Sustainability: NUTRITION
Healthy food for all: Sustainable nutrition
can be realized through programs for ecological food security and the regulation of
environmentally harmful food processes.
The right to food is a basic human right.
Yet, despite the increases in food production in recent decades, particularly in
developing countries, almost one billion people around the globe continue to suffer from
chronic undernourishment. At the same time, surpluses abound in countries with high
incomes. Let's look at an example. On average, people in Germany consume 50% more
calories, 100% more protein and 200% more fat than the people in Sierra Leone. In Germany,
32% of these calories and 57% of this fat come from meat and other animal products. In
Sierra Leone, on the other hand, these figures are 4% and 6% respectively. Clearly then,
the route to sustainable nutrition in the industrialized countries lies in food creation:
German medical insurance funds are constantly appealing to consumers to eat fruits and
vegetables rather than meat, cereal and milk products rather than chocolate, in order to
avoid the health problems associated with bad eating habits.
"Golden Rice" provides more
vitamins: Yet the question still remains of how a basic supply of food and nutrients can
be secured for people in the developing countries. One answer is offered by gene
technology: for example, selected staples, such as rice, maize or wheat, could be made
resistant to drought, pests and disease through modifications in their molecular biology.
At the beginning of last year, the German scientists Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer
presented the Rice Research Institute in the Philippines with a genetically modified rice
plant that is especially rich in vitamin A compared with conventional rice. With the aid
of what is known as "golden rice", which it is planned to give to farmers
free-of-charge, the researchers hope to be able to supply this important nutrient to
populations in developing countries that suffer from vitamin A deficiency. The researchers
used a total of 70 patients from 32 different producers and universities as part of their
project.
However, sustainable nutrition does not only
mean securing a basic supply of food-it also involves protecting the environment during
the food production process. This is why it is necessary to reduce the worldwide
consumption of meat.
On average, 18, 00 square meters of
rainforest are transformed into pasture for one head of South American cattle. In the
course of its life, one head of beef cattle emits 200,000 liters of water of the
greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere, and 600,000 liters of water are required to
cultivate the animal's feed. In 1999, a record breaking 55.9 million metric tons of veal
and beef were produced worldwide. In South America today there are already nine head of
cattle for every ten human beings. Worldwide, there are 1.3 billion of these hoofed
animals. Whilst this satisfies people's hunger for beef, particularly in the
industrialized countries, it also does enormous ecological damage.
A similar picture has arisen in the
production of a small luxury delicacy: shrimps. Within a period of just 30 years, half of
all mangrove forests in Thailand have had to make way for shrimp farms. Of the 200,000
metric tons of prawns that the country produces each year, up to 95% are exported. While
shrimps account for only 3% of the total weight on the scales of the global fish market,
in financial terms they account for 20% of sales. Nevertheless, the example of Thailand
also demonstrates that a change of direction towards sustainable nutrition is possible.
The government now has stopped all new farm projects.
Text courtesy: Deutschland. E4 N1/2002
Feb/March. Embassy of Germany in Kathmandu.
Health First
GroHarlem Brundtland, director general of
the WHO on sustainable health:
Health has taken a central place in the
global debate on how we ensure equitable and sustainable development-also for the world's
poorest people. There is growing awareness and movement for a change. It is utterly
unacceptable that preventable diseases should be partly responsible for keeping billions
of people in poverty. We have known for years that people who are poor are more likely to
get sick. But we know much more about how ill health also creates and perpetuates poverty.
We are seeing evidence that health gains trigger economic growth; if the benefits of that
growth are equitably distributed, this can lead poverty reduction. Global warming, air and
water pollution, and biological and chemical pollutants in the food chain have an impact
on health. Environment and health are both inextricably linked to development.
Springtime for renewable
energy
-Benoit Garrigues, Journalist, France
Long neglected, renewable energy sources are
developing rapidly in France. Supported by government, they will inevitably play a
significant role alongside fossil fuels and nuclear power. There is much at stake both
locally and globally.
Water mills, firewood, sailing boats,
horse-drawn vehicles…for thousands of years, renewable energy resources have made a
major contribution to the development of human activities. With the industrial revolution
fossil fuels-coal, then oil and gas-easy to store and very efficient, gradually supplanted
renewable sources of energy, which were both widely spread about and, for the most part,
irregular. Nonetheless, on the brink of the 21st century, they are again arousing
interest, for at least three reasons.
-first, to protect the environment. Unlike
fossil fuels, renewable energies do not produce greenhouse gases. Furthermore, they do not
generally cause any local pollution, whereas nuclear energy poses the problem of
radioactive waste. They are therefore at the center of the plan to combat the greenhouse
effect adopted by the French government in 2000 in order to try to reduce global warming.
-secondly, security of supply. In France oil
covers 41% of energy needs with 37% coming from electricity. The supply of fossil fuels is
subject to uncertainties of geopolitical factors. Moreover, their quantity is limited.
Diversification is thus essential for the future.
-lastly, the economy and local development.
The liberalization of the electricity market has enabled renewable sources of energy to
take their place here. This means a seam of jobs to be developed, spread over the whole
country.
An ambitious target: In 1997, the European
Union, EU, took stock of what is at stake. In its White Book on Renewable Energies, it is
recommended that the contribution of renewable sources of energy rise from 6% in 1995 to
12% in 2010. The EU, is, in addition, to adopt a directive on the production of
electricity from renewable sources of energy in 2001. In France where 80% of electricity
is generated from nuclear power, the aim is to increase the proportion of electricity from
renewable energy sources consumed from 15% in 1997 to 21% in 2010. This is an ambitious
target which involved simultaneously boosting production of such electricity and reducing
total energy consumption.
