savoy011

Below there are women and men who study science, who study scientifically, who do good science. But the wicked capitalists come along and use this science to do harm to the very people who discovered that science. What kind of harm? They use science to make the rich richer. The rich use it as they choose, for a destiny other than that for which it was created. They use it to kill and destroy. - Zapatista Plenary Declaration on ConSciences Moderator’s Note: In a recent conversation with a close friend, the issue of how different people conceptualize “nature” came up in the context of a discussion of the March for Science. First of all, I suggested that this does not involve a “binary” problem (e.g., pro- or anti-nature; pro- or anti-science); instead this is a spectrum with a spectral cast. There are several paradigms operating in different cultural communities (with distinct political projects) and these differ markedly in how they define “nature” or the “environment”— be mindful, all...

Source:  Jovenes Emergencia Moderator’s Note: As we continue to monitor and analyze developments in Mexico related to the Sin Maíz no Hay Paíz (Without Corn, There is no Nation) movement, it seems appropriate to bring readers’ attention to a recent report that confirms the continued principal role of smallholder farmers (i.e., peasants) as producers of the corn directly consumed by Mexicans. Reporting in Red en Defensa del Maíz (Network in Defense of Maize) on June 26, 2015, Daniela Barragan with SinEmbargo.mx , notes that smallholder, mostly Indigenous farmers still constitute the majority of corn producers in Mexico: 85 percent. This is a significant fact because it suggests that – despite more than a decade of effort – the transnational biotechnology corporations like Monsanto have failed to completely displace the Indigenous and other traditional smallholder maize cultivators. However, the report also warns that these small farmers continue to face a condition of extreme pre...