Category: News

A two-hour seminar looking at the facts behind Genetically Modified foods – Friday August 2

While governments, scientists, farmers, and industry continue to debate about the safety of Genetically Modified (GM) foods, an entire generation of Australians is becoming the unsuspecting guinea pigs.

New research by an Australian scientist is showing GM-fed pigs in a US piggery had 2.6 times the rate of severe stomach inflammation of pigs fed a non-GM diet. The uteruses of pigs fed GM corn and soy from weaning until slaughter were 25% heavier than those fed non-GM, which can indicate disease (i). There are reports of greater antibiotic use, aggressive behaviour, unexplained problems including spontaneous abortions, deformities in new-borns and listlessness in animals fed GM (ii, iii).

Hosted by Brisbane-based Meal Planning Your Way, the upcoming 2 hour seminar on Friday 2 August 2013 at 7pm at QB Conference Centre Gaythorne will feature two of Australia’s leading advocates.

According to Fran Murrell, co-founder of MADGE, Australia’s leading campaigner for GM labeling and speaker at the 2nd August event, “This study shows intestinal and fertility problems are linked to eating GM. Most processed food in Australia contains GM ingredients but they escape labelling. This seminar will help consumers understand why we need a freeze on new GM approvals, a reassessment of existing ones and full labelling of GM ingredients immediately.”

Robert Pekin, Executive Director of Brisbane-based Food Connect Foundation, a unique Social Business that provides local marketing and distribution solutions for Ecological Family Farmers throughout Australia, will also be speaking at the event about how the New Creative Food Economy that can transform the health and wealth of our local communities. “The truth about GM will always be swept into the smoke and mirrors of corporate spin doctors, however there are simple ways to avoid the confusion altogether, including purchasing locally from farmers and producers you know.”

According to event organiser, Meal Planning Your Way’s Home Economist Louise D’Allura, “A nationwide survey on Australians’ attitudes to food by Australian consumer research group, Roy Morgan Research, revealed that 52 per cent of Australians said they will not buy genetically modified food if they can help it, and 46 per cent said they try to buy additive-free food .”

Tickets are $20 and bookings are essential.

Buy tickets on line at www.MealPlanningYourWay.com for online discounts.

For further contact Louise D’Allura on phone 0408 723 559 or MADGE Fran Murrell 0401 407 944

[i] Judy A. Carman, Howard R. Vlieger, Larry J. Ver Steeg, Verlyn E. Sneller, Garth W. Robinson, Catherine A. Clinch-Jones, Julie I. Haynes, John W. Edwards (2013). A long-term toxicology study on pigs fed a combined genetically modified (GM) soy and GM maize diet. Journal of Organic Systems 8 (1): 38-54.

Open access full text: http://www.organic-systems.org/journal/81/8106.pdf [ii]

Press release Evidence of GMO harm in pig study http://gmojudycarman.org/new-study-shows-that-animals-are-seriously-harmed-by-gm-feed/

Press release Evidence of GMO harm in pig study http://gmojudycarman.org/new-study-shows-that-animals-are-seriously-harmed-by-gm-feed/ http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-reality/13882-gm-soy-linked-to-health-damage-in-pigs-a-danish-dossier

GM soy linked to health damage in pigs – a Danish Dossier http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-reality/13882-gm-soy-linked-to-health-damage-in-pigs-a-danish-dossier [iii]

The cheapest two hour thrill available within walking distance of West End costs less than ten dollars and offers two hours of usually satisfying entertainment.

I refer to the iMax – not that we call it that any more. Cinema 5 at the Southbank Cineplex is a jaw dropping, stunning, immersive experience that still excites me, even writing about it now.

The jaw dropping moment comes when you first walk in. Even if you have been there a squillion times before, stepping into the near vertical incline of Cinema 5 carries a frisson of excitement reminiscent of a viewing platform on a cliff top in the Border Mountains.

I love:

• the homey reminders to pick up our rubbish so the owners can keep the ticket prices down.
• the local advertising promoting the sushi bars next door and across the road
• the fact that some big name movies just won’t appear because the family who owns the cinema doesn’t like them
• the exasperated sighs when it is a full house and the whole machine stops for ten minutes while the head-ticket-seller bosses us all into moving closer together so that late comers can take their seats at the edges.

That is what I call Going to the Movies.

Compare Randy’s love affair with the Cineplex with what happened Across the River

Micah Projects is running a Food Connect fresh fuit and vegetable buyers group in the form of a “pop up shop”, in an unused commercial tenancy at the Brisbane Common Ground affordable housing development in South Brisbane.

The “People’s Market” also sells freshly baked goodies from Phyllis Paterson, the resident Chef at Brisbane Common Ground.

It is run by the tenants of Brisbane Common Ground themselves, in conjunction with “The Hive Social Inclusion Team” from Micah Projects.

The market is open to the public and is located on Thursdays from 10am at 15 Hope St, South Brisbane on the ground floor. Prices are “at cost or super low”.

If your Food Connect buyer’s group has excess produce you may wish to sell on, please call Gemma Hansen 0421 472 928.

Come along and support your local community social enterprise:
South Brisbane Peoples Market, 15 Hope Street, South Brisbane
Every Thursday from 10am until it’s gone.

Get there early for the best bargains and please bring your own recyclable bags!

