The Beginnings of the European Debt Crisis

904

The European Debt Crisis is now a major international problem. It has serious ramifications for the economies of all countries involved. But the question is, how did the debt crisis start? How did Greece, as well as other major European countries fall into such massive debt? Why was Greece so strongly affected? Many blame Greece for this problem; however, it was the situation surrounding the implementation of the European Union and the Euro and the Financial Crisis of 2008 that caused the countries to be in such massive debt in the first place.

            To realize why so many countries were affected by the crisis, one must look at the reason why they were so closely connected. The European Union connected all the countries in the Eurozone together. Its aim was to create a union that would be prevention for wars in the future. This is not surprising considering it was started shortly after the Second World War. In fact the motto of the EU says it all: “United in Diversity”. The founders of the European Union sought to create an economic and monetary union between countries that had joined. The countries would also be united by trade, which later included sharing the same currency. It was believed that this would contribute to peace and prosperity of the nations of the European Union. (Europa.eu)

            The implementation of the Euro paved the way for all European countries to be hit by the hard times. The Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in February 1992, was the beginning of the European Union as we know it. For countries to join, they must agree upon three major “convergence criteria”. First, countries must insure stable low inflation. Second: the country’s debt cannot exceed three percent of their GDP, and their total sovereign debt cannot be above 60%. Third: a country’s exchange rates must be stable before entering.  Joining meant that the countries would share the same currency: the Euro. Joining the union brought huge economic benefits; nations that had lower credit ratings could still borrow money at the same rate as all other countries. There was no enforcement ready to stop a country if it failed to meet any of these standards. In this way, the Euro allowed for large sums of borrowing money at low rates, allowing massive debts to pile up, with no enforcement that they would go away. (Voss) Because the countries were so intermingled now, any hardship would affect them all.

            This hardship came in the form of the Financial Crisis of 2008, which caused the world to go into a depression. Its major causes were the burst of the housing bubble, which affected the collapse of major banks. The housing bubble is when there is an increased demand with low interest rates, causing for a need for more supply. When the supply is finally made, in this case houses being built, interest rates become high, and demand drops. The supply is still high, and those with mortgages have an extremely hard time paying them off. When major banks and corporations bet on the wrong side in this situation, lending money without it getting paid back, they became on the verge of bankruptcy. (Furrier) The Lehman Brothers bank, the fourth largest U.S. bank, was extremely effected by the housing bubble, and filed for bankruptcy in 2008 (Investopedia) Banks in this day are not centralized to one country, they spread out over the world, and if they fail, have international effects. (Landler) The collapse of the Lehman Brothers as well as other international corporations intensified the financial crisis. It is interesting to note that both the Great Depression and the Financial Crisis of 2008 originated in the United States. Still both affected the world’s economy. This goes to show how connected the US is in trade and relations with other nations.

            Many agree that the “start” of the European Debt Crisis began with Greece announcing its debt. To be accepted into the European Union, Greece stated that it had a debt of 1.7% of its GDP, when in actuality it had 4.6%. (Voss) Greece’s government spending was huge. With the Euro, they could borrow money at low interest rates without enforcement. Public sector wages actually increased, and Greece’s government spent a huge amount on the 2004 Athens Olympics. At the same time, Greece was not making that money back because of widespread tax evasion by companies. Basically, Greece spent a lot more money than it made. When the global financial crisis occurred, Greece was already not prepared to take the economic shock. Debt levels were then so high that Greece could not repay its debt and was forced to ask for helm from other European countries. (BBC) On November 5^th 2008, Greece finally reported that their debt was 12.7% that of their GDP.

            Other countries were hit just as hard. The countries that are in the worst debt are often called by the acronym PIGS (sometimes PIIGS to include Italy). This includes Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The recession and debt has also affected the cultural life of the countries. The unemployment rate is up drastically, (Spain’s youth unemployment rate is 56.1 percent) which has resulted in numerous strikes and public discontent that have affected the government’s stability. (Burgen) Even though many attempts, for example bailout plans including large loans, have been made to solve the problem, there will be lasting effects from the European Debt Crisis.

