| have a beech ball |
 |
| Here's what we've got in the pot so far for prototype collaboration Let them benefit from the eyes, ears, hands and hearts of many...
Want to do more podcasts like these too: http://www.holisticlocal.co.uk We're looking forward to working with you; please send us anything you want to share... carlmunson@googlemail.com |
21 June 2007
have a beech ball
Thank you Sanjai
Many thanks to Sanjai, who came along to last week's Copper beech UK team meetings and reminded us to breathe!
It's so obvious; it's so key, yet the world desperately needs Sanjai - because I reckon very few of us make the most of our breath, prana, chi, ki - whatever you want to call it. it's there all the time, and we dare to go looking for more energy, consciousness and fulfilment elsewhere!
As well as getting us breathing again, he showed us how to come from our hearts and hips (rather than that tiny, judgemental little head-space that we tend to dwell in and see the world - and each other - from).
His approach to meditation, yoga and spirituality is so now! It's quick, accessible and reliable.
He's the man. and I'm hoping to make some video clips with him soon - watch (literally) this space...and enjoy the benefits yourself.
It's so obvious; it's so key, yet the world desperately needs Sanjai - because I reckon very few of us make the most of our breath, prana, chi, ki - whatever you want to call it. it's there all the time, and we dare to go looking for more energy, consciousness and fulfilment elsewhere!
As well as getting us breathing again, he showed us how to come from our hearts and hips (rather than that tiny, judgemental little head-space that we tend to dwell in and see the world - and each other - from).
His approach to meditation, yoga and spirituality is so now! It's quick, accessible and reliable.
He's the man. and I'm hoping to make some video clips with him soon - watch (literally) this space...and enjoy the benefits yourself.
Motivated?
"People often say motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -that's why we recommend it daily." ~ Zig Ziglar
20 June 2007
An innocent look at what we eat
Thanks to those brilliant people at Innocent who reminded me about this:
What the world eats
See the incredible, almost inedible differences, esp. The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village, Bhutan (see: earlier post) compared to the Melander family of Bargteheide, Germany
"Indiana Jones of the digital age"
I love this book. I mean, really love it!
"It's about time this book was written. It is a long-overdue manifesto for the mobile lifestyle." – Jack Canfield, Co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul®, 100+ million copies sold
"Stunning and amazing. From mini-retirements to outsourcing your life, it's all here. Whether you're a wage slave or a Fortune 500 CEO, this book will change your life!" – Phil Town, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Rule #1
"The 4-Hour Workweek is a new way of solving a very old problem: just how can we work to live and prevent our lives from being all about work? A world of infinite options awaits those who would read this book and be inspired by it!"
– Michael E. Gerber, Founder & Chairman of E-Myth Worldwide and the World's #1 Small Business Guru
“Timothy has packed more lives into his 29 years than Steve Jobs has in his 51.”
– Tom Foremski, Journalist and Publisher of SiliconValleyWatcher.com
“Thanks to Tim Ferriss, I have more time in my life to travel, spend time with family and write book blurbs. This is a dazzling and highly useful work.” – A.J. Jacobs, Editor-at-Large, Esquire Magazine, Author of The Know-It-All
"If you want to live life on your own terms, this is your blueprint." –Mike Maples, Co-founder of Motive Communications (IPO to $260M market cap), Founding Executive of Tivoli (sold to IBM for $750M)
"Tim is Indiana Jones for the digital age. I've already used his advice to go spearfishing on remote islands and ski the best hidden slopes of Argentina. Simply put, do what he says and you can live like a millionaire." – Albert Pope, Derivatives Trading, UBS World Headquarters
“This engaging book makes you ask the most important question that you will ever face: What exactly is it that you want out of work and life, and why? Tim Ferriss is a master of getting more for less, often with the help of people he doesn't even know, and here he gives away his secrets for fulfilling your dreams.” – Bo Burlingham, Editor-at-Large, Inc. magazine, Author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big
"Part scientist and part adventure hunter, Tim Ferriss has created a road map for an entirely new world. I devoured this book in one sitting–I have seen nothing like it." – Charles L. Brock, Chairman and CEO, Brock Capital Group
"The 4-Hour Workweek is an absolute necessity for those adventurous souls who want to live life to its fullest. Buy it and read it before you sacrifice any more!"
