雪兰莪滨海区菜农公会为了褒奖对发展农耕技术有功的有机菜农，特地颁发了一面奖状给李锦和，赞扬他转型种植有机番薯的成就。
该公会永久顾问洪国清在颁发这项奖状的时候指出，希望李锦和的技术转型可以作为农友的典范，鼓励更加多农友进行技术提升，同时证明滨海区菜农已经拥有转型的技术模式，向科技农业迈进一大步。
李锦和种植有机番薯将近5年，不但在技术取得突破，而且坚持不用农药和化肥，以传统的方法进行生产。他所生产的有机番薯也受到公众认同，而深入消费者的饮食生活中，成为仁嘉隆东禅寺慈善活动的义卖项目之一。
李锦和已经着手向农业部申请SOM有机认证，期望一纸证书，可以证明他的番薯是符合有机标准之外，也落实他为社会种植健康无毒蔬菜的心愿。
The fight to ban genetically modified foods has won more converts -- some employees of Monsanto the company that is doing the most to promote GM products.
The Independent newspaper reports that there is a notice in the cafeteria of the Monsanto pharmaceutical factory is High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, advising customers "as far as practicable, GM soya and maize (has been removed) from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve."
The notice was posted by the Sutcliffe Catering Group.
Monsanto confirms the authenticity of the notice, but company spokesman Tony Coombes says the only reason for the GM-free foods is because the company "believes in choice." Coombes says in other Monsanto locations employees are happy to eat GM foods because they are "sprayed with fewer chemicals."
Adrian Bebb with Friends of the Earth says the notice in the Buckinghamshire plant is hard to misinterpret. "The public has made its concerns about GM ingredients very clear - now it appears that even Monsanto's own catering firm has no confidence in this new technology."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/1999/12/22/gmfood991222.html
The break up of the Soviet Bloc in 1989 plunged Cuba into the worst economic crisis of its history. Cuba lost 85 percent of its trade, including both food and agricultural inputs. The conventional system of agriculture was highly dependent on imported pesticides, fertilizers, and farming equipment, and without these inputs, domestic production fell. This decline in food production, coupled with a drastic reduction in food imports, led to a 50 percent reduction in caloric intake in the early 1990s. Cuba was faced with a dual challenge of doubling food production with half the previous inputs.
Cuba responded to the crisis with a national call to increase food production by restructuring agriculture. This transformation was based on a conversion from a conventional, large scale, high input, mono-crop agricultural system to a smaller scale, organic and semi-organic farming system. It focused on utilizing local low cost and environmentally safe inputs, and relocating production closer to consumers in order to cut down on transportation costs.
Urban agriculture has been a key part of this effort. By 1994 a spontaneous decentralized movement of urban residents joined a planned government strategy to create over 8,000 city farms in Havana alone. The success of these gardens has significantly contributed to the easing of Cuba’s food crisis. In 1998 an estimated 541,000 tons of food were produced in Havana for local consumption. Food quality has also improved as citizens now have access to a greater variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Although the program still faces many challenges, urban gardens continue to grow, and some neighborhoods are producing as much as 30 percent of their own subsistence needs.
