Agriculture – Bill Gates Wants Meatless, Frank A Hilario Wants Chemicals-Less, And Less Climate Change!

Thereby, Bill Gates is trying to wreak havoc on my meals! I love meat, especially pork, especially Philippine lechon.

I also love vegetables. I love pinakbet, the Ilocanos’ mix of bitter (bitter gourd), slimy (okra), fish-salty (bagoong), earthy (eggplant), and salacious (sauce having absorbed every single taste in the dish). I love it! An Ilocano, my father Lakay Disiong (God bless his soul) cooked pinakbet the way we all loved: with that wonderful flavor of pork!

Meat can’t get away from me.

I’m reading the article “Bill Gates: The Future Of Meat Is Vegan[1]” I saw shared on Facebook today, Sunday, 18 July 2021, published by Animal Equality 21 October 2012 (animalequality.org), saying:

A video has recently exploded on the (Internet) of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaking about the potential worldly benefits of veganism.

Against worldly harm of animalism (my coinage), Mr Gates says (my editing):

Most people believe that animals should not be harmed unnecessarily, but the consumption of animal products forces animals into (lives) of misery and untimely (deaths).

I agree 100%, but can’t eat without meat.

In that article:

Gates discusses a future in which science will allow the production of vegetarian “meat.” (The) product will likely be cheaper, more efficiently produced and better for the planet.

Mr Gates’ main argument is that:

Veganism is a lifestyle based on respect for animals. Animals are sentient beings like us. They are able to feel emotions and sensations such as pain, pleasure, fear or stress and like us they are individuals with their own needs, desires and (interests) in living.

“Better for the planet.” What Mr Gates is not saying is that poultry and livestock grown anywhere in the world today are fed with vegetables and/or other plants grown with the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides – applied against bacteria, fungi, viruses, weeds – that kill those perceived to be enemies of farmers but leave chemical residues on the crops that harm the animals feeding on them, that destroy the health of farmers and other humans consuming them, that wreak havoc on the atmosphere by causing the release of greenhouse gases that cause man-made climate change. A vegan world that Mr Gates wants is actually the badder for the planet!

What did British scientist-thinker Jane Goodall say about it again?

How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?
(Jane Goodall quote with image[2] from Pinterest)

Now then, if I were to choose between being kind to animals and being kind to mankind by not producing greenhouse gases that cause global damages by climate changes (my term) with my farming, I will choose to feed my animals with plant foods grown and protected from pests and diseases naturally such as by using organic pesticides, as well as by trap cropping and multiple cropping. Of course you know: “Mother Nature knows best.”

Let the world protect itself by mankind being conscious every time and following the Laws of Mother Nature!@517

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[1]https://animalequality.org/news/bill-gates-the-future-of-meat-is-vegan/

[2]https://www.pinterest.com/pin/284219426464217770/

Challenge To The Philippine Network Of Environmental Journalists – DA Baguio Reserve Being Turned Into Private Property!

Did you know that July is “Cordillera Month”? Are we going to celebrate by giving away 10 ha public property to private people?

Life is full of contradictions. The latest news from several Facebook posts of Robert Domoguen, Regional Information Officer of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), is that 10 hectares of the Baguio Animal Breeding & Research Center (BABRC), part of the Department of Agriculture (DA), are being claimed by some private party and such claim is being enforced by the Dragon Knights Security Agency.

The regional center of the CAR is Baguio City. I love Baguio as “City of the Pines,” so I see the above imbroglio as a public environmental problem with a private property twist.

Today, Sunday, 18 July 2021, I visited the website claimed by PNEJ, http://www.pnej.org/, and found it occupied by Marietta Roofing Company of Australia! I further pursue my search, and find that PNEJ has no website at all; it is just “advertising” itself at a webpage[1] of Philippine EnviroNews (Environews.ph). It tells me teenager PNEJ is growing up barely aware of the power of the Internet! PNEJ does have a Facebook page, but that’s not an independent website – I do not understand why PNEJ cannot create and maintain a blog of its own.

