Apr 15 2021

Healing with herbs

“Yes, Bonnie Bloom is my real name,” said Bonnie Bloom, a local herbalist. Sitting in her small greenhouse, she added, “When emigrating from Eastern Europe, my family was assigned the name “Bloom’ at Ellis Island, which suits me fine.”

An early April visit to her modest Gill home and gardens might lead one to think that not much is growing yet. But Bloom has a keen eye for nascent growth, and spots shoots and tendrils emerging from the soil.

“The first nettles,” she noted. A few yards away, she pointed to a pale nub next to a dried stick. “Here’s this year’s black cohosh, next to last year’s.”

Behind the home Bloom shares with her partner, Dan Sachs, piles of logs are stacked in crisscrossed fashion. “Shiitakes,” explained Bloom, referring to the mushroom known for healing properties and delicious flavor.

“Dan and I did this project together: drilling holes, preparing the substrate, inoculating with spores, plugging, and waxing. On our first try, we got four pounds from 10 logs. Now we have many more.”

Bloom and Sachs — an acupuncturist — operate Abundant Splendor, a healing center in Turners Falls. Much of Bloom’s work, however, is literally homegrown: she processes herbal extracts, tinctures and other products in the bottom floor of their split-level ranch house.

An herbal medicine practitioner for over two decades, Bloom founded Blue Crow Botanicals. Her home workspace is small, but tidy and organized: equipment, filters, tools for precise labeling and record-keeping, and hundreds of bottles and jars.

“I wanted Blue Crow to be a small, local business in order to preserve the personal relationship we have with the plants and the medicines we make, as well as with our clients and community,” Bloom said.

Both before and while serving as Blue Crow’s primary herbalist, Bloom worked with Sojourns Community Health Clinic in Westminster, Vermont for 17 years. Now, working from home and with additional growing space at Just Roots Farm in Greenfield, she devotes her skills and knowledge to helping people during a time when health issues have become increasingly uppermost in many peoples’ minds.

Herbalism might seem like a stretch for a girl who grew up in the Bronx, but Bloom’s summers in the Catskills inspired a deep love of the natural world. “As a teen, I loved reading ‘Stalking the Wild Asparagus’ by Euell Gibbons and then trying to find plants in the wild.”

Her main focus as a young person, though, was visual arts; she attended a New York City high school emphasizing music and art. “I loved being in the city,” Bloom said, “with so many bookstores, coffee shops, and things to see and do.”

Her first jobs were in visual arts and teaching high school English. She married a graphic designer, and the couple had four children.

Years later, following a divorce, Bloom found herself staring at a poster advertising a class about herbs. “The poster was an interesting size and well designed, so I signed up for the class, which I found fascinating.”

When the teacher of the class expanded her herbal extract business, Bloom was hired to manage the gardens and do graphic design work for the company. She stayed with Green Mountain Herbs for about five years.

“I learned so much from that first class, and later from working in the field. When I made my move to Sojourns in 2002, I’d found my calling,” said Bloom. She was able to build up the Sojourns apothecary, given that she’d gained herbal manufacturing skills in her previous work.

Entering the world of healing arts held special meaning for Bloom. “I grew up around a lot of cancer and saw relatives suffer from various illnesses after years of smoking and poor dietary habits. I wanted to alleviate suffering by learning about how people can live healthier lives.”

Bloom credits what seemed like a negative — the dissolution of her marriage — as leading to unforeseen positives. “Basically, my life fell apart and I discovered a whole new world. There have always been opportunities and angels in my life. That’s why I’m so hopeful.”

Helping people achieve greater health is, for Bloom, both an art and a science, and she dedicates herself to maintaining supreme quality in her work.

To ensure freshness and quality, Bloom grows many of the 150 plants she uses in her business. “I purchase some herbs from companies I consider reputable and excellent, and also do wildcrafting throughout our region,” she said, referring to the practice of harvesting in the wild with knowledgeable care.

After growing or obtaining plants picked at peak potency, Bloom and her assistants process them into extracts, oils and other products. “We process plants within 24 hours of harvesting to preserve active chemical constituents,” she said. Blue Crow uses organic cane alcohol in producing small batches and optimal concentrations.

“Working at home is convenient and allows for a simpler life,” said Bloom. Each week has cycles, with some days spent in the lab and others working outside in her rented space at the Just Roots farm, at home, or foraging.

Lab work includes pressing, processing, and manufacturing extracts. “There’s also a massive amount of paperwork and tracking, because the government controls all foods and substances. So I work under a tremendous number of regulations.” Lab time also includes filling orders.

In addition to lab and fieldwork, Bloom also sees clients, “over Zoom during the pandemic, but hopefully in person again soon. I love talking with my clients not only about which herbs might be beneficial, but also about nutrition, breathing and movement. I think it’s important to consider all of the healing tools.”

Bloom practices what she teaches, beginning each day with meditation and some form of movement. “I find that life is calmer and more centered when I take that time for myself.”

For Bloom, self-care is essential, not to be dismissed as extra. “We’re in a time of huge changes,” she noted. “It can feel like everything’s happening at once, and that can leave people feeling overwhelmed. COVID, climate crises, human rights abuses, environmental degradation.” Leaning back in her chair, she let out a long, slow breath, then continued: “The way I see it, hope is healthy and worry is unhealthy. Sadness and anger are understandable in this time, but should be fleeting emotions.”

In this, Bloom believes that “human history is fairly fraught, and we’re in a downturn cycle. But that will change if we work with it.”

Noting that “coronavirus is not a one-off,” Bloom added, “If we don’t stop our destructive habits, there will be other similar crises. Humans live in cycles, not in straight lines.”

Bloom’s awareness of the ways humans have created imbalances in nature goes far beyond the pandemic. “Look what we’ve done all over the world. We’re major players, dumping poisons into the soil, air, and water, clear-cutting, weed whacking. We just don’t know when to stop.”

Herbal habitat is shrinking, according to Bloom. “Thousands of mini-storage units and hotels cover areas that used to be habitat for many herbs, not to mention insects, birds and other forms of life.”

She added, “Don’t get me started on the weed whacker. That one tool, in the hands of people who may be well-meaning but are unaware, takes out a lot of medicinal plants growing on peripheries.”

Other problems result from the removal of trees, said Bloom. “When you take out cover, it invites the proliferation of invasives like multiflora rose, bittersweet, wild mustard and knotweed.” While some invasives can also have useful purposes, she noted, “It’s a question of balance.”

Bloom tries to deal with current crises “humbly, with love and attention. At the very least, I try to treat the earth, others, and myself as well as I can. On a practical level, I try to avoid buying or using plastics, because only 9 percent are recyclable. Actions can make a difference.”

Having four grandchildren inspires Bloom to feel positive about the future. “We have a 3-year-old and three newborn babies in our family.”

She understands why people feel depressed in this era, “but depression is a dead end. Instead, we must be generative. There’s always both darkness and light, and we have to choose.”

Bloom believes the planet is in transition. “This is a fragile time. I’d like to be a player in tilting the balance back toward health. I feel grateful that the work I do can help people feel less anxious and frustrated. A steady diet of the news and media will leave one feeling overwhelmed. But it’s important to remember that there’s always goodness and beauty and that the earth offers us healing.”

Eveline MacDougall is a local author, nature lover, and mom who welcomes feedback at eveline@amandlachorus.org.

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Apr 14 2021

Ancient pottery reveals the first evidence for honey hunting in prehistoric West Africa

Nok terracotta figurines. Credit: Goethe University

A team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, with colleagues from Goethe University, Frankfurt, has found the first evidence for ancient honey hunting, locked inside pottery fragments from prehistoric West Africa, dating back some 3,500 years ago.

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Honeybees are an iconic species, being the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. Honeybee hive products, including beeswax, honey and pollen, used both for food and medicinal purposes, support livelihoods and provide sources of income for local communities across much of Africa, through both beekeeping and wild harvest.

Today, honey is collected from wild bee nests in many African countries. In the West African tropical rain forest, hunting for wild honey, found in natural hollows in tree trunks and on the underside of thick branches, is a common subsistence activity.

It is not known how long humans have been exploiting bee products. Honey would certainly have been a rare source of sweetener for ancient people and was probably highly sought after. However, there is very little surviving evidence for ancient human exploitation of the honeybee, except for palaeolithic rock art which shows bees and honeycombs, spanning the period 40,000 to 8,000 years ago, the majority of which is found in Africa.

Historical and ethnographic literature from across Africa also suggests that bee products, honey and larvae, were important both as a food source and in the making of honey-based drinks, such as beer and wine.

The Bristol team were carrying out chemical analysis of more than 450 prehistoric potsherds from the Central Nigerian Nok culture to investigate what foods they were cooking in their pots. The Nok people are known for their remarkable large-scale terracotta figurines and early iron production in West Africa, around the first millennium BC. Acidic soils at Nok archaeological sites meant that organic remains such as animal bones and plants did not survive very well so what Nok people were eating was somewhat of a mystery.

To the team’s great surprise, their findings, published today in the journal Nature Communications, revealed that around one third of the pottery vessels used by the ancient Nok people were used to process or store beeswax. The presence of beeswax in ancient pottery is identified through a complex series of lipids, the fats, oils and waxes of the natural world. The beeswax is probably present as a consequence either of the processing (melting) of wax combs through gentle heating, leading to its absorption within the vessel walls, or, alternatively, beeswax is assumed to act as a proxy for the cooking or storage of honey itself.

Excavated Nok vessels are cleaned and photographed at the Janjala research station, shown in the picture: Dr Gabriele Franke, Goethe University. Credit: Peter Breunig

Honey is often an important food source for hunter-gatherers and there are several groups in Africa, such as the Efe foragers of the Ituri Forest, Eastern Zaire, who have historically relied on honey as their main source of food, collecting all parts of the hive, including honey, pollen and bee larvae, from tree hollows which can be up to 30 m from the ground, using smoke to distract the stinging bees.

Honey may also have been used as a preservative to store other products. Among the Okiek people of Kenya, who rely on the trapping and hunting of a wide variety of game, smoked meat is preserved with honey, being kept for up to three years, A number of the Nok pots contained chemical evidence for the presence of both beeswax and meat products.

As well as using honey as a food source, it may have been used to make honey-based drinks, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages, which are commonplace across Africa today, although it should be noted that the chemical identification of ancient fermentation is notoriously difficult. The writings of ancient explorers provide insights into the antiquity of these practices. For example, Ibn Battuta, the Muslim Berber scholar and explorer, whilst visiting Mauritania in 1352, tells of a sour drink made from ground millet mixed with honey and sour milk. A further account of the preparation of wine from honey is found in a record of a Portuguese visit to the west coast of Africa (1506-1510).

Honey and beeswax may also have been used for medicinal, cosmetic and technological purposes. Beeswax has also variously been used from prehistoric times as a sealant or waterproofing agent on Early Neolithic collared flasks in northern Europe, as a lamp illuminant in Minoan Crete and mixed with tallow, possibly for making candles, in medieval vessels at West Cotton, Northamptonshire. Lead author, Dr. Julie Dunne from the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry, said: “This is a remarkable example of how biomolecular information extracted from prehistoric pottery, combined with ethnographic data, has provided the first insights into ancient honey hunting in West Africa, 3,500 years ago.”

Professor Richard Evershed FRS who heads up Bristol’s Organic Geochemistry Unit and is a co-author of the study, added: “The association of prehistoric people with the honey bee is a recurring theme across the ancient world, however, the discovery of the chemical components of beeswax in the pottery of the Nok people provides a unique window on this relationship, when all other sources of evidence are lacking.”

Professor Peter Breunig from Goethe University who is the archaeological director of the Nok project and co-author of the study, said: “We originally started the study of chemical residues in pottery sherds because of the lack of animal bones at Nok sites, hoping to find evidence for meat processing in the pots. That the Nok people exploited honey 3,500 years ago, was completely unexpected and is unique in West African prehistory.”

Professor Katharina Neumann from Goethe University, Frankfurt, who is the archaeobotanical director of the Nok project and co-author of the study, added: “Plant and animal remains from archaeological sites usually reveal only a small part of what prehistoric people had been eating. Chemical residues of beeswax in potsherds opens up completely new perspectives for the history of resource exploitation and ancient diet.”

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                                        <a class="text-medium text-info mt-2 d-inline-block" href="https://phys.org/news/2015-11-early-farmers-exploited-beehive-products.html" rel="nofollow">Early farmers exploited beehive products at least 8,500 years ago</a>
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                                                                                            <strong>More information:</strong>
                                            Honey-collecting in prehistoric West Africa from 3,500 years ago, J. Dunne, N. Neumann, P. Breunig, R. Evershed et al, <i>Nature Communications</i>, 2021.


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Apr 14 2021

Farm Management Software Market Report 2021 Recent Development and Trends, Expected Growth and its Factors, CAGR, Industry Size, Business Prospects and Forecast 2025

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              <h2 class="fe_heading2">Farm Management Software Market Report 2021 Recent Development and Trends, Expected Growth and its Factors, CAGR, Industry Size, Business Prospects and Forecast 2025</h2>
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Apr 13, 2021 (AmericaNewsHour) —

Kenneth Research has published a detailed report on Farm Management Software Market, which has been categorized by market size as well as growth indicators, and further encompasses detailed market analysis on macro trends and region-wise growth in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa region. The report also includes the challenges that are affecting the growth of the industry and offers strategic evaluation that is required to boost the growth of the market over the period of 2021-2025.