BBC. Eurozone crisis explained. BBC News. 27 Nov 1012. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13798000>

Burgen, Shephen. Spain youth employment reaches record 56.1%. The Guardian. 30 Aug 2013. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/30/spain-youth-unemployment-record-high>

Europa.eu. The History of the European Union. European Union. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/>

Furrier, John. Bottom line: The financial Crisis Explained. Furrier.org. 20 sep 2008. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://podtech.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/bottom-line-the-financial-crisis-explained/>

Investopedia. Case study: The Collapse of the Lehman Brothers. Investopedia. 2 Apr 2009. Web. 30 Sep 2013. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp

Landler, Mark. The U.S. Financial Crisis is Spreading to Euope. The New York Times. 30 Sep 2008. Web. 30 Sep 2013. < http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/business/worldbusiness/01global.html?_r=1&>

Voss, Jason. European Sovereign Debt Crisis. CFA Institute. 21 Nov 2011. Web. 30 Sep 2013. < http://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2011/11/21/european-sovereign-debt-crisis-overview-analysis-and-timeline-of-major-events/>

How GMOs and the Issues Surrounding Them Arose

          Genetic manipulation of foods has been present throughout much of our history. Up until 1900, there was unknowing genetic manipulation of food; gatherers finding food from plants in nature and farmers planting seeds saved from domesticated crops. Then there was Gregor Mendel’s genetic theory, classic selection, which started to be used by scientists in 1900 to manipulate and improve plant species. Classic selection is when a plant of one variety is crossed with a related plant to produce desirable characteristics. What we have today is similar to classic selection but much more advanced, something called transgenic plants. A transgenic plant contains one or more genes which have been introduced artificially into the plants genetic makeup. They are often referred to as genetically engineered or modified (which can be used interchangeably), though there is some debate over this.  The modern techniques used for genetic engineering and transgenic plants, which have created this big issue over GMOs, just came into the picture within the last few decades.

It all started with the discovery of the three dimensional double helix structure of DNA in 1953, which led to the ability of scientists to identify and ‘splice’, or cut, genes from one type of organism into the DNA of another. The outcome of this process is called a recombinant DNA organism and the first one was successfully created in 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that genetically altered life forms can be patented and in 1982, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first genetically engineered drug, a form of human insulin produced by bacteria called Genentech’s Humulin. The first transgenic plant was created in 1883, a tobacco plant resistant to antibiotics. After that, genetically modified cotton was successfully field tested in 1990 and in 1992 Calgene’s Flavr Savr tomato, engineered to stay firmer longer, was approved for commercial reproduction by U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That same year, the FDA declared that genetically engineered (GE) foods are “not inherently dangerous”, and do not require special regulation, which is a big part of the problem people have with GMOs right now. The European Union’s (EU) first GE crop, tobacco, was approved in France in 1993 and four years later the EU ruled in favor of mandatory labeling on all GMO food products, including animal feed. This is something people have been wanting to have in the U.S. for years, another huge part of the debate. In 1995, Monsanto, the leading biotech company, introduced “Round-Up Ready”, herbicide immune soybeans.

Four years later GMO food crops began to dominate with 100 million acres worldwide of GE seeds planted and the marketplace began to embrace GMO technology at quick pace. Genetic modification was enhanced even further in 2000 when a scientist discovered that the process could be used to introduce vitamins and nutrients to enrich foods. A rather scary reality of the effects of GMOs made itself present not too long after they hit the market place. In 2003 a caterpillar was found feasting on a GM cotton plant in the southern U.S. which shows that in less than a decade, the bugs have adapted to the GE toxin produced by the modified plant. People call these ‘super bugs’ and are yet another of the many concerns people have about GMOs.

Today, the United States is among the leading proponents for the advancement of the genetic modification process, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all GM crops. However, genetic engineering is advancing and emerging all over the world. As of 2012, 17.3 million farmers were growing GM crops in the 170.3 million hectares of GM crops planted worldwide in 28 different countries—which is a 100-fold increase since they were introduced in 1996. In the U.S. 80% of many major crops are grown from a GE seed and 70% of all processed foods contain GMOs. Nearly fifty countries, including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and all of the countries in the EU, require labels on GMOs, and many of these also have severe restrictions or bans against the production or sale of GMO food. Yet in the United States, the FDA does not even require the labeling of GMOs in food ingredient lists.

