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Large round bales of straw

Bundles of rice straw

Pile of "small square" straw bales, sheltered under a tarpaulin

Straw or hay briquettes are a biofuel substitute to coal

Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and basket-making. It is usually gathered and stored in a straw bale, which is a bundle of straw tightly bound with twine or wire. Bales may be square, rectangular, or round, depending on the type of baler used.

Uses[link]

Current and historic uses of straw include:

• Animal feed
  • Straw may be fed as part of the roughage component of the diet to cattle or horses that are on a near maintenance level of energy requirement. It has a low digestible energy and nutrient content. The heat generated when microorganisms in a herbivore's gut digest straw can be useful in maintaining body temperature in cold climates. Due to the risk of impaction and its poor nutrient profile, it should always be restricted to part of the diet. It may be fed as it is, or chopped into short lengths, known as chaff.

• Basketry
  • Bee skeps and linen baskets are made from coiled and bound together continuous lengths of straw. The technique is known as lip work.

• Bedding: humans or livestock
  • The straw-filled mattress, also known as palliasse, is still used in many parts of the world.
  • It is commonly used as bedding for ruminants and horses. It may be used as bedding and food for small animals, but this often leads to injuries to mouth, nose and eyes as straw is quite sharp.

• Biofuels
  • The use of straw as a carbon-neutral energy source is increasing rapidly, especially for biobutanol. Straw or hay briquettes are a biofuel substitute to coal.

• Biomass
  • The use of straw in large-scale biomass power plants is becoming mainstream in the EU, with several facilities already online. The straw is either used directly in the form of bales, or densified into pellets which allows for the feedstock to be transported over longer distances. Finally, torrefaction of straw with pelletisation is gaining attention, because it increases the energy density of the resource, making it possible to transport it still further. This processing step also makes storage much easier, because torrefied straw pellets are hydrophobic. Torrefied straw in the form of pellets can be directly co-fired with coal or natural gas at very high rates and make use of the processing infrastructures at existing coal and gas plants. Because the torrefied straw pellets have superior structural, chemical and combustion properties to coal, they can replace all coal and turn a coal plant into an entirely biomass-fed power station. First generation pellets are limited to a co-firing rate of 15% in modern IGCC plants.

• Construction material: bricks / cob
  • In many parts of the world, straw is used to bind clay and concrete. A mixture of clay and straw, known as cob, can be used as a building material. There are many recipes for making cob.
  • When baled, straw has moderate insulation characteristics (about R-1.5/inch according to Oak Ridge National Lab and Forest Product Lab testing). It can be used, alone or in a post-and-beam construction, to build straw bale houses. When bales are used to build or insulate buildings, the straw bales are commonly finished with earthen plaster. The plastered walls provide some thermal mass, compressive and ductile structural strength, and acceptable fire resistance as well as thermal resistance (insulation), somewhat in excess of North American building code. Straw is an abundant agricultural waste product, and requires little energy to bale and transport for construction. For these reasons, strawbale construction is gaining popularity as part of passive solar and other renewable energy projects.^[1]
  • Enviroboard can be made from straw.
  • Strawblocks

• Crafts
  • Corn dollies
  • Straw marquetry
  • Straw painting
  • Straw plaiting

• Erosion control
• Straw bales are sometimes used for sediment control at construction sites.^[2] However, bales are often ineffective in protecting water quality and are maintenance-intensive. For these reasons the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various state agencies recommend use of alternative sediment control practices where possible, such as silt fences, fiber rolls and geotextiles.^[3]
  • Burned area emergency response
  • Ground cover
  • In-stream check dams

• Hats
  • There are several styles of straw hats that are made of woven straw.
  • Until about 100 years ago, thousands of women and children in England were employed in plaiting straw for making hats. These days the straw plait is imported.^{[citation needed]}

• Horticulture
  • Straw is used in cucumber houses and for mushroom growing.
  • In Japan, certain trees are wrapped with straw to protect them from the effects of a hard winter as well as to use them as a trap for parasite insects.
  • It is also used in ponds to reduce algae by changing the nutrient ratios in the water.
  • The soil under strawberries is covered with straw to protect the ripe berries from dirt, and straw is also used to cover the plants during winter to prevent the cold from killing them.
  • Straw also makes an excellent mulch.

• Packaging
  • Straw is resistant to being crushed and therefore makes a good packing material. A company in France makes a straw mat sealed in thin plastic sheets.
  • Straw envelopes for wine bottles have become rarer, but are still to be found at some wine merchants.
  • Wheat straw is also used in compostable food packaging such as compostable plates. Packaging made from wheat straw can be certified compostable and will biodegrade in a commercial composting environment.^[4]

• Paper
  • Straw can be pulped to make paper.

Belarusian Straw Bird

• Rope
  • Rope made from straw was used by thatchers, in the packaging industry and even in iron foundries.

• Shoes
  • Koreans wear Jipsin, sandals made of straw.
  • In some parts of Germany like Black Forest and Hunsrück people wear straw shoes at home or at carnival.

• Targets
  • Heavy gauge straw rope is coiled and sewn tightly together to make archery targets. This is no longer done entirely by hand, but is partially mechanised. Sometimes a paper or plastic target is set up in front of straw bales, which serve to support the target and provide a safe backdrop.

• Thatching
  • Thatching uses straw, reed or similar materials to make a waterproof, lightweight roof with good insulation properties. Straw for this purpose (often wheat straw) is grown specially and harvested using a reaper-binder.

