Economy
Pandemic and higher food prices fuel sharp rise in global hunger – Financial Times
The economic fallout from the pandemic and rapidly rising food prices have fuelled a sharp increase in the number of people going hungry around the world, according to the UN. The number who did not have access to adequate nutrition last year rose 320m to 2.4bn — nearly a third of the world’s population — the UN said in a report published on Monday. The increase is equivalent to that of the previous five years combined.
US prosperity weakened by COVID-19, mass shootings, report finds
The COVID-19 crisis has weakened prosperity in the United States, but even before the pandemic, mass shootings, elevated obesity levels and mental health issues had taken their toll on Americans’ quality of life, a report by the Legatum Institute published Thursday showed.
Food prices could spike by 14% before October, a supermarket chain owner says. It’s already forcing restaurants to push up their prices. – Business Insider
Food prices could rocket a further 14% by October, John Catsimatidis, the owner and CEO of New York City supermarket chain Gristedes, told Fox Business.
Prices are rising because of falling production, stemming in part from a lack of available workers and supply-chain problems such as shipping delays, coupled with soaring consumer demand.
Putin’s drive to tame food prices threatens grain sector – Reuters
That has prompted Putin to push the government to take steps to tackle inflation. The government’s steps have included a tax on wheat exports, which was introduced last month on a permanent basis, and capping the retail price on other basic foodstuffs.
But in doing so, the president faces a tough choice: in trying to head off discontent among voters at rising prices he risks hurting Russia’s agricultural sector, with the country’s farmers complaining the new taxes are discouraging them from making long-term investments.
Environment
Commons and Households in A Small Farm Future. – The Land Magazine
It seems likely that the numerous and growing global problems caused by modernisation and globalisation will devolve into lower energy, less carbon intensive, more labour intensive, more rural and more agrarian ways of life than the ones to which we’re accustomed in the wealthy countries today. In The Land 27 Simon Fairlie sketched a possible human geography for such a world.1 In my book A Small Farm Future I sketch, among other things, a possible sociology – in other words, how people might organise their property, social and political relationships. This article summarises these aspects of my book, and extends them somewhat in the light of responses received.
Health
More than 450 airlines can now use IBM’s blockchain-based vaccine passport – Quartz
As international travel ramps up in parts of the world, Amadeus, a reservation system used by 474 airlines, has adopted IBM’s digital health passport solution called IBM Digital Health Pass. Instead of presenting paper-based certifications, travelers need only scan a QR code sent by email at the gate. Travelers without smart phones can print a QR code. The backend technology authenticates credentials against requirements of each country—relieving from agents an onerous burden, given how frequently countries change travel restrictions as the pandemic evolves.
First Total Artificial Heart Successfully Transplanted In the US – Interesting Engineering
Surgeons at the Duke University Hospital recently transplanted a total artificial heart (TAH) into a 39-year-old man who experienced sudden heart failure. Unlike conventional artificial hearts, this TAH mimics the human heart and provides the recipient more independence after the surgery, the university said in a press release.
US life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII – Fox News
U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years.
Alabama governor: “It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks” – Axios
A frustrated Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) told reporters Thursday that “it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks” for the state’s continued surge in new COVID-19 cases.
Article suggestions for the Daily Digest can be sent to dd@peakprosperity.com. All suggestions are filtered by the Daily Digest team and preference is given to those that are in alignment with the message of the Crash Course and the “3 Es.”
The post Daily Digest 7/23 — US Prosperity Weakened by COVID-19, Mass Shootings, Report Finds; More Than 450 Airlines Can Now Use IBM’s Blockchain-based Vaccine Passport appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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