Bolivians and the coca leaf...

I was angered when I read yesterday in the Guardian Weekly that a UN body has decided to outlaw the chewing of the coca leaf along with it's use in products. This is another instance of the first world projecting it's uninformed values onto an age old culture. If you have been to South America, or Bolivia itself, like I have, you would see that the coca leaf performs many functions in society - as medicine, as aid against altitude sickness, and as a hunger suppressant, which can sadly be necessary in the poorest country in all of South America. If you want to read it from a coca farmer's perspective, go here. This will be an interesting drama to watch play out. Who will come to Evo Morales' side to stand up against the UN? I have dibs on Venezuela.