">GM
Bt crops have many adverse health effects when fed to laboratory
animals, including:</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;"> </span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">● <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Toxic
effects on the small intestine, liver, kidney, spleen, and pancreas </b></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">● <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Disturbances
in the functioning of the digestive system </b></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">● <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Reduced
weight gain</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">● <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Immune
system disturbances</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">These
effects have been demonstrated from eating Bt products. And, while we
do not eat clothes, the skin is the body’s largest organ, easily
<b>absorbing </b>substances. Some may cause allergies, while over a
longer time, exposure to toxic products can cause even more serious
health problems. With organic clothing, you can have peace of mind.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">GM
Bt crops also have toxic effects on butterflies and other non-target
insects, beneficial pest predators, bees and aquatic and soil
organisms. At Nukleus, we don't want to damage ecosystems in this
way, and believe we should preserve them by growing organic cotton.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">GM
COTTON AND ‘SAFE’ HERBICIDES</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Over
75% of all GM crops, including Bt cotton, are engineered to tolerate
herbicides, particularly <i>Roundup</i>, produced by Monsanto.
<i>Roundup</i> is based on the chemical glycophosphate and marketed
as a “safe” herbicide. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">But
many independent studies show that Roundup poses <b>serious health
hazards</b>, including endocrine (hormone) disruption, DNA damage,
cancer, birth defects, and neurological disorders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">And
if glycophosphate remains in GM food, it would seem reasonable to
assume that it remains in cotton fibres too...Organic cotton is not
sprayed with these kind of toxins, which is one of the many reasons
we at Nukleus advocate its use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">IMPACTS
ON FARMERS’ HEALTH...</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">A
report by doctors in Argentina showed the following health problems
in people exposed to spraying of agrochemicals (mostly glyphosate) on
GM Roundup Ready (RR) soy: <b>increased incidence of birth defects,
miscarriages, infertility, cancers, DNA damage (which can lead to
cancer and birth defects), neurological developmental problems in
children, kidney failure, respiratory problems, and allergies.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">In
one area, <b>birth defects increased fourfold and rates of childhood
cancers tripled</b> in only a decade in areas where rice and GM soy
crops are heavily sprayed. Is this happening in cotton farming
communities in India and elsewhere? Until data is collected, we can't
be sure...but we know that organic cotton farmers and their families
are safe from these serious health risks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">AND
ON YOU....</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">These
issues are relevant not only to people living where GM crops are
grown, but for consumers who eat products made from crops sprayed
with agrochemicals. <b>GM crops do not break down glyphosate, but
absorb it, </b><b>so the toxic chemical </b><b>remain</b><b>s</b><b>
in the plant and </b><b>is</b><b> eaten by people and animals. </b>It
would seem logical to assume that Bt cotton would similarly be imbued
with these toxins. With organic cotton, you know you are safe from
these kind of potential hazards. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">GM
CROPS: A SOLUTION...OR A WORSE PROBLEM? WHAT DO FARMERS SAY?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">“<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Over
the past decade, corporate and government managers have </i><i><b>spent
millions trying to convince farmers and other citizens of the
benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops. But this huge public
relations effort has failed to obscure the truth: GM crops do not
deliver the promised benefits; they create numerous problems, costs,
and risks; and ... consumers and foreign customers alike do not want
these crops.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">“<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>It
would be too generous even to call GM crops a solution in search of a
problem: These crops have failed to provide significant solutions,
and </i><i><b>their use is creating problems – agronomic,
environmental, economic, social, and (potentially) human health
problems</b></i>.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; font-size: small;">– <span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">National
Farmers Union of Canada</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">At
Nukleus, we have spoken with many Indian farmers and they would
agree.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">To
the ordinary person, wandering round the mall or shopping in a
market, these concerns may seem distant. But they are real and
important, which is why we at Nukleus believe that organic cotton –
non-GMO, not sprayed by toxic chemicals, is best. By choosing organic
cotton products you can have peace of mind, and don't need to be
concerned about toxins in your body, the environment, or affecting
the health of farmers. We wear clothes all our lives, against our
skin and there’s no reason to jeopardise our health to look good.
Sometimes safe is just a lot better than sorry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">We
are heavily indebted to our friends at the Non GMO project for their
work and the report. We would highly recommend them as a trusted
resource for accurate and credible information on GMOs, presented in
an accessible and coherent form.</span></i></span></div>
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pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-52510209063344874282013-12-30T18:07:00.000+08:002013-12-30T18:07:00.045+08:00MNCs, DESPAIR AND COTTON : FILMING THE FARMERS IN INDIA - COTTON FOR MY SHROUD <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Nukleus CEO CW Tan recently viewed the multi award winning documentary <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrZpjbcGXK0&feature=youtu.be">Cotton for my shroud</a><br />Filmed entirely in India and self-funded by husband and wife team, Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl Cotton for my shroud lays out the stark reality of life for cotton farmers in India. From 1997 to 2010 (according to official statistics) over 200,000 Indian farmers committed suicide. In the decade from 1991 to 2001 over eight million farmers quit farming. As the voice over comments ‘Every summer, the farmer sows hope...every winter he harvests loss...sometimes death’.<br /><br />But behind the figures are real people, with real lives and families. <i>Cotton for my shroud</i> takes us into the heart of village India where we meet farmers, their families, politicians and police who are involved in these life and death struggles to survive.</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvJATzm5LrkuFcQRQTVGMSlBWIjpCLaptVVXLcO5vnpcZcMMya1n9_NmBTo9mIdgcjaRs5gsh9O7zIUczClM4FMeXnBXBRiMtQXSwCQLLkMYILujfKpPdGFqAuE7vYXzYc57EmI8BdRhU/s1600/At+the+morgue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvJATzm5LrkuFcQRQTVGMSlBWIjpCLaptVVXLcO5vnpcZcMMya1n9_NmBTo9mIdgcjaRs5gsh9O7zIUczClM4FMeXnBXBRiMtQXSwCQLLkMYILujfKpPdGFqAuE7vYXzYc57EmI8BdRhU/s320/At+the+morgue.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A farmer's body at the morgue</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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<br /><br />The film starts with a TV ad: ‘Plant Bt and your son will get employment/you can build a house/marry your daughter/pay off the medical expenses of your aging father.’<br /><br />An attractive promise which carries a lot of weight in rural communities. How could it not be true? It’s on TV and carries all the implied authority of ‘modern’, the corporate promise of a better life, not just for the farmer, but for the entire family. <br /><br />How easy is it for people who have lived a traditional life, with little or no access to the internet, and who live in a rigidly feudal and hierarchical society, to contemplate that what they are seeing is a glossy lie?<br /><br />‘Last year Bt let us down badly’ says a grieving widow, whose husband killed himself. ‘For two years it did not grow’.<br /><br />An activist comments, ‘The introduction of hybrid [Bt] seeds has trapped farmers. Initially they advertised aggressively: plant this seed, plant that seed. They trapped us. Even if we try to break free we do not know the way out. The fertility of our land has reduced. Pest infestation has increased. The farmers are unable to find a way out.’<br /><br />Activist Vandana Shiva contextualises the issue. “Every government extension agency is selling the seeds of Monsanto - non renewable, unreliable, untrusted seeds’. <br /><br />We see bullock carts laden with raw cotton as Shiva continues, ‘India lost its freedom to Britain for two hundred years. Now we face another kind of slavery. Anyone who controls the seed and agro chemical industry controls our agriculture.’<br />
<br />A key issue brought out in the film is the high input costs which farmers are faced with with Bt cotton and the low selling cost. Traditional cotton seeds were around Rs 30/kg. Initially the Bt seeds were Rs 200/kg. Now they are around Rs 5000/kg... and it takes 1 kg of seeds to sow an acre of land. Fertiliser used to cost Rs 30 per sack. Now it’s Rs 200. Pesticides used to be Rs 30/litre. Now the average cost is Rs 15,000 per litre.<br />
