Conference on World Affairs Discussion

          At the 2017 CU Boulder Conference on World Affairs, I attended two panels. The first was a general discussion on food entitled Why Food Matters; Nourishing Our Bodies and the Land. The panel was headed by Rick Bayless, Debra Eschmeyer, and moderated by Sheila Dietrich. Bayless, a renowned chef known for using locally and organically produced ingredients in his restaurants, emphasized the importance of viewing food as sustenance instead of as fuel (though I never fully grasped what this all important distinction was exactly). He asserted that our bodies can only truly thrive when our food is connected to our past. In other words, if your heritage does not include a culture that makes burritos, don't eat burritos. I found this claim fascinating, but he didn't give any scientific evidence to support it. Eschmeyer focused most of her time on creating more sustainable agricultural practices, particularly on incorporating local ingredients into school lunch programs and getting kids invested in growing their own food. The panelists also shared their thoughts on the future of sustainable agriculture, discussing the use of such technologies as hydroponics and vertical farming. 

          The other panel which I attended was called How Damaged is America's Worldwide Reputation? The panel was comprised of Kinan Azmeh, Amar Bakshi, Peter Rupert Lighte, and Shadia Marhaban. Nikhil Mankekar served as the moderator. The speakers all presented their unique perspectives on the reputation of the U.S. in their home countries. One panelist from Indonesia commented that the most prevalent image of the United States in her country was not of politics but of Hollywood. That said, most of the panelists seemed to agree that recent moves on the international stage such as Trump's travel ban have not helped to create an ideal image of America. Another topic which came up was the general lack of initiative on the part of Americans to take a stance on the plight of Palestinians. The conclusion seemed to be that although America's reputation has been tarnished by recent political events, these are not the only factors that contribute to our international standing. 

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 11, Swine of Our Times, and The Oil We Eat

What has been the impact of agriculture on the natural order of the world?

          In the 10,000 years since humans adopted the practice of cultivating their food instead of foraging for it, the natural world has been significantly contorted. The First Agricultural Revolution led to humans consuming a disproportionate amount of energy. Today, humans consume around 40% of Earth's primary productivity, in part by our vast production of pants but also by our extensive destruction of forests for agricultural purposes. The impacts of agribusiness on the natural world is staggering. Just look to the practices of hog farms in the United States, who keep conditions so crowded for their hogs that they have to artificially inseminate their sows to prevent the spread of disease. Farmed hogs have also become shockingly genetically uniform, making them more susceptible to disease. This problem is exacerbated by the growing resistance of certain diseases to antibiotics, which are added to the hogs' feed. Apart from the impact on domesticated animals, the energy requirements of our current model of agriculture are so severe that they are changing the climate of the planet. Excessive carbon emissions from livestock warm the planet, acidity the oceans, and raise sea levels. This problem is compounded by the mass deforestation that supplies the land needed for these practices. There is no doubt that human agricultural activity over the last 10,000 years, and most acutely over the last 50, has fundamentally upset nature. 

Image source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKc0WFthbNtEnMyuA7GaNCziVxzQfKRDUEWVwWBgS6uDVBiju1EFmy1KTjsdUB-OtopYxvQBOZQR8Is_IuZYeYAaFz2w357hdkrH_z6uu4Md-cfRZfUUkYGTuhraCAxW8aXOOOaljllpg/s1600/agriculture-deforestation.png

Investigative reporters wanted to expose the conditions within factory farm, but big agro has deep pockets. So, the Iowa state legislature made it illegal for reporters to take jobs at factory farms for journalistic purposes. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/the-ag-gag-laws-hiding-factory-farm-abuses-from-public-scrutiny/254674/

Image source: https://realtruth.org/images/factory_chickens_unhappy-apha-140812.jpg

Map of South America's Agricultural Output: https://economics.rabobank.com/Global/Publicatie%20afbeeldingen/2015/09%20September/LATAM-H5%20agri/Map-South%20America.png

Food, Inc. Review

In the 2009 documentary "Food, Inc.", the film's crew seeks the opinions of industrial farmers, organic farmers, big agricultural representatives, and consumer safety advocates to explain the current system of agriculture within the United States. This film brings to light many troubling aspects of the way we feed our country, from the appallingly cruel and unsanitary conditions of factory farms to the abusive business practices of agriculture giants such as Monsanto. The crew interviews a number of farmers, both factory and organic, who attest to the far reaching harms of factory farming such as antibiotic resistance and E. coli outbreaks. One of the challenges that the film crew faced was obtaining interviews with farmers about the industry, as there are heavy legal restrictions placed on speaking out against it. Filming inside factory far,S was also very difficult for the team, as was obtaining interviews with representatives of the largest companies in big agro. "Food, Inc." also addresses the extremely close ties between agriculture and the agencies that are supposed to regulate it. The film reports that many former executives of the largest agricultural conglomerates go on to hold high offices in agencies such as the FDA and the EPA. Unsurprisingly, these former executives champion policies that give a tremendous advantage to big agro, such as high corn subsidies and ad-gag laws that prevent negative press about the industry. 

