“if you’re 35 and not a smoker, you have a 98.5% chance of making it to 45. At 45, you would re-calibrate with those that are still alive and there is a 96% chance of living ten more years, then 93% for the next ten, then 90% for the next. Finally, at age 75, life gets a little risky and the chance that you will live another ten years drops to only 65%. Essentially, the ten year risk of death is almost negligible until we get to our 70s.”
File in the folder "Unintended Consequences". Researchers find that a ban on bottled water on the University of Vermont campus (presumably to cut down on waste) led to more plastic bottles being shipped to campus and to more soda consumption.
Ways to promote animal welfare without being a vegetarian. (though not explicitly acknowledged, some of the thoughts flow from my book with Bailey Norwood, Compassion by the Pound)
A great summary article by Phil Pardey and colleagues in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics on funding for research and development in agriculture. They write:
“We reveal that the U.S. position in the global R&D landscape has changed in substantive ways, especially over the past decade, partly as a result of investment decisions taken by governments and private entities elsewhere in the world, but also as a consequence of changed investment priorities in the United States”
Later they write:
“While the United States is arguably still the predominant source of innovation in global agriculture, the tide appears to be turning”
What happens when Big Food buys Little Food? File under: organic isn't little anymore . . .