Pre-Trip Blogging: African Sleeping Sickness

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Jan 28, 2012 at 02:38:55 AM PST

So with all of that, unbelievably, there are still diseases out there to get. Dengue fever is one. AIDS is another (I'm going to an area with a rather high HIV/AIDS rate). And then there's African Sleeping Sickness, a disease that sounds terrifying. It's one that, until now, I knew nearly nothing about. So I decided to take a look and find out more about it.

African Sleeping Sickness is transmitted by the tsetse fly, a bug that feeds on human blood, and its' endemic all over Sub-Saharan Africa. Left untreated, the disease is lethal. It's caused by a protazoa, and there are two forms, called East African and West African, even though they don't entirely respect the geographic boundaries that their names imply. Kenya's got the East African version, which shows symptoms and progresses much faster than the West African one. The good news is that Kenya has under 50 reported cases per year. The bad news is that the rural poor who are most at risk for the disease might have it but not report it. The disease begins with itching, headaches, fevers, joint pain, etc, and at that point it's easier to treat. Then it moves into the brain and - if left untreated - it's fatal. The treatments for the latter stage aren't great either - sometimes they kill the patients. Long story short: Don't get this disease.  

Chicken Dramas: Introducing Old Chickens and New Chickens

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Jan 27, 2012 at 00:13:35 AM PST

So here's what's happened since: First, Diana resumed laying. Then Elizabeth did too. Then Spot the rooster began crowing. Roosters aren't very good at crowing when they first try, but by the time I managed to trade Spot and his rooster friend George in for two hens, Spot had nearly mastered it. And he was crowing A LOT. It wasn't a fully enunciated cock-a-doodle-doo but it was LOUD.

So last Saturday, Spot and George went back to the woman who sold them to me and she traded me two hens instead. I selected a Rhode Island Red and a Barred Rock who has a bunch of gold feathers on her neck, both nearly six months old and about ready to start laying. The Rhode Island Red was to replace our previous one who had died, and my roommate's youngest daughter had already named her Rosy Rose (same name as her predecessor). His other daughter gets to name the Barred Rock... but I really want to name her Goldie Hen. Of course, the kid's never heard of Goldie Hawn, so she might not go for that one.

I dropped Rosy and Goldie off in the undisclosed location where the chickens live (a fenced yard). Diana tried to attack one of the new girls, and the other new girl tried to attack Frizzie, the bantam. Then I headed to the farmers market. I thought they'd be OK.

When I got back, I was informed that one of the new chickens had hopped the fence and the firefighters had rescued her from a busy street below. Oops. I bet she panicked when she met the dog, who is not interested in eating chickens but VERY interested in sniffing chickens, which can be scary to a chicken who has never met him before.

At that point, I caught Rosy and found Goldie (who was well hidden and very high up - it involved me climbing on a chair and then onto a six foot high wall) and clipped their wings and put them in the coop for the rest of the day. For that day and night, they got to look at and check out the rest of the flock without any pecking.

The next day, I let all the chickens hang out together out of the coop. It seemed OK. The yard has many places for chickens to hide, and I've been giving everybody lots of treats so that there isn't much competition. I also put the food down in several places so that the new chickens can eat in a different location from the old chickens if necessary. Goldie's even timidly started eating out of my hands, but Rosy's still too scared to do that.

Then this morning, while feeding the chickens, I noticed a huge pile of Rhode Island Red feathers... but no Rhode Island Red. I searched the yard - twice. There was no blood anywhere, or any part of a dead chicken. It seemed like it was most likely that the chickens had pecked Rosy, not that a predator ate her. But there was no Rosy anywhere.

A little while later, I looked out back and saw a tiny Rhode Island Red head peeking out from behind a trashcan in a very narrow corner of the yard. I caught her and put her in the coop. I brought treats out several times today and fed the chickens from my hands right where Rosy could see me and then put some in the coop for Rosy. I managed to catch Goldie and put her in the coop to so Rosy could have a friend. I gave them rolled oats, half a bagel, and a piece of string cheese as treats today. I looked through the compost and one of the garden beds for grubs to give them but found none.

