Jiang Gaoming January 18, 2010 Biotech firms are rapidly gaining ground in global agriculture. China must take a stand or else face risks to food security, argues Jiang Gaoming. This is another Opium War; an expropriation taking place behind a high-technology smokescreen. Related articles Is GM the answer to the food crisis? May 14, 2008 GM crops are not the answer to world hunger May 21, 2008 Ensuring food security in China March 27, 2009 Greenpeace recently discovered genetically modified (GM) ingredient Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in Nestl-branded baby cereal in China. According to the organisation, Nestl has promised not to use GM ingredients in the European Union, Australia, Russia and Brazil, but has different standards in China, where it refuses to make the same commitment. Its report has sparked off another round of public debate over the safety of GM food. The Chinese authorities are pushing ahead with research into, and application of, GM technology. Many experts believe its benefits outweigh any harm it may cause, describing the changes as a second green revolution that will ensure food security. Faced with this blind optimism, I find I must protest. Besides the potential impact on ecosystems and food safety, I fear that the large scale planting of GM crops, particularly those controlled by multinationals, will affect Chinas food sovereignty and even food security . Poorly managed, it may rock the very foundations of Chinas ability to feed itself. A look at agriculture in Argentina will illustrate. Until 1996, traditional agriculture in Argentina provided food security for the nation, with no need for government subsidy. But the introduction of GM soya beans has virtually destroyed the industry. Fields used for growing lentils, peas and mung beans have been turned over wholesale to GM soya-bean production. Crops from Monsanto , an agriculture biotech company based in the United States, accounted for 99% of soya bean production in Argentina by 2002. The countrys unthinking adoption of foreign inventions meant it ignored the need to develop its own technology and, by the time it woke up to the threat to its own food security, it was too late to stop using Monsantos crops. In fact, the widespread use of GM crops did not, as experts imagined, cut down on the use of pesticides and herbicides and improve rural environments; quite the opposite. GM soya-bean crops actually need special treatment; besides the usual liberal quantities of chemicals and fertiliser, a weed-killer named Roundup is used. This chemical treats wild plants and even other crops as weeds, leaving only the biotech firms own soya-bean plants alive. Roundup killed off Argentinas other crops and, according to some, caused mutations in livestock. In humans, long-term contact with the chemical has also been found to causes health problems, including nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting and skin damage. Argentina is the proof that multinational biotech firms can cause a nation to lose its food sovereignty. But this has not halted the advance of such firms; rather, they are continuing their global expansion. For long, Brazil resisted GM technology but the companies have allegedly bought off officials , planted large areas with GM crops and put pressure on government. Today, traditional agriculture in Brazil is under immediate threat. Having conquered Argentina and Brazil, the GM giants started their attack on Chinas farming sector, where there are huge profits to be made. The US Department of Agriculture supports the overseas expansion of biotech firms such as Monsanto and DuPont and even helps promote their products in countries including China, where they claim their Roundup Ready 2 will increase harvests by up to 11%. In the second quarter of 2009, Monsantos sales income reached US$4 billion (27 billion yuan), up 8% year-on-year. Gross profits were US$2.5 billion (17.1 billion yuan), up 14% on the previous year. Huge quantities of GM seeds have invaded China, causing great damage to local agriculture. China is the largest market for US soya-bean exports and, according to an industry website , imported 15.4 million tonnes of GM-soya beans in 2008 41% of total imports. Meanwhile, higher costs mean domestic soya-bean crops fail to sell . Last year non-GM soya-bean crops in Heilongjiang , in north-east China, were selling for less than the cost of planting, and 40% of the harvest did not sell at all. Sixty-eight soya-bean processing firms in the province have ceased work, while supermarkets in provincial capital Harbin stock GM-soya bean products almost exclusively. Once the United States has control of Chinas staple foods, China will have little say in the matter. The GM seeds imported by China are planting problems for the future. But the GM giants ambitions do not stop with the seeds it is Chinas 1.2 million square kilometres of farmland that gets them excited. If they can extract a few extra yuan for each kilogram of seeds sold, there will be hundreds of millions of US dollars in profit to be made, even before they start selling the associated chemicals, pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides. This is another Opium War ; an expropriation taking place behind a high-technology smokescreen. The GM giants estimate that, by 2012, the agricultural biotechnology market will allow them to take home US$7.3 billion to US$7.5 billion (49.8 billion yuan to 51.2 billion yuan), leaving China with the ecosystem and food security risks inherent in an addiction to a new opium. So what should China do? The government has already invested 26 billion yuan (US$3.8 billion) in attempting to keep up with US biotech firms but this does not get to the root of the problem. The real threat to food security is not in the seeds, but in the people. Cheap grain prices and high production costs mean that farmers abandon their fields for urban jobs; that is the real threat to food security. When frost, drought and pest-resistant GM seeds appear on the market, farmers are naturally happy to spend a little extra to save some work. But, even if yields increase in line with expert predictions, there will still only be an extra US$6 (41 yuan) of income per 667 square metres of rice. There will be no great changes in food production and we will have paid the licensing fees for nothing. China has always been an agricultural nation ; a state built on the soil, by the farmers. Increasing food production requires restoration