consumption – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Sowing a more sustainable future

By Guest PostJune 3, 2013Generalbetter nutrition, cereal crops, common beans, consumption, country, cowpeas, drought, Economy, ecuador, farmers, food sources, Gerardine Mukeshimana, Health, high altitude zones, hilly terrain, Jim Kelly, knowledge, lima beans, Michigan State, millions of Rwandans, people of Rwanda, root, Rwanda Agriculture Board, rwandan genocide, sources of carbohydrates, united states, Widows

One of the keys to better nutrition and health for the people of Rwanda fits in the palm of a hand: legumes. But despite their nutritional punch, legumes—including common beans, cowpeas, and lima beans—are highly susceptible to drought and disease. That’s what brought MSU scientists to Rwanda, which has the world’s highest bean consumption per capita, to work on breeding heartier varieties that can sustain the people and economy of the country.

To increase yields, MSU’s Jim Kelly, a professor of crop and soil sciences who has been developing bean varieties for more than 30 years, is introducing new varieties as well as educational materials to help farmers grow them successfully. Using traditional methods that don’t require genetic manipulation, Kelly has bred climbing beans, as opposed to bush-like beans, that already have improved yields from a quarter ton per acre to four tons per acre in the country’s high-altitude, steep, hilly terrain. (more…)

Better Monitoring of Food Quantity Makes Self-Control Easier

By Guest PostAugust 27, 2012Healthamerica, carlson school, consumption, eat less, food quantity, joseph redden, kelly haws, mechanism, minneapolis, monitoring, obesity problem, satiation, self control, st paul, twin cities, university of minnesota

UMN study shows eating less is about reduced desire as well as willpower

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL — New research from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management suggests learning how to stop enjoying unhealthy food sooner may play a pivotal role in combating America’s obesity problem. The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, explores how satiation, defined as the drop in liking during repeated consumption, can be a positive mechanism when it lowers the desire for unhealthy foods.

“When people talk about self-control, they really imply that self-control is willpower and that some people have it and others don’t when facing a tempting treat,” says Joseph Redden, an assistant professor of marketing at the Carlson School and lead author of the ‘Healthy Satiation: The Role of Decreasing Desire in Effective Self-Control.’ “In reality, nearly everyone likes these treats. Some people just stop enjoying them faster and for them it’s easier to say no.” (more…)

New Study Finds Consumption Measures Poverty Better than Income

By Guest PostAugust 20, 2012Economyanti poverty programs, bruce d meyer, child tax credit, consumption, government spending, income based poverty, james x sullivan, neediest americans, policymaker, poverty indicator, poverty measure, supplemental poverty measure, tax credit, u.s. census bureau, university of chicago

The U.S. Census Bureau should reconsider income-based poverty measures in favor of a consumption-based method, according to a new study that strives to more accurately identify the neediest Americans.

The report found that the official poverty rate and the Census Bureau’s new Supplemental Poverty Measure—both of which are income-based—do not gauge the extent of poverty as well as a method based on real purchasing ability. Bruce D. Meyer, the McCormick Foundation Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, co-authored the study with James X. Sullivan of the University of Notre Dame. (more…)

The Price of Popularity: Drug and Alcohol Consumption

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 20101 commentCulturealcohol, canada, consumption, drugs, emotional troubles, frank vitaro, frédéric brière, hard drugs, jean-sébastien fallu, marijuana, popularity, popularity and consumption, stéphane cantin, teenagers, university of oslo

The consumption of drugs and alcohol by teenagers is not just about rebellion or emotional troubles. It’s about being one of the cool kids, according to a study by led by researchers at the Université de Montréal. “Our study highlights a correlation between popularity and consumption,” says Jean-Sébastien Fallu, lead researcher and professor at the Université de Montréal’s School of Psychoeducation. “The teenagers we studied were well-accepted, very sensitive to social codes, and understood the compromises that it takes to be popular.”

(more…)

Tag Archives: consumption

Sowing a more sustainable future

Better Monitoring of Food Quantity Makes Self-Control Easier

New Study Finds Consumption Measures Poverty Better than Income

The Price of Popularity: Drug and Alcohol Consumption