The Full Food Picture

If the worldwide events of the last 18 months in particular have taught us anything, it is that social media should no longer be under-estimated as a medium of leverage and influence. From the Egyptian revolution, to the London riots, to the continuing Greek debt crisis, the internet sphere of communication is sure to pioneer social revolutions from here on out.

This idea is evidenced as one youngster’s blog is banned in Scotland, with the effect that the already popular NeverSeconds site has become an overnight sensation and many have rallied behind the posts.

The premise behind the blog is a primary school child taking pictures of her school dinners each lunchtime, uploading them to her blog alongside health ratings, mouthfuls, pricing and other details about the meal.

In the past month, the blog has managed to secure support and interest around the world, young Martha – known online as ‘Veg’ – has been inundated with images of school meals from across the world, with those who forward photos applying the blog’s standards of information about each meal.

Such an easy concept, the blog has not only risen to prominence on the internet, but has caught the attention of important chefs, such as Jamie Oliver.

Yet, the Argyll and Bute council banned the youngster from uploaded pictures of the school food to her blog following a local newspaper article on the site with the headline “Time to fire the dinner ladies”. The council issued a statement in which it explained that since coverage of the blog had raised issues and concern for the jobs of catering staff at the school, a decision had been made to stop photos being taken. In addition it suggested that “The photographic images uploaded appear to only represent a fraction of the choices available to pupils”.

Controversially banning the blog has sparked an internet wide rally to arms to lift the ban on Martha’s blog, which not only worked, but has generated many tens of thousands of pounds for Martha’s chosen charity, Mary’s meals. The amount raised at the time of writing is in excess of £30,000, up from just £2,000 (a mean feat for a primary school child) on Thursday.

Banning the blog appears to have been a rash and ill-considered decision by council officials. Whilst their claim that the subjective opinions of Martha have caused concern and worry to the staff need be considered, the child and her father had previously sought permission to start up the blog, which the school granted. Withdrawing that right only seems to spark concern over the quality of food on offer all the more, as if the catering companies and canteen staff have something to hide (Martha never found any hair in her food at least!).

Over the course of the blog, the quality of the food that Martha has photographed appears to gradually be improving, which suggests that the school were considering the impacts of the site and changing their services for the better – a move to be commended if anything.

Moreover, it appears to me that the council have failed to capitalise on a unique opportunity of cultural exchange. The blog, receiving international hits and interest from youth to adults alike, could have promised to be the hub of a revolutionary scheme for school meal exchanges. With interesting dishes from Taiwan to Finland uploaded, schools nationwide could have used the blog as a sharing centre to encourage children to try and sample foods from across the globe, teaching about different cultures, healthy food choices and why diets differ to accommodate lifestyles worldwide. In addition, Martha’s blog could have been used as a social tool, allowing users and researchers the opportunity to investigate foodstuffs available to different parts of the world.

A Mary's Meals spokesman said: "We are overwhelmed by the huge response to her efforts today which has led to so many more people donating to her online donation page.

"Thanks to this fantastic support, Martha has now raised enough money to build a kitchen in Malawi for children receiving Mary's Meals as part of our Sponsor A School initiative and has broken the record for hitting a Sponsor A School online fundraising target in the quickest amount of time".

Freedom of opinion and speech needs to be extended to the internet, and it strikes me that this was a grave infringement on the very purpose of the expressionist mode of the blog. Fortunately, in this case, the block backfired and promoted further visits to the site in question; but should the internet become a zone of censorship, there could be grave implications for freedom of expression.

In this case, the collective communities of blogs, Twitter, Facebook and social medias used the arsenal at their disposal to repeal the ban and this is testament to the way in which these domains are becoming more integrated into society not only as a record of our lives, but a historical record of our times, our generation and the momentous occasions to which we bear witness. 

Downgraded European Economies is a Punishment for Germany.

As the Eiffel Tower sits overlooking the Seine in the centre of Europe’s capital of love, it appears that Standard and Poor, the international credit rating agency, have fallen out of love with the French capital.  