The FDA does not require food labeling of GMOs because they decided that labeling was not required on the basis of the method of food production but rather only if the new food itself posed safety problems to consumers. Most studies show that the GM foods are safe for human consumption, but the long-term effects are unknown. People opposed to GMOs believe there has been inadequate testing and regulation and they are concerned that people who eat GM foods may be more prone to allergies or diseases resistant to antibiotics. This widespread public awareness and opposition to GMOs in the U.S. largely emerged in response to developments in Europe. The EU has in place one of the strictest systems in the world regarding GMOs, requiring extensive testing, labeling, traceability, and monitoring of agricultural products.

Trade problems are starting to arise between the U.S. and Europe because of the extremely different regulations regarding testing and approval procedures necessary to put GMO products on the market and when there is disagreement about their labeling and identification requirements. Although all citizens and governments in different countries want to ensure that GMOs do not pose a threat to human health or the environment, they do not agree on the best way to protect against these potential threats, and this is where problems arise. Right now there is a large part of our population that believes GM crops bring unnecessary risks to both humans and the environment and that they increase the corporate control of the food chain, while placing economic burdens upon conventional and organic food sectors aiming to avoid contamination.

Works Cited

"Genetically Modified Crops in the United States." Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. Pew Trusts, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Fact_Sheets/Food_and_Biotechnology/PIFB_Genetically_Modified_Crops_Factsheet0804.pdf>.

"History of GMOS." American RadioWorks. American Public Media, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/gmos_india/history.html>.

"History of Genetically Modified Foods." The Global Change Program at the University of Michigan. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/workspace/sect008/s8g5/history.htm>.

OLSTER,  MARJORIE . "GMO Foods: Key Points In The Genetically Modified Debate." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/gmo-foods_n_3693246.html>.

ONUSIC, DR. SYLVIA P. "The Current Status of GMO’s in Europe." Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/news_wp/?p=1752>.

Reid, Scott . "Transgenic Crops: An Introduction and Resource Guide." Transgenic Crops. Colorado State University, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://cls.casa.colostate.edu/transgeniccrops/faqpopup.html>.

Woolsey,  GL. "GMO Timeline: A History of Genetically Modified Foods | GMO InsideGMO Inside." GMO Inside | If corporations won’t label GMO foods, then we the people will!GMO Inside. Rosebud, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://gmoinside.org/gmo-timeline-a-history-genetically-modified-foods/>.

Human Trafficking v.s. Slave Trade

Po Chiao

Global Economic

Word Count: 947

Human Trafficking v.s. Slave Trade

            Have slave trade changes over time? Some of the time people will refer modern human trafficking as the same as African slave trade. Indeed, the do share some similarity, yet they still have fact that are different. People commonly believe human trafficking isn't that bad in comparison to African slave trade, since we all think that government pay more attention on this topic and are more capable of preventing this kind of thing from happening. However, these awful things did happen to us every single day. The worst part is that we don't really realize these things occur around us. According to UNODC (United Nation of Drugs and Crime), a conservative estimate of the crime puts the number of victims at any one time at 2.5 million and human trafficking generates tens of billions of dollars in profits for criminals each year. In addition, European countries and United States are usually were the victims been trafficking to and victims are usually from Asian country or the third world. In contrast, the slaves in the past are usually been trafficked from Africa to America. Furthermore, the most unfortunate statistic is that estimates range from 800,000 new victims each year according to U.S. states department. In contrast, only 80,000 African have been trafficking to America annually. Moreover, 40 percent of the countries where the problem exists have not convicted one person of trafficking charges according to UNODC chief.

