Wendy, Wanda, Wine?

Question 9: a) Reflect on our Field Study to Kelleris and b) discuss the important ways in which wine has and continues to play a role in human society and culture.

I’ll just start off by saying that I really enjoyed the field study to Kelleris Vineyard. It was interesting to meet a man who is succeeding on producing high quality wine in an environment which is not necessarily conducive for growing grapes (i.e. climate, short growing season, and the dirt). Søren Jensen, the man behind this interesting venture, is one of the founding members of Denmarks commercial wine venture.  While he admitted that before 2000 he did not know a thing about growing grapes and making wine, Mr. Jensen was a wealth of knowledge. I learned a lot about viticulture, the crossbreeding grape vines, and the history of the fungi and beetles which afflict the plants.

It is hardly possible to understate the importance wine has held for the history of human society. Wine, and the grape, first cultivated in Mesopotamia and around the Caspian Sea between 6000 and 4000 BC quickly spread all across southern Europe, the Middle East, and most of the ancient world. From the Sumerian goddess Gestin to Renen-utet from egypt and Dionysus (Bacchus) from Greece/Rome It quickly took on religious importance, and most cultures had a deity representing this libatious drink.

Wine also served as an extremely valuable trading good. As evidenced by roman trading vessels discovered on the seabed of the mediterranean, ancient wine was being produced all around the ancient world, in mesopotamia, gaul, and italy. They also demonstrate the physical volume and economic value of the wine trade.

Today, wine holds a more social position. While no longer the property of the religious and social elite, wine has in the past 50 years become the common mans drink. It can be found in bottle (both plastic and glass) and in boxes (invented in 1965). It brings friends together and can be seen mixed in with the bottles of beer and various hard alcohol in bars and clubs.

Sources:

http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/kelleris-vineyard.html

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ewga/exhibition/temperance/index.html

Images:

http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/topbannere/ban_6.jpg

http://italianwinehub.com/news09/RomanShipwrecks.html

http://therelaxnation.com/2012/04/wine-party-101-how-to-throw-a-wine-tasting/#sthash.hj3T1IFY.dpbs

The Holy Trinity...

Question 8: Which are the ‘Top Three’ most important / influential plants of power today

With almost 400,000 plant species extant today, it is not surprising in the least that they have had influential effects on the lives of humans since even before we evolved from apes and came down out of the trees. There have been many lists made up of important plants organized by volume produced and economic value, but I believe the current “top three” influential plants rice, papers trees, and opium poppies are important for other reasons.

Rice is vital to humanity for one simple reason, it feeds the most people out of any plant ever. While corn has the highest production rate, it is used mainly for non-consumption (fuel and plastics). This makes rice the most consumed plant product. Interestingly there are over 40,000 varieties of rice growing all over the world. It became so important that it ingrained itself in various cultures. While it is mostly grown and eaten in Southeastern Asia (China, Japan, the Islands, etc…).  It provides nutritional and economic sustenance for producers and consumers across the globe.

The second of the “top three” would have to be trees. This is because, as we discussed in class, there are a myriad of uses  for trees from transportation to heating. However, what makes it most important today is the fact that paper is made wood. Paper makes the world flow, at least for the time being.

Lastly is the opium poppy. This is because it is financially supporting many terrorist organizations (e.g. Al-Qaeda) in the Middle East (primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan) which are currently fighting in the middle east and creating many global problems which are detrimental to World security. The production of this plant however rarely benefits the farmers, instead the billions in profit fund the illicit actions of terror organizations.

These three plants are the most influential because they shape current the political and cultural landscape.

Source

http://www.plantsandus.org.uk/top-10_economics.htm

Images

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Drugs-fuel-terror-campaign-Opium-trade-keeps-2872219.php

http://www.paper.org.uk/information/pages/papermaking_process.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8717378/Rice-a-cultural-symbol-for-modern-day-Japan.html

Food or Famine

Question 7:Discuss the current threats and possible solutions to food security.  Within your answer identify the problems associated with the possible solutions.

Food security, according to the WHO, is “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. The access to an adequate supply of food is vital for both the physical needs of the poor, and the advancement of human society by-in large. Currently there are three main threats to food security in both the developing and developed world, poverty natural disasters, and distribution issues.

While the impoverished spend between 50% and 80% of their income on food, the measures of poverty is impacted by where in the world they live. If the poor live in the developed world, they are able to (with relative ease) provide/procure enough food to feed themselves. This is because there is enough food, at a low enough cost, to feed the worlds population several times over. However, the developing world has been struck by countless manmade and natural disasters, which due to the weak nature of the pre-existing socio-political and economic structures, have magnified effects on the .

The main problem is that the food is not distributed equitably, even regionally and nationally. A problem evident in Ethiopia during the past two decades in which piles of domestically produced food and international food aid were seen rotting on the side of the road when hundreds of thousands of people were starving. This distribution problem has also exemplified by the fact that there has never been a famine in a country with democratically elected government and a free press. A phenomenon which can be seen in Ireland.

The problem of food security is highly debated and many of the worlds smartest minds are attempting to develop feasible solutions. I agree with several leading academics that the best way to solve food insecurity was increasing the amount of locally sourced, highly tied, humanitarian food aid.

Sources

http://www.ifad.org/hfs/facts.htm

http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/

Images

http://www.scidev.net/global/food-security/feature/food-security-facts-and-figures.html

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2011/09/famine-horn-africa-0 http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/2014/06/food-aid-cause-conflict/