<br />The input cost for the farmer has increased around five hundred fold, while the output on parched and degraded land. <br /><br />While companies claim that Bt seeds will yield 25 quintals of cotton per acre, the reality for farmers is an average yield of one quintal per acre. Faced with a debt of Rs 60,000, and produce which will fetch, at best Rs 30,000, it is hardly surprising that some farmers are so overwhelmed by their situation that they kill themselves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhqiHJMGoJqExthpWfawh8NYJ3eQgE5W8kf0Hz_cmErVwNeHqaSNROM4xLncJdnqWLV6jCS-Pzsvo0LKvZWd92Lnov3dh2ovRspBaQeDXcnnJV5RVY2IGt97LM-9YCY3vreiOKVzBGjZX/s1600/Mandi+at+Pandharkawda.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhqiHJMGoJqExthpWfawh8NYJ3eQgE5W8kf0Hz_cmErVwNeHqaSNROM4xLncJdnqWLV6jCS-Pzsvo0LKvZWd92Lnov3dh2ovRspBaQeDXcnnJV5RVY2IGt97LM-9YCY3vreiOKVzBGjZX/s320/Mandi+at+Pandharkawda.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cotton market where wholesalers buy</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br /><br />Two other factors came into play :an overnight rush into cash crops, to the exclusion of food crops, and the total disappearance of any kind of non-agricultural occupation like traditional weaving, carpentry, blacksmiths. <br /><br />A politician observes, ‘Farmers do not have a strong lobby. Big industrial houses and MNCs have a strong lobby, and a strong influence on the policies.’<br /><br />Vandana Shiva explains, ‘Globalisation transformed agriculture into a huge market for the global seed industry, which happens also to be the global agri-chemical industry....They realised how important control over seed is because it’s the first link in the food chain. You control seed and you control agriculture. They started to buy up small local seed companies, so today five giant seed companies control the seed supply to the world’.<br /><br />Monsanto controls 95% of all GM seeds sold in the world.<br /><br />A bureaucrat comments, ‘There is a nexus between MNCs, our bureaucracy and our political setup.’ The unfortunate cotton farmers are caught in this web of globalisation, vested interests, relentless lies and ruthless profiteering, paying with their misery and lives to fill the coffers of wealthy bureaucrats, wealthy MNC workers and the global fashion industry.<br /><br />This film is a searing indictment of greed. Passionate, well researched and simply told, we are given a rare access into the lives of those whose voices are rarely heard...Indian cotton farmers and their families. And this process is not just about what’s happening in India, with cotton. It’s a global phenomenon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQePk6jSQWFtTDT8ncXL4uD1vhsdwZSTUDSOTXJpzDTOcMltfpNLxW7b2OipY1F0Uzb_WPcm5dRBBJRT7gCTMMbT4tTDkrhz1c-7lKxLvIZZCSrdFJUXYnw4rnmaXw1fB9jhBfwqpdyRpM/s1600/agitation+Kolejhari+village.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQePk6jSQWFtTDT8ncXL4uD1vhsdwZSTUDSOTXJpzDTOcMltfpNLxW7b2OipY1F0Uzb_WPcm5dRBBJRT7gCTMMbT4tTDkrhz1c-7lKxLvIZZCSrdFJUXYnw4rnmaXw1fB9jhBfwqpdyRpM/s320/agitation+Kolejhari+village.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farming villagers protest in solidarity</td></tr>
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<br /> <br /><b>Filmmaker Kavita Bahl explains how the film came about.</b><br /><br /><b>Why did you make this film?</b><br />The answer involves our ethics and philosophy about life. Both Nandan Saxena (my husband and co filmmaker) and myself subscribe to the Cree saying:<br /><br />“Only when the last tree has died and the last river<br />been poisoned and the last fish been caught<br />will we realize that we cannot eat money”.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsy7Ni82zFdXD6Ge4IU2rF2u0P2WobPNGJ25NyUN5-A-_zd5HeHdt4eXgTVUkvhov_eFLBQvC8Wx-945nZuuhHTVYPlTkiil2pk9ebRe8BB1xc3Boqlva4fv67pTY5hssYOvV_0ILaJuu/s1600/Nandan+Saxena+at+the+location.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsy7Ni82zFdXD6Ge4IU2rF2u0P2WobPNGJ25NyUN5-A-_zd5HeHdt4eXgTVUkvhov_eFLBQvC8Wx-945nZuuhHTVYPlTkiil2pk9ebRe8BB1xc3Boqlva4fv67pTY5hssYOvV_0ILaJuu/s320/Nandan+Saxena+at+the+location.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nandan Saxena getting the shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />In India, a country where farmers, the life-nourishers, are giving up on life...what can be worse? We asked ourselves- what are we waiting for? For the Cree saying to come true...we hope not!<br /><br />We are both children of teachers. Perhaps, this genetic code helps us survive in a very materialistic world.<br /><br /><b>How have audiences reacted to the film?</b><br />People, especially in countries other than India, have queries related to the choice and right of the farmer over his/her crop, etc. They need to understand the relationship between the land and the farmer in India; the farmer's total dependence on the State for what to grow and how to grow; the hand-in-glove relation of the Indian Government and the multinationals. Earlier this year, our audience at London (Cotton for my shroud was the Headline Film at the Investigative Film Week) was shocked after watching the film and discussed the issues with us at length.<br /><br /><b>Why did you decide to self-fund the film? </b><br />Self-funding was not a choice- it was a path. Seeking funds for such films is a Herculean task in this country. There are hardly any funds for the documentary and thousands vie for the small tid-bits of the same pie. We just decided to go ahead on our own and Cotton for my shroud was the result. All our savings have gone into making this film. It has hurt our bank balance but not our spirit.<br /><br /><b>You mention that there is a demand for the French, Spanish and local language versions. Can you say more about this? </b><br /><br />Making the film in English is essential but not enough. It helps it travel and reach a wider audiences in cities- both in India and abroad. The film addresses not only policy-makers but also farming communities in India, since it is about their seed freedom. Many do not understand English, so we need local language versions. <br /><br />French and Spanish versions are required to screen it in nations which are either pro/against genetic modification. This Indian story is relevant to all countries which have farming communities, governments and multinational corporations. Our films are often used as learning and advocacy tools by NGOs and various organisations working towards policy matters.The language versions are required to take the film to the grassroots.<br /><br />A team is required to see that the films are made professionally and within the given time frame. Besides the professional charges to be paid to the translator and voice-artist, each language version film has to be re-edited. <br /><br /><b>Congratulations to all involved in this project. Is there likely to be a follow-up?</b><br />Follow-up shall definitely be done. Hopefully, we shall have some funds in place for it. People who appreciate Cotton for my shroud should ideally help the farming communities by bringing out their voice through the film. Amen.<br /><br />copyright all images Nandan Saxena</div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-21460874595325025142013-11-10T13:08:00.000+08:002013-11-10T13:08:03.799+08:00THE 8 HIDDEN HISTORICAL SECRETS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COTTON AND HOW THEY EFFECT OUR LIVES TODAY <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /> <br />
<b>You thought cotton was
just a cool, comfortable fabric. You thought all this stuff about
sweatshops and TNCs (Transnational corporations) was new. You thought
history was sooo boring....so did we...until we started our research on
FROM SEED TO SHOP. This hidden cotton story starts millennia ago, but
is still shaping and colouring our lives today. We unpick cotton’s
past...and show how the clothes we wear today are full of secrets, lies
and the dust of empires, and how, by examining these threads steeped in
history, we can gain the freedom, clarity, and peace of mind to empower
our lives today</b>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Cotton Karma</b> <br />
Someone said that
those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it, and, like some
kind of geopolitical karma, the threads of the cotton story twist and
turn, like the shrouding fabric in the dance of the seven veils,
alternately revealing and hiding the complexities of a millennia of the
relationship between gossypium and homo sapiens. <br />
<br />
Investigating
the history of cotton and how its use has become ubiquitous today,
gives fascinating insights into a surprising number of very current
issues. TNCs tick. Colonialism tick. The re writing of history to create
a western-centric supremacist narrative tick. The karma of these
threads is a testament to history being re-written by the victors.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Makeover Magic </b><br />
Prior
to its makeover as populous, poor and poverty-ridden, India, where
samples of cotton dating from around 3000 BC have been discovered, was
for centuries a key player, noted as an exceptionally rich and
prosperous country, largely due to its highly successful and diverse
cotton industry. According to [source] ‘the cotton textiles of the
Harappan civilisation (2300-1700 BC) were produced by sophisticated
textile craftsmanship’. <br />
<br />
Bangladesh, (coincidentally?)
now synonymous with sweatshop labour and abject poverty, was known as a
place which produced exquisite cotton fabrics. One traveller eulogised
‘...cotton fabric made in the Kingdom of Rahmi (now Bangladesh) is so
fine and delicate that a dress made of it may pass through a signet
ring.’ <br />
<br />
Although Agra and Gujarat in India were also know
for producing fine cotton, ‘The best, however, were the Dacca (now
Dhaka) muslins which were given names like ‘running water’ (because if
placed in a stream it could scarcely be seen), or ‘woven air’ (because
if thrown in the air it would float like a cloud) and ‘evening dew’
(because if spread on the grass it would be mistaken for dew)’. <br />
<br />
A
far cry from the tragic images of the Bangladeshi capital now
associated with textile sweatshop tragedies like Rana Plaza. So what
happened?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Untangling the knots</b> <br />
In the seventeenth
century, Dacca was noted as the most famous textile centre in the world
(eclipsing Ahmedabad, Benares (now Varanasi) and Bengal). The English
started exporting Dacca muslins around 1666 AD. Less than a decade
later, ‘the fashion of wearing these fabrics became pretty general in
England’. <br />
<br />
Cotton was woven, fabric was shipped, profits
were made...for centuries, until vested socio-political interests in
Britain lobbied for protectionist laws banning the import of foreign
cotton to encourage the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable at home,
rather than pay skilled workers overseas. <br />
<br />
Centuries
later, the GAP, the Primarks the H&Ms, the Wallmart/Asdas and
others, discovered the rich vein of exploitable labour forces in former
new colonial hinterlands of predominantly low-paid female child labour.
