Health

Can Thailand’s Latest ‘Superfood’ Fortify its Struggling Farmers?

Thai black jasmine rice (Rice berry)

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CHIANG MAI – Riceberry, Thailand’s latest “superfood, would seem to have it all: An enticing deep purple color and tender texture; disease-fighting properties from antioxidants to zinc; and a nutty flavor that lingers pleasantly on the palette.

It is one of several high quality, organically grown rice varieties that are slowly eating into the dominance of the less healthy, polished white rice favored by most Asians.

Experts and cultivators contend that newcomers like riceberry can also help to alleviate the crushing debt, threadbare income and numerous other woes facing the small farmers who still make up the overwhelming majority of Thailand’s agricultural sector.

Production of organic food, particularly rice, has grown at an annual average of 8% in the country over the past five years, with more than 13,150 farms engaged in the practice in 2015, according to Vitoon Panyakul, head of the nationwide Green Net Cooperative, a social enterprise which works to link sustainable farmers with consumers.

Although the new rice varieties have hardly become a staple of Thai meals, more consumers are becoming wary of produce which in recent decades has been increasingly soaked in pesticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers. Alternative varieties include some 10 nutritious organic rice strains, with riceberry — a cross-breed of jao hom nin (non-glutinous black rice) and dawk mali (jasmine or fragrant rice) — perhaps emerging as the trendiest.

Chomchuan Boonrahong, left, a professor, farmer and adviser to the Thai government on organic agriculture, offers advice to a villager in the northern province of Chiang Mai, a hub of Thailand’s organic movement. (Photo by Denis D. Gray)

Growing organic rice is far from easy — while it has lower input costs in terms of items like fertilizer, and a higher market price, it is also more labor intensive and initially provides lower yields. But, with mounting domestic as well as international demand for these niche varieties, farmers who grow them correctly are reaping rewards which may make the difference between future survival on their land and having to sell up and leave.

“If you have five rai (80% of a hectare) of land in organic rice, you can send your children to university,” says Chomchuan Boonrahong, a professor at Chiang Mai’s Mae Jo University and himself a farmer of organic rice, chickens and fish. Varieties like riceberry, developed by Bangkok’s Kasetsart University in 2012, sell for about double the price of conventional white rice in stores — although profits to farmers are generally not as high and can fluctuate widely given the many variables involved in their growth.

A farmer north of Chiang Mai spreads liquid fertilizer over a field to be planted with riceberry, which he will export to China. He hopes the switch from conventional white rice will boost his income. (Photo by Denis D. Gray)

Vitoon estimates that farmers who switch to organic generally boost their income by 10% to 15%, although late last year Green Net purchased organic rice from its more than 750 members at 40% above the price of standard non-organic varieties. The downside, of course, is higher prices for consumers.

Concerned Consumers

“Poor people just want to be fed. They don’t have extra cash and they don’t think of the consequences of not eating organic food 35 years down the line,” says David Dawe, an expert on rice in Asia at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. “But as Asians get richer they can afford it and they care more about health issues. So increasingly it is becoming big business. It’s got a lot of potential everywhere in the region.”

For small farmers, much depends on how they can overcome challenges, from bypassing sometimes rapacious middlemen to gain direct market access, to pursuing innovative supplementary sources of income on their small holdings.

One recent case study by ECHO, the U.S.-based global information network for small and poor farmers, illustrates how success can be achieved. After some trial and error, Fah Mui, a farmer in the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai, began to register excellent results by following the System of Rice Intensification, a labor-intensive, low-water method of increasing yield, combined with organic practices like using what is called “fermented herb juice” to ward off insects and water-level management to control weeds, crabs and snails.

Charoen Yokhamchu uses only organic material and practices in cultivating his rice, but is concerned that the young rural generation, including his son, will forsake farms for city jobs. (Photo by Denis D. Gray)

She mills and packs her own rice and uses a website and social network Facebook for direct marketing. From her brown rice, she also produces gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) powder, popularly used as a calming or sedative supplement. There are several other profitable rice by-products including a cereal drink and cookies, and there is even a beer called “Cheers” made from riceberry.

Fah Mui’s brown paddy rice sold for $4,000 a ton in Bangkok in 2015, compared to between $266 and $433 per ton of non-organic paddy rice. Her GABA fetched as much as $10,000 a ton.

Fah Mui’s path to profit is one advocated by experts like Chomchuan, who encourages rice farmers, especially younger ones he hopes will stay on the land rather than seek jobs in cities, to control every stage from growing to processing to marketing, while also diversifying into other crops or agro-businesses. Much of this, he says, is best done through cooperatives or other associations which can also provide the technical know-how needed to find the right formula for organic rice growing.

Some who opt to go organic become so enthusiastic they sound like religious converts. Charoen Yokhamchu, whose farm lies north of Chiang Mai, believes it also saved his life, convinced that his earlier immersion in chemicals caused a stroke which left him temporarily paralyzed. Now 65 and with a renewed vigor, he says just one-third of a hectare provides enough rice each year for his family of nine. But his main income stems from producing high-quality organic fertilizer.