            Modern human trafficking is definitely worse than slave trade in Africa. There are some reasons why modern human trafficking is so widespread and different from the slave trade back in that era. The transportation technology has been improved a lot since the 19 century. It is a lot easier for trafficker to trafficking human to other country. Unlike in the old time, it takes quite fair amount of time to traffic an African in to the states. Usually it take 40 to 150 days for African to been trafficked to United State. The improvement of transportation not only speed up the process of trafficking, but also spreads the range of the victim, since with better transportation, trafficker could trafficking other victim from other country beside Africa. Furthermore, the transportation technologies we have nowadays allow us to trafficking more people since we are now trafficking with bigger ship.

            Furthermore, modern human trafficking involves more in prostitution than slave labor. According to UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa, about 80 percent of these crimes are concentrated on sexual exploitation and 20 percent of those forced into the sex trade are under 18 years of age. This is a lot different from slave trade back in the days, since slave are commonly use in labor in farm instead of the prostitution. The raise of demand in agriculture in the new word urges the Trans Atlantic. African are usually been use as labor for harvesting crops such as sugar cane, tobacco and cotton. This might due to most of our factory nowadays are computerize.

The technology and medical advancement we have also enable the modern human trafficking to be worse than slave trade. Back in the day, 15 percent of slave will die on the way to America. Mainly because the bad condition and the lack of food they have. Usually there were rats and bugs everywhere. Drinking water and food are spoiled. Dead people usually lied beside living people, which is why they usually die from diseases. Furthermore, often times slave trader choose to fit as many slave in the ship which mean slave have their body touching each other. All this condition could be the reason why they couldn’t survive the 40 days long trip to America. However, modern human trafficking is more reliable and efficient. The death rate of modern human trafficking is less that slave trade due to the advancement of technology and medical technology.

            Moreover, lots of people aren’t aware of the modern slave trade. In fact, numerous amounts of people kind of assume that we live in a modern and civilize world that no one will possibly do this to others. Modern human trafficking occurs underground, which is why people are aware of it. In comparison, slave trade in 18^th is so conspicuous that everyone knew it, since slave traders were selling their slave publicly. For instance, usually slave trader will sell them in a fort, which is like a market essentially. Therefore, in that time era, people could really witness slave trade occurring. On the other hand, modern human trafficking could not be spot by people, which allow human trafficking to grow exponentially.

            The other reason why modern human trafficking is a lot worse is the worldwide economic crisis. Lots of enterprises have limited budget, which drive them toward using cheap labor from other country. According to Costa, the bottom line of so many enterprises, including the multinationals are using more cheap sources of labors than in the past.

           Overall, human trafficking inevitably still exists in our society. In fact, it became worsen than slave trade in the past. We should not ignore this issue. This is not just an issue for some particular countries; this is a global issue for all of us. Hundred and hundreds of child have been trafficking to other countries for labor or prostitution. Usually people think this kind of thing does not occur, as often, yet human trafficking doesn't discriminate on the basis of race, age, gender, or religion, thus, anyone can be a victim. Lets do this together collectively; we can stop catastrophic in out lifetime. Although human trafficking has been happening for century and century, we can still prevent this from happening, starting with our generation.

MLA citation

“UN Says Human Trafficking Appears To Be Worsening” Radio Free Europe., February 13, 2009

<http://www.rferl.org/content/UN_Says_Human_Trafficking_Appears_To_Be_Worsening_/1492561.html>

. N.p.. Web. "Communist Vietnam -- Human Trafficker Extraordinaire." American Thinker. N.p., 4 may 2013. Web. 9 Sep 2013.

<http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/communist_vietnam_human_trafficker_extraordinaire.html>.

“Slave Trade: the African Connection” Eye Witeness to History 2007 <www.eyewitnesstohistory.com>

The Turbulent History of Syria

Sophie 1087 words

As recently as the mid-1900s, the French was the controlling power in Syria. Surrounding World War I and II, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, France was among the Allies who made a grab for land and power in the Middle East. Like most of these occupations, it was short-lived.  The state of Greater Lebanon was established in 1920, and Syria was reconstructed and divided in ways that separated minorities.  It is around this time that Arab nationalism was rising, and protests began against French occupation. The French wanted to stifle the movement, which was mainly spearheaded by Sunni Muslim community. In an effort to slow the spread, new lines were drawn up and land set apart for the separation of the Druze, Alawite, other minority, and Sunni populations of Syria. This division is what led to the total lack of unity within Syria, and is easily traceable as being the root issue the Syrian war revolves around. Further, this effort to stifle Arab nationalism in Syria failed. In 1928, elections were held for a constituent assembly, which drafted a constitution for Syria. The French High Commissioner rejected the proposals, sparking nationalist protests.  These protests continued, and after British involvement, and murmurings of violence, nearly twenty years later the last French troops left Syria in 1946.