In any case, PNEJ says on its Facebook page[2], among other things:

PNEJ aims to empower and enable journalists to improve the quality, accuracy, and intensity of environmental reporting in the Philippines

“Improve the quality… of environmental reporting in the Philippines.” Right on, PNEJ!

I understand Mr Domoguen’s private-party claimant problem with the Baguio Center – now, I ask, with at least 1 PNEJ member based in Baguio City I know (will not mention his name), why is PNEJ not reporting, not even once that I know, on Mr Domoguen’s Facebook complaint that some private party is laying claim on 10 hectares of the BABRC in Baguio? I can just see those 10 hectares becoming a business center, no longer forestland dominated by Pinus kesiya (Benguet pine) – which is why Baguio City has been known as “Pines City” or “City of the Pines.” No pine scent doesn’t smell nice!

So I hereby challenge any and all of the members of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists to take up what I shall conveniently refer to here as The Domoguen Challenge:

Visit the BABRC site, ask questions, interview people, do diligent research, following what I call iTHINK Journalism – and report to the people. (For my “iTHINK Journalism,” see my article “Media Is In The Wrong Media Class Struggle – Media Should Be A Force For Good[3]!” 14 July 2021, Brave New World PH.)

PNEJ, remember: Media should be a force for good!

I was a founding officer of PNEJ that was launched on 03 June 2010 at the Heritage Hotel Manila (see my article “Hope  From PNEJ. New Network Of Eco-Journalists[4],” 04 June 2010, A Magazine Called Love).

PNEJ – are you for the environment or not!?@517

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[1]https://environews.ph/about/

[2]https://www.facebook.com/Philippine-Network-of-Environmental-Journalists-Inc-PNEJ-190967870939713/

[3]https://bravenewworldph.blogspot.com/2021/07/media-is-in-wrong-media-class-struggle.html?q=%22ithink+journalism%22

[4]http://amagazinecalledlove.blogspot.com/2010/06/hope-from-pnej-new-network-of-eco.html

SONA Awards 2021 – PH Department of Agriculture Shows Us “The Immense Power Of Image & Number”

SONA Awards 2021: “Outstanding Performance in Servant Leadership” – And the first-ever award goes to… the Department of Agriculture (DA)! The trophy will be accepted by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar.”

Today, Friday, 16 July 2021, I saw the above image titled “Duterte Legacy: Plant, Plant, Plant” shared on Facebook by the DA. I was in awe with its complexity behind its simplicity that I had to invent an award for this one. In itself, it is complete and compelling.
(image[1] shared on Facebook)

Look at the image again. Titled “DUTERTE Legacy: Plant, Plant, Plant.” There are 8 tags:

Record Palay Prod’n

·       19.44 M MT in 2020

·       90%rice self-sufficiency

·       More affordablerice available

Record Corn Prod’n

·        Highest production in 20 years at 6.01 M MTin 2020

·       Lowest inflation rate at -2.53% in 2020

Livestock Prod’n

·       Six LGUs in Batangas declared ASF-free

·       Implemented “Bantay ASF sa Barangay” & hog repopulation program

·       Produced record chicken output, at 1.93 M MT in 2019; chicken eggs, at 605,790 MT in 2020; duck eggs, at 50,480 MT in 2020

High-Value Crops Prod’n

·       Banana’s highest export volume reached 4.4 M MT in 2019

·       Onion is at 90%sufficiency level in 2020

Fishery Projects

·       29,620units of fiberglass-reinforced plastic boats distributed

·       680community fish landing centers established

·       60regional and municipal fish posts constructed/rehabilitated

Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita

·       Total sales to date of Php 7.7 B

·       Served 3.8 M households

Urban Agriculture

·       2,400+urban gardens nationwide in partnership with 200 LGUs, private sector entities, civil society groups

Infrastructure Projects

·       Completed 5,291 (4,108 km) Farm-to-Market Roads projects

·       Constructed and rehabilitated 49,154 small-scale irrigation projects

·       Constructed 78,359 m irrigation canals

·       Constructed and upgraded 13,064 production facilities and 1,085 postharvest facilities

Below all those 8 tabs runs this tagline, the DA Vision in 12 words: “A food-secure and resilient Philippines with empowered and prosperous farmers and fisherfolk.”

