Monkey's Masterful Modulations

Farmers use vending machines to sell produce

2009-10-09T11:52:00.002+08:00

8 Oct 2009, Mother Nature Network

In today's world of complex supply chains, international supermarkets and big agribusiness, it has become more and more difficult for small farms to sell their produce directly to local consumers at a reasonable price. But one farm in Germany, Peter-und-Paul-Hof, thinks they may have found a solution: set up vending machines which distribute produce instead of junk food.

The idea is unconventional, to be sure, but it isn't unprecedented. Back in 2007, a Spanish company based in Barcelona-- Lof-- also used vending machines to distribute healthy food such as nuts, prepared fruit, ready meals and even gazpacho soup. But the application of vending machines by Peter-und-Paul-Hof is the first time they have been used to deliver local produce.

The effort is part of a collaboration between the farm and vending manufacturer Stuewer, and currently the specialty machines (labeled Regiomats) are set up to dispense fresh milk, eggs, butter, cheese, potatoes and sausage. What more could a hungry German ask for?

Perhaps even more unusual, the company has chosen to place several of these upstart Regiomats alongside popular hiking trails in Switzerland.

Peter-und-Paul-Hof spawned the idea as a solution to a problem which faces many local farmers worldwide. After efforts to deliver milk directly to customers became too time-consuming and costly, they first tried to encourage customers to collect the milk from fridges on their farm, but of course that only shifted the burden onto the customers. Vending machines simply offered them the smartest middle ground solution to the problem.

And the machines offer more than just convenience to local-loving consumers, they also offer a 24/7 farmers market available to them 365 days a year. Moreover, since the system cuts out the retailer, consumers get to pocket money that would otherwise end up in the hands of middlemen.

At the very least, vending machines like these could offer a healthy alternative for people who need a quick snack while on the go, at the workplace, or in school. Despite today's fast-paced world, Peter-und-Paul-Hof may have stumbled upon a great way to deliver fast food that's still good for you.

Govt to set up two funds to improve food security in S'pore

2009-07-31T22:01:00.000+08:00

By Desmond Wong, Channel NewsAsia
31 July 2009 2038 hrs

SINGAPORE: The government plans to set up two funds which will help improve Singapore's food supply resilience.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced this at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore Food Safety Awards Night on Friday.

Last year's rice supply crunch might be a thing of the past, but with Singapore importing 90 per cent of its food, the government isn't taking any chances.

The two funds will help ensure Singapore has a stable food supply.

The Food Diversification Fund will secure diverse sources of food through food production, or food zones overseas.

Mr Mah said: "Such food zones will provide safe, quality food to both the population of the host country as well as Singapore. However, these have to be commercially-viable to be sustainable and we encourage the private sector to seriously explore and spearhead investments into food zones."

The fund will also explore the possibility of seeking out partners for food production on a contract basis, while the Food Capability Development Fund will help support local farms and research.

Mr Mah said: "To give confidence for our farmers to invest in farms for maximum food production, the government will support local agriculture by setting aside land for these types of farms for the next 20 years.”

The government has set a target of being self-sufficient for 30 per cent of Singapore's eggs, 15 per cent of its fish and 10 per cent of its leafy vegetables.

The minister also said that consumers have a part to play in food security, such as understanding the benefits of substitutes such as frozen meat, liquid or powdered eggs. Knowing this will help the public react better to future shocks in the food supply.

The two funds are expected to be up and running within a year.

Informal Presentation

2009-03-11T15:19:00.004+08:00

I will be making an informal presentation of my paper for the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Las Vegas. It is a 15 minutes presentation in adherence to the conference presentation limits. My supervisor and some grad students in the department are coming. If you would like to come, drop me a note.

Date: 16 March 2009, Monday
Time: 11am
Venue: Dept Meeting Room

Currently, the working title of my paper is:

The Carrot or the Stick*:
Motivations for “Ethical” Vegetable Production in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

* The more boring version is "Regulations or Market Incentives: Motivations for “Ethical” Vegetable Production in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia"

It's still a work in progress but when the slides are ready, I will put it on the blog as usual. This paper is just a small section in the bigger topic of my thesis on the singapore-malaysia vegetable agro-food network.

The title still bugs me. Any comments about that is most welcome. Should I go with the serious version or the kooky fun one? I might add that they do grow carrot in Cameron Highlands. *grin* But somebody has actually already used this title in their paper "The Carrot or the Stick: Rewards, Punishments, and Cooperation".

Resident Writer for new humanities magazine

2009-01-07T17:33:00.003+08:00

Today I met with the MC editor and it appears that monkey will be a resident writer for a new humanities magazine targeted at upper secondary school students. Looking forward to the opportunity to reach out to more young people, hon my writing, supplement my resume and earn some pocket money at the same time. This is also a good way to translate some academic articles to layman terms and expose young people to some of the academic works being done out there. So far, issue 0 is planned for mid 2009 and first issue won't be out till 2010. It's also a job that promises to continue even if I'm not in Singapore so what a sustainable way to go.

Ganbatte monkey! Work hard, write hard!

United Nations University Courses

2009-01-07T17:31:00.001+08:00

The UN University offer international courses for "postgraduate students and professionals in various occupations (with a college or university degree) in Japan and abroad who wish to pursue careers in international fields in public-service or private organizations, including the United Nations, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations, as well as national foreign service organizations."

3 courses cost $2000USD and have to pay for accommodation and living expenses as well. I wonder if it's worth considering for 2010.

The 2009 courses are held in May-June which is field studies / thesis writing time.

But I wonder if it'll really get me a job in UN.

New cash crop for farmers could be carbon trade

2009-01-06T10:10:00.001+08:00

From: www.fredericknewspost.com
Published January 5, 2009 08:43 AM (ENN)

Carbon emissions are increasingly at the forefront of policy issues, and experts say agricultural practices could play a role in decreasing emissions while providing farmers with a new cash crop.

"You can't go to a newsstand today without seeing major publications with sustainability, climate change or energy on the cover," said Jim Mulhern, a founding partner of Watson/Mulhern and veteran policy strategist and communicator with 20 years experience in Washington public policy issues.

Mulhern addressed the role of agriculture in sustainability, climate change and energy at a joint meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program.

Sustainability is both an environmental issue and an energy issue. Farmers must be able to provide consumers with the nutritious food they want in a way that makes the industry, people and the earth better off economically, environmentally and socially now and for future generations, Mulhern said.

Productivity will also remain important due to increasing population. Growing populations in China and India have a growing appetite for a Western diet.

In addition to remaining sustainable while meeting productivity challenges, agriculture will also have a growing role in decreasing carbon emissions.

There are several approaches to decreasing companies' carbon emissions, Mulhern said. Companies could be simply required to decrease them, or a tax mechanism put in place to discourage carbon emissions. These options may lead to costs being passed to consumers.

The last option, called cap and trade, is to implement a cap while at the same time giving companies flexibility on how to decrease emissions.

"We're going to see cap and trade," Mulhern said, but probably not in the near future. He estimates cap and trade will be in place by 2010.

This option allows companies to take steps themselves or purchase credits from another party. Agriculture could be in a good position to sell carbon credits.

Both presidential candidates supported cap and trade, which is a green job creator.

President-elect Barack Obama's choice for agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, wrote in an op-ed column that carbon credits can be sold by farmers in the same way they sell soybeans or hogs, Mulhern said.

According to Vilsack, carbon trading will allow diversification of family farms and generate a revenue stream and new cash crop that will save farms.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently formed an Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets to promote ecosystem markets.

According to USDA, agriculture producers provide many ecosystem services historically viewed as free benefits to society, including clean water and air, wildlife habitat, carbon storage and scenic landscapes. Lacking a formal structure to market these services, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are not generally compensated for providing these benefits.

Agriculture can offer several practices for offsetting carbon emissions, Mulhern said, including the following:

n No- or low-till planting;

n Cover crops, tree plantings and conservation practices; and

n Methane capture from dairy manure.

"Dairy is the low-hanging fruit," Mulhern said. "We're sitting on a valuable product."

The dairy industry has already taken steps to decrease carbon emissions at each stage in the production chain from grass to glass, he added.

The industry held a sustainability summit last year. Participants identified quick changes that can be done now as well as changes that can be made to systems, such as whether cold pasteurization of milk, which would decrease energy needs, is possible.

Cities May Sprout Vertical Farms

2009-01-06T10:08:00.002+08:00

By Gregory M. Lamb
Christian Science Monitor, December 24, 2008
Straight to the Source

From: Organic Consumers Association
Published January 5, 2009 09:27 AM (ENN)

Cities may sprout vertical farms Proposed high-rise greenhouses could help solve a looming food crisis, professor says.

Farming would seem to be a horizontal occupation. Iowa corn or Kansas wheat pokes up from flat fields that stretch to the horizon.

That's why the idea of "vertical farms" seems ripe for humor. When its biggest advocate appeared on the faux news show "The Colbert Report" earlier this year, comedian Stephen Colbert prefaced the interview by guessing it would have something to do with corn that grows sideways or perhaps "Chia blimps" that float overhead.

Such teasing hasn't deterred Dickson Despommier, the Col umbia University professor of public health. He sees putting crops into skyscrapers as a better way to feed a hungry world. Professor Despommier's website, verticalfarm.com, features architectural concepts of high-rise buildings that could grow fresh produce in urban areas while at the same time being much more environmentally sustainable than conventional agriculture. [Editor's note: The original story misspelled Dr. Despommier's first name.]

The trouble is, he concedes, none of the beautiful drawings would work exactly as shown. "They all look pretty," he says. "[A]t least it means they're thinking in the right direction."

What's needed before millions of dollars are spent to construct or renovate an existing 30-story building into a vertical farm, Despommier says, are prototypes just a few stories high. They should be built at leading agricultural universities and tinkered with until the concept is proved. "Once it does, drive it out of the showroom and take it home," he says.

While Despommier has won admirers around the world for his innovative thinking, skeptics still wonder how he's going to handle the problem of solar energy - bringing necessary light to the interior and lower floors of his agri-towers. "As soon as you go vertical, you compound that problem of getting that [solar] energy to the plant," says Gene Giacomelli, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Dr. Giacomelli likes the audacity of vertical farms, but says a lot of problems must be solved first. Despommier, he says, "is a forward thinker. He's challen ging all of us to try to make it happen."

The challenges also include finding and training indoor "farmers" who can operate what is likely to be a complex system. "There's nobody at the moment," Giacomelli says. The technical problems aren't insurmountable - crops are being grown indoors at the South Pole, albeit at great expense, he says. But, he adds, "There are many more ways to fail [at indoor agriculture] than to grow a crop correctly and succeed."

The world is going to need vertical farms because conventional agriculture can’t handle what’s to come, Despommier says. By midcentury, the world is expected to add another 3 billion people, pushing its population close to 10 billion. Feeding all those extra mouths will require finding an area of agricultural land larger than Brazil – without cutting rain forests needed to stabilize the world’s climate.

Heading skyward, under the controlled conditions of an indoor greenhouse, has many advantages, Despommier says. “You can control nothing outdoors, and you can control everything indoors,” he says. That means no floods, wildfires, hailstorms, tornadoes, or droughts. Plant diseases and pests are more easily controlled, too, meaning less need for herbicides and pesticides.

And indoor agriculture is more efficient. One indoor acre of strawberries can produce as much as 30 outdoor acres can. In general, indoor acreage is four to six times more productive, in part because of the year-round growing season. “Outdoors, you might get one crop [per year]; indoors, you might get four or five crops per year,” Despommier says.

By bringing high-rise agriculture to urban areas, transportation costs are eliminated, and the produce is fresher.

The problem of bringing light to the plants could be solved through artificial lighting, powered by solar, wind, or other methods, Despommier says. All cities have a huge source of unused energy: human sewage. It could be burned to create a significant energy source.

“It’s not a perpetual [motion] machine because you’ll have to supplement from the outside,” he says. But the energy requirements would still be lower than those of conventional farming, with its use of heavy machinery, fertilizers, and long-haul transportation.

Critics remain far from convinced. “The notion of filling a building [with plants] and artificially supplying the light for the plants … from any kind of energy system is one of the weirdest ideas I’ve ever heard of,” says Richard Register, author of “EcoCities: Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature.” “It’s not serious agriculture. It’s just not…. It’s an intellectual plaything.”

A better answer is to develop, over time, more compact, energy-efficient cities along the European model, he says. That would free up land near urban areas for conventional agriculture with “100-percent-free solar energy” falling on it. Urban community gardens and high-intensity conventional commercial gardens could also supply part of the need.

Despommier’s students, in fact, first looked at using rooftop gardens to feed Manhattan. They found that farming on flat rooftops could supply only about 2 percent of the island’s food needs. That’s when Despommier hit upon using some of the city’s abandoned buildings to create vertical greenhouses.

He received further inspiration from a children’s book his wife gave him. “Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House,” by Judi Barrett, tells the story of an apartment building supervisor who fills his building with vegetable plants and farm animals as tenants. While Despommier doesn’t see cows or pigs moving into vertical farms anytime soon, he thinks aquaculture could be part of the mix.

“You can start with mollusks – mussels and clams,” he says. Shrimp, striped bass, catfish, and flounder are other possibilities – or chickens, ducks, and geese. “This will have to be done in a way that’s agreeable to consumers, so consumers will set the standard,” he says.

The first working vertical farms are likely to be built outside the United States, Despommier says, where the need is greatest. He’s received interest from Shanghai, China, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and is currently on a trip to India to address the Indian Institute for Architecture in Bangalore.

Next spring, a class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will look into the idea. Some 15 to 20 seniors majoring in civil and environmental engineering will form teams and create design projects to see just how vertical farming might be accomplished.

“The potential for doing something is great, but frankly I don’t know yet what’s going to happen,” says Herbert Einstein, the engineering professor who will conduct the class at MIT. “If there’s something viable, hopefully we’ll know more by the end of the spring term.”

Writing for Humanities Magazine

2009-01-05T14:17:00.004+08:00

Last year I got invited to speak at the Marshall Cavendish's primary school enrichment books launch cum talks for teachers. During that time, I met some of the editors of MC and mentioned that I might be interested to write on geography.

Today I got an email from a senior editor for a humanities magazine for upper secondary school students. Asking if I would like to write an article on Singapore's ecological footprint or perhaps even a regular feature on sustainability.

What an exciting opportunity. Hope to meet the editor this week to discuss further details.

Post Masters Plan

2008-12-30T14:12:00.010+08:00

I suddenly realized that after my Masters, I could essentially go anywhere in the world so why not volunteer overseas?

So I just applied to:
WWF Youth Volunteers
United Nations Volunteers - rejected

More jobs available here http://www.idealist.org
Action against hunger
World Resource Institute
Food & Water Watch
Environment Defense Fund
Center for Food Safety
Environmental Working Group
WWF Jobs
FAO Jobs
UNEP Jobs

Alternatively, how about a paid internship with SIIA?

Or I could be crazy and go for a business / market analyst position in the private sector. What do I really want anyways? And what is wrong with trying something totally different to challenge myself?

Plan for 2009

2008-12-30T12:04:00.005+08:00

As of date, this is more or less what is happening:

January - driving exam and field work. Must start on the local field work please! Also looking at coming up with HT publication ASAP. Need to get in touch with potential PhD profs too! Literature review for thesis please.

February - GRE exam; applying for jobs; maybe going to Surin; writing up paper for AAG competition. One chapter in thesis. Finish up vegetable article for SAGE Pub.

March - AAG conference - a whole month in USA; visiting universities on the east coast; writing thesis?

April - writing thesis full speed ahead! Going for job interviews?

May - more writing thesis! Submit first draft!

June - Field Studies 2009?

July - Sister in Singapore - editing and revision of thesis; submit thesis!

August - graduate and preferably start job already! Otherwise go Hokkaido for graduation trip with parents hopefully. But if I so decide to go McGill, I'll be moving to canada? haha some how that is about 40% chance of happening.

'Eat local' movement takes root

2008-12-30T11:12:00.000+08:00

By MICHELLE LOCKE Associated Press
Posted: 12/26/2008

SAN FRANCISCO—Here's something you might not know about being a locavore, the new-fangled term for the old-school tradition of eating food grown close to home: Coffee is almost always negotiable.

Here's another: The people practicing this new-old (and currently quite hot) trend may surprise you. Suburban moms? Check. Artisanal-cheese sniffing foodies? Double check. And how about denizens of the decidely un-hippie halls of Wal-Mart?

"It's really amazing how it's just exploded," says Jennifer Maiser, a San Francisco database consultant who was part of a small group credited with coining "locavore," as part of an "eat local" challenge they mounted three years ago.

Since then, wildly fluctuating transportation costs, food scares and global warming concerns, have lent a mainstream patina to eating local. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest grocer has pledged to source $400 million worth of fruits and vegetables from in-state farmers this year.

Some numbers:

— There were 4,685 farmers' markets as of August, according to the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, up nearly 7 percent from two years ago and nearly 3,000 more than 1994, the first year of tracking.

— Locally grown produce was listed as the No. 2 item on a "What's Hot" list by more than 1,200 members of the American Culinary Federation in an October 2007 Internet survey by the National Restaurant Association. (No. 1 was bite-sized desserts, but that's another story.)

— The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in which members get food delivered from nearby farms has grown to include more than 1,300 farms since its inception in 1985, according to the Robyn Van En Center at Pennsylvania's Wilson College.

Who's eating all this local food?

All kinds of people, from trowel-wielding back-to-the-landers to the tech titans of Google, Inc.'s headquarters in Mountain View, where Cafe 150 serves food from within a 150-mile radius.

And then there's bluesman Elvin Bishop, accidental locavore.

Best known for the '70s hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," that sent many a couple swaying into the night, Bishop is often to be found these days working in his well-cared for garden in rural Marin County, north of San Francisco.

Bishop started out eating local as an Oklahoma farm boy, but turned to a road diet of fast food and bad food when he started traveling with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the '60s.

A decade of that moved him to buy a place with some arable land—his first tasks were pulling apart an old redwood deck then on the property to frame a greenhouse and digging up the raggedy lawn to plant vegetables.

He's still busy with music, recently releasing a new CD "The Blues Rolls On," a funky collection that features some well-known names, including old friend B.B. King.

But that hasn't stopped him from stocking a deep cupboard in his kitchen with gleaming jars of preserves. (He tried to take a jar of his strawberry jam to King, but couldn't get it through airport security.)

Bishop isn't an official member of the locavore movement, "I'm not too much of an 'ism' type of guy," he notes. What he likes is knowing where his food came from, and that it's going to be tasty.

Taste and freshness are the driving forces for a lot of people interested in buying local foods, says Laurie Demeritt, who studies American eating patterns for The Hartman Group, a research firm in Bellevue, Wash.

National surveys of consumers showed that "local" has a world of different meanings, but there is a unifying theme of wanting to connect with the product—how was it grown, were pesticides used, how were animals treated.

"What we're finding is that the desire to know more about where your products come from is critically important across the United States," Demeritt says.

With the movement still young, researchers are looking for more data to see whether local foods live up to their promise of being safer, healthier and better for the environment, says Rich Pirog, associate director of Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

There is some anecdotal information—for instance, farmer's markets are more likely to be selling unusual varieties like heirloom tomatoes, which maintains genetic diversity, he says. And common sense indicates eating locally means less processed food, and an easier task of tracing where your food comes from.

Living locavore can be tough—imagine life without bananas.

Some followers are hard-core, drinking tea made of local herbs, for instance; while others are more relaxed.

Flexibility is key for Tammy Donroe, a Boston freelance writer and mother of two, who tries to incorporate local food into her family's diet all year.

In October, she went a little deeper for an "eat local" challenge month, which worked fine until farmers' markets closed down and the options were squash, squash or squash.

They survived (with a slight redefinition of "local" pizza) and continue to put as much local food as possible on the table.

"You feel better when you know your money is going to people that you know are trying to make a living honestly and are trying to do the best thing for the environment," Donroe says. "Food that's grown locally tastes better and fresher. I just like the idea of that for my kids."

———
On the Net:
http://www.localharvest.org
http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/
http://www.elvinbishopmusic.com/
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/

Food needs 'fundamental rethink'

2008-12-29T00:35:00.001+08:00

27 Dec 2008
By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News

A sustainable global food system in the 21st Century needs to be built on a series of "new fundamentals", according to a leading food expert.

Tim Lang warned that the current system, designed in the 1940s, was showing "structural failures", such as "astronomic" environmental costs.

The new approach needed to address key fundamentals like biodiversity, energy, water and urbanisation, he added.

Professor Lang is a member of the UK government's newly formed Food Council.

"Essentially, what we are dealing with at the moment is a food system that was laid down in the 1940s," he told BBC News.

"It followed on from the dust bowl in the US, the collapse of food production in Europe and starvation in Asia.

"At the time, there was clear evidence showing that there was a mismatch between producers and the need of consumers."

Professor Lang, from City University, London, added that during the post-war period, food scientists and policymakers also thought increasing production would reduce the cost of food, while improving people's diets and public health.

"But by the 1970s, evidence was beginning to emerge that the public health outcomes were not quite as expected," he explained.

"Secondly, there were a whole new set of problems associated with the environment."

Thirty years on and the world was now facing an even more complex situation, he added.

"The level of growth in food production per capita is dropping off, even dropping, and we have got huge problems ahead with an explosion in human population."