<p>The <strong>Farm Management Software Market</strong> is estimated to record a significant growth throughout the forecast period. The ICT sector constitutes 4.8% of the European economy. Europe's organization ERDF i.e. European Regional Development Fund has allotted approximately <a href="/chart/US/M">USD</a> 23 billion for investments related to ICT during the funding period 2014-2020. ICT refers to the communication technologies including the internet, wireless networks, social networking, cell phones, video-conferencing, computers, software, and other media applications and services enabling users to access, retrieve, and manipulate information in a digital form.</p>    <p>Market synopsis</p>    <p>The farm management software and services market comprises of major applications that include record keeping, farm mapping, monitoring and forecasting, farm economics, and other applications. The farm management market is majorly driven by factors impacting the growth of the software and IT market such as growing demand for organic food and changing the lifestyle of people, profitability, and production with smart techniques implemented in farming. Additionally, the monitoring and observation of crops and <a href="/chart/LE/M">cattle</a> to yield additional production. The market for farm management software is expected to show a significant growth due to growing demand for a convenient cloud storage that has been widely incorporated in farm management software.</p>    <p>Download Sample of This Strategic Report- <a href="https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10154436" rel="nofollow">https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10154436</a></p>    <p>Apart from the management of crops, farm management software is also used for tax management, profit center analysis, cost accounting, inventory management, livestock management, and financial management. These additional services and features benefit farmers to keep monitored ROI and manage expenses revenue by tracking all the vital information. Various governments have started investing and taking initiative for the need and importance of the management software, thereby promoting farming and agriculture drive the growth of the market. However, higher initial capital investment and limited technical expertise are some of the factors restraining the market growth.</p>    <p>Segmentation</p>    <p>On the basis of the agriculture type, the market is segmented into precision farming, livestock monitoring, fish farming, smart greenhouse farming, and others.On the basis of the delivery model, the market is segmented into on-premise/web-based, and cloud-based.On the basis of service providers, the market is segmented into managed service providers (farm operation services, data services, and analytics services), professional service providers (supply chain management services and climate information services), connectivity service providers,  maintenance, up gradation and support services.On the basis of the application, the market is segmented into record keeping, farm mapping, monitoring and forecasting, farm economics, and others.</p>    <p>Regional analysis</p>    <p>North America is expected to have the largest market share in the forecast period. This growth is due to the on-premise/web-based delivery model of farm management software. Additionally, the government amenability increased the need for farm yield, and growing demand for advanced farming solutions tends to drive the farm management software market. Farmers in countries like the U.S. and Canada are progressively accepting modern farming systems, components, and devices such as farm management software, mobile applications, cloud services, imagery services, hi-speed internet services, and data analytics services.</p>    <p>However, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market due to the on-cloud delivery model of the farm management software market. The rate of acceptance of farm management software is expected to be high as the Asia Pacific comprises of emerging countries such as India, China, and Southeast Asian countries. Increased government spending, improved standard of living, urbanization, and growing awareness among agriculturists regarding advanced farming solutions are some of the key drivers for the growth of the farm management software market in this region.</p>    <p>Key players</p>    <p>The key players in the global farm management software market include Deere & Company (U.S.), Trimble Inc (U.S.), AG Junction, Inc (U.S.), Raven Industries, Inc. (U.S.), Iteris, Inc. (U.S.), AG Leader Technology Inc (U.S.), Dickey-John Corporation (U.S.), SST Development Group, Inc. (U.S.), Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.(U.S.) among others.</p>    <p>Request For Full Report- <a href="https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10154436" rel="nofollow">https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10154436</a></p>    <p>Global Farm Management Software Market, <a href="/chart/US/M">USD</a> Billion</p>    <p>Intended Audience</p>    <p>Farm Management Software services providers</p>    <p>IT service providers</p>    <p>Farm equipment manufacturers</p>    <p>Government agencies</p>    <p>Cloud Service providers</p>    <p>Agriculture components manufacturers</p>    <p>Value-added resellers</p>    <p>Construction builders</p>    <p>Research Firms</p>    <p>About Kenneth Research:</p>    <p>Kenneth Research provides market research reports to different individuals, industries, associations and organizations with an aim of helping them to take prominent decisions. Our research library comprises of more than 10,000 research reports provided by more than 15 market research publishers across different industries. Our collection of market research solutions covers both macro level as well as micro level categories with relevant and suitable market research titles. As a global market research reselling firm, Kenneth Research provides significant analysis on various markets with pure business intelligence and consulting services on different industries across the globe. In addition to that, our internal research team always keep a track on the international and domestic market for any economic changes impacting the products' demand, growth and opportunities for new and existing players.</p>    <p>Contact Us</p>    <p>Kenneth Research<br />Email: Sales@kennethresearch.com<br />Phone: +1 313 462 0609</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.americanewshour.com/2021/04/13/farm-management-software-market-report-2021-recent-development-and-trends-expected-growth-and-its-factors-cagr-industry-size-business-prospects-and-forecast-2025/644990/">Farm Management Software Market Report 2021 Recent Development and Trends, Expected Growth and its Factors, CAGR, Industry Size, Business Prospects and Forecast 2025</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.americanewshour.com">America News Hour</a>.

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Apr 13 2021

EFSA presents data on pesticide residues in food

The non-compliance rate for pesticides in foods decreased in 2019, according to a report published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The report is based on data from official national controls done by EU member states, Iceland and Norway.

For 2019, 96.1 percent of the 96,302 samples analyzed fell below the maximum residue level (MRL), 3.9 percent, or 3,720 samples, exceeded this level, of which 2,252 were non‐compliant based on measurement uncertainty.

The number of samples tested in 2019 increased compared to 91,015 in 2018. The MRL exceedance rate was 4.5 percent and the non-compliance rate was 2.7 percent in 2018.

Fipronil findings still featured in eggs with 23 samples and animal fat with eight. It is a veterinary medicinal product or biocide and presence in eggs is the result of illegal use. EFSA advised that member states continue analyzing for it in animal products. Ethylene oxide, which has prompted thousands of recalls across Europe from late 2020, was not mentioned.

Multiple findings and origin details
Reporting countries looked for 799 different pesticides in 2019. On average, 233 different ones were analyzed per sample. National control programs are risk-based, targeting products likely to contain pesticide residues or for which infringements have been identified in previous years.

Of all samples, 44.1 percent contained one or several pesticides in quantifiable concentrations, which is down from 47.8 percent in 2018. Multiple residues were reported in 25,584 samples. In a dried vine fruit sample with unknown origin, up to 28 different pesticides were found. In 313 tests, more than 10 pesticides were detected in the same sample.

The most frequently quantified pesticides were copper compounds, fosetyl, phosphane, bromide ion and chlorates. The one with the highest MRL exceedance rate was chlorate, a result in line with past years.

More than 61,000 samples came from one of the reporting countries and a quarter were from non-EU nations. Samples with unknown origin increased to 11.3 percent compared to 10 percent in 2018. France reported nearly half of its samples as unknown origin. Country of origin is a valuable piece of information for traceability reasons in the case of non-compliance, according to EFSA.

Of samples from the reporting countries, 2.7 percent exceeded the MRL and 1.3 percent were non-compliant. Samples from non-EU countries had a higher exceedance rate of 7.8 percent and a higher non-compliance level at 5.6 percent.

The highest MRL exceedance rates were linked to products from Malta, Cyprus and Poland, with more than 5 percent of samples above the MRL. The non-compliant rate was most for products grown in Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria. The top exceedance rates for non-EU countries were in Laos, Malaysia, Ghana, Uganda, Vietnam, Pakistan, Dominican Republic, Thailand and Cambodia.

Food for children, organic and glyphosate
The MRL exceedance rate in processed food products for 9,983 samples, was 2.8 percent, which is lower than that for unprocessed products.

Among 86,319 samples of unprocessed food products, 4 percent had residues above their corresponding MRLs and 2.4 percent were non-compliant samples. The percentage of non-compliances is slightly lower than 2018.

The highest MRL exceedance rates were in grape leaves, yard-long beans, coriander leaves, chili peppers, watercress, passion fruits/maracujas, pitahaya (dragon fruit), celery leaves, pomegranates, teas, and prickly pears/cactus fruits.

Reporting countries analyzed 1,513 samples of foods for infants and young children. MRL exceedances were reported in 20 samples and non-compliance was found five times. In one case, five pesticide residues were reported in the same sample.

More than 6,000 samples of organic food were tested. In total, 76 samples had residue levels above their corresponding MRLs, of which 31 were non-compliant. Animal products showed a higher quantification rate in organic samples of 15 percent than conventional samples at 6 percent mainly because of hexachlorobenzene, DDT, thiacloprid and copper findings.

Glyphosate was analyzed by 26 countries. From the 13,336 samples of different products, it was quantified at levels below the MRL in 364 samples and levels exceeded the limit for 12 samples.

For the 12,579 samples in the EU‐coordinated control program (EUCP), 2 percent, or 241, exceeded the MRL and 120 were non‐compliant.

The EUCP covered apples, head cabbages, lettuce, peaches, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, oat grain, barley grain, wine, cow’s milk and swine fat. Samples were analyzed for 182 pesticide residues.

Pesticides, not approved in the EU and found on crops grown there at non-compliant levels, included acephate, carbofuran, chlorfenapyr, chlorothalonil, chlorpropham, clothianidin, cyfluthrin, dieldrin, iprodione, methomyl, oxadixyl and triadimefon. Non-approved residues found to be non-compliant on imported samples were acephate, chlorfenapyr, clothianidin, dichlorvos, fipronil, permethrin and thiamethoxam.

Because these results indicate possible misuse of non-approved substances, EFSA recommended that member states follow-up the findings to investigate reasons for their presence and use and take action where appropriate.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)

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Apr 13 2021

Get to know your oats, and all the types and ways to eat them

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Apr 12 2021

Cheshire Trafford (UK) Limited, a Fully-Owned Subsidiary of Argentum 47, Inc. Increases Its Total Funds Under Administration by 40%

Cheshire Trafford (UK) Limited, a Fully-Owned Subsidiary of Argentum 47, Inc. Increases Its Total Funds Under Administration by 40% – Organic Food News Today – EIN Presswire

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Apr 12 2021

Top 12 Chocolate Companies in the World

In this article we presented top 12 chocolate companies in the world. Click to skip our detailed discussion of the chocolate industry and see the Top 5 Chocolate Companies in the World.

The global chocolate industry is on a growth trajectory as taste for chocolate is being adopted around the world. In 2019, this market was already valued at over $130 billion. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of at least 5% by 2024, according to the market report by Technavio. The overall market value for the industry is projected to exceed almost $187 billion by 2026, according to Statista. The largest market for chocolate confectionary in the world is in Western Europe, which accounts for one-third of the global chocolate market.

The Changing Trends in the Chocolate Industry

The chocolate industry has been rapidly evolving over the last several years amid changing tastes and preferences of consumers. The trend of dark and premium chocolates forms the largest segment of the chocolate market in the U.S. With leading companies like Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Hershey’s, Mars and General Mills, the American chocolate industry is thriving in the world. Unique products and luxurious consumption experiences are keeping consumers coming back for more. The growth in the chocolate market can be attributed to Asia Pacific countries where consumer preferences are becoming accustomed to western tastes. Thus, demand for chocolate is booming which has in turn raised the demand for cocoa by 30% as of 2020 according to Grand View Research.

There are growing preferences for chocolate products which are low in sugar content and which use organic ingredients. In 2019, Mars Wrigley Confectionary launched a new low-calorie range of single-serve bars with more protein and less sugar. Moreover, the packaging of chocolates has become even more innovative which is doing wonders for the gift-giving businesses as well. The Ferrero Rocher chocolate made by the Ferrero Group has a tin gold foil wrapping that gives it a premium look and is a popular choice for gifts.

Some of the notable developments identified in the industry include the health benefits of dark chocolates that are rich in cocoa, increasing demand for premium-based dark chocolates that are made as gifts, more regulated seasonal chocolates by producers, and flourishing marketing initiatives. There is a growing awareness regarding the health benefits of chocolate as well that has contributed towards the growth of the industry. Many prominent companies such as Mondelez have stepped up to meet this growing demand and brought about creative and delicious chocolate products that are enjoyed by consumers worldwide.

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

Here is a list of the top 12 chocolate companies in the world:

12. MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC Common Stock (NASDAQ: MDLZ)

Revenue: $27 billion in 2020

Mondelez International is an American multinational food, confectionary, holding, beverage, and snack food company which is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It operates in 160 countries and has an annual revenue of about $26 billion. In 2018, Mondelez was ranked 117 in the Fortune 500 list of the largest companies in USA in terms of their total revenues. The company manufactures products like chocolates, cookies, gum, biscuits, confectionary, and other powdered beverages. They also own several billion-dollar brands such as Milka and Cadbury chocolates, LU, Oreo biscuits, Tang beverages, BelVita and Trident gum. The company has a portfolio consisting of national, regional, and global brands, most of which are more than a hundred years old. Chocolates and biscuits account for most of the company’s annual revenue. Global markets account for a huge chunk of the company’s revenue. The company ranks 12th in the list of top chocolate companies in the world.

11. Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. (TYO: 2206.T)

Revenue: $344,048,000 million in 2020 via Yahoo Finance

Ezaki Glico Co Ltd. is a Japanese food company which is headquartered in Osaka. Its primary focus is the production and sale of confectionary and other food items such as ice cream, milk and dairy products etc. The confectionaries segment of the company produces chocolates, gums, snacks and cookies. The company has raised high revenues with the sale of its biggest selling brands like Pocky and Pretz lines which feature chocolate cookies and pretzels. They have also become the biggest international sellers of these items. Another popular item that has boosted the company’s sales is their almond chocolate.

10. Pladis

Revenue: 3.5 billion GBP

Pladis Global is a confectionary and snacks food manufacturing company which is based in London, England. It was founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of Yildiz Holding and now has acquired multiple food brands such as United Biscuits, Godiva Chocolatier, DeMet’s Candy Company and Ulker. Pladis has 34 manufacturing units across 13 countries and its products are distributed to about 4 billion people around the world across 120 countries. Pladis has established itself as a leading chocolate company which makes sweet and savory treats which is recognized by consumers globally. The company is earning an annual revenue of £3.5 billion which has made it one of the most prominent companies in Europe. Pladis currently has 26,000 people working for them across different countries.

9. Lindt & Sprüngli AG

Revenue: $4.02 billion in 2020 via Yahoo Finance

Lindt is a swiss chocolatier and confectionary company that is based in Kilchberg, Switzerland. It was founded in 1845 and has become a household name across the world since then. The company is famous for making premium chocolates, truffles, and other sweets. Its main factory and museum are also located in Kilchberg. Lindt specializes in creating high quality, premium chocolates, and chocolate desserts. It has established chocolate cafes around the world. They also sell handmade chocolates, cakes, ice cream and macaroons. Their most popular chocolate products include the LINDOR truffle and the Lindt Gold Bunny. According to Statista, the company’s total worldwide sales amounted to abour four billion Swiss francs in 2020.

8. The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY)

Revenue: $8,149,719 in 2020 via Yahoo Finance

The Hershey Co. was found in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, PA. It is involved in the manufacturing and marketing of chocolate and sugar confectionary products that are available across 60 countries worldwide. The company is divided into three segments. The North American segment is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company. It has multiple brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s and Kisses. The company has three huge distribution centers that cater to the worldwide demand of its products. It is also associated with the Giant Center and the Hershey Park Stadium in the US. The most popular products of the company include Reese’s peanut butter cups, Hershey’s kisses, twizzlers, mounds, almond joy candy bars, Kit Kat bars and York peppermint patties. Apart from these, Hershey’s also produces grocery items like baking products, toppings, syrups, cookies, bubble gum and cocoa mixes. The US accounts for most of the sales of the company. The North American segment of Hershey’s had net sales of $1.844 billion as of 2020 according to the candyindustry.

7. General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS)

Revenue: $17,626,600 in 2020 via Yahoo Finance

General Mills is an American multinational company which manufactures branded consumer foods. It is among the list of top chocolate companies in the world. It is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and its brand portfolio consists of more than 89 leading US brands such as Betty Crocker, Totino’s, Haagen-Dazs, Annie’s Homegrown, Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms amongst others. Founded over 150 years ago, the company has become a leading name in the chocolate industry with its largest global operating segment generating $10 billion of net sales in 2020, according to Statista. The largest division of the company is the US Meals and Baking division which alone generated $4.5 billion worth of net sales in 2020. Its most popular chocolate products include cereals like Chocolate Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Count Chocula, Cookie Crisp and cookies and cream puffs etc.

6. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC)

Revenue: $26,185,000 in 2020 via Yahoo Finance

The Kraft Heinz Company is an American food company which is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It ranks 6th in the list of 12 top chocolate companies in the world. It was formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz and has since become the 3^rd largest food and beverage company in North America and the 5^th largest in the world with $26 billion in annual sales in 2020. The company has in its portfolio several more brands such as Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia Cream cheese, Wattie’s and Planters. In 2018, Kraft was ranked number 114 in the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the US based on its revenue. Its most popular chocolate products include Baker’s chocolate, Daim, Freia, Jet-puffed, Cote d’or, Lacta, Marabou, Milka, Toblerone, Terry’s, Prince Polo and Trakinas.

Click to continue reading and see the Top 5 Chocolate Companies in the World.

Covering Climate Now: How do we decarbonise NZ’s energy sector?

Geothermal steam bellows from the cooling tower of the Ohaaki Power Station, near Taupō. About 85 per cent of electricity generated here comes from renewable sources. Photo / Alan Gibson

As part of the global Covering Climate Now initiative, the Herald is dedicating a week of coverage to the issues surrounding the climate crisis. In the first of a series of in-depth interviews with leading experts on key policy areas, Herald science reporter Jamie Morton speaks with Emeritus Professor Ralph Sims, of Massey University, about how we can make New Zealand’s energy sector greener.

As of 2018, heat, industry and power emissions made up some 41 per cent of total long-lived greenhouse gases in New Zealand. Why do these sectors contribute such a large share of our emissions?

Many industries still burn coal and gas to provide high to medium temperature heat for their processes such as smelting steel, drying milk, growing greenhouse crops, or producing cement.

The Government has recently announced policies and grants to encourage businesses to displace these fossil fuels with high-temperature heat pumps, electro-thermal technologies, and sustainably produced biomass to meet their heat demands.

Electricity generation in New Zealand is mainly from low-carbon renewable resources like hydro, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, solar – but at present around 15 per cent of total electricity still comes from burning coal and gas that produce carbon dioxide (CO2).

A coal-fired power station such as Huntly emits around 900g CO2/kWh generated, and gas-fired plants emit around 600g CO2/kWh.

Renewable electricity, however, is closer to zero, with the exception of geothermal that releases around 20 to 40g CO2/kWh, when extracting the hot brine.

So, what barriers have been in the way of decarbonising these sectors?

Coal and gas have been relatively cheap fuels in New Zealand, even with a carbon price added under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

New Zealand has been very slow to act compared with, say, Sweden that introduced a carbon charge on fossil fuels 30 years ago.

That tax is now around $180 per tonne of CO2, so has made a difference to fossil fuel consumption – whereas the ETS price in NZ has only slowly crept up to $35 per tonne over the past few years.

This price remains far too low to have any real impact on behavioural change or encouraging businesses to move away from using fossil fuels.

After the carbon tax was imposed in Sweden, biomass – mainly from forest residues and municipal solid wastes – soon became the common heating fuel, with a large supply industry now well established.

It employs many people to provide solid biomass fuels to numerous district heating, industrial heating and co-generation plants.

This week, the Government announced New Zealand would seek to phase out coal boilers for process heat by 2037 – starting with a ban on new low to medium temperature boilers from next year. What difference will this make? And is it ambitious enough?

The concept has been analysed and promoted in New Zealand for decades given the relatively high CO2 emissions involved.

So the Government policy to ban installation of new coal-fired boilers is long overdue.

Given that a molecule of CO2 emitted from a gas or coal-fired boiler today – or over the next 16 years until 2037 – will remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and thereby add to the global warming effect, a policy to encourage deployment of low-carbon heating systems should have been implemented years ago.

Many examples already exist in New Zealand of successful and cost-effective electro-thermal, solar thermal and bioenergy heating systems, as well as using geothermal heat in regions where it is available.

Technological developments to improve biomass boiler efficiencies have long been demonstrated in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Thailand and elsewhere.

Partly depending on the future carbon price, it is likely some operators of coal-fired boilers will phase them about before the end of their life.

The Government also has its own fleet of coal boilers still operating in schools and public buildings.

Hopefully, it will lead by example and phase them out well before 2037.

A further 16 years of continuing to emit CO2 emissions from coal combustion is simply not tolerable.

We’ve heard much discussion about New Zealand’s 2035 target for an electricity grid using solely renewable sources of energy. Is this realistic?

Achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity is technically possible, but not cost-effective, based on current technologies.

Continual fluctuations in the national electricity load means the generation system has to be able to quickly respond to maintain voltage and security of supply since electricity cannot be easily stored.

With more variable wind and solar generation now in the mix, the challenge to continually meet supply with demand has increased.

The electricity industry strives to produce an affordable and sustainable supply that is reliable.

Consumers expect the system to work at all times and become disgruntled with their electricity company whenever there is an outage.

Peak demand loads in the mornings and evenings used to be managed by the power companies controlling domestic hot water heating systems using “ripple control” to turn them off at peak times and on again once the peak had passed.

Consumers knew no difference.

This demand-side facility has been lost under the free-market we now have, though other demand-side options exist such as paying cool-store operators to turn their refrigeration plants off for an hour or two at peak times, aiming to flatten the peak.

The bigger challenge than meeting daily peaks is to meet seasonal demands, especially in a dry year when the hydro lakes are low so generation is constrained.

The Government has committed to phasing out all coal boilers by 2037. Photo / Supplied

As one possible solution, the Government is investigating using a pumped-hydro scheme to store large volumes of water behind a dam for use when additional power is needed.

Battery storage is also becoming cheaper and large-scale storage systems have been demonstrated in South Australia and elsewhere.

But there is a cost associated with any form of energy storage.

Making the grid more flexible – such as by using demand-side options and time-of-use pricing – is a part solution.

But it could be that on rare occasions when needed, a back-up gas-fired power plant could be kept on standby for limited use.

Or, a number of bioenergy plants built with the woody biomass fuel could provide a store of energy, as is common in Sweden and elsewhere.

Since they would only be run when needed in dry years, the Government will need to own and operate them.

Electrifying our energy use is a major part of New Zealand’s “just transition” away from fossil fuels – but it would require a major expansion of the electricity system. Is it possible for sources like wind, geothermal and solar power to meet the expected growth in demand from electrifying transport and heat to 2050, while keeping electricity affordable?

The projected increasing demand for electricity for process heat, domestic heat, and electric vehicles has been assessed.

Improving energy efficiency, so that the same energy services are provided but with lower energy inputs, will help to control the demand growth.

Further improving energy efficiency further across all sectors is a critical part of moving towards renewable energy systems.

Educating consumers how to save electricity and hence save money is a key component.

New Zealand is blessed with large resources of wind, solar radiation, biomass, geothermal fields and hydro, which is why we have reached around 85 per cent renewable electricity without any government subsidies that are common in most other countries.

Many wind farms and geothermal sites that can compete economically with gas-fired power plants have been consented but not yet built.

Solar farms covering several hectares of land each are now being developed, and more home-owners are investing in solar PV systems and using them to also charge their EVs.

The main problem is the incumbent electricity market, consisting of generators, line companies and retailers, is not designed to readily adapt to changing technologies.

Many of the “old school” were educated that electricity is generated in large central power stations and sent down wires to users who are distributed.

The advent of smart-grids, distributed generation systems, solar heating, and other small-scale generators has not been fully accommodated by the market that is resisting change.

Therefore, the goal should be for a think-tank to determine what the future market should look like in order to generate affordable and reliable electricity to meet the growing demand but without producing CO2 – and then to determine how we best get from where the system is to where it needs to be.

Given all our renewable resources and the rapid rate of technological developments, it shouldn’t be difficult.

There’s also growing interest and investment in “green hydrogen” as a viable alternative fuel source – and one that could provide a sustainable future for the oil and gas industry. What hope and potential is there here?

The concept for a hydrogen economy has come and gone in recent decades but is currently being reconsidered in many countries, including New Zealand.

Most hydrogen is currently produced from natural gas (brown hydrogen) or industrial processes (grey hydrogen) so is linked with greenhouse gas emissions.

Its future therefore has to be around producing low-carbon “green hydrogen” using renewable electricity.

Emeritus Professor Ralph Sims, of Massey University. Photo / Supplied

Hydrogen cars have been around for decades and a hydrogen bus is now running around Auckland with a refuelling station at the Port of Auckland.

Also, a Massey University project 20 years ago, in association with Callaghan Innovation, produced hydrogen for use by a small rural community, using a small wind turbine on top of a hill to power an electrolyser.

The point is that hydrogen as an energy carrier is not a new concept whether for electricity generation, heat supply or transport fuel.

The question is whether now is the right time for its wider deployment.

Japan, the European Union, the UK and other countries are moving along the hydrogen pathway, but there are issues to overcome.

On the downside, green hydrogen is more costly to produce than other sources though electrolysers, like batteries, are becoming cheaper.

Also, there is a considerable energy efficiency loss throughout the entire system.

For example, generating electricity used for electrolysis of water to give hydrogen that is then stored before combustion or conversion to electricity in a fuel cell is a far less efficient process (around 30 per cent) than generating electricity for direct use (around 80 per cent).

The main benefit from the hydrogen route is that it can be relatively easily stored compared with electricity and with possible marine and aviation applications.

So once again in regard to a future hydrogen economy it is a case of “watch this space”.

You’ve long been a proponent of a “bio-economy”. Can you recap what this is? And why do you believe it would be a good model for New Zealand?

Using woody biomass, straw, animal manure, sewage, municipal solid wastes to produce useful bioenergy for heat, power or transport biofuels is commonplace around the world.