About Micah Projects: http://www.micahprojects.org.au/
About Brisbane Common Ground:http://www.commongroundqld.org.au/Brisbane-Common-Ground-pg16749.html
About Food Connect:http://brisbane.foodconnect.com.au/

Westender’s Jimmy Wall got a sneak peak of The Lone Ranger 2013 remake. It is a bit different from the old TV series he grew up with, but deems it as a must-see-film for anyone that enjoys a lot of action and some good laughs.

The Lone Ranger was one of many old shows I grew up watching as kid, which is why I am always a bit hesitant to embrace remakes, especially with remakes such as the Green Hornet and 21 Jump Street. They were action TV series turned into comedy films for some odd reason.

Which is why the first few minutes of the film somewhat worried me a bit when it started off at an amusement park from the 1930s, when The Lone Ranger is a western set in the late 1800s. The camera zooms in on a kid dressed as The Lone Ranger. He enters a tent with the theme Wild West. There he sees The Noble Savage, which looks like a wax figure of an old American Indian. To his surprise the wax figure presumably comes to life and starts telling the kid a story about The Lone Ranger (Armei Hammer) and himself, Tonto (Johnny Depp).

That the story about The Lone Ranger is told by a much older Tonto is intriguing and rather clever way to repackage the story for both a new and younger audience, and also the old geezers that grew up with The Lone Ranger, like myself. A story about how John Reid (Hammer) accidentally ends up as The Lone Ranger and Tonto’s Ke-mo sah-bee, following their quests to right the wrongs in society.

John Reid is determined to revenge his brother’s death, but as a lawyer he is very reluctant to become The Lone Ranger Tonto wants him to be, a gun-slinging hero with no hesitation of killing outlaws. He eventually learns that diplomacy does not work so well with outlaws, after much frustration from Tonto. Armie Hammer plays John Reid very well and projects the perfect hero. A hero that tries to be merciful, but in the end does not bow down to outlaws.

Tonto wants revenge for what happened to his tribe, and claims The Lone Ranger has been chosen by the spirit horse, Silver, to help him and be his Ke-mo sah-bee. As usual Johnny Depp does an amazing job at playing the weird and unpredictable character. A character laced with sarcasm and witty remarks. The humour is well-balanced without making it too silly, especially when the film is advertised as an action-adventure.

With most films, they all have their weaknesses, and The Lone Ranger is no exception. About half-way through the film it seems as if the writers decided to become a bit too creative and added a bunch of twists towards the end. Not two, or three- counting the ones in the first-half of the film -but enough that I lost count of them all. Sometimes that can be an exciting tool to build suspense, but it became a bit too frequent and just ended up being annoying. When I knew the film was about to end, I still had some worry that another twist would emerge, which is not a good thing, but luckily it did not.

Another weakness was in fact how the story was setup. As I explained early on, that Tonto tells the story of him and The Lone Ranger to a random kid at an amusement park dressed as The Lone Ranger. I guess it is a bit weird if you grew up with the TV series, but the transitions back and forth seemed a bit random, even though it provided some comic relief and it was an interesting concept and approach I found fascinating.

The Lone Ranger offers a lot of action that will satisfy any action-film-junky, and to alleviate the heavy dosage of action it offers some drama. The comedy added into the mix is just perfect – when you can laugh out loud at a wooden beam that crushes the heads of two outlaws, it is done right. Not forgetting the story itself – it is an extremely good western story, even with those annoying twists. It is one of those films that has it all – fun for the whole family, as they say.

It will be in cinemas across Australia July 4.

For more info about the film and to how to buy tickets, visit: http://theloneranger.com.au/

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Lock The Gate Alliance has labelled the coal seam gas (CSG) industry as dishonest and untrustworthy after the release of a new report which shows that the CSG export industry will cause wholesale gas prices in Australia to triple.

In February, the CSG industry said that proposed new rules on coal seam gas mining would lead to higher energy prices in NSW and their website states that the CSG industry could reduce wholesale electricity prices.

However, the new report by The Australia Institute reveals that gas prices are st to rise dramatically across eastern Australia because of plans by the gas industry to start exporting gas from Queensland, leading to export parity pricing in Australia.

“This new report by The Australia Institute shows that the greatest threat to gas prices on the eastern seaboard is the CSG export industry itself,” said Carmel Flint, campaign co-ordinator with Lock the Gate Alliance.

“It proves that the scare campaign being run by the gas industry against community opposition to coal seam gas, claiming it will lead to energy price hikes, is a whole lot of hot air.

“There is no doubt that the primary driver of gas price increases in Australia is the gas industry seeking bigger profits by exporting Australian gas to Asia to exploit higher prices.”

Shaun Murray, Darling Downs Coordinator for Lock the Gate said, “This report suggests that even if the CSG industry is allowed to continue the wholesale industrialisation of rural Queensland, the massive gas export projects are just going to drive up prices for Australian consumers.

“These price hikes add to a long list of problems associated with the CSG industry, including the damage being done to our farmland, to our aquifers, and to the health of nearby communities. It’s very difficult to see any net benefits for ordinary Queenslanders.

“Now that the energy affordability argument in favour of CSG has been comprehensively debunked, our governments should act quickly to implement a moratorium on this damaging industry,” he said.

Local Legend