By April 17^th 1946, the French had left behind a new independent state. “The French policy of divide and rule had eroded the ties among Syria’s religious and ethnic groups, forging factions within each group and against the others” (Fildis). The results of this divide are seen today in the utter chaos and conflicting interests in Syria. From 1946 through the 60’s, Syria had at least twenty different cabinets and had drafted four separate constitutions. Many competing parties were formed at this point, including the Arab Socialist Ba’ath party, which Bashar al-Assad is a member of. It was also at this time that Syria’s relationship with Russia was formed, as the Soviet Union was an early ally in sending arms and other resources. Power became increasingly concentrated in the military, which proved itself most capable of gaining and maintaining power in the region.

The next traceable step in the history of the Syrian conflict was Hafez al-Assad’s rise to power in 1970. Often cited as being impressively bloodless, it still seems prudent to mention Hafez al-Assad imprisoned all previous officials not a part of the Ba’ath party. In March 1971, Assad was elected for a seven year term as president of Syria. By 1973 the first riots broke out in reaction to an amendment to the Syrian constitution that stated the president must be a Muslim. It is speculated that Assad used secularism as a guise to replace Sunnis in government with members of his own ethnic group, the Alawites.

A significant amount of the political dissatisfaction with Assad can be credited to the conflict with Israel during his early years as president. Previous leaders in the turmoil after Syria’s independence had taken a strong anti-Israel stance, as had most Arabs in the area. Under Assad, Syria took part in the Yom Kippur war, which among other things, pushed Israelis further into Syrian regions. Famously, the Golan Heights were lost at this time, which was a blow to Assad’s pride and perception of power. Initially promising to indulge in diplomatic talks to get back the Golan Heights, Assad proved himself very resistant to any diplomatic conversations with Westerners or Israel, and to this day, the Golan Heights are a part of Israel.

While Assad was playing foreign policy in Israel, Iran, and in particular Lebanon, trouble was afoot back in Syria. It is stated by many that Assad brought stability to Syria, though certainly through a rigid intolerance of dissent and the implementing of a police state. Still, though open dissent was repressed, there were many critics of the government. A serious challenge arose in the late 1970’s from fundamentalist Sunni Muslims. Their objections were to the secularization of Syria, and the rule of Shia Alwaites. The first violence was in June 1979, when the Muslim Brotherhood killed fifty Alawite cadets in a military academy. The first assassination attempt was made on Assad a year later. Governmental retaliation was carried out through a military unit who gunned down at least two-hundred-fifty religious dissidents in their cells in a prison near Palmyra. Most famously, dissidents rose violently in Hama, killing Ba’ath officials, and broadcasting appeals for united insurrection. Assad’s response was to level half the city. For three weeks the city was bombarded by tanks and planes, while police went from house to house carrying out specified executions. This massacre killed at least ten thousand residents, and brought large amounts of condemnation from the West.  After that, Assad’s power was absolute. He proved his shrewdness and utter lack of mercy. Protests ceased.

In 1994, Assad's son Bassel al-Assad, who was likely to succeed his father, was killed in a car accident. Assad's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, was "relieved of his post" as vice-president in 1998, after attempting to take power after Hafez suffered a non-fatal heart attack. Rifaat al-Assad was exiled for a time, and a civil war was avoided. Thus, when Assad died in 2000, his second son, Bashar al-Assad was chosen as his successor. He was elected leader of the Ba’ath party and the army, and then ran unopposed in an election, which he won at age 34, with what the government said was massive popular support.