The Bangladeshi capital has been making more cotton-related news...for
the Rana Plaza building collapse, and a series of fires which have
killed workers in textile sweatshops. Consumers are encouraged to think
more about their duties as responsible global citizens with a duty of
care to the poor and vulnerable. They are not encouraged to have a think
about how their prosperous and perhaps paternalisitic gaze may be
predicated on the waves of systematic exploitation and protectionism.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Threads of destruction</b> <br />
Exploring
the Cotton Story, as it weaves and twists, soft, white, fluffy, stained
in sweat and blood, is a surreal experience into the realms of
colonialism, protectionism and exploitation of the poor and often
desperate. What is striking is that these social motifs, memes of
destruction, have remained so persistent. Four hundred years collapsing
like a row of dominos into now.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The first TNC? </b><br />
Leading
the charge as a forerunner of neoliberal imperialism, was the British
East India Company, a joint venture in 1615 between a British aristocrat
and a Mughal emperor. The first textile factory was established in
Surat (thrust briefly into the headlines in 1994 for an outbreak of
bubonic plague). The second was in Madras (now Chennai). Trading between
the Indian cotton and Britain began in 1640, from the port of
Calicut...from which the term calico (a type of cotton) derived.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The early days </b><br />
In
India, the cotton industry was diversified. Extensive knowledge of
growing the different varieties of gossypium plant, combined with a
suitable climate for cultivation and the knowledge to do so
successfully, meant that cotton of many different qualities could be
produced. Artisans working from home created huge varieties of cottons,
which were distributed by an extensive network of merchants and traders.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Reinventing the wheel</b> <br />
Hand spinning cotton was
the norm for centuries, although there is evidence that the spinning
wheel was known in the Middle East around 1260. The word charkha,
meaning spinning wheel, is of Persian origin. With the spread of a
technical, cultural and design influence of the Islamic world on Hindu
India, from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, came the use of the
spinning wheel. <br />
<br />
While the spinning wheel was used in
China in the fourteenth century, in South India, the more labour
intensive hand spinning was the norm for centuries. <br />
<br />
According
to <i>Cotton, the Fabric Which made the Modern World</i>, ‘...the technologies
of bowing, reeling, ginning and spinning of cotton suggest the
existence of a mutual influence between different areas of Eurasia.
There was a slow technological convergence, especially in the
[beginning]. <i>However, there was no overall ‘global’ technological </i><br />
<i>paradigm,
no best practice or technological leadership, as each area developed
its dedicated technologies, often as a result of specific product
specialism.</i>’ (itals added).<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Retelling the Cotton Story </b><br />
And
this is mysterious. Because memories of the Cotton Story a la UK
schooldays sang a different song. In this version, various kind of
handlooms were produced in faraway places with strange-sounding names
until the doughty inventions of the spinning jenny, some kind of mule
and various other cotton-related technologies, by various very English
sounding gents. You know the kind of thing...that notion of history
(adapted and embellished, often just plain wrong) + technology
(inspirational bolt of lightning concept from some chap) =
progress/utopia/land of milk and honey where the just dwell. <br />
<br />
This
narrative of societal experience, a makeover with scant regard for
facts and nuances, is as dangerous as it it simplistic, seductive and
obviously ‘true’. And so flattering. <br />
<br />
If history is all
‘progress’ (aka development) and we are living now, the cheering
implication is that well, hey, we’re at the top of the historical heap.
We are progress. We are the best, living in the best of all possible
worlds. <br />
<br />
This construction/reconstruction of history/human
experience/reality becomes visible as the veil of the cotton story is
examined, dissected and ripped apart. By teasing out the threads of
truth and deconstructing the fabric of lies we call history, we can
start to understand ourselves and our place in the world...and find
ourselves standing side by side with other people, other nations, other
realities...our own stories wrapped around in cotton. </div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-72293891499308766552013-09-23T14:49:00.000+08:002013-09-23T15:16:42.456+08:00FROM SEED TO SHOP...AND THE BEGINNING...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
<b>We decided to delve deeper into the cotton story as a way of understanding more fully its global impact. It’s a fascinating story, thousands of years old, which links a humble shrub - of the Gossypium family with global changes across the millennia. Across the ages and across continents, it’s a story of power and privilege, poverty and pain, which interweaves the lives of ordinary people in every corner of the planet in a fabric of need, money...and fashion. </b><br />
<br />
Before we even get to the seeds, there’s the history of this now ubiquitous, but previously rare and valuable fabric...<br />
<br />
Noone knows the names of the people who figured out how to turn the cellulose plant fibres we now call cotton, bursting out of their protective bolls (capsules) into a woven material. But these Einsteins of former times came up with the concept across the globe.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MulG8epuc2HF0sGQSJHxvpwpc1PfmPlIdR_gujnDg0m0y7oiKGKEcl53RibRixvrFDHZdWI5SDzZnNUGmSVycYfL7m5kSqCW0A1uJNALrzcXlo1ikRYwTAP09mDL7B2tqw9_OPB8UO2s/s1600/Mandeville_cotton.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MulG8epuc2HF0sGQSJHxvpwpc1PfmPlIdR_gujnDg0m0y7oiKGKEcl53RibRixvrFDHZdWI5SDzZnNUGmSVycYfL7m5kSqCW0A1uJNALrzcXlo1ikRYwTAP09mDL7B2tqw9_OPB8UO2s/s320/Mandeville_cotton.tiff" width="320" /></a></div>
Cotton fibres preserved in copper beads 7,000 years old were discovered by archaeologists in parts of what is now eastern Pakistan and northwest India. From south America to China and Iran (Persia), these threads of plant fibre were spun into cloth. The ancient Greeks and Arabs told tales of trees on which wool grows...in Indica, modern-day India.<br />
<br />
For around two millennia, India remained the main producer of this ‘king of crops’ or ‘white gold’. It was written about in sacred texts, and India had a flourishing trade in cotton textiles with Greece, Egypt, Persia (Iran) and the Roman Empire. <br />
<br />
For centuries, cotton spinning and weaving remained the almost exclusive preserve of Indian craftspeople, and the fine muslins and calico cloths they produced clothed everyone from royalty to peasants.<br />
<br />
The entire process of manufacturing the cotton cloth was a cottage industry, carried out at the weaver’s home. Cotton was bought directly from farmers. The weaver and his family would ‘gin’ the cotton to separate the fibre from the seeds; ‘card’ it, to make it fluffy, then spin it into thread or yarn on their spinning wheels. The yarn was woven into a cloth on a handloom the dyed with plant or vegetable dyes. <br />
<br />
When the cloth was finished, the weaver would sell it to the merchant, who came to the village, or take it to the village market. Farmers and weavers lived in a symbiotic relationship of growing and transforming gossypium into cotton cloth.<br />
http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/sites/rmsa.karnatakaeducation.org.in/files/documents/Eklavya/SocialStudies_VII/Civics/06_History_of_Textile_Industry_in_India.pdf<br />
<br />
Sometime in the late medieval period (1400s) cotton became known as an imported fibre in northern Europe. People knew only that it came from plants, imagining trees of sheep. One writer, in 1350, confidently explained: "There grew there [India] a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the endes of its branches. These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are hungrie [sic]."<span id="goog_325242801"></span><span id="goog_325242802"></span><br />
<br />
The German word for cotton Baumwolle, which translates as tree wool, alludes to the ‘sheep trees’ concept. Around about this time the English word cotton (derived from the Arabic (al) qutn) began to be used.<br />
<br />
By the end of the sixteenth century, cotton was being cultivated throughout the warmer regions of Asia and the americas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton<br />
<br />
What happened through the centuries to the cloth which started life as white fluffy fibres is a story less fluffy. It’s story of slavery, violence and coercion, which mirrors the issues around cotton production today. This story across continents of the destruction of ancient, sustainable ways of life, and the industrialisation of production is as bloodstained and tragic as the farmer suicides taking place in India today.<br />
<br />