A customer looks over organic produce, including rice, displayed by one of about 100 vendors at Mae Jo University, which hosts one of some 20 organic markets in and around Chiang Mai. (Photo by Denis D. Gray)

“You can’t put a price on good health. We are trying to spread the word. Trying, but it is difficult,” he says, noting that his own son, an oil engineer, will not follow in his footsteps.

Advocates hope the benefits — and perhaps mystique — of the organic movement will induce the coming generation of farmers to remain on the land. The Thai government is likewise hopeful, laying out its second National Organic Agriculture Development Strategy in April. The Ministry of Agriculture hopes its support will see more than 162,000 hectares of land dedicated to organic rice production by 2021.

But a wider challenge facing all small farmers in Thailand’s rural communities is the continuing exodus to the city. The Thai Development Research Institute found that those aged 54 and older make up by far the largest age group among farmers, while those between 15 and 24 are all but absent from rural areas.

From debt woes to ‘Rice Resorts’

Another worry is that free trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and with China may flood the Thai market with cheaper produce than the local organic output. Then there is the ubiquitous scourge of rising household debt in the countryside.

“Many farmers can’t reboot to organic because they are burdened with debt. They don’t have the ready cash needed to begin organic farming even if down the road they will get bigger returns,” notes Thomas Jefferson Rutherford, a sustainable agriculture specialist.

Kingploy Issarajan combines a yoga retreat with her passion for organic rice farming, which includes a large field of riceberry. (Photo by Denis D. Gray)

One might not readily discern such problems in and around Chiang Mai, arguably Thailand’s organic capital, although organic rice is also concentrated in other northern and northeastern provinces.

The city and its environs host about 20 local organic markets, more chemically-free produce is generally found on its supermarket shelves than in Bangkok and Mae Jo University has declared itself Thailand’s “First Organic Agriculture University.” There are even “rice resorts” like Mala Dhara, where owner Kingploy Issarajan teaches guests yoga and takes them to her riceberry fields where buffaloes fertilize the crop and ducks snack on predatory “cherry snails.” “Rice is my passion,” she explains.

Some 100 vendors gather twice weekly for an organic market on the Mae Jo University campus. A lively atmosphere pervades, and many of the farmers come dressed in traditional attire.

“I’m around chemicals a lot so I hope organic food may offset some of the harm,” said Pradudnet Ketwong, a doctorate candidate in applied chemistry, as she purchased a kilogram of organic rice from a farmer residing just down the road. “It may be a bit more expensive but many of my friends also shop organic.”

By Denis D. Gray – NIKKEI

Health

Report Causes Pfizer Stock to Climb Approximately $1 Billion Acquired by Starboard

(VOR News) – According to a rumor that activist investor Pfizer Starboard Value has taken a holding in the struggling pharmaceutical business that is expected to be worth around one billion dollars, the stock of Pfizer (PFE) is on the increase in premarket trading on Monday.

This comes after the report was made public. The report was made available to the general public following this. Starboard Value was successful in moving forward with the acquisition of the position.

Starboard is said to have approached Ian Read, a former chief executive officer of Pfizer, and Frank D’Amelio, a former chief financial officer, in order to seek assistance with its goals of boosting the performance of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read and D’Amelio are both former Pfizer executives.

The purpose of this is to facilitate the accomplishment of its objectives, which include enhancing the overall performance of the firm.

In their previous jobs, D’Amelio and Read were chief financial officers.

It is stated in the report that the hedge fund is of the opinion that Pfizer, which is currently being managed by Albert Bourla, who succeeded Read as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2019, does not demonstrate the same level of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) discipline that Read did. Bourla took over for Read in 2019. Read was succeeded by Bourla in the year 2019.

Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate, has made substantial investments in the acquisition of more companies that are involved in the research and development of cancer medicines.

These businesses have been acquired for billions of dollars. The biotechnology company Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer in the previous year for a price of $43 billion, is included in this category. One of the businesses that can be classified as belonging to this category is Seagen.

In spite of the fact that the S&P 500 Index experienced a 21% increase in 2024.

No major trading occurred in Pfizer stock that year.

Due to the fact that the demand for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines fell after the firm reached its pandemic peak in 2021, the share price of the corporation has decreased by over fifty percent since that time.

This drop has occurred ever since the company’s shares reached their maximum peak, which was during the time that this decline occurred. Not only have they not changed at all, but they have also remained essentially stable. This is in contrast to the S&P 500, which has gained 21% since the beginning of this year.

Recently, the corporation was forced to take a hit when it decided to recall all of the sickle cell illness medications that it had distributed all over the world.

Fears that the prescription could lead patients to experience severe agony and possibly even death were the impetus for the decision to recall the product. In spite of the fact that Pfizer’s stock is increasing by almost three percent as a result of the news that followed the company’s decision, this is the circumstance that has come about.

SOURCE: IPN

Health

New Study Reveals Drinking Soda Pop Increases the Risk of Stroke

If you drink too much soda, fruit juice and coffee, beware!