Fussy eaters

Professor Lang lists a series of "new fundamentals", which he outlined during a speech he made as the president-elect of charity Garden Organic, which will shape future food production, including:

* Oil and energy: "We have an entirely oil-based food economy, and yet oil is running out. The impact of that on agriculture is one of the drivers of the volatility in the world food commodity markets."
* Water scarcity: "One of the key things that I have been pushing is to get the UK government to start auditing food by water," Professor Lang said, adding that 50% of the UK's vegetables are imported, many from water-stressed nations.
* Biodiversity: "Biodiversity must not just be protected, it must be replaced and enhanced; but that is going to require a very different way growing food and using the land."
* Urbanisation: "Probably the most important thing within the social sphere. More people now live in towns than in the countryside. In which case, where do they get their food?"

Professor Lang said that in order to feed a projected nine billion people by 2050, policymakers and scientists face a fundamental challenge: how can food systems work with the planet and biodiversity, rather than raiding and pillaging it?

The UK's Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, recently set up a Council of Food Policy Advisers in order to address the growing concern of food security and rising prices.

Mr Benn, speaking at the council's launch, warned: "Global food production will need to double just to meet demand.

"We have the knowledge and the technology to do this, as things stand, but the perfect storm of climate change, environmental degradation and water and oil scarcity, threatens our ability to succeed."

Professor Lang, who is a member of the council, offered a suggestion: "We are going to have to get biodiversity into gardens and fields, and then eat it.

"We have to do this rather than saying that biodiversity is what is on the edge of the field or just outside my garden."

Michelin-starred chef and long-time food campaigner Raymond Blanc agrees with Professor Lang, adding that there is a need for people, especially in the UK, to reconnect with their food.

He is heading a campaign called Dig for Your Dinner, which he hopes will help people reconnect with their food and how, where and when it is grown.

"Food culture is a whole series of steps," he told BBC News.

"Whatever amount of space you have in your backyard, it is possible to create a fantastic little garden that will allow you to reconnect with the real value of gardening, which is knowing how to grow food.

"And once you know how to grow food, it would be very nice to be able to cook it. If you are growing food, then it only makes sense that you know how to cook it as well.

"And cooking food will introduce you to the basic knowledge of nutrition. So you can see how this can slowly reintroduce food back into our culture."

Waste not...

Mr Blanc warned that food prices were likely to continue to rise in the future, which was likely to prompt more people to start growing their own food.

He was also hopeful that the food sector would become less wasteful.

"We all know that waste is everywhere; it is immoral what is happening in the world of food.

"In Europe, 30% of the food grown did not appear on the shelves of the retailers because it was a funny shape or odd colour.

"At least the amendment to European rules means that we can now have some odd-shaped carrots on our shelves. This is fantastic news, but why was it not done before?"

He suggested that the problem was down to people choosing food based on sight alone, not smell and touch.

"The way that seeds are selected is about immunity to any known disease; they have also got to grow big and fast, and have a fantastic shelf life.

"Never mind taste, texture or nutrition, it is all about how it looks.

"The British consumer today has got to understand that when they make a choice, let's say an apple - either Chinese, French or English one - they are making a political choice, a socio-economic choice, as well as an environmental one.

"They are making a statement about what sort of society and farming they are supporting."

Growing appetite

The latest estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that another 40 million people have been pushed into hunger in 2008 as a result of higher food prices.

This brings the overall number of undernourished people in the world to 963 million, compared to 923 million in 2007.

The FAO warned that the ongoing financial and economic crisis could tip even more people into hunger and poverty.

"World food prices have dropped since early 2008, but lower prices have not ended the food crisis in many poor countries," said FAO assistant director-general Hafez Ghanem at the launch of the agency's State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 report.

"The structural problems of hunger, like the lack of access to land, credit and employment, combined with high food prices remain a dire reality," he added.

Professor Lang outlined the challenges facing the global food supply system: "The 21st Century is going to have to produce a new diet for people, more sustainably, and in a way that feeds more people more equitably using less land."

Food for All 2008 Report

2008-12-22T12:16:00.003+08:00

The local food activist group, Food for All, has released a 12-page report on "Critical Food Issues in Singapore" [pdf].

The pdf version is now available for download and distribution.

The report covers issues on local hunger, local agriculture, food security, food safety, nutrition, overseas food program and other food related environmental issues. They even cover issues like eating disorders. Quite a myriad of issues.

Understandably most of the members of the groups are students and the report may not be comprehensive or exhaustive, but it's a start. In fact, I am quite weary about the representation of issues in the report since one of the section on local agriculture was actually done as a report for the GE2221 Nature and Society class. Hey, who knows, maybe it's an A grade project! But honestly I am in no position to comment since I've only skimmed through the report and the author has after all done more research than I have. I have barely started on my Singapore end of my research. Woe!

Interestingly, in the recent vol 8 of the Food for All weekly email digest, called The Edible Revolution, one of my blog post was mentioned. Ah well, if you're reading this directed from that email, thanks for the visit. Feel free to share your thoughts and do pardon my rambling. This blog serves to record my overwhelming mental diarrhea regarding my research. It includes field notes and reflections. I do not intend to be very clear about some of the things I write since I have to protect my sources. I also do not write properly since they are not clearly thought out either. They are meant to provoke my thoughts when I read through them again while writing my thesis. Hopefully as I start writing, I will put up some well organized thoughts and writings on this blog.

If you're interested in more thematic writings, and (not much) less rambling, do visit my "real" blog. lol After all, this is like the subsidiary company while the parent company holds up the intellectual facade.

Community Currency research

2008-12-21T12:15:00.002+08:00

My research interest has always been focused on looking at improving systems, conservation, consumption and tying people, environment and action together. I've said that I wanted to look at conservation and consumption on a large scale thing for my PhD but there has been so many derivatives of that that I have not been able to pin point down to a specific. I could look at how ideologies of conservation differ and how that translates. I can look at alternative modes of consumption and that will some what carry on from my current research.

Recently the McGill professor interest me because of looking at global scale of deriving alternative paradigms of economy that takes into account the environment which really excites me.

Now I come across the Journal of Community Currency Research which is hosted at University of East Anglia which examines alternative currencies. This is also exciting for me. I'll probably read through the journal to find an interesting prof.

On the other hand, it's reminded me that Kathy Gibson of Australia National University is also working on something similar. But I've always resisted going to australia to study. Is this my downfall?

So my question is, why are these professors situated in Geography? Woe me! So what are the people in environmental studies doing? Seems like the social ecology bunch are all anthropologist so they are going to be doing very micro level studies? I really need to do a lot more research about this.

I'm feeling like every step forward is potentially a butterfly effect. I want to stay through to the theme of research that I've been doing and not be pulled down to a particular topic like food or agriculture. I'm quite sure I want to work on SYSTEMS strategies and evaluations. Must remind myself of that.

'Buy local' not the answer to smaller carbon footprint, professor argues

2008-12-19T01:06:00.001+08:00

December 17th, 2008 By Geoff Thomas in General Science / Other

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2006, certain cafeterias on U of T’s St. George campus began serving meals made from ingredients grown mostly in Ontario – an initiative undertaken with Local Food Plus, an organization that promotes local farmers, and campaigns to reduce Canada’s carbon footprint. But at U of T Mississauga, no such food partnership exists – and that may not be a bad thing, according to Professor Pierre Desrochers of geography.

As he argues in a recent policy paper (Yes, We Have No Bananas: A Critique of the ‘Food Miles’ Perspective), a New Zealand apple eaten in Spiegel Hall has more “food miles” (distance food has travelled from production to consumption) on it than the indigenous McIntosh, but its production may have resulted in fewer greenhouse gases. New Zealand apples, he explains, are grown during our winter months and do not need to spend long periods of time in cold storage facilities.

Desrochers’ paper challenges the recent popularity of movements like the 100-mile diet and has made him a virtual pariah to the anti-Agri Business brigade. “The people who protest my paper circle together like musk oxen. They’re reluctant to debate or consider the data. They’re angry at corporations, but feel powerless to effect change. So they transpose their efforts to something they can relate to: food purchases.”

According to Desrochers, buying locally grown but economically uncompetitive products almost never reduces greenhouse gases. In the U.S., more than 80% of food-related energy consumption comes from food production, while the transportation segment accounts for less than 10%. Western European consumers would actually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions if they bought milk solids or apples from highly efficient New Zealand producers rather than from highly subsidized and much less efficient local producers.

“Long distance food transportation by highly efficient diesel container ships represents only a tiny percentage of total energy expenditure in agricultural production,” he says. “Cold storage or greenhouses have much more significant expenditures. North Americans somehow forget that we have seasons!”

Desrochers is not against local food production. He says it works in some places, especially in season. But there was a reason our ancestors shifted away from subsistence farming. “Our modern food supply chain is a demonstrably superior alternative that has evolved through constant competition and ever more rigorous management efficiency.”

Desrochers has no illusions of winning over the prevailing (and politically correct) Local Food Plus faction that pronounces: Let’s go the distance so our food won’t have to. “My brother is a Quebec politician who represents an agricultural riding. I don’t know if I can ever convince him that not buying from local producers is the right thing to do!”

Provided by University of Toronto Mississauga

Thanks to gssq for the tip off.
Still I think that we cannot just look at a particular "label" and buy into it blindly. like "organic" or "local" - how it is grown is always extra important.

Consultancy and Publication Offer

2008-12-18T18:02:00.007+08:00

Final Update: I got a reply regarding the consultancy job. As I suspected, being a full time student does not meet with the job requirements. However, they most kindly ask me to get in touch with them when I graduate! It is nice to know that I have headhunters looking out for me :)

2 days ago, I got an email regarding an offer for consultancy work. After consulting with certain avians, this monkey decided to reply after all. I seriously don't think I'm qualified to be a SENIOR national consultant but I'll be happy to be involved in the project. We'll see what happens.

Hello Ms.Tan,
I am looking for a Senior National Consultant to take part in an extensive - Policy Research Project.

The aim of your section of the research project would be to make a policy contribution to the development of secure and sustainable food production systems in Singapore, in addition to efficient regulatory, logistical, distribution and marketing arrangements.

You would be one of a team of eight consultants from various Pacific Rim countries.

To be specific, I am looking for a Senior National Consultant who has all or most of the following:
-being able to demonstrate an understanding of food chains, the current global food situation and policy responses in the - region;
-previous experience in:
1. sectoral economic analysis, for example, agriculture, food marketing, logistics, transport & distribution;
2. analysis of statutory and regulatory rules, the incentives that arise & policy directions for improvement;
3. preparing case studies;
-demonstrated expertise in undertaking consultancy studies/economic research in English;
-evidence of the capacity to deliver high quality products on time & within budget; and
-being able to consult with key stakeholders across the country.

I must stress that at this point MT is just seeking your interest in being part of the multi country team which will be part of the proposal forwarded to -. Fine detail will come later.

Whether the MT proposal is finally approved will be up to - !

I look forward to hearing back from you and hope that you are interested. Please send a CV for inclusion in our proposal to - . Many thanks in advance! I ask that you also provide a phone number so that we can have a short & informal chat ASAP?

Update: no reply so far so it is just an enquiry after all. furthermore, i expressed my own doubts at my lack of qualifications for this job so till next time then!

And then about a few weeks ago, my boss got an email asking if his students might be interested in submitting their thesis as manuscripts for publication but it sounds so spammy. They are from mauritius! Or at least based there? I'm so skeptical but I replied after all. I don't want to disappoint my boss. I think he's upset that I ask if it's a scam. Sigh.

Dear Professor VRS ,

In the course of an Internet research, I came across the dissertation:

' "Saving Chek Jawa" : social capital and networks in nature conservation ' written by your former student, T P T , in year 2006 .

As we would like to make his/her work available to a larger audience, I would be interested to get in touch with your former student to find out if he/she would like to submit the manuscript for review.

Therefore, I would be grateful if you would be so kind as to provide me with his/her email, or even simply forward this e-mail. Thank you.

F Onno
Acquisition Editor

Update: VDM replied. It turns out to be vanity publishing which I suspected as much. Bah I doubt I'll bother with them unless I'm superbly desperate. Hope the consultancy thing turns out a tad less disappointing? But I'm not very optimistic.

NTUC

2008-12-18T16:43:00.002+08:00

Today a little quack told me that during an industry meeting, a marketing research by a competitor reports that 40% of respondents only buys from NTUC regardless of price or brand.

Just as I was vehemently expressing my frustration at the government-allied supermarket which just opened up a 24 hours hypermart at Jurong Point called NTUC Xtra.

Why am I frustrated with them? Because they are supposed to import from my CH supplier but then I can't find anything from them at the BL branch! *grumble* and then because of government alliance they also are supportive of the food supply diversification strategy which means the less I'm able to find CH food right? What more they have their organic brand that only takes Thai brands? I heard the royal project is seriously pushing for organic. Really helps to be a monarchy.

Anywho, I must really visit the supermarket at Liang Court, ASAP!

Oh right, Note to self: get in touch with AVA!

Singapore: COMO Group acquires organic supermarket

2008-12-18T16:42:00.000+08:00

Dated: 11 April 2007
Reprinted with permission from Organic Monitor
Asian Food Journal

The Singaporean organic food scene just got a shot of wheatgrass juice in the arm with Club 21 founder Christina Ong's takeover of one of the biggest organic stores in town.

Mrs Ong's COMO group - which includes Club 21, COMO Hotels and COMO Shambhala - has bought over Supernature, one of Singapore's first organic stores, which began life in a quiet corner of Wheelock Place in 1997 and now occupies two units at Park House on Orchard Boulevard.

The acquisition of Supernature completes the circle of wellness that Mrs Ong created with her COMO Shambhala group of holistic centres and resort hotels in exotic locations like the Maldives, Parrot Cay and Bhutan. Besides centres offering classes in yoga, pilates, qigong and the like, COMO resorts are hot hangouts for celebrities and the well-heeled in search of tranquil surroundings that emphasise healing and personal wellbeing.

Group spokesman Ming Tan says: 'Wholesome food has always been a part of the COMO Shambhala concept. Hence, Supernature's entry into the COMO Group is perfectly aligned with COMO Shambhala's drive to inspire and challenge every individual to take charge of his or her own wellbeing and to make healthful, conscious decisions, not only on vacation or during travel, but every day in his or her daily life.'

To take over an existing store as opposed to starting one from scratch just makes good business sense, as Supernature has possibly the widest range of natural and organic foods, from vegetables to sustainably farmed meat and poultry. 'Business has been growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent a year,' says Supernature's owner CF Chen. 'It's come to a point where I cannot manage on my own any more - there are so many suppliers who have heard about us and want us to carry their products, but I just can't cope with the growth.'

Hence, six months ago, she entered into talks with Mrs Ong - a regular customer - to buy over the business in order to expand it. Under the terms of the sale, Ms Chen will continue to run Supernature.

Neither side would reveal the dollar value of the acquisition, but plans are to renovate the existing premises and open new stores. COMO is hoping to use Supernature's vast network of suppliers to increase the variety available here. Says Ms Tan: 'We aim to make it easier to eat organic, with more of our own retail outlets in Singapore and regionally, as well as in partnership with restaurants and other organic stores. In this way, we will be able to offer, directly or indirectly, a much greater range while leveraging economies of scale to make organic eating more affordable and practical.'

There is no shortage of investment in organic food retailers in Asia. COMO's market entry follows Cold Storage's opening of a dedicated organic food supermarket in January. 'Whole Foods Market' style organic food retailers are springing up across Asia as companies target health-conscious consumers. Not all are expected to succeed however, as retailers grapple with pricing and supply chain issues.

Sales of organic foods increase as prices fall

2008-12-18T16:35:00.000+08:00

Jessica Lim
limjess@sph.com.sg
14 October 2008
Straits Times
(c) 2008 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Sourced from Factiva

Retailers are sourcing closer to home and cutting out middlemen

WITH a greater variety of organic produce now coming from closer to home, the prices of these foods have fallen.

Fruit and vegetables from Malaysia and Thailand, grown without pesticides and artificial fertilisers, are now in supermarkets and stores here, alongside pricier goods from Australia and the United States.

At NTUC FairPrice, 500g of organic carrots from Thailand cost $3.50, compared to $5.15 for those from Australia.

Some of the more than 30 varieties of vegetables in its 'Pasar Organic' range cost up to 40 per cent less than organic produce from countries further afield, noted the supermarket chain's director of integrated purchasing Tng Ah Yiam.

The range has logged a 30 per cent jump in sales since its launch in July.

A spokesman for the Dairy Farm group, which owns the Cold Storage supermarket chain, said prices of organic produce had also fallen at its outlets by up to 27 per cent over the past year.

Organic snow peas, for example, which cost $9.50 for 100g last year, are now going at $6.50.

This is good news for consumers in a year of rising prices.

Administrative manager Pauline Tan, 54, who has gone organic with 10 of her friends in the past year, said: 'Age is catching up with us and we realise we have to eat more healthily.'

Like her, more people believe that naturally grown foods are healthier, though research has yet to bear it out.

The rise of organic farms in the region is one factor behind the falling prices. The other is the practice of some suppliers who bypass distributors and sell directly to shops and supermarkets.

Zenxin Agri-Organic Food, for example, supplies vegetables from its farms in Malaysia to its stall, Zenxin Organic, in the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, as well as to supermarkets and stores here.

Mr Tai Seng Yee, 25, and his father began organic farming in Kelantan six years ago. Last year, their four farms were certified organic by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia.

The young Malaysian said being near his markets saves him transport and storage costs. The vegetables reach consumers in a fresher state too.

Burgeoning harvests from regional farms like his help bring prices down.

Zenxin's stall now charges $1.70 for 100g of green capsicums from Thailand; a year ago, it was charging $3.20 for Australian capsicums.

The falling prices have triggered a demand for organic produce. A Straits Times check with 10 retail outlets from supermarket chains to HDB shops here found that demand has doubled in just one year.

Mr Tan Chin Hian, managing director of major supplier Ban Choon Marketing, estimates that there are now 75 organic shops in Singapore, up from 40 two years ago.

Organic products sold here range from food to skin-care items and shampoo, but regional suppliers are currently sticking mainly to leafy greens.

This may soon change, predicted Euromonitor International research manager Yvonne Kok. She suggested that organic skin-care products and cosmetics for both men and women could be big next.

Organic Garden in Woodlands has seen customers becoming more savvy.

Storekeeper Jenny Chua said: 'When we first set up shop, people asked basic questions about sea salt. Now, they are asking sophisticated questions about nutritional content.'

Retiree Maria Tsai, 67, believes going organic is about taking charge of one's health: 'Large companies take care of only its profits. It is up to us to take care of our health ourselves.'

Shelf life of Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre in question

2008-12-18T16:32:00.001+08:00

Leong Wee Keat   weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg :  
12 December 2008
TODAY (Singapore)
(c) 2008. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Sourced from Factiva

FOR 25 years, it has been Singapore’s main wholesale distribution centre for vegetables, fruits and dried food products. In recent years, it also made the headlines as a chikungunya fever cluster, the crime scene of the murder of Huang Na in 2004 and a quarantine area during the Sars outbreak in 2003.

Now, the days of the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre (PPWC) may be numbered.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB), which owns and manages the centre, wants to carry out a study on the viability of the centre. Among the areas the HDB wants studied are: Business trends within the next five to 10 years for the centre, the impact of direct imports and whether there is still a need to have a centralised wholesale market.

From the analysis of the information gathered, the HDB hopes to better assess the requirements of the centre’s tenants in planning and redevelopment proposals, either for the existing or a new alternative site.

Wholesalers told Today that the relocation had been discussed recently. In March, the Pasir Panjang Market Vegetable and Fruits Dealers Association held preliminary discussions with the HDB as the lease of the centre was coming to an end. As plans were still being finalised, most of the stalls’ leases were renewed for a further three years.

“We occupy a large area which could be redeveloped for other uses,” said vegetable seller Law Song Nam, who has been at PPWC since 1983.

PPWC, sitting next to the Pasir Panjang Port Terminal and occupying an area equivalent to 20 football fields, is home to about 1,400 units of stalls, shops, cold rooms and offices.

According to HDB’s tender document, the centre “faces the threat of being bypassed as a wholesale centre as there is an increasing trend for businesses to import directly from overseas suppliers”.

“This challenge, together with the ageing building conditions and other dynamic business changes, poses uncertainty to the future for PPWC,” it added.

Despite these challenges, wholesalers feel that they still have a role to play at PPWC. Thygrace Marketing’s owner Philip Seow — who has been in the wholesale trade for 23 years — said that besides market stalls, PPWC wholesalers also supply fruits and vegetables to food manufacturing companies, hotels and restaurants.

“Having more players at a common market means greater variety and more competitive pricing for customers,” he added.

Also, wholesalers pointed out that only large retailers — such as supermarket chains — could reap economies of scale by directly importing produce.

“Small retailers cannot buy 50 boxes at one go for perishables,” said Zenxin Agri-Organic Food’s Mr Tai Seng Yee.

PPWC also caters to retail shoppers. At the centre yesterday, Today spotted a few shoppers looking for bargains.

---------------

Is Pasir Panjang hub still viable?
Ang Yiying ayiying@sph.com.sg
458 words
12 December 2008
Straits Times
English
(c) 2008 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

HDB commissions market survey to decide fate of struggling wholesale centre

THE fate of the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre hangs in the balance. With more businesses importing directly from overseas suppliers, the 15ha site faces the threat of being bypassed as a wholesale centre, according to an HDB tender document on the government business website.

The HDB has called for a major study on the wholesale centre's future viability. It is owned and managed by HDB through an agent and has 1,405 units comprising stalls, shops, cold rooms and offices. According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), some 30 per cent of fruit importers and 60 per cent of vegetable importers have their warehouses, cold stores and distribution sites there.

At the wholesale centre yesterday, sellers told the same story: Their sales have been on the decline since the Sars outbreak in 2003 when the market was shut for two weeks after some sellers fell sick.