<b>By understanding the history of cotton, and the production process, we can see how the vested interests of a few powerful and ruthless players impact on the daily life and wellbeing of hundreds of millions of producers and consumers. From Seed to Shop will show the truth about cotton...a truth stained in the sweat and blood of innocent people, in which greed and ignorance combine to destroy lives and the environment...and how now, increasing numbers of visionary companies and consumers are saying ‘no’ to exploitation and destruction, and ‘yes’ to organic cotton. </b></div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-16288721109194534002013-07-12T11:39:00.000+08:002013-07-12T11:39:25.341+08:00FASHION TO DIE FOR?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>LOHASia invited us to write about farmer suicides in India, and we asked award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Pamela Nowicka, to help. Pamela lived in India for eight years and interviewed farmers in Tamil Nadu, south India, for her film, <i>Climate Change? No Thanks!</i> She has extensively researched the issues of farmer suicide, GMO/Bt cotton, drought and climate change.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />It’s hard to imagine life in rural India. No running water, no or intermittent electricity, problematic education and healthcare are the reality for the 500 million people who live in villages. Women collect water from a pump or well, the bushes are the toilet, and extreme weather (40c+) in the summer, monsoons, droughts and flooding, are part of life.<br /><br />For the rich, in guarded, gated communities, surrounded by retinues of servants, life is privileged beyond belief; for the rest, it’s a struggle to survive.<br /><br />Around half the kids, and a smaller percentage of adults are malnourished; even low-quality healthcare is several hours travel away. Many rural communities haven’t heard of the internet, let alone have access to it. The caste system keeps people firmly in their place...generation after generation. Resistance, particularly in rural areas, is met with abuse, violence, and, frequently death. Farmers live on a knife edge, dependent on a good and timely monsoon - not too much, not too little - to water their crops, earn a living and repay their debts.<br /><br />Enter US transnational corporation (TNC) Monsanto, determined to shoehorn cotton farmers into accepting their genetically modified (GM/Bt)cotton seeds, locking them into an expensive round of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and non-propagating seeds, while promising that the cotton crop produced would be more profitable.<br /><br />The farmers were an easy and lucrative target. In the absence of objective information, coerced by a bureaucracy which sides with the powerful, and desperate to improve their fragile lifestyles, farmers paid for the expensive seeds and chemicals with loans from money-lenders at extortionate rates of interest. <br /><br />But, as documented by Indian journalist P Sainath <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/reaping-gold-through-cotton-and-newsprint/article3401466.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/reaping-gold-through-cotton-and-newsprint/article3401466.ece</a> instead of improving lives, over the last two decades, tens of thousands killed themselves.<br /><br />Why did Monsanto’s promises of a better crop turn into an epidemic of misery? If the crop fails, which it frequently does due to extreme weather conditions caused by climate change, far from improved profits, the farmer is unable to even pay back the money-lender (often the loan will be hundreds of times higher than the original amount). And the expensive GM/Bt cotton crop kept failing.<br /><br />A report to the Indian Parliament, does not mince words<a href="https://www.blogger.com/.http://www.thehoot.org/web/MPs--report-refutes-TOI-s-BT-Cotton-stories/6226-1-1-1-true.html">.http://www.thehoot.org/web/MPs--report-refutes-TOI-s-BT-Cotton-stories/6226-1-1-1-true.html</a>“The farmers blamed the policies of the government... In particular... Bt cotton...with the inception of Bt cotton, input costs had gone high resulting in farmers falling into the debt trap...those wanting to cultivate non-Bt cotton were not able to do so. Bt cotton was pushing the farmers into the vicious cycle of debt and being unable to repay the debt due to decreasing earning farmers were under severe stress and developing a feeling of loss of their self-respect which was ultimately pushing them to commit suicide. ..<br /><br />“The committee also (met) widows who in the aftermath of their husband’s suicide were hard pressed to make ends meet. The villagers implored the committee to voice their request to the concerned central authorities to ban farming of Bt cotton in the country.” (my itals).<br /><br />Rural India does not have alternative employment opportunities for exhausted, demoralised debt-ridden farmers. In a culture where the watchword is ‘what will people think?’, it’s understandable that tens of thousands of farmers saw no other way out than to take their own lives...often, horrifically, by drinking the very pesticides used on their crops, in a painful and protracted death.<br /><br />For a fortunate minority, the switch to organic farming has been a lifeline. Farmers I met <a href="http:// changemediafilms.org">http:// changemediafilms.org</a> who had switched from conventionally farmed crops (mangos) to organic, were evangelical about how this was a life-saver. This litany of praise is repeated where ever farmers have taken up organic cultivation. Some describe chemical cotton farming as being ‘against the course of Nature’. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIuCT2C5sbo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIuCT2C5sbo</a><br /><br />Freed from getting into debt for expensive GMO seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, organic farmers are released from a chemical treadmill. Traditional farming methods and seeds, with an emphasis on sustainability and maintaining the quality of soil and water, give a healthier lifestyle and better income.<a href="http://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/what-we-do/cases/chetna-boosts-organic-cotton-india">http://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/what-we-do/cases/chetna-boosts-organic-cotton-india</a><br />
<br />This is the context in which Nukleus is operating. It’s a global issue, and consumers too have their part to play. We need to demand more organic cotton products, that don’t kill farmers, pollute ecosystems and contribute to global ecocide. We want nice clothes and to look good. But if the clothes we wear are stained in the blood of dead farmers, and our to-die-for fashion is killing streams, soil and animals, it’s hard to see how we can enjoy wearing them. <a href="http://www.ecouterre.com/japanese-firms-help-30000-cotton-farmers-in-india-switch-to-organic/">http://www.ecouterre.com/japanese-firms-help-30000-cotton-farmers-in-india-switch-to-organic/ </a><br /><br /><br /></div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-89899679709422901772013-06-11T17:30:00.002+08:002013-06-11T17:30:56.541+08:00THE TOXIC SOUP DRENCHING YOUR CLOTHES.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: red;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span></span></span><span style="background-color: red;"> <span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: #e06666;">10 FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NON ORGANIC (CHEMICAL) COTTON<span></span></span></span><br /><span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
1) Ordinary, non-organic cotton, is actually chemical cotton. At every stage in its lifecycle, huge amounts of toxic chemicals have been used, from GM seeds, to pesticides, to finishes on the fabric.<br />
<b>2)<a href="http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/2004-01-08/organic-cotton-growing-need-and-supply"> Harmful chemicals may be introduced at all stages of the production process,</a> including fibre processing, yarn spinning,yarn dyeing, fabric manufacture, garment manufacture, garment dyeing, and screen printing.</b><br />
3) The chemical residue of all the products used on chemical cotton cannot be entirely removed because most of the chemicals do not wash out.<br />
<b>4) These chemicals can shift from the clothes to our skin and into our bodies when clothes are worn where they can trigger rashes, allergies, and other, long-term, and serious conditions.</b><br />
5) The skin is the largest organ of the human body. Not only does it keep out bacteria, dirt and water out, it also lets things in - oxygen, sunlight, and chemicals - think moisturisers and other body-beautiful products. Less a wall, more like a wire fence, many medicines are specifically designed to be absorbed through the skin, from pain-relief plasters, to nicotine patches.<br />
<b>6) The chemicals being absorbed from fabrics by the skin include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioxins_and_dioxin-like_compounds">dioxin</a> - a known carcinogen and hormone disruptor. According to WHO (World Health Organisation) ‘Dioxins [are]considered highly toxic and able to cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer’.</b><br />
7)As well as being linked to infertility, decreased sperm count, menstrual problems, and birth defects, dioxins have been linked with diabetes and liver damage and damaging the body’s immune system.<br />
<b>8) Manufactured by US chemical TNCs (transnational corporations), Dow and Monsanto, (<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/monsanto-protesters-globe-rally-firm-genetically-modified-food-products-article-1.1355457">currently pushing for global acceptance of their GM seeds and crops</a>), dioxin was used (as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange">Agent Orange</a> ) in chemical warfare carried out by the US against Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War.</b><br />
9) Dioxin has been described as ‘perhaps the most toxic molecule ever synthesized by man’.<br />
