News for Now Update: Week ending April 9, 2022

Growing Pandemic Burnout for Physicians
In an ongoing survey that has garnered more than 36,000 clinician responses, an alarming picture of a burned-out workforce is beginning to form. Rebecca S. Etz, PhD, co-director of the Larry A. Green Center, shared with JAMA in a recent interview that it has been difficult for primary care workers during the pandemic, and it’s getting worse. In Etz’s survey, 25% of clinicians stated they planned to exit primary care within three years, putting further pressure on staffing issues. Read more at JAMA.

California Targets Emissions With Composting Regulation
A new composting regulation in California will help the state reach its goal to reduce 75% of food and yard waste that ends up in landfills by 2025. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related emissions, making this leadership action by California an important step in improving both soil and air quality. Learn more at KQED News.

World Health Day: How We Can Create Sustainable Food Systems
World Health Day reminds us of the need to improve systems to serve people and the planet. Today’s inadequate global food system is leaving many confronting hunger and malnutrition, and our environmental health is under siege. With the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition ending in 2026, taking serious action is more urgent than ever. Together, keeping ancestral wisdom in mind, we can create an ecologically sound food system that will serve and protect the planet for future generations. Find out more at Eco-Business.

Report: Warning About Food Production and Climate Resilience
Food production, consumption and waste are a primary target of greenhouse gas reductions in the Paris Climate Agreement. Astonishingly, a Global Alliance for the Future of Food report warns that many of the world’s largest economies aren’t addressing food systems in their climate change mitigation plans, and none are considering the emissions, deforestation and habitat destruction of their food imports. Learn more at ScienceAlert.

Food Bank Budget Restrictions Leave More Hungry
Food banks and pantries across the US are being forced into rationing for families in need as they face even greater food insecurity than that caused by the pandemic. With fuel prices soaring, community food providers are struggling with higher delivery and refrigeration costs, creating an untenable situation that will worsen come summer. Read more at Bloomberg CityLab + Equality.

Ukraine Invasion Increases Threat of Hunger Crisis
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has destabilized agriculture worldwide, causing a jarring interruption in supplies and raising concerns of an impending hunger crisis. Energy costs, sanctions, geopolitical instability, governments seeking to keep their food supplies close to home, and other issues are undermining a complex interdependent global food system. Learn about the challenges at Bloomberg Quicktake.

Pioneer Archives Post: “The Tongue: Magic Mirror of Health”—George E. Meinig, DDS on Tongue Conditions, Systemic Diseases, and Overall Health
Stick your tongue out for a dose of preventative medicine…
Dentists—including Dr. Weston A. Price—have long identified the mouth as an important source of information about a person’s overall health. In this 1995 article, George E. Meinig, DDS discusses various tongue conditions, what systemic diseases or mechanical injuries they could indicate (such as nutritional deficiencies, diabetes, and hypothyroidism), and suggestions for how to improve one’s health by addressing those conditions at the source. Read more in our Pioneer Archives Post.