See also[link]

Agriculture and Agronomy portal

• Drinking straw
• Hay
• Straw (colour)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Straw

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Straw bales

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Masanobu Fukuoka
Fukuoka throwing a seedball at a 2002 workshop at Navdanya
Born	(1913-02-02)2 February 1913 Iyo, Japan
Died	16 August 2008(2008-08-16) (aged 95)
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Agricultural scientist, farmer, philosopher
Known for	Philosophy, Natural farming
Notable work(s)	The One-Straw Revolution
Awards	Ramon Magsaysay Award, Desikottam Award, Earth Council Award

Masanobu Fukuoka (福岡 正信, Fukuoka Masanobu^?, 2 February 1913 – 16 August 2008) was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures,^[1] from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly referred to as "Natural Farming" or "Do-Nothing Farming".^[2][3][4]

He was the author of several Japanese books, scientific papers and other publications, and was featured in television documentaries and interviews from the 1970s onwards.^[5] His influences went beyond farming to inspire individuals within the natural food and lifestyle movements. He was an outspoken advocate of the value of observing nature's principles.^[6]

Life[link]

Fukuoka was born on 2 February 1913 in Iyo, Ehime, Japan, the second son of Kameichi Fukuoka, an educated and wealthy land owner and local leader. He attended Gifu Prefecture Agricultural College and trained as a microbiologist and agricultural scientist, beginning a career as a research scientist specialising in plant pathology. He worked at the Plant Inspection Division of the Yokohama Customs Bureau in 1934 as an agricultural customs inspector. In 1937 he was hospitalised with pneumonia, and while recovering he stated that he had a profound spiritual experience that transformed his world view^[7][8][9] and led him to doubt the practices of modern "Western" agricultural science. He immediately resigned from his post as a research scientist, returning to his family's farm on the island of Shikoku in southern Japan.

From 1938, Fukuoka began to practise and experiment with new techniques on organic citrus orchards and used the observations gained to develop the idea of "Natural Farming". Among other practices, he abandoned pruning an area of the citrus trees, which caused the trees to become affected by insects and tangled branches. He stated that the experience taught him the difference between nature and non-intervention.^[10][11] His efforts were interrupted by World War II, during which he worked at the Kōchi Prefecture agricultural experiment station on subjects including farming research and food production.

Iyo, Ehime. Place of Fukuoka's family home seen middle right.

In 1940, Fukuoka married his wife Ayako, and over his life they had five children together. After the war, his father lost most of the family lands due to forced redistribution by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers and was left with only three-eighths of an acre of rice land and the hillside citrus orchards his son had taken over before the war. Despite these setbacks, in 1947 he took up natural farming again with success, using no-till farming methods to raise rice and barley. He wrote his first book Mu: The God Revolution, or Mu: Kami no Kakumei (無　神の革命) in Japanese, during the same year, and worked to spread word of the benefits of his methods and philosophy. His later book, The One-Straw Revolution was published in 1975 and translated into English in 1978.

From 1979, Fukuoka travelled the world extensively, giving lectures, working directly to plant seeds and re-vegetate areas, and receiving a number of awards in various countries in recognition of his work and achievements. By the 1980s, Fukuoka recorded that he and his family shipped some 6,000 crates of citrus to Tokyo each year totalling about 90 tonnes.^[9]

During his first journey overseas, Fukuoka was accompanied by his wife Ayako, met macrobiotic diet leaders Michio Kushi and Herman Aihara,^[12]:63 and was guided by his leading supporter and translation editor Larry Korn. They sowed seeds in desertified land, visited the University of California in Berkley and Los Angeles, the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, the Lundberg Family Farms, and met with United Nations UNCCD representatives including Maurice Strong, who encouraged Fukuoka's practical involvement in the "Plan of Action to Combat Desertification". He also travelled to New York and surrounding areas such as Boston and Amherst College in Massachusetts.

In 1983, he travelled to Europe for 50 days holding workshops, educating farmers and sowing seeds. In 1985, he spent 40 days in Somalia and Ethiopia, sowing seeds to re-vegetate desert areas, including working in remote villages and a refugee camp. The following year he returned to the United States, speaking at three international conferences on natural farming^[12]:343 in Washington state, San Francisco and at the Agriculture Department of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Fukuoka also took the opportunity to visit farms, forests and cities giving lectures and meeting people. In 1988, he lectured at the Indian Science Congress, state agricultural universities and other venues.

Fukuoka went to Thailand in 1990 and 1991, visiting farms and collecting seeds for re-vegetating deserts in India which he returned to during November and December that year to sow seeds in the deserts^[where?] for two months in an attempt to re-vegetate them. The next year saw him participate in official meetings in Japan associated with the Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil, and in 1996 he returned to Africa, sowing seeds in desert areas of Tanzania, observing Baobab trees and jungle country. He taught the making and sowing of clay seed balls in Vietnam during 1995 and attended the World Expo 2005 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.^[13]

He travelled to the Philippines in 1998, carrying out Natural Farming research, and visited Greece later that year to assist plans to re-vegetate 10,000 hectares around the Lake Vegoritis area in the Pella Prefecture and to produce a film of the major seed ball effort. The next year he returned to Europe, visiting Mallorca.

He visited China in 2001, and in 2002 he returned again to India to speak at the "Nature as Teacher" workshop at Navdanya Farm and at Bija Vidyapeeth Earth University in Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand in northern India. On Gandhi's Day, he gave the third annual Albert Howard Memorial Lecture to attendees from all six continents. That autumn he was to visit Afghanistan with Yuko Honma but was unable to attend, shipping eight tons of seed in his stead. In 2006, he appeared in an hour long interview on Japanese television network NHK.^[14]

Masanobu Fukuoka died on 16 August 2008, at the age of 95, after a period of confinement in bed and in a wheelchair.

Natural Farming[link]

Fukuoka called his agricultural philosophy shizen nōhō (自然農法^?), most commonly translated into English as "natural farming".^[15] It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "Do-Nothing Farming", despite being labor intensive.

The system is based on the recognition of the complexity of living organisms that shape an ecosystem and deliberately exploiting it. Fukuoka saw farming not just as a means of producing food but as an aesthetic and spiritual approach to life,^[16] the ultimate goal of which was "the cultivation and perfection of human beings".^[17]

The five principles of Natural Farming^[18] are that:

• human cultivation of soil, plowing or tilling are unnecessary, as is the use of powered machines
• prepared fertilizers are unnecessary, as is the process of preparing compost
• weeding, either by cultivation or by herbicides, is unnecessary. Instead only minimal weed suppression with minimal disturbance
• applications of pesticides or herbicides are unnecessary
• pruning of fruit trees is unnecessary^[19]

Clay seed balls[link]

Fukuoka re-invented and advanced the use of clay seed balls. Clay seeds balls were originally an ancient practice in which seeds for the next season's crops are mixed together, sometimes with humus or compost for microbial inoculants, and then are rolled within clay to form into small balls. This method is now commonly used in guerilla gardening to rapidly seed restricted or private areas.^[20]

Awards[link]

In 1988, Fukuoka received India's most prestigious award, the Desikottam Award^[21] as well as the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in the Philippines',^[22] often considered "Asia's Nobel Prize".^[23]

