i.want.world

All of the products are part of the generics at Loblaws a Canadian grocery chain that also includes Atlantic SaveEasy, a chain of grocery stores in the Canadian Maritimes where these photos were taken.

The visual effect of all the stores generics in the same basic yellow color scheme is amazing and makes the products easy to identify for consumers.  I love how the packaging looks - esp the white vinegar.  

Images via nick haus

France will lose its familiar green Agriculture Biologique (AB) label next year. New rules came into effect on Jan 1, 2009 aimed at harmonizing standards among the 27 European Union nations on organic agriculture. While the text seeks to simplify and impose common standards, the net effect for countries like France is to considerably lower the barrier for organic agriculture. According to a poll conducted by the CSA/Agence Bio in 2008, 85 percent of French people know the AB label and use it as a reference for consumer decisions.

Under the EU law, national labels will disappear in July 2010 to be replaced by a mandatory European logo, which is currently the object of a contest open to EU art or design students.

On the positive side, new products like wine, plants, seeds, yeast and aquaculture will be classified under the new label. The new legislation upholds the fundamental principles of organic agriculture: ie a ban on the use of chemical pesticides, respect for animal welfare, a ban on the deliberate introduction of GM crops.

However, a doorway has been opened to accidental GM contamination from neighbouring fields, on the condition that the traces of GM crops are less than 0.9 % of the total weight of the product. Furthermore, contrary to previous French legislation, pig and poultry farmers no longer have to produce at least 40 percent of their animal feed on site. Finally, the new legislation has fewer restrictions on antibiotic treatments (three annual treatments are now permitted. Poultry can now be sold at 70 days compared with the former minimum of 81 days and anti-parasite treatments are now allowed.

French organic producers, for their part, intend to roll out their own, more demanding set of criteria starting from January 2010 in order to maintain their high standards. Standards aside, it is worth noting that France – Europe’s top pesticide user – is a big laggard when it comes to organic agriculture in terms of surface area planted. Only 2 percent of land in France is farmed organically, compared with the European average of 4-5 percent. Best performers among the 27 are Austria (13 percent), Estonia, Latvia and Italy (9 percent) and Greece (8 percent).

The idea is simple. French artist Sébastien Bouchard embellished an African calabash bowl with hand-painted Louis Vuitton monograms then took pictures of it.

It suddenly makes sense.

• A "character" argument: "local and independent businesses have more individual character" and "are owned by your friends and neighbours. "
• An environmental argument: "it takes much less carbon to haul a truck from a few towns over than from halfway across the country. "
• An economic argument: studies show that "locally-owned businesses put about twice as much money back into the community as the chains do."

I can understand the first two as valid reasons to buy local, but I question the third.  No doubt there is a short-term economic boost to a particular community if people start buying local, and part of this may come from locally-owned businesses putting more money "back into the community." 

But it seems to me that the inevitable response will be that other communities start buying local, too, which means that the first community loses a portion of its "export" markets.  On balance, I don't think we are better off with an economy characterized by lots of small, regional markets that don't trade much with each other.

The Lowy Institute can fill in this gap, at least with regard to Australian opinion. We asked Australians in July 2008, 'If it helped solve climate change, how much extra would you be willing to pay each month on your electricity bill?'  

As always, the public wants government to give it something for almost nothing. One suspects that global opinion would not be much different.

And thus the clamour for governments to 'do something' disappears in a puff of smoke. It's really not so surprising — if the public clamour for action implied in the WorldPublicOpinion.org poll was real, then a lot more would already have happened and Copenhagen would look like a cakewalk right now.

via The Interpreter by Sam Roggeveen on 7/30/09

Follow his funkyzeit tour nach wien! Find the best tools for your pleasure and relaxation thereafter.

More