of degraded land, the recirculation of nutrients, better ecological balance and increased incomes for farmers, who will then grow more crops. If we ignore these facts and blindly adopt GM technology, we are simply giving up our food sovereignty. We need to learn lessons from Argentina and Brazil and be alert to the dangers of biological invasion by the GM giants. Jiang Gaoming is a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Botany. He is also vice secretary-general of China Society of Biological Conservation and board member of China Environmental Culture Promotion Association.
呵呵呵，今天一上来就看到neil师兄在追问代师姐的《每日一乐》。想想我也几天没换音乐了，《I could be the one》估计大家听得耳朵都生茧了。这次换上《贝隆夫人》里面的《Id be surprisingly good for you》，是我在这部音乐剧里最喜欢的一首，旋律清新，歌词也非常有意思，有哪个女子敢如此大胆地表达自己的爱意。剧中更为人熟知的应该是《Don't cry for me，Argentina》和《You must love me》，可是我偏爱《Id be surprisingly good for you》中婉转又倔强的小女人情怀。 Evita是一名颇有争议性的人物，她出身贫寒，却心高气傲梦想有天能成为大人物。为了达到自己的梦想，在当时的环境下她不得不利用一切可利用的资源，周旋于交际圈中一步步往上爬。这是个不平凡的女子，也不是生性堕落，她只是知道自己想要什么并且坚定不移地牺牲一切得到它。她勇敢地追求贝隆的爱， 并一心一意辅助他成为阿根廷总统。当贝隆因为宣扬民主、自由、平等的政治思想而被捕时，是她不离不弃争相奔走为他赢取全民支持。当贝隆就职，她在总统阳台上深情唱出〈Don't cry for me，Argentina〉，曾经卑微的她此时却璀璨夺目，成为阿根廷民众心中的精神领袖。她的一生总是充满悲情色彩，当她实现了自己的梦想却抵不住心力交瘁，患病逝世。这颗阿根廷的璀璨明珠从此陨落，多少民众为其痛哭神伤。 麦当娜同样是个有争议性得人，当初她出演Evita的消息曾引起了阿根廷人民的强烈反对。我虽不喜欢这个女人，但是也很欣赏她在剧中的演出。想来既是魔鬼又是天使的Evita也只有既是魔鬼又是天使的她能演得入骨三分吧。 (eva:) colonel peron (peron:) eva duarte (eva and peron:) I've heard so much about you (eva:) But when you act, the things you do affect us all (peron:) But when you act, you take us away from the squalor of the real world Are you here on your own? (eva:) Yes, oh yes (peron:) So am i, what a fortunate coincidence Maybe you're my reward for my efforts here tonight (eva:) It seems crazy but you must believe There's nothing calculated, nothing planned Please forgive me if i seem naive I would never want to force your hand But please understand, i'd be good for you I don't always rush in like this Twenty seconds after saying hello Telling strangers i'm too good to miss If i'm wrong i hope you'll tell me so But you really should know, i'd be good for you I'd be surprisingly good for you I won't go on if i'm boring you But do you understand my point of view? Do you like what you hear, what you see And would you be, good for me too? I'm not talking of a hurried night A frantic tumble then a shy goodbye Creeping home before it gets too light That's not the reason that i caught your eye Which has to imply, i'd be good for you I'd be surprisingly good for you (peron:) Please go on, you enthrall me I can understand you perfectly And i like what i hear, what i see, and knowing me I would be good for you too (eva:) I'm not talking of a hurried night A frantic tumble then a shy goodbye Creeping home before it gets too light That's not the reason that i caught your eye Which has to imply, i'd be good for you I'd be surprisingly good for you