Some walk-in customers stayed away and never returned, while some businesses found alternative sources by liaising directly with suppliers, said sellers. Most who spoke to The Straits Times said sales had dropped by half since then.

Madam Tan Ai Keow, 55, who has been selling vegetables at the market since it opened in 1983, said: 'Times are bad. The market has no business.'

Sellers said one major issue is that businesses are being directly supplied from Malaysia. Trucks carrying goods go through Customs and deliver directly to businesses.

The AVA, which uses the wholesale centre as an inspection point to take samples to check for pesticide residues and contaminants, said not all goods are required to report to the centre, only randomly targeted vegetables and fruits for the day.

Mr Raymond Tan, owner of MCP Supermarket which has six outlets in Singapore, used to buy all of his produce from the wholesale centre when he established the chain in 1999.

Now, he buys only 30 per cent there. He imports 70 per cent directly from Malaysia.

According to the tender document, the appointed consultant would be given three months to study the overall wholesale industries in vegetables, fruits and dried goods, and in relation to the operations of the Pasir Panjang centre.

It will give recommendations on whether and how the wholesale centre can 'continue to remain relevant and viable in future'.

However, many sellers said if the wholesale centre closes or relocates, they will wind up their businesses. One vegetable seller, who wanted to be known only as Madam Chia, 60, said: 'We're old; we won't carry on if it's gone...It's very hard to sustain the business.'

燃油价下滑蔬菜价格居高不下

2008-12-18T16:28:00.000+08:00

25 November 2008 2047hrs
梁凯欣 (xin.sg)

新传媒新闻报道，国际燃油价格一跌再跌，不过，进口蔬菜的价格却没有回落，反而是贵了10%到15%。当中，辣椒的价格，更是暴涨了一倍。

只要到巴刹走一趟，不难发现蔬菜的价格依然居高不下，让许多消费者吃不消。

“我们时常吃菜的，会影响到，我们做生意，也是很多的菜，也是会影响到，为什么油会下，菜不会下？”

“很难讲的，有时我们买，我们一个礼拜买，以前才买5、6元，现在10多元。”

菜商表示，油价对蔬菜价格的影响不大，天气和收成才是造成价格波动的主要原因。

由于我国进口的蔬菜，五成来自马国，而雨季提前一个月到来，影响了收成，因此推高了蔬菜的价格。一些巴刹摊贩索性不卖一些价格高昂的蔬菜。其中，马来西亚、泰国和越南等地的辣椒树就由于遭到大雨摧毁，收成减少，导致每公斤批发价从两、3元增加到6元，创下了十年来的新高，目前在巴刹里已是不见踪影。

一名蔬菜摊贩说，“小白菜，什么东西，都没有拿了，太贵了，葱也是很贵，太贵，没有办法买，买来一公斤5、6元，人家要买0.20元，要送纸袋，哪里可以买。”

“我不要买，很难卖出去，因为这么贵。”

不过批发商表示，蔬菜价格有回落的趋势。

巴西班让批发中心商联会副会长罗松南说，“这两三个礼拜，天气会好转，价钱就会软下来，还有燃油的价钱一直降，也是有关系。”

批发商也表示，我国已逐渐减少对马国蔬菜的依赖，目前从30多个国家进口蔬菜，因此不担心缺货。

Food to my attention

2008-12-08T13:49:00.003+08:00

This morning on facebook, A from GUI wrote on his status,

"totally agrees what Ivy Singh said "You can print money overnight but you can't grow food overnight" What is a financial crisis compared to a food/water crisis?"

To add to that, an article on AP caught my attention with the headlines,

"In lean times, SoCal residents trade guns for food"

And it just reminds me of what HL told me the other day about David Harvey talking about how organic food production has diminished the quantity of food, exacerbating the food crisis. But at the same time I'm also reading this manga Akumetsu, which talks about the economic crisis in Japan and the pork barrel politics. And some how I cannot see organic farming as the evil perpetrator. I cannot agree with D Harvey when shouldn't the economic system be under scrutiny instead? Why blame something that at least have good intentions? Of course I do not think that the organic system is anywhere near perfect. It's so problematic in the first place but let's not divert attention from the source of the problem in the first place alright? It's alright to criticize something but to totally discredit organic farming is like diversionary tactic. It's hardly addressing the root of the problem isn't it? What would normal people do with such information except to feel self-righteous and self-justified that organic is "evil" after all and they can continue with their current lifestyle of supporting "normal" crop produce. Of course as W would probably tell me, capitalism is not all that bad. Yes sure, I think that forms of capitalism have always existed but what happen to progress? I think we're way overdue for a paradigm shift.

I do admit however that I am in no position to comment further until I have read up on this more. Perhaps I will take HL's advice and read DHarvey's book on neoliberalism. You can't criticize what you have not read.

Personally I wouldn't start advocating for people to jump onto the organic bandwagon. I would still eat regular produce but this is why I'm more inclined towards the freeganism ideals. Not that I'm about to start climbing into dumpsters though. Still, I think that there is no idealised alternative at this point in time. I'm still thinking. I honestly care less about food safety and what not ever since I started my research. However, I'm being more aware of not consuming food from faraway countries. And yes, if I am the consumer, I would support local organic produce. In that order of priority. I'm not about to consume organic food from the US or Europe! But personally I think the only way I can change my lifestyle is to help exact change in the source of my food. I have decided my "power" as a consumer is not strong enough but neither am I willing to go and amass consumers to my cause. It's such a complex equation. If I address the issue from producer perspective, they will just tell me that there is no consumer support. If I address consumer support, I do not have a produce to deliver to them. I do not think organic is ideal. So what if something is labelled organic? It means hardly anything to me. Especially if it's sold in a supermarket and have fancy packaging.

Seems like, the more one knows, the harder it is for one to live an "easy" life.

So here's my question now - why is it that singapore is not willing to pay more for ethical food but europe, usa, hongkong and japan are willing to? Why is US and Europe supermarkets able to exercise greater pressure on their supply chain while SG is not? Why are we only concerned about food safety while other developed countries can exercise pressure on environmental issues? Is environmental issue in your source really a domestic problem and none of our business? Why does our regulations only limited to food safety? How can we exercise some form of regulation over the environment conditions of where our food come from? Certification? How effective is that? Is there any other way?

interview with wholesaler #1

2008-11-29T17:08:00.005+08:00

I was really afraid of contacting wholesalers because the supermarket people were so mean to me. But today I conclude that I must have met one of the nicest wholesalers in the business. For so many reasons. The guy I spoke with is english educated. unfortunately he's not the son of the farmer but the partner. Oh well, nevermind. different perspective, same business. At the end, he actually entertained me for almost 3-4 hours and gave me a big bag of vegetables! Unfortunately there was a japanese eggplant in my goodie bag but it rolled out and I think it never came back in my bag again *cry* I really wanted to try it coz I would never have bought it on my own. sigh.

On the other hand, I think theirs is a unique perspective and is good to be so open. He says there are ways to get in without gahmen knowing and I wonder about that. He didn't tell me and I don't want to know but geez, I wonder if it's the same methods as I know. Unimportant though. But as ascertained, they are not interested in "domestic issues" and supermarkets don't care either. And best of all, we don't have the purchasing power apparently. Is not enough priority. Dammit I forgot to ask if they know the source is heavily degraded, would they still import from there. Shit. Maybe I should email him to thank him and then sneak in the question.

He say to treat him chicken rice and I definitely don't mind! Even better yet, I promise I will show him around Cameron Highlands. That is definitely doable. I think I can start a SG-CH tour agency O_O" Not that people feel the need for that right? Hmmm... who knows. Farm stay? :D

I don't want to say this but I wonder if his identity as a christian influences his decision making and makes him different from the chinese-educated wholesalers. I cannot say that until I have met other wholesalers. Is it an education thing or a cultural-religion thing? He speaks perfect english; and cantonese and hokkien and teochew and chinese. I'm sure he speaks malay too.

I don't have other to compare to I think but he definitely feels that it's an integral part of his business. Even the branding and the company name. Of course there is no other comparison other than to the US and again, religiosity I would definitely hesitate to comment on.

oh one important thing, i really don't like how these CH exporters disguise their names every each way. now SFL is called United SFL Plantations?! But they export specially to wholesaler #1. Wholesaler #1 doesn't do the auction deal because they do institutional customers but yet they still do home delivery so what's up with that? SH only supply them with cucumbers. Momotaro is expensive coz seed is expensive. Branding is important. Price can be 100% different pre and post packaging. I think consumer target is different too. the indonesian products because of the air/sea freight(?) are all very professionally packaged, with plastic and box prints. They happen to have the same branding too, unplanned. Their quality more consistent. The CH ones are totally unprocessed. Wholesaler must do QC and packaging. 90% of the ones he get from CH are unprocessed. But of course post-handling are done in CH only if direct to supermarket.

Publishing about yaoi

2008-11-27T20:35:00.004+08:00

Was having dinner with M and he was absolutely amazed by the transnational yaoi phenomenon that i'm describing. he said that it can really reflect social change, common aspirations, the transnational phenomenon and how is it connected through the east asian countries, diasporas and beyond. Personally i think he's just disconnected from his homeland! haha

I'm definitely no where near changing my masters topic but this is definitely a potential in terms of just a random paper to publish. I was also very inspired by Anne Allison's presentation week(s) previously. There is much to be seen about the sociability and social change through manga as a text. Why do people read yaoi? Why do people publish yaoi? The mangaka never look outside of japanese audience but how did this become such a big thing in other asian countries and even south america! Looking at the fansub community is just mind blowing. Even for me, I'm already not very well versed in the chinese BBS but it's there alright. how how how did this happen? what do people like about yaoi? are there papers done already? I really should do a literature review.

But on a serious note, I think I need a collaborator for sure. Natalie Oswin? Anne Allison? kekeke What do I know about cultural studies or gender studies? Or japanese studies even? I'm deeply convinced that there's been a lot written already. Besides, this means that I need to continue my japanese language lessons. Also, what do I know about reading manga as text for insights into japanese society? this is out of my realm or am I just shortchanging myself? how many academics is a crazy fujoushi like me? lol

A quick search on google scholar reveals that there are much written on gender studies, communications, japanese studies literature. I just need to make this a geographical one eh? *Grin*

Note to self: refer to notes of anne allison's lecture on commons / multitudes for CJ paper.

I'm a "published" author!

2008-11-27T13:40:00.005+08:00

While doing a name search for myself I found that I am actually on the National Library Board's database!

Bukit Timah : a heritage trail / [researcher-writer, November Tan Peng Ting ; photographer Ung Ruey Loon].

Author: Tan, November Peng Ting
Publisher: Singapore : National Heritage Board, 2007.
ISBN:
Format: Book
Physical Description: [48] p. : ill. (chiefly col.), map ; 23 cm.
Subjects: Bukit Timah (Singapore) Guidebooks
Singapore Guidebooks
Bukit Timah (Singapore) History
Bukit Timah (Singapore) Description and travel

Hmm how do I put this on my resume? lol I am planning to submit my CV for the PMO career talk but that means I've to update my CV soon.

Vegetable prices rise 10-15% due to early rainy season

2008-11-25T21:22:00.003+08:00

By Liang Kaixin, Channel NewsAsia
25 November 2008 2057 hrs

SINGAPORE : Vegetable prices have risen by 10 to 15 percent on average during the past month due to the rainy season.

The rainy season, which began a month earlier this year, has affected harvests in Malaysia, where half of Singapore's vegetable imports come from.

The rains have also affected chilli harvests in Thailand, Vietnam and other neighbouring countries.

Chilli prices have doubled to some S$6 a kilogramme, the highest in 10 years. - CNA /ls

I got to seriously think about working this into my interview questions with the wholesaler on thursday. how much is really from malaysia? how much from cameron highlands?

The Chinese news has more details. I love the chinese media in Singapore.

燃油价下滑蔬菜价格居高不下
25 November 2008 2047hrs
梁凯欣 [video]
Xin.sg

新传媒新闻报道，国际燃油价格一跌再跌，不过，进口蔬菜的价格却没有回落，反而是贵了10%到15%。当中，辣椒的价格，更是暴涨了一倍。

只要到巴刹走一趟，不难发现蔬菜的价格依然居高不下，让许多消费者吃不消。

“我们时常吃菜的，会影响到，我们做生意，也是很多的菜，也是会影响到，为什么油会下，菜不会下？”

“很难讲的，有时我们买，我们一个礼拜买，以前才买5、6元，现在10多元。”

菜商表示，油价对蔬菜价格的影响不大，天气和收成才是造成价格波动的主要原因。

由于我国进口的蔬菜，五成来自马国，而雨季提前一个月到来，影响了收成，因此推高了蔬菜的价格。一些巴刹摊贩索性不卖一些价格高昂的蔬菜。其中，马来西亚、泰国和越南等地的辣椒树就由于遭到大雨摧毁，收成减少，导致每公斤批发价从两、3元增加到6元，创下了十年来的新高，目前在巴刹里已是不见踪影。

一名蔬菜摊贩说，“小白菜，什么东西，都没有拿了，太贵了，葱也是很贵，太贵，没有办法买，买来一公斤5、6元，人家要买0.20元，要送纸袋，哪里可以买。”

“我不要买，很难卖出去，因为这么贵。”

不过批发商表示，蔬菜价格有回落的趋势。

巴西班让批发中心商联会副会长罗松南说，“这两三个礼拜，天气会好转，价钱就会软下来，还有燃油的价钱一直降，也是有关系。”

批发商也表示，我国已逐渐减少对马国蔬菜的依赖，目前从30多个国家进口蔬菜，因此不担心缺货。

no guts for field work

2008-11-19T18:30:00.006+08:00

i'm really not the cold call kinda gal. Yesterday i emailed one of the wholesalers via an email form (gah!) and im just wondering, what if they never reply? Should I call? I want to look for the boss but then I don't dare to call and ask for the boss. Gosh. What should I do? I really need to interview them. Help! I guess knowing the boss' dad doesn't work. :(

when do you think they will call me back? when should i start calling them? omfg nervous!

Please reply me soon! *pray*

Update @ 21 Nov 08 12:31PM
Still no reply from them. If by monday nothing happens I need to execute plan B. oh gawd... :( please please please email me back!

Update @ 23 Nov 08 10:00PM
I got a call from somebody from the company! Don't know if it's the boss or not but I can have an interview on Thursday! HURRAY!

Letter to a potential environmental geography undergrad

2008-11-19T17:22:00.011+08:00

One of my professors got an email inquiry from a potential undergrad interested in conservation and a geography degree. She was interested to know how conservation and geography degree could be related and the prof ask a few of us "environmentally inclined" geog students to email her. I thought I'll share my long enthusiastic email. It'll probably apply to any students who might be interested in doing geography in NUS and interested in the environment!

"Well personally I would say that Geography comes closest to environmental studies in Singapore without becoming an engineer or scientist. Geography covers topics of human-nature relationship and issue amongst other things :) If you are more inclined towards the sciences, we also have physical geography that covers many aspects from hydrology, coastal geomorphology to biogeography. Personally I'm doing more environmental geography. Right now I'm actually doing my Masters and I'm researching on ethical food production and Singapore's ecological footprint, farmers environmental behaviour, etc :) For my honors thesis, I looked into social capital and networks in nature conservation.

What more, in NUS, there is also lots of opportunities to go overseas for student exchange and field studies. I did both. For student exchange, I went to University of California, Santa Barbara where I did geography and environmental studies and got even more exposure to different topics like environmental planning, etc. For field studies, we spend 1.5 months in Thailand where we get to do research in the field! I did that in my first year and learnt a lot about sustainable resource management by the ethnic minorities in the northern thailand highlands :) This is actually a module where you earn 8MC (equivalent of 2 classes in NUS) by having fun overseas doing really cool gungho fieldwork research haha :) So all this I got to do thanks to geography at NUS. They really encourage students and give them lots of opportunities to try many many things.

But at the same time, in NUS, you also need to do other modules from other departments and faculty. So this is where you can learn more by taking modules in biology or any other departments that you might be interested in. I did a lot of modules from biology to supplement my own understanding.

NUS also offers joint programs with University of North Carolina and the Department of Biology also offers a minor with overseas university for all students in NUS so you can do geography and the minor and it'll be just as good as any environmental studies or management bachelor program in the world :) In fact, in many universities, the env studies program is an interdisciplinary program where many of the professors are actually from geography!"

Update @ 21 Nov 2008, 1:08AM
I realize that this has been advertised on WildSingapore so it's going to be read by more than I expected. That's quite worrying because I don't think that this "letter" is neither comprehensive nor representative about geography, conservation-studies nor environmental geography. It's just a little bit about my experiences and mostly because the person was interested in Geography at NUS so my sharing was very biased. Absolutely PR. Of course there is more that I have not written. I often personally attribute most of what I learn not from my geography classes but to all the other activities and opportunities that I got through my time in university and this is not limited to Geography. From being with toddycats to writing my thesis, joining beachfleas, NHC and now TLW, my journey is still going on. Of course I've also been limited by Geography but purely my own fault for not becoming a physical geographer. I should be measuring things out there right now but I never did very well at that. Drats! So I've actually discovered what I'm better at and focus on my own niche. The self-discovery is still continuing today! I definitely can't claim to know it all already. It's quite true what they say, "the more you know, the more you realize you know nothing".

encyclopedia entry about vegetables

2008-11-19T16:21:00.005+08:00

Today, got an email about a new publication on environmental issues (green energy, green politics and green food). Of course green food is right up my alley...

This publication is an online reference resource like an encyclopedia. There is a list of topics sent out and vegetables was still not yet taken! It just felt like such a sign to me. I just emailed the managing author with my research interest and tried very hard explaining why i have no publications to show for. Sigh. But I don't have anything else except one newsletter article for SEC and the many booklets I wrote for NHB. Ok, that hopefully counts for something.

The editor for NatureWatch has been chasing me to write something. I really should take the opportunity to write more for them! It's almost like a willing audience... C'mon gambarimasu monkey!

I really hope that the editor comes back favourably. It's really quite something to write on your CV that you were a contributing author for SAGE Publications!

Update @ 20 Nov
The managing author came back with monkey's first academic "publication" woohoo! well i mean she'll let me write so that's good yay! The down side (or maybe it's a good thing too) is that the topic is US-centric so I have to do extra research.

She wrote:
"Just to give you a little direction, you may want to cover ways of growing "green" vegetables, and the impact on the environment by farmers as they grow vegetables in non-green ways. Also, the stress should be a US focus as the audience is US students."

Gosh ok I really need to go read up now! Maybe Masao's wife can help give me a few advice. Hmmm Hope all goes well.

Commonwealth Scholarship

2008-11-19T13:49:00.002+08:00

Just as I've given up hope on UK universities, the commonwealth scholarship for developed countries came under my radar.

"Applications for the 2009 Commonwealth Scholarship for students from the Commonwealth to study in the United Kingdom are now open. The Scholarship is for study at PhD level in the UK in 2009. Candidates may also apply for a “split-site” award for one year’s study in the UK as part of a PhD being taken in Singapore. We should encourage our best students to apply."

Details on the Commonwealth Scholarship may be found at this website: http://www.cscuk.org.uk/2009ScholarshipstodevelopedCommonwealth.asp

After talking to Lucian today at lunch, I'm wondering if I should apply for studies straight away or just stick to my work plan. Cause for concern is that such opportunities and information may not be available to me once I graduate! :( Maybe I can tell pauline to keep me in the loop...

field studies 2009

2008-11-18T13:55:00.005+08:00

bumped into CGW outside the office just now and asked about field studies and i think i got myself drafted. i have been contemplating it ever since i got "liberated". i wonder if it would be a good decision though...if i were looking for job... or what if i had to finish my thesis or rewrite? omg. this means that i have to finish my thesis by APRIL. Hey that's an incentive to write faster. write faster then maybe monkey can go thailand ~~and find a nice handsum thai boy! haha oh gawd im despicable.~~ alright alright, i am going there because i miss thailand dammit. and also because if im really interested in working on becoming a southeast asianist i need to work on my field experience.

sometimes i really wonder what i'm up to. on the other hand my family wants to go hokkaido around that time of the year next year and they did invite me to go along... dammit. japan. hokkaido. thailand. ~~cute boys.~~ omg i cannot decide~ haha hope i can have my cake and eat it too. Slurp~

This would be my last chance to do field studies before i go overseas to do phd or start work in gahmen, etc. but i have to start applying for job in january. get a job for 1 year in civil service singapore or international orgs and then do my phd? must do my GRE in january too... after i pass my driving test! But I think I should write my thesis first before thinking about phd proposals...

When I'm in AAG in March I should definitely be ready to talk to potential supervisors for Fall Admission 2010.

February must be finished with my paper to submit to competition and maybe churn out something from my honors. damn im screwy

Must remember to email CGW at the end of the year to talk about this again.

where did all the cameron veggies go?

2008-11-18T13:19:00.003+08:00

went to the supermarket just now to do some market research... literally
and lo and behold
all my cameron highland vegetables are no where to be seen!
replaced by genting highlands and thailand veggies!
wtf! so ok, thygrace and grace cup is a repeating feature
ok very very scary
what happen to my other big suppliers?
no kc kwang and sons? no freshever?
well zenxin is out and about so that means it's possible that the veggie is from cameron organic produce but COP is also reducing their exports to zenxin already. gawd i need to interview the singapore importers and this is freaking me out. sigh

This is bad for my research

SALM certification

2008-11-05T18:07:00.002+08:00

My new transcriber has been superbly efficient, churning out transcripts like a machine! *deeply impressed* Today she emailed to ask about "SHALAM", the Malaysian Good Agriculture Practices certification. Officially known as SALM (Skim Amalan Ladang Baik Malaysia). (DOA Website) So while at it, I also told her about SOM (Skim Organik Malaysia) and found the Department of Agriculture (Jabatan Pertanian) websites and some posters of the skims.

