(1) Since I don't want to get dragged into discussing the science of coconut oil, all I'll do is to point to this link. There is a lot more being discussed about this: Is Coconut Oil Healthy? http://www.ehow.com/about_5101508_coconut-oil-healthy.html
(2) This is not my point: "Goans do not want to work as labourers and hence consuming coconut oil, and not doing manual labour, is going to be detrimental to the Goan coconut oil consumers." You are mixing up between my argument and your assumptions. All I was saying is that there are problems in getting skilled labour needed for coconut plucking. But this is certainly a solvable problem ... not rocket science. The latter part of the above sentence is related to your assumptions. (3) People dying of malnutrition in any part of the planet should be unacceptable to all of us, regardless where we live. Today, we have all the technology and more to solve such problems; but is there the political will? An obsession with what earns the highest dollars isn't going to fetch a solution either. (4) What a Toronto high school student *can* do is irrelevant to us and finding solutions where it matters. Likewise, *when* this technology *was invented* is equally irrelevant. The question here is what is *appropriate*, what *is being implemented* and what *is accessible*. Thanks to JoeGoaUk, we have just rediscovered a working ghanno in Canacona! It is relevant to the people there, and they're using it. That's important. (5) Your point is: "What Goa needs is a frame work that educates kids for the future. An education that enables a person to read and digest the facts. Goans are capable of much more than growing rice and harvesting coconuts." To this, I'd say, is it an either-or situation? Do we have to look down upon "growing rice and harvesting coconuts"? Who decides what "Goa needs"? And aren't there anyway all kinds of diverse needs within a diverse Goa (or any place for that matter)? Again, I do not see it as a debate of IT-versus-coconut oil. It's a question of appropriate technology, and technology which serves the people (not the other way around). I don't agree with JC's suggestion that hi-flying global Goans will not be encouraged to boost Goa's coconut productivity ... it all depends on what their priorities are, and what their interests are. Some may instead talk about olives, or gold, or dollars, or IT when we're discussing coconuts. For those who really want to do something, here's one example of what's possible: http://deejayfarm.com/ FN FN +91-832-2409490 or +91-9822122436 [email protected]