In March 1997, the Earth Summit+5 forum in Rio de Janeiro elected to award him with the Earth Council Award,^{[citation needed]} which he received in person at a ceremony in Tokyo on May 26 that year,^[24] honoring him for his contributions to sustainable development.^[21]

In 1998, Fukuoka received a grant of US$10,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund but the grant was returned because his advanced age prevented him from completing the project.^[25]

Influence[link]

In the preface to The One Straw Revolution, Wendell Berry wrote that the Natural Farming system would not be directly applicable to most American farms. In fact, Fukuoka’s techniques have proved difficult to apply, even on most Japanese farms, and is too technically demanding for most people to follow.^[26] Despite this, in the international development of the organic farming movement, Fukuoka is considered to be amongst the "five giant personalities who inspired the movement"^[27] along with Austrian Rudolf Steiner, German-Swiss Hans Müller, Lady Eve Balfour in the United Kingdom and J.I. Rodale in the United States.

One Straw Revolution has been translated into over 20 languages and sold more than one million copies^[28] and Fukuoka has been widely influential, inspiring an international movement of individuals investigating and applying his principles to varying degrees,^[4] such as Akinori Kimura,^[26][29] David Mas Masumoto,^[30] Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, and has significantly influenced alternative movements in the West, such as permaculture.^[31][32]

His books are considered both farming compendiums and guides to a way of life.^[33] His influence likened to that of a "strict and authoritarian grandfather figure" having a tendency to "theorize in a grand way" but not always be practical.^[26] Fukuoka theorized that any ecological system forms an extremely complex "network of relationality" and is a "holistic system", and this included farms themselves. His ideology disregarded causal associations in farming systems, believing that attention should not be on the crops but on the system as a whole. For example, he did not focus on the idea of "harmful insects" requiring to be dealt with, in his system the crops in the farm had to become strong enough to resist insects.^[34]

In Northern Thailand, his visit organized by a former student was influential in the rapid and widespread adoption of organic and chemical-free rice agriculture.^[35]

Criticisms[link]

In some applications, Fukuoka’s famous ‘do-nothing’ techniques have been criticized as “grow-nothing” techniques, leading to crop failures and requiring many years of adaption to make them work.^{[citation needed]} Despite its simple appearance, his technique has been described as sophisticated^[26] and in the initial years of transition from conventional, there is some loss in crop yield, estimated by Fukuoka himself to be about 10%.^{[citation needed]}

Critics argue that he was too focused on the "inner world" and its connection with nature, and did not give attention to the realm of interpersonal relationships or society which are also an essential part of living, and his rejection of mechanization was not justifiable for modern agricultural production.^[36] Fukuoka had few followers or associates in his own native country of Japan.^[6]

Family farm recent developments[link]

Family farm hill, Iyo, Ehime

His farm in Shikoku changed hands to his son and daughter-in-law gradually during the late 1980s, as Fukuoka reached an advanced age^[37] and his grandson now also farms. The family orchards of iyo-kan, amanatsu mikan and related varieties of citrus, and many more fruit and other trees remain.^[28] Many of his iyo-kan and amanatsu mikan trees are still growing, although some old iyo-kan were replaced by new varieties of fruit due to old age. Woodlands remain along with orchards, including some areas of wild vegetables still growing amongst them. Some areas of straw-mulched cropping continue to produce grains and vegetables.

The farm now also features an orchard area of ginko trees, shiitake mushroom crops grow on tree logs in shady woodland, and recent new plantings of limes, grapefruits, feijoas, avocados and mangos exist.^[38][39][40]

Some new experimentation is taking place but, for the most part, the family does not adhere strictly to Fukuoka's method.^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography[link]

• 1947 (Japanese) Mu: Kami no Kakumei (無　神の革命^?); First edition self-published in 1947 and re-published in 1973 as Mu I: Kami no Kakumei (無 I　神の革命^?), 280pp., 21 cm; New publishing by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?) in 1985 July ISBN 978-4-393-74111-5 and 2004 Aug ISBN 978-4-393-74143-6; (Religion (volume) (宗教編, Shūkyō Hen^?)).
  • 1994^[when?] "Mu 1: The God Revolution" Translator Alfred Birnbaum. Japan.^[41]
• 1958 (Japanese) Hyakushō Yawa・「fu*」Shizen Nōhō (百姓夜話・「付」自然農法^?); Self-published in 1958.
• 1969 (Japanese) Mu: Mu no Tetsugaku (無　無の哲学^?); First edition self-published in 1969; re-published in 1985 July as Mu II: Mu no Tetsugaku (無 II　無の哲学^?) by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?) ISBN 978-4-393-74112-2; again in 2004 Sept ISBN 978-4-393-74144-3; (Philosophy (volume) (哲学編, Tetsugaku Hen^?)).
• 1972 (Japanese) Mu: Shizen Nōhō (無　自然農法^?) - first edition self-published in 1972. Publication issued by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?) in 1985 Oct as Mu III: Shizen Nōhō (無 III　自然農法^?) ISBN 978-4-393-74113-9 and again in 2004 Sept ISBN 978-4-393-74145-0; (Doing-practise (volume) (実践編, Jissen Hen^?)).
• 1975 (Japanese) Shizen Nōhō - Wara Ippon no Kakumei (自然農法　わら一本の革命^?); Published by Hakujusha (柏樹社^?) Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan ISBN?; New publishing by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?) in 1983 May ISBN 978-4-393-74103-0 and again in 2004 Aug ISBN 978-4-393-74141-2.
  • 1978 "The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming" translators Chris Pearce, Tsune Kurosawa & Larry Korn. Preface Wendell Berry. Rodale Press. 1984– Indian Eng. edns. 30 yr anniv. 2009 republishing NYRB.
• 1975 (Japanese) Shizen Nōhō - Midori no Tetsugaku no Riron to Jissen (自然農法　緑の哲学の理論と実践^?); Published by Jiji Tsūshinsha (時事通信社^?, Jiji Press Co.), Tōkyō, in 1975 Dec, 310pp. ISBN 978-4-7887-7626-5.13-3.
  • 1985 "The Natural Way Of Farming - The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy" translator Frederic P. Metreaud. Japan Publications. Out of print. ISBN 978-0-87040-613-3.
• 1984 (Japanese) Shizen ni Kaeru (自然に還る^?); Published by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?), 362 pp., in 1984 Aug ISBN 978-4-393-74104-7. An enlarged and revised edition, 458 pp., in 1993 April ISBN 978-4-393-74114-6. Re-published in 2004 Sept ISBN 978-4-393-74146-7.
  • 1987 "The Road Back to Nature - Regaining the Paradise Lost" translator Frederic P. Metreaud. Japan Publications. Out of print. ISBN 978-0-87040-673-7.
• 1992 (Japanese) Wara Ippon no Kakumei・Sōkatsuhen「Kami to Shizen to Hito no Kakumei」 (わら一本の革命・総括編「神と自然と人の革命」^?); Self-published by Shizenjuen (Shou Shin Sha) (自然樹園 (小心舎)^?, One of Fukuoka Masanobu's own self-publishing publisher names) in 1992 Dec, 230 pp., 26×26 cm ISBN 978-4-938743-01-7; ISBN 4-938743-01-9.
  • 1996 "The Ultimatium [sic] of God Nature The One-Straw Revolution A Recapitulation" - English retranslation, less than 100 copies, no ISBN. Publisher: "Shou Shin Sha (小心舎)".
• 1997 (Japanese) "shizen" o ikiru (「自然」を生きる^?), includes an interview with Kanamitsu Toshio (金光寿郎^?); Published by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?) in 1997 Feb ISBN 978-4-393-74115-3 and again in 2004 Aug ISBN 978-4-393-74147-4.
• 2001 (Japanese) Wara Ippon no Kakumei Sōkatsuhen -Nendo Dango no Tabi- (わら一本の革命　総括編　—粘土団子の旅—^?); Self-published by Shizenjuen (Shou Shin Sha) (自然樹園 (小心舎)^?, Self-published), 2001 May. ISBN 978-4-938743-02-4; ISBN 4-938743-02-7; Re-published in 2010 April by Shunjūsha (春秋社^?) ISBN 978-4-393-74151-1.
• 2009 (bilingual) Iroha Revolutionary Verses (いろは革命歌, Iroha Kakumei Uta^?), Fukuoka, Masanobu's hand-written classical song-verses and drawings. Bilingual Japanese and English. ISBN 978-4-938743-03-1; ISBN 4-938743-03-5.