New work resolution for 08-09

2008-10-31T19:46:00.003+08:00

Nearing the end of my masters, I find myself constantly distracted. I haven't done any work since I came back from fieldwork. It got worse after Japan and Peru. Finally I got a minute to reorganize my desk and came up with a new schema for the rest of my masters career. Gawd It's time to get rid of my september calendar on my desk. It's November for crying out loud! Time to let November shine!

Post-lecture reflections

2008-10-28T20:16:00.002+08:00

Today I finally gave my lecture on ethical food.

I felt I digress quite a bit and at points repetitive. It would have been a tad too confusing for the students that are uninitiated to the world of "food".

Well there were many people yawning and even falling asleep but that can't be helped. I made them laugh with a few jokes and go ewwww with my MAS earthworm-coleslaw story haha oh well. I hope they got the point. The turn out was better than expected. The class had about 150 students and at least 100 turned up! I really hope I got them thinking more about where their food come from.

Harvey felt that the lecture was good. He didn't give me any criticism at all except saying that it was good. He will use some of my slides in the environmental sustainability module next semester.

Heather (student and food activist) felt that:

- it was comprehensive and good breadth
- not enough depth
- could have included case study on one particular label perhaps
- include more food activist groups (like food not bomb, freeganism)
- could have included biofuel
- learnt something new about the ethicureans
- like the graph I did on eco-anthropocentrism vs consumer-producer centered movements/concepts
- felt that some of the uninitiated students might not be able to know enough for me to talk about elitism of slow food movement
- could have included more examples from my fieldwork

Well I guess people are more generous than I am with myself! Nonetheless I had fun :) It was particularly good that Harvey was giving out chocolates for the students and we could use the chocolates as examples about where food comes from. That's really helpful! I think I still have more to improve on in terms of organizing my thoughts, the flow of learning for the students to better understand concept. I have to stop saying "we'll come back to that later". Better flow would have prevented that. I should have at least rehearsed once. Oh well bummer. It didn't help that at points I actually forgot what I was talking about or forgot names of examples. Oh dear dear. I should remember to skip over when I forget. Still I kept good time and didn't overshot. They even got a 10minute break! :)

Joining an organized session at AAG

2008-10-25T14:32:00.002+08:00

Truth be told I agonized over getting an organized session at AAG for the longest time. The original session I wanted on food and vulnerability was full(!) and so I turned away from the cultural and political ecology group and found that the Environmental Perception and Behavioral Geography Specialty Group had a session on geographies of sustainable consumption.

I tweaked my abstract a lil and sent it in! The organizers turned out to be quite excited about my paper even though I'm talking about production as much as consumption. Apparently the session has turned out to be quite popular and was split into several. Today I finally took the guts to check out the session I'm in and hold and behold, I was grouped together with Michael Goodman! I don't know how big of a name is he but the fact that I've read him several times in my literature reviews makes me extremely excited. I think I even quoted him in one of my papers. *giggle like a schoolgirl* Wait, I am a schoolgirl!

The reason why joining organized sessions is really important is as Henry told us at GRS. If you go to a generic session, you may be placed together with random people. Chances of getting a big name is slim and so you might get zero audience. Maybe just you and the chair. Gosh some of the speakers might not even turn up. Having a big name guarantees you some audience which is good! And of course the networking! W00t! Either way, I didn't expect Goodman but damn it's good.

And I'm really excited about the other speakers too. Shit that's what going to a conference should be about. Learning and exchanging ideas.

Geographies of Sustainable Lifestyles I: Conceptualising Consumption

The start of the 21st century has been characterised by urgent calls to examine the role of consumption in driving global environmental change and framing responses to these ecological dilemmas. Indeed, the ways in which consumption has been constituted and influenced by environmental, technological, economic, social and political processes have become critical issues for geographers. The convergence of these two research agendas has therefore provided geographers and other social science researchers with a range of opportunities to explore the emerging contexts for 'sustainable lifestyles' and the growing political importance of behaviour change. These have been undertaken at a range of scales (from individuals and households, to organisations and institutions) and have examined numerous environmentally-related practices that encompass consumptive, habitual and 'post-consumption' behaviours. Indeed, research in this field is characterised by a range of theoretical and applied approaches. Accordingly, this session aims to bring together geographers and other social scientists who are engaged in research on sustainable consumption, lifestyles and behaviour change. The session will provide an opportunity to explore the range of approaches towards sustainable consumption and will enable delegates to share theoretical and practical experiences from their research. We welcome contributions from researchers who are exploring this wide field, including those working on issues such as energy conservation, water resources, waste management, travel and transport, leisure and tourism and the broader field of ethical and green consumption. Contributions are welcome from those working at different scales (e.g. individual, household, organisational) and in a range of contexts (socio-economic, cultural, environmental).

Anticipated Attendance: 40

Organizers:
Frances Fahy
Stewart Barr

Chairs:
Stewart Barr

Participants:
Michael K Goodman, Encountering (Ethical) Consumption and the Limits to an Ethics of Care
Jonathan Everts, The Ethical Consumer?
November Peng Ting Tan, Producing "Ethical Food" in the Singapore-Malaysia Vegetable Trade System
Louise Rutt, Commodifying Charity: Alternative Giving as Ethical Consumption
Lucy Cartlidge, The 'making' of eco-homes in England

Sponsorships:
Environmental Perception and Behavioral Geography Specialty Group

Ethical Food Lecture Slides

2008-10-25T13:57:00.003+08:00

Ethical Food and Ethicurean

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: environment geography)

I will be giving this lecture on Tuesday, 28 October. I think the organization still needs a bit reworking. I hope I don't overrun on time. Will remember to pace myself. Eek. There's just too much to say. At some point I think it's not very coherent. I must definitely work out what I intend to say :) I guess that means I will be ~~killing some trees to print out the outline. Bummer.~~ Turn out I didn't print anything after all! Figured I'll use my mac which allows me to view my notes while doing the presentation. Love my mac *hugs* saved a few trees that way!

Singapore Food Industries looks into setting up pig farm in China

2008-10-23T21:21:00.000+08:00

By Wong Yee Fong, Channel NewsAsia
23 October 2008

SINGAPORE: Singapore Food Industries is studying the feasibility of setting up a pig farm in China's Jilin Province.

The feasibility study will be completed within the next six to 12 months.

The plan is to have the pig farm and pork-processing facilities within a food zone.

Singapore's National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan says Singapore will invest in the project and provide its expertise in food safety in the joint partnership with the Jilin government.

Mr Mah said, "The long-term objective is to provide supply of food, not just for local consumption, and export to Singapore, which is in line with the overall objective of ensuring food security in Singapore."

Greens from TRASH but they're still FRESH

2008-09-30T09:11:00.002+08:00

So says KL health official of veggies picked up by Myanmar scavengers and sold in market
WHEN we make a trip to the market to buy vegetables, we usually just do a visual check for their freshness.
The Electric New Paper
30 September 2008

WHEN we make a trip to the market to buy vegetables, we usually just do a visual check for their freshness.

But would you buy the veggies if you were told that they were actually picked up from dumpsites, even if they were certified safe for consumption?

That was what had been taking place in a wholesale market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Scavengers from Myanmar had been foraging through decaying vegetables discarded at dumpsites at the Selayang wholesale market, reported the Malay Mail. They then packed and sold them to unsuspecting pasar malam traders and restaurants.

And the local authorities have certified the vegetables as fit to eat.

Officers from the Health Ministry, the Gombak district and City Hall Health Department had visited one of the markets believed to be selling the discarded vegetables and confiscated them for tests.

An official from the Health Ministry was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying that tests found the greens to be free from germs, chemicals, microbes and pesticides. He also said the vegetables were found to be fresh enough to be sold.

'We have done all the preliminary tests on the vegetables and found that they are not tainted,' said the official. 'The only laws that the Myanmar nationals are breaking are the immigration law and conducting businesses without licences.'

His remarks have set health experts questioning why the vegetables were discarded in the first place. They also wanted to know how many times and what kinds of vegetables were tested, and why the ministry was sanctioning the sale and consumption of the vegetables.

Meanwhile, prompted by the Malay Mail's report, KL Mayor Ab Hakim Borhan visited the wholesale market with the Immigration Department, Selayang Municipal Council and an Alam Flora representative.

They personally inspected the market for cleanliness, enforcement and facilities.

UN protection for refugees Datuk Hakim was said to have been shocked at what he saw, but he said
that immigration officials could only confiscate the refugees' goods but not arrest them as they were protected under the United Nations refugee programme.

He said he would discuss the matter with the immigration department and the UN refugee programme.

'We will look into their plight and see if the workers could be provided with legal work documents,' he said.

He added that in order to curb the growth of illegal traders at the wholesale markets, a special vehicle sticker will be issued by the City Hall Health Department.

Business operators in the markets were hiring the Myanmar refugees without work permits as assistants because local people were not keen to do the work.

Some of these Myanmar nationals are involved in the sale of discarded vegetables as a means of extra income.

Datuk Hakim said that security in the area will be beefed up by having officers work on three shifts to guard the market at all times.

'Though the market operates from 2am-11am, the peak hour is around 3am when many illegal operators are active,' he said.

'To make sure that the operations run smoothly, we will place our officers at the entrance and exit to monitor the flow of vehicles,' he said.

The dilemma of presenting original work

2008-09-11T17:22:00.003+08:00

While discussing a job candidate the other day, VRS mentioned that I shouldn't be presenting original work. In reference to the job candidate, VRS said, "he doesn't present new things, it's already published!"

Unfortunately, I'm hoping to present a small part of my (definitely unpublished) masters thesis, a work in progress at next year's AAG in Las Vegas.

I really don't know if I should be doing that. Granted, the event is not really for serious academic discussion, more for networking and catching up. But still, who knows who is listening out and taking your ideas. sigh.

In the SEAGA conference in May, again I presented my HT which is yet unpublished. I threw in all the good stuff in there. Call me a newbie but I should be more careful about these things but how? How much should I present and how much not to? I'm also trying to attract potential supervisors, phd programs or jobs or whatever so then I don't want to sound like an idiot either. Then how?

Transcriber-Translator Needed

2008-08-28T19:15:00.005+08:00

I am looking for a transcriber for interviews conducted in Malay as part of my Masters dissertation fieldwork. Transcriber is required to translate the interviews from Malay to English and document the final transcript in English only.

Transcriber will be paid one lump sum upon work completion preferably by October ‘08.

Fluency in Bahasa Melayu / Bahasa Indonesia and English required. Undergraduates preferred. Malaysians most welcomed since the interviews are conducted in Malaysia. Transcriber does not need to be in Singapore!

Please email me (tan at nus dot edu dot sg) for more details.

Today's work order

2008-08-22T21:35:00.002+08:00

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

No, I'm not exaggerating. Woe!

UBC PhD

2008-08-13T22:34:00.004+08:00

today henry said that UBC is the top geog department in his opinion. so i went and check out their phd program. one of the asst profs interest me with her work in the cultural politics of nature conservation latin america. suddenly it inspired me to do a cross comparison between latin america and SEA experience in conservation - looking at cultural differences and different cultural experiences. differential experiences of the global south. hmmm unfortunately i am hesitant about working with assistant professors. i do want to do something that breaches latin america and southeast asia. i'm quite keen on working on a regional perspective of environmentalism and conservation or a comparison between two areas - east-west studies or a comparison in any of the so-called "global south". why is latin america, africa and southeast asia having such different experiences? or is it so different?

Then i discovered that UBC has an Institute for Resources, the Environment and Sustainability (IRES) but I'm not sure how it works. They have a department of geography of course. But unfortunately I think they have no fellowship funding! *cry* Besides, will W go to Canada?

ChATSEA does have faculty in UBC - Michael Leaf and Terry McGee. McGee is a Prof Emeritus of UBC so I don't think he can supervise and Michael Leaf is from the School of Community and Regional Planning... he's doing more environmental planning in developing urban areas. Tuition is waived for the School of Community and Regional Planning. I'm not sure I want to do a PhD in planning though. Masters maybe... I always wanted to do environmental planning. Planning for change sounds good. It sounds good on a practical level. Something that I can do in Singapore too but academically, I prefer the more airy fairy fluffy things. Oops. Then how?

On the other hand, there is some other very exciting PhD that UBC offers:

Integrated Studies in Land & Food Systems - this will be a continuation of what i'm doing now which i'm actually quite keen on. i dunno come out do what though... FAO?

Resource Management and Environmental Studies (PhD) - this is under the IRES thingy that I mentioned earlier. So I guess it is an option.

And of course, geography. Hmmm....

NTUC FairPrice launches first organic produce certification programme

2008-07-31T21:20:00.002+08:00

By Imelda Saad
Channel NewsAsia
31 July 2008

SINGAPORE : Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice has launched a certification programme that guarantees the integrity of the organic produce along its entire supply chain.

FairPrice's Pasar Organic range is a new housebrand range of organic produce which comes with these labels.

It is audited by Singapore's Agrifood Technologies and gives customers the assurance that the organic produce is more than just pesticide-free.

The vegetables under the Pasar range are organically grown and harvested from six different farms in Thailand.

Stringent organic practices are applied to the farms, transportation, storage facilities and retail stores.

For example, organic farms have to be about 10-20 kilometres away from industrial land. There has to be enough space between inter-cropping to ensure the soil is rested, and organic produce is packed in special containers away from non-organic ones.

"Because we go direct to the farms, so we put in our own certification. We are, on average, able to sell the produce about 50 per cent cheaper than average of other organic products," said Ng Ser Miang, Chairman of NTUC FairPrice.

FairPrice's organic range will include more than 30 types of vegetables including Asian varieties such as "chye sim" (cai xin).

And if sales are anything to go by, the demand for organic products in Singapore is growing. FairPrice said sales of its organic produce grew by 20 per cent last year compared to the year before.

For now, the Pasar organic range is available at 10 FairPrice stores, including its new Fairprice Finest outlet at Thomson Plaza.

The Thomson Plaza Fairprice Finest outlet has a "Just Organic" section, which features over 800 varieties of organic products including condiments, baby food, beverage, snacks and household cleaners.

The outlet is the second FairPrice Finest store, a new retail concept started by the labour movement, to bring quality food products at affordable prices to Singaporeans.

The concept has proven to be a hit. FairPrice said since the first store was opened at Bukit Timah Plaza in August last year, sales have gone up by 50 per cent.

Monkey says: NTUC starts their own organic certification scheme and only from thailand! hmmm must try to interview them!

New committee set up to ensure stability in long term food supply

2008-07-18T21:59:00.001+08:00

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
18 July 2008 2107 hrs

SINGAPORE: As global supply shocks continue to hit food-importing countries, the government has taken another step to help ease the impact of escalating prices. It has set up a committee to study how the country can ensure stability in long term food supply.

When the avian flu struck the region in 2004, Singapore companies which had buffer stocks of frozen poultry in their cold stores were able to do business as usual.

Speaking at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Food Safety Awards Night 2008 on Friday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, said food companies here need to develop similar business continuity plans in case of a break in supply.

Singapore is already importing food from more countries and has turned to frozen meat as a cheaper alternative.

Among its plans, the new inter-agency committee will examine Singapore's farming policy while investing in food production overseas.

Mr Mah said: "We need to recognise that many of the factors that are affecting the food supply situation today are not temporary ones, but structural changes. For example, the increased demand for food is due to rising affluence of developing countries, diversion of arable land for biofuel production and climate change."

The committee will be led by the ministries for National Development and Trade and Industry.

But Mr Mah said that the top priority goes to ensuring the food that we eat, is safe. The AVA closely regulates the food that we consume but Mr Mah said businesses too need to take the initiative.

And as consumer tastebuds become more discerning, it makes business sense for food establishments to maintain high standards. - CNA/vm

Want to buy mattress?

2008-07-15T21:48:00.002+08:00

This niffy lil sales gimmick was following us from 10am at the apartment to lunch at Tringkap while we were waiting for farmer to pick us up till much later it was still roaming the hills of cameron highlands! lol such a catchy lil drummy tune, you can't get it out of your head!

It's multilingual too. First in chinese then in malay! tilam, tilam, mai zhang tilam!
I can't catch the Malay version, can anybody tell me what he said? something about changing an old tilam for a new one!

Agriculture entrepreneurs to the fore

2008-07-14T17:17:00.000+08:00

Source : News Straits Times
Posted on 20-12-2007 in Invest Penang

AS THE nation's third engine of growth, the agriculture and agro-based industries are fast being recognised as an increasingly vital part of the economy.

From padi farming to livestock breeding, fisheries, flowers, vegetables and processing industries, efforts are under way to develop new technologies and methodologies to increase yields and maximise profitability.

Under the New Agriculture Programme, the Government has pumped in RM11.4 billion to bolster the sector further, giving birth to new agro-entrepreneurs.

The programme also nurtures existing and aspiring farmers by giving them support and numerous incentives.

As a result, these entrepreneurs continue to thrive and are a part of a new generation of smart agro-entrepreneurs, achieving success throughout the nation. They are expected to contribute to Malaysia's future progress.

Under the New Agriculture Programme, one such agro-entrepreneur is Melon Master Sdn Bhd owner M. Kaliyannan, who delves in melon and fruits production.

From humble beginnings 30 years ago, Kaliyannan's family venture has grown to become a true master of melons.

Today, the Perak-based company is the country's leading wholesaler and exporter of all types of melons such as water melons, honeydew and rock melon, as well as exotic melons such as Jade, Black Beauty and Sun Lady.

The secret of his business lies in the integration of production and distribution activities as well as rigorous research and development.

In fact, his dedication to science and technology has earned him a name in the "Malaysia Book of Records" as the first in the country to produce square watermelons.

"I first started on a 2ha plot of land which has expanded 100-fold to over 200ha now, spanning all over Perak, employing 70 workers," said Kaliyannan.

Sungkai-based Melon Master, which is certified by the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry, now produces 1,500 tonnes of melons a year worth RM1 million in sales (depending on current market prices).

Out of the 1,500 tonnes, 20 per cent is exported to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Melon Master supplies local hypermarkets, mostly in its original form and not in the processed form.

"I get good support from the Government which provides me funding, technical expertise and chemical fertiliser. The challenges are huge due to the competitive nature of the industry.

"The business is also capital intensive and I have to reinvest whatever money that I make. Land is also expensive, so I have to lease right now to grow three seasons of the melon a year," said Kaliyannan.

Another entrepreneur, Bandar Agro Spice Industries Sdn Bhd managing director Sidek Rosman started his business in 2003, but has been focusing on research and development since 15 years ago.

The company produces 15 types of spices and 34 types of other products such as lemon grass powder, ginger, curry, kaffir lime, cinnamon, hot chilli and others, supplying to major food industry players such as Nestle.

The company churns out up to 50 tonnes of spices a year in semi-raw form, chalking sales of around RM2 million a year, which are for local consumption as well as for the export market.

"We are in close contact with Malacca farmers involved in the various biotechnology programmes as well as the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority.

"For future plans, the company which already has two plants in Sepang, plans to build a third one next year with an investment of up to RM10 million," said Sidek.

Twin Diamond Plantation owner Kwang Keh Chong Sr started growing all types of tomatoes in 1972 at a 2ha site in Cameron Highlands, Pahang. The business has ballooned to 20ha currently.

Kwang said the going was tough initially, as he had to borrow money from family and friends to start the business as banks were reluctant to provide financing.

But Kwang persevered, and the business thrived. From renting farms when he started, Kwang can now afford to buy them and build a processing facility.

"Business has been good, and we plan to develop an additional 15ha over the next three to five years, with an investment of up to RM6 million," he said.

Twin Diamond produces up to 10 tonnes of tomatoes daily (market price of RM1 per kg), of which 70 per cent is exported to Singapore while 30 per cent is for local consumption.

Kwang said to be successful, companies must watch their financials closely and not spend unnecessarily. Looking ahead, the company plans to incorporate more professional farming methods.

PhD at UC Berkeley

2008-06-28T14:36:00.004+08:00

Just in case I really need to go to Berkeley, I think I need to go do a statistics class this semester. S/U shouldn't be a problem right? Choose one that is useful to my current research as well. That should be good.

The downside about Berkeley is that there is no guaranteed amount of fellowship available. I need to apply apply and apply, unlike Yale. Bah. Money seems to be hard at Berkeley. 18,000/year for the fellowship. Well it's as simple as this - if no money, no go lor. The faculty is also somewhat lack lustre.

"We make every effort to support our entering and continuing students from a variety of resources including University Fellowships, Departmental Restricted Fellowships, and Graduate Student Research Assistantships (GSRs). We also encourage our students to apply for Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) positions. We make our financial support offers at the time of admission."

On the other hand, the relevant faculty all seem to be women! Possible ones under the Division of Society & Environment in the Department of Env Sci, Policy and Management in the College of Natural Resources include:

Sally Fairfax
Professor, Henry J. Vaux Distinguished Professor of Forest Policy
"the role of artisenal agricultural production as an element of land conservation in a transforming rural economy. I am personally focusing on cheese and dairy, and organic production generally."

Nancy Lee Peluso
Professor, Society & Environment Chair
Sociologist / Anthropologist working with Peter Vandergeest on Malaysia / Thailand / Indonesia on forest and agrarian politics
- the Indonesian powerhouse and Berkeley ChATSEA fella, OG aka Pak Api, is working with Peluso. Sigh. I'm intimidated.