Upon first taking office, Bashar al-Assad seemed he was going to rule more gently than his father. He promised to reform Human-rights protocol in Syria, and to bolster the economy, which had been poor since the fall of the Soviet Union. When Syria was swept up into the protests of the Arab Spring in March 2011, it was debated how Assad would react. Dissidents were calling for political reform, the re-instatement of civil rights, an economy-bolster, and an end to the state of emergency that has been in place since 1963. In May 2011, there were violent crackdowns in Homs and Damascus. In June, new parliamentary elections were promised, but no change came, and the protests grew. As many countries called for Assad’s resignation, and Syria was suspended from the Arab League, Assad has made no effort to reform or reconcile with his divided nation. In the end, Bashar al-Assad seems to be more a product of his environment than a transformational figure that could change that environment.

MacFARQUHAR, NEIL. "Hafez Al-Assad." Hafez Al-Assad, Who Turned Syria Into a Power in the Middle East, Dies at 69. New York Times International, 10 June 2000. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

<http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/asadd3.htm>.

Arnold, David. "Syria’s 1982 Hama Massacre Recalled: Lesson for Assad Today?" Middle East Voices. Middle East Voices, Feb.-Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/02/syrias-1982-hama-massacre-recalled-lesson-for-assad-today/>.

Guardian FAQ. "1982: Syria's President Hafez Al-Assad Crushes Rebellion in Hama."Thegaurdian. Archive Blog, 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/aug/01/hama-syria-massacre-1982-archive>.

News Middle East. "Syria Profile." BBC News. BBC, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14703995>.

Fildis, Ayse Tekdal. "Middle East Policy Council." Middle East Policy Council. Middle East Council, 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/roots-alawite-sunni-rivalry-syria?print>

"Bashar al-Assad." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Sep 30 2013, 09:12http://www.biography.com/people/bashar-al-assad-20878575.

History of Food Security in India

History of Food Security in India (902)

" Food insecurity exists when all people, at all times, do not have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life."

Food and Agricultural Organization (1996)

In nearly 20 years, India's rapid economic growth has improved their people's standard of living. The Indians have more abundant food choices than before. However, approximately 10.3 million people die in a year in India. Nearly 780,000 of these deaths are associated with the condition of the water; over 400,000 people died from diarrhea. This reflects the huge food security problem in this developing country. In reality, the deaths caused by food and food poisoning can be prevented. This requires that the whole food supply system to be taken seriously without corruption.

             Why is the food safety situation in India so terrible? The main reason is that it lacks a standard of food security. The joint committee on India's parliament reports that current laws and regulations involving food safety standard are not unified; the ministry of health, agriculture and the other eight departments have different food safety standards, they lack coordination. People are confused what to do to make food security system management better. It also lets consumers suffer. One of the most famous examples of an Indian food security problem occurred more than a year ago. In India, Coke, Pepsi and some domestic brands of soft drinks unexpectedly contained between 10-70 times of higher a concentration of pesticide residue than Europe standards allow. In fact, daily food in general in India such as vegetables and fruits, contain excessive amounts of the pesticides as well. According to media reports, in New Delhi, some children have diarrhea and vomiting after eating grapes. The reason is that the grapes have remainders of pesticides which have not been washed off. Three months earlier, according to a survey generated from the Indian Council of Medicine, 51% of food pollution was produced by pesticides. A year ago, the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi tested food intake of a few adult and 1-3 years old children in big cities. The result was that the pesticide level were higher than that of the prescribed standards.

A main cause of these food safety issues is that people do not enforce the laws and regulations seriously. In 1955, India formulated the "prevention of food adulteration act". This is a major law to protect consumers in the fields of food process, preservation, pesticide residues and packing. However, because the living standard and science technology have been improved day by day, the law was created half a century ago which means it has been out of date. In 1955, India's food processing industry was not very powerful; therefore, the food processing industry was not involved in the “prevention of food adulteration act”. Nowadays, with an increasing number of processed foods, semi-finished products and canned food, the government has not make a specific food processing security law. India has 14 issues involving food safety laws and regulations, such as "milk and dairy products management regulations", "meat safety rules" and so on, but most of the rules are mandatory. An India Bureau reported that they are responsible for drafting all kinds of food safety regulations, these rules do not have legal effect; most of them are too difficult to implement. For example, despite the government's strict rule that does not allow mixing pigment in processed foods, a group of red pepper exported to Europe last year was found containing carcinogenic pigment, causing huge losses.

