March 30, 2009
Source: Xinhua
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping Monday called for innovation in nurturing and selecting young cadres.
"The training and selecting young cadres is of great importance for the lasting stability of the Party and the state," said Xi at a national panel discussion on the issue.
Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called on Party committees at all levels to explore new ways to ensure the healthy growth of a generation of young cadres.
He said the work of training and selecting of young cadres deserved continuous attention, given the succession of old cadres by the new and their cooperation was an unending process.
He urged Party committees to educate young cadres with Marxist theories to improve their theoretical attainment.
"The education of ideal and conviction is a fundamental task," he said. The young cadres should be guided and helped in fortifying their conviction in socialism with Chinese characteristics.
He also called for Party committees to enhance the education of Party spirit among young cadres and strengthen the cultivation of their morality, stressing the education of loyalty and resisting corruption.
Xi said young cadres should be encouraged to temper themselves at the grass-roots level positions.
"The promising ones should be sent to the places featuring harsh conditions."
Monday, March 30, 2009
Hangzhou hands out coupons to subsidize education
2009-03-29
Source: China Daily
On Friday Hangzhou in east China began to distribute more than 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) in coupons to help financially-stricken students or workers pay for academic education or vocational training in an effort to better prepare them for competition in the tightening job market.
Potential beneficiaries for coupons in the scenic city of Zhejiang province include fresh graduates from universities in Hangzhou, local students in Hangzhou universities and school-age children of migrant workers. Each coupon has a face value of 100 yuan and a receiver may get 300-2,000 yuan.
A senior Hangzhou official explained that the objective for the coupon plan was to help students and workers improve their academic credentials and professional skills to better compete in the fierce job market.
“We are handing out coupons with the hope to subsidize college education for the financially-disadvantaged students, who can use the coupons to pay part of their tuition. Meanwhile, we want to help workers in Hangzhou boost their educational levels or vocational skills,” said Sun Zhenzhou, deputy secretary-general of Hangzhou city government in the provincial capital.
About 100,000 fresh graduates in 47 universities are entitled to five coupons, or 500 yuan, per person. College students from low income families in Hangzhou will receive 2,000 yuan and children of migrant workers will get 300 yuan, both of which can only be used to pay tuition.
Permanent urban residents who take vocational training courses and manage to get certificates can receive 500 yuan. However, taking the “dual-certificate system” courses for both professional credentials and academic certificates means 1,200 yuan each. Residents with no high school education can also have 1,700 yuan if they apply for such training.
The education coupons carry real names of receivers and are instructed to be used in designated educational institutions.
The first 114 institutions designated for academic education included the Hangzhou Normal University and the first 72 institutions for vocational training included the Zhejiang Training Center for Employment. Courses are provided in 86 kinds of positions, including lathe men, electricians and software programmers.
The coupons are valid from April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
Source: China Daily
On Friday Hangzhou in east China began to distribute more than 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) in coupons to help financially-stricken students or workers pay for academic education or vocational training in an effort to better prepare them for competition in the tightening job market.
Potential beneficiaries for coupons in the scenic city of Zhejiang province include fresh graduates from universities in Hangzhou, local students in Hangzhou universities and school-age children of migrant workers. Each coupon has a face value of 100 yuan and a receiver may get 300-2,000 yuan.
A senior Hangzhou official explained that the objective for the coupon plan was to help students and workers improve their academic credentials and professional skills to better compete in the fierce job market.
“We are handing out coupons with the hope to subsidize college education for the financially-disadvantaged students, who can use the coupons to pay part of their tuition. Meanwhile, we want to help workers in Hangzhou boost their educational levels or vocational skills,” said Sun Zhenzhou, deputy secretary-general of Hangzhou city government in the provincial capital.
About 100,000 fresh graduates in 47 universities are entitled to five coupons, or 500 yuan, per person. College students from low income families in Hangzhou will receive 2,000 yuan and children of migrant workers will get 300 yuan, both of which can only be used to pay tuition.
Permanent urban residents who take vocational training courses and manage to get certificates can receive 500 yuan. However, taking the “dual-certificate system” courses for both professional credentials and academic certificates means 1,200 yuan each. Residents with no high school education can also have 1,700 yuan if they apply for such training.
The education coupons carry real names of receivers and are instructed to be used in designated educational institutions.