<b>10) Dioxin accumulates in the body over time, adding to the <a href="http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/whatisbb.htm">toxic load/body burden </a>of artificial chemicals in the body over a lifetime. This is the ‘chemical cocktail which can cause kinds of illnesses, conditions and health impacts, from relatively mild to terminal.</b><br />
<b>11)</b> <i>B<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><span></span></span>ONUS FACT: dioxins are also concentrated in meat, dairy and fish products.</i></div>
pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-67512101247007198832013-05-27T16:35:00.001+08:002013-05-27T16:35:53.399+08:00HOW SAFE ARE OUR FACTORIES?<i><b>A month on from the Rana Plaza factory collapse,</b><b> Nukleus CEO CW Tan speaks about working conditions in the Nukleus partner factory in China.</b></i><br />
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<b>Cotton Story (CS) Following the collapse of the <a href="http://www.cleanclothes.org/action/current-actions/rana-plaza">Rana Plaza garment-making factory in Dhaka</a>, Bangladesh, with the death of over one thousand workers, many Nukleus customers would like to know more about how Nukleus innerwear is made...</b><br />
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<b>CW Tan (CWT)</b> First, let me extend my sincere condolences to all those tragically affected by the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/apr/25/bangladesh-building-collapse-death-toll-rises-video">Rana Plaza factory collapse</a>. It is horrific that in 2013 garments are still being made in conditions which endanger workers' lives.<br />
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However, there is pressure from buyers to keep costs down. The price of garments is falling in the US and European markets in the wake of the economic crisis. Some brands feel that to survive they put pressure on the supply chain (factories) to compromise on things they don't think are critical, like wages and working conditions. The owners know what's going on but take no action.<br />
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<b>CS Many people think of factories in China as being sweatshops. What is the Nukleus experience?</b><br />
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<b>CWT</b> China has a very large manufacturing base, from the lowest to the highest standards. Big brands source a lot from China, so the supply chain is there. We are very selective about the companies we deal with.<br />
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<b>CS How did you find your Chinese manufacturer?</b><br />
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<b>CWT </b>They have worked with us for a very long time. They supply the US and Europe and have a social and health element of accountability to international standards. We visit them at least once a year, and a partner visits them every month. Their standards follow <a href="http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/lang--en/index.htm">ILO (International Labor Organization)</a> conventions on minimum wages, hygiene, freedom to form unions. They also adhere to occupational health and safety management systems to ensure safe working conditions. And we try to educate them and share information, tell them how important these issues are.<br />
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<b>CS Doesn’t this conflict with profitability? Business is, after all, about the bottom line...</b><br />
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<b>CWT</b> Incidents like Rana Plaza have heightened consumer awareness. We must be forward thinking, and cannot be just short term. It’s part and parcel of our <b>brand values</b>. There’s no question at all. <u><i>We’re not going to Bangladesh even if it is 15-20% cheaper. Someone will pay for that - people, the environment - someone will pay.</i></u><br />
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<b>CS You mentioned international regulations. What about enforcement issues?</b><br />
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<b>CWT</b> I would like to see stricter enforcement. It can be costly for buyers to audit. Even brands like Levi’s face these issues, and we are a small brand. But the factory we work with is almost a partner, a virtual factory. They do 80% of our production and this imposes a lot of discipline on them. We can’t be 100% satisfied, but we’ve been working with them for over ten years. There’s room for improvement, and if I had my own way and resources permitted, I’d send in my own auditors.<br />
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<b>CS How does having a long-term relationship with the factory affect production?</b><br />
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<b>CWT</b> I know the factory manager, we communicate in Chinese, and send each other family greetings at Chinese New Year. We know the designers and the boss. They moved to a new factory last year and improved factory conditions a lot. They are definitely above average. They used to work a 7 day week, now it’s 6. <br />
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<b>CS What is your message to Nukleus customers about the way the garments are produced?</b><br />
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<b>CWT</b> Nukleus has a strong emphasis on <a href="http://www.nukleusshop.com/info_who_we_are.php?cPath=about_us">eco and conscience</a>. It’s all inter-related and this issue is relevant and more prominent now. We can’t claim we’re perfect, but we’re consciously aware and consciously working on all of this, Sustainability is a journey, with many stops on the supply chain road...from the dyeing factory, to the elastic producers, to the accessory makers. They’re all qualified in environmental aspects and also pay attention to social aspects. Increasingly global consumers demand more and this is definitely an area we want to further improve. We’re not perfect, but we’re not bad, so we’re reasonably happy.pamindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01726579765949851058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-70083850521788003212013-02-15T11:38:00.001+08:002013-02-22T10:35:35.543+08:00Cotton and Water<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On February 10, 2013, millions of people around the world celebrated Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year. It marked the beginning of the year of the Snake—<a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/433473/20130210/chinese-new-year-2013-snake-celebration-pictures.htm" target="_blank">the <i>Water</i> Snake</a>, to be exact. So we thought it good to write a post about water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To begin with, there’s lots of water on Earth. It covers around 70% of our planet. The problem is, an enormous proportion of that water is not useable: 97% is salty; and 2% is locked in ice or snow. That leaves us with around 1%. Out of that small quantity, 70% of is used for agriculture, including cotton production.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cotton is one of the thirstiest crops in the world. Scientists estimate that it takes an average of <a href="http://www.virtual-water.co.uk/virtual-water-footprint-everyday-items" target="_blank">2,700 litres of water to produce one cotton T-shirt</a>—that’s enough for a person to drink for 900 days! Not surprisingly, some countries have resorted to irrigation to sustain their cotton fields. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Irrigation can have serious consequences for the environment. Take Uzbekistan, a country in Central Asia. It has diverted water from rivers that feed the Aral Sea (an inland sea) to transform vast areas into cotton fields. The results are catastrophic. Today, almost 90% of the Sea is gone; ecosystems and the livelihoods dependent upon them have been destroyed. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://ejfoundation.org/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Environmental Justice Foundation</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in the UK writes: “[The] demise [of the Aral Sea] is one of the greatest ecological disasters in modern history, and it is </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">entirely human-made</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.”</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4zXJfnV_3dOaJX7hL6aMZObtnY39QXFjof4KaXGQgoLfgdKxFIhLfBa2a5rEUpekeoJt4SXLJFtTeaU72S2MtJz-Hcf3rEVH_4wdc12NYGlh6bysb6sZuSosCKuWz7doNgbsTlV23rCb/s1600/Aral+Sea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4zXJfnV_3dOaJX7hL6aMZObtnY39QXFjof4KaXGQgoLfgdKxFIhLfBa2a5rEUpekeoJt4SXLJFtTeaU72S2MtJz-Hcf3rEVH_4wdc12NYGlh6bysb6sZuSosCKuWz7doNgbsTlV23rCb/s400/Aral+Sea.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Contrast: Aral Sea in 1989 (left) and what's left of it in 2009 (right)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nukleus doesn’t buy its cotton from Uzbekistan. Besides, we use organic cotton, which requires less water to grow. Around 3,000 cubic metres per acre less, to be precise. How is this possible? Through environmentally friendly practices such as crop rotation and composting, organic farmers help to increase the amount of organic matter in the soil—this enhances the soil’s capacity to retain water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you love cotton and the environment, then choose organic cotton.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Watch this video to learn more about the situation in Uzbekistan</i>.</span><br />