            Also, India's public food security consciousness is generally weak. Phenomenons such as drinking tap water, using hands to eat and using a newspaper to wrap food can be seen everywhere. Simple food around the streets causes the spread of disease. Because many people do not have the habit of drinking boiled water, they directly drinking tap water or well water, leading to diarrhea, enteritis, and hepatitis. These become common and frequently occurring diseases. It is reported that there are more diseases in India than any other country in the world. Indian industry published a "current health status evaluation report" in at the end of a confederation. In recent years, some diseases once thought to have wiped out have appeared in India. In the meantime, the newly discovered infectious diseases are threatening national health. Communicable diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and pneumonia in India have an obvious trend if growth.

             Overall, food security in India can be achieved by paying higher attention to issues such as water management, making a standard of food security, enforcing the law and regulations seriously and aware about health in general. Although the new food bill is beneficial thanks to its basic food supplies for poor people, due to the facts that many people died and have food borne illness from poisoning food, here is a strong need to reduce the negative effects on food security in India. The government should find a solution to make the food quality better.

Work Cited

P.S., Brahmanand. "Challenges to food security in India." . N.p.. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/104/07/0841.pdf

Sujoy, Chakravarty. "Food Security in India: Causes and Dimensions." . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2005-04-01sujoy.pdf>.

Henk-Jan, Brinkman. "Food Insecurity and violent conflict." . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sep 2013. <http://ucanr.edu/blogs/food2025/blogfiles/14415.pdf>.

The Turbulent History of Syria

Sophie 1087 words

As recently as the mid-1900s, the controlling power in Syria was the French. Surrounding World War I and II, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, France was among the Allies who made a grab for land and power in the Middle East. Like most of these occupations, it was short-lived.  The state of Greater Lebanon was established in 1920, and Syria was reconstructed and divided in ways that separated minorities.  It is around this time that Arab nationalism was rising, and protests began against French occupation. The French wanted to stifle the movement, which was mainly spearheaded by Sunni Muslim community. In an effort to slow the spread, new lines were drawn up and land set apart for the separation of the Druze, Alawite, other minority, and Sunni populations of Syria. This division is what led to the total lack of unity within Syria, and is easily traceable as being the root issue the Syrian war revolves around. Further, this effort to stifle Arab nationalism in Syria failed. In 1928, elections were held for a constituent assembly, which drafted a constitution for Syria. The French High Commissioner rejected the proposals, sparking nationalist protests.  These protests continued, and after British involvement, and murmurings of violence, nearly twenty years later the last French troops left Syria in 1946.

By April 17^th 1946, the French had left behind a new independent state. “The French policy of divide and rule had eroded the ties among Syria’s religious and ethnic groups, forging factions within each group and against the others” (Fildis). The results of this divide are seen today in the utter chaos and conflicting interests in Syria. From 1946 through the 60’s, Syria had at least twenty different cabinets and had drafted four separate constitutions. Many competing parties were formed at this point, including the Arab Socialist Ba’ath party, which Bashar al-Assad is a member of. It was also at this time that Syria’s relationship with Russia was formed, as the Soviet Union was an early ally in sending arms and other resources. Power became increasingly concentrated in the military, which proved itself most capable of gaining and maintaining power in the region.

The next traceable step in the history of the Syrian conflict was Hafez al-Assad’s rise to power in 1970. Often cited as being impressively bloodless, it still seems prudent to mention Hafez al-Assad imprisoned all previous officials not a part of the Ba’ath party. In March 1971, Assad was elected for a seven year term as president of Syria. By 1973 the first riots broke out in reaction to an amendment to the Syrian constitution that stated the president must be a Muslim. It is speculated that Assad used secularism as a guise to replace Sunnis in government with members of his own ethnic group, the Alawites.

