FOOTLOOSE FOOD - MEAT: A Benign Extravagance - page 164

Here are two writers, one American, one Indian: one an enthusiastic carnivore, advan-
cing the interests of the poor; and the other coming from from a Hindu/ Gandhian tradi-
tion proclaiming her 'belief in vegetarianism', and advancing the interests of the environ-
ment. Yet they are in agreement that India is a 'cow-dung economy' and a cow-transpor-
ted economy. The meat-eating anthropologist actively supports an ill-enforced vegetarian
ideology; the vegetarian minister is careful never to make an anti-carnivore statement. And
both agree that a policy which concentrates India's commons into carcases and sells them
off to wealthy consumers will be her ruin.
1 Incidentally the word 'assets' comes from the Latin ad satis meaning 'enough', compare French assez .
2 FAO (2009), Livestock in the Balance , State of Food and Agriculture Report for 2009 (SOFA 2009), unpublished
consultation draft, 11 August 2009, p 33.
3 Pichler, F et al (2006), First European Quality of Life Survey: Urban Rural Differences , European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
4 Harris, Marvin (1986), Good to Eat , Allen and Unwin, p 14.
5 Renehma, Majid (1992), 'Participation' in W Sachs ed, The Development Dictionary , Zed Books.
6 Trevelyan, G M (1944), A Social History of England , Longmans, 1944, p 23.
7 This is the voice of Will Waterson, 18th-century schoolmaster, speaking on behalf of his neighbouring poacher/peas-
ant farmers. Thompson, E P (1976), Whigs and Hunters , Allen Lane.
8 Hammond, J L and Barbara (1911), The Village Labourer , Guild, 1948.
9 See for example the magnificent collection of material at the poaching museum in St Pancraz, Austria.
10 Ortega y Gasset, José (1942), Meditations on Hunting , Wildlife Adventures Press, 1995, p 40.
11 Gadgil, Madhav and Guha, Ramachandra (1993), This Fissured Land , Oxford University Press.
12 Goodall, J (2004), 'When Primates become Bushmeat', World Watch , July/August 2004.
13

United Fishermen of Alaska (2007), 'Subsistence Basics', Subsistence Management Information , ht-

tp://www.subsistmgtinfo.org/index.htm
14 United Fishermen of Alaska (2007), ' Federal or State', Subsistence Management Information, ht-

tp://www.subsistmgtinfo.org/index.htm
15 Hardin, Garrett (1968), 'The Tragedy of the Commons', Science , December 1968. Gordon, H Scott (1954), 'The
Economic Theory of a Common Property Resource: The Fishery', Journal of Political Economy , 62:2, pp 124-42; and
Christy, F and Scott, A (1965), The Commonwealth in Ocean Fisheries , Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
16 Edward Loayza, cited in The Ecologist , Vol No 2/3 March-June 1995, p 42; exactly the same words are used
by FAO Director General Jacques Diouf in J Diouf (2001), FAO Director General: Too Many Vessels Chasing Too
Few Fish , Reykjavik Conference on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, 2 October 2001, reported at ht-
tp://www.waddenzee.nl
17 The ultimate form of marine enclosure is fish-farming. In the 'cage system, areas of ocean or inland waters are
literally fenced off to provide an area for the private rearing of fish or other sea creatures; in other cases fish are reared
in excavated lakes or ponds. Like terrestrial farmers, fish farmers provide their stock with feed, and protect them from
disease with chemicals. The farming of fish is often advocated as a sustainable option because their feed conversion ratio