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Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-77368493113778651602013-02-01T12:37:00.000+08:002013-02-18T16:45:00.205+08:00Part 3: Solutions; Chapter 2: The Beneficiaries<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maharashtra: a large, populous state in the west of India. It’s where Bombay is. Which means Maharashtra is the home of Bollywood, the heart of India’s film industry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s also the home of millions of cotton farmers. But our UK-based filmmaker friend Leah Borromeo calls it “India’s cotton suicide state.” (If you wish to know more about the suicides, please read our previous posts on the subject.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But all is not bleak in the western state. Take Jalgaon. Nicknamed “the banana capital of India” or simply “banana city,” it’s not surprisingly a key banana production area. At the same time, it produces a significant amount of cotton. Some farmers in Jalgaon have switched from conventional cotton farming to organic cotton farming; several have been at it since 2000. Why?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The short answer: survival. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We spoke with those who’ve made the switch and heard the same comment, farmer after farmer: “The costs of conventional farming kept on increasing; but soil health and yield kept on dropping. It was very difficult to make ends meet.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And for some reason, the remarks of 50 year-old Ramesh Patil stuck in our minds: “In the old days, I was always incurring losses. I was living hand to mouth.” We wondered, what would’ve happened if things hadn’t changed?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But things did change: Ramesh decided to go organic in 2005, with the help of the Morarka Foundation. He admitted that he was initially doubtful about his decision: would organic farming deliver the desired results? His doubts were soon dispelled. He told us: “I’ve witnessed with my own eyes the benefits of the organic inputs. Not only this, the Morarka Foundation has helped me get the best market price for my organic cotton and other organic produce. Year after year, the productivity of my land is increasing and now I am living a much better life.”</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5bPU7KGP3ChmMYBdDpdJObU0A_5MDBfb8-wQFBgccuycHntr6veF8eXB0_tr8CFeyrk8CrlwqE4T8Uj2gM3tvavqnj7ErqstsjxwviGELe3MtDfCq-F_Ad0euTAaqlBjPHPDKXlEpWnp/s1600/Ramesh+and+Family+in+Their+Cotton+Fields.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5bPU7KGP3ChmMYBdDpdJObU0A_5MDBfb8-wQFBgccuycHntr6veF8eXB0_tr8CFeyrk8CrlwqE4T8Uj2gM3tvavqnj7ErqstsjxwviGELe3MtDfCq-F_Ad0euTAaqlBjPHPDKXlEpWnp/s400/Ramesh+and+Family+in+Their+Cotton+Fields.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ramesh and family in their cotton field</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oO9Gw1dNmm9cqtYqC63TrkD0IOy5FlHgjVj7N0IEG7G1L8NUfRklrIRkaHaFdLL_9sNlAXx4m7s_ACynSjDhVo4cdkN3d3RAFAtqjCAuAgicKf20W33YZ4aFIoQhIEi3A5vEoTySNiZ0/s1600/Ramesh+and+His+Other+Organic+Produce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oO9Gw1dNmm9cqtYqC63TrkD0IOy5FlHgjVj7N0IEG7G1L8NUfRklrIRkaHaFdLL_9sNlAXx4m7s_ACynSjDhVo4cdkN3d3RAFAtqjCAuAgicKf20W33YZ4aFIoQhIEi3A5vEoTySNiZ0/s400/Ramesh+and+His+Other+Organic+Produce.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ramesh and family and their other organic produce</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ramesh’s success story isn’t an isolated one. There’re also the stories of Kailash, Sunil, Atul and many others. They’re all living better lives because of organic farming. And because of the Morarka Foundation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nukleus is proud to be associated with the Foundation. We hope our collaboration will improve the lives of many more Indian farmers.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUDQAkQYXyxj94cXyKIztzcIlvZDBqWdwzFC5zIdzI94jNV5ZXODCC_oY0B5TA9C22sNQ2JPS5lBCP1BulrQFWHFOsrISoPKzrSZ2dnwwERsZw9mCK_D-nNJ6VsolHZXk1wJbkf-GrFuU/s1600/Ramesh+and+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUDQAkQYXyxj94cXyKIztzcIlvZDBqWdwzFC5zIdzI94jNV5ZXODCC_oY0B5TA9C22sNQ2JPS5lBCP1BulrQFWHFOsrISoPKzrSZ2dnwwERsZw9mCK_D-nNJ6VsolHZXk1wJbkf-GrFuU/s400/Ramesh+and+Family.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ramesh and family and their farm animals</span></td></tr>
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Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-80036165813934445782013-01-23T16:00:00.002+08:002013-02-15T11:40:54.066+08:00Part 3: Solutions; Chapter 1: The Foundation<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the final quarter of 2012, we publicly announced a major shift in our sourcing policy. Specifically, we decided to source 100% of our organic cotton from India’s Morarka Organic. This entity is backed by the Morarka Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of Indian farmers through organic agriculture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Foundation was set up in 1994 by Mr. Kamal Morarka, one of India’s leading philanthropists. Since day one of its establishment, its aim has been to create wealth for India’s communities “through innovations in resource management and capacity building.”</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OeBmclsorlXFIU2Er4MGjj_7UleIxCeUp0eet19Ul4JKDJnSSvYk4__nVUEcLuJW0ALJrrf0odBwpuBBqeepZ_cOnPwqjSnMN4QeQ4Cm3t98YK34QohuuEwKCUJLQAGtsnUPh9y71oIl/s1600/Mr+Kamal+Morarka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OeBmclsorlXFIU2Er4MGjj_7UleIxCeUp0eet19Ul4JKDJnSSvYk4__nVUEcLuJW0ALJrrf0odBwpuBBqeepZ_cOnPwqjSnMN4QeQ4Cm3t98YK34QohuuEwKCUJLQAGtsnUPh9y71oIl/s400/Mr+Kamal+Morarka.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Kamal Morarka, front row, to the lady's left</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Foundation is known for its cutting-edge work in the following areas:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Research and development of vermiculture (i.e. composting using earthworms)</b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">It collaborated with local farmers and invented the windrows method of vermiculture. This method is now utilised in over 90% of the world’s production of vermiculture.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">It has also succeeded in increasing the nutrients in vermiculture, thereby reducing the cost of applications (per hectare of land) and making vermiculture one of the most economically viable organic inputs in the world.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Production of vermiculture</span></h4>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">It runs the single largest vermiculture production programme in the world, boasting an annual production capacity of 7 million metric tonnes of vermicast.</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnmO0HcNR_-YWHDIo0MY3H6iPBQInfo0AIWyCX9qaDt5VcqLQCDF8fGrAq969eA-_h98AL_COaqdSuyTph6Xizazx3Gxo_Kp4IkwMP1_tLEzz80xZ5Qrm_2gMulgAOyRjBALaIQveT3NW/s1600/Worms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnmO0HcNR_-YWHDIo0MY3H6iPBQInfo0AIWyCX9qaDt5VcqLQCDF8fGrAq969eA-_h98AL_COaqdSuyTph6Xizazx3Gxo_Kp4IkwMP1_tLEzz80xZ5Qrm_2gMulgAOyRjBALaIQveT3NW/s400/Worms.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vermiculture: Composting using earthworms</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Development of probiotics for fertility and pest management in agriculture</b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was the first to identify, isolate and extract primary and secondary plant metabolites from over 30 agriculture products; these metabolites are then used as on-farm fertility and pest management inputs.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not surprisingly, the Foundation is widely recognised as a thought leader in sustainable agriculture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moreover, all its know-how is worth money. The Foundation is, however, strongly against the patenting of its technologies. Its stance: they are for the common good and must be shared. Hence, these technologies remain open-source and anyone can use them. In fact, the Foundation actively disseminates these technologies to the Indian farming community and others.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Additionally, the Foundation acquires the community’s organic produce through Morarka Organic using Fair Trade prices, principles and practices. In other words, it is an organization that doesn’t leave the farmers hanging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today, the Foundation is helping to improve the lives of approximately 250,000 farming families in 15 Indian states—this is possibly the world’s single largest organic agriculture development and support programme. Nukleus hopes to increase this number significantly through its collaboration with Morarka Organic. We also hope that you will support the farmers by buying and wearing organic cotton. The more organic cotton we use, the more farmers we can persuade to switch to organic farming.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXguHiQ2za1XKU8XlzE9oqY-cuTvHgX9jNzTM_S8GGM-Gx_N_Mqp1c8lMbmhn0Wzb7_84IIdj8QcoYtXiiR2cPYSHZK8WZGkYPFQP98UC7gznHsYq4Tpk8WoEEQpXE6CJThjAC2xULP1ZW/s1600/Beneficiary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXguHiQ2za1XKU8XlzE9oqY-cuTvHgX9jNzTM_S8GGM-Gx_N_Mqp1c8lMbmhn0Wzb7_84IIdj8QcoYtXiiR2cPYSHZK8WZGkYPFQP98UC7gznHsYq4Tpk8WoEEQpXE6CJThjAC2xULP1ZW/s400/Beneficiary.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beneficiaries of the Foundation's programme</td></tr>
