News in brief

News in brief
Image: The Creation of Adam, as reimagined by Pastafarians

Food system flawed says new book

 

 

A new book exploring the political side of food by a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney will be launched this Thursday, June 5.

In addition to being a key researcher at the Sydney Environment Institute, Dr Alana Mann also teaches media studies, public opinion and international relations at the Department of Media and Communications.

Her latest book Global Activism in Food Politics: Power Shift examines a grassroots movement instigated by the Latin American peasants’ organisation, La Via Campesina. The movement is campaigning for “democratic alternatives to an industrial food system controlled by agribusiness companies and the architects of unfair trade agreements”.

Fellow academic Dr Bill Pritchard, an associate professor in human geography, believes the book is a stepping stone to raising awareness about the dark side of food production.

“This is an important book for anyone interested in understanding the failures of the current world food system, and wanting to find pathways towards a better one,” he said.

 

Flying Spaghetti Monster wants legal recognition

The Australian Pastafarian Lobby (APL) has launched a campaign to make the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster an officially recognised religion in Australia.

This localised move came after a court in Warsaw, Poland recently overturned a 2013 decision barring the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster from registering as a religion.

An APL spokesperson who goes by the name of Cap’n Cannonballs Pasta said the tide was turning for Pastafarianism, with recognition of the religion’s legitimacy growing worldwide.

“We’re takin’ this opportunity to declare that we’ll now be pushing for the same religious equality in this kangaroo-infested land,” the spokesperson said.

As well as worshipping “a sentient levitating mass of carbohydrate-rich pasta” known as the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the APL website also describes the religion as aiming to “foster a more compassionate, just and moral society”.

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