– John Lusk, Group Product Manager, Microsoft World Headquarters
"If you want to live your dreams now, and not in 20 or 30 years, buy this book!"
– Laura Roden, Chairman of the Silicon Valley Association of Start-up Entrepreneurs
"Tim Ferriss’s book is about gaining the courage to streamline your life … But even more than that, it challenges the reader to seriously consider an essential–yet rarely asked–question: What do you really want from life?" – Rolf Potts, Author of Vagabonding and Travel Columnist for Yahoo! News
Book Description
What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer:
“I race motorcycles in Europe.”
“I ski in the Andes.”
“I scuba dive in Panama.”
“I dance tango in Buenos Aires.”
He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies—time and mobility—to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now.
Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:
• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
• How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
• How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist
• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements"
• What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income
• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
• What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks
• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
• What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are
• How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
• How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office
You can have it all — really.
19 June 2007
News Snippets from India
The New Delhi Municipal Corporation has set up a herbal garden especially meant for the visually challenged, where one can smell and feel one’s way through. What a treat for the senses. Click here to read more: herbal park for visually challenged
The ancient town of Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh, India was where Buddha spent 24 years in meditation. It was brought back on the map by a Buddhist monk Dr Sitthipal, who laid the foundations for a mediation centre here in 1996. She and other followers built it brick by brick, and now it’s the site of an enormous Non-formal Learning and Meditation Centre. To read the article see At Peace with Buddha
The ancient town of Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh, India was where Buddha spent 24 years in meditation. It was brought back on the map by a Buddhist monk Dr Sitthipal, who laid the foundations for a mediation centre here in 1996. She and other followers built it brick by brick, and now it’s the site of an enormous Non-formal Learning and Meditation Centre. To read the article see At Peace with Buddha
No let up in supermarkets' drive to go green
London, Tuesday June 19 2007
Being eco-friendly is such a big concern for consumers these days that almost all new supermarket initiatives seem to be environmentally based. In the last three weeks, for example, everything from coconuts to carrier bags has been given the green treatment.
Tesco has been among those shouting loudest. It announced that its online service Tesco.com will now offer a plastic-bag free delivery in response to customer concerns about the number of bags used for home shopping.
Customers who select the “delivery without bags” option will have their products delivered in stackable green trays instead of the old plastic bags. To encourage this option, the supermarket is also offering Green Clubcard points to customers who choose it.
“Home delivery without bags is a win with our customers and with the environment,” said Laura Wade-Gery, CEO of Tesco.com. “This is just the latest step in the work we are doing to minimise our impact on the environment and help our customers do the same.”
Indeed Tesco has committed itself to saving one billion carrier bags per year through a range of similar schemes. However, charging for the use of plastic bags - a technique that has brought dramatic success in other countries - is not an option currently being considered, according to the Tesco press office.
But Tesco is championing very loudly its commitment to `localchoice' milk with a huge advertising campaign featuring Martin Clunes and Fay Ripley.
The 'localchoice' campaign is part of a £25 million annual investment Tesco announced last month to boost the British Dairy industry. It has raised the price 'localchoice' farmers receive to around 23 pence per litre, which it claims is the best price currently being paid for local milk by any supermarket.
“Many of our customers have told us they want us to make it easier for them to buy food which is genuinely local to their area,” said Kari Daniels, Chilled Food Category Director for Tesco. “This latest advertising campaign reinforces our commitment to 'localchoice' and spreads the word to more customers that they now have the chance to support, through their own buying decisions, the farming they want to sustain into the future.”
Not to be outdone, Sainsbury's is concentrating on upping its range of Fairtrade products. Already the UK's leading Fairtrade retailer, Sainsbury's recently announced that it will only stock Fairtrade coconuts. According to a statement, the supermarket sold 320,000 coconuts last year meaning that it will be the biggest retailer of Fairtrade coconuts in the UK following the switch.
Bananas are next on the agenda and will be100% Fairtrade by July 2007.
The supermarket estimates that the coconut switch alone will generate a social premium of around £20,000 which will be returned to the growers in St Lucia and their communities.
