If you've been reading the Mail and Guardian recently, you might be surprised by my saying things like

"I like the idea of organic, but it seems difficult to feed entire populations on organic produce. I think one solution could be GM crops, despite the unsavoury business model."

I was a little surprised myself. I've never said that.

In an, I suspect futile, attempt to set the record straight here's what I did say in my interview with the Mail and Guardian. I realise that I may have brought this misquoting upon myself. The questions that the interviewer asked were ones that commonly get put, and they needed time and space to undermine their premises, space which isn't necessarily aligned with our soundbite-driven media.

Still, it's a long way from "There are always better ways of doing things than GM crops", which I did say, to "I think one solution could be GM crops", which I didn't.

When the M&G posts the interview online, I'll link to it (and check it against the transcript I've got here - the one advantage of email interviews). And I'll be dropping their editorial people a line. Until then, here's the unedited exchange... ... read more »

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Posted on 16 December, 2007 - 17:41

Continuing the South African food theme, here's something from this weekend's edition of the Sunday Times. The story concerns the noxious 'dop system', where workers on vineyards in the Western Cape were paid, in part, with alcohol. Through this, cataclysmic levels of foetal alcohol syndrome have plagued communities of farmworkers there. ... read more »

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Posted on 22 August, 2007 - 07:21

I'm in South Africa at the moment and so it's entirely appropriate to have a short run (in this and the next couple of posts) of articles about food and land politics here in the Rainbow Nation.

Of the tidbits I've collected, this is, I think, my favourite, even if the most troublesome. Jonny Steinberg is a fine author and journalist, whose previous two books, Midlands and The Number have been scattered with profound insight, and deep problems, in terms of the perspectives they omit, and the narratives elevate to an analytical position that they do not warrant.

The last couple of paragraphs of the article below make that mistake again, but with such fresh, thoughtful and compassionate writing preceding the error, this article is still an important and moving testimony... ... read more »

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Posted on 17 August, 2007 - 10:02

Kerrin Hands, the man who designed the splendid banner above, spotted this on the BBC's website. It's a radio documentary about obesity in South Africa. Although it doesn't quite go into the deeper explanations for obesity, linked to the structure of urban work, the architecture of the modern city, and the availability of certain kinds of high-sugar snacks for working people, it's not half bad for a BBC effort. And the title, 'Globesity', is none too shabby either. More ... read more »

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Posted on 19 July, 2007 - 04:40

Farms don't just grow food - they grow communities. You don't have to go far to be part of these communities, either. In South Durban, urban farmers have long been supporting the local economy, and the surrounding neighbourhoods. And they're under threat.

Teddy Govender (43, pictured above) has a ten hectare farm in Reunion, in the shadow of the BP and Shell refinery, South of the airport. On it, he grows marigolds, turnips, leeks, mint, thyme and brinjal. When the produce leaves Teddy's farm, it goes to local markets in Wentworth, the Bangladesh market in Chatsworth, to Clairwood and Verulam. ... read more »

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Posted on 11 January, 2007 - 23:16

It's absurd and romantic to think that farmers have virtue as a birthright. This may seem an odd thing to say given that Stuffed and Starved is often a hymn to rural struggles. But it's important to remember that not all farmers are the same, and that very little soil is bloodless. Consider recent events in South Africa.

In October this year, an NGO called "Women in Agriculture and Rural Development" (Ward), set up by the South African government, announced in this article that that

"Three-hundred-and-fifty years ago the land was taken by white people. Now that we have a chance we must use it," said one land activist. "We want the land back." ... read more »

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Posted on 13 December, 2006 - 02:56

Over 1 billion people now live in slums and shack settlements around the world. Fighting this poverty, and the injustice that perpetuates it, are a number of shackdweller movements. In South Africa, a remarkable organisation has risen up to challenge the chronic poverty which they face - the Durban Shackdweller's Movement. Abahlali baseMjondolo (Zulu for "those who live in shacks") has fought off a range of illegal attempts by the government to gag, suppress and dispossess them. Find out more at http://www.abahlali.org

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Posted on 1 December, 2006 - 21:52