All that is a bare, basic and yet dramatic presentation of the 2-year accomplishments of the DA under the Servant Leadership of William Dar under PH President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

My personal congratulations to all staff of the DA in all regions of the Philippines – and to the minds and hands who conceived and executed the original imagery.

And now, here is another surprise:

All of the above shows Science is a great territory for creativity!

“Creativity is intelligence having fun” – Albert Einstein

“Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary” – Dewitt Jones

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun“ – Mary Lou Cook

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties” – Erich Fromm

“Creativity starts with curiosity. Be curious“ – Anonymous

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep“ – Scott Adams

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious” – Albert Einstein

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will” – George Bernard Shaw.

Imagine (all) that!@517

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[1]https://www.facebook.com/dacentralphilippines/photos/a.524349634313148/4126939987387410/

PH National Foods Systems – We Are All In This Together

Clearly, I see that with the forthcoming “United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021” in September, each country will be forced to look into what a “food system” is and how to make it work in a country’s favor considering all other countries’ food systems. This is historic.

Above, the “One Apple Image” indicates only that each of the countries of the world has its own food systems – but the image or symbol does not indicate the necessary and unavoidable direct & indirect interactions of those individual countries’ food systems.

Is my country the Philippines any better in her view of her food systems?

Let us look at the contents of the untitled speech delivered by PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar at the closing ceremonies for the “National Food System Dialogue” on 14 July 2021 at the auditorium of the Bureau of Soils & Water Management (BSWM) in Quezon City. The BSWM is an agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA), which is headed by Mr Dar ex-officio. Mr Dar is also the national coordinator for the Dialogue.

I daresay Mr Dar’s 2^nd paragraph is the essence of the whole speech of a total of 1,605 words; that paragraph I reproduce here with a little editing:

The call of the times (is for) efficient and resilient food production and distribution systems that will allow us to feed our growing population, now and in the future. And as highlighted by your discussions, there are Five Action Tracks through which sustainable food systems are achieved: 1) Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all; 2) Shift to sustainable consumption patterns; 3) Boost nature-positive production; 4) Advance equitable livelihoods; and 5) Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and (stresses).

The above 80 words taken together tell me that Mr Dar has been thinking on his own – as well as listening to others thinking on their own. My Servant Leader!

Let me now talk about the 5 Action Tracks:

#1: “Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all.” This is most welcome to me, who is a son of a farmer, an agriculturist and a communicator for development. The phrase “safe and nutritious food” covers much of how food from now on should be produced.

#2 “Shift to sustainable consumption patterns.” I take that to mean avoidance of waste, and finding use/s of waste/s.

#3 “Boost nature-positive production” tells me food growers must obey the laws of Mother Nature, such as replenishment of the soil over time, and multiple cropping.

#4 “Advance equitable livelihoods” – I think this is quite difficult but quite necessary. “The laborer is worthy of his hire” – Luke 10:7, King James Version. His earnings must also be able to help his family survive and thrive.

#5 “Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stresses” – I look at this as more the obligation of the State.

All the food systems in the world are parts of that collective global food system. All countries must shift to sustainable patterns, both consumption and waste, for the world to survive and thrive.@517

“The Mathematics Of Life” & “The Formula Of Love” – According To Frank A Hilario

Above, note that I creative writer have revised the well-known maxim authored by Unknown that says, “The Mathematics of Life is NOT the multiplication of wealth, but the division of tasks, the subtraction of greed and the addition of true love and humility[1].”

Before I came up with my version, I saw “The Mathematics of Life” uploaded by Come Out & Shineon Facebook. Now that I have finally confronted it, I note that (1) there must be multiplication of wealth, (2) greed should not be emphasized; in fact, it should be suppressed individually, and (3) if you have true love, then you have humility. Given all that, my revised version is this (above image):

“The Mathematics of Life is the Division of Wealth after all the Addition of Inspiration, Multiplication of Tasks, plus Subtraction of Disparity.” It is for the Social Good, for Wonderful Lives, plural.