In order to reduce energy consumption in
construction and transport, in December 2000 the French government presented its National
Plan to improve energy efficiency. Implemented by Ademe, this plan includes investments
incentives and an information campaign. Publicity on radio and television is accompanying
the opening, by the end of 2001, of a hundred or so energy information points in France.
On the renewable energy side, in June 2001
the government laid down the conditions of purchase by Electricite' de France, EDF, at a
price advantageous to producers in the two most important secondary sectors, wind power
and small scale hydroelectric schemes. Between now and 2010, from 10,000 to 14,000
megawatts of wind generated power units are to be installed in France, on land and
off-shore, equating to between 5,000 and 10,000 individual wind generators. A sign that
things are moving, EDF also announced, in June 2001, its intention to control 20 to 30% of
the French wind power sector by 2010.
As for other sources of renewable energy for
the production of electricity or heat, they are benefiting from a major program of support
by ADEME. As well as installation grant aid for existing technologies, ADEME supports
research works, particularly in photo-voltaic cells, bio-fuels and geothermal science.
"Injecting water into hot, dry rock at a depth of 5000 meters seems very promising
for steam recovery", points out Jean-Louis Bal, deputy director of renewable energies
at ADEME. "With this technique, the contribution of geothermal technology to European
electricity could in the future be comparable to that of nuclear power"'.
Even the French Atomic Energy Commission,
CEA, the driving force behind the development of nuclear power in France, has made the
development of renewable energy sources one of its priorities. In 2004, 300 people,
compared to 100 in 2000, and 41.5 million euros (272 million francs) will be devoted by
the CEA on hydrogen power and fuel storage cells. It is undeniably springtime for
renewable energies in France.
Text courtesy: Label France, December
2001. Embassy of France in Kathmandu.
On the eve of Israeli national day April 17,
2002
DEAD SEA REMEDIES
The list of patients who
can benefit from a stay at the lowest point on earth is growing.
By Judy Siegel-Itz.kovich, Israel
There are few places to vacation as relaxing
as the Dead Sea - the blue, sunny skies, waveless sea, spas and hotels make it a pleasure
to be there. But being there can give you more than a chance to unwind: you could also
find relief from a range of heart, lung and skin diseases.
Doctors who have been studying the
therapeutic effects of the Dead Sea have long pointed out that the unique atmosphere and
topography of the area are beneficial to health. The low altitude of the sea - 402 meters
(1,319 feet) below sea level - causes high oxygen concentrations and barometric pressure,
and allows many of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays to be filtered out by the layer of
mineral gases that han as a cloud over the sea. Pulmonary experts claim that being at the
Dead Sea for a week or two can have a beneficial effect on children and adults suffering
from breathing difficulties, and these effects can last for several months. Ben-Gurion
University Prof. Asher Tal, Rabin Medical Center lung expert Professor Mordechai Kramer
and Clalit Health Services physician Dr. Eldar Berkovits agree that the high-pressure
oxygen and salts benefit patients of all ages suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF),
emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).
CF is an incurable hereditary disorder in
which large amounts of mucus clog the lungs, causing frequent chronic lung infections,
which can only be ameliorated by physiotherapy to break up the mucus, or a lung
transplant. The disease affects thousands of young people worldwide, including scores of
Israeli children. "The high oxygen level at the Dead Sea gives the patients more
oxygen in their blood, thereby improving their breathing efficiency. This helps them
exercise and eases their daily life," Berkovits explains. The Dead Sea air is also
free of pollen, he adds.
Kramer notes that CF patients not only enjoy
an improved quality of life while at the Dead Sea, but this continues after they have
returned home. 'We found that the higher the altitude' of the patient's regular residence,
the greater was the benefit of a sojourn at the Dead Sea."
Tal and Kramer say that health funds would
benefit if they subsidized, at least partially, the Dead Sea visits of their members who
have CF, since they are less likely to contract infections and thus require less treatment
when they return home. Health insurance providers in numerous European countries already
subsidize the trips and therapies for patients there.
Professor Michael David, a senior
dermatologist at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, has conducted numerous studies
showing that psoriasis sufferers go into remission for many months after spending weeks at
the Dead Sea. Psoriasis is an incurable genetic skin disease that causes itchy, unsightly
red scales on any part of the body, from the scalp to the soles of the feet. Sunlight is
known to improve the condition of psoriasis patients, but they cannot expose themselves to
ordinary sunlight for long periods because of the risk of skin cancer. However, the low
altitude and mineral clouds at the Dead Sea filters out most of the UV radiation, allowing
patients to lie in the sun for hours at a time without even reddening. This experience has
been found to be particularly beneficial to patients with psoriatic scales over more than
20 percent of their bodies who cannot benefit from laser and other localized treatments.
While relief from these lung and skin
diseases has been recognized for a number of years, Prof. Edward Abinader of the Faculty
of Medicine at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, believes that a stay at the
Dead Sea can also help heart patients. He examined 24 patients - 12 with heart conditions
and 12 without - first in Haifa (427 feet above sea level) and then at the Dead Sea, and
found that cardiac patients showed signs of better overall cardiac performance at the Dead
Sea. In a recent issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, he explained that the
high-pressure oxygen improves the delivery of the gas to the heart and lungs, thus
improving their performance. He presented his research before an international conference
at the Dead Sea Research Center in Israel.
"I originally set out to prove that the
Dead Sea wouldn't harm patients with cardiac problems, but 1 discovered that it actually
helps them," Abinader said. "Patients were able to exert themselves
significantly more there than in other environments."
Courtesy Dead Sea Hotel Association and
"Tamar" Regional Council |
