The Green Bug Lectures: movie night

This Tuesday is the third time we meet. Unfortunately the TMS is blocked today, so we will meet at the Tropenzentrum (H20). This time we will have a movie, presented by the Tropennetzwerk. It is called “darwins nightmare”. “Darwin's Nightmare is a tale about humans between the North and the South, about globalization, and about fish” is how the director describes the film. It is a documentary with drastic pictures about the situation at the Lake Victoria in Tanzania and was nominated for the 2006 oscars as best documentary. However, it caused some controversy, and will certainly give reason to interesting discussions.

Summary of „where was your food last night“

A short summary (key points) of the last “green bug lecture” should be provided here. It will neither be complete nor give details. I will try to represent the view expressed during the presentation and only share my opinion in comments afterwards.

Main purpose of presenting a summary is to offer a possibility to pick up some arguments again and to comment. So please: comment!

Presentation by Pavlos Georgiadis (F.R.E.S.H):

- characteristics that food should have brought into the discourse by the slow food movement: good, clean fair

- characteristics that might as well be important: honesty, knowledge diversity, responsibility

- responsible eating is a contribution to save our planet (it can diminish our ecological footprint)

- it is important to see the whole production chain behind the food procession: e.g. although flour might be processed in Germany, the wheat might be imported from India; or soya might be imported to feed German pigs

- Thus, the ingredients for a pizza might all together have travelled over 80.000 km

Consequences related to “unsustainable foodproduction”:

- conditions of animal production

- working conditions/ human right violation (immigration worker on farms/ in green houses)

- loss of biodiversity

- market control of companies

- depletion of water resources

- use of agrochemicals

- use of additives

What to do:

- Merge the consumption of organic AND regional produced food

- Honesty: be informed and claim your right to be informed

- Change academic culture (so far Hohenheim as one of Europe's leading agricultural universities is not setting a good example)

- Reform land use based on scientific knowledge and local wisdom

- Rediscover eating as pleasure for all senses

- See what F.R.E.S.H is doing

“Clusters” of discussion.

- Dumping of food into 3^rd world countries, food sovereignty, fair trade

- Market power of companies, market power of consumers, non-cooperation

- Social implications: can people afford to buy slow/organic food? Valuation of food

- Political implications: isn’t a complete change in the economical/ political system a prerequisite for fair food production and consumption?

Where was your Food last night?

The Kulturgruppe of Asta and FRESH are inviting you to the second part of the 'Green-Bug Lectures' series with the title

Where was your Food last night?

Very often, in our modern culture, we are disconnected from the production processes that bring goods of mass consumption to our door. If one is asked, where does the milk, the bananas, the apples that he/she eats come from, the answer is usually simply 'from the super-marker'. From how many countries do the products that fill our basket come? How many kilometers does our food have to travel between the field and our plate? What are the consequences to the environment, society and economy? How can we as agriculturalists of the future pass the message of sustainable eating to the simple citizen in the street?

presented by Pavlos Georgiadis (FRESH). On Tuesday, May 12 at 19:00 at the Tropenzentrum.