Addition of Inspiration:
Inspiration is what is missing in this world – and each of us needs it in the first place. Everything we do must be inspired by a greater goal for a greater good. You cannot fully inspire if you don’t have true love at heart. Inspiration is blind, and an inspirer cannot see!

Division of Wealth:
The original definition says, “The Mathematics of Life is NOT the multiplication of wealth” – ah, but what is Society to do if it does not multiply wealth even as its Population multiplies in number and needs?

There should be multiplication of wealth so that there is something to be divided among members of a group or of society in general. The wealth multiplied must be distributed according to the tasks that brought it to life – as well as the needs of society for its growth and development.

Multiplication of Tasks:
There should be allowed any multiplication of tasks, as well as refining of existing ones. Tasks and their degrees of fulfilment are the ones to be measured in the distribution of wealth. Rewards for tasks fulfilled must help people satisfy their Abraham Maslow’s“Hierarchy of Needs.”

Subtraction of Disparity:
There should be subtraction of disparity within society. “Subtraction of greed” assumes that greed is okay if it is not that much! There should be zero greed and a full amount of charity. No matter how much you declare your Love, if you do not share it, it might as well be Hate!

If you follow Frank A Hilario’s Mathematics of Life, you already have embedded true love, with which you already have humility and so on and so forth!

Now that I have come up with my own version of The Mathematics of Life, I am borrowing from the genius Albert Einstein’s famous formula E = mc². Love is defined mathematically as:

E = mc²
where:
Empathy equals Much multiplied by the speed of Care squared!

That makes love renewable and society sustainable.

You define your Love according to the riches that you share. If you can’t share, the Love you have is only Self Love.@517

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[1]https://m.facebook.com/comeoutandshine/photos/a.318015485024342/866102553548963/?type=3

Media Is In The Wrong Media Class Struggle – Media Should Be A Force For Good!

Writing in Rappler, Juju Z Baluyot says, “The Media Is Struggling. Are Trolls Winning The Info War[1]?” (12 July 2021, Rappler.com). There are 3 wrongs there, let me count the ways:

One: The media was the one that started “The Info War.”
Two: The media is struggling in The Wrong War.
Three: Also short-sighted to look at it as “The Truth War.”

You want to bring someone down by your Truth Journalism? That is a legitimate exercise. But do not complain if that someone tries to bring you down first! Tit for tat is bad as part of waging The Media Class Struggle.

Mr Baluyot writes about trolls and their business of countering, or counter-attacking, bad news, whomsoever it is referred to. There is plenty of bad news, which makes for plenty of business for trolls – Mr Baluyot reports one troll manager making P210,000 at any one time!

Mr Baluyot insinuates how trolls are hired and paid. He writes:

On Friday, July 9, Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Kris Ablan responded to the Commission on Audit's flagging of their hiring of more than 370 contractual workers last year, which cost them a whopping P70.6 million. These questioned contractual workers, according to Ablan, are videographers, editors, directors, and social media specialists who "upload our socmed cards, our infographics explaining our programs.”

What are the trolls doing? One example, Mr Baluyot says: “Duterte’s troll armies drown out Covid-19 dissent in the Philippines.” My question: Why does it have to be dissent?

More to the point:

Yes, as absurd as it sounds, there is a thriving economy in spreading spurious news and false information, in corrupting the public’s knowledge and opinions to achieve a desired political outcome..

Mr Baluyot blames politicians and their trolls for the currently bad business of media – if it were a wound, he does not see the wound as self-inflicted.

Hence, the wrong Media Class Struggle continues! Here as well as abroad, media people have not seen the best single social role that media can play in the life of a society:

Media should be A Force For Good!
(“A Force For Good” image[2] from EWTN.com)

And this is how to carry out the Media Class Struggle – through what I call iTHINK Journalism. Ta-da!

i for investigations. First, investigate if
True. Then investigate if
Helpful. Then investigate if
Inspiring. Then investigate if
Necessary. Then investigate if
Kind. THiNK!
Then, by all means, spread the news!

The target should be any sectoral growth based on a national development agenda. If not, it is all selfish agenda. (Learn from my “PH Agriculture – Change Is Coming! But We Must All Be Heroes[3]!” 10 July 2021, Brave New World PH.)