0018:阿根廷，别哭着要求我 2007.02.16 Don't cry for me Agentina是音乐剧Evita中最为人们所传唱的歌曲。可是人们传唱它的同时也相当错误地理解了它所传达的意思，这也正是Eva Peron这个人为什么做了那么多坏事还仍然能够迷惑阿根廷老百姓的原因。 可是，为Evita作词的Tim Rice却没有阿根廷老百姓那么浅薄，所以阿根廷人一直不太接受Evita剧中对Eva Peron形象的负面（其实是非常中性和客观的）描述。Tim Rice和Andrew Webber合作的另一个音乐剧Jesus Christ SuperStar（耶稣基督超级巨星）同样也是非常深刻的具有政治性宣言的音乐剧。这两个音乐剧都是我一直最喜欢和赞叹的。其实，我个人觉得Tim Rice应该因此而获得Nobel文学奖才对。 Jesus Christ SuperStar于1971年10月12日在纽约百老汇首演，连续上演了711场，并于1973年拍成同名电影。1977和2000年又在百老汇重演，分别演了96场和161场。这个剧讲诉了耶稣基督在受难前40天中的故事，其场景是超现代的，剧中罗马士兵是端着冲锋枪和开着坦克去抓耶稣的。其中的两首歌曲，抹大拿的玛丽亚唱的I don't know how to love him和耶稣唱的Gethsemane都是脍炙人口的歌曲，几乎总是Webber的经典歌曲音乐会中必唱的歌曲。 Evita更为成功，于1979年9月25日在纽约百老汇首演，连续上演了1567场，并于1996年拍成同名电影。其中Eva Peron唱的Don't cry for me Agentina尤为脍炙人口。 百老汇音乐剧主页： http://www.broadwaymusicalhome.com/index.html 别哭着要我，baby! 人们对Don't cry for me Agentina的误解，基本上在于没有仔细弄清cry for的意思是“哭着要”，而不是“为...而哭泣”的意思。后者在英语中应该是cry over。这两个习惯用法的确切意思和例句在词典中都可以查到。比如，“The baby is crying for her mom” 是“那个婴儿在哭着找她的妈妈”，而不是“那个婴儿在为她的妈妈而哭”。再如，后街男孩（Backstreet boys）的那首Do I Have To Cry For You，绝不是“需要我为你而哭吗”的意思，而是“难道要我哭着求你吗”。如果照前一个意思，Backstreet boys就一点也不Cool了。 所以，Evita的那首Don't cry for me Agentina，绝不是“阿根廷，别为我哭泣”的意思，而是“阿根廷，别哭着要求我”。这首歌是在Eva Peron的努力下，Juan Peron于1946年当选阿根廷总统后，两人第一次在首都布宜诺司爱丽斯的玫瑰宫（Casa Rosada）公开与群众见面时Eva Peron所唱，这标志着Eva Peron第一次正式登上阿根廷最高政治舞台。当时的情景，就像毛主席在1966年8月18日在天安门接见百万红卫兵以后，中共中央通知又于1966年8月30日宣布在中央文革小组组长陈伯达病假期间，由中央文革小组第一副组长江青代理中央文革小组组长职务时一样，标志着毛主席的亲密战友江青同志正式登上中国共产党的最高政治舞台。 所以，和江青女士一样，Eva Peron表示坚决站在阿根廷人民普遍支持的独裁者Peron身边，并且表示自己出生贫寒，从来就是人民之一员；即使是自己在做戏子的时候，也从来没有忘记自己是人民之一员；即使自己做戏子时，自己也从来不像别人以为的那样追求金钱和名声。最后Eva Peron高喊出：“我只是一个简单的女人，我的生命是服务于Paron以拯救人民为高贵目标的人民运动中。我曾经是人民的一员，我发誓将剥夺为了所有的人民而剥夺那些富人和寡头。将来的某一天，所有这些财富都会被你们继承。”所以，Don't cry for me Agentina其实是一句假谦虚的话，是说，我Eva Peron其实没有什么了不起的，大家不要哭着要我指望我能够为大家解决问题，我们需要团结在Juan Peron周围，去剥夺那些富人，让社会运动持续下去。Eva Peron出身贫苦，是个私生女，从小渴望得到社会承认，在向上爬的过程中受尽了阿根廷上层阶级的白眼，所以对上层阶级充满了仇恨。这和江青同志一直在党内受到老同志的限制，不几乎是一回事吗？ 对于Evita的这些煽动群众的话，有一个保守的军官，就像“二月逆流”中的那些老帅一样，冷冷地评论道：“政治家的才能不仅仅是为农民找乐”。可是，20世纪的历史告诉我们。那些法西斯独裁者都是通过为穷人找乐而登上最高政权，先是消灭富人，把那些财富拿来浪费和挥霍在庞大而无效率的社会工程和社会运动上，最后使得每一个老百姓都民不聊生。阿根廷在Juan Peron上台时，是全世界人均GDP前几位的国家，虽然贫富悬殊较大，社会不满严重。经过几十年的独裁和军政府统治，到前几年阿根廷再次发生经济危机时，阿根廷已经是世界上GDP相当落后的国家了。在1979年Evita上演的时候，阿根廷整个国家正处于非常糟糕的情况下。在Evita剧中，才有那首讽刺Eva Peron花大钱做社会工程以及他的亲属贪污腐化的那首摇滚And the money keep rolling in，以及那首优美的舞曲Waltz for Eva and Che中虚构的革命者Che（格瓦拉的名，但格瓦拉和Eva并不是一个时代的人）责问Eva用法西斯手段残酷对待异议分子，并且没有为人民带来当初所承诺的东西的情节。 Evita这个音乐剧从头到尾都没有赞赏Evita的地方，剧中表面上美妙的音乐、优美的舞蹈、以及华丽和庄严的场面，全是为了与阿根廷现代历史中的残酷现实进行对照。剧中所有的地方的音乐旋律主题和歌词，无不充满了这种二元的对比。所以，整个Evita音乐剧，在艺术上的表达上，在人性的描述和政治的立场上，是非常鲜明和深刻的。难怪阿根廷人在是否同意电影Evita在Casa Rosada进行拍摄的问题上不是很配合，犹豫再三之后，才勉强同意。 具有讽刺意味的是，1952年Eva Peron因病去世后，Juan Peron又娶了一位没有文化的舞蹈演员伊莎贝尔·庇隆做妻子。后者后来还成为了阿根廷的女总统。最近，民选的阿根廷政府外交部还在要求西班牙当局引渡前总统伊莎贝尔·庇隆，要对她在担任总统期间所犯下的罪行进行审判。阿根廷政治上这些文盲戏子所演出的马戏（circus），正是以阿根廷人民的血泪为代价的。所以，在Evita中，愤怒的Che才喊出了What a circus这样的悲愤之语。 2007年1月青年参考《“庇隆夫人”伊莎贝尔:从演员到世界首位女总统》报道链接： http://news.sohu.com/20070123/n247793454.shtml 江亲同志也是以女优的身份，最后成为了一国之母和全中国人民的祸害，这不是在人性和政治上都发人深思的历史活剧和艺术上值得深入发掘的绝佳题材吗？ 旅美女作家闵安琪2000年在美国出版了以江青为第一人称女主人公的小说Becoming Madame Mao（成为毛夫人），不知道她是不是也受到了Evita的某些影响。如果中国人要以此为基础，写一部歌剧、话剧或电影的话，应该会是非常有意思的。其中江青这个角色，让闵安琪的好朋友陈冲去演，最合适不过了。谁让她也是我母亲家没有血缘关系的转折亲呢。 当我得知前几年得知凤凰电视台的美女主播吴小丽在自己的婚礼上唱的主题歌居然是Evita电影中的那首You must love me的时候，的确是感到哭笑不得。虽然Evita也曾是电台的女主播，可是，这首You must love me是Evita在弥留之际唱给Juan Peron的歌。在婚礼上唱，不是很不恰当吗？不过，既然cry for都被大家理解成了自恋和自怜的“为...而哭泣”，这又有什么不可以呢？当然，尽管如此，吴小丽仍然还算是比较受我欢迎的女主播。 现代政治的一大特点，就是人人都在作秀。因此，有表演天才的人玩起政治来，总是如鱼得水。 所以，让我们都去entertain peasants，或者把自己当成peasant来entertain吧！ Don't Cry For Me这一段请从下面视频的第67分24秒开始看。 