The first 114 institutions designated for academic education included the Hangzhou Normal University and the first 72 institutions for vocational training included the Zhejiang Training Center for Employment. Courses are provided in 86 kinds of positions, including lathe men, electricians and software programmers.
The coupons are valid from April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
E China city to launch second coupon package
2009-02-24
Source: Xinhua
The government of Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, is planning to release a second batch of purchasing coupons in April to further boost the city's consumption, said an official on Tuesday.
Hangzhou earlier distributed 100 million yuan (about US$14.28 million) in coupons to low-income citizens in January, prior to Chinese lunar new year.
Wang Guoping, secretary of the city's Committee of the Communist Party of China, said this 600 million worth yuan worth of coupons will be used in sectors including tourism, social security, and education which the government wants most to boost.
However, the first batch of coupons distributed, which came from the city's financial department, have raised doubts about the legality of the government using money in coupons, and whether the coupon distribution would upset the city's economic balance.
Wang said that having taken the above doubts into consideration, the city government is considering encouraging citizens to subscribe to the second batch of coupons with their after-tax salary.
Quake-hit Chengdu in the southwest and the eastern city of Nanjing last month gave low-income residents coupons for shopping and entertainment.
These programs are part of a larger national effort to boost domestic consumption in response to the impact of the global economic downturn.
Source: Xinhua
The government of Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, is planning to release a second batch of purchasing coupons in April to further boost the city's consumption, said an official on Tuesday.
Hangzhou earlier distributed 100 million yuan (about US$14.28 million) in coupons to low-income citizens in January, prior to Chinese lunar new year.
Wang Guoping, secretary of the city's Committee of the Communist Party of China, said this 600 million worth yuan worth of coupons will be used in sectors including tourism, social security, and education which the government wants most to boost.
However, the first batch of coupons distributed, which came from the city's financial department, have raised doubts about the legality of the government using money in coupons, and whether the coupon distribution would upset the city's economic balance.
Wang said that having taken the above doubts into consideration, the city government is considering encouraging citizens to subscribe to the second batch of coupons with their after-tax salary.
Quake-hit Chengdu in the southwest and the eastern city of Nanjing last month gave low-income residents coupons for shopping and entertainment.
These programs are part of a larger national effort to boost domestic consumption in response to the impact of the global economic downturn.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
World Bank cuts China GDP estimate again, to 6.5%
March 18, 2009
Source: MarketWatch
The World Bank has cut China's gross domestic product estimate for 2009 to 6.5% -- a forecast that falls below the mainland's own projection of an 8% expansion this year.
In its latest view of the Chinese economy released Wednesday, the World Bank said the exports from the mainland "have been hit badly" in the wake of the global financial turmoil, affecting the country's manufacturing sector.
The global monetary authority's latest view on the Chinese economy follows recent downgrades of its projections for global GDP growth and imports in 2009. In November, the World Bank had cut China's 2009 GDP estimate to 7.5% from 9.2%.
China's economic growth slowed to 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the year-earlier period, capping full-year growth to 9%, preliminary figures showed in January. In 2007, the economy ballooned 13%.
The World Bank revision comes barely a week after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the country could achieve the 8% growth target this year, helped by the strength of its domestic market and the government's economic stimulus measures.
David Dollar, World Bank's country director for China wrote in a statement that mainland was "a relative bright spot in an otherwise gloomy global economy."
"Shifting China's output from exports to domestic needs helps to provide immediate stimulus while laying the foundation for more sustainable growth in the future," Dollar wrote.
Data released earlier this month showed that Chinese exports tumbled 25.7% to $64.8 billion in February from the year-earlier period, underscoring the impact of the weakening global demand for Chinese goods and services amid an economic downturn.
Still, other official figures showed strong bank lending and an increase in February fixed-asset investments, reflecting efforts by the Chinese government to support the economy by introducing various measures to boost spending and to encourage banks to make loans to domestic companies.
Louis Kuijs, a senior economist and the main author of the World Bank report, said the somewhat lower growth wasn't likely to jeopardize China's economy or social stability, "especially not if the adverse consequences of the downturn for employment and people's livelihoods can be limited through the social safety net, preferably combined with education and training."
The Chinese stock markets were largely unmoved by the World Bank report, with the Shanghai Composite Index recently rising 0.5% to 2,228.21, while the Shenzhen All Share Index gained 1.1% to 737.74.
Source: MarketWatch
The World Bank has cut China's gross domestic product estimate for 2009 to 6.5% -- a forecast that falls below the mainland's own projection of an 8% expansion this year.