Late in the afternoon, Rosy and Goldie seemed eager to get out of the coop so I let them out. I figured there wasn't much time left before Chicken Bedtime for anyone to peck anyone else. The chickens did well together until bedtime. And everyone went to bed in the coop like they were supposed to. After dark, I moved the old chickens into one section of the coop and shut the door, and put the new chickens in the other section and shut their door. So in the morning, my roommate will let the old chickens out and leave the new chickens in. I don't know how long we'll do this for. I've never had any pecking incidents before so this is my first. I can't say I'm enjoying it.

Pot Luck

by: JayinPortland

Thu Jan 26, 2012 at 19:00:00 PM PST

Kenya Or Bust

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jan 18, 2012 at 21:26:29 PM PST

That said, I want to share what I've come up with for my trip to Kenya. Unlike my previous travel, I'm going alone this time. The research and the legwork was mine alone to do, although I'm very grateful for a number of people, both American and Kenyan, who have been incredibly helpful. I'll be gone for most of the month of February, and my itinerary is below.

Dow & Monsanto in deadly race on the pesticide treadmill

by: Marcia Ishii-Eiteman

Sat Jan 14, 2012 at 20:13:03 PM PST

You've all heard the news: farmers across the country are losing their fields to superweeds so formidable and fast-spreading that they break farm machinery and render millions of acres of farmland useless. These superweeds have evolved as a direct consequence of Monsanto's RoundUp Ready pesticide-seed package. Now superbugs are emerging, resistant to Monsanto's transgenic insecticidal crops. Ecologists predicted this ecological disaster 15 years ago.

The big question is, can we possibly learn from this ecological and agronomic disaster? The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Monsanto's rival, Dow Chemical, apparently cannot.

Pot Luck

by: JayinPortland

Sun Dec 25, 2011 at 19:00:00 PM PST

Trials with Chickens

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Dec 22, 2011 at 13:23:26 PM PST

I just want to share the craziness of our little flock with everyone, to tell you how it is that I had seven chickens (now six) and get about one egg a week.

Rosy Rose, who is no more

Sunday Bread - Almond Christmas Pudding, with Grand Marnier Butter

by: Something The Dog Said

Sun Dec 18, 2011 at 07:40:54 AM PST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

I have a bit of a problem, since I have promised two things for this week, Gingerbread Men and Christmas pudding. Since the pudding recipe is a little more rare than the Gingerbread Men, I am going to go with that one, sorry for those looking of the cookies, I promise that next year I'll do them early and thoroughly.

Now, let's talk Christmas pudding. This is a really traditional English dish. It is a cake made of bread crumbs, and studded with dried or candied fruit that is cooked in a mold surrounded by boiling water over several hours.

The real deal Plumb Pudding is made with suet, which is the beef version of lard. You can make this recipe with suet, which is really good and tasty no matter how much you squirmed reading about it, but it is not always easy to find, so I am going with butter instead.

The recipe I am giving you today is my own take on Christmas pudding. I come from a family that inexplicably does not like rum nor brandy which are the traditional flavors for the cake and the hard sauce that go with it. So I have changed things around to us Amaretto and Grand Marnier.

This gives a wonderful almond and orange flavors to the dish that contrast nicely with the fruit which is raisins (white and regular), candied cherries and the special twist ingredient of candied pineapple.  

This recipe, like all traditional feast foods takes some advanced preparation, it is going to take a couple of days to candy the fruit (unless you want to commit the heresy of using the candied fruit from the store, in which case you may be cursed onto the seventh generation. Just sayin') and you will need to make a loaf of bread for the bread crumbs, and there is a need for part of the recipe to sit overnight in the Amaretto.

So, all told if you want to have a pudding for Solstice or for Christmas Eve or Day you have to get started today!

For the bread I use either French Bread or English Oatmeal Bread. By clicking on the links you can find the recipe for each.

Before we start, I have to warn you, this is an unlovely if tasty dish. It is not going to have the pristine look of a cake that is iced or even the smooth texture of bread, it is going to look more like what it is, a bread pudding. But if you can get around that it is delightfully tasty!

But enough cautions and warnings, let's make a Almond Christmas Pudding with Grand Marnier Butter!  