Journals and papers[link]

(Japanese)

•     (1937 Aug). "柑橘樹脂病特にその完全時代に就て [(A study) On Citrus gummosis (fungus): specifically in its Perfect State (sexually-reproductive state)]" (in Japanese) (PDF). Annals of the Phytopathological Society of Japan 日本植物病理學會報 (The Phytopathological Society of Japan (PSJ) http://www.ppsj.org/ 日本植物病理学会) 7 (1): 32–33. ISSN 00319473. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/lognavi?name=nels&lang=en&type=pdf&id=ART0003055436. Retrieved 9 April 2011.  - prepared while working at the Plant Inspection Division of the Yokohama Customs Bureau (横濱税關植物檢査課^?).

•     (1971 July). "私の農法(講演〔「近代農法の反省と今後の農業」セミナーより〕) [My farming ways (A lecture at the "Reflecting on modern-day farming ways and considering the future of farming" seminar)]" (in Japanese). Cooperative Research Institute Monthly Report 協同組合経営研究月報 (Cooperative Research Institute 協同組合経営研究所, Japan.) (214): 19–36. ISSN 09141758. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/40000735157/en/. Retrieved 9 April 2011. 

•     (1989 May). "生と死　―私の死生観― [Life and Death: My View of Life and Death]" (in Japanese). 智慧とは何か - 仏教の知　現代の知 [What is Wisdom?: Buddhist way-of-knowing Present-day way-of-knowing]. Quarterly Buddhism 季刊仏教. No.7. Hōzōkan (法蔵館^?). pp. 159-. ISBN 978-4-8318-0207-1. http://www.hozokan.co.jp/hozo/bookd/bukkyo/i_0207.html. Retrieved 9 April 2011. 

•     (1991 Nov). "砂漠に種を蒔く [Sow seeds in the desert]" (in Japanese). いのちの環境 [Life's environment]. Quarterly Buddhism・Supplementary Issue 季刊仏教・別冊6. No.6. Hōzōkan (法蔵館^?). pp. 52-. ISBN 978-4-8318-0256-9. http://www.hozokan.co.jp/hozo/bookd/bukkyo/i_0256.html. Retrieved 9 April 2011. 

•     (1993 Oct). "自然教に生きる [Nature/Natural/Spontaneous teaching for living]". 「日本仏教」批判 ["Japanese Buddhism" A Criticism]. Quarterly Buddhism 季刊仏教. No. 25. Hōzōkan (法蔵館^?). pp. 130-. ISBN 978-4-8318-0225-5. http://www.hozokan.co.jp/hozo/bookd/bukkyo/i_0225.html. Retrieved 9 April 2011. ^[38]

•     (1994 July). "自然農法のよる社会革命　—自然の心に到る道— [Nature Farmings' continuation's social revolution —The Path Leading to Natural Mind]" (in Japanese). 森の哲学 -　新たな宗教哲学をめざして [Forest's Philosophy - Toward a new philosophy of religion]. Quarterly Buddhism 季刊仏教. No. 28. Hōzōkan (法蔵館^?). pp. 176-. ISBN 978-4-8318-0228-6. http://www.hozokan.co.jp/hozo/bookd/bukkyo/i_0228.html. Retrieved 9 April 2011. ^[38]

Filmography[link]

• 'To Live on Earth - Fukuoka Masanobu visits India'. Director: Imaizumi, Koji. SALBONG発行, Japan 1997.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Masanobu Fukuoka