Jeffrey Romm
Professor
"Our group studies how the dynamics of social distribution, economic growth, and ecosystems interact and respond to alternative forms of policy and organization." Works on Southeast Asia as well but focuses more on specific projects and phenomenon as well as impacts of policies on resources and environmental possibilities.

Alastair T Iles
Asst Professor (PhD in Env Law and Policy)
Works on sustainable industry and consumption as well as sustainability learning. Working on developing tools to educate consumers, etc. This could really be something I want to move into.

Dara O'Rourke
Assoc Professor (PhD in Energy and Resources)
Works on Environmental, Social and Equity impacts of global production system. Again, some what relevance to what I am doing now.

David E Winickoff
Asst Professor (Trained in Law)
Bioethics, representations, institution governing of food, etc.

Funding in the Geography department in Berkeley on the other hand, appears to be a lot more encouraging. However, the professors are seriously limited.

Louise Fortmann
Professor of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and Geography
However she works in Africa mainly although some of the topics seems quite interesting. Natural resources related of course.

Gillian Hart
Chair of Undergraduate Major in Development Studies
Works in Southeast Asia and Africa on gender, development and agrarian issues.
On top of that, she is also a ChATSEA advisor!!! Ok this is good potential.

Jake Kosek
Assistant Professor
If I want to move into critical theory stuff then this is probably it. Also very active in NGO outside academia so maybe can relate a bit better to each other but I'm not sure I want to be so airy fairy. And to work with an Asst Prof!

Richard Walker
Professor; Chair, California Studies Center
If I want to venture into the realm of economic geography and california studies, this will be it probably. He reminds me of some professors we know...

Michael J. Watts
Professor
He's doing oil and islam terrorism but also in social and cultural theories and development. Marxist theories and what not. If I really want to go into my theoretical track, why not? But I might not be cut out for it. I don't know.

One thing I learnt by looking through other people's research topic is the idea of "alternative paradigms and alternative systems". Also Fortmann's name keep popping up at the ones where I'm interested in. Peluso as well. Hart is also on my radar. Why all women? Hmmm

Expect the Unexpected

2008-06-28T11:56:00.003+08:00

For those who might be coming to help out in Cameron, here's the heads up - Expect the Unexpected!

You may need to babysit.

You will need to climb up hills and terraces.

You may see deforestation.

You will cross rivers.

You may need to speak more than 4 languages in one day.

(and be careful not to get pesticide poisoning!)

You might end up on a road trip to KL in a cold truck.

You might eat breakfast with dead rats.

(Ok this is not in Cameron)

You may encounter destruction.

You may see ravines of disposed waste.

You will encounter lots of dogs.

You might have to climb on tractors to hide from rain.

(I had to do that coz we were stuck on eroding hill in the rain and couldnt get down but in turn got a farmer contact w00t!)

My vegetable delivery adventure

2008-06-21T21:22:00.001+08:00

Photos from my trip delivering organic vegetables have been uploaded. Click on photo above for the link.

Singapore's global quest for wholesome food

2008-06-21T13:19:00.001+08:00

Mooncakes, curry and...
Dr Chua Sin Bin is gatekeeper of the vast supply of food entering Singapore. He and his team help ensure food is safe and affordable.

Lee Siew Hua, Straits Times 20 Jun 08;

SALTED eggs nearly disappeared from mooncakes in Singapore last year.

A red alert on curry in Britain started it all. The authorities there found in 2005 that curry had been tinted - tainted - a rich orangey-red with Sudan Red, a dirt-cheap industrial dye used in lacquer and shoe polish.

When Singapore's food sleuths at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) learnt of this, they wondered what could go awry in this part of the world.

AVA chief executive Chua Sin Bin, 61, tells Insight: 'We know the practice of feeding carotene to chicken to get the orangey-red colour in yolks.'

This is a natural food dye from carrot and red capsicum.

On a hunch, they tested shipments of salted eggs and century eggs. Sure enough, some farmers had substituted safe carotene for cancer-causing Sudan Red in chicken and duck feed to achieve vivid golden yolks.

'Some smart guys had tried to take a short cut,' says Dr Chua.

So 2.2 million eggs were suspended from sale, mostly from China. Others came from Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Result: Singapore celebrated the Mid-autumn Festival last September a little differently when yolks nearly disappeared from mooncakes.

The eggs have since made a comeback, with health certificates from exporters now made mandatory.

'It's very simple. They stop, that's the end of it.'

From farm to fork

DR CHUA'S egg story illustrates how the agency operates as guardian of the national pantry. The watchdog role is vital in a land that imports 90 per cent of its food.

Earlier this month, AVA ordered a ban on the import of three tomato varieties from the United States after a salmonella outbreak there.

'Our biggest challenge,' Dr Chua says, 'is how to keep food safe in the face of an ever-increasing list of known and emerging food-borne hazards.'

Reaction time is crunched in a greatly connected world. 'What happens tens of thousands of kilometres away can appear on our shores in the blink of an eye,' he notes, making a 'keen sense of anticipation' a requirement at all times.

The AVA has to make rapid decisions to remove hazards from the food chain, relying on its assessments of the latest information, and its good institutional knowledge.

Nothing escapes the eyes of the agency, declares Dr Chua, who started his career as a veterinary officer in 1971. The AVA was then the Primary Production Department.

He rose through the ranks before becoming deputy chief executive in 2000 and CEO five years later.

The AVA scrutinises the entire food production chain or, in Dr Chua's words, 'from the farm to the fork'.

For instance, AVA officers visit farms to inspect facilities before deciding whether they should be accredited as approved suppliers.

They try to discern if someone farms intelligently - or is susceptible to chemical salesmen who push unsafe pesticides.

'One glance and we've a very good sense of whether a plant is practising hygienic methods or it is only putting on a show for us on that day,' he says.

AVA has approved 26 countries to export meat here. Countries are 'risk-profiled' based on their regulatory systems and other such factors.

Australia and New Zealand are first-rate in safety, says Dr Chua.

Last year, the AVA inspected a total of 89,231 consignments from across the world. Only 527 were rejected.

The importer, he believes, shares the onus of bringing in safe food. 'We must make it very clear to them that this is our standard,' he says.

China food scares

EXPORTS from China have been in the spotlight. Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, the US and European nations have taken action over a range of food items, including Maling brand canned luncheon meat containing a banned antibiotic, White Rabbit sweets and frozen dumplings.

Dr Chua says: 'Our reputation in China is that Singapore is a very stringent country.

'We have a very robust inspection system, and China's exporting establishments know they can't get past that if they don't do a good job. They know what we want. Over the years, they've realised we mean business.'

With multitudes of manufacturers and businessmen clamouring to export and earn foreign exchange, China's regulatory and quality-control machinery have had trouble keeping pace with the huge export drive.

In the old days, there was a single state exporter, Cofco, or the Cereals, Oil and Foodstuff Corporation.

'It had a lot of control over the establishments that produced food. It chose the best for export,' he says.

Still, there are comforting aspects to China's export mania: the latter has led China to be very serious about agricultural development.

Very big farms now tap technology and hire scientists, mostly PhDs in agriculture, says Dr Chua.

In reality, China is not a major supplier to Singapore, especially for meat and fish.

It plays a bigger role in vegetables, and accounts for about 30 per cent of Singapore's imports of these.

Even as the AVA confronts global food scares, it has a plateful of other trends to watch.

For instance, more Singaporeans are turning to organic food, and they don't want chemical fertilisers. The question is, where do farmers find organic fertilisers?

He recounts an incident in Canada in the 1980s, when many expectant mothers lost their foetuses after eating coleslaw tainted with bacteria.

This was traced to cabbage grown on organic farms fertilised with manure from bacteria-bearing sheep.

For the AVA, this means it has to be fully cognisant of agricultural practices in many countries.

Learning from Prima Deli

AT HOME, the Prima Deli episode shows how painful any slip-up can be.

Last year, more than 100 people suffered food poisoning after eating the bakery's cakes.

Prima Deli is a good plant, and used to be highly rated as a Category A outfit, he says, citing its internal controls and food technologists.

'But a factory can slip up, for instance, if they bring in new workers,' he says. 'Workers may not be fully trained. Some become complacent.'

Two lessons the AVA has conveyed to the industry are that workers cannot slacken, and products must be tested every day.

'It must be drummed into the worker that everyone counts, and every step he takes counts,' he says.

More food ahead

AS MUCH as food should be safe, there must be enough of it.

There is gathering global concern that the world must increase its food production.

This message was urgently conveyed to world leaders on June 2, during a Rome summit on the food crisis led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The AVA has several strategies to keep the food supply resilient. It continually scours the globe for new and diverse food sources.

Its position on genetically modified (GM) food is one illuminating aspect, for it opens another door to supplies.

'Our view is that genetically modified products have gone through very thorough evaluation before they are safe enough for the marketplace,' he says.

After all, 'human beings have been cross-breeding plants, animals and fish for generations', he argues.

'GM is just a method of accelerating production. It is not creating anything so vastly different. It accelerates the process by pinpointing which gene to keep.'

Singapore consumes GM soya beans and corn.

On another front, the AVA is 're-assessing' how much food Singapore can produce locally.

With competing demands for land, it is really not easy to ramp up production. The ideal is to create niches powered by technology, such as the automation of goat-milk farms.

'As long as our private sector can find the land and find it economical to farm, we will give them all the support,' he promises.

After all, Singaporeans prefer locally produced food, he says. 'They are willing to pay more, and our production technology is good.'

Today, the nation grows 10 per cent of its vegetables. He thinks this can increase.

The next big idea is for companies to invest in overseas farms.

Meanwhile, what does the man who wields such influence over the national platter eat when he's at home?

'My wife uses very simple cooking methods like blanching. Occasionally, she stir-fries. So you can see the kitchen is very clean, no oil.'

Every evening, half their dinner is composed of fruits.

But he does not obsessively cut out fat. Go for 'good fat', he says, such as olive oil.

And when the couple eat at restaurants, they ask the cooks to skip the MSG, use less salt - 'and be gentle in their cooking'.

That sounds very much like the man and his mission - a gentle leader who's forceful with all that is unwholesome.

How to ensure supply: Invest in farms overseas?
Lee Siew Hua, Straits Times 20 Jun 08;

WILL this be the next big idea in Singapore's pursuit of abundant food: Investing in farms overseas to better control the stability and safety of Singapore's food supply?

Dr Chua Sin Bin, chief executive of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), is an ardent advocate of this move, and says it flows with the Government's perpetual search for 'new sources' of food supply.

The Government, he says, will help pave the way for private-sector companies interested in investing in farms - and farm zones - overseas, although the investments must ultimately be driven by the private sector itself.

Farm zones integrate logistics, technology, farmer coaching, distribution and other vital expertise. This way, farmers can cater better to Singaporean food preferences.

The right expertise will also keep food fresh as it makes its way from possibly remote regional farms to the discerning diner in Singapore.

The AVA, says Dr Chua, will manage cross-border and quarantine issues, iron out technical quirks, and work with industry to make this a reality.

It will also work with regional authorities on land leases, help build their quality- assurance schemes, and open access to Singapore markets.

'We will engender an atmosphere of confidence,' declares Dr Chua.

Opportunities lie especially in fish, vegetable and fruit farms in the region.

Mr Roger Yeo, chief executive of Singapore Food Industries, a diversified food business whose businesses include distribution, processing and catering, is open to the idea.

'We have always stated our interest and intent to look upstream,' he says.

The company brings in 15 to 20 per cent of Singapore's imported meat, so that is a natural platform for farm ventures.

But not all are convinced. NTUC FairPrice is clear that it 'does not plan to move in the upstream direction'.

Its managing director Seah Kian Peng says: 'We will focus on our strength as Singapore's largest supermarket retailer.'

Instead of taking financial stakes in farms in the region, FairPrice works on a system 'akin to contract farming' with certain producers in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, he says. It offers certainty to these producers with guaranteed orders.

The Dairy Farm group, which owns the Cold Storage and Giant supermarket chains, similarly plans to focus on retailing.

One possible obstacle that farm investors could face is the same nationalist sentiment that bedevilled Singapore companies' investments in telecommunications in Indonesia.

The AVA's Dr Chua is mindful of the difficulties even as he urges investors to head into the region. 'Agriculture investment is for the long term - it takes a long time for payback.'

He points out, however, that investors will have technology and a successful Indonesian model on their side.

Already, there are farms in the land-rich Riau province in Indonesia which grow vegetables that sell in Singapore.

Owned by Indonesians, these farms have benefited from technology transfer from the AVA since 2001.

Some measures include netting to keep vegetables resistant to pests and weather while they are growing, and cool-packing houses to keep vegetables fresh after they are harvested.

There are also chiller-fitted boats for the 20-hour journey to Singapore, and refrigerated trucks waiting in Singapore to rush the greens to supermarkets.

'The vegetables arrive in Singapore in great condition,' Dr Chua says. 'They are flying off the shelves in FairPrice.'

Late night Starbucks encounter

2008-06-19T14:31:00.006+08:00

2 nights ago, I got a call at 10pm. It was the organic farmer that I was meant to meet the next day.

"Hey we are at Starbucks with a few of the organic guys, why don't you and your friend come and join us".

It was quite unfortunate that my friend was ill and I was worried that they were only interested in meeting her. Still I went and they of course said no problem.

2 of them were farmers and the other 2 were urbanites who have gone into the composting business. Young fellas, with kids the same age as my niece and nephew. They were all about 30somethings like my sisters. It feels all so familiar. Interestingly one of them have the same name as duck! But luckily he felt compelled to distinguish himself by spelling his name with a K. hah!

The organic fellowship. At starbucks! That is the irony. I'm really not a fan of starbucks but upon hearing that theres FREE WIFI at starbucks. Well bing bam boom kabooey! I am a fan. hah! Right that and the fact that they have nice cushy sofas. What I didn't understand is why they need fans and aircon on Cameron Highlands! Probably standard issues with the mold that is global-franchising.

The organic fellas really make me feel right at home on Cameron Highlands. I know it's very foolish of me to want to not be rejected when approaching people for interview but being snubbed hurts. But then the boss says just go get snubb anyways. That makes me wonder if I shouldn't try so hard to persuade people? Confused. Maybe I'll leave the high snub zones to the boys when they come in late July.

Methodologically this is probably all wrong since I should do the survey then choose 30 out of the 100 to do the indepth but now I have to do the indepth as I go along and survey enough to fill in the blanks. It will be hard for me to get 2nd meetings with people unless I have something I need and I'm desperate. Sometimes just getting a 2nd chance to invite somebody out to dinner is difficult. It's hard to draw a clear distinction between social and work when it comes to fieldwork.

Taken 1 month ago, now it's already open for business!
Will remember to take an updated photo

But I'll never forget starbucks. The way I see it now, I will probably focus my thesis on the holistic picture and separately write a paper on organic farming in Cameron Highlands.

Teaching modules next sem

2008-06-19T14:26:00.002+08:00

I was looking at the list of modules offered next sem and saw many new faculty listed. It seems like the 2 new physical geography positions have been offered to James Terry and Alan Ziegler. I wonder what of CC Feng? How confusing. Only time will tell. There are also some new visitings including one teaching topics in petroleum science! So upsetting :( We have finally been reduced to money grabbing oil geologists.

On the other hand, I think I shall stick to TA-ing modules I am familiar with such as Nature and Society. Second choice would be Southeast Asia because having spend a summer working with Southeast Asianists and working in Southeast Asia, I feel confident. Then finally I wouldn't mind doing Changing Landscape again... I suppose. It'll be too soon to tell but I rather do Nature and Society above all. For Southeast Asia, Victor already asked me to stand in for the first lecture so that would be enough to satisfy my Southeast needs.

I'm kinda disappointed that for my last semester, I will be going away and unable to teach. Sigh. I do love teaching so much. In the university at least. So much more room for sharing information and diversity in topics. It's oh-so-boring to teach the basics. There is a new module called Planet Earth. That sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind sitting in on that myself! :)

Going to KL at 2am

2008-06-19T14:01:00.003+08:00

The girls left to go back to Singapore this morning and I met with Mr Ch and had a nice and lengthy interview with him. I'm very pleased. He also gave me a few numbers to call the tomato plantations whom I spotted on the boxes of tomatoes in Singapore.

He also gave me the numbers of several members in the assocation that I hope to call regarding cabbage. Malay farmers next week and indian farmers to follow. There was recently this "expose" on a farm in Cameron Highlands "illegally" clearing land. Gah. There is a lot of loopholes with legality. Either you get away with it or you get pinned down for something you didn't do. Life sucks.

Either way, I was hoping to talk to this farm even before they were featured. Now I just got more work to do to convince them I'm harmless. Damn press. Spoil my market! Fortunately I talked to his consultant yesterday and got the story.

So tomorrow I'm going to KL with the organic farmer to deliver vegetables. I'm excited. We are leaving at 2am. I better go back and nap now.

On the other hand, I was getting very despondent about being rejected but prof say rejected also is a result. So I have to go get rejected 10 times.

10 x Tomato
10 x Cabbage
10 x Big
10 x Small
10 x Chinese
10 x Malay
10 x Indian
10 x Singapore
10 x Non-Singapore
10 x Organic

But so many of them overlap. Does it matter then? I need 15 cabbage and 15 tomatoes total.

I also need to go check out the collectors, exporters, transporters, input sales people - fertilizers, seeds, infrastructure, pesticides shops.

I'm also having serious issues with getting climate data and map. I'm going to try again... wish me luck. Hope they like me. Or I just pay more $$$

Speaking of which I have been wanting to treat my respondents to lunch or dinner but I keep getting treated instead! omfg! First of all, I'm female. It's hard for them to accept being treated by me. Then I'm younger. Then I'm a guest from Singapore. Omfg! I really need to push my way and start treating people makan! It's so cheap anyways. Oh right at least my driver has totally stopped resisting me paying for everything. Gawd the petrol is fucking expensive. More than 100RM for a full tank or something. Sigh. I'm so glad I'm not using the car everyday. I hope I can claim back everything.

Need to ask AVA on what their pesticides list is based on. Do they update their list when there are new pesticides introduce? Why yes, why not? How often? Based on what? Based on who? Whose standards?

And fieldwork begins

2008-06-16T15:40:00.002+08:00

The bus was late for 2 hours yesterday but we managed to arrive at Cameron at around 9.15am this morning. Mr C picked us up and we went for breakfast. Gave me a few updates regarding subsidies and TV 3 reporting that somebody was secretly clearing land in the forest in CH! I wonder where I can get a copy of that. There is a department of environment that is supposed to monitor these things but I wonder if I can get them to talk to me. We also talked about soil conservation method - they have an officer in charge of soil conservation and there are vegetative and other methods. interesting. but they are giving away the grass for free because nobody wants! "only when you have to pay for it then people want?" This grass has a 3 meter root that is meant to be planted along the contours of the land to intercept runoff and hold the soil together. Apparently last time the older farms that uses terracing has better drains that is much more effective in terms of soil conservation but then the new concept in the 70s-80s which is to level the land to have a flat ground to plant more, that created a lot of problems. Also it is now technically illegal to use any heavy machinery on anything above 1000m in the whole of Malaysia. But how much of it is enforced? "Being on the take" is still a big issue. We talked about tracing and how the tagging might be a problem if the big boys tag for the small boys and then the small boys say they wanna tag what. So who bears the resposibility? In fact, "making things pass" when demand is short is something both wholesaler and farmers say happens even in the strict condition that is Singapore.

I gave Mr C a list of the farms I spotted at the wholesale center and if he doesn't know them then I will check with Mr Ch.

Interestingly my apartment situation has improved. I get 1 month in my first apartment and only for the last 2 weeks then we need to move. That will be convenient. I tried to get in touch with COP but then sms no reply. Maybe I should call.

I really need to be more prompt with my field notes. I'm sure there are other things I forgot about the chat this morning. crap!

Historical reference to Singapore's lack of food sufficiency

2008-05-16T10:10:00.003+08:00

Voyagers (Wang Dayuan) in the 15th century have observed that the island did not have much cultivar or padi (Wheatley, 1966)
Wheatley P (1966) “The Golden Khersonese: studies in the historical geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500” Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press, pp. 82

Dutch officer, Colonel Nahuijs, in a letter to his superior in Holland, wrote:
"The cost of living is very high as the island produces little or nothing"
Eze Nathan (1986) "The history of Jews in Singapore (1830-1945)" Herbilu Editorial: Singapore, p. vi

Independent Study Module (ISM)

2008-05-15T14:33:00.002+08:00

The concept of an ISM is to have flexible coursework / studies / research usually culminating in an essay.

My ISM was the most unstructured module ever but in the end, I produced a paper. It wasn't too bad but prof wanted a comparison with the Von Thunen theory as well as other criticism of the space-bound theory while I am introducing similar case study under transnational conditions. Amongst other things. Hope I at least passed.

City-States and Transnational Agricultural Hinterlands:
A case study of the Singapore-Cameron Highlands Fresh Vegetable Trade

INTRODUCTION

"Cities are unnatural…[they require a] concentration of food, water, energy, and materials that nature cannot provide" - Lester Brown (2001: 188)

If cities are unnatural, then city-states are the oddities amongst the odd. Even as cities require food, water, and other resources from imported beyond its own metropolitan boundary, city-states likewise require these resources but from across transnational boundaries. There are only 3 modern city-states in the world now – Singapore being one of them. However, there is a growing movement to view metropolitan regions as “citistates” which are characterized by social, economic and environmental interdependence (Peirce et al, 1993). With globalization and an increased ecological footprint of metropolitan urban cities (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996), urban consumption and environmental degradation are quoted as some of the “most pressing global issues” today (Jorgenson, 2003: 374). Thus, there is much that can be learnt from city-states, such as Singapore, that juggle the urban issues of food dependency and inter-state resource politics across transnational boundaries and hinterlands. Most literature contends with case studies of intra-national rural-urban issues (Tacoli, 1998) or inferred global impacts through agricultural expansion (Southgate et al, 2007). The different scale and definition of hinterland have since expanded with increased connectivity across the globe.