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Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-61649601395330020612013-01-15T13:15:00.001+08:002013-01-31T18:01:44.479+08:00Part 2: Pesticides; Chapter 3: India and Leah<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The pesticide problem is big and pervasive. How do we address it? Where do we start?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Clearly, a lot of people need help. We wish we could help everyone. But realistically, we can’t. At times we wish we were a big company with vast resources, so that we can do more. We’re just not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still, we want to help—it’s the right thing to do. But because of the constraints we face, we have to make a choice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made ours last year: We decided to help the cotton farmers of India. Specifically, we’ve decided to source 100% of our organic cotton from India’s Morarka Organic which is backed by the Morarka Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of Indian farmers through organic agriculture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It wasn’t a decision that was made lightly. Indeed, we thought long and hard about it. One of the factors that tipped the scale was that India is home to the world’s largest cotton farming community—with around 17 million farmers. So we thought: India is the place where the positive impact of organic cotton farming can be felt most strongly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The viewpoints of others have reinforced the feeling that we’ve made the right decision. One such viewpoint is that of Leah Borromeo. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leah is a UK-based filmmaker and journalist. We were introduced to her by Keith Tyrell, the Director of <a href="http://www.pan-uk.org/" target="_blank">Pesticide Action Network UK</a>. (PAN UK is the organisation that made the Benin video which we highlighted in our last post.)</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1TaVu9TTnANWGK7x-ZrfQPjpCIJycF6asD90G7YR34arhSDfyi2D-9TvnYDIpagEjc5TS3as9IPHa6fuI5Bmlk6mlbfcpin4JyWaRKA-xB73ZeqD9sKoLWtI8SK9UUJmcOelXrcO9CsG/s1600/Leah+in+India.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1TaVu9TTnANWGK7x-ZrfQPjpCIJycF6asD90G7YR34arhSDfyi2D-9TvnYDIpagEjc5TS3as9IPHa6fuI5Bmlk6mlbfcpin4JyWaRKA-xB73ZeqD9sKoLWtI8SK9UUJmcOelXrcO9CsG/s320/Leah+in+India.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leah in action in India</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A couple of years back, Leah made a short film called “</span><a href="http://vimeo.com/8635581" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Dirty White Gold</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.” In it, she brought to the fore India’s suicide crisis. We still remember her haunting narration: “Up to 7 people a day kill themselves by drinking the very pesticides that drove them to their desperate act.” Why?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pesticides are expensive—they can make up 60% of the cotton production costs. But the farmers of India are willing to go heavily into debt to buy them, because they’ve been told that their crops can’t thrive without them. The reality is, however, this: crop protection is merely one of several success factors; there are other factors, such as weather, which is unpredictable; and the absence of even one can lead to crop failure. When that happens, the farmers can’t settle their debts. A painful decision is then made: some choose to go to jail; some choose to end their lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cotton farmers of India need help. As far as we know, it’s the only country with an ongoing “farmer suicide epidemic.” Which is why we’re doing what we’re doing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today, <a href="http://www.ecouterre.com/dirty-white-gold-journalist-leah-borromeo-talks-gm-cotton-farmer-suicides" target="_blank">Leah is on a mission</a>—she wants to make ethics and sustainability in the fashion industry the norm, not the exception, by making the supply chain transparent. She is currently “<a href="http://www.sponsume.com/project/cotton-film-dirty-white-gold" target="_blank">crowdfunding</a>” to enlarge the Dirty White Gold project. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leah has an important message for the world. Let’s support her and help her spread it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>You can support Leah financially at </i><i style="line-height: 115%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.sponsume.com/project/cotton-film-dirty-white-gold" style="line-height: 115%;">www.sponsume.com/project/cotton-film-dirty-white-gold</a></span></i><i>. Any and every contribution helps.</i></span><br />
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<br />Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-27425793504456202422012-12-27T19:14:00.002+08:002013-02-01T11:45:31.670+08:00Part 2: Pesticides; Chapter 2: Benin<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Benin is a West African nation. It’s sandwiched between Nigeria in the east and Togo in the west. It’s highly dependent on cotton—the crop accounts for 40% of the country’s GDP. It’s no surprise, then, that many Beninese are involved in cotton production.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Modachirou Inoussa is a young Beninese. Although he’s only eight years old, he’s already helping his parents in the cotton fields. One day, Modachirou runs back to his home, feeling thirsty. Finding nothing to drink, he sets off to look for his parents. Along the way, he finds an empty container. He picks it up, scoops some water, and has a drink. Modachirou does not return home that evening. A search party later finds his body next to a pesticide container—the same container used to quench his thirst.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Issaka is another Beninese. He’s an adult with four children, aged between six and eight. One August day, Issaka treats his cotton field with pesticide. After a hard day’s work, he returns to his home. He then does a curious thing: he leaves his work clothes on the roof. His action suggests that he’s aware of the dangers of pesticides—he’s keeping his “poisonous clothing” away from his children. Alas, Issaka’s precautionary measure fails him. It rains that night; and the water passes through his clothes and drips into his household vessels. The next day, his children drink from the vessels. Several minutes later, they begin to experience headaches, nausea and convulsions. They are urgently sent to a health centre where they are treated with Diazepam, glucose serum and oxygen. The treatment is, however, ineffective. All four of the children pass away within the next 20 hours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What you’ve just read are true stories. They’re heartbreaking. And they’re not confined to Benin. Moreover, such poisoning-related deaths affect not only children but also adults. Every year, up to 77 million cotton workers suffer from pesticide poisoning—and thousands eventually die.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will you not do something to help?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Note: You can learn more about the situation in Benin by watching these videos:</i></span><br />
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Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-11389186656570131722012-12-14T09:01:00.000+08:002013-02-01T11:46:34.963+08:00Part 2: Pesticides; Chapter 1: Pesticides 101<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">99% of the world’s cotton is conventionally grown. This fact has serious
implications for you and for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You see, conventional cotton farming allows the use of synthetic agrochemicals,
some of which are very harmful. This post is about pesticides, a type of
agrochemical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pesticides are substances used for destroying insects or other organisms
harmful to cotton. There are three major pesticide classes: Insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides. You will note that
all these words end with the letters “cides”. Whenever a word ends with these
five letters, that particular word is connected with killing. Sure enough, insecticides
kill insects, herbicides kill weeds, and fungicides kill spores.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is there a problem with the killing? Well, there isn’t any if the
chemicals kill only pests. Unfortunately, they don’t.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Azh0trGNwl5AE_ZjvXFyRYT8nSuLS5B4vfEAzH7ZN-_KMujCW46FeyoBCfMlL4cv6U2riWGrYzD1WENH7RVfKAHj6ievtA7s_GhBBka5P1g1fZp2lCsxTAOGYPOAjKBZh4mhJqtyAbvi/s1600/Hazardous+Pesticides.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Azh0trGNwl5AE_ZjvXFyRYT8nSuLS5B4vfEAzH7ZN-_KMujCW46FeyoBCfMlL4cv6U2riWGrYzD1WENH7RVfKAHj6ievtA7s_GhBBka5P1g1fZp2lCsxTAOGYPOAjKBZh4mhJqtyAbvi/s400/Hazardous+Pesticides.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check out the protective gear: Pesticides <i>are</i> harmful</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They can kill humans:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> A single drop of aldicarb, the second most-used insecticide in global
cotton production, is enough to kill an adult.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And they can kill in more ways than
one. For example, the improper disposal of unused or expired pesticides and the
use of empty pesticide containers for other purposes (e.g. drinking) have
caused the deaths of humans, including children.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In short, pesticides are dangerous.
