Health

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Ontario to increase COVID inspections of greenhouses

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Feb-01 Mon 13:30
2021-Feb-01 Mon 13:30
2869

The Ontario government is taking additional measures to protect farmworkers during the pandemic by expanding provincewide inspections to farms, greenhouses and other agricultural operations to ensure health and safety measures are being followed. "Our government is taking action to protect essential…

Questions Remain about Big Food’s Influence on the New Dietary Guidelines

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-28 Thu 10:00
2021-Jan-28 Thu 10:00
2842

When the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA), released new Dietary Guidelines for Americans on December 29, 2020, they looked almost identical to the ones released five years earlier. There were new guidelines related to pregnancy, breastfeeding, and children under two, but to those who’d been paying attention to the process, what stood out was what had not changed.

Most glaringly, the guidelines failed to take up key recommendations from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the group of experts responsible for preparing a detailed report intended to inform the final guidelines. This year, that document was 835 pages long and included recommendations for lowering the amount of recommended daily sugar from 10 percent of one’s daily calories to 6 percent, as well as limiting alcohol consumption to one drink a day for both men and women.

There is an Alarming Amount of Microplastics in Farm Soil—and Our Food Supply

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-27 Wed 14:45
2021-Jan-27 Wed 14:45
2828

Mary Beth Kirkham hadn’t studied microplastics when she was invited to co-edit a new book about microplastics in the environment—but something stood out to her about the existing research.

“I had read in the literature that . . . cadmium and other toxic trace elements [are] increased when we have these particulate plastics in the soil. So, that was of concern to me,” said Kirkham, a plant physiologist and distinguished professor of agronomy at Kansas State University.

Kirkham’s expertise is in water and plant relations and heavy metal uptake, so she decided to conduct her own research in which she cultivated wheat plants exposed to microplastics, cadmium, and both microplastics and cadmium. Then she compared these plants to those grown without either additive. She chose cadmium because it’s poisonous, carcinogenic, and ubiquitous in the environment due to human activity—it’s shed from batteries and car tires, and is naturally found in the phosphate rock used to make agricultural fertilizers.

How to Reduce the Winter Blues With Plant-Based Food

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-16 Wed 14:45
2020-Dec-16 Wed 14:45
2524

What's the best food for the winter blues? Adding these plant-based foods to your diet can help make seasonal affective disorder feel a little more manageable.

The post How to Reduce the Winter Blues With Plant-Based Food appeared first on LIVEKINDLY.

Food Insecurity Is Rising in Detroit. So Is the Number of People Fighting It.

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Nov-13 Fri 10:59
2020-Nov-13 Fri 10:59
2137

Sedans, trucks, SUVs, and minivans idling in two lines down both West Vernor Highway and 25th Street, meeting in a fork where vehicles take turns edging forward. Masked drivers unlatching trunks as someone scribbles the number of children in their home on the windshield. Grab-and-go meals at elementary schools handed out for students who take classes virtually at home, while others eat in a cafeteria.

“We wouldn’t be able to make it work without them,” a woman said of the free meals provided by Gleaners Community Food Bank. Sandy, who declined to give her full name, awaited food pickup at St. Anthony’s in a blue minivan in the Tuesday morning line on West Vernor in September. She said the food was for her niece who was supervising virtual school at home for her three children and couldn’t come herself. “It probably saves us $50 to $60.”

Each person is given 30 pounds of food, including produce and milk. “It’s real milk,” Sandy said. “What’s good is the stuff they’re giving is stuff they’re actually eating.”

This is the new picture of food insecurity in Detroit, where the coronavirus pandemic has made hunger more visible. In the last six months, food banks, schools, and social service providers have made a tremendous pivot to make sure people are able to eat.

Rural North Carolinia residents will soon get their meds delivered by drone

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Oct-20 Tue 09:41
2020-Oct-20 Tue 09:41
1858

Drones have already shown that they can reliably deliver vital shipments of blood across Rwanda, drop off prescriptions to senior citizens in Florida, and help quarantining families stay safe with contactless deliveries. Now they’re going to be buzzi...

More than 100 more salmonella illnesses in Canada linked to onion recall

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-07 Fri 16:51
2020-Aug-07 Fri 16:51
909

The Public Health Agency of Canada says there are now 239 confirmed cases of salmonella infections linked to red onions imported from the United States.