Latest comments posted about The ethics of eating on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/326-The-ethics-of-eating http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/326-The-ethics-of-eating I agree with comment 5 that we should explore the cultural background to this issue. China has a long history of nomadic culture, as half of its land was developed for raising livestock. Some 200 years of unregulated and reckless development has destroyed the harmony between man and the nature on the pastures of China. The deteriorating ecology and livelihood of people there have posed a threat to sustainable development in China. The policy introduced in 1997, to allocate grasslands to individuals, has led to the decline of nomadic culture and an end to the nomadic mode of production. As a result, the grasslands of Inner Mongolia have been threatened by desertification and ensuing destitution. Under this situation, some officials from China's Agricultural Ministry proposed adopting western practice of settled and industrialized animal husbandry. A site on grassland protection: http://www.cy.ngo.cn http://www.fon.org.cn/channal.php?cid=502 Chen Juqun Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:10:20 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-5226 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-5226 isn't it time we stopped blaming the opium wars and the west for China's environmental problems? China has been destroying its environmental riches for more than 3000 years. Think about it. Chinese civilisation began in the bend of the Yellow River. Now it's desert.Was that foreigners? Was that western companies? No it was Chinese destruction of the Chinese environment. Today the grasslands are turning to desert. Not many foreigners there either. Have you ever asked (or been told) what the effect was on the grasslands of the Great Leap Forward when Chairman Mao ordered that the grasslands be ploughed up. Check it out. (and I'll give you a clue.. there weren't any foreigners involved at all) You complain that Westerners are promoting their models of consumption. Of course.. and they are bad, yes. But you don't have to buy these ideas. You don't have to buy these ideas.. you could make your own (no doubt superior) decisions. China didn't have to buy communism either.. which, I seem to recall, was an idea that began in Germany. I would love to see some really good Chinese ideas, but all I hear is complaining about the west. On the one hand China is portrayed as the big powerful 4000 year civilisation, on the other, as the poor victim of the west. Which is it? If it is so superior, why is it that all the territory that the Chinese have spread into has been turned into barren land? When the Manchus controlled Manchuria, there were forests. Now there are none. Sure. let's study Chinese culture. But it's only worth studying if it has some answers and not just excuses.. Sat, 21 Apr 2007 18:06:48 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-3558 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-3558 This article demonstrates thoughtful and concerned research, explaining the effect the livestock industry has on global resources, to the extent of having a significant detrimental impact on human health. The writer however never explains who constructed this problem and the perpetrators behind it...western ideas, western lifestyles, western eating habits, western industrial models, western agricultural models, western commerce model ...western culture, encroaching like cancer cells on China. It is a pity that even the West has already swallowed its own bitter fruit, and also knew what the problems were, yet, many have come to China with a drive of profit, practice cheatingly those business conducts which are even banned in their own countries. The situation is just like the illegal opium trade about 200 years ago. It has caused China a new poisonous addition. Because the western nations sold opium in China, it ended up that China had to cede territory and pay indemnities to them. Today, the western industry and commerce come to China to invest and promote western models. Yet, it hasn’t been able to calculate the damage such caused, China has already been criticized by the West. Some even condemned it as a menace to the world and humanity. Why not Westerners first admit their mistakes, then study Chinese culture? There is a very simple way for human interaction: 'Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you' -----New York Vegan Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:24:17 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-3503 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-3503 I like most of Singer's article and am myself vegetarian. However, I am uneaasy about one of his last comments that the Chinese could increase their exports of organic food for the rest of the world. This is something that does not make environmental sense - the talk is now off food miles, and eating locally. People enjoy and promote organic food - but most of that which is available in British supermarkets is out of season and transported 1000s of miles. Every single country should be supporting policies of producing food for local and national consumption whenever possible. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:54:09 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-308 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-308 It is essential to keep in mind this fact: China's GDP per capita is less than US$2,000 while the rich countries have 10-20 times more wealth. The US per capita income is over US$40,000; and with 5% of the world's population, she consumes 25% of world's resouces. No one living in the rich countries has the right to tell China to consume less. But it is in the intersts of China and the world that she consumes wisely, including protecting the natural environment for her peoples. Sat, 16 Sep 2006 15:12:28 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-229 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-229 Peter Singer talks a good case. But it is important to remember that it will be difficult for such lofty values to flourish in a country where the basics are not yet in place. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people are still faced with basic poverty - insufficient food, poor access to basic sevices such as schools and hospitals and low ownership of time-saving devices such as washing machines. So my question: Do people who spend, on average, 2-3 hours handwashing clothes per week and require a year's salary to pay for a routine operation etc have time to worry about where their food comes from? Deliver the basics first and the rest will arrive in due course! Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:40:54 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-222 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/326#comment-222