In its latest view of the Chinese economy released Wednesday, the World Bank said the exports from the mainland "have been hit badly" in the wake of the global financial turmoil, affecting the country's manufacturing sector.
The global monetary authority's latest view on the Chinese economy follows recent downgrades of its projections for global GDP growth and imports in 2009. In November, the World Bank had cut China's 2009 GDP estimate to 7.5% from 9.2%.
China's economic growth slowed to 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the year-earlier period, capping full-year growth to 9%, preliminary figures showed in January. In 2007, the economy ballooned 13%.
The World Bank revision comes barely a week after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the country could achieve the 8% growth target this year, helped by the strength of its domestic market and the government's economic stimulus measures.
David Dollar, World Bank's country director for China wrote in a statement that mainland was "a relative bright spot in an otherwise gloomy global economy."
"Shifting China's output from exports to domestic needs helps to provide immediate stimulus while laying the foundation for more sustainable growth in the future," Dollar wrote.
Data released earlier this month showed that Chinese exports tumbled 25.7% to $64.8 billion in February from the year-earlier period, underscoring the impact of the weakening global demand for Chinese goods and services amid an economic downturn.
Still, other official figures showed strong bank lending and an increase in February fixed-asset investments, reflecting efforts by the Chinese government to support the economy by introducing various measures to boost spending and to encourage banks to make loans to domestic companies.
Louis Kuijs, a senior economist and the main author of the World Bank report, said the somewhat lower growth wasn't likely to jeopardize China's economy or social stability, "especially not if the adverse consequences of the downturn for employment and people's livelihoods can be limited through the social safety net, preferably combined with education and training."
The Chinese stock markets were largely unmoved by the World Bank report, with the Shanghai Composite Index recently rising 0.5% to 2,228.21, while the Shenzhen All Share Index gained 1.1% to 737.74.
Time to nurture, educate migrant workers
2009-03-21
Source: China Daily
China should act now to "strategically and thoroughly" reexamine the policies for millions of migrant workers who are unemployed due to the economic crisis, said a leading policy maker.
Liu He, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economy, said the need of the hour is to provide occupational training and education for the migrant workers.
"This is not just about employment but also something that has severe social implications," Liu told China Daily in an exclusive interview on Friday.
"If we do not tackle the problems of migrant workers in right earnest, the economic upgradation efforts may languish," he said.
China has recently unveiled the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package and 10 other programs to help industrial sectors combat the crisis. "We need millions of skilled workers to translate the programs on paper into reality and hone the competitiveness of the industrial and manufacturing sectors," said Liu.
The shortage of skilled workers has, however, been a major problem for China for some time now, he said.
Millions of workers who used to earn their livelihood by producing export goods at the coastal factories have found themselves jobless as many factories closed down due to the crisis. On a rough estimate nearly 20 million workers have become unemployed due to the crisis.
The main problem for many migrant workers is that they do not have adequate funds for farming or to start small businesses back in their hometowns.
"If we don't take the labor problem seriously, it could lead to severe employment and social problems," Liu warned.
He said in the short term, the employment problem could be cushioned if the government is able to channel some of the jobless migrants back to their homes and encourage them to start farming by offering subsidies and professional training.
This is imperative as many of the migrant workers may find it difficult to get their old jobs back as consumers across the world are becoming thriftier and trade protectionism is on the rise. Many of the factories in China are also facing the piquant situation of production capacities far surpassing demand.
"This makes it hard to open new factories and create more jobs," he said.
"In the long run, if we have to solve China's migrant problem, we should look for strategic arrangements," said Liu.
"The strategic arrangement should focus on revamping China's industry and income distribution policy," said Liu.
The government should continue to support labor-intensive industries and increase domestic consumption to create more jobs for migrants.
In addition, migrants should be given urban household registration rights and the same social welfare as city residents. China's urbanization rate is around 45 percent and annually, about 230 million migrants are moving between cities and their rural homes.
In his work report to the National People's Congress in early March, Premier Wen Jiabao said the government would take quick measures to provide training and social security benefits to farmers and migrant workers.
According to Liu, China's goal of achieving 8 percent economic growth this year depends largely on global trade protectionism, job prospects for migrant workers and the severity of the financial crisis.
He said all the three problems are "closely interlinked" to one another.
