Two weeks ago, I watched a story about Plumpy-Nut. It is a simple mixture of peanut butter, powdered milk, and other vitamins and minerals that is helping save kids from starvation. Read more about it here. It is amazing. Anyway, apart from the fact that seeing all those cute little kids caused my heart strings to get pulled a bit, there was one piece of dialogue that made me stop short. The interviewer asked a doctor, "But what about peanut allergies?" The answer: "You don't find peanut allergies in developing countries." 
This Sunday, there was a story about honey bees. I did remember hearing something on the news earlier this year about it, but had forgotten about it until now. In short, millions of honey bees have been deserting their hives and disappearing. It has left everyone stumped, but many have their suspicions about the causes. The massive use of pesticides have weakened the bees' immune sytems, which is allowing more diseases to infiltrate the hives. Mites and viruses are commonly found in bee colonies, and the practice of growing only one crop on acres and acres of land doesn't allow the variety of food the bees need. (Can you imagine only eating, say, apples all day every day?)So who knows. In a couple years, you may have to drive to the boonies to see us. Just watch out for happy bees and the antibiotic-free milk cow on the way up the lane.
No comments:
Post a Comment