The One-Straw Revolution - Multiworld India

Instead of developing fertilizer with the farmer in mind, the emphasis ison developing something new, anything at all, in order to make money.After the technicians leave their jobs at the testing centers, they moveright over to work for the large chemical companies.Recently I was talking with Mr. Asada, a technical official in theMinistry of Agriculture and Forestry, and he told me an interesting story.The vegetables grown in hothouses are extremely unsavory. Hearing thatthe eggplants shipped out in winter have no vitamins and the cucumbersno flavor, he researched the matter and found the reason: certain of thesun's rays could not penetrate the vinyl and glass enclosures in which thevegetables were being grown. His investigation moved over to thelighting system inside the hothouses.The fundamental question here is whether or not it is necessary forhuman beings to eat eggplants and cucumbers during the winter: But, thispoint aside, the only reason they are grown during the winter is that theycan be sold then at a good price. Somebody develops a means to growthem, and after some time passes, it is found that these vegetables haveno nutritional value. Next, the technician thinks that if the nutrients arebeing lost, a way must be found to prevent that loss. Because the troubleis thought to be with the lighting system, he begins to research light rays.He thinks everything will be all right if he can produce a hothouseeggplant with vitamins in it. I was told that there are some technicianswho devote their entire lives to this kind of research.Naturally, since such great efforts and resources have gone intoproducing this eggplant, and the vegetable is said to be high in nutritionalvalue, it is tagged at an even higher price and sells well. "If it isprofitable, and if you can sell it, there can't be anything wrong with it."97