"Free trade is not only a gospel for China's growth but also for the rest of the world," said Liu. "Ever since the financial crisis unfolded, many countries have agreed on free trade but in reality, they focus on trade balance and often encourage protectionism."
Though the globalization era was dominated by recession, Liu said it is not good to strive for a single country-based trade balance or even trade surplus.
"Such a scenario would be retrogressive for global development and also affect the rebuilding of the new international financial order," said Liu.
Criticizing countries for not doing enough to analyze the causes and lessons of the financial crisis, Liu said they are rather far too busy with stimulus packages.
Liu warned that the crisis could be followed by a sharp price hike globally just as it happened after the Great Depression (1929-33).
Most of the developed countries are lacking in new growth policies often needed to stimulate the real economy, he said.
"In the coming decade, there would be no effective global coordination and the potential risks of ups and downs also exist. In such a scenario the financial crisis could last longer than expected and we should be prepared for it," said Liu.
Source: China Daily
China should act now to "strategically and thoroughly" reexamine the policies for millions of migrant workers who are unemployed due to the economic crisis, said a leading policy maker.
Liu He, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economy, said the need of the hour is to provide occupational training and education for the migrant workers.
"This is not just about employment but also something that has severe social implications," Liu told China Daily in an exclusive interview on Friday.
"If we do not tackle the problems of migrant workers in right earnest, the economic upgradation efforts may languish," he said.
China has recently unveiled the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package and 10 other programs to help industrial sectors combat the crisis. "We need millions of skilled workers to translate the programs on paper into reality and hone the competitiveness of the industrial and manufacturing sectors," said Liu.
The shortage of skilled workers has, however, been a major problem for China for some time now, he said.
Millions of workers who used to earn their livelihood by producing export goods at the coastal factories have found themselves jobless as many factories closed down due to the crisis. On a rough estimate nearly 20 million workers have become unemployed due to the crisis.
The main problem for many migrant workers is that they do not have adequate funds for farming or to start small businesses back in their hometowns.
"If we don't take the labor problem seriously, it could lead to severe employment and social problems," Liu warned.
He said in the short term, the employment problem could be cushioned if the government is able to channel some of the jobless migrants back to their homes and encourage them to start farming by offering subsidies and professional training.
This is imperative as many of the migrant workers may find it difficult to get their old jobs back as consumers across the world are becoming thriftier and trade protectionism is on the rise. Many of the factories in China are also facing the piquant situation of production capacities far surpassing demand.
"This makes it hard to open new factories and create more jobs," he said.
"In the long run, if we have to solve China's migrant problem, we should look for strategic arrangements," said Liu.
"The strategic arrangement should focus on revamping China's industry and income distribution policy," said Liu.
The government should continue to support labor-intensive industries and increase domestic consumption to create more jobs for migrants.
In addition, migrants should be given urban household registration rights and the same social welfare as city residents. China's urbanization rate is around 45 percent and annually, about 230 million migrants are moving between cities and their rural homes.
In his work report to the National People's Congress in early March, Premier Wen Jiabao said the government would take quick measures to provide training and social security benefits to farmers and migrant workers.
According to Liu, China's goal of achieving 8 percent economic growth this year depends largely on global trade protectionism, job prospects for migrant workers and the severity of the financial crisis.
He said all the three problems are "closely interlinked" to one another.
"Free trade is not only a gospel for China's growth but also for the rest of the world," said Liu. "Ever since the financial crisis unfolded, many countries have agreed on free trade but in reality, they focus on trade balance and often encourage protectionism."
Though the globalization era was dominated by recession, Liu said it is not good to strive for a single country-based trade balance or even trade surplus.
"Such a scenario would be retrogressive for global development and also affect the rebuilding of the new international financial order," said Liu.
Criticizing countries for not doing enough to analyze the causes and lessons of the financial crisis, Liu said they are rather far too busy with stimulus packages.
Liu warned that the crisis could be followed by a sharp price hike globally just as it happened after the Great Depression (1929-33).
Most of the developed countries are lacking in new growth policies often needed to stimulate the real economy, he said.
"In the coming decade, there would be no effective global coordination and the potential risks of ups and downs also exist. In such a scenario the financial crisis could last longer than expected and we should be prepared for it," said Liu.
Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not
March 22, 2009
Source: The New York Times
In the six-and-one-half years since the federal government began certifying food as “organic,” Americans have taken to the idea with considerable enthusiasm. Sales have at least doubled, and three-quarters of the nation’s grocery stores now carry at least some organic food. A Harris poll in October 2007 found that about 30 percent of Americans buy organic food at least on occasion, and most think it is safer, better for the environment and healthier.
“People believe it must be better for you if it’s organic,” says Phil Howard, an assistant professor of community, food and agriculture at Michigan State University.
So I discovered on a recent book tour around the United States and Canada.
No matter how carefully I avoided using the word “organic” when I spoke to groups of food enthusiasts about how to eat better, someone in the audience would inevitably ask, “What if I can’t afford to buy organic food?” It seems to have become the magic cure-all, synonymous with eating well, healthfully, sanely, even ethically.
But eating “organic” offers no guarantee of any of that. And the truth is that most Americans eat so badly — we get 7 percent of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is “sweets”; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese — that the organic question is a secondary one. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat.
To eat well, says Michael Pollan, the author of “In Defense of Food,” means avoiding “edible food-like substances” and sticking to real ingredients, increasingly from the plant kingdom. (Americans each consume an average of nearly two pounds a day of animal products.) There’s plenty of evidence that both a person’s health — as well as the environment’s — will improve with a simple shift in eating habits away from animal products and highly processed foods to plant products and what might be called “real food.” (With all due respect to people in the “food movement,” the food need not be “slow,” either.)
From these changes, Americans would reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals used to produce the food we eat, as well as the incidence of lifestyle diseases linked to unhealthy diets, and greenhouse gases from industrial meat production. All without legislation.
And the food would not necessarily have to be organic, which, under the United States Department of Agriculture’s definition, means it is generally free of synthetic substances; contains no antibiotics and hormones; has not been irradiated or fertilized with sewage sludge; was raised without the use of most conventional pesticides; and contains no genetically modified ingredients.
Those requirements, which must be met in order for food to be labeled “U.S.D.A. Organic,” are fine, of course. But they still fall short of the lofty dreams of early organic farmers and consumers who gave the word “organic” its allure — of returning natural nutrients and substance to the soil in the same proportion used by the growing process (there is no requirement that this be done); of raising animals humanely in accordance with nature (animals must be given access to the outdoors, but for how long and under what conditions is not spelled out); and of producing the most nutritious food possible (the evidence is mixed on whether organic food is more nutritious) in the most ecologically conscious way.
The government’s organic program, says Joan Shaffer, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department, “is a marketing program that sets standards for what can be certified as organic. Neither the enabling legislation nor the regulations address food safety or nutrition.”
People don’t understand that, nor do they realize “organic” doesn’t mean “local.” “It doesn’t matter if it’s from the farm down the road or from Chile,” Ms. Shaffer said. “As long as it meets the standards it’s organic.”
Hence, the organic status of salmon flown in from Chile, or of frozen vegetables grown in China and sold in the United States — no matter the size of the carbon footprint left behind by getting from there to here.
Today, most farmers who practice truly sustainable farming, or what you might call “organic in spirit,” operate on small scale, some so small they can’t afford the requirements to be certified organic by the government. Others say that certification isn’t meaningful enough to bother. These farmers argue that, “When you buy organic you don’t just buy a product, you buy a way of life that is committed to not exploiting the planet,” says Ed Maltby, executive director of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance.
But the organic food business is now big business, and getting bigger. Professor Howard estimates that major corporations now are responsible for at least 25 percent of all organic manufacturing and marketing (40 percent if you count only processed organic foods). Much of the nation’s organic food is as much a part of industrial food production as midwinter grapes, and becoming more so. In 2006, sales of organic foods and beverages totaled about $16.7 billion, according to the most recent figures from Organic Trade Association.
Still, those sales amounted to slightly less than 3 percent of overall food and beverage sales. For all the hoo-ha, organic food is not making much of an impact on the way Americans eat, though, as Mark Kastel, co-founder of The Cornucopia Institute, puts it: “There are generic benefits from doing organics. It protects the land from the ravages of conventional agriculture,” and safeguards farm workers from being exposed to pesticides.
But the questions remain over how we eat in general. It may feel better to eat an organic Oreo than a conventional Oreo, but, says Marion Nestle, a professor at New York University’s department of nutrition, food studies and public health, “Organic junk food is still junk food.”
Last week, Michelle Obama began digging up a patch of the South Lawn of the White House to plant an organic vegetable garden to provide food for the first family and, more important, to educate children about healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become national concerns.