A recent report from global research indicates that excessive consumption of coffee or soda pop is associated with an increased risk of stroke, although the intake of black and green tea is correlated with a reduced risk. Excessive consumption of soda pop or coffee warrants caution!

Recent research indicates that it may substantially elevate the risk of stroke.

Consuming four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke, according to studies, although ingesting 3-4 cups of black or green tea daily typically offers protection against stroke. Additionally, consume more coffee; it may reduce your risk of mortality.

Recent findings from global research studies co-led by the University of Galway and McMaster University, alongside an international consortium of stroke researchers, indicate that soda, encompassing both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened variants such as diet or zero sugar, is associated with a 22 percent heightened risk of stroke. The risk escalated significantly with the consumption of two or more of these beverages daily.

Stroke Risk Fizzy Drinks and Soda Pop

The correlation between fizzy drinks consumption and stroke risk was most pronounced in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Women exhibit the most elevated risk of stroke from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage) associated with fruit juice beverages. Consuming over 7 cups of water daily diminishes the likelihood of stroke due to a clot.

Researchers observed that numerous items advertised as fruit juice are derived from concentrates and have added sugars and preservatives, potentially negating the advantages often associated with fresh fruit and instead elevating stroke risk.

Fruit juice beverages were associated with a 37 percent heightened risk of stroke resulting from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage). Consuming two of these beverages daily increases the risk thrice.

Consuming over four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke by 37 percent, although lower consumption levels do not correlate with stroke risk. Conversely, tea consumption was associated with an 18-20 percent reduction in stroke risk. Additionally, consuming 3-4 cups daily of black tea, such as Breakfast and Earl Grey varieties, excluding green and herbal teas, was associated with a 29 percent reduced risk of stroke.

Consuming 3-4 cups of green tea daily was associated with a 27 percent reduction in stroke risk. Notably, the addition of milk may diminish or inhibit the advantageous effects of antioxidants present in tea. The lower risk of stroke associated with tea consumption was negated for individuals who added milk.

Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational reasons and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical counsel. Consistently consult your physician regarding any inquiries pertaining to a medical problem.

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Health

Following a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, What Else Should You Know?

(VOR News) – Even though breast cancer affects one in eight American women, receiving a diagnosis can make a woman feel isolated.

Experts in breast cancer from the American College of Physicians (ACS) advise patients on how to manage their disease so that they may better cope with this awful information.

First, the kind and stage of breast cancer dictates the course of your care.

In addition to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there are various surgical options available for the treatment of breast cancer.

Women of African descent are disproportionately affected by triple-negative breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form of the disease that has never proven easy to treat.

According to the American Cancer Society, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy, has been shown to be helpful when combined with chemotherapy and is currently the recommended course of treatment for certain combinations of triple-negative breast cancer.

In her presentation, Dr. Katharine Yao said, “It’s really important that the patient and physician discuss the patient’s preferences and values when deciding what type of treatment to pursue and that they have an honest, individualized discussion with their care team.”

She is currently responsible for developing breast cancer treatment recommendations for more than 575 hospitals and institutions nationwide in her role as chair of the American College of Surgeons’ National Accreditation Program for Breast Institutions (NAPBC).

Yao, vice chair of research at Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals in New York, pointed out that each decision made about a patient’s treatment plan should take her preferences and diagnosis into consideration.

She ought to think about whether she would prefer a mastectomy—a surgical procedure that involves removing the entire breast with or without reconstruction—or a lumpectomy, which involves a surgical procedure that spares part of the breast tissue.

She stated that “the breast cancer you have may be very different from the breast cancer you hear about in your neighbor, colleague, or friend” in a press release issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Consider that while discussing breast cancer with others.”

Throughout your journey, it is critical that you look after your emotional health because having breast cancer may have a detrimental impact on your mental health.

“Getting a cancer diagnosis does not mean that everything in your life stops to be normal.” Director of the Fellowship in the Diseases of the Breast program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas and state head of the American Cancer Society Commission on Cancer for Arkansas, Dr. Daniela Ochoa She thinks adding the burden of a cancer diagnosis and treatment to all the other pressures in life may be taxing.

“Managing stress and emotional health is vital component of a treatment plan.”

Ochoa recommends clinically trained psychologists and social workers who have assisted people in coping with cancer to anyone receiving treatment. Learning coping techniques might also be facilitated by joining cancer support groups or cancer wellness initiatives.

Breast cancer specialists say your care team is crucial.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) defines comprehensive care as having support at every stage of the procedure from surgeons, oncologists, patient navigators, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and other specialists.

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, women should see a surgeon or medical oncologist to explore their options; nevertheless, treatment shouldn’t be discontinued after just one appointment or after surgery is over.

Additionally, you can ask trustworthy friends or family members to accompany you to appointments and aid you with research or notes. They could serve as a network of support for you.

Yao stated in his talk that “one of the most important things is that patients should search out a team they have confidence in, that they trust will have their back when they need it, and a team they feel they can get access to and that will help them when they are in need.”

SOURCE: MP