By: Johnathan Hutchison
Published: November 14, 2010
The New York Times
Summary: This article explains the crisis mode problem in New Zealand. A destructive canker, known as PSA, is critically threatening to destroy the kiwi farming industry in New Zealand. The industry, worth $1.2 billion, is a local economy monument in a lot of New Zealand towns. The bacterial disease was first discovered in Japan 25 years ago and has four known strains with varying levels of virulence. Kiwi industry growers are still awaiting test results for which strain is being dealt with. The public has been urged to avoid kiwi orchards as the disease can be spread through humans and other agents. The PSA disease affects the vine of the fruit, not the fruit itself. Affects may vary due to the strain of the disease and the local climate. A recent happening of the PSA disease in Italy has an estimated cost of $2.7 million. If a cost like that were to hit New Zealand, the crown jewel of the New Zealand economy could take a serious hit. Many local people of New Zealand who rely on the kiwi orchard industry for their livelihoods are seriously concerned. Experts do believe however that some way, some how the industry could survive.
Opinion: This tragedy is very bad for not only the industry, but also for the people of New Zealand. Their economy could make a turn for the worse and possibly never be able to regain its footing. This canker disease is hurting a lot of people and depending on the strain of the disease, it could end up harming them physically and emotionally. If kiwi is the prime crop in New Zealand, then a lot of people eat it and this food shortage could add fire to an exposed flame. To my knowledge, New Zealand is a small nation and this incident could tip them over the edge. Developed nations should help out New Zealand a little bit if need be.
Questions:
1. Should nations help New Zealand? If so, how can they help them?
2. Will New Zealand overcome this with little to no damage?
3. How could importing and exporting nations of New Zealand be affected by this?
After reading Zach's summary of the article I learned that New Zealand has a large industry of kiwi. Their industry is worth $1.2 billion which is a lot of money. It is shocking that a disease is being spread through the kiwi's and can be spread to humans and other agents. This disease could be very detrimental to New Zealand's population if not contained. It worries me that New Zealand's economy could be ruined. This article reminds me of the United States at the moment because of our economy struggles we are going through. If PSA destroys the kiwi industry then their economy will be just like ours. So many people are affected by the economy. In my life, my dad is being affected since he is recently laid off. Hopefully PSA will be contained and New Zealand won't be in danger. I agree with Zach that developed nations should help New Zealand out a little bit.
ReplyDeleteIn this picture New Zealand is located at the bottom center. In contrast to the rest of the world, it is very small. Just a little incident like PSA could destroy their nation...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/student//images/worldmap_lg.jpg
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand's economy could be completely devastated because of this disease. Even if the disease is taken care of, people have already been warned to avoid kiwi fruits. As a result of this, the economy will plummet since kiwi is New Zealand's main industry. This article reminded me of the lettuce recall the United States experienced not long ago. People were warned not to come in contact with lettuce, just as citizens of New Zealand have been warned to avoid kiwis. Lettuce is very commonly eaten here, thus it was shocking and weird to me when I was not allowed to eat it. New Zealand citizens must feel the same way since kiwi is very important to them. Although this disease could be devastating to their economy, I believe other fruits will emerge from the woodwork to help stimulate the economy.
Answer to Question 1:
Yes, other nations should definitely help New Zealand. When nations go into times of turmoil, other developed nations are obligated to help out. They can help out by researching ways in which the disease can be conquered. If scientists from all around the world work on the same issue, the solution will eventually emerge.
It's amazing how the environment can branch itself into places like the economy. The US itself is undergoing an economic recession and a small country like new zealand could crumble under a huge stress like that. I guess new zealands kiwi industry can be compared to a vital organ in the body. If that goes down, the whole country is soon to follow. And imagine the impact on the citizens. I'm sure that they were affected greatly, presuming that one of their primary foods are kiwis. It's just like taking fish from Japan, beef from the US; these peoples lives depend on it.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3: Importing from another county might have brought in some foreign disease to the kiwi industry. The vines, oblivious to the new disease, could not have recognized the new strand of bacteria. Therefore, the vines of the kiwis had no chance to fight off the disease, ultimately affecting the fruit itself.