Genetically Modified Foods: China Has the World Worried
China is charging into the 21st century — but its food-inspection system is mired in the 19th. Last year saw a series of tainted- food scandals. But consumers are just as concerned about genetically modified (GM) crops. The country is pumping funds into genetic research in the hope that better crops will help the land of 1.3 billion people feed itself. Given the gaps in China's food-safety net — and the potential for GM food to get out of control — that possibility is worrisome.
Global Warming: A Hot Earth Could Worsen Allergies and Kidney Stones
It may not rank with rising sea levels and crippling drought, but hay fever is one more thing global warming is likely to make worse. A study in the September Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that increasingly early pollination of olive trees in Spain led to higher pollen counts overall. Similar outcomes can be expected in temperate areas elsewhere as the earth warms. That's bad news for everyone — particularly the 300 million asthmatics around the world. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also links rising temperatures to an increase in kidney stones — a condition related to dehydration. In 2000 some 40% of Americans already lived in warm parts of the country considered kidney-stone risk areas. That number is expected to reach 70% by 2095. There has also been an increase in the number of children with kidney stones over the past year. But don't blame global warming: the real cause may be too many salty snacks.