When biomass is combusted, CO2 is produced during the process the same as when burning fossil fuels.

However, instead of the carbon being suddenly released into the atmosphere after millions of years of being stored underground, the CO2 from biomass is recycled through photosynthesis by the next crop or forest growing to replace the one harvested.

Thus, biomass has been agreed internationally to be carbon neutral.

New Zealand has large area of plantation forests harvested for the logs, so thereby leaving large volumes of woody residues behind.

Massey University was contracted around 30 years ago to look at using these “arisings” for generating electricity.

Cheap coal and gas made it economically unviable at the time, but the technology was proven and the resource remains.

Z Energy’s biodiesel plant in Wiri, South Auckland. Biofuels are already a tangible example of what could drive a “bioeconomy”. Photo / NZME

Indeed, forest residues – or “slash” – can cause environmental issues when left on the land such as when large amounts were washed on to Tolaga Bay beach a few years ago during a storm.

The technologies involved in simultaneously harvesting, processing and transporting both the logs and the residues as two separate products has been successfully used commercially in many European countries for decades.

It can easily be used here in New Zealand too and generate employment and another revenue stream for forest owners.

The small wood pellet processing industry that has been operating in New Zealand for several years using mainly wood process residues such as sawdust could be expanded if more residues become available.

Interestingly, the 4000 MW Drax power station in UK has been converted from coal to biomass.

Fuelled by 12.5 million tonnes of wood pellets imported by ship from western Canada, it generates over 12 per cent of all renewable electricity in the UK.

In addition, producing biogas can also be more widely produced and deployed here than at present.

Community scale biogas digesters have long existed in Denmark, UK, Germany for processing a range of organic wastes into bio-methane gas and the effluent by-product used for soil conditioning.

Given the long-term aim to ultimately phase out CO2 producing natural gas and LPG for cooking in barbecues and stoves, compressed biogas could be the solution using existing cooking equipment.

It’s not a new concept.

Liquid biofuels used for transport fuels have also been successfully deployed in many countries – including in New Zealand by Gull, Z Energy, and others.

In fact, given that crude oil was once biomass millions of years ago, then any use of petroleum products for fuels, chemicals or plastics can be substituted by biomass in one form or another.

There is on-going debate over whether the use of biomass for energy is sustainable or not.

The answer is that there is good biomass and bad biomass.

Bad biomass results from deforestation activities or when growing energy crops competes for fertile agricultural land and water with food crops.

Good biomass comes from organic municipal wastes, farm wastes, food wastes, crop residues and forest residues that would otherwise decay naturally and produce a range of greenhouse gases or cause disposal problems.

New Zealand has considerable resources of “good biomass”; many commercial bioenergy applications already exist; and the Bioenergy Association of New Zealand has a wide business membership.

However, bioenergy remains poorly understood even though its potential to contribute to New Zealand’s low-carbon future is significant.

Generally, what countries could New Zealand learn from when it comes to greening our energy sector?

Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Austria are leading in the use of woody biomass for process heat, power and co-generation – with UK and the US close behind.

Norway has near 100 per cent renewable electricity – mostly hydro – with an extensive EV network successfully operating as a result.

Iceland has 75 per cent hydro and 25 per cent geothermal for its 100 per cent renewable electricity, but in New Zealand, more large-scale hydro projects are unlikely.

So, we’re limited to the current 65 per cent share that will decline as wind, geothermal, bioenergy and solar increase.

Canada also has high hydro shares at 63 per cent of total generation and woody biomass is commonly used for heat. Large volumes of wood pellets are also exported.

Bioethanol is a common fuel in US, Brazil and several other countries; biodiesel is used in Northern Europe; and hydro-treated vegetable oil is common in Sweden as encouraged by the truck and automobile company Volvo.

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Apr 10 2021

Suez canal blockage may spur rush for Arctic shipping

Last week, Egyptian crews finally freed the 1,300-foot cargo freighter Ever Given after it was stuck for six days in the Suez Canal, grinding much of international commerce to a halt. A week after it was cleared, transit through the canal has rebounded, but the incident illustrated the vulnerability of some global shipping chokepoints and the importance of alternate routes.

For shipping companies, the most promising of these routes would take ships from Europe via the Northern Sea Route, NSR for short, over the Siberian coast and through the Bering Strait. Traveling between China and central Europe by way of the NSR is 40 percent shorter than through the Suez Canal, and as Arctic sea ice recedes and icebreaking technology improves, it may be the next big development in international shipping.

This year for the first time, three Russian tankers ferried liquid natural gas through the Bering Strait during the darkest months of winter. The Nikolai Zubov came through in the beginning of January, and later that month the Christophe de Margerie and the Nikolay Yevgenov followed suit.

The ships are Arc7 Ice-Class tankers, specially designed to move through thin and spotty sea ice. In January, they sailed from Sabetta on the northern Russian coast to China without any icebreaker assistance. On the way back in February, at the height of ice thickness in the Siberian Arctic, they were escorted by Russian nuclear icebreakers.

While the transit of tankers through the strait in the dead of winter was unprecedented, the use of the NSR for commercial shipping is not. Norway’s Center for High North Logistics reported a record 62 transits in 2020, up from just 37 in 2019. Most of these transits were during the relatively ice-free summer and fall months, but as the climate warms and the ice recedes, the navigable timeframe is growing.

Technological innovations are also making Arctic shipping more viable. While the Suez Canal was at a standstill, Finnish engineering firm Aker Arctic announced their new icebreaking container ship, built to navigate thick winter sea ice without an escort.

While it will be some years before icebreaking cargo ships are widely used, their ultimate adoption appears inevitable.

So how is Nome and the rest of Western Alaska preparing for the coming influx of commercial traffic? “The big thing is, we’re really behind the eight ball with what’s going on in the Arctic compared to everybody else,” according to Tom Vaden, chair of Nome’s Local Emergency Planning Committee, LEPC for short.

In 2016 the region hosted an exercise called Arctic Chinook, which involved a wide range of agencies including the Coast Guard, Alaskan Command and six foreign nations. Vaden and the LEPC participated as well in a mock shipwreck south of the Bering Strait.

In the scenario, a large cruise ship filled with elderly passengers went down in high seas near Diomede. “They were going to take everyone to Tin City, and from Tin City they were going to take the injured people to Kotzebue, and the rest to Nome,” Vaden explained.

But the operation soon ran into problems. High winds blew down the temporary tents in Tin City, and the weather was so bad in the strait they decided any physical mock rescue would be too risky. Instead, they did a number of tabletop and communication exercises in Nome. The experience illustrated how ill-prepared the region is for an actual high-seas rescue, Vaden said. The ships going through the strait now are even bigger than the cruise ships five years ago, and they’re starting to come through at all times of year.

Another major concern is environmental pollution. Last August, an unexplained marine debris pulse saw plastic and organic trash washing up on regional beaches in alarming quantities. Many of the packages had Russian and Korean writing, but the source of the debris was never pinpointed.

Instead, regional communities took it upon themselves to clean plastic off their shores. Around the same time, a white oily substance started popping up around St. Lawrence Island, smothering birds and marine mammals

“As we learned from the 2020 debris event, our region is essentially on its own to respond,” said Kawerak Inc.’s Marine Advocate Austin Ahmasuk. “There are few resources to tackle debris events and I am not aware of dedicated funding coming our way for debris events or other necessary programmatic funding to protect public resources.”

An oil spill would be especially catastrophic, since many regional residents rely on its productive ecosystem for subsistence foods, and the area’s remoteness makes response especially challenging. Vaden said the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has oil booms in Nome and some other regional communities, but likely not enough in the event of a serious accident.

“A lot of people don’t understand that you can’t put boom out in the ocean if you’ve got ocean waves. It just doesn’t work,” Vaden said. “And if it’s under the ice, we’re pretty much all shafted.”

The Coast Guard currently only has two polar-class icebreakers, both of which are nearing the end of their lives and split their time between Alaska, the Atlantic Arctic and Antarctica.

While Congress approved funding for new icebreakers in December, it will be years before they’re built and operational. If one of the tankers had an accident passing through the ice, there would be no way for the U.S. to reach it.

In January, the tanker Nikolay Yevgenov came to a standstill in the sea ice north of the Bering Strait after a malfunction with one of its propellers. It eventually crawled out of the ice using its remaining propellors, but the incident had many in the region worried.

“Myself and others who were following this as it unfolded were greatly concerned. Our region may have only narrowly avoided a major catastrophe just a few months ago,” Ahmasuk said. “One can only imagine the potential impact of such a large vessel having a catastrophic failure in our remote region.”

Those concerns aren’t going totally unheard. In the summer of 2022, a number of military and disaster response organizations will hold a set of exercises called Arctic Eagle, which will happen simultaneously across Alaska. Part of the exercise will take place in Nome, playing out what would happen if the region were “under threat of attack from a near-peer adversary,” according to a presentation on the exercise.

Vaden said the exercise would see about 200 troops coming to Nome, although the precise details have yet to be hashed out. He said an increased military presence in the area would be critical as the Bering Strait becomes busier, both for security and disaster relief.

“We definitely need a U.S. presence in the Arctic. Right now we don’t have any,” he said. “I’m really hoping that with the port being built out, we’ll get a Coast Guard Sector Nome. It needs to be inevitable.”

The nearest Coast Guard base is currently in Kodiak. The Coast Guard also stations two rescue helicopters in Kotzebue during the summer months but has no year-round presence in the Arctic.

Scott McCann, a public affairs officer with Alaska’s Coast Guard district, couldn’t comment on future plans for expansion into the Arctic, but said they were monitoring the area closely and working with their counterparts in the Russian Border Guard to come up with ways to respond to emergencies.

“The Coast Guard has a long history of patrolling the Bering Strait and the polar region,” he said. “We could always use more assets, but we’re doing the best we can with what we got by employing them strategically.”

Ahmasuk said Kawerak recently met with the International Maritime Organization’s Pollution, Prevention and Response Sub-Committee to try to reduce pollutants from ships. “We were not immediately successful as international relations take years to materialize,” he said. They’ve also been trying to raise the issue with the Biden administration, but have yet to gain an audience.

In the meantime, the number of ships coming through the Bering Strait is likely only to increase. Ahmasuk said anyone in the region looking to learn more about shipping related concerns could email him at aahmasuk@kawerak.org, and to report any evidence of an oil spill to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

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Apr 10 2021

Why rescuing the climate and saving biodiversity go hand in hand

By Michael Le Page

                    <figure class="article-image-inline" data-method="caption-shortcode" readability="28"> <figcaption readability="6"><p class="image__caption">A kangaroo and her joey survey the aftermath of a wildfire in Mallacoota, Australia, in 2020</p><p class="image__credit">Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals/naturepl</p></figcaption></figure>

THE Great Barrier Reef is already in a critical state. Rising sea temperatures are killing corals faster than they can recover. As temperatures continue to increase, more and more of the reef will die, along with the rich variety of life and the AUS$6 billion tourism industry that depend on it.

It is one headline-grabbing example among many. The continued rapid warming of the planet would wipe out many species, even if it were the only change happening. As it is, a sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history is already under way as farms replace forests and factory ships overfish the oceans.

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The heating of the planet will push many struggling species over the brink. Some will just have no place left to go. For biodiversity, climate change is, in military jargon, a threat multiplier. Worse still, measures to limit warming often don’t take biodiversity into account. Some, such as the push for biofuels, directly harm it.

Yet there is little that is inevitable about what happens next. We might not be able to save all the species under threat, but we can save an awful lot of them. “We could cut the number of extinctions in half,” says John Wiens at the University of Arizona. “I think that’s the biggest cause for optimism.”

But our chances are better if we think more smartly about the links between biodiversity loss and climate change, and tackle both of these issues together. Done right, a rescue plan for nature can be part of a plan for saving humanity from the worst of climate change – and vice versa.

“Many species are already moving to stay within their comfort zone”

The world has warmed around 1°C since pre-industrial times. That is already having a dramatic effect on wildlife. In the Arctic, for example, the loss of more and more sea ice each summer is affecting many animals, from walruses to polar bears.

Unique species

Polar inhabitants have nowhere colder to go, but many creatures elsewhere are already moving to stay in their comfort zone. Some marine species, including mammals, birds, fish and plankton, have shifted their ranges by hundreds of kilometres. Other effects are more subtle. Oceanic low-oxygen zones are expanding because oxygen is less soluble in warm water. This is forcing species such as blue sharks to stay closer to the surface, making them more likely to be caught by fishing boats.

Rising sea levels, meanwhile, could wipe out species as low-lying islands are inundated. Mainland species are also at risk, such as the few hundred Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans, a network of mangrove forests along the coast of Bangladesh and north-east India. The effects of habitat destruction and rising water levels mean there will probably be no suitable habitat left there for these tigers by 2070.

Once the ice has melted, polar inhabitants have nowhere colder to go

Ole Jorgen Liodden/naturepl.com

Not all of those threats are as gradual as the melting of ice caps and the rising of sea levels. Extreme weather, fuelled by climate change, is one example. Hurricane Dorian, one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded, may have wiped out several bird species in the Bahamas, including the Bahama nuthatch and the Abaco parrot, when it hit the islands in 2019. Warming-fuelled wildfires could also take out species with smaller populations. In 2015, for instance, fires in Western Australia burned much of the remaining habitat of Gilbert’s potoroo, one of the world’s rarest mammals.