"This conversion to 100% only strengthens our commitment to Fairtrade,” said Sainsbury's Coconut buyer, Lee Turner. “We have been selling coconuts for decades and saw a real increase in sales after introducing Fairtrade coconuts back in June 2002, so it made sense to move completely to 100% Fairtrade."
Morrisons, meanwhile, have been focusing on recycling and a new “Recyclopedia” labeling scheme that aims to increase awareness of what can be recycled and where.
The label, which will eventually feature on all Morrisons' own-brand products, will have three different categories of symbol marking products that are 100% recyclable, partly recyclable or not recyclable. It will also contain information on finding out where the product can be recycled.
“Recycling is one of the simplest and most effective things we can do to protect the environment,” said Amanda Barry Hirst from Recycle Now. “We welcome initiatives like Recyclopedia as a good way to raise public awareness and help people to recycle more.”
Being eco-friendly is such a big concern for consumers these days that almost all new supermarket initiatives seem to be environmentally based. In the last three weeks, for example, everything from coconuts to carrier bags has been given the green treatment.
Tesco has been among those shouting loudest. It announced that its online service Tesco.com will now offer a plastic-bag free delivery in response to customer concerns about the number of bags used for home shopping.
Customers who select the “delivery without bags” option will have their products delivered in stackable green trays instead of the old plastic bags. To encourage this option, the supermarket is also offering Green Clubcard points to customers who choose it.
“Home delivery without bags is a win with our customers and with the environment,” said Laura Wade-Gery, CEO of Tesco.com. “This is just the latest step in the work we are doing to minimise our impact on the environment and help our customers do the same.”
Indeed Tesco has committed itself to saving one billion carrier bags per year through a range of similar schemes. However, charging for the use of plastic bags - a technique that has brought dramatic success in other countries - is not an option currently being considered, according to the Tesco press office.
But Tesco is championing very loudly its commitment to `localchoice' milk with a huge advertising campaign featuring Martin Clunes and Fay Ripley.
The 'localchoice' campaign is part of a £25 million annual investment Tesco announced last month to boost the British Dairy industry. It has raised the price 'localchoice' farmers receive to around 23 pence per litre, which it claims is the best price currently being paid for local milk by any supermarket.
“Many of our customers have told us they want us to make it easier for them to buy food which is genuinely local to their area,” said Kari Daniels, Chilled Food Category Director for Tesco. “This latest advertising campaign reinforces our commitment to 'localchoice' and spreads the word to more customers that they now have the chance to support, through their own buying decisions, the farming they want to sustain into the future.”
Not to be outdone, Sainsbury's is concentrating on upping its range of Fairtrade products. Already the UK's leading Fairtrade retailer, Sainsbury's recently announced that it will only stock Fairtrade coconuts. According to a statement, the supermarket sold 320,000 coconuts last year meaning that it will be the biggest retailer of Fairtrade coconuts in the UK following the switch.
Bananas are next on the agenda and will be100% Fairtrade by July 2007.
The supermarket estimates that the coconut switch alone will generate a social premium of around £20,000 which will be returned to the growers in St Lucia and their communities.
"This conversion to 100% only strengthens our commitment to Fairtrade,” said Sainsbury's Coconut buyer, Lee Turner. “We have been selling coconuts for decades and saw a real increase in sales after introducing Fairtrade coconuts back in June 2002, so it made sense to move completely to 100% Fairtrade."
Morrisons, meanwhile, have been focusing on recycling and a new “Recyclopedia” labeling scheme that aims to increase awareness of what can be recycled and where.
The label, which will eventually feature on all Morrisons' own-brand products, will have three different categories of symbol marking products that are 100% recyclable, partly recyclable or not recyclable. It will also contain information on finding out where the product can be recycled.
“Recycling is one of the simplest and most effective things we can do to protect the environment,” said Amanda Barry Hirst from Recycle Now. “We welcome initiatives like Recyclopedia as a good way to raise public awareness and help people to recycle more.”
