CABI Blogs: hand picked... and carefully sorted

Feeding the world - another way....

How to feed more people in the same sized world has been an issue for a few decades now, the green revolution of pesticides and intensive breeding got the world over a hurdle after WW2 and now people are wondering how to improve again - will GM have the answer? Is it just economics that need changing to feed the poor?  Should we concentrate efforts on reducing storage losses? 

Alternative foods also come up from time to time. On this blog, Sarah worried about us all having to go veggie and eat a Swedish version of tempeh (Is this really what we deserve), and I discovered the charity that has has decided rats are the answer (Send a rat?). Here's another possibility and its one that has been around for centuries. Eat more insects.

Tea … will a cuppa see you through novel H1N1 influenza?

Still popularly known as swine flu here in the UK, the novel pandemic H1N1 influenza makes you feel really ill even if you experience the "mild" form. 

On a BBC radio 5 program in the first week of July, controversy arose over a recommendation to drink lots of fluids and to avoid tea… because it dehydrates. Many listeners called in to refute this, and the programme heard from a UK expert whose work had refuted this fallacy completely ¹. Yes, the caffeine in the tea will dehydrate you, but there is not enough caffeine in your average cup of tea to outweigh all that fluid you drink along with it. You also have the added bonus of flavanoids, which have protective effects for some heart disease and cancers, fluoride for teeth and components with antiviral activity.

So I have searched the Global Health database to pull out some useful information for you on the protective effects of tea flavanoids ^2-5 and tea antiviral activity ^6-7.

References

1. Black tea – helpful or harmful? A review of the evidence. Gardner, E. J. et al. Eur.J. Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 3–18.
2. Construction of a flavonoid database for assessing intake in a population-based sample of women on Long Island, New York. Fink, B. N. et al Nutrition and Cancer (2006) 56 1 57-66
3. Chemoprevention of human prostate cancer by oral administration of green tea catechins: a translational research story. Bettuzzi, S & Rizzi, F. Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Agriculture (2008) 65, 1, p.29. FULLTEXT available to Global Health subscribers   
    
4. Protective effect of green tea against prostate cancer: a case-control study in Southeast China.
   Jian Le et al. International Journal of Cancer (2004) 108, 1, 130-135
   
5. Possible protective effect of green tea intake on risk of adult leukaemia. Zhang, M. et al. British Journal of Cancer (2008) 98, 168–170. (Full abstract available to Global Health subscribers)
6. Antibacterial and antiviral effects of tea - from influenza to SARS. Book chapter. Jain, N. K et al in Protective effects of tea on human health, 2006. Editor: Leung PingChung
7. Gargling with tea catechin extracts for the prevention of influenza infection in elderly nursing home residents: a prospective clinical study.Yamada, H. et al. J. Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2006)12, 7, 669-672.

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Flu panic in Argentina

A CABI sales colleague now in Argentina reported on June 30th that meetings had been cancelled, ministers were resigning and hospitals & schools faced closure, all through the fear of the novel H1N1 influenza pandemic the entire world is now experiencing.

The Argentine Post points out that Argentina is now entering its winter, and that the “number of cases stand at 1587 and deaths at 26 (June 26)”. For June 29, the WHO states that laboratory confirmed cumulative cases and deaths are 1488 and 23, so I think the writer of the Post piece added cumulative numbers to the newly reported ones for June 26.

Be that as it may, the WHO figures put Argentina 7th in global rank of number of cases (USA and Mexico are 1 and 2) and 3rd in number of deaths (Colombia and Mexico are 1 and 2). Experts tell us that influenza is a virus that prefers the winter season in temperate regions… though it must be a considerably warmer winter in Argentina compared to the UK.

There are other figures in the Argentine Post piece - death rates calculated for Argentina, Chile and Mexico but they forgot to convert their figures correctly to get %. By my calculations, the true figure for death rate in Argentina is 1.6% (not 0.016%!), which means it is experiencing a similar death rate from this strain of flu to that of Mexico (1.4%). Only Colombia (2.7%) outdoes these two countries for death rate from this flu strain, though it has less than a hundred confirmed cases.

No wonder a health minister in Argentina, faced with figures like this and the general belief that the case numbers were actually far worse, resigned…

Is the Great Barrier Reef on Death Row?

An extract from the public presentation, by Prof. J.E.N. Veron, with an introduction by Sir David Attenborough, which took place Monday afternoon at the Royal Society, London. I attended the presentation, which was followed by a summary of a statement produced by the technical expert workshop held in the morning. Above is a photo I took during the event questions session, showing Sir David Attenborough on the left and Prof. Veron on the right.

The Coral Reef Crisis: addressing the threats of global warming and ocean acidification

 

A public presentation at the Royal Society, with introduction by Sir David Attenborough. Read on to find out the details.

How large is your country’s footprint? - The Carbon Footprint of Nations

A new study on greenhouse gas emissions associated with a nation’s consumption shows that high wealth seems to always result in high emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases. In a paper entitled ‘Carbon footprint of nations: a global trade-linked analysis’, Edgar Hertwich and Glen Peters investigated the carbon footprint for food, shelter, clothing, construction, mobility, the consumption of manufactured goods, services, and trade for 73 nations and 14 aggregate regions. The paper was published online in June 2009 in Environmental Science & Technology, the environmental science journal published by the American Chemical Society. Read on to find out how large economies, such as the USA, Japan, the UK and the poorest African nations perform.

"climate refugees" – millions of people might become one this century

Defined as ‘people who have to leave their habitats, immediately or in the near future, because of sudden or gradual alterations in their natural environment related to at least one of three impacts of climate change: sea-level rise, extreme weather events, and drought and water scarcity’, read on to find out more about 'climate refugees' and the Climate Refugee Policy Forum.

Flu - avoid the aspirin

I wouldn't usually visit a doctor for flu treatment I'd just suffer at home with the cold remedies and/or over-the-counter fever reducing drugs. I guess a lot of people will be doing that in the near future, but make sure you are using the right drugs....

Hot spots in the Balkans

Genetic diversity in the Balkans is the subject of a conference (“Balkans – Hot Spots of Ancient and Present Genetic Diversity”, 17-20 June 2009) currently underway in Sofia, Bulgaria. Organized jointly by several Bulgarian forestry agencies and institutions, scientists from over 20 European countries are gathered to hear updates on the latest research being undertaken in the region.

Geophagy – eating soil for healing or health supplementation

As I screened a journal called Elements for the CAB Abstracts database the other day, I came across an interesting article entitled ‘Bentonite, bandaids and borborygmi’ (1), which is all about  the practice of eating clay for gastrointestinal ailments and applying clay topically as a dressing or bandaids for skin infections. Apparently it is a practice as old as mankind and has been observed in cultures worldwide (2). Could the vast surface area and chemical/physical properties of bentonites provide a natural pharmacy of antibacterial agents? Read on to find out!