Living societies as predators and prey
Geopolitics is not quite as simple as it is often made to appear. Karl Palmås and Jonas Lindberg explore the concealed relationships between global capital and bio-engineering, the ambiguous dependencies of rich and poor nations, and the nature of society itself in the modern world.
The formation of the state of Sri Lanka, as it looks today, presupposes an influx of artificial fertilizers. It is not only animals and plants that benefit from the capacity of the nitrogen atom to bind together other entities: ammonium nitrate and urea consolidate a constellation of power dominated by the Rajapaksa family. The same molecules affect the unity of the dominant ethnic group. But the nitrogen-based compounds can also constitute a threat for these united entities. Another type of "compound", the Tamil Tigers, developed tactics to use the chemical properties of the fertilizer against the government. The reactivity of ammonium nitrate contains the possibility of uniting a people and of tearing apart the state... States can be seen as power structures that seek to control the energies held in the chemical and biological materials.
The restaurant where we are having lunch is squeezed in between the main street and the vegetable market. It is still empty but the buffet is already lined up along the walls. One hundred Sri Lankan rupees, less than one euro, for rice and curry. The owner – we can call him Sajith – knows our interpreter; they exchange small talk in Sinhala. He asks who we are. We answer, through the interpreter, that we are researchers from Sweden studying the spread of organic farming in the area. He is interested, and asks if we know that there is a plant for the production of organic fertilizer nearby.
He explains that chemical fertilizers generally increase the crop, but at the same time create problems. For example, the quality of the crop is not as good. It is like a diabetic taking insulin: the medicine solves some problems but creates new ones at the same time. Previous generations managed using only organic farming. He doesn't use organic products in his restaurant because he has to buy from larger suppliers and only rarely are they organic. However, each household should have it's own organic garden. That kind of self-sufficiency is promoted in Mahinda Chintana,[1] the action plan that Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed before he won the presidential election in 2005.
Another benefit of organic farming is that it is possible to use traditional seeds, Sanjith explains. Chemical fertilizers should preferably be used with hybrid seeds. The "refined" seeds give a bigger harvest, but they do not produce their own seeds. The farmers can no longer harvest their own seeds from the ripe crop but must buy new, expensive seeds every season.
Furthermore, the use of chemical fertilizers drains the earth, which in turn creates additional need for artificial fertilizers. Because the fertilizers are imported from foreign countries Sri Lanka is becoming more and more dependent on foreign interests, and among these interests are the multinational companies that produce the chemical pesticides that the farmers have become dependent upon. "They are like octopuses that suck the blood out of poor countries. They are like thieves who rob these countries." .. Read more:
http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2012-10-05-palmas-en.html
The formation of the state of Sri Lanka, as it looks today, presupposes an influx of artificial fertilizers. It is not only animals and plants that benefit from the capacity of the nitrogen atom to bind together other entities: ammonium nitrate and urea consolidate a constellation of power dominated by the Rajapaksa family. The same molecules affect the unity of the dominant ethnic group. But the nitrogen-based compounds can also constitute a threat for these united entities. Another type of "compound", the Tamil Tigers, developed tactics to use the chemical properties of the fertilizer against the government. The reactivity of ammonium nitrate contains the possibility of uniting a people and of tearing apart the state... States can be seen as power structures that seek to control the energies held in the chemical and biological materials.
The restaurant where we are having lunch is squeezed in between the main street and the vegetable market. It is still empty but the buffet is already lined up along the walls. One hundred Sri Lankan rupees, less than one euro, for rice and curry. The owner – we can call him Sajith – knows our interpreter; they exchange small talk in Sinhala. He asks who we are. We answer, through the interpreter, that we are researchers from Sweden studying the spread of organic farming in the area. He is interested, and asks if we know that there is a plant for the production of organic fertilizer nearby.
He explains that chemical fertilizers generally increase the crop, but at the same time create problems. For example, the quality of the crop is not as good. It is like a diabetic taking insulin: the medicine solves some problems but creates new ones at the same time. Previous generations managed using only organic farming. He doesn't use organic products in his restaurant because he has to buy from larger suppliers and only rarely are they organic. However, each household should have it's own organic garden. That kind of self-sufficiency is promoted in Mahinda Chintana,[1] the action plan that Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed before he won the presidential election in 2005.
Another benefit of organic farming is that it is possible to use traditional seeds, Sanjith explains. Chemical fertilizers should preferably be used with hybrid seeds. The "refined" seeds give a bigger harvest, but they do not produce their own seeds. The farmers can no longer harvest their own seeds from the ripe crop but must buy new, expensive seeds every season.
Furthermore, the use of chemical fertilizers drains the earth, which in turn creates additional need for artificial fertilizers. Because the fertilizers are imported from foreign countries Sri Lanka is becoming more and more dependent on foreign interests, and among these interests are the multinational companies that produce the chemical pesticides that the farmers have become dependent upon. "They are like octopuses that suck the blood out of poor countries. They are like thieves who rob these countries." .. Read more:
http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2012-10-05-palmas-en.html