18 June 2007
Rainwater harvesting - a tool for making friends with your neighbours
About late 1995 when we shifted to the present colony we live in called East of Kailash in New Delhi, we were the only people in our lane who didn't use a hose pipe to wash our cars and strangely enough the only guys to actually plant fruit, nectar, and shade giving trees OUTSIDE our house in the service lane as well as on the main road median. This created quite a few ripples in our neighbourhood. Interesting reasons people came up with to cut beautiful trees down.
- The roots are getting into the foundations of our house
- The tree gives too much shade in the winter
- The birds who eat the fruuit off this tree, dirty the area
- When it rains these trees are dangerous as their branches will break and harm someone.
- The tree is always shedding leaves it makes my garden and courtyard messy
- Children from the nearby colony come to steal the fruit, so cut it down
- It attracts street hawkers and passerbys to rest underneath
These are just an example of the kind of arguements one faced every single day. Till one day my mom decided to convert the dumpyard across the street into a green belt. We had to buy water tankers every single day to water the plants because we had no municipal water supply even at home. Every single day people saw my mother watering the trees in the late afternoon with a watering can. Now all the people in our lane (and its mostly the women) have taken the responsibility to water and take care of the plants as well as leave water in ghadas (earthern ware water containers) outside for people passing by.
Another thing that we did right in the beginning to stop rain water runoff was too put pvc pipes of 20 feet each at an interval of 6 feet into the drains. The rain water goes straight to the roots of the trees and the road in front of our house no longer gets blocked when it rains.
Now about 20 housewives in the colony are represented in the Residents Welfare Association. These are one amazing bunch of women, they've scared off cops, Municipal Corporation (MCD) Officials, and the local counsellor all of whom wanted to make the green belt a MCD parking area. These trees are now like a platform for these women to get their voices heard.
Another thing we got two households to implement was not to buy a front loading washing machine but to buy a top loading one. This way atleast one has control over the amount of water wasted. We fill the machine manually with water and when the first bit of water comes out of the machine it is collected in a large drum and used to swob the floors in the house.
Celebrities turning away from meat
Sunday, June 17, 2007
By Joseph Dionisio
Newsday
Natalie Portman starred in the film "V for Vendetta," but off-screen her lifestyle could well be titled V for vegetarian.
The Long Island, N.Y., native joins a list of 233 celebrities in PETA's sixth annual Sexiest Vegetarian poll, which runs through June 23 at www.goveg.com.
According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Portman had fake leather shoes made for her role in the 2006 comic-book movie.
"A lot of folks take their cues on what to wear and what to eat from celebrities," says PETA spokesman Michael McGraw. "It's a fantastic thing that vegetarianism has taken root in Hollywood."
Yet California isn't the only bastion for non-carnivores. If Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich were to win the 2008 presidential election, he'd break the meat barrier - as opposed to the more hyped race and gender barriers - as the first vegetarian in the White House.
Which sexy stars qualified for PETA's contest? Here are a few who hope to dethrone reigning champs Kristen Bell and Prince:
Alyssa Milano, who stars in PETA's upcoming "Let Vegetarianism Grow On You" campaign; Tobey Maguire; Common; Morrissey (the "Meat Is Murder" singer); Forest Whitaker; David Duchovny; Joaquin Phoenix (who wore vegan cowboy boots as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line"); Milo Ventimiglia; Shania Twain; Orlando Jones; Carrie Underwood ("American Idol's" alum says she'd rather sing to cows than eat them); Alicia Silverstone; Mos Def; Def Leppard's Phil Collen; Ed Begley Jr.; Paul McCartney; Boy George; and Jared Leto.
We asked several celebs how long they've been vegetarian, why they gave up eating animals and to dish on their favorite faux-meat products:
Actress Daryl Hannah - "Since age 11 ... . I was no longer able to disassociate what I was eating from the creature it had been. Many fake meats have soy isolate ... which can cause health problems. I really look at the ingredients and try to stick to whole foods."
Kucinich - "Twelve years ago ... . Initially, it was for health reasons. Then it also became a matter of respect for the lives and the treatment of animals, as evident in (my) voting record on animal issues ... favorites are Tofurky's `kielbasa' and the vegan Gardenburger."
Actress Emily Deschanel - "Sixteen years ago, after watching (a school video about) the meat and dairy industries ... . I do eat some meat alternatives. I love (the wheat/soy protein) Gardein. You can only get it at Whole Foods. It's very tasty."