• Natural Farming Centre, Greece (Retrieved 8 December 2011).
• Natural Farming Italy (Agricoltura naturale) (Retrieved 8 December 2011).
• Fukuoka, Masanobu; Peek Through The Pines (1979). "A conversation between The Pines and Masanobu Fukuoka". Peek Through The Pines. Massachusetts, USA: Blog. http://thepines.blogspot.com/2009/07/pines-i-notice-that-youre-drawing.html. Retrieved 8 December 2011. 
• Aggarwal, Partap C. (2 February 2008). "Introduction to Masanobu Fukuoka’s famous book One straw revolution". Indian Stories For All. Whitefield/Bangalore, Karnataka, India. 2008 Oct. http://partapstoriesforall.blogspot.com/2008/10/introduction-to-masanobu-fukuokas.html. Retrieved 8 December 2011.  —He organised the first Indian publishing of One–Straw Revolution, with Mr. Fukuoka's permission, by The Friends Rural Centre, Rasulia, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, in 1983–4, on to many more imprints & translations.
• Fukuoka, Masanobu; Shibata, Katsuyuki (translator); Aoyama, Hizuru (translator); Gilman, Robert (interviewer); Gilman, Diane (interviewer) (Autumn 1986). "Greening The Desert: Applying natural farming techniques in Africa". In Context: A Quarterly Of Humane Sustainable Culture (Port Townsend, Washington: Copyright (c) 1986, 1997 by Context Institute) Sustainable Habitat 14: 37-. http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC14/Fukuoka.htm. Retrieved 30 November 2010. "an interview with Masanobu Fukuoka, by Robert and Diane Gilman" 
• "ON A GREEN MOUNTAIN - With Masanobu Fukuoka Sensei of Natural Farming -Copyright (c) 1995 Jim Bones". Oct 1994 (2006 archive; Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• "The Natural Way of Farming" and previously "The One Straw Revolution". (Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• Gandhi Foundation on the life of "Masanobu Fukuoka and Natural Farming – by M R Rajagopalan Posted on December 27, 2009" (Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• "Seed Balls by Masanobu Fukuoka 1997" YouTube 18:43 long video, caption: "Natural Farmer Masanobu Fukuoka conducts a workshop for making seed balls at his natural farm and forest in Japan." uploaded by Jim Bones (Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• Masanobu Fukuoka's influence in principles in humid tropical agriculture, titled: "The Five Principles of Agriculture " - farmingsolutions.org website; Retrieved 22 November 2010).
• The Plowboy Interview Masanobu Fukuoka July 1982 Mother Earth News magazine, US with Larry Korn. (Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• "An article on the pioneer of organic farming, Masanobu Fukuoka: Nature - Nature knows best" Life Positive, India. (Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• "The Fukuoka Farming Website", US. (Internet Archive search) "Dedicated to exploring Masanobu Fukuoka's revolutionary method of sustainable agriculture" (Retrieved 4 December 2010).
• (Japanese) Society for the study of Fukuoka Masanobu Nature Farming, Kyoto University, Japan –reference page by Shōjaku Mutsumi (Shift-JIS Japanese text character encoding). Collected details about Fukuoka, Masanobu's life work, nature farming and writings (no translation to English yet; nearly all Japanese; Archive of 2011.3.24 page; Retrieved 30 November 2010).
• Toyoda, Natsuko (Sept.–Oct., Nov.–Dec., 2008, Jan.–Feb 2009 (Jan.–Feb. 2010)). "Farmer Philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka (1) Humans must Strive to Know the Unknown (2) What Does Natural Farming Mean? (3) Greening Deserts by Clay-Ball Seeding (brief update)" (PDF). Japan Spotlight (Promenade section) (Tokyo, Japan: Japan Economic Foundation) (161, 162 & 163 (169)). ISSN 1348-9216. http://www.jef.or.jp/backnumber/161th_promenade.pdf. Retrieved 9 April 2011. 

The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2010
Leader	Harriet Harman
Preceded by	William Hague (Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet)
Succeeded by	Harriet Harman
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Shadow Lord Chancellor
In office 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2010
Leader	Harriet Harman Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Dominic Grieve
Succeeded by	Sadiq Khan
Secretary of State for Justice Lord Chancellor
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Succeeded by	Kenneth Clarke
Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal
In office 5 May 2006 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Geoff Hoon
Succeeded by	Harriet Harman
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 8 June 2001 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Robin Cook
Succeeded by	Margaret Beckett
Home Secretary
In office 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Michael Howard
Succeeded by	David Blunkett
Shadow Home Secretary
In office 20 October 1994 – 2 May 1997
Leader	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Tony Blair
Succeeded by	Michael Howard
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment
In office 24 July 1992 – 20 October 1994
Leader	John Smith
Preceded by	Bryan Gould
Succeeded by	Frank Dobson
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science
In office 13 July 1987 – 18 July 1992
Leader	Neil Kinnock
Preceded by	Giles Radice
Succeeded by	Ann Taylor (Education)
Member of Parliament for Blackburn
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 May 1979
Preceded by	Barbara Castle
Majority	9,856 (21.7%)
Personal details
Born	John Whitaker Straw (1946-08-03) 3 August 1946 (age 65) Buckhurst Hill, Essex, United Kingdom
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Anthea Weston (1968–1977) Alice Perkins (1978–present)
Children	Daughter (deceased), son, daughter
Alma mater	University of Leeds Inns of Court
Religion	Anglicanism

John Whitaker "Jack" Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn since 1979. He served as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons from 2006 to 2007 under Tony Blair. From 2007 to 2010 he was the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and the Secretary of State for Justice, appointed as part of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's first Cabinet. Straw is one of only three people to have served in Cabinet continuously from 1997 to 2010 (the others being Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling).

When the Labour Party lost power in May 2010, he briefly became the Shadow Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and the Shadow Deputy Prime Minister, but stood down from the frontbench after the Labour Party elected a new Shadow Cabinet.

Early life[link]

Straw was born in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, England. One of his maternal great-grandparents was a Jewish German immigrant.^[1] Straw was brought up at Loughton, Essex by his mother, Joan Sylvia Gilbey^[2][3] on a council estate after his father Walter Arthur Whitaker Straw,^[2] an insurance salesman, left the family and condemned them to poverty. Walter Straw had been sent to prison in 1939 for being a conscientious objector.^[4]

He was educated at Staples Road School, Loughton, and then boarded at Brentwood School, at that time a direct grant grammar school with largely LEA supported pupils, (where he was already expressing political ambitions and took the name "Jack", allegedly after the 14th century peasant leader Jack Straw—although "Jack" is a common diminutive of "John") and read law at the University of Leeds. While he was at Brentwood he opted out of the compulsory CCF (combined cadet force) on conscientious grounds.