Downgrading of nine European Union economies last week did not come as a surprise, per se, but remained a bitter blow, especially to the second largest Eurozone economy. Rating changes for nine countries highlights the need for new austerity measures, before introducing growth plans.

Perhaps this is the reason Britain remains unchanged in S&P’s poll: Cameron’s government moved quickly to introduce cuts and the fact that these measures have been undertaken without direction has been rewarded from the worldwide monetary agency.

Without doubt, Britain’s position is far from safe: while the short term consequences see a gain in GBP strength and trade prospects on an international scale, the intrinsically linked economies of Europe are a fragile set of dominos. A single collapse at this stage of the crisis could prove the kindling for an explosive series of economic shortcomings and bailouts.

Indeed, plans introduced to cancel 70% of Greece’s debt last Friday are but moves to buy time for the Euro and all related economies.

Whilst it is believed the move may help Greece to start to implement new means of recovery that will slowly abate the spread of financial interdependence, the wiping of such an astronomical figure from the central funds of Europe is equivalent to pulling the plug on a vast resource of wealth. With fewer countries classified AAA, the missing money could prove to be nigh on impossible to replace, meaning that it would undermine the significant advances made in industry over 2011.

Should such an econopocalyptic event pass, it is likely to trigger debt that cannot be undone within our lifetimes.

France’s image as one half of the economic megaforce upholding the Eurozone has now been shattered. Sarkozy’s right to stand on a podium alongside Merkel has been removed: former foes had been presenting a united front as the 17 countries that use the euro face their biggest crisis since World War II. Now, whilst a blow for the president, concerns should shift from where France went wrong to where Germany now finds itself.

Economically, Germany is on the precipice before the abyss. All of Europe looks to its €211 billion ($267.32 billion) contribution to the Eurozone rescue fund as a source of saviour. Although Luxembourg, Finland and the Netherlands all maintain their AAA rating in addition to Germany, the mother of the Rhineland is able to boast a donation to the Eurofund that is more than treble that of the other three combined.

Germany is once again isolated in the centre of countries that threaten it: no longer the supposed threat of invasion, but the threat of siphoning all the funds possible for ulterior economic issues.

Relative strengths and weaknesses of key economies have been realigned by the changes and Germany becomes more vulnerable to credit crisis the more that its own funds are charged with the duty not only of small periphery nations, such as Greece and Portugal, but large central blocs, as France and Italy.

Any increase in bailout costs comes from German pockets and this appears to be something that the German electorate may not bear with merely a customary grumble too much longer. This could lead to potential referendums on the amount Germany puts into the fund, or even on the Euro itself.

However, the cost of breaking up the Eurozone itself could be catastrophic as billions of Euros are lost in every area from trade to administration and all problems in between. In fact, the relative weakness of the surrounding economies at least makes German products more competitive, which means Berlin earns more capital.

All the same, the opinion of the voter would depend on the projection of their outlook. Germany, likely to reassert itself as the strongest economy before European counterparts could still see benefits from a break in the single unit currency within a decade or two. Markets would always seek the hub of enterprise and exports offered by the central state.

The risks of both cases are, unfortunately, war. Ironically, the Franco-German alliance now enters a turbulent stage wherein the two countries sit on the crux of imposing a disaster on the rest of the economy, continent and world.

Should Germany continue to support its Eurozone counterparts, there may emerge a sentiment of anger and resentment that would see a war break out due to a lack of appeasement. On the other hand, if Germany were to break its ties, it could grow strong amidst a state of turmoil and seek further expansion in order to capitalise on new found economic prospects. And who could say that such a route would be devastating – the application of German stratagems could provide economic balance further than its current boundaries. Or should Germany leave, other European countries may feel abandoned and declare action as a last ditch effort to prove their own flailing might in the face of German capitalist gains.

After all, one of the main contributing factors of the Second World War was the sheer amount of economic wealth that was drained from Germany by other European countries. But then, when have we ever learnt from history?

Sparkling over the night waters of the Seine, the Eiffel Tower appears an oversized, abandoned Christmas decoration, spreading little warmth to the heart of Paris, threatening to be washed away by the tide of debt on which it is founded.