Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

I ran into DNews where I got the video (above) to share. The interesting fact is that flies can get a bad name. In business, there's the term that the place is simply visited only by flies, to show that business is bad . Flies love dirty places and they're carriers of germs. However, I was soon amazed to learn about maggot therapy a few years back. Maggot therapy is using disinfected larvae of flies that only lay their eggs on decaying tissue. These tiny maggots begin as much decaying tissue as possible. With that in mind, I even feel like if one day I ever get diabetic or have a slow-healing wound, I would certainly want that procedure! I would choose to have disinfected maggots on my wound, even if the idea sounds cross. That would be better than losing my foot! After showing interest in maggot therapy, I certainly find this procedure amazing! An interesting concept from Singapore that I wish I knew existed Singapore may be a first-world country but you can't get rid of w

As I've sipped two glasses of Tealive's Aren Caramel (read here )--I was tempted to research more on palm sugar from the Arenga tree. Arenga bears the fruit that Filipinos call kaong and Indonesians call kolang kaling. As a Filipino, I prefer to call it the Kaong Tree or Punuan ng Kaong. This video is from Masarang, Indonesia. Masarang in Tagalog means strong. If the Indonesian word means strong as well--this is a very strong foundation. The research on palm sugar landed me in the organization called Yayasan Masarang or Masarang Foundation. The video I just shared shows the struggle of palm tappers and how FDI can help in learning environmentally-friendly practices.  The late Lee Kuan Yew even published in his book From Third World to First about greening Singapore. The pernicious myth that's spread around is that Singapore supposedly only opened to FDI due to lack of natural resources . However, other countries rich in natural resources like Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Chi

I must admit that I'm getting tired of all the misrepresentations of foreign direct investment (FDI) on Facebook. Such misrepresentations can come from "think-tanks" such as IBON Foundation, Bayan Muna, and the Philippine Anti-Fascist League. That's why I wrote a couple of posts such as (1) how we need to focus on environmentally-friendly business practices (read here ), (2) that FDIs don't always lead to environmental degradation (read here ), and (3) asking the question if you're willing to support local businesses that destroy the environment (read here ). Besides, economic protectionism isn't a guarantee that environment will be friendly. Both North Korea and Venezuela are known to have very bad environmental practices. Just reading about them can make you dizzy. Protectionism ended up destroying agriculture than protecting it Mao Zedong's "great leap forward" was evidence In contrast to what those "think tanks" want us to belie

A very huge misconception especially if you know Singapore's history Some time ago, I decided to write about how foreign direct investments (FDIs) doesn't always mean environmental destruction . I would like to write this post about FDIs and multinational corporations (MNCs). I don't deny that some businesses just fail to uphold environmentally-friendly practices. That's why I also wrote about the importance of going green in doing businesses . Money is only worth it if there are forests to supply trees, there's delicious fish to eat because of clean streams, there's clean drinking water to buy, and the environment is well-taken care of. My money will have its value if I can go to a beach resort that uses its earnings to preserve the cleanliness of the place. Money becomes worthless when there's nothing of value to exchange it with. Poisoned rivers, massive deforestation, etc. will definitely make money worthless . That's why the late Lee Kuan Yew also d

PH Antifa's big misconception It may be several months past Earth Day already but I'll still write posts supporting eco-friendly capitalism. I did write a post on eco-friendly capitalism . Capitalism is a force meant for good only in the hands of good people. It was meant to fill in the supply and demand gap based on free market-friendly   competition with a set of rules. Real competition has a set of rules such as no cheating. Another deadly misinformation sent by protectionist "think tanks" is that accepting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equals environmental degradation. It may seem true (at first) but one can't tell the difference between capitalism as a tool for good vs. capitalism being misused and abused. It's not like as if people who believe in socialism or communism have been better, right?  If you think protectionism is good for your country's environment then think again It's easy to blame FDIs for pollution. However, did you know countri

Entrepreneur Whether we want to admit it or not--environmentally-friendly businesses practices are a must. However, it can often be shot down or argued against by certain people. A miser would argue by saying that spending money on proper waste disposal is a waste of money. A spendthrift would want to rake in as much money as possible for extravagant spending. Both views are equally misguided when they ignore the need for eco-capitalism. I ended up remembering one of my undergraduate classes and MBA classes at the University of San Carlos-Main Campus. One of them talked about business ethics especially concerned with green business practices. Do we need money? Sure! However, money alone isn't the factor. Money, when used properly, is beneficial to society and the environment. Spending money on proper waste disposal will benefit society. However, wanting only money no matter what the cost will end up harming both society and the environment. How would sustainable business practices