Straw was elected chair of the Leeds University Labour Society at the 1966 Annual General Meeting, when the Society changed its name to Leeds University Socialist Society and withdrew its support from the Labour Party (a separate Labour Club was later formed by supporters of the Labour Party in Leeds University Union). Straw was incorrectly alleged by the Foreign Office to have disrupted a student trip to Chile to build a youth centre and was branded a "troublemaker acting with malice aforethought" by the Foreign Office.^[5] Straw was then elected president of Leeds University Union with the support of the Broad Left, a coalition including Liberal, Socialist (formerly Labour, see above) and the Communist Societies. The Leeds University Union Council recently reinstated Jack Straw's life membership of the union, as a previous motion had removed his life membership and led to the removal of his name from the Presidents’ Board owing to disagreement with his involvement in anti-terror legislation.^[6] At the National Union of Students conference at the end of 1967 he and David Adelstein, the Radicals leader from the London School of Economics, were defeated in their quest for officership in the NUS. That was repeated in April 1968 when Straw stood for NUS President and was defeated by Trevor Fisk.^[7] In 1969 he succeeded in being elected President of the increasingly radical National Union of Students, having led the campaign to remove the "no politics" clause from the NUS constitution.

He qualified as a barrister at Inns of Court School of Law, practising criminal law from 1972 to 1974.

From 1971 to 1974 Jack Straw was a member of the Inner London Education Authority and Deputy Leader from 1973 to 1974. Straw contested Tonbridge and Malling constituency in Kent in the February 1974 general election.

Straw served as political adviser to Barbara Castle at the Department of Social Security from 1974 to 1976, and as adviser to Peter Shore at the Department for the Environment from 1976 to 1977. From 1977 to 1979, Straw worked as a researcher for the Granada TV series, World in Action.

Member of Parliament[link]

Straw was selected to stand for Parliament in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 1977, after Barbara Castle (the incumbent) decided not to seek re-election. He won the seat in 1979 and has held it since, also becoming honorary president of Blackburn Rovers. In the 1980s, he was an opposition spokesman on Treasury and economic affairs from 1980 to 1983, housing and local government from 1983 until promotion to the Shadow Cabinet in 1987.

Shadow Cabinet[link]

Straw's first Shadow Cabinet post was as Education spokesman from 1987. In this role, he called on Local Education Authorities to give private Muslim and Orthodox Jewish schools the right to opt out of the state system and still receive public funds. He also stated that the schools should be free to enter the state system. His comments came at a time of great controversy regarding the funding of Muslim schools. Straw argued that the controversy arose out of ignorance and stereotyping about women's role in Islam, pointing out that Muslim women acquired property rights centuries before European women. Straw played a significant role in articulating the Labour Party's interest in and sensitivity to the issue.

Straw briefly served as Shadow Environment Secretary under John Smith from 1992 to 1994, speaking on matters concerning local government. When Tony Blair became leader after Smith's death, he chose Straw to succeed him as Shadow Home Secretary. Like Blair, Straw believed Labour's electoral chances had been damaged in the past by the party appearing to be "soft on crime" and he developed a reputation as being even more authoritarian than the Conservative Home Secretary Michael Howard. Straw garnered particular attention for comments condemning "aggressive beggars, winos and squeegee merchants" and calling for a curfew on children.

Home Secretary[link]

Appointed as Home Secretary after the 1997 general election, he brought forward the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, increased police powers against terrorism and proposed to remove the right to trial by jury in certain cases.^[8] These policies won praise from Margaret Thatcher who once declared "I would trust Jack Straw's judgement. He is a very fair man." They were deemed excessively authoritarian by his former students' union, which in 2000 banned him from the building—a policy which lapsed in 2003. However, he also incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, finalising the de jure abolition of the death penalty.

On 31 July 1997, Straw ordered a public inquiry, to be conducted by Sir William Macpherson and officially titled "The Inquiry into the Matters Arising from the Death of Stephen Lawrence".^[9] Its report, produced in February 1999, estimated that it had taken "more than 100,000 pages of reports, statements, and other written or printed documents"^[10] and concluded that the original Metropolitan Police Service investigation had been incompetent and that officers had committed fundamental errors, including: failing to give first aid when they reached the scene; failing to follow obvious leads during their investigation; and failing to arrest suspects. The report found that there had been a failure of leadership by senior MPS officers and that recommendations of the 1981 Scarman Report, compiled following race-related riots in Brixton and Toxteth, had been ignored and concluded that the force was "institutionally racist".^[11] It also recommended that the double jeopardy rule should be abrogated in murder cases to allow a retrial upon new and compelling evidence; this became law in 2005. Straw commented in 2012 that ordering the inquiry was "the single most important decision I made as Home Secretary".^[12]

As Home Secretary, Straw was also involved in changing the electoral system for the European Parliament elections from plurality to proportional representation. In doing so, he advocated the use of d'Hondt formula as being the one that produces the most proportional outcomes. The d'Hondt formular, however, is less proportional to the Sainte-Laguë formula which was proposed by the Liberal Democrats. Straw later apologised to the House of Commons for his misleading comments,^[13] but the d'Hondt formula stayed in place.

In March 2000, Jack Straw was responsible for allowing General Augusto Pinochet to return to Chile. There were requests from several countries for Pinochet to be extradited and face trial for crimes against humanity. Pinochet was placed under house arrest in Britain while appealing the legal authority of the Spanish and British courts to try him, but Straw eventually ordered his release on medical grounds before a trial could begin, and Pinochet returned to Chile.

Also in 2000, Straw turned down an asylum request from a man fleeing Saddam Hussein's regime, stating "we have faith in the integrity of the Iraqi judicial process and that you should have no concerns if you haven’t done anything wrong."^[14]

He was the last Home Secretary to have all the traditional powers of that office, as following the 2001 general election, the government began transferring all non-law and order responsibilities to other departments.^{[citation needed]}

Foreign Secretary[link]

Straw appears at a press conference with United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice

He was instead appointed Foreign Secretary in 2001 to succeed Robin Cook. Within months, Straw was confronted by the 11 September attacks in the United States. He was initially seen as taking a back seat to Tony Blair in the UK Government's prosecution of the "war against terrorism".