But Mrs. Obama also emphasized that there were many changes Americans can make if they don’t have the time or space for an organic garden.
“You can begin in your own cupboard,” she said, “by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.”
Popularizing such choices may not be as marketable as creating a logo that says “organic.” But when Americans have had their fill of “value-added” and overprocessed food, perhaps they can begin producing and consuming more food that treats animals and the land as if they mattered. Some of that food will be organic, and hooray for that. Meanwhile, they should remember that the word itself is not synonymous with “safe,” “healthy,” “fair” or even necessarily “good.”
Source: The New York Times
In the six-and-one-half years since the federal government began certifying food as “organic,” Americans have taken to the idea with considerable enthusiasm. Sales have at least doubled, and three-quarters of the nation’s grocery stores now carry at least some organic food. A Harris poll in October 2007 found that about 30 percent of Americans buy organic food at least on occasion, and most think it is safer, better for the environment and healthier.
“People believe it must be better for you if it’s organic,” says Phil Howard, an assistant professor of community, food and agriculture at Michigan State University.
So I discovered on a recent book tour around the United States and Canada.
No matter how carefully I avoided using the word “organic” when I spoke to groups of food enthusiasts about how to eat better, someone in the audience would inevitably ask, “What if I can’t afford to buy organic food?” It seems to have become the magic cure-all, synonymous with eating well, healthfully, sanely, even ethically.
But eating “organic” offers no guarantee of any of that. And the truth is that most Americans eat so badly — we get 7 percent of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is “sweets”; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese — that the organic question is a secondary one. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat.
To eat well, says Michael Pollan, the author of “In Defense of Food,” means avoiding “edible food-like substances” and sticking to real ingredients, increasingly from the plant kingdom. (Americans each consume an average of nearly two pounds a day of animal products.) There’s plenty of evidence that both a person’s health — as well as the environment’s — will improve with a simple shift in eating habits away from animal products and highly processed foods to plant products and what might be called “real food.” (With all due respect to people in the “food movement,” the food need not be “slow,” either.)
From these changes, Americans would reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals used to produce the food we eat, as well as the incidence of lifestyle diseases linked to unhealthy diets, and greenhouse gases from industrial meat production. All without legislation.
And the food would not necessarily have to be organic, which, under the United States Department of Agriculture’s definition, means it is generally free of synthetic substances; contains no antibiotics and hormones; has not been irradiated or fertilized with sewage sludge; was raised without the use of most conventional pesticides; and contains no genetically modified ingredients.
Those requirements, which must be met in order for food to be labeled “U.S.D.A. Organic,” are fine, of course. But they still fall short of the lofty dreams of early organic farmers and consumers who gave the word “organic” its allure — of returning natural nutrients and substance to the soil in the same proportion used by the growing process (there is no requirement that this be done); of raising animals humanely in accordance with nature (animals must be given access to the outdoors, but for how long and under what conditions is not spelled out); and of producing the most nutritious food possible (the evidence is mixed on whether organic food is more nutritious) in the most ecologically conscious way.
The government’s organic program, says Joan Shaffer, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department, “is a marketing program that sets standards for what can be certified as organic. Neither the enabling legislation nor the regulations address food safety or nutrition.”
People don’t understand that, nor do they realize “organic” doesn’t mean “local.” “It doesn’t matter if it’s from the farm down the road or from Chile,” Ms. Shaffer said. “As long as it meets the standards it’s organic.”
Hence, the organic status of salmon flown in from Chile, or of frozen vegetables grown in China and sold in the United States — no matter the size of the carbon footprint left behind by getting from there to here.
Today, most farmers who practice truly sustainable farming, or what you might call “organic in spirit,” operate on small scale, some so small they can’t afford the requirements to be certified organic by the government. Others say that certification isn’t meaningful enough to bother. These farmers argue that, “When you buy organic you don’t just buy a product, you buy a way of life that is committed to not exploiting the planet,” says Ed Maltby, executive director of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance.
But the organic food business is now big business, and getting bigger. Professor Howard estimates that major corporations now are responsible for at least 25 percent of all organic manufacturing and marketing (40 percent if you count only processed organic foods). Much of the nation’s organic food is as much a part of industrial food production as midwinter grapes, and becoming more so. In 2006, sales of organic foods and beverages totaled about $16.7 billion, according to the most recent figures from Organic Trade Association.