Interesting Statistics About "Feeding the World"

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 19, 2011 at 00:32:42 AM PST

Maize: 158 million ha
Oil palm: 14 million ha
Rapeseed: 30 million ha
Soybean: 90 million ha
Sunflower: 27 million ha
Sugarcane: 23 million ha
Plantation forestry (paper & lumber): 139 million ha

Total: 481 million ha

Included among this is a little less than 36 million ha of biofuel feedstocks (the number was 36 million ha in 2008 and since the numbers above are 2007, the biofuel feedstock amount was presumably a bit less), which includes 8.3 million in the EU (mainly rapeseed), 7.5 million ha in the U.S. (mainly corn), and 6.4 million ha in Latin American (mainly sugarcane). And I believe I read recently that some 70% of corn is fed to livestock. If that's true, then about 40 million ha of corn goes to uses other than livestock and ethanol, i.e. feeding people.

In 2007, the total world arable area used for farming was 1554 million ha. Of that, the 441 million hectares of crops noted above used for oil, biofuels, livestock feed, paper, etc, make up about 28%. In addition to the 1554 million ha of cropland, there was 3,400 million ha of pasture.

Pot Luck

by: JayinPortland

Sun Dec 18, 2011 at 19:00:00 PM PST

Climate cowards & heroes

by: Marcia Ishii-Eiteman

Thu Dec 15, 2011 at 12:30:03 PM PST

I spent the weekend glued to coverage of the high drama unfolding at the climate talks in Durban, South Africa. I watched closely because there is so much on the line affecting our and our children's future. In the final turbulent days, there were critical moments when a binding treaty with relatively ambitious and fair emissions cuts seemed almost possible. And then, well - the U.S. and our cronies played power politics behind closed doors, just as they have before.

Durban climate talks (aka "The Great Escape 3")

by: Marcia Ishii-Eiteman

Tue Dec 13, 2011 at 21:25:04 PM PST

Not coming to movie theaters near you, but taking place right now in Durban, South Africa is "The Great Escape 3." This is how Pablo Solon, Bolivia's former lead climate negotiator,
describes the scene at the UN climate talks.

"It's the same movie - it happened in Copenhagen, in Cancun, and it will happen in Durban. The richest nations are trying to escape their responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now... It's really a genocide and an ecocide."

"Responding to the Global Food Crisis: A Challenge for All"

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Dec 13, 2011 at 21:05:45 PM PST

• Asmita Tiwari, Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank
  
• Gawain Kripke, Director for Policy at Oxfam America
  
• Devry S. Boughner, Director of International Business Relations for Cargill

The event was hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee. I was not there, but I do have the video of it.

No Sugar, Day 10: Failure

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 12, 2011 at 10:18:49 AM PST

But on Day 10, I failed for real. That was Saturday. My cat had gotten in a fight and came home with a huge abscess. I took her to the vet, where she spent the entire day getting stitched up. The vet called me mid-day to tell me it would cost $600... unless I'd like them to do $200 of blood tests too (no, not really). She came home all woozy from the anesthesia, and thrashing around in her carrier to get her huge collar off (the type they put on cats and dogs to keep them from chewing the wound). She's got a large shaved area with a ton of stitches and a drain (which looks like a 6" drinking straw) sticking out on both sides. There's plenty of blood and bruising. It's gross. She looked miserable that first night.

On top of that, I had a migraine. At the end of the day, I decided: Screw it. Then I went to the cupcake store and ate 4 mini cupcakes.

Since then, I've continued skipping the sugar. I mean, I've already ruined the idea of going a month without sugar. I could give up entirely and just eat sugar to my heart's content. But so far I haven't. The truth is, I feel good when I'm not eating junk all the time. Gorging on fruits, veggies, grains, beans, and other whole foods FEELS GOOD. (And on the other hand, I crave chocolate...)

This sugar-free experiment has largely been a bust, in my view. It would be much more meaningful for someone who actually ate processed foods, who had to read labels and discover for the first time what actually goes into their food, or who had to cook their own food from scratch for a change. That isn't me. I've just continued on as normal, without the usual chocolate and cupcakes. As long as I avoid eating out, it's easy. Very easy. Logistically, anyway. So, I think I'm gonna shelve my "sugar-free" experiment after a mere 10 days. Too bad I didn't try to do something like this a decade ago, when it would have resulted in a huge increase in awareness about what I was putting in my mouth.

Pot Luck

by: JayinPortland

Sun Dec 11, 2011 at 19:00:00 PM PST