Actress Constance Marie - "No red meat (for) 23 years ... . Meat made my body feel heavy and bloated. I started to think, what's the difference between eating a chicken or your family pet? Both are living, breathing animals with a face ... . The quality of American meat is questionable ... . Veggie hot dogs are my favorites!"
Singer Chrissie Hynde - "Since 1969 ... . I cannot justify the unnecessary exploitation of an animal. I will eat whatever I am offered, providing no animals have suffered."
By Joseph Dionisio
Newsday
Natalie Portman starred in the film "V for Vendetta," but off-screen her lifestyle could well be titled V for vegetarian.
The Long Island, N.Y., native joins a list of 233 celebrities in PETA's sixth annual Sexiest Vegetarian poll, which runs through June 23 at www.goveg.com.
According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Portman had fake leather shoes made for her role in the 2006 comic-book movie.
"A lot of folks take their cues on what to wear and what to eat from celebrities," says PETA spokesman Michael McGraw. "It's a fantastic thing that vegetarianism has taken root in Hollywood."
Yet California isn't the only bastion for non-carnivores. If Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich were to win the 2008 presidential election, he'd break the meat barrier - as opposed to the more hyped race and gender barriers - as the first vegetarian in the White House.
Which sexy stars qualified for PETA's contest? Here are a few who hope to dethrone reigning champs Kristen Bell and Prince:
Alyssa Milano, who stars in PETA's upcoming "Let Vegetarianism Grow On You" campaign; Tobey Maguire; Common; Morrissey (the "Meat Is Murder" singer); Forest Whitaker; David Duchovny; Joaquin Phoenix (who wore vegan cowboy boots as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line"); Milo Ventimiglia; Shania Twain; Orlando Jones; Carrie Underwood ("American Idol's" alum says she'd rather sing to cows than eat them); Alicia Silverstone; Mos Def; Def Leppard's Phil Collen; Ed Begley Jr.; Paul McCartney; Boy George; and Jared Leto.
We asked several celebs how long they've been vegetarian, why they gave up eating animals and to dish on their favorite faux-meat products:
Actress Daryl Hannah - "Since age 11 ... . I was no longer able to disassociate what I was eating from the creature it had been. Many fake meats have soy isolate ... which can cause health problems. I really look at the ingredients and try to stick to whole foods."
Kucinich - "Twelve years ago ... . Initially, it was for health reasons. Then it also became a matter of respect for the lives and the treatment of animals, as evident in (my) voting record on animal issues ... favorites are Tofurky's `kielbasa' and the vegan Gardenburger."
Actress Emily Deschanel - "Sixteen years ago, after watching (a school video about) the meat and dairy industries ... . I do eat some meat alternatives. I love (the wheat/soy protein) Gardein. You can only get it at Whole Foods. It's very tasty."
Actress Constance Marie - "No red meat (for) 23 years ... . Meat made my body feel heavy and bloated. I started to think, what's the difference between eating a chicken or your family pet? Both are living, breathing animals with a face ... . The quality of American meat is questionable ... . Veggie hot dogs are my favorites!"
Singer Chrissie Hynde - "Since 1969 ... . I cannot justify the unnecessary exploitation of an animal. I will eat whatever I am offered, providing no animals have suffered."
Marks and Spencer appoints eco champions to promote its £200m environmental programme
Marks and Spencer (M&S) has so far appointed 560 employees as 'champions' to promote its five-year, £200m environmental programme, known as Plan A.
Under the plan, by 2012 M&S aims to become carbon neutral, send no waste to landfill, extend sustainable sourcing, improve ethical trading and help customers and employees lead healthier lifestyles. The champions will co-ordinate the company's activities locally in M&S stores and offices across the UK.
read more
How about knowledge champions for CBL?
Under the plan, by 2012 M&S aims to become carbon neutral, send no waste to landfill, extend sustainable sourcing, improve ethical trading and help customers and employees lead healthier lifestyles. The champions will co-ordinate the company's activities locally in M&S stores and offices across the UK.
read more
How about knowledge champions for CBL?