A warming world isn’t bad news for all species. Some, especially small, highly adaptable and fast-reproducing ones, are thriving. But these tend to be things we regard as weeds, pests or unwanted invaders, such as mosquitoes, bark beetles and jellyfish.

So far, few species have been conclusively driven to extinction by climate change. The most clear-cut case is the loss of the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola). This rat-like rodent was found only on its namesake island home, a tiny, low-lying Australian cay on the northern edge of the Great Barrier Reef. It died out some time after 2009 as rising sea levels led to the island being inundated during storms. Warming may have contributed to other extinctions as well. For example, climate change is thought to have aided the spread of a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis that has wiped out nearly 100 amphibian species.

So far, Earth hasn’t warmed much beyond the bounds of natural variations experienced over the past few million years. But many slower feedbacks, such as the melting of permafrost and the Antarctic ice sheet, have barely begun to kick in, so this will change.

We are heading into this with wildlife already devastated by our activities. Humans have altered three-quarters of all land and two-thirds of the oceans, according to a major 2019 report on biodiversity. More than a third of land and three-quarters of freshwater resources are devoted to crops or livestock.

It is in our own interests to turn things around. The “ecosystem services” that nature provides for free are worth trillions of dollars and underpin many livelihoods. For instance, hundreds of millions of people depend on coral reefs for tourism and the fish stocks they support, says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg at the University of Queensland in Australia. “This is an issue of people as much as it is about ecosystems and biodiversity,” he says.

By intruding into wild areas and exploiting wildlife, we are also giving pathogens such as the virus causing the covid-19 pandemic more chances to make the jump into humans or domesticated animals. Warming is generally expected to make matters worse, for example by allowing disease-carrying tropical mosquitoes to spread more widely.

Mark Bowler/naturepl.com

Overall, though, the populations of most plants and animals have been greatly reduced, and they are already in shrinking, often fragmented areas. One recent study looked at the effect of future climate change on 80,000 species in 35 of the most wildlife-rich areas, including the Amazon rainforest and the Galapagos Islands. With warming of 5°C by around the 2080s, half of these species would no longer be able to survive in these areas.

In many parts of the world, even if suitable habitat remains, many species may not be able to reach it, because their paths are blocked by cities, roads, farms and fences. The same study found that if animals were able to move freely, 2°C of warming would result in the loss of 20 per cent rather than 25 per cent of species.

One issue with studies of this kind is that they assume species can’t survive outside their current climatic range. But many are already evolving and adapting as their habitats warm. In Finland, for instance, tawny owls are turning brown as snow cover declines.

There is a limit to what evolution can achieve, though, especially in species that reproduce slowly. Not only is the climate starting to change much faster than it has during the past few million years, but many species have suffered huge losses of genetic diversity as their numbers have declined. This makes it much harder to adapt to a changing environment.

To get a better picture of how wildlife will cope, in a recent study Wiens focused on about 500 plants and animals worldwide, looking at where they have already become locally extinct as the world has warmed. His results suggest that what matters most is the maximum annual temperature, not mean temperature, as many other studies assume. “The most straightforward explanation is that it just literally gets too hot and they die,” he says.

Extinction debt

Despite this, his conclusions are similar to those of many other studies, suggesting that about a third of terrestrial species could be lost altogether by 2070. “That could be cut in half by following the Paris Agreement and keeping temperature below an increase of about 1.5°C,” says Wiens.

As dire as these forecasts are, they may underestimate future extinction risk. “There could be a lot more extinctions caused by things like sea level rise,” says Wiens. “There’s a whole bunch of other threats.” It can take hundreds or even thousands of years for the full effects of changes such as habitat loss to play out – a phenomenon called extinction debt. In Europe, for instance, the number of extinctions happening today is more strongly linked to what happened a century ago than to current events.

Bleached corals off Heron Island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Gary Bell/Oceanwide/Minden/naturepl.com

One reason is that populations can become unsustainable once they shrink beyond a certain point. And a decline in one species can have knock-on effects on many others, leading to cascading ecological effects. One New Zealand flowering shrub, Rhabdothamnus solandri, for example, is slowly declining in numbers after the loss of the birds that pollinated it.

Multiplying effects

Some threats to biodiversity can’t be forecast with any certainty. For instance, people forced from their homes by disasters or conflict can have a severe impact on biodiversity in the places they flee to, rapidly deforesting vast areas and greatly reducing wildlife populations. Floods and storms displaced 15 million people in 2018 alone, and these numbers will rise as extreme weather keeps on getting more extreme. For some, there will be no going home: sea level rise will force hundreds of millions of people to move out of low-lying areas over the coming decades.

The combined effect of all these threats can multiply and be worse than any one alone. “For example, corals recover from bleaching episodes more slowly when they suffer stress from pollution, or damage from coastal development or poorly regulated sport or commercial activities,” says Sandra Díaz at the National University of CÓrdoba in Argentina. Similarly, in tropical forests, unusually hot and dry years, combined with the creation of roads, greatly increase the chances of destructive fires, she says.

On the one hand, these multiplier effects mean we may be greatly underestimating our impact on biodiversity over the coming century. “Our best calculations and projections do not incorporate all the possible cascading and non-linear effects,” says Díaz. “They are on the conservative side.”

A badly damaged house on Great Abaco in the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian in 2019

REUTERS/Loren Elliott

On the other hand, this shows the importance of protecting and restoring wildlife areas – and that the benefits of such actions could be even greater than we think. For instance, creating wildlife corridors or deliberately relocating species to more suitable areas may save those that would otherwise be doomed.

“Climate policies often show anything but joined-up thinking”

For all these reasons, there is growing awareness that climate change and biodiversity are inextricably linked, and that we need joined-up policies to tackle both. One consequence is that the separate UN conventions on biodiversity and climate change should be merged, says Eric Dinerstein of the environmental organisation RESOLVE in Washington DC.

“The two are so interdependent and the solutions are interdependent,” he says. “We can’t save biodiversity without staying below 1.5 degrees, and we can’t stay below 1.5 degrees without saving biodiversity.”

In general, more has been done to try to tackle climate change than to stem biodiversity loss. Unfortunately, climate policies often show anything but joined-up thinking. Exhibit A are the various incentives or laws promoting biofuels because they are seen as “green”. “There is no doubt that the push for biofuels has seriously harmed biodiversity,” says Tim Searchinger at Princeton University.

Growing use of biodiesel is responsible for 90 per cent of the increased demand for vegetable oil since 2015, says Searchinger. In Europe, more than half of imported palm oil ends up powering cars, driving the destruction of wildlife and carbon-rich forests in South-East Asia for palm oil plantations. Europe is also fuelling deforestation elsewhere by importing wood to burn for energy, while still counting this as a means to reduce carbon emissions.

The fundamental issue that is overlooked is that land is limited. If existing farmland is switched to new uses such as growing bioenergy crops, more farmland is generally carved out of wild habitats elsewhere, destroying biodiversity and adding carbon to the air in the process. The situation is complex: a few biofuels, mainly those made from genuine waste, can be beneficial overall. But many policies wrongly treat any biofuel as green. With the aviation industry now eyeing biofuels as a way to claim it is limiting emissions, matters could get even worse.

Switching farmland to growing energy crops such as oilseed rape increases pressure on land elsewhere

Ashley Cooper/naturepl.com

If climate policies fail to take biodiversity into account, the reverse is often true, too. For instance, efforts to save the Iberian lynx are focused on the southern part of the Iberian peninsula, where conditions will become too dry for the cats this century.

Some measures really can help us preserve biodiversity and cut carbon emissions at the same time. In general, areas that are rich in wildlife also store lots of carbon, says Dinerstein. His team has mapped out what additional areas around the world, for example in the Amazon basin or on Madagascar and Borneo, need to be protected to help the greatest number of species and maximise carbon storage. Many other groups support this approach.

This could be done without taking existing farmland out of production and at a relatively low cost, says Dinerstein. In some places, tree planting with native species may be necessary, but often there is no need. “The most effective thing we can do is to allow degraded areas to grow back,” he says – rewilding and restoring ecosystems, in other words.

Preserving biodiversity isn’t just a fringe benefit of protecting carbon-storing trees, but is important to maximise carbon storage. In tropical forests, the largest trees typically have big seeds that are dispersed by animals, says Dinerstein – and they are the ones that are most valuable to loggers. “If we hunt them out, those massive, large-seeded trees are replaced with those with smaller seeds that don’t grow as tall, don’t grow as large and sequester much less carbon.”

Better future

At the same time, we need to slow and eventually halt the clearing of land for farms. Encouraging people to eat less meat would help enormously. If everyone shifted to a plant-based diet, we would only need a quarter of the farmland used now, while vastly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing food.

But with meat consumption increasing rather than falling, it is vital to maximise yields on existing farmland. “The expansion of farmland and the associated habitat loss is still very ongoing,” says Emma Kovak at the Breakthrough Institute in California. “The intensification of farming can spare habitat for wildlife.”

A low-intensity organic farm might have more wildlife on it, but it produces less food, which means more farmland is needed elsewhere in the world, she says. Per unit of food, high-intensity farming has a much lower impact. Kovak has shown that if the European Union had embraced higher-yielding, genetically engineered crops, it would have led to a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions via less land use.

Despite the dire outlook, many researchers remain optimistic. “I’m incredibly hopeful,” says Dinerstein. For a start, protecting more land would actually cost relatively little, he says. There is even hope for the coral reefs. “If we stabilise the climate, there is a very good chance that coral reefs will grow back over time,” says Hoegh-Guldberg.

Many initiatives and studies around the world show that we can protect biodiversity and tackle climate change while offering a better and fairer future for people, says Díaz.

“But these studies also show, very clearly, that this will only work with very fast, very deep, very bold changes in the way we consume, eat, trade and value,” she says. “The opportunity to shift gears and do what needs to be done for a better future will close soon.”

Rescue plan for nature
Join a live panel discussion on saving biodiversity, presented in association with UNEP, on 15 April: newscientist.com/events

About this feature

This is the fifth and final feature in our “Rescue Plan for Nature” series produced in association with the United Nations Environment Programme and UNEP partner agency GRID-Arendal. New Scientist retains full editorial control over, and responsibility for, the content

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Apr 9 2021

EU funding of meat and dairy promotions ‘irresponsible’ – Greenpeace

European Union spending of hundreds of millions of euro on promoting agricultural products is “at odds with warnings from scientists on the disastrous impact industrial animal farming has on nature, the climate and our health” and is an irresponsible use of taxpayers’ money, according to Greenpeace Europe.

                                                    <p class="no_name">The <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=European+Commission" rel="nofollow">European Commission</a> spent 32 per cent of its €777 million five-year farm product promotion budget on advertising campaigns for meat and dairy that ran between 2016 and 2020, a Greenpeace report published on Thursday found.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">In <a href="/news">Ireland</a>, 78 per cent of funded promotions were targeted at meat and dairy consumption over a four-year period up to 2019 – the highest proportion of European Union countries analysed by Greenpeace.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Its EU agriculture and forest campaigner Sini Eräjää said: “When all the science is telling us to cut meat and dairy for our health, and the planet’s health, it’s unacceptable that the EU spends a quarter of a billion euro to accelerate consumption.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">“Farming and eating industrial meat and dairy puts us at risk of new pandemics, wrecks the climate and destroys nature – it’s irresponsible for the EU to continue promoting this with taxpayers’ money.”</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">The research found the commission spent €146 million on campaigns for fruit and vegetables over the five years – 19 per cent of advertising spend.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Leaked versions of the EU’s flagship Farm to Fork strategy and the Beating Cancer Plan suggested the commission intended to stop funding promotion of red and processed meat, which are particularly harmful, Ms Eräjää said. The final versions of both strategies contained more vague wording on promoting healthier diets, she said.</p>
                                                                                                                                                                                        <p class="no_name">The commission is reviewing its policy on the promotion of EU farm products, with a new proposal expected in early 2022. Last month it opened public consultation on promotion policy.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Greenpeace is calling on the EU to end public funding for the promotion of meat and dairy products and recommending it be used to support ecological, small-scale farmers in Europe, and to help conventional farmers to transition to ecological methods.</p>

                                                    <h4 class="crosshead">‘Skewed’ numbers</h4><p class="no_name">The numbers for Ireland “are even more skewed” in favour of meat and dairy products, Ms Eräjää said, as “78 per cent of the EU spending on projects run by Irish organisations was used to promote exclusively meat and dairy in the period 2016-2019 – country-level information isn’t yet available for 2020”.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">This was “certainly not in line with encouraging consumption that’s better for the environment and public health”.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Ireland received €13.4 million in total EU funding, €10.5 million of which was to support meat and dairy promotion projects – just €1.4 million was spent targeting consumption of fruits and vegetables. Of nine countries subjected to deeper analysis, <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_location=Spain" rel="nofollow">Spain</a> and Ireland were found to have spent nothing on promoting organic products.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">While there are some differences between countries, the overall picture remains the same, the report concluded, much more funding is being used to exclusively promote meat and dairy products than is used to promote fruits and vegetables.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Objectives in the approved funding applications of several meat and dairy promotional campaigns funded by the EU “explicitly state they aim to reverse declines in, or maintain the growth of, meat and dairy consumption in Europe – even if this reduction is much needed according to health and environmental research”.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">More than 70 per cent of EU farmland is used to raise livestock or produce animal feed. “Two-thirds of EU farm subsidies currently end up supporting the production of animal products, directly and indirectly, including by supporting feed production,” the report said.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Europeans consume about twice as much meat as the global average, and about three times as much dairy. “To protect public health and nature, and to tackle the climate emergency, scientists are recommending a reduction of European meat and dairy consumption by at least 70 per cent by 2030,” Greenpeace said.</p>

                                                    <p class="no_name">The report featured examples of promotions including a “proud of beef campaign”, with €3.6 million of EU funding, which promoted the idea of becoming a “beefatarian”, supposedly to promote “balanced, healthy diets”.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">“The campaign fails to make any reference to the widely-recognised health risks or environmental damage associated with red and processed meat,” the report said.</p>

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Apr 9 2021

Organic Beef Meat Market 2021 | Latest Trends, Demand, Growth, Opportunities & Outlook till 2027

            <!--UdmComment--><!--/UdmComment-->
              <h2 class="fe_heading2">Organic Beef Meat Market 2021 | Latest Trends, Demand, Growth, Opportunities & Outlook till 2027</h2>
              </p><div readability="143.80601596071">

Apr 08, 2021 (MarketersMedia) —

2019 Analysis and Review Organic Beef Meat Market by Product – Fresh Meat and Processed Meat for 2019 – 2027

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – April 8, 2021 /MarketersMedia/ —

The global organic beef meat market is set to proliferate at a steady 6.7% CAGR during the forecast period (2019-2027), as projected by a new report of Future Market Insights (FMI). The growth is primarily fueled by increasing awareness among consumers regarding the potential negative effects of the antibiotics and chemical additives used in the manufacturing of processed beef meat.