This essay will examine these different definitions of the hinterland concept in relation to agrarian landscapes with specific case study to the city-state of Singapore and its transnational agricultural hinterland in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. The question that this essay hopes to answer is if the existence of transnational hinterlands is the unavoidable precondition of a city-state or is it the result of an encroaching ecological footprint from the growth of an urban area and its growing consumption.

Volunteer Field Assistants Briefing

2008-05-15T14:20:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I met with 4 of my volunteer field assistants and the first thing Vyna said to me was, all girls ah? Ah well, girl power it is.

My briefing notes are as follows:

Introduction
Cameron Highlands has 3000 farm families. We are surveying primarily the farms that export to Singapore. Most of the farmers are Chinese, speaks Chinese dialects, Mandarin, Malay and minimal English. There are some farmers who are Indian. Cameron Highlands is located in the state of Pahang, at the boundary of Kelantan and Perak. The farm workers are mostly Indian foreign workers. (I wonder what language they speak.)

There are several towns in Cameron Highlands. The one we will be staying in is Tanah Rata. But we will be surveying farms from all the towns.

Transport
From Singapore, you can get a Konsortium bus direct to Cameron Highlands daily.
Depart: 10.30pm from Goldenmile Plaza
Arrive: 7-8am at Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

There is a bus from Cameron Highlands to Singapore which departs at 10am everyday from Tanah Rata. It stops at KL along the way but there is no need to change buses.

You can buy a round trip or one-way ticket from Singapore.
June (school holidays) - S$55 (one way) and S$99 (round trip)
July weekday – S$45 (one way) $79 (round trip)
July weekend – S$50 (one way) $80 (round trip)
It may be cheaper to buy return ticket from Cameron Highlands*

Weather
The temperature at Cameron Highlands is High 26C and low 20C. The midday sun can be very hot but the nights are cold. In order to prevent heat stroke, you need to drink lots of water. Because the weather is cool, you may not realize the intensity of the sun till it’s too late. Rain can be expected so be prepared.

Insurance
Please purchase your own travel insurance!

Accommodation
In June, We will be staying at a 3-bedroom 2-bathroom vacation apartment that is owned by the director of the state department of agriculture in Cameron Highlands. There is a kitchen, laundry services* and satellite TV. It is located at Tanah Rata. Each person will get a room to themselves but there are additional mattresses, blankets and pillows.

Accommodation in July is not confirmed yet but will be similar.

*will confirm

Packing List
1. Sweater or jacket is a must
2. Hat
3. Umbrella or poncho
4. Sports shoes or Hiking Boots
5. Washing powders*
6. Mosquito repellent
7. Long Pants
8. Medication (motion sickness pills)
9. Clothes
10. Laptop
11. Camera
12. Stationery

Travel logistics update

2008-05-15T14:05:00.003+08:00

May trip
- ~~bus ticket, round trip~~
- ~~accommodation~~
- ~~local transport~~
- ~~insurance~~
- gift for host (NUS)
- itinerary
- rechargeable battery
- plug adapters
- change money
- claim from department
- pack

Philippines trip
- comment on workshop participants
- ~~air ticket~~
- ~~insurance~~
- claim from Philippines
- claim from department
- ~~registration fee~~
- Andie's letters
- ~~Contact Andie~~
- hotel at Los Banos
- change money
- pack
- SEAGA presentation

June to July trip
- volunteers
- accommodation
- ~~insurance~~
- ~~bus ticket~~
- local transport
- pack
- washing powder
- batteries
- claim from department
- change money
- gift for driver (Chivas)
- itinerary

Transport in Cameron Highlands

2008-05-13T13:17:00.002+08:00

I must be the biggest chicken on earth. At least in Singapore.

A few weeks ago, Mr Chua sent me an email asking me to call Mr K to ask him to recommend a transport driver. I thought, omg this is so scary and how am I to communicate effectively, etc.

In the end, I waited till 1 week before I arrive to call.

I was on 96, going to school and decided to call. Phone rang. Oh crap, somebody picked up. Silence. Hello hello hello? silence. Then somebody spoke, "Hello" and monkey went hello is this Mr K? Silence. Hello hello hello?

Sigh, Monkey decided to hang up. I started smsing which I should have done long ago (why didn't I think of it!)

Then suddenly my SMS got interrupted by phone ringing. Eek! Mr K called back!

Ok anyways, the next 5 minutes was the shortest and most delirious moment of my week.

Mr K doesn't speak great English but I said I need a driver and he said when? next week? ok.

Poor monkey still struggling to catch up and essentially, he is going to recommend me a driver. Who? himself!

ahaha I should have called long ago. It was that easy. Will negotiate price when I'm in Cameron so I better bring lots of money. *sigh*

Speaking with a senior who worked in Thailand, S$50/day for car and driver seem to be my best budget for local transport. Oh god, I need funding! I think I will simply have to be subsidized by my stipend. 3 month's stipend will be $4500 and including my $3400 from the faculty and department, I should be able to survive with $7900. But that just means I will not be able to save a single penny for the holidays. I just hope that I can maintain my current savings without going lower than the current. Guess I will wait to change money for my trips after 18 May when I get paid. Hopefully NHB job money will eventually come in. That way it will contribute to my savings. Also, my RA job should give me some pittance of an allowance to work with. Thank goodness my conference funding will cover my philippines trip. Still there is a certain element of payment upfront which makes me uncomfortable.

Managing a research project does allow one to acquire budget management skills.

Cameron May Pilot Survey update

2008-05-03T16:54:00.002+08:00

Let's start with the bad news.

1. Mr Chua will not be around in the first 2 days of my arrival in CH. Him and his wife are going for a work trip to China from May 6 to May 22.

2. I have not gotten any transport detail yet.

The good news is that Mr Chua is a saint. He has been helping me so much I feel so bad for not following up.

1. He has contacted the farms owners as well as Mr. C, Secretary Cameron Veg Growers association asking them to give their full cooperation to you when you want to visit their farms. Everybody contacted says no problem. The list of their names and contact numbers I am leaving it with Mr. Karupanan who will be checking you into my apartment. To facilitate logistic he has sketched the farm locations for me and leave then with Mr K.

2. Mr K will check me in at Tanah Rata and he is also the person I am suppose to contact for leads on transport

3. Mary Wong (travel agent) also gave another contact, Mr Chandran

4. Another contact Mr Ravi at CAMERON TRAVEL & TOURS SDN BHD. Emailed him, no reply.

5. The June accommodation has been settled. Thank the lord.

Do I have enough money for all of this?! No news from the funding request. Woe.

Volunteers Recruitment Successful

2008-05-03T16:34:00.006+08:00

A few weeks ago I put out word that I needed volunteers via Wilson of ECO and Heather of Food for All. Heather also helped me spread the word to Geogsoc members. I also put it up on Midnight Monkey Monitor and WildSingapore picked it up. I also asked Dawa to send to Honors student and Matthew to send to 3rd year geog students. Ria also asked me to contact Vyna directly and I am so glad I did. (yay!)

Initial stages saw lots of geogsoc juniors signing up. It was very smooth flowing as one of the juniors volunteered to come for a whole month.

Then he withdrew.

That drew the whole thing into chaos and then to make matters worse, some juniors asked if they could come for 2 days! To make things worse, they asked why others were allowed to come for 4 days only. Alright, that made me become very stringent with the volunteer recruitment process from that point on.

Regardless, the recruitment has more or less been completed. Schedule can be seen at the calendar above.

1. Melissa and Heather (geogsoc)
2. Vyna (NHC)
3. Hannah (ECO)
4. Shanjun and Matthew (geogsoc)

I am still awaiting reply from
1. Michelle Ooi (heard from ECO)
2. Peihao (NHC)

Interestingly, I had 1 Indonesian and 2 Malaysians who asked if they could help out. International collaborators! I wish I could bring them on but no reply from the Indonesian when I asked where in Indo he is from as I need to do some work in Brastagi. I would love to have him help out in the Indon leg of the project but it's unfortunate that he did not reply.

A few Malaysians from the USM Environment Club read my blog and asked if they can help but schedules are just not suitable. The President and Vice President of the USM Env Club are my friends so I guess their members have been regularly reading my blog. How nice! :) If I ever am required to have Malaysian collaborators, I know who to find. Hurray!

Actually there are still spaces available for my May recce trip but I would not be able to subsidize the accommodations. Anybody interested?

Meanwhile, the survey volunteers recruitment has been slow. I did manage to get a few:
1. Janelle
2. Le Vu
3. Angeline
4. Perry

Sigh, I really need more people for this. Help! I have emailed Liyan at NJC and she said she's sent it to the classes who need CIP but no news so far. How sad.

I wonder if I can afford to give a small token of $10 kino book voucher to people who help me conduct the survey.

Graduate Research Seminar Presentation

2008-04-29T01:26:00.004+08:00

On Wednesday, 30 April 2008, I will be presenting my research proposal at the department Graduate Research Seminar Session I. If you're interested, it'll be from 9am to 12 noon at the department honors room at AS2, Level 3 (cannot remember the unit number).

For those who won't be able to make the presentation, here are my slides. The slides have been corrupted when uploaded on slideshare so pardon the black outs.

Feel free to leave me your comments or if you have any juicy questions.

| View | Upload your own

Update: The presentation was a success by default because I feel I am at an advantage over the rest because I had one more semester than them to think about this and in comparision I would appear to have done better. Much more can be improved as post-data collection and during fieldwork, anything and everything can happen. Looking forward to it.

GRSS Funding Received!

2008-04-21T22:05:00.003+08:00

17 April 2008

Dear Monkey,

I am pleased to inform you that your application to the above scheme has been approved with the following budgetary allocations:

Overseas Travel - $3000

The amount approved is the maximum limit for Masters student.

Yay hurray! I can start my fieldwork in peace now. However I am still hoping my supplementary funding will come in as this is seriously not enough. What more I am now recruiting field assistants.

So far, I have gotten several geography undergrads who are very keen and I'm so glad. 2 confirmed. 2 more not. 1 nakedhermitcrab keen on coming as well. We'll see how this goes. Glad I don't have to be up in the north alone.

Now I just need to get enough people for the survey in Singapore. A teacher friend of mine in NJC said the research sounds interesting and will send it to the students who need CIP project. Let's hope somebody respond favorably!

On other news, I need to seriously get in touch with the vehicle person in Cameron and hopefully Mr Chua will confirm with my query for June accommodations favorably.

I am actually disturbed by something in the funding letter but cannot write about it.

Neoliberal Environmentalism

2008-04-19T16:31:00.005+08:00

Eureka! I think I've found the keyword for my study.
Very interestingly, much of the literature appears to be located within Geography. Must do more google search for relevant literature. If all goes well, I think I've found my personal holy grail. Not that I actually attained it, at least I know what it vaguely looks like. Damn it was the right decision to write about conceptual framework for my GRS paper after all.

References
Davis DK (2006) "Neoliberalism, environmentalism, and agricultural restructuring in Morocco" The Geographical Journal, 172 (2) pp. 88-105

Lockie, S and Goodman, M (2006) “Neoliberalism and the problem of space: competing rationalities of governance in fair trade and mainstream agri-environmental networks” in T Marsden and J Murdoch (eds) Between the Local and the Global: Confronting Complexity in the Contemporary Agri-Food Sector (Research in Rural Sociology and Development)

Update @ 28 Apr 08
Bought a book today from the routledge sale on neoliberal environments.
Heyen N, McCarthy J, Robbins P and Prudham S eds. (2007) "Neoliberal Environments: False Promises and Unnatural Consequences" Routledge

New York Times Food section

2008-04-17T18:58:00.003+08:00

NYT has a column called Food Chain which talks about food issues. And no I don't mean food review or your culinary epicurean section. It's about food supply. Ironically, or perhaps aptly, it's under the Business section.

Either way it'll be useful for me. Some very interesting articles.

The Food Chain

Conference Updates

2008-04-17T10:52:00.002+08:00

The dissertation workshop in Los Banos is moving along. Another MA student from South East Asian studies saw my name on the list and emailed me. We will be meeting up beforehand. I hope that she will take the same flight as me. She is from Thailand! I can practice my Thai (yay!) She is working on rural indebtedness in Thailand. Ah, I will have things to talk about. Is happy.

I bought my air ticket already and Andie has agreed to host me.

Here's my tentative itinerary for Philippines.

29 May
10am Arrive at Manila Airport
- Either take taxi directly to UP Diliman to meet with the workshop people and go with them to Los Banos (the bus is leaving from UP around 2pm)
- Or maria pick me up from Airport to UP Diliman?

30 May to 1 June
Los Banos workshop

1 June - 2 June
Either come back to Quezon City or stay in a resort in Los Banos for one night and check out Los Banos

3 June - 6 June
SEAGA, UP Diliman.

7 June (Saturday)
Extra day in Philippines

8 June (Sunday)
Fly back to Singapore in the morning 10am.

Graduate Research Seminar Essay

2008-04-17T10:49:00.004+08:00

We are supposed to write an essay that is on any of the following topics:
- determining research topic
- research ethics
- research paradigm and methods
- presenting at conferences

I'm going to do conceptual framework within paradigms. Sounds hard but I found a book on conceptual framework and dammit the same book also has items for methods. I was going to write phenomenological method and ethics but gave up because cannot find. When I do find, it's for writing another topic. It's always like this.

But anyways it's good to deal with conceptual framework. I need the further reading and thinking for my own dissertation

Lunenburg, FC and Irby BJ (2008), “Writing a successful thesis or dissertation: Tips and strategies for students in the social and behavioral sciences”, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, pp. 122-123

Methodology Ideas

2008-04-17T10:41:00.003+08:00

Yesterday we got word that a new PhD student from Royal Holloway is come and while reading up on her, I found that she's using an unique methodology of getting her respondents to take photos. This technique is quite commonly used for landscape perception or any kind of perception study in tourism and other landscape studies. She's using it for migration but looking at perception of what is important to the respondent. ok, very interest.

How do I incorporate something like that for my project? What is a way to truly understand how a farmer thinks? No point asking him to take picture. I can't do an ethnographic and be the farmer either. There hopefully will not be any calamity when I am doing my research, for their sake.

So I thought ok maybe I should come up with a scenario and ask how all of them would react to this scenario. but how's that different from just asking them questions? The scenario must be very special. and several things happening at the same time. So then they have to rank which one they will address first. Maybe draw in a mindmap and show them and ask them to circle the one they would address first. Followed by... etc

Ok so now how do I find out if other people have used similar methods?

Global food system 'must change'

2008-04-16T00:52:00.000+08:00

Tuesday, 15 April 2008 (BBC)

The global agriculture system will have to change radically if the world is to avoid future environmental and social problems, a report has warned.

The study, commissioned by the UN and World Bank, concluded that while recent advances had increased food production, the benefits were spread unevenly.

It said that 850 million people were still not getting enough food to eat.

The authors added that food prices would remain volatile as a result of rising populations and biofuel growth.

The findings were published by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), an intergovernmental body that involved more than 400 scientists and 30 governments.

"We tried to assess the implications of agricultural knowledge, science and technology both past, present and future on a series of very critical issues," explained IAASTD director Robert Watson.

"These issues are hunger and poverty; rural livelihoods; nutrition and human health.

"The key point is how do we address these issues in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable?"

'Need for reform'

Speaking at the launch of the final report in London, Professor Watson said advances over the past 50 years had seen total food production grow faster than the human population had increased.

"The price of food, in real terms, has also gone down. Even today, many food commodities are comparable to the early 1990s; so what's the problem?

"Well, we still have over 800 million people going to bed hungry every night. There have been some successes but if we look at it on a region-by-region basis, there have been uneven results."

He added that the study identified other consequences: "We have lost some of our environmental sustainability.

"There have been adverse effects in some parts of the world on soils, water, biodiversity; our agricultural systems have contributed to human-induced climate change and, in turn, human-induced climate change threatens agricultural productivity."

IAASTD co-chairman Dr Hans Herren said "contentious political and economic stances" were affecting attempts to address some of the imbalances.

"Specifically, this refers to the many OECD member countries who are deeply opposed to any changes in trade regimes or subsidy systems," he stated.

"Without reforms, many poorer countries will have a very hard time."

Food for thought

The authors projected that the global demand for food was set to double in the next 25-50 years, primarily in developing nations.

As a result, they said that it was necessary for the agricultural sector to grow, but in a way that did not result in social hardship or environmental degradation.

As well as looking at the global picture, the IAASTD also examined the situation in different regions:

* Central/West Asia and North Africa: unique agricultural biodiversity is beginning to disappear. Likely to suffer the consequences of limited water supplies and climate change
* East/South Asia and the Pacific: development in the region is increasing pollution levels. Climate change is likely to trigger large-scale migration
* Latin America and the Caribbean: increased yield from agriculture has not led to a significant decrease in poverty. Food imports have created dependence and disruption to local production
* Sub-Saharan Africa: agriculture accounts for about 32% of the region's GDP, yet 80% of arable land is experiencing water scarcity
* North America and Europe: private sector funding has affected the direction of agricultural research and has increased the influence of transnational companies

The study found that access to food was taken for granted in many nations, and farmers and farm workers were poorly rewarded for acting as stewards of almost one-third of the Earth's land.

It recommended a fundamental rethink of agricultural knowledge, science and technology, in order to achieve a sustainable global food system.

The experts said that efforts should focus on the needs of small-scale farmers in diverse ecosystems, and areas with the greatest needs.

Measures would include giving farmers better access to knowledge, technology and credit. It would also require investment to bring the necessary information and infrastructure to rural areas.

'Valuing services'

Professor Watson outlined some of the challenges facing the sector over the coming 50 years: "We need to enhance rural livelihoods where most of the poor live on one or two dollars a day.

"We also need to stimulate economic growth because half of the countries in Africa have a significant percentage of their GDP in the agricultural sector.

"At the same time, we need to meet food safety standards and make sure that we do not have pesticide residues, unacceptable levels of hormones or heavy metals.

"All of this must be done in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner."

He warned that agriculture could no longer be approached as a single issue.

"We need to consider the environmental issues of biodiversity and water; the economic issues of marketing and trade, and the social concerns of gender and culture.

"How do we pay farmers to not only produce food, but to value the environmental services?

"Agriculture is far more than just production of food, and that is what we have to recognise."

Editor's note: This article may just be the fodder for my research significance!

Sudah Selasi!

2008-04-11T14:10:00.002+08:00

Progress has been made. One step closer for ~~man~~monkeykind.

1) got my conference funding for SEAGA
2) finished an expanded version of my research proposal for ChATSEA, sent it off to Canada. The information there can be used for my ISM. Awaiting boss' approval.
3) finished teaching all tutorials for this semester (yay!)
4) finished making recruitment poster for RA position and meeting the head of dept in 30 min

I feel progress in my blood.

Conference funding is in da house

2008-04-11T11:38:00.002+08:00

Dear Monkey,

I am pleased to inform you that approval has been granted for you to attend the following conference: Southeast Asian Geography Association (SEAGA)

Yay! I can spend up to $2000 but of course I won't spend so much.

Interestingly, under "Conditions of Approval"

#3. You should also make a presentation in the Department, preferably before going to the conference / symposium.

Well I don't think anybody will be around the department for me to present to

My new olympus digital voice recorder

2008-04-08T16:58:00.006+08:00

Well I stayed true to my words and got myself a new olympus. I managed to get one for $160 because all the expensive models that I really wanted were sold out. That's fate for you.

It's really light though and it freaks me out since I'm so used to heavy, weigh-a-ton type of gadgets. oh well :) It's all good! Will record the guest lecture I'm giving on Thursday and see if I can upload it as a podcast.

The good part is that I can use rechargeable batteries for it and won't be wasting tons of tape. That way I won't have to bring tons of batteries nor cassettes with me to the field. Now I just need to buy a battery charger!

Environmental Problems at CH

2008-04-07T21:12:00.002+08:00

Cameron Highlands - One of Malaysia's most popular hill stations; it is well known for its cool weather, hill cottages and tea plantations. A soil erosion study in 1995 found the Cameron Highlands to be the hill resort most affected by erosion in the country, due to the rapid increase in inappropriate development. The study found that the road from Tanah Rata to Robinson Falls had an average of two gullies (the most severe category of erosion) every kilometre. The Cameron Highlands Structure Plan disclosed that between 1950s and 1990s, silt levels in Cameron Highlands rivers increased 11-fold. Various surveys from 1993 to 1996 by the DOE, the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) found that land clearance for human settlement has caused more erosion than any other activity. The 1993 Development Impact Study of Cameron Highlands reported the annual average temperature had increased three degrees since the 1960s. Daily average rainfall dropped from 2.7 millimetres (mm) in the period 1951 to 1960, to 2.58mm in 1981 to 1990. The number of rain-days per month was reduced by three to five days. A DOE study showed that water quality in the Ringlet Lake as well as in the Ikan, Terla, Telom and Bertam Rivers was degraded.

Taken from Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)'s The A to Z of the Malaysian Environment

Pride and protest in Malaysia

2008-04-07T21:07:00.001+08:00

Pride and protest in Malaysia: Foreign governments and conservation groups are quick to condemn countries that cut down their rainforests. But attitudes must change on both sides if the forests are to survive

21 October 1989
From New Scientist Print Edition

IN THE SOUTHERN part of the Malay Peninsula, among mountains close to 1000 metres high, two wild rivers have their source. Forest covers the whole region and despite decades of logging in the area, the upper catchments of these two rivers remain virgin territory.