Shape our ideology
Monday morning started with a healthy dose of mails and a pertinent, probing question about our ideology. Will copperbeech restrict itself to only the 'positive' and 'happy' side of life or will it take up larger social issues, which would be patently cause much distress and angst? The mail had graphical images of baby seals being hunted for pleasure.
Another asked if eating healthy food or enjoying a pleasurable moment in the restaurtant be considered conscious living when we continue to disregard such issues?
I accept the validity of both the questions - one questions how our ideology adapts itself to the 'real' world and the other, reminds us that all issues aren't 'equal'.
Briefly, my answers:
1. We must be aware of our 'role'. There's the television, the cinema, the newspaper, the activists, the eco-terrorists ... what role do we play amongst all others? I can confirm that we are for 'positive' awareness and action. We aren't for 'action against' - we are for 'action for'.
2. We must be aware of our chosen 'path'. Topics in themselves are not untouchable but what we do with them, would define who we are.
3. Yes, issues do come in all sizes - but better consciousness gives us the power to make decisions and sizeup issues in our minds and hearts. It gives us the power to make sustainable changes. Our perceptions need calibrating all the time. Could weight of one issue trivialize the other?
These are my personal views - I have also suggested a course of action but they aren't important for this discussion. I'll like an open disussion and here's your chance to shape our ideology. Please write with your thoughts and comments. What would you do, faced with information of this nature (baby seals being killed for fun etc.)?
A reminder:
Living consciously is to be active rather than passive - aware of and responding to one’s surroundings; to be open to perceiving the world around and within us, to understand our circumstances, and to decide how to respond to them in ways that honour needs, values, and goals. Living consciously is seeking to be aware of everything that bears on our interests, actions, values, purposes, and goals.
Another asked if eating healthy food or enjoying a pleasurable moment in the restaurtant be considered conscious living when we continue to disregard such issues?
I accept the validity of both the questions - one questions how our ideology adapts itself to the 'real' world and the other, reminds us that all issues aren't 'equal'.
Briefly, my answers:
1. We must be aware of our 'role'. There's the television, the cinema, the newspaper, the activists, the eco-terrorists ... what role do we play amongst all others? I can confirm that we are for 'positive' awareness and action. We aren't for 'action against' - we are for 'action for'.
2. We must be aware of our chosen 'path'. Topics in themselves are not untouchable but what we do with them, would define who we are.
3. Yes, issues do come in all sizes - but better consciousness gives us the power to make decisions and sizeup issues in our minds and hearts. It gives us the power to make sustainable changes. Our perceptions need calibrating all the time. Could weight of one issue trivialize the other?
These are my personal views - I have also suggested a course of action but they aren't important for this discussion. I'll like an open disussion and here's your chance to shape our ideology. Please write with your thoughts and comments. What would you do, faced with information of this nature (baby seals being killed for fun etc.)?
A reminder:
Living consciously is to be active rather than passive - aware of and responding to one’s surroundings; to be open to perceiving the world around and within us, to understand our circumstances, and to decide how to respond to them in ways that honour needs, values, and goals. Living consciously is seeking to be aware of everything that bears on our interests, actions, values, purposes, and goals.
17 June 2007
Gross National Happiness
I recently learnt a wonderful thing – the little kingdom of Bhutan tucked away in the Eastern Himalayas has an Index of Gross National Happiness! It was coined in 1972 by the former King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, who thought it better to base economic indices in his country on Buddhist principles.
Although I’ve never been to Bhutan, the place fascinates me. This little country has just 6,72,425 people living in it (Delhi has a population of 1,37,82,976!). Bhutan has 72 per cent forest cover – and most of it pristine. The government is a benevolent monarchy – Jigme Singye abdicated in favour of his young son last year, as he thought he’d enjoyed the throne far too long (33 years). But, more importantly, the country has announced it will be a Parliamentary Democracy by 2008 – and they are holding trial elections to train the people how to do it.
Bhutan was a dream-like cloistered haven all these years. It got TV in 1999, and the people are still expected to wear their national dress to work (a kilt like thing for men, and a longer skirt for women). It only allows 6000 chosen tourists per year and smoking is banned throughout the country. It is considered to be one of the safest countries in the world.