A significant amount of the political dissatisfaction with Assad can be credited to the conflict with Israel during his early years as president. Previous leaders in the turmoil after Syria’s independence had taken a strong anti-Israel stance, as had most Arabs in the area. Under Assad, Syria took part in the Yom Kippur war, which among other things, pushed Israelis further into Syrian regions. Famously, the Golan Heights were lost at this time, which was a blow to Assad’s pride and perception of power. Initially promising to indulge in diplomatic talks to get back the Golan Heights, Assad proved himself very resistant to any diplomatic conversations with Westerners or Israel, and to this day, the Golan Heights are a part of Israel.

While Assad was playing foreign policy in Israel, Iran, and in particular Lebanon, trouble was afoot back in Syria. It is stated by many that Assad brought stability to Syria, though certainly through a rigid intolerance of dissent and the implementing of a police state. Still, though open dissent was repressed, there were many critics of the government. A serious challenge arose in the late 1970’s from fundamentalist Sunni Muslims. Their objections were to the secularization of Syria, and the rule of Shia Alwaites. The first violence was in June 1979, when the Muslim Brotherhood killed fifty Alawite cadets in a military academy. The first assassination attempt was made on Assad a year later. Governmental retaliation was carried out through a military unit who gunned down at least two-hundred-fifty religious dissidents in their cells in a prison near Palmyra. Most famously, dissidents rose violently in Hama, killing Ba’ath officials, and broadcasting appeals for united insurrection. Assad’s response was to level half the city. For three weeks the city was bombarded by tanks and planes, while police went from house to house carrying out specified executions. This massacre killed at least ten thousand residents, and brought large amounts of condemnation from the West.  After that, Assad’s power was absolute. He proved his shrewdness and utter lack of mercy. Protests ceased.

In 1994, Assad's son Bassel al-Assad, who was likely to succeed his father, was killed in a car accident. Assad's brother, Rifaat al-Assad was "relieved of his post" as vice-president in 1998, after attempting to take power after Hafez suffered a non-fatal heart attack. Rifaat al-Assad was exiled for a time, and a civil war was avoided. Thus, when Assad died in 2000, his second son, Bashar al-Assad was chosen as his successor. He was elected leader of the Ba’ath party and the army, and then ran unopposed in an election, which he won at age 34, with what the government said was massive popular support.

Upon first taking office, Bashar al-Assad seemed he was going to rule more gently than his father. He promised to reform Human-rights protocol in Syria, and to bolster the economy, which had been poor since the fall of the Soviet Union. When Syria was swept up into the protests of the Arab Spring in March 2011, it was debated how Assad would react. Dissidents were calling for political reform, the re-instatement of civil rights, an economy-bolster, and an end to the state of emergency that has been in place since 1963. In May 2011, there were violent crackdowns in Homs and Damascus. In June, new parliamentary elections were promised, but no change came, and the protests grew. As many countries called for Assad’s resignation, and Syria was suspended from the Arab League, Assad has made no effort to reform or reconcile with his divided nation. In the end, Bashar al-Assad seems to be more a product of his environment than a transformational figure that could change that environment.

MacFARQUHAR, NEIL. "Hafez Al-Assad." Hafez Al-Assad, Who Turned Syria Into a Power in the Middle East, Dies at 69. New York Times International, 10 June 2000. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.

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Arnold, David. "Syria’s 1982 Hama Massacre Recalled: Lesson for Assad Today?" Middle East Voices. Middle East Voices, Feb.-Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/02/syrias-1982-hama-massacre-recalled-lesson-for-assad-today/>.

Guardian FAQ. "1982: Syria's President Hafez Al-Assad Crushes Rebellion in Hama."Thegaurdian. Archive Blog, 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/aug/01/hama-syria-massacre-1982-archive>.

News Middle East. "Syria Profile." BBC News. BBC, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14703995>.

Fildis, Ayse Tekdal. "Middle East Policy Council." Middle East Policy Council. Middle East Council, 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/roots-alawite-sunni-rivalry-syria?print>

"Bashar al-Assad." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Sep 30 2013, 09:12http://www.biography.com/people/bashar-al-assad-20878575.