Chapter 10 Blogpost

Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1EmiMwqUW8HCLRoO9iyrTlimaKld7-NgOX9RdHGlo3XM

We chose the county Huerfano because during our extensive research about the areas in need of the most assistance in Colorado, it was initially amongst the neediest. However, the need for reform in Huerfano became much more clear when we looked into the statistics within the categories of teen pregnancy, unemployment, college degrees, literacy, and per capita income. Huerfano has a significant correlation between all of the aforementioned areas and the poverty in the area. 

For example, Huerefano boasts a teen pregnancy rate of 41.7%, an unemployment rate of 10%, an illiteracy rate of 15%, and only has 28% of its inhabitants with a college degree. (These statistics can be found within a chart and graphs as well, compared to that of other counties.)

 

There are a series of categories which are essential in determining the necessity of development in a community. Communications, such as access to the internet and good phone systems are a very vital way to determine the level of economic development. Also literacy rates and infant mortality rates are important indicators. If a community’s literacy rate is low and their infant mortality rate is high, then this is a red flag to academics who study development within populations that an area needs help. These categories are all important parts of determine the level of development in a country.

While some might assume that since a county is in great need of development that they boast troubling statistics in ALL categories, this assumption would be false. The United States in its entirety is ranked in the mid 20’s in the world in infant mortality rates, which is due to the great divide in the country between those who are very poor and don't have access to the best pre-natal health care, and those who can afford to be regularly seen by their prenatal doctor. Having mentioned this divide in the country, it is important to note that just because the country has a certain rating based on its statistics, that Huerfanos rate had the possibility of being much different. In fact, it was much different. But not in the way one might expect when looking at the statistics for Huerfanos development. It’s infant mortality rate came in at a whopping 0%, with only 54 births in the calendar year of 2015.

We as a group feel that the most important factor in determining the the necessity of development in today’s modern society within a very well developed country is the per capita income. While this alone is not an indicator of poor development, the way the per capita income is distributed does indicate low development in cases where the PCI is not profoundly low. While the other indicators of reform are often present in underdeveloped countries, we feel that low PCI directly correlates to poverty in Huerfano, and further accentuates the need for development reform in the county. Huerefano boasts a PCI of $23,467. While we are unable to directly prove that the entirety of Huerefano is in poverty, it does become more clear that there is a great divide in the prosperity of Huerefano when you look at the average annual salaries of men and women. Whichever statistic you choose to look at, both are vastly higher than the PCI, indicating that there is an incredibly large amount of unemployed population who are living in poverty within city limits.

A glaring red flag in Huerfano is that women are clearly undervalued. This is a clear sign of an undeveloped society, with a wage gap of around $12,000 on average.  As previously discussed in class, gender inequality is both a barrier to development as well as a social condition that hampers development. It is not something to be taken lightly, especially in the face of the statistics in Huerefano. 

Male salaries are at an average of $50,918 annually, while female salaries sit at an average of $38,528. Not only is the wage gap an issue, but when compared to the PCI, we are able to clearly infer poverty in Huerefano because the wealth distribution is so unequal.

We also researched the employment in Huerfano. While we made a graph on the unemployment in this county (please see graph below), we wanted to look into those who are in fact employed in the area. Having discussed primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, we looked further into these sectors and found the following: 6.2% of people work in the primary sector, 39.2% work in the secondary, and 54.8 work in the tertiary. 

One of the most popular majors in the county is land use planning, management, and development. This shows that most people in the county are gearing up to enter the workforce to manage the primary sector, showing that there are already a great amount of people actually working in the primary sector, and now people are seeking to manage this work. Compared to other counties in the area that we deemed to be deserving of help, Huerefano fell relatively in the middle with their percentages on this portion of the chart. It really was important for there to be a balance within 

Based on all of the above factors, we have determined that Huerefano is in the deepest need of help. Huerefano is at a stage in development where help is most urgent, because they are relatively developed, just are behind in social practices and some economic areas. The interesting thing in discussing which areas in a country like the United States needs help developing is that the country as a whole is relatively developed. There is running water and a road or a sewage system amongst other staples of basic infrastructure almost everywhere you turn. However, there is a great divide in the country and while some places are completely urbanized and developed, otherwise have not experienced the same flourishing. We have determined that Huerefano requires the most help due to the aforementioned issues.

The Chinese government wanted to foster development through urbanization, so they constructed massive urban areas. But currently, many of these huge blocks of urbanized space are completely uninhabited. http://www.dw.com/en/what-has-become-of-chinas-ghost-cities/a-36525007

Image source: http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/54/70/9358870/3/1024x1024.jpg

Per capita GDP of Italy in 2008 in thousands of Euros 

Map source: http://geocurrents.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Italy-Per-Capita-GDP-by-Region-Map.png

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 9

Here's how the federal government made the maps that crippled black neighborhoods:

          The persistent racial segregation found in many American cities can be traced back to policies intended to create just that. The practice of redlining (refusing to give loans to inhabitants of a specific area) significantly restricted the upward mobility of African Americans, who were the primary targets. By effectively removing the possibility of investment in predominantly black communities, redlining has maintained social stratification along racial lines. 