In 2003 the governments of the USA and UK agreed a new Extradition Treaty between them, intended to speed up extradition of terrorist suspects. The provisions of the treaty were enacted in the Extradition Act 2003. The treaty later attracted controversy with opponents alleging it to be one-sided: a British request to the USA needed to provide a prima facie case against a suspect while a US request to Britain needed only to provide reasonable suspicion for an arrest.^[15] There have been a series of causes célèbres involving the treaty, including the NatWest Three who later pleaded guilty to fraud against the US parent company of their employers, and Gary McKinnon who admitted hacking US defence computers. An inquiry into extradition arrangements by retired Judge Sir Scott Baker reported in September 2011 that the treaty was not unbalanced and "there is no practical difference between the information submitted to and from the United States".^[16]

In a letter to The Independent in 2004, he claimed that Trotskyists "can usually now be found in the City, appearing on quiz shows or ranting in certain national newspapers," and recommended "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder by Vladimir Lenin.^[17]

In the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt, Jack Straw was personally informed months in advance of the plans for the takeover attempt and failed to accomplish the duty under international law of alerting the country's government. The involvement of British oil companies in the funding of the coup d'état, and the changing of British citizens evacuation plans for Equatorial Guinea before the attempt, posed serious challenges for the alleged ignorance of the situation. Later on, British officials and Jack Straw were forced to apologise to The Observer after categorically denying they had prior knowledge of the coup plot.^[18][19][20]

In the run up to the 2005 general election Straw faced a potential backlash from his Muslim constituents over the Iraq War – the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPAC) attempted to capitalise on anti-war sentiment with 'operation Muslim vote' in Blackburn. In addition, Craig Murray, who had been pushed out of his job as ambassador to Uzbekistan, stood against his former boss (Straw was head of the FCO) on a platform opposing the use of information gathered under torture in the "War on Terror". Straw's vote fell by 20% compared to the previous general election in 2001 (21,808 to 17,562) although the multiplicity of anti-Straw candidates makes it difficult to discern whether this was a particularly poor result for Straw and Labour. The swing to the second placed Conservatives was less than 2%, much lower than the national average. In any event, Straw was re-elected, while Murray trailed a distant fifth – barely managing to scrape the 5% of the vote necessary to retain his deposit and polling fewer votes than the BNP. Speaking moments after his re-election during the BBC's election night coverage, Straw called MPAC an 'egregious group' and expressed disappointment at its campaign tactics, which he saw as overly aggressive. Straw enjoys a reputation for involved local campaigning in his constituency despite his cabinet post, often spending many hours in the run up to elections literally standing on a soapbox in a high street area taking questions from the crowd and responding to criticism with a microphone.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005 Jack Straw was heckled by Walter Wolfgang, a German Jew who had suffered persecution under the Nazis. The 82 year old man was 'bounced' out of the 2005 Labour Conference because he had heckled the then Foreign Secretary. The party chairman, Ian McCartney, later withdrew his hostility towards the octogenarian and apologised, and PM Tony Blair stated that he should not have been removed.

On 13 October 2005 Straw took questions from a public panel of (mostly anti-war)^{[citation needed]} individuals in a BBC Newsnight television special on the subject of Iraq, addressing widespread public concerns about the exit strategy for British troops, the Iraqi insurgency and, inevitably, the moral legitimacy of the war. On several occasions Straw reiterated his position that the decision to invade was in his opinion the right thing to do, but said he did not 'know' for certain that this was the case. He said he understood why public opinion on several matters might differ from his own—a Newsnight/ICM poll showed over 70% of respondents believed the war in Iraq to have increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks in Britain, but Straw said he could not agree based on the information presented to him.

Straw meets with US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz and UK Ambassador to the US Christopher Meyer in 2001.

In February 2006, Straw attracted publicity after he condemned the publication of cartoons picturing Mohammed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten,^[21] and in April 2006, reports of secret White House plans to target Iranian nuclear installations with bunker busting nuclear bombs was described by Jack Straw as "completely nuts".^{[citation needed]}

In August 2006, it was claimed by William Rees-Mogg in The Times that there was evidence that Straw was removed from this post upon the request of the Bush administration, possibly owing to his expressed opposition to bombing Iran.^[22] This would be ironic, as Richard Ingrams in The Independent wondered whether Straw's predecessor as Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, was also removed at Bush's request,^[23] allowing Straw to become Foreign Secretary in the first place. It has also been alleged that another factor in Straw's dismissal was the large number of Muslims amongst his Blackburn constituents, supposedly considered a cause for concern by the US.^[24] Some Iranian dissidents mocked Straw as "Ayatollah Straw" after his frequent visits to Tehran in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks.^[25]

Straw gave evidence to the Iraq Inquiry on 21 January 2010, making him the second member of Tony Blair's cabinet to do so. He told the inquiry that the decision to go to war in Iraq had "haunted him" and that it was the "most difficult decision" of his life.^[26] He also said that he could have stopped the invasion, had he wanted to.^[27]

Rendition and torture allegations[link]

Despite repeated denials about his complicity in extraordinary rendition—he once dismissed the suggestion of UK involvement in the practice as a "conspiracy theory"—Straw has been dogged for years over his alleged leading role in it, most recently facing scrutiny over the case of Abdel Hakim Belhadj.^[28][29]

Leader of the House of Commons[link]

After the Labour Party suffered major defeats in local elections on 4 May 2006, losing 317 seats in balloting for 176 councils, Tony Blair acted the following day with a major reshuffle of his ministers during which he moved Straw from Foreign Secretary to Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal. Straw had apparently requested a break from high ministerial office after serving in two of the four great departments of state for nearly ten years. Straw's close relationship with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was said to have 'infuriated' Number 10,^{[citation needed]} with particular reference to her visit to Straw's Blackburn constituency which caused significant organisational difficulties. It is believed that Straw's public opposition to potential military actions in Iran during his tenure as Foreign Secretary was one of the main reasons behind his demotion.^{[citation needed]} To lessen the apparent demotion, Blair gave Straw responsibility for House of Lords reform and party funding, issues which had been part of the portfolio of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In addition, Straw was given the chairmanship of the Constitutional Affairs cabinet committee where he was responsible for attempting to force through a flat-fee charge for Freedom of Information requests.^[30]

On 25 March 2007, Straw announced he was to run Gordon Brown's campaign for the Labour leadership. This was the first official confirmation the Chancellor would stand.^[31]

2006 debate over veils[link]

