World Ark Magazine - March/April 2008 - (Page 4) For The Record Facts & Figures ©iStockphoto.com/adisa Poverty & Nutrition: A Double-Edged Sword Experts studying poverty and food security have found an unexpected and troubling correlation: The poor are at greater risk for obesity and obesityrelated diseases. Some scientists even estimate that by 2015, Factor It In Worried about the global population explosion? Consider your consumption factor instead, writes Jared Diamond in The New York Times. People in most developed countries have a consumption factor of about 32, he explains, meaning they consume roughly 32 times as many resources and produce 32 times as much waste as people in developing countries. Populations in less developed countries may be booming, but because people there have consumption factors close to one, these increases are far less stressful globally. The goal, Diamond points out, should be to decrease consumption rates in the developed world to more globally friendly levels. This is probably easier, and better, than we think. Oil consumption across western Europe is half of the United States’, and yet life expectancy, health and financial security are better in those countries. obesity-related diseases will surpass malnutrition as the leading causes of death among the poor. While malnutrition and overnutrition among the poor are quite different problems, the cause of those problems— limited access to fresh, healthy food—is the same. The findings are prompting a re-thinking of traditional definitions of malnutrition and spurring new efforts to improve access to good food. 42% of children under five in South Asia are moderately or severely underweight, more than in any other region of the world. Source: UNICEF Long Live the Lowly Worm Prized by farmers through the ages for its ability to make soil rich and crumbly, the humble earthworm may get a brand new bag. Scientists searching for ways to clean up industrial waste sites are turning to earthworms—or more specifically, to their enzymes. It seems a Slovak scientist named Oto Sova has been able to remove contaminants like the carcinogen PCB by mixing the soil with earthworm enzymes, which break down the toxins and render them harmless. Yet to be approved stateside, the process could restore acres of contaminated land. 4 March/April 2008 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org http://iStockphoto.com/ http://www.heifer.org
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