To Get Sample Copy of Report Visit @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4463

Organic Beef Meat Market: Key Findings

The global value of the organic beef meat market is projected to be valued 1.6X the current value by the end of the forecast period.
North America will remain the leading regional market for organic beef meat owing to high consumption and awareness.
Owing to higher consumption, USA and Canada will account for 2/5th of overall market value
The growing trend of organic beef consumption in Eastern Europe will bestow lucrative opportunities for market players.

Organic Beef Meat Market: Key Driving Factors

The trend of large retail chains such as Whole Foods pushing the organic agricultural produce across their stores in Europe will increase the availability and give a boost the organic beef meat.
Inclination towards organic beef meat as a result of growing awareness among consumers concerning the side effects of processed meat, is propelling the growth.

Organic Beef Meat Market: Key Restraint

High price point of organic beef is likely to hinder the sales, thus limiting rapid growth of the market.

For More Details, Ask Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-4463

Impact of COVID 19 on Organic Beef Market

The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a significant impact on various internal and internal factors across industries which includes purchasing, selling, exports, value-added services among other key components for businesses. The organic beef industry is one such market that is currently facing a negative impact due to the pandemic. The industry is being indirectly affected on the back of retail stores being closed down and disruption of the supply chain, which is limiting the overall sales. Furthermore, the market is being affected due to distancing practices coupled with hindered import and export of organic beef.

However, the demand for organic beef has been stronger and the economic downturn is hampering the strong grocery sales. On a positive note, despite the decline in sales, the organic beef market is likely to regain the lost ground in the remaining quarters of the year.

Competition Landscape of Organic Beef Market

Some of the key players in the global organic beef landscape that are covered in this study include, but are not limited to, Neat Meat company, organic Prairie, Aurelian organic meat supplier group, Swillington Organic Farm Arcadian Organic Meat Co., River ford organic farmers and Eversfield, among others. The market players are focusing on building a strong brand image to gain a competitive edge.

Download Methodology of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-4463

More About the Report

This Future Market Insights study of 200 pages offers actionable insights on the organic beef market. The market analysis is based on product type (Fresh Meat and Processed Meat), flavor (ground beef, steak beef, chucks, and patty), distribution channel (direct sales, indirect sales, modern trade, convenience stores, online retailers, and independent retailers) across seven major regions (North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, APEJ, Japan, and Middle East & Africa)

Explore Extensive Coverage of FMI’s Food & Beverages Landscape

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Contact Info:
Name: Abhishek Budholiya
Email: Send Email
Organization: Future Market Insights
Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/organic-beef-meat-market

Source URL: https://marketersmedia.com/organic-beef-meat-market-2021-latest-trends-demand-growth-opportunities-outlook-till-2027/89004397

Source: MarketersMedia

Release ID: 89004397

This press release is syndicated from MarketersMEDIA, your global press release service which provides business announcements, market trends, financial analysis, expected growth forecast, predictions, and more since 2012.

MarketersMEDIA press releases syndicated on this website are accurate at the time of release. Information provided in the release such as global trends, analysis, growth forecast, and expected market share in dollars may change over time, and may or may not be accurate after the date of release.

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Report: majority of consumers want compulsory labelling on all genetically modified food

Apr 8 2021

Report: genetically modified food majority of consumers want compulsory labelling

A majority of European consumers want to see compulsory labelling on food products containing genetically modified crops, according to a recent Ipsos report, but industry players insist that this is impossible to implement.

The report, commissioned by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and carried out by the polling organisation Ipsos, surveyed thousands of consumers across all 27 member states between February and March of this year in an attempt to gauge their understanding and attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) crops.

This included both “conventional” genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which involves the genetic transfer between different species, as well as gene edited (GE) crops, created using new genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR.

It found that, of those which have heard of the technology, 86% of people want food containing GMOs to be labelled accordingly, while 68% of respondents that have heard of new genomic techniques would also like these to be clearly labelled.

While 78% of those surveyed had heard of GM crops, only 40% on average across all EU member states reported prior knowledge of GE crops.

As it currently stands, EU legislation stipulates that GM food must be clearly labelled, stating that, in the case of pre-packaged GM food/feed products, the list of ingredients must indicate “genetically modified” or “produced from genetically modified [name of the organism]”, while non-packaged products require a notice nearby.

However, products from animals fed with GM crops are exempt from GMO labelling.

The report comes amid heated debate over the future of the technology after a 2018 European Court of Justice ruling found that GE crops fall, in principle, under the EU’s GMO directive.

However, the outcome of this ruling has since been heavily disputed, with industry players pushing for the decision to be revised so as to exclude GE crops from the scope of EU regulations governing GMOs.

This would include labelling rules, something the Greens/EFA warn would deprive consumers of their right to know how their food is produced, and leave them “no opportunity to avoid GM food”.

Contacted by EURACTIV, a Commission official said that the next step for the EU executive will be the publication of a study on new genomic techniques, which aims to clarify the situation in light of the 2018 court ruling.

“The Commission is currently finalising the study which had been requested by the Council,” the official said, highlighting that issues such as consumers’ perception will be addressed in it.

The study is expected to be published at the end of April.

EU study to clarify gene editing court ruling further muddies waters

After the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that organisms obtained by new plant breeding techniques (NBTs) should, in principle, fall under the GMO Directive, the Council of the EU has requested a study from the Commission to clarify the situation. But what this means in practice remains unclear.

Martin Häusling, agricultural policy spokesman for the Greens/EFA Group, said that the Commission “must respect the will of consumers and ensure that existing rules are applied and that to label animal products that have been fed GMOs, including new methods of genetic engineering”.

“We demand that the same rules for authorisation and labelling apply to all types of genetically modified organisms,” he said, stressing that consumer protection means “freedom of choice and transparency about whether our food has been produced with genetic engineering, be it old or new methods of genetic engineering.”

Contacted by EURACTIV, the EU consumer group BEUC declined to offer a direct comment on the subject.

However, their position paper on the EU’s flagship food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy, which notes the potential role that “innovative techniques, including biotechnology” may play in increasing the sustainability of food production, the organisation highlights that “traceability and labelling of products produced using these [gene editing] techniques must guarantee consumers’ right to know and freedom of choice.”

They add that a lack of labelling of these products would risk “eroding consumer confidence in organic food,” pointing out that this would run counter to the strategy’s objective to stimulate organic food production and consumption in the EU.

First detection test developed for gene-edited crop, campaign groups claim

The first open-source detection method for a gene-edited crop has been developed, according to a scientific paper. Environmental NGOs and campaign groups said this could hypothetically allow the EU to carry out checks to prevent unauthorised imports, but the EU seed sector quickly refuted this claim.

There is a will, but is there a way?

Asked about the feasibility of labelling GM food this way, EU seed sector organisation Euroseeds told EURACTIV that it is “not aware of any practical strategies that could be used for clearly identifying conventional-like gene editing products, when such products are part of commodity flows.”

Garlich Von Essen, Euroseeds secretary general, stressed that non-unique changes in the genome could also occur naturally or through conventional breeding methods.

“As we are of the opinion that these products do not constitute transgenics and are thus fundamentally different from and should not be regulated as products falling under the GM Directive, we see no value or justification for putting respective conventional-like genome editing plant varieties under the labelling obligations of the current GMO directive,” he said, warning this could lead to a “discriminatory situation”.

Likewise, centre-right MEP Herbert Dorfmann, who is the agriculture coordinator of the centre-right Europe’s People Party (EPP), recently told EURACTIV in an interview that he is frequently in contact with scientific experts on the matter who maintain that it is not possible to differentiate between GMOs and GE crops.

“In my opinion, labelling is simply not possible and [without regulating gene editing] we will have plants, seeds that will come from outside Europe, where we don’t know which technology of genetic improvement was applied,” he said.

[Edited by Benjamin Fox]

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Apr 8 2021

Best Legal Steroids – Natural Alternatives of Steroids for Sale

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#2.Clenbutrol – Most Powerful Steroid

Losing weight and building lean muscle go hand in hand. While it may seem like an impossible task for many to shed those extra kilos, people work day in, day out on the treadmill trying to get rid of those pounds of fat.

To achieve your goal smartly, we recommend you use a herbal steroid alternative like Clenbutrol which gives you the same results as a steroid, all the while being easier and safer to use to help in fat loss and muscle strength.

⇒ Visit the Official Website of Clenbutrol for the Best Discount

Brand overview- What is Clenbutrol?

Clenbutrol is a legal alternative to the anabolic steroid Clenbuterol. CrazyBulk supplies and manufactures Clenbutrol along with many other legal steroids that can help during different stages of bodybuilding like cutting and bulking.

CrazyBulk is a trusted brand based in the USA, which claims to provide 100% natural, safe and risk free products. It achieved a customer experience rating of 4.4 on Feefo and all its products are thoroughly researched for maximum effectiveness.

Clenbutrol is one such product of CrazyBulk and is an all natural thermogenic which possesses all the properties of a steroid however with no side effects.

Pros:

Safe and legal alternative of Clenbuterol

- Powerful Fat Burning supplement with thermogenic property

Increases Basal metabolic Rate Resulting in the body’s utilization of stored fat.

- Increases muscle to fat ratio

Increases the oxygen flow in the body giving cardiovascular functioning a boost

Provides sufficient energy to the muscles for a longer time

Preserves Lean muscle mass
Gives a ripped physique
Improves performance and enhances Stamina & endurance

Cons:

Clenbutrol can only be purchased from the official website of Crazy Bulk
Yields best results if used with a proper exercise regimen and healthy meal plan

How Does Clenbutrol Work?

Clenbutrol burns fat and improves cardiovascular performance by increasing the oxygen transportation thereby giving you that sculpted body you always wanted. It also gives your cardiovascular performance a boost and charges up your body for a long time, enabling you to do a more intense workout.

Clenbutrol fuels your workout and turns your body into a full time, fat blasting furnace.

Ingredients of Clenbutrol:

Garcinia Cambogia – An exotic tropical fruit found in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and parts of Africa, is a popular supplement for weight loss. It is said to block the body’s ability to make fat and puts a brake on your appetite. Also helps you keep blood sugar level in check.
Bitter Orange extract- Bitter orange plant extracts are known to be potent remedy for gastrointestinal problems, anemia, to fight obesity, better athletic performance and many other conditions.
Guarana Extracts- Guarana is a Brazilian plant native to the Amazon Basin and the Amazonian tribes have used this for centuries for its therapeutic properties. Guarana contains a wide range of stimulants such as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine.
Niacinamide- Also known commonly as Vitamin B3, is widely used in pre workout supplement. Vitamin B3 plays a vital role in converting the food we eat into usable energy and helps the body cells carry out important chemical reactions.

⇒ Click Here to Learn More about the Ingredients of Clenbutrol

Where Can You Find Clenbutrol and How Much Does it cost?

Clenbutrol is available for purchase on the CrazyBulk website with two package deals:

Buy 2 Clenbutrol bottles for $123.98 and get an additional bottle absolutely free. The shipping is free on this order!
Buy 1 Clenbutrol bottle for $ 61.99

#3. Testogen – Natural Steroid

Do you constantly find yourself low on energy, irritable and tired? Are you making excuses to have sex with your partner? If yes, then you have nothing to worry about. It’s just your testosterone levels declining, which is a natural process that happens as you age.

To get your Testosterone back on track, all you need is a healthy diet, daily exercise and a natural booster like Testogen to kickstart your T-hormone production.