In October 2006 Straw attracted controversy by suggesting to a local newspaper, The Lancashire Evening Telegraph (now The Lancashire Telegraph), that Muslim women who wear veils that cover their faces (the niqab) can inhibit inter-community relations, though he denied the issue was raised for political gain, stating that he had raised it in private circles in the past and it had never progressed beyond discussions. Although he did not support a law banning a woman's right to choose to wear the veil, he would like them to abandon it altogether. Asked whether he would prefer veils to be abolished completely, Straw said: "Yes. It needs to be made clear I am not talking about being prescriptive but with all the caveats, yes, I would rather."^[32] He said that he had asked women visiting his constituency surgeries to consider uncovering their noses and mouths in order to allow better communication. He claimed that no women had ever chosen to wear a full-veil after this request.^[33][34][35] However, given that he is known to suffer from tinnitus (which compromises the ability to hear), it is possible that he requested the veil to be removed so that he could lip-read the woman.^{[citation needed]}

Straw's comments kicked off a wide-ranging and sometimes harshly worded debate within British politics and the media; Straw was supported by some establishment figures and castigated by others, including Muslim groups. There is an ongoing debate within the Muslim community whether the Qur'an and hadith (traditions of Muhammad) require the use of the full face veil.^[36] Jack Straw apologised for these comments regarding the veil on 26 April 2010 at a private hustings organised by Engage in the build up to the United Kingdom General Election, 2010.^[37]

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice[link]

Straw canvassing with local councillors in Blackburn.

Straw was appointed Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and Secretary of State for Justice on the first full day of Gordon Brown's ministry, 28 June 2007. He was the first Lord Chancellor since the sixteenth century to serve in the role whilst a member of the House of Commons. His appointment meant that he continued to be a major figure in the Labour Government. Only Straw, Brown and Alistair Darling served in the cabinet continuously during Labour's 13 year administration from 1997 to 2010.^[38]

In February 2009, Straw used his authority as Justice Secretary to veto publication of government documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act: in particular, those pertaining to early government meetings concerning the (forthcoming) Iraq War.^[39]

Straw represented the government on a controversial edition of Question Time on 22 October 2009, against British National Party leader Nick Griffin on his first ever appearance. Griffin's first comment was to attack Straw's father's wartime record, to general disdain. As Griffin claimed that European laws prevented him from explaining his stance on holocaust denial Straw later offered his personal assurance as Justice Secretary, which Griffin declined.

Alleged ambitions for premiership[link]

When asked during an interview in February 2009 about becoming Prime Minister, Straw said: "If someone came and said "Sign on the dotted line", yes, I'd sign. But if you ask me have I yearned for it? No." When pressed further he responded: "I can honestly say I have no ambitions in that area."^[40] The Sun reported this with the headline: 'Straw: I'm ready for PM's job'.^[41]

Expenses claims[link]

On checking his expenses claims prior to publication, Jack Straw found that he had over-claimed for four consecutive years as he had not spotted that he was actually paying 50% for council tax not the full amount. He duly voluntarily paid the amount back while adding in an unpublished for the public handwritten note to the Commons authorities that 'accountancy does not appear to be my strongest suit'.^[42][43]

Retirement from front-bench politics[link]

In August 2010, Straw announced his plans to quit his role as Shadow Justice Secretary and move to the backbenches, citing the need for a ‘fresh start’ for the Labour Party under a new leader.^[44]

In December 2010, ahead of the UK Alternative Vote Referendum 2011, Straw was a signatory to a letter to the Guardian^[45] arguing in favour of the alternative vote.

In January 2011, Straw provoked controversy with comments made on Newsnight about Pakistani men.^[46] He said "there is a specific problem which involves Pakistani heritage men ... who target vulnerable young white girls."^[47] His comments came after two men of Pakistani origin were convicted of rape in Derby.

In April 2011, Straw was appointed as a consultant to E. D. & F. Man Holdings Ltd., a British company based in London specialising in the production and trading of commodities including sugar, molasses, animal feed, tropical oils, biofuels, coffee and financial services. Commenting on his appointment to ED&F Man on a salary of £30,000 per annum, Straw said, "There are 168 hours in the week, and I will work in Blackburn for a least 60 and maybe sleep for 50. Providing there’s no conflict, I have long taken the view that I am not against people doing other things. I had two jobs as a minister. I think it’s really important that politicians are involved with the outside world.”.^[48]

In late 2011, Straw was also been appointed to the role of visiting professor to University College London School of Public Policy. He later argued for the abolition of the European Parliament,^[49] only to be rebuked by Simon Hix on the ground that the lack of accountability of British MEPs may have more to do with the British closed-list proportional electoral system than with the Parliament itself.^[50]

Personal life[link]

Straw's first marriage, in 1968, to teacher Anthea Weston ended in divorce in 1977. They had a daughter, Rachel, born on 24 February 1976,^[51] who died after five days because of a heart defect.

On 10 November 1978 he married Alice Perkins, a senior civil servant.^[52] In 2006 Straw's wife joined the board of the country's largest airports operator BAA, shortly before it was taken over by the Spanish firm Ferrovial.^[53] They have two children, William and Charlotte.^[54]

He supports his local football club Blackburn Rovers,^[55] and was made an Honorary Vice President of Blackburn Rovers in 1998 by Jack Walker.^[56] Straw has tinnitus.^[57]

Bibliography[link]

Author or co-author[link]

• Implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998: Minutes of Evidence, Wednesday 14 March 2001 (2001) ISBN 0-10-442701-9
• Making Prisons Work: Prison Reform Trust Annual Lecture (1998) ISBN 0-946209-44-8
• Future of Policing and Criminal Justice (Institute of Police & Criminological Studies Occasional Paper S.) (1996) ISBN 1-86137-087-3
• Policy and Ideology (1993) ISBN 0-9521163-0-8

Reports[link]

• Reform of the Race Relations Act 1976: Proposals for Change Submitted by the Commission for Racial Equality to the Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, on 30 April 1998 (1998) ISBN 1-85442-210-3

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jack Straw

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Jack Straw

• Blackburn Labour Party
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Jack Straw collected news and commentary at The Guardian and articles written by Jack Straw for The Guardian
• Jack Straw collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Jack Straw at the Internet Movie Database
• Online exhibition of the May 1968 student protest in Leeds
• Jack Straw, BBC News, Newsnight, 17 October 2002
• the ConvaTec whistleblower and the Home secretary

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