News Archives - Page 13 of 31

Protect our Humanitarians

Health-workers and humanitarians around the world are constantly facing danger. Helping groups of people who are involved, sometimes involuntarily, with conflict and violence often leads to new enemies. All around the world, health care workers are being targeted for helping those in need. Countries such as South Sudan, Iraq, and Syria are posting of such attacks. The World Health Organization, WHO, is calling for a stop to this madness. “Doctors, nurses and other health workers must be allowed to carry out their life-saving humanitarian work free of threat of violence and insecurity,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. According to WHO’s article (August 18, 2014) “World Humanitarian Day: WHO calls for protection of health workers in conflicts, disasters”, emergencies and need across the globe is increasing daily. The author writes, On tomorrow’s World Humanitarian Day, celebrated every 19 August, WHO will draw attention to the continued trend of attacks…

Saving The Planet, One Green Surfboard At A Time

by Amanda Crater. See her full article at MainandPCH. It is no secret that surfers love the ocean and want to protect the environment, but who knew that surfing can be toxic? In a sport that is constantly evolving, in a town at the very heart of the surfing industry where pros and brands are born, Larry Bertlemann -- Hawaiian surfing legend who shook up a generation of surfers with his unique style and approach to the industry in the 1970s -- is once again carving his mark onto future generations of surfers through his company, "Be Better Boards" by Bertlemann. Larry "Rubberman" Bertlemann was on the scene of this year's US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, getting inducted into the surfing Walk of Fame and drawing attention to an issue that is near and dear to the heart of surfers everywhere: the health of the ocean and the people who love to be in it. "There are only two types of people in this whole world, leaders and followers, and I don't follow nobody," Be…

Food Safety for the Fourth

With Independence Day coming up this weekend, a lot of US citizens will find themselves Barbecuing and cooking for friends and family. We certainly will. My personal favorite grilled hot dogs with a side of beans, fruit salad, and maybe some barbecued corn on the cob; and to wash it down, some refreshing lemonade. I don’t know about you, but there have been some gatherings that did not end so well, and have left me not wanting to enjoy shrimp or some other type of food for a long time. Here are some food safety tips to help your scrumptious ribs and potato salad not make any one go home sick. Temperatures It is important that when cooking meat, you keep a close eye on the temperature. Poultry should hit 165 °F at the minimum and be held there for at least three (3) minutes. Beef, pork, lamb, and veal should all hit 145 °F and be held there for at least three (3) minutes. It is important these meats are cooked so hot because most bacteria cannot survive these temperatures. Any…

Food Safety Alert: Salmonella Outbreak in Chia Seeds

I have received a food safety alert from NutritionAction.com. It seems there has been an outbreak of Salmonella in Chia powder that has sickened and hospitalized people in the U.S. and Canada, over the last few days. This outbreak has led to the recall of “Organic Sprouted Chia Powder products produced by Health Matters America, Inc., … and by Navitas Naturals.” If you have purchased one of these products, throw it away or return it to the store for a refund. The article, Food Safety Alert: International Outbreak of Salmonella in Sprouted Chia Powder by Caroline Smith DeWaal (June 18, 2014) describes the symptoms too look out for, the investigation of this outbreak, and more. If interested, read her words below: Twenty-one people in 12 states have been sickened and two hospitalized after eating sprouted chia powder contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. In Canada, 44 have become ill and five hospitalized. Sprouted chia powder is used as a gluten-free…

World On Brink Of Sixth Great Extinction, Species Disappearing Faster Than Ever Before

Article originally appeared on The Huffington Post | By SETH BORENSTEIN Posted: 05/29/2014 2:47 pm EDT Updated: 05/31/2014 2:59 pm EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Species of plants and animals are becoming extinct at least 1,000 times faster than they did before humans arrived on the scene, and the world on the brink of a sixth great extinction, a new study says. The study looks at past and present rates of extinction and finds a lower rate in the past than scientists had thought. Species are now disappearing from Earth about 10 times faster than biologists had believed, said study lead author noted biologist Stuart Pimm of Duke University. "We are on the verge of the sixth extinction," Pimm said from research at the Dry Tortugas. "Whether we avoid it or not will depend on our actions." The work, published Thursday by the journal Science, was hailed as a landmark study by outside experts. Pimm's study focused on the rate, not the number, of species disappeari…

(Part 1 of 3) Catching Cunning Companies and Their Claims: The Ingredient List

by Jessica Justiniano for GreenBusinesses.com Raise your hand if quite often you find yourself confused when reading the ingredient list on a packaged food. “High-fructose corn syrup”? “Partially-Hydrogenated Oil”? “Aspartame”? Companies have no problem deceiving consumers into thinking they are purchasing something healthier, and then hiding the hurtful ingredients behind big words. Here is some insight into what you are reading on that package. The easier the ingredient list to read, the healthier this product will be. A bag of potato chips, for example, should only mention potatoes and some sort of oil (canola preferably for it’s monounsaturated fats). However, oftentimes there are many other additives included. Food companies, at least the unhealthy ones, do not like to share what ingredients are in their foods, so the ingredient list must be decoded to understand what one is consuming. Trans fat and partially-hydrogenated oil Trans fat does not have to be claimed o…