⇒ Visit the Official Website of Testogen for the Best Discount

Brand Overview – What is Testogen?

Testogen is supplied and manufactured by Muscle Club Limited based in Nottingham,UK. Muscle Club, founded in 2015 is one of the leading brands of all natural products in the health and fitness industry.

Their versatile team of athletes, nutrition professionals and scientists design supplements that are herbal and safe, using well-researched organic ingredients.

Testogen is one of these products of Muscle Club Limited, which is easy to use, effective, safe and all natural. Its unique combination of all potent ingredients work together to increase testosterone production in your body naturally

Pros:

100% pure and natural ingredients.
Easy to use and Effective.
Thousands of satisfied customers.
Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee policy.
Free worldwide shipping
Helps you reverse your diminishing libido
Improves muscle size and fastens muscle recovery
Improves performance in the bedroom.
A great energy and endurance booster.

Cons:

Should only be bought from the official website to avail the best discount offers
May take a while to work for some people

⇒ Click Here to Get the Latest Deal on Testogen

How Does Testogen Work?

Testogen does not contain any artificial testosterone, but its blend of effective and natural ingredients work together to pump up more testosterone in the body. And how does Testogen do this, by regulating amino acid production in your body and by improving the production of enzymes that in turn help produce more Testosterone.

Testogen can help you build up stronger muscles and burn fat accumulation around your waist and thighs. You can also refer to this review to know more about the benefits of testogen By providing you with bursts of energy, it can improve your constant mood swings and even anxiety and depression.

Ingredients of Testogen:

Testogen is a powerful blend of 11 all-natural and proven ingredients which are –

D-Aspartic Acid – This is an amino acid regulator which can boost your declining testosterone levels. It works on increasing production of follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones which helps increase t-levels in the body.
Nettle Leaf Extract – This natural extract helps increase the amounts of active or free testosterone in the body, by itself binding to the globulin that inhibits the production of testosterone.
Vitamin D3 – This essential nutrient can help strengthen your bones and muscles and help increase your immunity It even promotes weight loss and helps improve the functioning of your heart.
Korean Red Ginseng Extract –This is an effective antioxidant that helps reduce pain and inflammation. It promotes faster muscle recovery and prevents and helps treat erectile dysfunction.
Fenugreek Extract – this natural extract helps prevent type 2 diabetes and reduce the risk of heart diseases and blood pressure problems. It helps with weight loss and improves testosterone and sperm count.
Magnesium- Magnesium helps increase oxygen absorption and intake by body providing bursts of energy and stamina. It is used by athletes and bodybuilders to increase their total work output during workouts.
Vitamin K1 – This vitamin helps promote bone health by promoting the infusion of calcium phosphate into the bones. It also helps with blood clotting and helps absorb vitamin D better.
Vitamin B6 – This nutrient helps promote better brain functioning and reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Zinc – This is another essential nutrient used in testogen which boosts immunity and improves metabolism. It also helps in quick healing of wounds.
Boron – Boron is used to build stronger bones and muscles. It helps in quick muscle building and improves testosterone levels in the body .
Bioperine – This is a thermogenic ingredient which helps in burning fat by increasing the body’s core temperature.

⇒ Click Here to Learn More about the Ingredients of Testogen

Where Can You Find Testogen and How Much Does it Cost?

For better prices and guarantee of quality, it is recommended to always buy Testogen from its original website.

It is available in 3 packages –

One Month Supply – You can get this at $59.99 only with a standard shipping fee of $7.95.
Two Months Supply + One Month Supply Free – You can buy this package at $119.99 with free shipping.
Three Months Supply + Two Months Supply Free – this package can be bought at $179.99 with free worldwide shipping.

Our recommendation is to buy the two months supply with one month free, as you won’t have to pay for shipping. Also Testogen takes a little time to work, so give it a try for at least 2 months before giving up.

#4. Instant knockout – Best Muscle Building Steroid

Do you want bigger and stronger muscles, fast? Strenuous workouts and strict diets can only get you so far. Sometimes our body needs an external push which can kickstart the burning process of the stubborn fat accumulated on our tummy and thighs.

Instant Knockout, as the name suggests, can help you knock off your excess fat and get a firm and sculpted body with regular use.

⇒ Visit the Official Website of Instant Knockout for the Best Discount

Brand Overview – What is Instant Knockout?

Formulated by Roar Ambition Ltd based in the UK, Instant Knockout is an all-natural fat burner which was originally created for Pro Boxers and MMA fighters to help them burn fat quickly in time for a fight.

All Roar Ambition products are made in high-class facilities in the USA and UK, which follows the standards set by FDA. Their products are GMP certified and created using only natural plant based ingredients.

They claim to have used the latest technology and stay at the forefront of nutritional research while developing all their products for an extensive customer base of fitness enthusiasts, bodybuilders and athletes.

Pros:

Fast and free shipping worldwide.
Unique formula for shredding fat quickly
Fuels energy levels pushing your to workout more
Works on burning fat from the whole body.
Only uses high–quality natural ingredients
Easy to use pills
Suppresses appetite and controls munchies
Helps build better muscles

Cons:

Must not be taken too close to bedtime as it might disrupt your sleep

⇒ Click Here to Get the Latest Deal on Instant Knockout

How Does Instant Knockout Work?

Instant Knockout uses it 10powerful fat burning ingredients to work on your metabolism. By harnessing the natural powers of outfit ingredients, Instant knockout boosts your metabolic process, and it’s a known fact that faster metabolism means faster fat burning.

It also keeps your appetite in check, resulting in less fat consumption and promoting more fat burning. Instant knockout burns the stored fat in your body and uses it as energy to fuel your workouts.

Ingredients of Instant Knockout:

Green Tea Extract – Green tea extract is a rich source of antioxidants and has been credited with a range of health benefits such as promoting heart, liver and brain health. Additionally green tea extract has the ability to aid weight loss, exercise performance and enhance recovery.
Cayenne Pepper Seeds – Cayenne pepper is known to be the king of medicinal herbs. Cayenne pepper is a type of chilli pepper and boosts your metabolism. B increasing the amount of heat in your body, Cayenne pepper makes you burn more calories per day.
Glucomannan- Glucomannan is a natural, water soluble dietary fibre extracted from the roots of elephant yam. Being a soluble fibres glucomannan absorbs water in the stomach, contributing to the feeling of fullness. Additionally, it may promote reduced calorie intake.
Vitamin B6 – It helps patients with Alzhiemer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Vitamin B6 also helps convert food into energy providing you with long-lasting stamina.
Caffeine Anhydrous – Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found in many different plant species. It is known to increase strength, muscle power, cardiovascular exercise endurance and sprinting power.
Vitamin B12 – Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin that has numerous roles in our body. It helps with red blood cell formation and supports bone health by preventing Osteoporosis.
GTF Chromium – Chromium is a mineral that plays a key role in nutrient metabolism. Chromium supplements help in improving blood sugar levels.
Zinc – This is an essential nutrient which is present throughout our bodies. This promotes better functioning of the immune system and improves metabolism.
Piperine – This is a bioactive compound extracted from black pepper which works to improve your gut health. It can help with nausea, vomiting and also help boost your metabolism.
Green Coffee Bean – These are nothing but unroasted coffee beans which contain compounds called chlorogenic acid which can act as powerful antioxidants. These can help lower blood pressure and promote fat and weight loss.

⇒ Click Here to Learn More about the Ingredients of Instant Knockout

Where Can You Find Instant Knockout and How Much Does it Cost?

Instant Knockout should only be purchased from its official website.

It is available in three different stacks –

One Month Supply – 1 bottle of Instant Knockout at only €45
Two Months Supply – Two bottles of Instant Knockout at €90 with free and fast shipping in the USA and UK.
The Ultimate Shredding Stack – Three bottles of Instant Knockout with One Bottle free at only €140 with free worldwide shipping.

#5. D-Bal – Natural Alternative to Dianabol

Bulking is the phase of muscle-gaining, when you intentionally consume a lot of calories – more than your body actually needs. This is done for a defined period of maybe 3-6 months depending on your body type.

These extra calories are eaten to provide your body with the extra energy it needs for intensive workouts in the gym and to fuel your muscle size.

However sometimes calorie consumption is not enough, what you also need is an external push which kick starts your bulking process.

With D-Bal you can gain muscles quickly and easily and may also be able to recover quickly from muscle injuries and soreness.

⇒ Visit the Official Website of D-Bal for the Best Discount

Brand Overview – What is D-Bal?

Manufactured by CrazyBulk in a GMP approved facility, D-Bal is a dietary supplement that can help you during your Bulking stage.

D-Bal is a powerful blend of all-natural ingredients that can result in all the gains and positives of Dianabol, without the side-effects. Dianabol is an illegal anabolic steroids which was used by bodybuilders in the USA to bulk up.

However due to numerous harmful side-effects, Dianabol was banned in the USA. CrazyBulk therefore created D-Bal, as a legal alternative to Dianabol. The new D-Bal formula can be safe for use and 7times more powerful than its predecessor.

Pros:

Fast Bulking
Legal Steroid alternative to Dianabol
Increases focus and concentration
Boosts up Energy Levels
Balances Testosterone Level
No need for Prescriptions
Helps Speed up Bone and Tendon Healing
Free Delivery and Money Back Guarantee

Cons:

Is only Available online.
You need to combine it with a suitable diet for best results.

⇒ Click Here to Get the Latest Deal on D-Bal

How Does D-Bal Work?

D-bal is created using a unique combination of potent ingredients that don’t just increase muscle mass and strength but also help improve our overall body health.

The herbal and powerful ingredients present in D-Bal work on the root cause of slow bulking in your body and help in fat reduction and muscle building. You can also refer to this article to get detailed Information about D-Bal to know how it can reduce muscle soreness and speed up tendon recovery With just 3 capsules a day, D-Bal can help you gain muscles, strength and stamina.

Ingredients of D-Bal:

Magnesium – Magnesium helps improve flexibility and by loosening up tight muscles decreases the risk of injuries. This happens when muscles can’t possibly relax and cause cramps, there is where Magnesium shines.
Vitamin D2 – This nutrient helps decrease the risk of muscle stress related fractures and improves muscle recovery. Vitamin D2 also helps with depression and contributes to improving overall health.
Ashwagandha Extract – Ashwagandha helps decrease accumulated body fat, increases muscle and bone mass and rebalances hormonal levels.
MSM – Methylsulfonylmethane commonly known as MSM, is a dietary supplement that has gained popularity recently among athletes and bodybuilders. It helps improve exercise recovery time and bulk up your muscles.
L-Isoleucine – This amino acid helps regulate blood sugar levels and promote the production of the Human Growth Hormones (HGH). It also helps fasten wound healing.
DHEA – This is an androgen that can help balance testosterone levels in men. Testosterone levels directly influence the manly characteristics in a man like muscle and bone mass, strength building and recovery of injuries.
Tribulus Terrestris Extract – This is another ingredient which can help decrease stored body fat and increase muscle gains. This can also be beneficial for skin diseases and sexual problems like Erectile dysfunction.
Hyaluronic Acid – This helps relieve joint and muscle pain and improves bone strength.

⇒ Click Here to Learn More about the Ingredients of D-Bal

Where Can you find D-Bal and How Much Does it Cost?

D-Bal can only be purchased from the official site of CrazyBulks.

For 1 Bottle of D-Bal – You save $25.01 and get it for the discounted price of $59.99/bottle.
For 2 Bottles of D-Bal – You get 1 more Bottle of D-Bal absolutely free and you save $135.02 and get three bottles at a discounted price of $119.98 only. You also get free shipping only with Bulk order.

#6. Winsol – Closest Supplement to Steroids

Have you reached a plateau in your weight loss, especially when you are working hard in the gym and the kitchen? You are making sure to do all things right, working out a few times a week, eating healthy, doing your cardio. What more should you do, you ask?

Winsol, unlike anabolic drugs, doesn’t give temporary results. It is a body building supplement used by athletes all over the world to supercharge their power and enhance their performance. Winsol is an alternative to Winstrol, a popular steroid with serious side effects.

⇒ Visit the Official Website of Winsol for the Best Discount

Brand Overview – What is Winsol?

Winsol is a safe and legal alternative to Winstrol, the anabolic steroid used by most athletes and bodybuilders, giving better results than Winstrol and without the serious side effects that come with the use of an anabolic steroid. Winsol is for anyone who is in the cutting phase and wants to increase strength and performance while burning away fat and creating muscles.

Pros:

Starts working immediately and burns fat even when you are not working out
Preserves muscles and strength while burning fat, thus retaining quality muscles
Helps in losing water weight and enhancing vascularity
Boosts the level testosterone and enhances muscle mass
Enhances blood supply
Gives rapid result within 30 days
Free worldwide shipping

Cons:

Only available on the official Crazy Bulk website

How Does Winsol Work?

Winsol is a highly thermogenic fat burner. The preparation for this natural supplement has been researched and tested in FDA approved labs and has absolutely no side effects. Winsol works by preserving muscle and fat, while converting stored fat, especially stubborn belly fat, into energy even during periods of limited activity.

Winsol contains weight loss ingredients like Acetyl- L-carnitine that acts by sparing muscle and strength while burning fat.

