iPhone with a wooden case. Trying to reconnect with Nature?

There are three things I would like to discuss in this space of consumption and creation of media in our world today. The first is the iPad, the second is a discussion of Northrop Frye and how we can apply his own theories to using technology today and the third is a discussion about what all of this could mean, and why technology is changing as we change, adapting to our needs.

The following image depicts cell phones before the introduction of the iPhone, and after:

From iDrugged.com

Although the image is mostly satirical, it is a good representation of how after one market-changing device is introduced, other companies almost immediately follow suit with a competitor. Each year, we see different versions of the technology we have begun to use on a daily basis. Not just new technology, but incremental updates to the technology we already have. We buy a faster computer, a new smartphone, a new tablet to make sure we “stay ahead” in order to stay current. It is not that cell phones from ten years ago are unusable or unable to make phone calls, but they become less and less relevant to a society that has begun to rely heavily on cloud-based (internet) technologies. The iPad is one of the best examples of a new piece of technology that is changing the landscape of communication, for the better. Before the iPad, tablet computers were not a new invention. For several years now manufacturers have been creating devices that did many of the things the iPad does, and look quite similar. So why is the iPad so immensely popular and has such a huge part of the market share? Although there are many reasons that people buy Apple products, Apple has also created an emotional experience with their products, instead of just performing tasks. The tablet is no longer about just writing and reading, it is about creating and consuming different forms of art in addition to performing the tasks we consider to be more mundane.

To discuss this further, I would like to make the thoughts of Northrop Frye relevant to this discussion.  Under the secondary concerns laid out by Frye, the iPad and media in general are most certainly under the context of secondary concerns. However, as we have discussed, making media contributes to our primary concerns as well and is very important to our being. I would argue that when it comes to media, we have primary and secondary concerns within our creation and consumption of media as well. For example, in order for one to assimilate in society we must have money, and if we do not have money we should have a job. Without a telephone, how might an employer get in touch with us regarding a job interview? Or, in today’s context, the example of the telephone is often replaced with the internet. This would mean that some forms of media consumption devices such as the telephone and computer may themselves be included under the umbrella of primary concerns, but at the same time, how far do these go?  Primary and secondary concerns in the context of legal human rights is a very interesting discussion.  There is a very important discussion regarding the internet and human rights happening right now, and I think it is one of the most important discussions we may ever have in media. This itself would have made a very interesting discussion topic. How long will it be until access to the internet is a human right? It seems that it may be sooner rather than later.

So, who is changing when it comes to consuming and creating media content? Is it the device, the human or both? For a long time, it was humans. From the invention of the book to the rise of IBM, devices were created that had a very definite line between what was technology and what were arts. Although these devices were invented for human use, they were not necessarily invented with arts as the core. In the 2000s, we have seen a shift away from this. The iPod is another great example of how the product comes back full circle to interact with the human companion. Before 2001, we had MP3 players and music consumption devices that were complicated and functioned poorly. With the iPod, the device was at the intersect between technology and liberal arts. This intersect has continued to be seen since then, and is most recently found the tablet computer and smartphone. Introducing “natural” on-screen gestures has had a great impact on how we use this technology and is most evident when we see a child use an iPad or an iPhone with ease and a very small learning curve (if any at all). The technology is so amazingly simplistic, one wonders how it has not been thought of before.

So now, what are we left with? In many ways, it feels like the most powerful technology we have ever used, but at the same time, it is technology that is simple enough for a baby. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. Depending on what our concerns may be, something that is a simple device for creating content may be the best thing that has happened for many people. It knocks down the barriers of content creation and consumption, and with more people creating and consuming content with ease, our world should ultimately become better. With this, our risk is that with great power from these simple devices, we also have a responsibility to be conscience of the temptation to become apathetic about how our technology works and who controls the content we create. So long as we can find a balance between creation, consumption and control, adapting to technology designed for every human to use will be an ultimately power tool in itself.

You’ll find this article in the Spring edition of Lifelines from the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

Recently, I found myself browsing a local big box bookstore with some time to spend before moving onto the next endeavor of the day. In front of me was a display of about thirty “diet” books, all of which helped you with the same goal, losing weight.

The problem with most diet books is that they offer temporary solutions in order to achieve your weight-loss goal. In time, without permanently changing habits we are bound to gain the weight back and reach for a new book. Perhaps that’s what some of these publishers want you to do.

In a recent podcast, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau – who returns to Toronto this September for the Vegetarian Food Festival – broke down the newest fad, the Paleo Diet. Wikipedia describes is as “a nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era”. It is a diet that has sparked dozens of new books over the past five years and gained many dedicated followers.

Although the thought of eating the same foods as our ancestors may sound alluring, the Paleolithic era was about 2.5 million years long. I can’t even imagine eating something from just a few hundred years ago, let alone picking and choosing randomly from a period of more than a million years and calling it a “diet”.

Worst of all, the paleo diet rejects the latest science on human nutrition by eliminating all uses of legumes. (I am not letting you take away my chickpeas and lentils!) It replaces these great protein sources with those of our animal friends – advocating strongly for the consumption of more animal protein. And you thought Atkins was gone for good…

Without belittling the good intentions of paleo authors and their readers, who are simply looking to improve their self-image and overall health, there is a better solution that can last a lifetime.

Dr. Neal Barnard, author of a dozen books on nutrition and health issues, says that plant-based diets help people to control their appetite, enhance their metabolism, and protect against heart disease, high cholesterol and type-2 diabetes. Dr. Barnard’s diet plan replaces high-fat animal products and oily foods with plant-based alternatives that are low in cholesterol and high in fibre. In just three weeks, people who adopt Dr. Barnard’s plan begin to see slimmer waistlines without having to count calories or alter their exercise habits.

And best of all, plant-based diets are no a fad. The evidence suggests that cultures who rely on plant-based foods for their calories have better long-term health outcomes than those who rely more heavily on animal sources. They’ve been around for thousands of years, and unlike the paleo diet, plant-based diets have stuck around.

At the Toronto Vegetarian Association, we provide the very best information about nutrition that is available to us. Since 1945 we’ve been working for you – with nutritionists, dietitians, doctors, and other trustworthy experts. If you, like me, feel a bit queasy when you see these mounds of diet books and need a real solution for improving your health, give us a call, open your Vegetarian Directory, come into our Resource Centre and learn from a trusted source that will always be here for you with information to last you a lifetime in health and compassion.

It’s made by the same awesome (plant-based!) people that designed the Veg Food Festival materials for the past couple of years. Last year they were all hand made with clay and then photographed them:

The amount of time these two put into their creative work is astounding – and appreciated! Thank you Lisa and Sean for all your hard work.

Exploring Ghana on a Safari in Mole National Park.

A soy London Fog from Sonic in Downtown Toronto.

A trip to Montreal in the fall reaps many rewards – especially when you visit the market!

A delightful lunch at Hibiscus in Toronto.