Genetic Modification as the Future of Food?

The speaker in the video below doesn't seem to think so. The video talks about the process of genetically modifying a seed and criticizes the increased planting of these seeds around the world. Viewers should note that the speaker is an Englishman. He says 'this country' a few times in the video, and is referring to England. Also, I believe the video was shot a few years ago. Regardless, the content is interesting and remains relevant today.

Everything is related

Everything is connected. We live on a globe. A globe, by definition, is a 3-D circle, and what is a circle if not a closed circuit. Something that happens on the other side of town or the other side of the planet may exist in isolation in certain regards, but in the bigger picture, they are directly correlated.

The chaos that human society faces today is a direct result of choices that our forefathers and mothers have made, putting modern humans in the difficult situation of having to reevaluate things that have been taken for granted for generations in the United States as 'good' or at least as not harmful to humans and our local communities.

This blog post is just about sharing information about a few things going on in the world locally from Los Angeles to the global level. We ask that you reflect on these connections, who is benefitting in the short or long term, and who is being harmed. We argue that in the long run, no one benefits from selfish investments, not even the profit seekers. As mentioned above, we live on a closed circuit. Everything cycles back around, at some point.

Occupy LA (see Tony Velloza video above), building Los Angeles factories in low income/people of color neighborhoods (see opening video to this blog post), selling and increasingly planting genetically modified foods regardless of human/environmental health risks, food costs, and government investment into shady energy deals are all fundamentally related issues.

Local to Global Life Works photo taken of Ciclavia in 2011

So what can you do?

The first thing is to educate yourself. Let what you learn (and the likely resulting repulsion) inspire you to get creative -- yes, that's right, use the problems in the world to help you find your own creative ways to step out of the cycle of destruction that has been created for us by powers outside of our control. 'Our' refers to ALL people alive today, since one person is just part of a bigger picture, even if one person can make a huge impact on the world. Try to work on thinking of the plants, animals, peoples and elements around you as intrinsically connected to yourself. Work on healing your personal pains and finding peace within. The Dalai Lama says that there will not be peace on Earth until everyone can find peace within themselves. Remember that YOU MATTER! And that the world is still filled with beautiful things and places, and that small steps now lead to big movement in the future.

Lastly, make sure to contact your elected representatives to voice your opinions on things as frequently as possible. If you give up on your government, it will give up on you.

Peace and peas!

Local to Global Life Works

Pop culture moment: Whitney Houston, the Grammys, and Common's rap for LA

The video above is of famous hip hop artist Common (who performed for President Obama last year at the White House) rhyming some love for Los Angeles. I filmed the video at a Grammy after-party at the Conga Room in downtown Los Angeles.

The Grammy's are working on minimizing waste generation from their event and involving themselves in some environmentally sustainable practices to raise awareness about the need for such changes on the global scale. Click here for more information.  Also, please be sure to check in soon with green LA girl, where I will be posting an article on the Grammy Greening Summit, which I was able to attend.

Finally, here is a beautiful story on Zocalo Public Square about what Whitney Houston meant to a young lady of color growing up in South Los Angeles.

Peace and enjoy,

Nisha Namorando Vida
Local to Global Life Works founder/director

Thoughts for 2012