“The Info War” is the cross-eyed way of describing journalists’ struggles against trolls. The journalists themselves are to blame – journalism is not the art of bringing a person down but bringing a society up! Construction rather than Destruction. If journalists do not appreciate that, they are going to destroy themselves!@517

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[1]https://www.rappler.com/voices/ispeak/opinion-media-struggling-trolls-winning-info-war?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0VOJhwBQuQSPs8nPew6mS9WCmi5e46ZKL7HXCwR1CybXe__JRGapbxz2I#Echobox=1626067799-1

[2]https://www.ewtn.com/tv/shows/force-for-good

[3]https://bravenewworldph.blogspot.com/2021/07/ph-agriculture-change-is-coming-but-we.html

For PH’s Farmers – Comparing DoST’s “High Tech” With SEARCA’s “Affordable Tech”

This farmer’s son keeps dreaming of millions of Filipino farmers rising from their poverty and staying up there, mostly on OneDA partnerships, partly via their own initiative, and with our little encouragements.

So, the news that Charissa Luci-Atienza shares, “DOST, UP Harvest Vegetables From PH’s First ‘Smart Farm'[1]” (11 July 2021, Manila Bulletin) I have read and re-read, in terms of its potentials for our small farmers.

Green leafy vegetables have been harvested from the Philippines’ first “smart farm,” as according to Secretary of Science Fortunato T de la Peña, from the P128-million Smart Plant Production in Controlled Environments (SPICE) Laboratory at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City, on Tuesday, 06 July 2021.

The high total cost is because everything is controlled, all high tech. Mr De La Peña said, “The project has also developed a centralized control system for its farm operations complete with technical documentation of its system design, installation manual, and farm operations.” Not only that. Mr De La Peña said, “Prediction models were also developed to ascertain the plant growth and optimum harvesting of the produce.”

Sounds expensive! I am Ilocano, so I must look for the inexpensive. And I’m in luck as the news from Madelaine B Miraflor says (12 July 2021, “PH Farmers Seek Affordable Technologies[2],” Manila Bulletin, MB.com.ph):

Farmer-leaders from the Philippines joined (those from) other countries in an international dialogue where they urged countries to transform food systems by giving farmers access to affordable and sustainable technologies.

This was during a virtual dialogue on “Transforming Pathways: Working With Farmers In The Agri-Food Systems” jointly convened by the Philippine-based Southeast Asian Regional Center on Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Singapore-based CropLife Asia (CLA). More than 30 farmer-leaders from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam took part in the 3-hour virtual dialogue. The dialogue was a lead-up to the UN Food Systems Summit this September:

It was discussed that in the process of transforming food systems, smallholder farmers need access to appropriate, affordable, profit-enhancing technologies, and crop systems that are sustainable and do not cause ecological degradation or (adverse) social conditions.

Glenn B Gregorio, SEARCA Director said, “Let us understand where our farmers are in terms of policy, technology, and industry development and of course, their integrated phases to have more action points and effective strategies in programs that benefit them the most.”

Siang Hee Tan, CLA Executive Director said, “We look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that our (poor) farmers are enabled and empowered to meet the challenges of a growing world.”

Finally, I go back to DoST’s Smart Farm, which belongs in the city, where vacant lots are expensive but otherwise unused rooftops and vertical walls can provide spaces for the growing of crops for food.

Above, the Smart Farm in the SPICE Lab in UP Diliman is actually a high-tech setup to generate model farms, plural, for different vegetable setups. Right now, I can only imagine how that will help cultivate affordable gardening in the city.@517

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[1]https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/11/dost-up-harvest-vegetables-from-phs-first-smart-farm/?fbclid=IwAR3lk96RqahjMRYapUj7QHYpbLlUw1DubR4QwUO9pwkC5B8VTxB9GwKBzwE

[2]https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/12/ph-farmers-seek-affordable-technologies/?fbclid=IwAR2Wjf7ngl2BdtNeHNtAWNks_IFqc7Jb9JeIPAaEnQiA3pbST7xwytxts-0