Still, those sales amounted to slightly less than 3 percent of overall food and beverage sales. For all the hoo-ha, organic food is not making much of an impact on the way Americans eat, though, as Mark Kastel, co-founder of The Cornucopia Institute, puts it: “There are generic benefits from doing organics. It protects the land from the ravages of conventional agriculture,” and safeguards farm workers from being exposed to pesticides.
But the questions remain over how we eat in general. It may feel better to eat an organic Oreo than a conventional Oreo, but, says Marion Nestle, a professor at New York University’s department of nutrition, food studies and public health, “Organic junk food is still junk food.”
Last week, Michelle Obama began digging up a patch of the South Lawn of the White House to plant an organic vegetable garden to provide food for the first family and, more important, to educate children about healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become national concerns.
But Mrs. Obama also emphasized that there were many changes Americans can make if they don’t have the time or space for an organic garden.
“You can begin in your own cupboard,” she said, “by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.”
Popularizing such choices may not be as marketable as creating a logo that says “organic.” But when Americans have had their fill of “value-added” and overprocessed food, perhaps they can begin producing and consuming more food that treats animals and the land as if they mattered. Some of that food will be organic, and hooray for that. Meanwhile, they should remember that the word itself is not synonymous with “safe,” “healthy,” “fair” or even necessarily “good.”
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Vocational education to help laid-off Chinese workers find jobs
2009-03-12
Source: Xinhua
BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China plans to expand the scale of vocational education this year to train more laid-off rural workers who seek re-employment with new skills, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday.
Vocational schools will enroll 8.6 million students this year, 500,000 more than last year's figure, said a ministry's notice issued to local education departments.
"Governments should encourage vocational schools to help home-returning migrant workers acquire necessary skills so that they can get re-employed soon," said the notice.
Migrant workers, most of whom work on assembly lines in China's economically booming regions, were the hardest-hit group amid the economic downturn sweeping the country.
Government statistics in February showed that about 20 million, or 15 percent of the country's total migrant workers, lost their urban jobs and returned to their rural hometowns.
Besides creating more job opportunities, governments have encouraged workers to receive skill training as preparation for reemployment in future.
The ministry said governments would provide subsidies to such vocational training programs, but did not give details.
The ministry will strengthen regular inspections on whether local vocational schools have fulfilled their tasks.
In 2008, 35 million migration workers attended training lessons at vocational schools, and another 50 million farmers took training courses on farming skills.
The ministry also urged schools in rural areas to guarantee the enrollment of children of migrant workers, who previously studied at schools in cities but now have to return home with parents.
Students at primary and junior secondary schools should enjoy equal treatment such as free tuition and textbook fees, and free accommodation at schools poorer areas.
China has been putting a total of 218.2 billion yuan (31.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the 2006-2010 period into education in order to gradually provide free education for all rural students at primary and junior secondary schools.
Source: Xinhua
BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China plans to expand the scale of vocational education this year to train more laid-off rural workers who seek re-employment with new skills, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday.
Vocational schools will enroll 8.6 million students this year, 500,000 more than last year's figure, said a ministry's notice issued to local education departments.
"Governments should encourage vocational schools to help home-returning migrant workers acquire necessary skills so that they can get re-employed soon," said the notice.
Migrant workers, most of whom work on assembly lines in China's economically booming regions, were the hardest-hit group amid the economic downturn sweeping the country.
Government statistics in February showed that about 20 million, or 15 percent of the country's total migrant workers, lost their urban jobs and returned to their rural hometowns.
Besides creating more job opportunities, governments have encouraged workers to receive skill training as preparation for reemployment in future.
The ministry said governments would provide subsidies to such vocational training programs, but did not give details.
The ministry will strengthen regular inspections on whether local vocational schools have fulfilled their tasks.
In 2008, 35 million migration workers attended training lessons at vocational schools, and another 50 million farmers took training courses on farming skills.
The ministry also urged schools in rural areas to guarantee the enrollment of children of migrant workers, who previously studied at schools in cities but now have to return home with parents.
Students at primary and junior secondary schools should enjoy equal treatment such as free tuition and textbook fees, and free accommodation at schools poorer areas.
China has been putting a total of 218.2 billion yuan (31.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the 2006-2010 period into education in order to gradually provide free education for all rural students at primary and junior secondary schools.
Monday, March 2, 2009
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