Food and nutrition
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Paul Sherman, professor of neurobiology and behavior, displays two of the most potent bacteria killers -- scallions and garlic -- in the Statler Hotel kitchen. Frank DiMeo/University Photography By Roger Segelken Fans of hot, spicy cuisine can thank nasty bacteria and other food-borne pathogens for the recipes that come -- not so coincidentally -- from countries with hot climates. Humans' use of antimicrobial spices developed in parallel with food-spoilage microorganisms, Cornell biologists have demonstrated in a international survey of spice use in cooking. The same chemical compounds that protect the spiciest spice plants from their natural enemies are at work today in foods from parts of the world where -- before refrigeration -- food-spoilage microbes were an even more serious threat to human health and survival than they are today, Jennifer Billing and Paul W.
Study: Antibacterial spices in food
Why Cooks Spice Up Their Foods There are a number of explanations for why we have added spices such as chile peppers to our foods over the tens or hundreds of thousands of years that we have been cooking. They are:
Fiery Foods and Barbecue SuperSite - Why Cooks Spice Up Their Foods
Arsenic in drinking water
Rezaul Morol, a young Bangladeshi man, nearly died from arsenic poisoning caused by drinking arsenic-laden well-water for several years. The doctor advised Rezaul to stop drinking contaminated water and eat more protein-rich food such as fish. Since then Rezaul feels a lot better and is happy that his skin is healing (Photo and original story: Asia Arsenic Network)Arsenic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arsenic ( / ˈ ɑr s ɨ n ɪ k / AR -sə-nik ) is a chemical element with the symbol As , atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250. [ 5 ] Arsenic is a metalloid . It can exist in various allotropes , although only the grey form has important use in industry. The main use of metallic arsenic is for strengthening alloys of copper and especially lead (for example, in car batteries).
An environmental and civil engineer has developed an inexpensive arsenic filtration system that uses aquatic plants, namely cattails, to remove poisonous arsenic from drinking water, which could improve the health of millions in countries around the world whose local water supplies are naturally contaminated with the toxic substance. An estimated 57 million people are drinking groundwater with arsenic concentrations measured above the World Health Organization ‘s standard of 10 parts per billion. Jeremiah D. Jackson, Ph.D., P.E., of San Diego, CA, says he started his research after his brother, a journalist, mentioned the dire need for filtering the arsenic from groundwater in countries such as India, Pakistan, Mexico, and even parts of rural U.S. Arsenic-contaminated water is responsible for epidemics of arsenicosis (chronic arsenic poisoning from drinking water) in Bangladesh, and a cheap effective filtration system could save millions of lives each year.
Inexpensive Arsenic Filtration System Uses Cattails, Aquatic Weeds – Blue Living Ideas
Inexpensive Arsenic Filtration System Based on Cattails Could Help Clean Up the Drinking Water of 57 Million People : TreeHugger
According to the World Health Organization's fact sheet about arsenic in drinking water, there are between 46-57 million people globally who are exposed to levels of arsenic higher than the "safe" 0.01 mg/l. Many of those are in poor countries where expensive filtration systems are out of reach, which is why Jeremiah Jackson's invention is so important! The civil and environmental engineer created a cheap filtration system based on cattails, and he didn't patent it so that it is more accessible. Read on for more details on how it works. It all started when Jeremiah's brother told him about the big problem of arsenic in drinking water in eastern India and Bangladesh. These areas were encouraged to stop drinking surface water years ago because it was contaminated by various pathogens, so people started drinking water from wells.[ edit ] History Community-supported agriculture began in the early 1960s in Germany, Switzerland and Japan as a response to concerns about food safety and the urbanization of agricultural land. In the 1960s groups of consumers and farmers in Europe formed cooperative partnerships to fund farming and pay the full costs of ecologically sound and socially equitable agriculture. In Europe, many of the CSA style farms were inspired by the economic ideas of Rudolf Steiner and experiments with community agriculture took place on farms using biodynamic agriculture .
Community-supported agriculture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We are right in the middle of prime growing season for farms in the northern hemisphere. For an increasing number of people, that means signing up to get produce directly from farmers via CSA s. On paper, it sounds like a good thing: Consumers get fresh, local produce, often exactly what they specify. It’s typically organic.
