Early results from a € 20 million European Union-funded four-year project conclude that organic food is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help to lengthen people’s lives. The study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained as much as 40% more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease. …
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Category:7 Holonics and Life
Quitting smoking makes business sense
Many US businesses are seeking to reduce their medical bills by paying for programs to help employees stop smoking. Recent surveys show that one-third of companies with at least 200 workers now offer smoking cessation as part of their employee benefits package. Among the US’s biggest companies, the number may be nearly two-thirds of employers. …
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Money wins over humanity, by a wide margin
Humanity’s interest in raising the poor and destitute from the threshold of survival is insignificant. But our interest money, even the virtual money crated by trading opinions in the stockmarket, remains supreme. Whether Boston or Bombay, money, that metaphysical asset, seems to feed our souls. It took minutes for the top guns to swing into …
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UK to tighten standards for imported organics
The Soil Association has warned that it will introduce stricter ethical standards to certify organic food flown into the UK from January 2009. The association, which certifies 70% of the UK’s £1.9 billion organic food sector, wants the trade to bring real benefit to developing world farmers so all air-freighted food will have to meet …
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Executive certificate in sustainability – more please
In an effort to meet the growing demand for leaders in sustainable business, the Presidio School of Management has expanded its offerings to include an executive education certificate program targeted at senior executives. The school’s Sustainable Management Executive Certificate program will launch in January 2008 in partnership with the San Francisco-based Hanson Bridgett law firm. …
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Attention to diet and health at school is working in the US
The results of a survey of US schools, which is conducted every six years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows improvement in diet and lifestyle. 30% of school districts have banned junk food from school vending machines, up from 4% in 2000. Other signs are good too: schools offering fried potatoes in …
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How to build a better education system – lessons from around the world
A new report by McKinsey examines the common characteristics of school systems producing students who perform well on international tests. How the World’s Best Performing School Systems Come Out on Top (9.46 MB pdf). Their conclusions are not rocket science but do help clarify myths and reality. Getting good teachers depends more on how you …
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World Development Report: we must focus on agriculture and rural opportunities
“Poverty is overwhelmingly rural and will be for decades to come” according to the World Bank and their annual World Development Report. The World Bank warned that the UN goal of halving the incidence of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries would go unmet unless agriculture took centre stage in development aid. While 75% …
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Trade, inequality and education
Observations that inequality is rising as wealth rises have circulated recently with the publication of the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook which shows that while global income inequality has fallen, within countries, both rich and poor, inequality has been rising almost everywhere. As the IMF put it: “This recent experience seems to be …
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America, please stop convicting children as adults
As the rumblings of a change to the policy of capital punishment begin in America, the Equal Justice Initiative is releasing a report that says states should be required to review sentences of juvenile offenders, looking for cases where parole might be warranted. According to the report, there are 73 Americans serving life without parole …
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