Yet they are being used excessively. Cotton occupies only about 2.5% of the
world’s farmland but is responsible for the release of 16% of the world’s
insecticides—far more than any other single crop. In 2010 alone, more than 3 </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">billion
US dollars worth of pesticides were used on conventional cotton. What’s shocking
about these chemical applications is that nearly half of them (in value terms) are
toxic enough to be classified as hazardous by the World Health Organisation. These facts have earned cotton the
epithet “the world’s dirtiest crop”.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sadly, there’s a big human cost to
pesticide use. Every year, up to 77 million cotton workers suffer from
pesticide poisoning; some eventually perish.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In our next post, we will tell
you a couple of stories that took place in a country called Benin. They’re
tragic. And they will make you think long and hard about pesticides. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-8713797281755388572012-12-06T17:14:00.000+08:002013-01-31T18:04:36.885+08:00Part 1: GMOs, Chapter 3: Hope <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">India is facing a suicide crisis. The circumstances are dark. Yet no situation is ever hopeless. As someone has said, “out of difficulties grow miracles.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYEhUvbfFAUyNILKgsdaj1_Psgf6pjKSjZiLI6GigA1BjLF5XVBmBHZAQyiOFYnem-RQqYvCVH-VdVGTmay7r5WHTjx53Qc_bsH9nQb91N7YSPyFwZ-CUlNFp0IgCV9tfAW2Ubr720T3U/s1600/Hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYEhUvbfFAUyNILKgsdaj1_Psgf6pjKSjZiLI6GigA1BjLF5XVBmBHZAQyiOFYnem-RQqYvCVH-VdVGTmay7r5WHTjx53Qc_bsH9nQb91N7YSPyFwZ-CUlNFp0IgCV9tfAW2Ubr720T3U/s400/Hope.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope by Radu Dan</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A number of non-governmental organisations, both local and foreign, are taking steps to address the crisis. Their solution: Organic cotton farming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Organic farming is often badly misunderstood. It’s not a throwback to the good old days, doing things our grandfather’s way. Granted, it’s similar in some respects to traditional farming. For example, organic farming strictly prohibits the use of genetically modified seeds and synthetic agrochemicals, both relatively recent inventions. Despite the similarities, there are substantial differences. Organic farming is knowledge-intensive and supported by current and solid science. To maximise crop quality and yield, organic farmers have to understand issues like soil fertility and insect life. So the NGOs are transferring organic agriculture know-what and know-how to the Indian farming community.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With zero GMOs and agrochemicals, organic cotton farming can help save lives. What’s more, it can give farmers a better quality of life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the NGOs can’t achieve their objectives alone. We have to “help” them. You see, someone’s got to buy the organic cotton produced by the farmers. That’s us consumers. In fact, the more we buy, the more farmers the NGOs can persuade to switch to organic farming. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We’re nearing the end of the year. For some of us, it’s time to make New Year’s resolutions. We hope that buying and wearing organic cotton clothing will be one of your goals for 2013.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The environmentalist Anna Lappé is spot on: “Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what kind of world do you want? Will you give hope to the farmers of India in 2013? </span><br />
<div>
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Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-31615328673675986392012-11-26T12:21:00.002+08:002013-01-31T17:58:48.639+08:00Part 1: GMOs, Chapter 2: The “Bitter Seeds”<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A cotton farmer rides a brand new motorcycle home. His children are thrilled: “Dad, Dad, is it ours?” Their excitement, however, dissipates almost instantaneously. “Will it still be around next year?” they glumly add. The farmer proudly declares: “Next year, it’ll be a car!”</i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s a scene from a real Indian TV ad. To us, motorcycles and automobiles aren't a big deal—they’re everywhere. But things are different in rural India. In that part of the world, they’re luxuries. Which means the farmer in the ad has made it. And he’s confident he’ll make it big time the following year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you’re poor and desperate and you see that ad or something similar, chances are you’d want to try whatever the ad’s offering. That’s exactly the outcome—thousands upon thousands of farmers have bought genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds, the subject of the advertisement. In fact, the marketing of GM seeds has been so effective that today, a multinational biotechnology company is said to control 95% of India’s cotton seed market, and more than 80% of the country’s cotton-growing areas are grown with GM cotton. But do the seeds really work?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/A_bag_of_cotton_seeds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/A_bag_of_cotton_seeds.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bag of cotton seeds<br />
Photo courtesy of Thamizhpparithi Maari</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seeds are seeds. They alone can’t guarantee a good harvest. Other success factors, such as water and soil fertility, are essential. Indeed, the product literature states that the seeds can deliver the desired results only if they are protected by expensive pesticides and watered and fertilized according to precise timetables. But many of the GM seed customers can’t afford to do that. They’re smallholders with rain-fed fields (i.e. no irrigation). Furthermore, GM seeds are non-renewable. They are sterile by design. Which means the farmers must renew their supply every year. An old-timer tells Manjusha Amberwar, the aspiring journalist in the previous chapter: “We saved seeds in our farms. There was never a question of paying for the seeds.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reality is this: India’s big, wealthy farms can succeed with GM seeds; the resource-poor majority can’t.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But nobody told the impoverished and illiterate farmers that. They’re only told a dream. They’re not told its true cost. And in the pursuit of their dreams, many smallholders go heavily into debt. And when dreams and reality collide, casualties are inevitable. The farmer-suicide crisis in the previous chapter is a case in point.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can the farmers return to traditional farming, using non-GM seeds? It’ll be difficult. Because of the predominance of GM seeds, the public and private sectors have mostly withdrawn from the production of non-GM seeds. As a result, there is now a critical shortage of conventional seeds. Today, in communities like Manjusha’s, it’s practically impossible to buy anything but GM seeds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is the situation then completely hopeless? No, it isn't. Stay tuned to find out where hope can come from.</span>Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-29465396958414257612012-11-19T12:59:00.000+08:002013-01-31T17:55:57.663+08:00Part 1: GMOs, Chapter 1: Manjusha<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Manjusha Amberwar is an 18-year-old girl.
She’s from Telung Takli, a tiny and remote village in Vidarbha. Known as the
“White Gold Belt of [the Indian state of] Maharashtra,” Vidarbha is a key cotton
production area.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Manjusha’s dream is to become a
journalist. Her family are, however, against it. They say she’s not following
tradition. But Manjusha’s mind is made up. She believes she has a mission, which
is to tell the world about the farmers’ predicament. She adds: “Three farmers
in my village killed themselves…I’m investigating why they did it.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The suicides are part of a larger crisis.
In August 2012, the Indian Parliament was told that there were 290,740 farmer
suicides during 1995 – 2011. That translates into 17,102 suicides per year. At
one point during that time, it got as bad as one suicide in every 30 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The situation is simply tragic. Which
is why Manjusha feels compelled to tell the farmers’ stories. But something
else is also driving her—her father was one of the many Indian cotton farmers
who have committed suicide.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HhLQT5kWE5mZmOcOGafBLeI-gzTIRJNYGu532sE6jGq17S1onrgPlcIYNTSLTcaytGki_S0KaWHCrXrJoVZ5SBRmWQkMFa_TlHtNhx5P6gMBvzjcz4-GL4b5_GDgUaZdFJ0buyc8vo3p/s1600/Manjusha+%2528Left%2529+and+Her+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HhLQT5kWE5mZmOcOGafBLeI-gzTIRJNYGu532sE6jGq17S1onrgPlcIYNTSLTcaytGki_S0KaWHCrXrJoVZ5SBRmWQkMFa_TlHtNhx5P6gMBvzjcz4-GL4b5_GDgUaZdFJ0buyc8vo3p/s320/Manjusha+%2528Left%2529+and+Her+Family.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Manjusha (left) and her family</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
suicides are, however, a rather recent phenomenon. An old-timer informs
Manjusha: “In my time, there were no suicides. Even poor people could survive
by working hard.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So something must have changed. What
is it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the course of her investigation, Manjusha
discovers that her village no longer employs traditional agricultural
practices. One big change is the cotton seeds. Specifically, the villagers are
now using genetically modified cotton seeds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But why did they change? And are the
seeds linked to the suicides?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stay tuned to find out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB"><i>Note: You can learn more about Manjusha by viewing the award-winning documentary, </i>Bitter<i> </i>Seeds.<i> The trailer is available
at</i> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlyhjp_bitter-seeds-trailer_shortfilms">www.dailymotion.com/video/xlyhjp_bitter-seeds-trailer_shortfilms</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404255813358980524.post-87067308292278469112012-11-12T15:29:00.001+08:002013-01-31T17:56:22.377+08:00Welcome to www.thecottonstory.com<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;">Hello. Thank you for visiting </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><a href="http://www.thecottonstory.com/">www.thecottonstory.com</a>.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although it’s called “The Cotton Story”, our blog is really about people. Real people. People whose lives have been impacted by cotton production. The impacts can be deadly. And you should know about them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But first, you should know that cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. Nearly 60% is used as yarn and threads in a wide range of clothing, including underwear and undershirts. This translates into an industry that is worth many billions of dollars. Without a doubt, you and I love to wear cotton, pure or blended.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Second, you should know that 99% of the world’s cotton is produced conventionally. Conventional cotton production allows the use of toxic and persistent synthetic agrochemicals (e.g. insecticides and herbicides) and genetically modified cotton seeds. It is the use of those things that is producing the harmful impacts, whether directly or indirectly.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Through our posts, you will find out what those impacts are. You will also discover what people on and off the farms are doing to address them. Finally, you will learn what you can do to help minimize or eliminate them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We hope you will continue with us on this journey.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: no;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Team Nukleus</span></span></div>
Team Nukleushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07414216411983741903noreply@blogger.com0