The rivers are Sungai Rompin, with its catchment mostly in the Malaysian state of Pahang, and Sungai Endau in the neighbouring state of Johore. For more than a year, these two states have been deliberating whether to create adjoining state parks with a combined area of 920 square kilometres. The states are keeping their options open. They have designated a core area of 200 square kilometres for the park, allowing for the possibility of future logging in the remaining area.

Conservationists in Peninsular Malaysia have been fighting to protect the Endau-Rompin forests for more than a decade. Although forest covers more than 40 per cent of the peninsula, most of the lowland tropical rainforests have been logged. Loggers are now moving into the mountains at altitudes of 800 metres and higher. True montane forests, stunted, moss-festooned tangles of slender trees and climbers, are confined to ridgetops above 1500 metres, and so remain more or less undisturbed. But in many places, the gentle slopes of the adjacent forest are good for agriculture. In the Cameron Highlands, tea planters and vegetable farmers are steadily clearing the forest. Outside Endau-Rompin there are only two other extensive areas of virgin rainforest in the lowlands of Peninsular Malaysia. One is in Krau Wildlife Reserve, an area of 537 square kilometres. Only scientists are allowed into the reserve. The other area is in Taman Negara, unquestionably one of the world's great national parks, covering 4300 square kilometres of lowlands, hill forest and mountains in the central part of the peninsula. Here the rainforest attracts some 10 000 visitors a year. Despite threats from loggers, hydroelectric dams and road construction, Taman Negara has survived with its boundaries almost wholly intact for half a century.

With such a large tract of forest still intact, why are conservationists so determined to protect Endau-Rompin? The simple answer is that this forest is different: the species that grow and live in it are not the same as those in Taman Negara, 300 kilometres to the north. Endau-Rompin is home to a dozen Sumatran rhinoceroses, the largest known population in the peninsula. Only a few hours' drive from the cities of Johore Bharu and Singapore, the forest, and its rivers and wildlife, offer great promise for tourism and education about the environment. Perhaps more important, the creation of the park will be a landmark for conservation in Southeast Asia. It will show that Malaysia's state governments at last accept responsibility for protecting the environment.

Malaysia is a federation of states. The states, rather than the federal government, have total control over the land and how it is used. In the past, Malaysia's state governments showed little regard for conservation of either nature or their natural resources. In the late 1970s, the federal government admitted that less than 10 per cent of logged areas received any follow-up treatment to encourage the regeneration of timber trees.

In 1978, the government drew up a National Forestry Policy and by 1986 all states in Peninsular Malaysia had passed laws to implement the policy. In consultation with the states, foresters working for the federal government developed what they claim is a sustainable system of forestry. This is now being applied on a small but growing scale by some states. Nevertheless, in many places, loggers working under licence are responsible for rehabilitation of the area they have logged.

Many companies pay little more than lip service to rehabilitation. A recent court case in Pahang state revealed that a sawmilling company that had selectively logged more than 6000 hectares of forest had replanted only four hectares. The forestry officials were so lax that they had allowed the company to move on to new cutting areas.

The government argues that such floutings of licence conditions are isolated cases. But for all the wise prescriptions for management passed down from above, there is below a powerful momentum of exploitation and corruption. Policing the system is extremely difficult.

Consider a typical area of virgin lowland rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia or Borneo. The tallest trees are between 50 and 60 metres tall. On good sites there might be 30 such trees per hectare, with dozens of smaller ones in the spaces between, and an understorey rich in palms. On the ground grow few herbs, but on any one hectare there may be seedlings representing more than 100 species.

A logging operation is highly selective. Of some 700 species of trees that reach a merchantable size, only about 30 are exported in substantial quantities. Local markets make use of a wider range of species, but loggers often fell fewer than 20 trees per hectare. The number of trees harvested may be small but the damage to the rest of the forest is extensive. Felled trees tear down climbers that link them to their neighbours. Logging roads and tracks where loggers drag out trees damage a disproportionate amount of forest and expose the soil to erosion. Surviving seedlings prosper as light floods through the broken canopy, but most must compete with a tangle of pioneer plants that quickly colonise open ground.

A forest manager faces a difficult task. According to the prescriptions of Malaysia's Selective Management System, the forester must make an inventory of the seedlings that are present after logging. If natural regeneration is not enough to replace the logged trees, then the foresters must supplement the young trees with seedlings raised in nurseries.

An individual or an organisation expressing concern for the conservation of rainforests the world over cannot prove that a country such as Malaysia is mismanaging its forests as long as the government insists it is managing them well. The Malaysian government claims, for example, that of 364 000 hectares logged between 1981 and 1985, 96.9 per cent were 'rehabilitated'. To check on the extent of rehabilitation means carrying out the same sort of detailed survey that foresters are now required to do, and to differentiate among the mind-boggling assortment of seedlings and saplings, deciding whether enough of them belong to the desirable timber species to ensure a good crop in the future.

Selective logging and replanting will ensure that the land is covered by rainforest, but its structure is different from that of virgin rainforest. The problem is how to preserve the stature and diversity of the virgin forest that remains. In Australia, conservationists are demanding a moratorium on logging in the virgin rainforests of Queensland and might well achieve one. A moratorium could be the best way to conserve virgin forests in Malaysia and Indonesia, but would probably take many years to achieve. As yet, there have been no strong moves in this direction, although the Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia) is beginning to promote the idea. In the meantime, there is an urgent need to identify the areas that are most in need of protection, and encourage governments to make them national parks, state parks, catchment forests, tribal reserves, wildlife reserves, no-logging zones, no-logging-in-the-next-ten-years zones - or whatever status will afford them some protection in the short term at least.

Conservation is making some progress in Malaysia. In a scheme initiated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the World Wide Fund for Nature, Malaysia is drawing up, with the active support of the states concerned, a series of strategies for conserving natural resources. The WWF Malaysia has completed its strategies for five of the 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia, and for Sarawak in East Malaysia.

The WWF Malaysia aims to make conservation more holistic, so that rather than being the responsibility of a single government department, conservation pervades all planning and operations in all departments and in the private sector. While this may seem idealistic, the approach has gained some support from the federal government, which sponsors seminars for state administrators. There have already been instances where states have changed direction on plans for development in line with the conservation strategy. Selangor, for example, has shelved a scheme to clear part of a mangrove-forested island to make way for an aquaculture project.

The Malayan Nature Society is also gaining respect among decision makers for its methodical and scientific approach to conservation. In 1987 the Selangor state government provided the society with funds to set up a small wildlife sanctuary and bird observatory in a threatened area of mangroves. The society has also been involved in drawing up plans for the development of facilities for visitors to Taman Negara. A group of advisors from the society has helped the Sarawak National Parks and Wildlife Office to plan facilities for visitors to the proposed Matang National Park near Kuching.

Malaysia's federal government was involved in the formulation of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's Tropical Forestry Action Plan (see 'The tropical chainsaw massacre', New Scientist, 23 September). An action plan for Malaysia is in preparation. There is growing awareness in Malaysia, both among the public and in government, that conservation is an inherent part of successful development. Unfortunately, this awareness is so far evident mostly on paper rather than in practice.

Translating words into action will be a slow process, needing patience, diplomacy and education. Malaysia is aware of its colonial past and proud of its independence. The authorities do not want to be told what is good for them. But if the message is polite and deferential, from within the country, with sound arguments and the outline of alternative strategies, then there is a good chance that in time it will get through and practices will change. Yet there are limits to this approach.

In 1985, Gurmit Singh, president of the small but influential Environmental Protection Society, said: 'Concerned foreigners can get their concerns about Malaysian issues resolved by letting Malaysian groups handle the issues on their own, while providing moral support.' Since then the government has cracked down on editorial freedom and Singh has had to modify his view: 'When the suppression of the media becomes acute within Malaysia, then direct action by foreigners is our only hope,' he says.

Well-informed comment from outside the country almost certainly has some impact. An international outcry over the importance of conserving rainforests stirred the Malaysian government to announce its commitment to responsible management of its forests. But conservationists must strike a balance between condemnation and diplomacy.

Time then becomes the enemy: how much time can the rainforest afford to lose? This is where economic arguments are of most value, and where national parks come into their own. Even the wealthier countries of the developing world, such as Malaysia, are burdened with international debt. 'Debt for nature' swaps have been negotiated in Costa Rica and Bolivia, whereby Western banks have written off debts in exchange for the setting aside of an area of rainforest.

Diplomacy wins support for the forest

There are good reasons for making Endau-Rompin a park, and not all are to do with conservation. Parks can bring in much needed foreign currency from tourists; they are beginning to attract local interest for their potential in education. And, a factor seldom considered in the West, international recognition of Malaysia's part in preserving rainforests - internationally important in conservation terms - contributes to national pride.

Recognition is one thing; interference another. Criticism from other nations can damage or destroy the work of local conservation groups. In 1986, the international condemnation of logging in the Baram and Limbang regions of Sarawak, which disrupted the lives of many long-house communities and the Penan hunter-gatherers, produced a knee-jerk reaction from the authorities.

Conservation groups such as the Malayan Nature Society have an unwritten rule that says environmental issues should be fought first at the local level; then nationally; and internationally only as a last resort. International intervention should be confidential: as a first step, leading international conservationists with personal experience in Malaysia should write to key political figures, for example. Finally, in desperation, international exposure might have some effect.

The Penan issue in Sarawak in which local tribespeople are fighting against the disruption of their lives by outside exploitation of their forest, quickly boiled over. It soon escalated from local disputes between native people and unyielding government officials, to feature articles in international magazines and newspapers. The Sarawak government felt ridiculed, and both state and federal governments were seriously embarrassed. With such a loss of face, the government's reaction was to salvage pride through defiance. With news stories already in the overseas press, Sahabat Alam Malaysia mounted a brave and vigorous campaign in support of the Penan people. Protesters were arrested and interned without trial. The logging would continue. The logging, the blockades and the arrests still continue.

Other approaches in Sarawak have been more successful. The World Wide Fund for Nature in Malaysia has built up a good working relationship with the Sarawak government. It drew up its conservation strategy for the state in collaboration with the State Planning Unit. With support from the WWF, the Sarawak government has set up four new national parks and two wildlife sanctuaries in the past eight years.

The other East Malaysian state, Sabah, has also established national parks and reserves, again with some unobtrusive help from WWF Malaysia. The best known is Kinabalu Park, covering some 700 square kilometres around Mount Kinabalu. Kinabalu Park is a mainstay of the state's tourist trade, attracting more than 100 000 visitors a year.

Neither Sabah nor Sarawak has a strong local conservation movement; comment on matters of environmental concern must come from individuals with influence in the government, or from environmental groups in Peninsular Malaysia or overseas.

But if international outcry leads to the sort of reaction Sarawak shows in the Penan case, how can other nations express their concern? Positive reinforcement might be the most fruitful approach. There is no shortage, in Peninsular Malaysia at least, of well-trained foresters who appreciate the need for sustainable management of forests. Some praise for their efforts in establishing a policy for protection of their forest resources is warranted.

The international banking community has an obvious part to play. The world's large banks should support not only new projects based on sound ecology but should also support efforts to reduce the impact of existing activities in the forests. Each year for the past decade, Peninsular Malaysia has cleared around 50 000 hectares of forest to provide 'land for the landless', in the form of plantations of oil palm, rubber and cocoa. The motives are good but the results damaging. The way around this problem is to encourage a use of the land that is geared to local markets rather than cash crops for export. Malaysia no longer receives large handouts in international aid, nor is it looking for them. But other countries can help by offering the expertise of people experienced in rehabilitation of mined land, or in techniques for extracting logs without damaging the remaining forest, or in helping to design and build facilities for visitors to national parks.

The wealthier countries of the world can participate in conservation directly. In Southeast Asia people have little choice but to use timber from the local rainforests until their plantations provide an alternative. But in Europe, North America and Australia, plantations already provide ample timber.

Individuals and organisations can offer support in the way of financial help to the environmental groups working diligently for the conservation cause in Malaysia. Individuals can also help by sending letters of appreciation for the positive things that are happening in countries such as Malaysia. Support for the national park system, and expansion of it, would be well received. Better still, but rather more expensive, is a visit to the country to sample the delights of Taman Negara or Kinabalu, followed up with a letter to express feelings in support of the rainforest. Protests and placards have their place. The challenge is to find slogans that convey to the government concerned an appreciation that there are no simple solutions, and that a change of attitude is needed just as urgently in the developed as in the less developed world.

Should all these approaches fail, only environmental catastrophe will persuade people that ruthless exploitation of forests must stop. In November 1988, Thailand suffered its worst natural disasters in decades when flooding and landslides killed more than 450 people. Recognising that deforestation was the main cause, the Prime Minister, Chatichai Choonhaven, persuaded his cabinet to agree to terminate all existing logging concessions in the country.

Perhaps, in a year or two, Malaysia's Endau-Rompin forest will earn a place on the international tourist map. A steady stream of foreign visitors will encourage local businesses and add to the state coffers. But most important, Malaysians will also be drawn to the area and realise just what benefits a rainforest can bring, from clean streams and reliable rainfall to a boost to national pride and an uplifting of the individual spirit.

Ken Rubeli is the manager of Wangat Lodge, a centre for environmental education in New South Wales, Australia. He trained as a forester and worked for 12 years in Malaysia.

From issue 1687 of New Scientist magazine, 21 October 1989

To focus or not to focus

2008-04-07T17:48:00.003+08:00

That is the question.

I just spoke with my supervisor and was assured by the following advice:

1) It's good to have multiple game plan, so take note of the few key focus and go out to explore them all in the field and then just write on one of the focus in the end.

2) It's ok to change topic totally after field work. Be flexible, work around the fieldwork data.

3) No need to survey all 100 farms. Get a few key subjects

4) It's normal to feel you haven't gotten a handle on the literature. But read more!

5) What is your niche? A fertile ground? publish them all! Just use one for master and the rest is free for all.

6) Don't get brainwashed by all the research proposal. There is a real game plan beneath all the administrative bureaucratic talk and proposals.

7) Write your analysis first and conceptualize later. What you go in with now is just a hurdle to overcome. Get to the real crunch.

8) If I don't get A, I can do B. But if A is so good, I can forget all about the rest. Don't even need to do those, can pack up early and come home! w00t!

9) But if A, B and C all don't work I can just do Z. It's ok.

10) All these ideas for narrower focus, keep them. Collect a few. Collect them all! (Pokemon!) During presentation just say that you have a few game plan because you're doing the smart thing. When you write, just write the one you really want to write. No need to write the whole extensive system. Impossible.

I'm a happier camper now.

Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group

2008-04-07T14:18:00.002+08:00

Last Friday, at the Graduate Research Seminar, Henry suggested we join listservs of the AAG specialty groups to get informed of organized sessions and what not. So today, after looking through the list of available groups, I realize I am best categorized under the Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group.

I consider myself to be working on social ecology so it's really not that far off. I signed on the listserv. Hope it would prove to be fruitful for me in the next AAG in Las Vegas.

I think I'll sign up as a student member of AAG as well. After all, I think we get journals together with the package. w00t.

I want a voice recorder

2008-04-06T20:09:00.003+08:00

Should I spend 350 bucks getting one? Really? Will it be worthwhile? Will I transcribe what I record? I don't have the rigour. But what if I don't record? What a headache.

Update @ 7 Apr
I'm going to Sim Lim tomorrow to buy one. Enough of waiting.

What is a hinterland?

2008-04-04T21:38:00.003+08:00

Originally I was going to do a independent study module paper talking about Singapore and its transnational agricultural hinterland: preconditions of a city state or an encroaching ecological footprint.

However, a senior pop by today and got me thinking that transnational doesn't just mean Malaysia and that's what I was working towards. Likewise, agricultural doesn't mean vegetables. How do I lead into talking about Malaysia and Singapore's historical trade?

So in the end, I decided that a change of title is needed.

What I've ended up doing for 2 hours today is to compile a list of definitions of Hinterlands, the different type of usage in different conceptual relationships such as hinterlands in metropolis-hinterland relations or transport geography, foreland-hinterland. There is also heartland-hinterland relationship. I've also looked at rural-hinterland versus urban-hinterland, urban fringe and metropolis. There is international/global/transnational hinterland versus local/immediate hinterland. But do I really need to read central place theory to really know what I am talking about? When do I get to the main dish? Enough with the appetizers already!

Updates @ 11.21pm
Alternative titles may include:

"City-States and Transnational Agricultural Hinterlands: a case study of Singapore-Malaysia Fresh Vegetable Trade"

"Locating the fresh vegetable supply trade within the global food crisis: a Singapore perspective"

Everything that represents me

2008-04-01T10:08:00.003+08:00

Recently I got a new office companion. His name is Gorillaz. I took this picture and then realized that this photo spokes volumes of the things that represents me.

Can you spot some? Add notes on flickr!

Recommended literature

2008-03-31T19:23:00.002+08:00

The CHATSEA workshop reviewers recommend I look up Agrawal and Freidberg without warning me that there are a gazillion Agrawal and Freidberg but I've decided that these two are the most probable candidates.

Arun Agrawal
Faculty of Political Science at Yale

Susanne Freidberg
Faculty of Geography at Dartmouth

Cultural and Social Geography Cluster

2008-03-31T16:39:00.004+08:00

Today I finally find myself in a research cluster in the department. Unfortunately, I was one of 2 grad students attending the meeting and the other one was a PhD/staff! Sigh. I was a fish out of water. The most out of place. Luckily I got to keep myself busy and useful being the note taker. I'm a sucker for these things I know.

Seems like graduating Masters students don't have the incentive to join such cluster. I guess I appreciate the experience for future academia endeavors.

There is also a lot of issues of straddling more than one group. Alas. Why must we only join one group? Some research subjects simply cross these artificial sub-discipline divides.

Meanwhile, I finally managed to return one of the library books which I've been seriously sitting on and not doing anything.

So much to do, so little time.

Edit:
To show my support, I wrote my little write up for the CSACGA(?) website

TAN Monkey, M.Soc.Sci
Thesis Topic: Singapore and its Agricultural Hinterlands: Urban Demand Impact on the Environmental Behaviour of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers

Research Interests:
* Social Capital and Nature Conservation
* Social Ecology of Conservation and Development
* Sustainable Consumption and Production
* Ecological Footprint and Food Systems
* Environmentalism and Cyberadvocacy

Approval to conduct research at NUS

2008-03-31T16:37:00.002+08:00

Date: 27 March 2008

We are pleased to inform you that the NUS institutional Review Board has approved the above-mentioned research to be carried out in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, National University of Singapore.

w00t!

New concepts I learnt today

2008-03-31T16:27:00.002+08:00

Ecological Modernization
Reflexive Modernity
Habermas's theory of communicative action

Elling, B. (2008) "Rationality and the environment : decision making in environmental politics and assessment" London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan

I talk too much

2008-03-30T19:02:00.004+08:00

I got a feedback, not from my students, but from a junior who was in a neighboring tutorial room and he overheard my class. He said I "pamper" them too much and talk too much.

ok, talking too much is bad because we're supposed to give students a chance to talk in tutorial.

Gawd I'm doomed. I can just see the feedback now... "not given enough opportunities to talk"

*sigh*

Personally I spend a lot of time "arrowing" students to talk or asking them to answer question otherwise giving out "presents" in order to give them an incentive to talk. But the more time I waste trying to wait for an answer, or more time spent on hearing different opinions, means I don't get a chance to run through the "correct" answer with them. We assume the students would supply the "right answer" in their answer. Sigh. Ok I must try to move on from each question quickly which I find is a big problem myself. My time management can be very poor.

Ethics to Epistemology

2008-03-27T21:28:00.003+08:00

Originally for my graduate research seminar, i was going to write a 2000 word essay on ethics in phenomenological studies but today after a chat with my senior grad student, he inspired me to think about paradigms in environmental geography. So now instead I will be writing about paradigms and methods in environmental geography.

I don't know why I didn't think of it before. But he said it occurred to him straightaway. Then again, I was focused too much on writing something easy instead of what would be good or useful. I should really focus more on the ideal rather than the pragmatic. Don't want the Singapore virus biting me on the ass.

Don't know why I didn't think of it but isn't thinking about concepts and epistemology, changing paradigms part of my PhD plans? The more I should get a head start thinking in these directions. Does this mean I am also lacking in calibre?

Still need to do a bit of reading, writing and consulting, but here's what I wrote in the introduction.

"The subject of the environment and human-environment studies is one that spans a broad spectrum in the discipline of Geography. The term “environment” in Geography can be used to describe one’s surroundings and conditions or more specifically, the physical environment. For the former, concepts of environmental determinism, environmental perception and environmental behaviour are more frequently applied in such studies of such human-environment interactions. However, for the latter, the environment becomes the center of focus for a wide range of studies from physical geography to political and social geography. It is this latter definition that will be adopted in this essay in the examination of paradigms and methods in Environmental Geography. This essay seeks to examine the spectrum of sub-discipline and topics within Environmental Geography. With different paradigms dominating different ends of the excessively encompassing field of environmental geography, differing epistemology and methods ensue. As such this essay will discuss the push for integration between the various methods."

Finding jobs

2008-03-27T16:00:00.002+08:00

My senior got offered an asst manager position in the Ministry of Manpower's foreign workers policy division. While it's superbly exciting, hearing about the process of application has gotten me very worried. They are usually asked to write essay and interviews involve discussing issues and what not. I think I'll fail.

Sigh. Maybe it's good I just stay as an academic lol so far I've never had a job that require such extensive testing. Perhaps that says a lot about the quality and level of my positions in these organizations. Perhaps also if I work in a field which I am known in... For example I simply cannot imagine if I would be asked to write an essay if I were to interview for a position in EDO. However, I'm really interested in policy and I'm sure that would require writing examinations. Sigh.