I do wish the Bhutanese can continue in their present state of happiness forever!
Although I’ve never been to Bhutan, the place fascinates me. This little country has just 6,72,425 people living in it (Delhi has a population of 1,37,82,976!). Bhutan has 72 per cent forest cover – and most of it pristine. The government is a benevolent monarchy – Jigme Singye abdicated in favour of his young son last year, as he thought he’d enjoyed the throne far too long (33 years). But, more importantly, the country has announced it will be a Parliamentary Democracy by 2008 – and they are holding trial elections to train the people how to do it.
Bhutan was a dream-like cloistered haven all these years. It got TV in 1999, and the people are still expected to wear their national dress to work (a kilt like thing for men, and a longer skirt for women). It only allows 6000 chosen tourists per year and smoking is banned throughout the country. It is considered to be one of the safest countries in the world.
I do wish the Bhutanese can continue in their present state of happiness forever!
Iced Tea and aspartame
Today my friend Leena and I decided to meet for lunch. The choice of restaurant was a Low Cal food bar run by one of Delhi’s most famous beauty therapists, Vandana Luthra. We had both been deluged with fliers and pamphlets proclaiming the healthiness of the food served here and decided we ought to check it out.
We ordered iced tea and then grilled vegetables and grilled tofu. Since iced tea in most Delhi restaurants comes out of a Nestle packet, I decided to check the antecedents of this one. The girl behind the counter assured me this was freshly brewed, and had fresh lemon juice in it. As the glasses came up (in plastic disposable form – but we’ll overlook that) we asked whether it had been pre-sweetened. “Yes, m’am with aspartame,” came the cheerful reply. Leena and my jaws fell and we sputtered, “But this is a health food bar – do you know aspartame can cause cancer?”
“No it’s perfectly safe – it’s a USFDA certified ingredient,” came the confident reply – and as if to bolster her statement she said “I’m a trained food and nutrition person.” Leena weakly tried by saying: “Don’t you know all ingredients certified by the USFDA are not 100 per cent safe for the health?” But we kind of gave up and moved to our seats. Oh no, I tried my bit by saying “Just do a google search on aspartame and you’ll learn a lot of new things.” (I’m recently obsessed with Google searches, after starting on the wiki articles!)
This is about the only low cal/healthy food outlet in the whole of Gurgaon (the enormous and fast-growing satellite city of Delhi). And this is what was being served and had by hundreds of people who have never thought any differently. My grilled vegetables too were floating in a sea of oil – with not a whiff of olive oil anywhere on the plate – so it must’ve been sunflower or corn oil. I wonder if they were deep fried in a pan, or actually grilled? I’m sure they wouldn’t allow me into the kitchen to snoop…
We ordered iced tea and then grilled vegetables and grilled tofu. Since iced tea in most Delhi restaurants comes out of a Nestle packet, I decided to check the antecedents of this one. The girl behind the counter assured me this was freshly brewed, and had fresh lemon juice in it. As the glasses came up (in plastic disposable form – but we’ll overlook that) we asked whether it had been pre-sweetened. “Yes, m’am with aspartame,” came the cheerful reply. Leena and my jaws fell and we sputtered, “But this is a health food bar – do you know aspartame can cause cancer?”
“No it’s perfectly safe – it’s a USFDA certified ingredient,” came the confident reply – and as if to bolster her statement she said “I’m a trained food and nutrition person.” Leena weakly tried by saying: “Don’t you know all ingredients certified by the USFDA are not 100 per cent safe for the health?” But we kind of gave up and moved to our seats. Oh no, I tried my bit by saying “Just do a google search on aspartame and you’ll learn a lot of new things.” (I’m recently obsessed with Google searches, after starting on the wiki articles!)
This is about the only low cal/healthy food outlet in the whole of Gurgaon (the enormous and fast-growing satellite city of Delhi). And this is what was being served and had by hundreds of people who have never thought any differently. My grilled vegetables too were floating in a sea of oil – with not a whiff of olive oil anywhere on the plate – so it must’ve been sunflower or corn oil. I wonder if they were deep fried in a pan, or actually grilled? I’m sure they wouldn’t allow me into the kitchen to snoop…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
