October 1979 RAIN Page 17 Dear Friends at RAIN, The lett!?r referring to Karl Hess's November '78 article was As I continue to read all the back issues ordered of RAIN, I've come across references to Karl Hess's opinions regarding urban blacks and the role of middle-class whites in working with these people. I"d like to add a few comments which might serve as a postscript ·to my other letter to you. • from Jim Frazin, and appeared in our June '79 issue. In addition, there was a written response to that letter from Karl in the August/September '79 RAIN. I think the only successful alliances between blacks and whites occur when they regard each other as equals. People who perceive themselves as rescuers (consciously or unconsciously) attract people who perceive themselves as victims. As Eric Berne points out in his theory of transactional analysis, mutual resentment of the other role players sets in when the victims experience setbacks in overcoming their problems. To play missionary deliver,ing the gospel of appropriate technology to the downtrodden is to be judgmental about others' lifestyles. There are low-income people who will not accept a.t. at this present time. For some of them, still seeking their piece of the Aµierican pie, it is a truism that "one has to have lived in Scarsdale in order _to reject it." Even if people persist in what appears to be self-destructive behavior, I think we have to see this as learning experiences for them. .We certainly have our own tests to deal with. Who's to say who's any worse or better off, ultima~ely? It's better, I think, to make whatever knowledge we.have more accessible to people, open up options for them to use that knowledge, and, above all, try to avoid being part of their problem. Sincerely, Sandra D. Madden Soundly based contentions of the authors are: 1. Simplistic nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P and K) fertilization means malnutrition for plants, animals and men because either a shortage or marked imbalance of plant nutrients prevent balanced plant health and therefore animal and human health. 2. Plants in touch with exchangeable soil nutrients needed to develop proper fertility loads, structure and stabilized internal hormone and enzyme potentials, provide their own protection against insect, bacterial and fungal attack. 3. Insects and nature's predators are a disposal crew. They are summoned when they are needed, and they are repelled when they are not needed. 4. Weeds are an index of'the character of the soil. It is therefore a mistake to rely on herbicides to eradicate them, since these things deal with effect, not cause. 5. Crop losses in dry weather, or during mild cold snaps, are not so much the result of drought and cold as nutrient deficiency. 6. Toxic rescue chemistry hopes to salvage crop production that is not fit to live so . that animals and men might eat it, always World Food System Data Sheet, ·$1.50 plus $.50 postage from: World Game ,;,,,,.,_., 3500 Market St. ·' ~ Philadelphia, PA l~,l~f • The most up-to-date ev 'luation of food facts from production to consumption to population sta.tistics; ·etc. Poster format has matrix layout" of numbers and on the flip side graphic maps illustrate location and utilization of resources. Fact: Belgium-Luxerµbourg leads the world in fat consumption, with the U.S. a tight second, 174 gm/day and 168 gm/day. Compare this to 12.6 gm/day for Rwanda (Africa). Pocket c:alculator fun for ~he whole family. -TM New Directions in Farm, Land and Food Policies, edited by Cynthia Guyer, 1979, 118 pp., $9.95, from: Conference on Alternative State and Local Policies 1901 Que St., N.W. Washington, DC 20009 An excellent resource book filled with innovative projects and policies which promote an agriculture system that is decentralized, environmentally and socially responsible, and family farm oriented. Short introductory articles to the chapters outline the problems and the possibilities. Contents range from family farms and farmland issues to urban and consumer food policies. The tools are provided in the form of the names of people, _programs and publications that are doing it. -PC with consequences for present and future generations of plants, animals and men. 7. Man-made molecules of toxic rescue chemistry do not exist in nature's blueprints for living organisms. Since they have no counterpart in nature, they will not likely break down biologically in a time frame suitable to the head of the .bi<>tic pyramid, namely man. Carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic molecules of toxic rescue chemistry have no safe level and no tolerance level. 1f; " . , r--- • --·7 f ".- { J / ----. ' "Y . .//17 1y~ -- t ·\ ·_ -~ . \r ~-t ~ / In short: a cornucopia of excellent practical knowledge and advice for green thumbers from urban gardeners to country farmers. -TM -~ ! . =-- •' World Fertilizer Consumption 1974 ■ 150 kilograms per hectare and above ~ , 35-149 kilograms per hectare □ 34 kilograms per hectare and below
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