I must buck up!

IRB hates me

2008-03-25T11:45:00.002+08:00

I hate IRB.

They are seriously causing me trouble or am I just lousy at anticipating trouble?

Alright so I took a week to do my revisions which is a pain and then she replied saying I need to send her a version that shows where the changes are when I deliberately gave her the copy that removed tracked changes coz I thought it would look more appropriate. Thank god for the function in Word to compare documents for changes.

Fine and then she sent me email asking for "copy of your correspondence with the Malaysian officials who have ascertained that your research does not require their approval, if this is available."

Is it just Malaysia but why do none of my friends got asked if they have proof of official approval to do field work in overseas countries?

After I replied saying I got verbal advise from XXX official, she replied "I will forward your responses to the IRB and revert if there are further queries."

Which means that there will be more delay?!

I am going nuts! I need to move forward with this research!

Radio feature on marketing of healthy food

2008-03-24T14:26:00.001+08:00

Got a tip off by Heather of Food for All on News 93.8fm having a segment on the marketing of healthy food versus what's actually done. Unfortunately monkey doesn't have radio.

I wonder if they have a transcript.

What type of seminar speaker am I?

2008-03-24T14:23:00.002+08:00

Budak sent me this link on the typology of speakers you find at department seminars. I wonder which kind I am. Somebody should make a quiz out of this. lol

Critical me thinks I'm lullaby or 4-seminars-in-1 but optimistically I would like to be hitchcock or the motivational types. I kinda just prefer to dump aesthetics to wow the crowd. I haven't really given many academic presentations yet but I tend to say too much. rattle on. too much to say. Bad bad bad. Unless I'm talking about environmental things then I can even begin to be a bit better.

Which type are you?

How the myth of food miles hurts the planet

2008-03-23T15:10:00.002+08:00

Robin McKie
The Observer (UK)
Sunday March 23 2008

Ethical shopping just got more complicated. The idea that only local produce is good is under attack. There is growing evidence to suggest that some air-freighted food is greener than food produced in the UK. Robin McKie and Caroline Davies report on how the concept of food miles became oversimplified - and is damaging the planet in the process.

This article comes at a perfect time, to show how looking at farming methods matters as much as distance.

"But the idea that 'only local is good' has come under attack. For a start, food grown in areas where there is high use of fertilisers and tractors is likely to be anything but carbon-friendly, it is pointed out. At the same time the argument against food miles - which show how far a product has been shipped and therefore how much carbon has been emitted in its transport - has been savaged by experts. 'The concept of food miles is unhelpful and stupid. It doesn't inform about anything except the distance travelled,' Dr Adrian Williams, of the National Resources Management Centre at Cranfield University, told The Observer last week.

Given that the food miles cause was hailed only a few months ago as the means to empower the carbon-conscious consumer, such criticisms are striking, and suggest that some careful reassessment of the concept's usefulness has been going on.

Certainly the issues involved no longer seem clear-cut. Consider that supermarket stalwart: green beans from Kenya. These are air-freighted to stores to allow consumers to buy fresh beans when British varieties are out of season. Each packet has a little sticker with the image of a plane on it to indicate that carbon dioxide from aviation fuel was emitted in bringing them to this country. And that, surely, is bad, campaigners argue. Rising levels of carbon dioxide are trapping more and more sunlight and inexorably heating the planet, after all.

But a warning that beans have been air-freighted does not mean we should automatically switch to British varieties if we want to help the climate. Beans in Kenya are produced in a highly environmentally-friendly manner. 'Beans there are grown using manual labour - nothing is mechanised,' says Professor Gareth Edwards-Jones of Bangor University, an expert on African agriculture. 'They don't use tractors, they use cow muck as fertiliser; and they have low-tech irrigation systems in Kenya. They also provide employment to many people in the developing world. So you have to weigh that against the air miles used to get them to the supermarket.'"

At the same time, this helps on the matter of greening lifestyles:

"When you do that - and incorporate these different factors - you make the counter-intuitive discovery that air-transported green beans from Kenya could actually account for the emission of less carbon dioxide than British beans. The latter are grown in fields on which oil-based fertilisers have been sprayed and which are ploughed by tractors that burn diesel. In the words of Gareth Thomas, Minister for Trade and Development, speaking at a recent Department for International Development air-freight seminar: 'Driving 6.5 miles to buy your shopping emits more carbon than flying a pack of Kenyan green beans to the UK.'

'Half the people who boycott air-freighted beans think they are doing some good for the environment. Then they go on a budget airline holiday to Prague the next weekend,' adds Bill Vorley, head of sustainable markets for the International Institute for Environment and Development. 'They are just making gestures.'"

Cheng Lim Keak

2008-03-20T16:51:00.006+08:00

I have been reading these 2 papers by a Dr Cheng Lim Keak that used to be with the Dept of Geog in NUS. He is obviously no longer here and I saw that in some search on google that he is involved with some Chinese degree. It's awfully weird but he gives off the vibes of the school of chinese-educated academics from Singapore / Nanyang University.

He wrote 2 papers on the fresh food supply in Singapore which gave me an excellent background on the supply and distribution of vegetables in Singapore. However at points, his papers are highly politically incorrect and sometimes I'm not sure how grounded in facts are his statements.

Still, I don't deny how much I've hit the treasure trove in this one. The diagrams and schema of supply/distribution system potentially is very helpful but needs updating.

But the SEARCA workshop reviewers did suggest better literature grounding and I have to really buck up on that! I have been thinking about the CSR greening of supply chains as another possible concept.

Reading List
Cheng LK (1982) Fresh Food Supplies in Singapore. GeoJournal. Issue 4. pp 61-72

Cheng LK (1990) Social Change and Fresh-Food Marketing in Singapore. GeoJournal. 20(3). pp 301-310

Farming out my research

2008-03-20T16:41:00.004+08:00

In an attempt to gain more manpower for my research, previously I mentioned recruiting Food for All to help out in the conducting of surveys. However, having met Heather today, she seems hardpressed for manpower too so I decided to ask Wilson of ECO for help in getting school students to adopt this as their CIP (community involvement project).

He seems quite keen but sadly he has to make it sound like it's a partnership with ECO although the email he sent out is not very clear who the partnership is with. It sounds like ECO is running the research but that's alright. I will clarify with the teacher when it comes to the crunch. So this is my original email to Wilson and how I propose the CIP project to be:

Dear Wilson,

I am currently conducting a research on the impact of Singapore's vegetable consumption on the environmental and conservation behaviour of farmers in Malaysia as part of my Masters Dissertation in NUS Department of Geography. A part of the research includes a survey of consumer behaviour in Singapore, their consumption behaviour and their attitude towards organic or sustainable produced food.

I am hoping that this survey element of my research can be incorporated as the CIP project for upper secondary school or JC students.

Essentially, they would be required to conduct a total of 1000 survey questionnaires across Singapore with household decision-makers at various locations selling fresh vegetables such as supermarkets and wet markets. Each survey will last maximum 15 minutes. That means for a class of 40 students, each student will only need to conduct 25 surveys. The students could do this at their own leisure or complete all within one day as long as I receive the data by June.

In addition to the survey, I propose the following:

1) A group of students could be in charge of researching and creating a blog about sustainably produced or organic vegetables and food, the issues related to organic food or even about the organic food produced in Singapore.

2) Another group of students could help with the data entry of the surveys results. No analysis is required but if they wish to incorporate some of the information into the blog, that should be fine.

At the end of the project, the students could launch this blog as an useful web resource for Singaporeans. In addition, to the discretion of the teacher in charge, the students could have a presentation or exhibition in school or in class.

I am anticipating a total of 10 CIP hours per students for this project.

Prior to the project, I will also be happy to give a talk to the students about the issues relating the importance of knowing where our food come from, my project, their role in my research and briefed them on how to carry out the surveys and field research methods. If necessary, I will also assign students according to the location where they will conduct the survey as they have to be fairly spread out across the island.

Accepted for Los Baños dissertation workshop

2008-03-20T16:38:00.002+08:00

Dear Monkey,

The ChATSEA project review team is very pleased to inform you that your application to the Los Banos
dissertation workshop has been accepted. We believe that the student applications to this workshop
represent a very exciting set of research efforts, and we look forward to a successful workshop in Los Banos.

Please note the following short comments on your application from the reviewing team:

1. A good research question, but the reviewers encourage the student to locate the paper more in relation to a relevant literature, for example, Freidberg, Agrawal

2. The proposal should be expanded and further developed, to reach closer up to the 4,000 word guideline. If you have any further questions at this point, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to being in further contact, and to meeting you in the Philippines on May 29th.

Yay hurray how exciting :) Now I just have to improve my proposal.

Consumer Surveys

2008-03-11T20:05:00.003+08:00

Today I emailed Heather of Food for All and asked if she would be willing to provide the volunteers needed to conduct the survey of consumers I need for my study. I only need 100 respondents but if they are willing to do more over a long period and be fully in charge without me to prod, having more respondents would be excellent and they would be able to use the data for their campaigns as well.

If I can get the consumer side of the equation out of the way, I will be very happy and can focus on interviewing retailers, wholesalers and producers. Not forgetting the gahmen people!

Finally scored a meeting with AVA

2008-03-11T20:00:00.006+08:00

I finally wrote to AVA and scored a big fish. It's amazing how I simply wrote to the general enquiry email and asked for the person in charge of the Riau Vegetable Project and the Head of Horticulture replied.

Meeting her tomorrow (12 March 2008) at 10am in the middle of nowhere.

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Ok it's not really in the middle of nowhere but to get to Khatib at 10am? And then walking in? *gulp* Think I might just take a cab in and claim the cost.

Now if only I can think of the questions to ask her.

Relevant AVA officers

2008-03-06T20:40:00.004+08:00

I was looking through the AVA directory to find a person I could email regarding the Riau Vegetable Project. While I was unable to do so, I did manage to identify several positions which may be interesting for my research.

Import / export / transshipment of vegetables & fruits; licensing of traders
63257620, 63257599, 63257285
lily_ling@ava.gov.sg and teo_yen_ling@ava.gov.sg
website

Testing of food & food products
67952829, 67952822, 67952835
liang_soo_mui@ava.gov.sg, noorrani_sahul@ava.gov.sg, siling_lee@ava.gov.sg

Food labelling & advertisements
63258552, 63258556
diana_lee@ava.gov.sg, tan_yi_ling@ava.gov.sg

Agrotechnology & land-based farms
62575291, 67591648
thomas_chia@ava.gov.sg, yeo_meng_wah@ava.gov.sg

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Certification
63257635
khoo_gek_hoon@ava.gov.sg
Vegetable farming in singapore

Agricultural pesticides
63257100, 63257680
low_bee_leng@ava.gov.sg, jannie_wan@ava.gov.sg
Website

Veterinary Public Health Centre
Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority
10 Perahu Road
Singapore 718837

Veterinary Public Health Laboratory
Tel: (65) 67952822 / 67952829
Fax: (65) 68619491

Inspection Services & Epidemiology Division
Tel: (65) 67952830 / 67952821
Fax: (65) 68619492

Of course, the general enquiry email:

Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority
5 Maxwell Road,
#01-01 / #02-03 / #03-00 / #04-00 / #18-00
Tower Block, MND Complex
Singapore 069110
Tel: (65) 62221211
Fax: (65) 62206068
ava_email@ava.gov.sg

There are also some subsidiaries like:

Agrifood Technologies Pte Ltd
5 Maxwell Road #03-00
Tower Block, MND Complex, Singapore 069110
Tel: (65) 6325 7654
Fax: (65) 6325 7331
E-mail: foo_siang_ming@ava.gov.sg
Website

Singapore Fruits & Vegetables Importers & Exporters Association
Singapore Fruits and Vegetables Importers and Exporters Association (SFVIEA) was first established in 1984 by a group of fruits and vegetables importers in Singapore.
Website [cannot view on mac]

Singapore Agri-Food Business Directory
Website

Directors to look out for:

Dr Chew Siang Thai
Deputy CEO
Director, Food and Veterinary Administration
Tel: 63257600
Email: chew_siang_thai@ava.gov.sg
Key responsibilities include:
* Food safety
* Animal and plant health
* Animal welfare and control
* CITES
Under Dr Chew, the following Deputy Directors:
1) Dr Astrid Yeo (DD Import and Export, Head of Import and Export division)
Tel: 63257686
Email: astrid_yeo@ava.gov.sg
2) Ms Seah Huay Leng (DD Food Control, Head of Food Control Division)
Tel: 63255480
Email: seah_huay_leng@ava.gov.sg
3) Dr Leong Hon Keong (DD Inspection Services and Epidemiology)
Tel: 67952820
Email: leong_hon_keong@ava.gov.sg

Under Dr Astrid Yeo, within Import/Export, there is a Plant Regulatory Branch
Within which there is a Fruit & Vegetables Inspection Section
Address : Blk 1 Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre #03-03 Singapore 110001

Senior Import & Export Officer
Miss Lily LING
63257620
lily_ling@ava.gov.sg

Senior Import & Export Officer
Ms TEO Yen Ling
63257599
teo_yen_ling@ava.gov.sg

Senior Import & Export Officer
HIU Joon Hong
63257285
hiu_joon_hong@ava.gov.sg

Principal Import & Export Inspector
ONG Teng Soon, PB, PBS
67734394
ong_teng_soon@ava.gov.sg

Senior Import & Export Inspector
TEO Soon Hock, PBS
63257684
teo_soon_hock@ava.gov.sg

I've only included the people within the section that has email. Others are included in the singapore government directory. Mainly lower level officers.

Under Food Control Division, there are also very interesting sections:
Pre-Market Approval Branch
Post-Market Surveillance Branch
Survey & Safety Review Branch
Import Control Branch
Food Legislation & Factory Control Branch

Most of these are under the purview of Dr Chew. However there are also such as:

Dr Hilda Loh
Director, Policy & Corporate Communications Department
Key responsibilities include:
* Policy and planning
* Corporate communications
* Information resource management
* International relations
--> seems to be under an acting director, Dr Choo Li Nah, as of December 2007
Tel: 63257689
Email: choo_li_nah@ava.gov.sg
Under her:
1) Mr Koay Sim Huat (AD/Head international affairs) - one person unit
2) Ms Rubinah Karyeo (Senior Manager Policy & Planning Division) - 3 person unit

Mr Leslie Cheong
Director, Food Supply & Technology Department
Chief Fisheries Officer
Tel: 63257604
Email: leslie_cheong@ava.gov.sg
Key responsibilities include:
* Food supply and agri-trade facilitation
* Agri-regional project development
* Agrotechnology development
* Consultancy and advisory services
--> Under Mr Leslie Cheong, I think focusing on local food supply:
1) Mrs Renee Chou (DD Agri-Technology)
- mostly just for fisheries and horticulture.
2) Mrs Tan-Low Lai Kim (AD/Head Post-Harvest Division)
- split between veggie and fishery post harvest technology
3) Mr Chin Yew Heng (DD Food Supply / Head Food Supply and Agri-tech infrastructure)
- there is a Food Supply Resilience Branch under this division headed by
Miss LEE Siew Mooi, PPA(G)
63257330
lee_siew_mooi@ava.gov.sg
They are in charge of food sourcing.
The other branches under Food Suply are farm management of agri-tech parks in Singapore and farm licensing, mariculture management, tenancy, etc. as well as fishery port management.

Environmental Geography Academics

2008-03-06T17:53:00.002+08:00

Found very interesting academics in Kings College London's geography department!

Dr Michael K Goodman (website)
Alternative food production and consumption, ethical and fair trade systems, contemporary consumption and commodity geographies, rural development, qualitative research methods.

Goodman, D. & GOODMAN, M. (2001) Sustaining foods: Organic consumption and the socio-ecological imaginary. In Exploring sustainable consumption: Environmental policy and the social sciences eds. M. Cohen & J. Murphy, pp. 97-119. Elsevier Science, Oxford.

All his works are so interesting and relevant!

He's interested in supervising PhD topics on "Consumption-scapes" and "'Alternative' forms of Consumption and Development". Wow I like the idea of alternative forms of consumption and development. Throw in conservation there and I'm happy monkey.

Dr Daanish Mustafa (website)
Research Interest: Critical water resources geography; social networks and environmental management; global approaches to terrorism; South Asia.

MUSTAFA, D. 2007 (forthcoming). "Flood Hazard" in The Encyclopedia of Environment and Society. Edited by Paul Robbins. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications.

MUSTAFA, D. 2005(6). (Anti)social capital in the production of an (un)civil society in Pakistan. Geographical Review. 95(3): 328-347.

Wah my boss in brunei

2008-03-04T19:43:00.001+08:00

haha how come he go brunei i also dunno.. eh.. no wonder he never reply my email :P

Climate Change: Mitigating Its Effect
By Khairunnisa Ibrahim
4 March 2008

Brunei-Muara - Climate change is a very real issue that needs to be addressed because of its impact on human, ecosystems and the environment.

This was shared by Professor Victor Savage from the National University of Singapore (NUS), who gave a talk on climate change and mitigation issues yesterday at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

He said that it would take the concerted effort of all, especially the multi-national companies and the most developed countries in the world, to mitigate its effects, not only in terms of reducing emissions, but also deforestation and ecological footprints.

Here on the invitation of UBD's Geography Department, the NUS lecturer enlightened the audience on the different theories on climate change and global warming, the impact of the changing climate and weather patterns' and what needs to be done to mitigate these impact.

Among the impact mentioned were rising sea levels, widespread health problems, food security, water stress, species extinction and extreme weather.

To illustrate how climate change contributes to worsening health, Savage used Singapore as a case study, noting that in the densely-populated city-state, rising temperatures cause tropical diseases like dengue and malaria to become more widespread. The problem is exacerbated given the country's compact settlements.

One of the ways to mitigate climate change, said Savage, is by putting the focus on the main culprit, the biggest producers of greenhouse gases.

According to Savage, the worlds richest make up 20 per cent of the population, but produce 80 per cent of global income and output. Among the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide are the United States, European Union countries, China and India.

In terms of per capita emissions in 2005, Singapore had the second highest, producing 35 tonnes of carbon per person annually.

Singapore and Brunei both have high per capita carbon emissions, said Savage. This is due to two reasons: the countries' small populations and large oil and gas industries.

Energy systems should also be switched to those that are cleaner, safer and more effective, and that encourage the use of hydrogen energy vehicles and public transport to reduce harmful emissions.

Other mitigation measures mentioned include having benchmarks for environmental management, related laws and regulations and political sustainability.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

UC Berkeley PhD Program

2008-03-04T13:07:00.004+08:00

For the sake of my california-based lao gong
The Ph.D. Program in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
UC Berkeley Geography

Other california programs:
San Diego State University Geography
UCLA Geography
Stanford Interdisciplinary Grad Program in Environment and Resources - they are funded by betchel. forget it.

Saw an email about UK and found some very interesting faculty!!
King's College Department of Geography

Why is it that the environmental studies are all under Geography? Am I doomed to be in Geography forever? should I resign to my fate already or should I look towards Yale as my sole shining star in this otherwise gray path?

Monkey's Masterful Modulations

Farmers use vending machines to sell produce

Govt to set up two funds to improve food security in S'pore

Informal Presentation

Resident Writer for new humanities magazine

United Nations University Courses

New cash crop for farmers could be carbon trade

Cities May Sprout Vertical Farms

Writing for Humanities Magazine

Post Masters Plan

Plan for 2009

'Eat local' movement takes root

Food needs 'fundamental rethink'

Food for All 2008 Report

Community Currency research

'Buy local' not the answer to smaller carbon footprint, professor argues

Consultancy and Publication Offer

NTUC

Singapore: COMO Group acquires organic supermarket

Sales of organic foods increase as prices fall

Shelf life of Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre in question

燃油价下滑 蔬菜价格居高不下

Food to my attention

interview with wholesaler #1

Publishing about yaoi

I'm a "published" author!

Vegetable prices rise 10-15% due to early rainy season

no guts for field work

Letter to a potential environmental geography undergrad

encyclopedia entry about vegetables

Commonwealth Scholarship

field studies 2009

where did all the cameron veggies go?

SALM certification

New work resolution for 08-09

Post-lecture reflections

Joining an organized session at AAG

Ethical Food Lecture Slides

Singapore Food Industries looks into setting up pig farm in China

Greens from TRASH but they're still FRESH

The dilemma of presenting original work

Transcriber-Translator Needed

Today's work order

UBC PhD

NTUC FairPrice launches first organic produce certification programme

New committee set up to ensure stability in long term food supply

Want to buy mattress?

Agriculture entrepreneurs to the fore

PhD at UC Berkeley

Expect the Unexpected

My vegetable delivery adventure

Singapore's global quest for wholesome food

Late night Starbucks encounter

Teaching modules next sem

Going to KL at 2am

And fieldwork begins

Historical reference to Singapore's lack of food sufficiency

Independent Study Module (ISM)

Volunteer Field Assistants Briefing

Travel logistics update

Transport in Cameron Highlands

Cameron May Pilot Survey update

Volunteers Recruitment Successful

Graduate Research Seminar Presentation

GRSS Funding Received!

Neoliberal Environmentalism

New York Times Food section

Conference Updates

Graduate Research Seminar Essay

Methodology Ideas

Global food system 'must change'

Sudah Selasi!

Conference funding is in da house

My new olympus digital voice recorder

Environmental Problems at CH

Pride and protest in Malaysia

To focus or not to focus

Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group

I want a voice recorder

What is a hinterland?

燃油价下滑蔬菜价格居高不下