Dance troupe withdraws from Chingay 2021 after criticism over tap dance segment

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A good local example of cultural appropriation? creatively reinventing culture to keep up with the times or a case of bastardizing culture?

Qn: To what extent can any society claim to be great? (Cam. 2020)

A year when some retailers lost the battle for survival

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'fit' as in not just the biggest and strongest, but the one perhaps who can adjust and make changes to accommodate surrounding changes? Think how some brick-and-mortar shops go online to survive during the lockdown....

Qn: To what extent is human life in general about the survival of the fittest? (Cam. 2020)

Dreaming of a green Christmas

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Producing plant-based meat includes water savings of up to 99 per cent compared with the equivalent of beef production. Plant-based meat also generates up to 90 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions and uses 90 per cent less land space than their meat counterparts.

Plant-based meat alternatives also enable people to reduce their intake of animal-based products or transition to a vegetarian diet.

There are those who want to cut down on their intake of meat because of the high cholesterol, and with heart diseases being one of the top causes of death in Singapore, more people may look at incorporating plant-based meat in their diet.

However, plant-based foods are not necessarily healthier...such foods are "highly processed" and can be very unhealthy. Processed foods have been linked to illnesses such as cancer and high blood pressure...meatless alternatives are designed to emulate the taste, consistency and even nutrient profile of meat, and they may contain high amounts of saturated fat and sodium, which are detrimental to heart health.

Qns: 

1. How far should countries aim to be self-sufficient? (Cam. 2011)

2. To what extent are the rights of animals protected in your society? (Cam. 2012)

3. ‘We should adopt a non-meat diet for the planet’s health.’ Comment. (JPJC 2020)

Olympian dilemma for Japan

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Qn: Hosting major sporting events creates more problems than benefits. Do you agree? (Cam. 2005)

Cultured meat: No-kill products may be food of the future

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cultured meat, could pave the way for more sustainable food production and better food security.

Culturing meat could be an alternative to rearing livestock, which makes up 14.5 per cent of emissions from human activity

There is less need to clear forests for farms or grow crops for animal feed, and the process also reduces methane emissions from ruminants like cows, which release a lot of methane when they digest food.

culturing meat can be done in a smaller land area compared with the livestock supply chain.

it allows meat to be produced without slaughter. This avoids the need to confine livestock to small spaces, and reduces the chance of diseases spreading between humans and animals.

Cultured meat could also boost the resilience of import-dependent nations like Singapore, which sources more than 90 per cent of its food from overseas.

Critics have said the environmental impact of culturing meat - an energy-intensive process - is not definitively better than rearing animals the traditional way.

Qns: 

1. How far should countries aim to be self-sufficient? (Cam. 2011)

2. To what extent are the rights of animals protected in your society? (Cam. 2012)

3. ‘We should adopt a non-meat diet for the planet’s health.’ Comment. (JPJC 2020)

Saving Bandung's zoo from a grim fate

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Relate to issues on animal rights and the rationale for zoos....Connect also to 2019 Cambridge P2 AQ on zoos.

Qn: To what extent are the rights of animals protected in your society? (Cam. 2012)

Searching far for food security at home

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Consider also Singapore's "30x30" goal of producing 30% of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. 

The import of shrimp from Saudi Arabia exemplifies how far Singapore has been casting its net to ensure food security [Note also we import frozen chicken from as far as Brazil!]

According to the Singapore Food Agency, the country imports more than 90 per cent of its food.

Consequently, Singapore is a price-taker on the global food market. Such dependence can make the country vulnerable not only to price fluctuations, but also to outbreaks of food diseases, the closure of ports in exporting nations, or to inimical political changes. Diversification of food supply sources makes Singapore more secure as a society. 

Qn: How far should countries aim to be self-sufficient? (Cam. 2011)

Cell-cultured meat facility like a beer brewery: Eat Just

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"Rather than growing muscle tissue inside live animals, cultivated meat producers take a few animal cells and use a mixture of nutrients to grow those cells into a piece of meat..."As a result, we get pure meat, the production of which doesn't require antibiotics, doesn't require slaughter, and doesn't suffer from fecal E. coli, salmonella or other contamination."

the loss of the livestock sector would have implications on related industries, such as wool, fibre and leather, and impact rural populations that depend on livestock for income.

Qns: 

1. How far should countries aim to be self-sufficient? (Cam. 2011)

2. ‘We should adopt a non-meat diet for the planet’s health.’ Comment. (JPJC 2020)

Singapore first in world to approve lab-grown meat for sale

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Consider also the environmental and ethical impact of deriving food from animals the conventional way; think battery chicken or chicken reared in chicken factory.

Qns: 

1. How far should countries aim to be self-sufficient? (Cam. 2011)

2. ‘We should adopt a non-meat diet for the planet’s health.’ Comment. (JPJC 2020)

Looted horse head statue returns to China's Old Summer Palace

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Qn:  ‘Works of art which have been removed from their country of origin should be returned.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2018)