附录：Evita第二幕部分歌词及剧情说明 ON THE BALCONY OF THE CASA ROSADA / DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA 在玫瑰宫的露天阳台上/阿根廷，别哭着要求我 (PERON has just won a sweeping victory in the 1946 Presidential Election. This is the first public appearance by PERON and EVA since that triumph. Action takes place both inside and outside on the balcony of the Casa Rosada - the pink Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires.) ANNOUNCER（主持人说） People of Argentina! Your newly elected President--Juan Peron! (The CROWD begins to chant Peron! Peron!) PERON（朗诵） Argentinos! Argentinos! We are all workers now! Fighting against our common enemies-- Poverty, social injustice, foreign domination of our industries! Reaching for our common goals-- Our independence, our dignity, our pride! Let the world know that our great nation is awakening And that its heart beats in the humble bodies of Juan Peron--and his wife, the first lady of Argentina, Eva Duarte de Peron! (The CROWD by now are beginning to chant Evita! Evita!) EVA（声情并茂地唱） It won't be easy, you'll think it strange When I try to explain how I feel That I still need your love after all that I've done You won't believe me All you will see is a girl you once knew Although she's dressed up to the nines At sixes and sevens with you I had to let it happen, I had to change Couldn't stay all my life down at heel Looking out of the window, staying out of the sun So I chose freedom Running around trying everything new But nothing impressed me at all I never expected it to Don't cry for me Argentina The truth is I never left you All through my wild days My mad existence I kept my promise Don't keep your distance And as for fortune, and as for fame I never invited them in Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired They are illusions They are not the solutions they promised to be The answer was here all the time I love you and hope you love me Don't cry for me Argentina... (EVA breaks down; the CROWD takes up her tune, humming) （群众和着Evita的调，哼啊哼） EVA（继续声情并茂地唱） Don't cry for me Argentina The truth is I never left you All through my wild days My mad existence I kept my promise Don't keep your distance Have I said too much? There's nothing more I can think of to say to you But all you have to do is look at me to know That every word is true (The CROWD is ecstatically enthusiastic; EVA goes inside from the balcony) Just listen to that! The voice of Argentina! We are adored! We are loved! OFFICER（冷冷地评论） Statesmanship is more than entertaining peasants EVA (EVA's MOTHER)（Evita的老妈很不乐意地说，小子唉，咱们骑驴看唱本，走着瞧。） We shall see, little man CROWD（万众欢呼） Evita Peron! La Santa Peronista! Evita Peron! La Santa Peronista! Evita Peron! La Santa Peronista! (EVA goes back onto the balcony) EVA（大声朗诵） I am only a simple woman who lives to serve Peron in his Noble crusade to rescue his people! I was once as you are Now and I promise you this we will take these riches from the Oligarchs only for you--for all of you! One day you too will Inherit these treasures! Descamisados! Miscompaneros! When they fire those cannons, When the crowds sing of glory, it is not just for Peron, But for all of us! All of us! ARISTOCRATS (mocking applause)（即将没落的贵族，很不情愿和无可奈何地） Things have reached a pretty pass When someone pretty lower class Can be accepted and admired- ARISTOCRAT（即将没落的贵族，有些惊慌但故作镇静地） But our privileged class is dead! Look who they are calling for now!
标签: 阿根廷