America's Great Fitness Divide:

          Income inequality in the United States produces obscene differences in the quality enjoyed by different economic classes. Among these differences is physical health. While being wealthy is not a prerequisite to being healthy, there is nevertheless a strong positive correlation between fitness in cities and income per capita. This suggests that, to some degree, our physical health may be related to our choice of city. 

Mapping the Great Housing Divide:

          Gentrification is a glaring contradiction. On the one had, it raises property values and adds upscale additions to previously run down neighborhoods. On the other hand, gentrification raises the cost of living to such a degree that many families are forced off of the property. This created an environment in which excess walks hand in hand with squalor. 

Burying a 1950's Planning Disaster:

          Our cultural landscape is dynamic, reflecting the needs and priorities of those who construct it. In the 1950s, when city planners adhered to the notion that urban highways were necessary for traffic, the cultural landscape of many urban centers became marked with constantly jammed asphalt roads. Now, as we reconsider the impacts of these highways, it looks as though many may be removed from urban centers. 

People in Brazil wanted to find better opportunities, so many migrated to urban centers in the Amazon. But the swell in population required these cities to expand, contributing to the devastating deforestation of the Amazon.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/world/americas/swallowing-rain-forest-brazilian-cities-surge-in-amazon.html

Map of connectedness in Spain 

Map source: http://images.slideplayer.com/20/5944617/slides/slide_5.jpg

Power, Faith, and Fantasy Post #4 Pages 155-176

          In Antebellum America, a strong restorationist movement prompted American interest in the Middle East. Americans viewed it as their duty to help Jews establish an independent state in Palestine. They also considered it within their purview to "civilize" the Middle East, primarily through means of conversion to Christianity. Optimistic U.S. born missionaries established the route and itinerary which most American travelers in the Middle East adhered to. Driven by religious zeal and enticed by the often dismal but nonetheless compelling writings of early American travelers, tourists began to visit Arab cities such as Cairo, Jerusalem, and Petra. But tourists were almost always appalled at what they perceived as the brutishness of Arabic culture, though steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the gross injustice of slavery that was common practice in their homeland. This increased exchange between the United States and the Middle East left tangible cultural impacts on both regions. Among those that toured the holy sites of the Middle East were celebrated authors and artists, including Herman Melville and Washington Irving. Their experiences abroad impacted their art and writing, and in doing so disseminated a touch of Middle Eastern culture to the American people. 

Image source: http://www.tabletmag.com/wp-content/files_mf/melville_jerusalem_081412_620px.jpg

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 8, Lines in the Sand, This is What America would look like without gerrymandering, and Crossing the Mexican-American border every day.

How does the drawing of borders by intellectuals of statecraft affect people's every day lives?

           The way in which we draw our maps influences quality of life at almost all scales. In Africa for example, where states' borders are the legacy of profit-driven European colonialism, members of many different nations are clumped together in arbitrarily delineated territories. The current map of the Middle East is, to a lesser degree, the product of this system of European apportionment. Apart from bringing various ethnic and religious groups into conflict with one another, the current geography of the Middle East deprives certain peoples, such as Kurds and Palestinians, of their own sovereign states. The drawing of maps can have less obvious but highly significant impacts on democracy. The practice of gerrymandering in the United States allows politicians to isolate certain voting demographics in ways that benefit their party. By drawing congressional districts, intellectuals of statecraft are able to influence the outcomes of elections and by extension influence policy that may impact millions of people. National borders can also impact people by restricting where they can live and travel based on their country of origin. The arbitrary boundaries given to each independent state have tangible impacts on the lives of innumerable citizens across the world, and create an imbalance of power in both geopolitical and private spheres. 

Image source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/8f/f9/6a8ff9580aaed118529139564ea60d2e.jpg

Kurds wanted to reclaim territory along Syria's Turkish border from the Islamic State, but Turkey feared that this would encourage the formation of a Kurdish state. So, Turkey proclaimed that they would forcibly oppose the formation of such a state.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-turkey-to-take-necessary-measures-on-border-security-pm-davutoglu-2015-6

Image source: http://www.factsandopinions.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Kurds.jpg

Benedict Anderson, Man Without a Country - Renowned Benedict Anderson, who famously asserted that nationalism is a centripetal force within countries, has passed away. Born into an Anglo-Irish family in China, he had no real homeland until he adopted Indonesia as his home country. 

Texas is Turning Blue - Texas's recent growth consists primarily of minority groups that consistently vote democrat. If this trend continues, it is likely that new majority-minority districts will pull the state left and deprive the Republican Party of their most valuable state in presidential elections. 

Lines in the Sand - After WWI, England delineated arbitrary geometric boundaries in the Middle East with little regard for existing nations. These boundaries have contributed to the near constant unrest of the region. 

Gerrymandering Solved - The problem of gerrymandering, in which politicians draw district lines in order to benefit their party, could be solved by a computer algorithm that draws unbiased districts. But political interests make it unlike that politicians will willingly surrender their power to draw districts. 

Map of supranational organizations in Euerope