Top Five Food Borne Illnesses Caused by Meat, Poultry and Dairy Products

Food borne diseases take a massive toll on the U.S. public, including 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths every year. (Source)  The financial burden of the 10 most expensive pathogens cost the U.S. economy an estimated $8.1 billion.  (Source)  The University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute, which came up with this dollar amount, has also found that the top five most expensive and most detrimental in terms of quality of life come from the meat, poultry, and dairy industries. (Source) The findings at the Emerging Pathogens Institute do not recommend abstaining from or limiting eating these foods, nor does the government food safety site, foodsafety.gov.  However, if you consider the fact that most meat, poultry, dairy, and egg production comes from factories that engage in cruel, polluting, energy intensive, wasteful, unsafe, and unsanitary practices, and take into account that eating these foods cause obesity and a host of other diseases - many of which cause death, and realize that eating these foods are in fact *totally* unnecessary, and that a plant-only based diet can be both delicious, nutritious, and ethical.  But no matter what you consider good to eat, you can stay on the safe side of food borne illnesses by following the recommendations for consumers at the U.S. government website mentioned above.  Happy eating!

Cool Google Earth App - Nuclear Plants and Population Centers

I posted this link earlier today but in case you might not have seen it, here it is again:  http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110421/full/472400a/box/2.html

Google Maplet - How Much Damage Can Nuclear Weapons Cause

This is really cool if you are interested in knowing how much damage nuclear weapons can cause.  http://www.carloslabs.com/projects/200712B/GroundZero.html

Sitting is Unhealthy

I don't have any immediate answers about how not to sit in front of a computer screen if that's a part of your job (like it is mine), except to say that research is showing that we need to move and stand, not sit without moving for long periods of time.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html

Job Prospects for Social Workers are High

A bit of good news for anyone interested in pursuing social or human services and specializing in social work from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Social work jobs will be created at 20% faster than average over the next 10 years in the U.S., particularly in the areas of working with the country's aging population, and working with people in need of help related to mental health and substance abuse.  As the BLS website also indicates, the increases in opportunities also reflect the fact that more people are being diverted away from prisons or are being required to seek treatment in addition to incarceration.  Becoming a social worker depends on the state, but a degree in social work is not necessarily required if you have other experience or educational background.  You can get a bachelor's or master's degree in social work at several good schools throughout the state.

Source:  http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm

Madison's Sober High School Receives Funding

Madison's Horizon High School, a small non-profit school that currently has about 12 students, is starting to receive assistance from the Madison Metropolitan School District.  I'm glad that there is such an option for high school students who are in recovery.  Apparently there are only three of these types of schools in Wisconsin.

Source:  http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/blog/article_fc9612c6-622c-11e0-b73b-001cc4c002e0.html

New Developments in Psilocybin Research

Scientists at the Imperial College London have made some new discoveries using fMRI to look at brain activity and blood flow among subjects who have been injected with psilocybin, a psychedelic compound. The results may have implications for the use of psilocybin in treatment for depression.  Visit this link to learn more about this study:  http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20358-psychedelic-drug-cuts-brain-blood-flow-and-connections.html  For a full list of psilocybin and other psychedelic research that is going on worldwide, visit the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) website, here:  http://www.maps.org/research/

Debunking Dumb Addiction Myths [The Fix]

The Fix, and online addiction and recovery magazine, has lots of refreshing and positive information.  Like this one on dumb addiction myths: http://www.thefix.com/content/waging-war-myths-about-addiction

A.A.'s Most Annoying Cliches [Article]

A new, interesting, and witty website, the Fix, has been launched for people in recovery.  Here's an article by Justin Knox, where he discusses several of what he sees as, "A.A.'s Most Annoying Cliches:"

http://www.thefix.com/content/aas-biggest-cliches