Ingredients of Winsol:

- Acetyl-L- Carnitine- L Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid and is often taken as a supplement . Studies have shown that L- Carnitine plays a crucial role in production of energy by transporting fatty acids into our cells. L- Carnitine may also benefit brain function by preventing age- related mental decline and improving markers of learning.

Choline- Choline is a newly discovered nutrient that is made by the liver in very small amounts. This nutrient is similar to the vitamin B complex and impacts liver function, healthy brain development, muscle movement and nervous system.

Dimethylaminoethanol- DMAE is naturally produced in the body and is thought to help regulate many functions of the brain. DMAE helps control the amount and effectiveness of choline and fights anxiety and cortisol production. The powerful anti-inflammatory action of DMAE helps keep the performance level up and reduces inflammation in joints.

Wild Yam Roots- Wild Yam, a vine found mostly in North America, is said to help treat numerous conditions such as hormone production and imbalance, Arthritis, skin health etc.

Safflower Oil- Safflower is high in linoleic oil, which regulates hormones and is also a potent anti-inflammatory.

⇒ Click Here to Learn More about the Ingredients of Winsol

Where Can You Find Winsol and How Much Does it Cost?

Winsol is only available at the manufacturer’s website Crazybulk USA to save the users from any fake product.

For 1 Bottle of Winsol – You save $20.01 and get it for the discounted price of $61.99/bottle.
For 2 Bottles of Winsol – You get 1 more Bottle of Winsol absolutely free and you save $122.02 and get three bottles at a discounted price of $123.98 only. You also get free shipping only with Bulk order.

#7. Trenorol – Best Steroid for Bulking

To magnify your muscle gain possibilities, you have to go through the endless cycles of bulking and cutting. Some might say that building up muscle is a body builder’s forte, however deep down we all want to look healthy, attractive and toned.

Bodybuilding supplements are made of elements that help in gaining muscle mass, increased endurance and performance. Trenorol, a legal substitute of Trenbolone, will give you the strength you desired all along your fitness journey.

⇒ Visit the Official Website of Trenorol for the Best Discount

Brand Overview – What is Trenorol?

Trenorol will recreate for you, the androgenic effect that came with consumption of Trenbolone. Trenorol is the proven formula for that ripped physique you always wanted. Created by the popular and trusted brand by thousands of athletes, trainers be it men or women, Crazybulk is offering Trenorol, the best bodybuilding supplement.

According to WPHC, Trenorol is an all purpose supplement that is perfectly suitable for any kind of workout. Trenorol is especially effective for people involved in hard training sessions and want to increase energy and endurance. Crazy bulk says that this is 100% natural and safe, and claims it to be the most versatile steroid of all times.

Pros:

Is a safe and legal Trenbolone alternative
Gives you the Mega muscle mass
Helps you to shred fat without losing mass
Provides enhanced Vascularity
Gives you super strength and stamina
Gives rapid result within 30 days
Free worldwide shipping

Cons:

Only available on the official website of Crazybulk

⇒ Click Here to Get the Latest Deal on Trenorol

How Does It Work?

Trenorol, the legal substitute for Trenborol helps your muscle tissues to retain maximum Nitrogen. Nitrogen is the building blocks of protein, hence more Nitrogen leads to more protein and thereby increasing muscle gain and improved fat burning. Nitrogen is also needed by the muscle to heal faster.

Trenorol also boosts the flow of oxygen to the muscles by stepping up the red blood cell production. The increase of RBCs in the body give greater vascularity and a defined look to you.

Ingredients of Trenorol:

Beta Sitosterol- It is the most crucial ingredient in Trenorol and is a naturally occurring substance found in plants. Used in many medicines, Beta Sitosterol is most commonly used for lowering blood cholesterol level and improving symptoms of enlarged prostate. Most importantly it prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. This aids in reducing body fat and muscle mass.

Curcumin- Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and has powerful anti inflammatory effects. Curcumin is also a very strong antioxidant, boosts brain derived neurotrophic factor, is linked to improve brain function and lowers risk of brain diseases.

Nettle leaf extract- Nettle has been a staples herbal medicine since ancient times. It is used widely in arthritis and lower back pain medicines. Nettle extract also is full of Vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyphenols. It also helps to reduce inflammation.

Pepsin- Pepsin is a digestive enzyme vital in breakdown and nutrient absorption. Pepsin helps in bodybuilding regimen as the body needs a lot of carbohydrates and proteins to replenish the lost energy during workouts.

⇒ Click Here to Learn More about the Ingredients of Trenorol

Where Can you find Trenorol and How Much Does it Cost?

However, you can find it online. Purchasing the supplements from the official website is the only safe way.

For 1 Bottle of Trenorol- You save $23.01 and get it for the discounted price of $61.99/bottle.
For 2 Bottles of Winsol – You get 1 more Bottle of Winsol absolutely free and you save $131.02 and get three bottles at a discounted price of $123.98 only. You also get free shipping only with Bulk order.

In Conclusion – Which Is The Best Legal Steroid For You?

There are a lot of legal steroids available in the market, shortlisting the top is quite a tough task. Although, When we think of muscles the first thing that comes to our mind are well cut biceps or abs. But muscles are so much more than that. Muscles and nerve fibres allow us to move our body, enable our internal organs to function and are essential to maintain your body strength and body weight. Therefore, We need the best!

Maintaining strong core muscles can help you look taller and straighter which enhances your posture as well as overall appearance. All these steroids mentioned above will help you to get your desired result but we would highly recommend you to either go for Testo-Max or Clenbutrol. These two are the most favored ones. They help to keep the rest of your body aligned. Strengthening and maintaining muscles can boost metabolism thereby utilizing more energy for every action you do.

These natural pre- workout, dietary supplements are 100% legal, non invasive and non prescription. However, It is always better to consult your doctor before taking any of it. No matter your gender or age, these Natural Steroids might help you in building and maintaining muscles and live a much healthier life.

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L.A. Weekly 0 Comments

Apr 7 2021

5 of the Best `joint supplements Backed by Science

… joints!
Solgar® Earth Source® Organic Flaxseed Oil is a vegan … grows primarily in central and southern Europe and frequently used in … calcium can be found in foods such as dairy products, … edible bones, and leafy green vegetables like broccoli and kale, …

Newsdesk 0 Comments

Apr 5 2021

What is Airbnb farming and how could it improve food supply chains?

In 2011, amid Spain’s economic crisis, brothers Gabriel and Gonzalo Úrculo quit their jobs to return to the beautiful orange grove in Valencia where they had grown up to revive the family fruit business.

But they soon encountered problems. The low prices paid by supermarkets and other intermediaries made it almost impossible to make a living. On top of that, part of the harvest would always go to waste because they couldn’t sell it.

So in a bid to disrupt what they saw as an inefficient and opaque food supply chain, they came up with an idea to cut out the middleman and harvest fruit “on demand” for individual customers.

The brothers put their trees up for “adoption,” allowing people to pay for each tree’s care in return for receiving the harvest when it was ready. The customers knew they were getting good fruit from a small farm using sustainable methods. The farmers got a guaranteed price for a certain amount of fruit in advance of the season, allowing them to plan better and reduce waste.

In 2017, they expanded the idea outside of their own orange grove and launched CrowdFarming.com – a platform that works a bit like Airbnb for agriculture. Customers can log on, read about a farm, who runs it and the methods they use. They can then adopt a plant or part of a field to receive the harvest – whether it’s avocados from Spain, or potatoes from Germany, or even wine from France. If there’s any leftover, customers can also order boxes of surplus food.

The platform had been slowly growing in popularity but last year’s lockdowns gave it a massive boost. More people were turning to online grocery shopping or looking for new ways to make sure they could access fresh food. Sales tripled, and the number of farmers signed on to the scheme also doubled. CrowdFarming says it is now serving 200,000 households across Europe – particularly in Germany, Austria, France, and the Nordic countries.

“Europeans have been demanding more organic and sustainable products for years, and the pandemic has only accelerated this shift in consumer behaviour,” says co-founder Gonzalo Úrculo.

As for farmers, “many have seen their traditional sales channels collapse because of the coronavirus crisis.”

How does it shorten food supply chains?

CrowdFarming is ambitious. In its marketing materials, it insists it is “not trying to digitalise the traditional food supply chain. We are not an online supermarket. We are building technology for a new food supply chain that allows new experiences for consumers, stable income for farmers, and that rethinks the whole cultivation, harvest, and logistic process.”

It’s one of a spate of initiatives that have sprung up in recent years to “shorten” the food supply chain, offering customers more transparency about where their food is coming from and giving farmers respite from the pressures of supplying supermarkets.

Emerging models include community supported agriculture (CSA), where residents share the risks and rewards of the harvest with a local farmer through arrangements such as co-ownership or investment in a farm; and online farmers’ markets. It usually involves a distributor working with local farms to bundle items for the consumer.

CrowdFarming involves elements of both. “I think these hybrid models are becoming more popular,” says Danielle Nierenberg, president of the Food Tank, a think tank focused on fixing the food system, “whether it’s preventing food waste or supporting regional food systems.”

“These kinds of innovations were being developed pre-pandemic, but the need for farmers and food businesses to pivot is increasing their spread.”

Ordering in bulk requires ‘a mindset shift’

Operating across Europe, CrowdFarming offers a far bigger network than most online farmers’ markets or CSA models. Customers also don’t have to rely on options available in their local area. But there is no middleman to “bundle” items together – central to the goal of reducing inefficiencies is that customers buy directly from the farmers. That typically means buying in bulk.

“It requires a mindset shift on the part of the consumer,” says Abigail, 38, who works in tech in the U.K and has used CrowdFarming to adopt a sheep (receiving the cheese from its milk in return), an orange tree and a walnut tree.

“It was intimidating at the start… but it pushed me to think and research the ways in which people traditionally manage large harvests,” she says. While things like cheese and nuts can last a long time, she has had to learn how to dry, pickle and candy citrus fruit to preserve parts of her orders – skills she thinks others may have learned during lockdown too.

For Abigail, the past year increased the appeal of options like CrowdFarming because access to fresh food hasn’t felt so reliable. “I think understanding how much we rely on, for example, mainland Europe for our fresh fruit has expanded, and people want to explore ways they can take responsibility for their own food,” she says.

A relative newcomer to the idea, 44-year-old Karin Gstöttmayr who lives with her family in Switzerland, recently made her first order of a 4kg box of avocados. They came with storage instructions to help the fruit ripen gradually.

“It worked out perfectly,” she says. “We were able to stretch the consumption to almost three weeks. They were flawless and delicious.” Some customers also split large deliveries with friends and neighbours.

Karin puts the platform’s surging popularity down to a growing desire to make consumption “more conscious, to tackle climate change and to feel independent from the ‘big, evil corporations’.” CrowdFarming has a “very personal set-up” which fits this perfectly, she says.

What are the environmental benefits?

These social and environmental benefits are at the heart of what CrowdFarming claims to be doing. All the farms it lists are organic and have to meet certain sustainability requirements in terms of their production methods, packaging and working conditions.

Pandemic permitting, adopters can even visit the farms to check it out for themselves. The idea is that transparency incentivizes sustainable practices, and farmers can invest more in it because they are receiving a higher price for their produce.

Marco Jostmeier, a potato farmer in Germany who sells through CrowdFarming, notes that this level of transparency and personalization comes with “a huge amount of extra work” for the farmer. But for his team, being able to set their own price for their product and have a more personal relationship with customers means “we are happy to do it.”

“We believe that the bond between producer and consumer will strengthen in the future and that more consumers want to know where their food comes from,” Jostmeier says. “CrowdFarming is not the only way but… it is one good way.”

The online platform is much less local than many sustainable food models. Still, Úrculo argues that it is far more environmentally-friendly for European customers to buy avocados or mangoes from Spain than from South America or Asia, where these products would typically be shipped from.

“Transportation represents 6 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions in EU food-chains,” he says. “The most important factor is what we cultivate and how we do it.

“A short, fast, and efficient supply-chain reduces energy consumption and thus CO2 emissions.”

While the social and environmental impacts can be hard to unpick, Karin and Abigail say they hope they are contributing to a positive change – even if in a small way.

“Eating oranges thousands of miles from their origin is always going to come at some cost … but what I’ve read and experienced is sufficient to suggest to me that I am making reasonable enough choices,” says Abigail.

Karin agrees. The social and environmental benefit “is important to me,” she says. “I hope I am supporting a good cause here enjoying guacamole.”

Every weekday, Euronews Living brings you a cutting edge, environmental story from somewhere around the world. Download the Euronews app to get an alert for this and other breaking news. It’s available on Apple and Android devices.

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Apr 3 2021

China agrees to import Pakistani meat after lifting restrictions

KARACHI: China has allowed a Pakistani firm to export meat to one of the world’s biggest markets after lifting quarantine restrictions, although the neighbouring country expressed concern over hurdles in bilateral economic relationship, it was learnt on Friday.

The Organic Meat Company received an approval from Chinese customs authorities for export of heat treated meat to China.

“The company has pioneered the heat treatment process whereby foot and mouth disease virus can be removed from beef meat,” the company said in a filing with the bourse. “This process will enable us to access more markets for value-added meat products.” China is one of the world’s largest beef consumers and that imports half a million tons annually to reduce gap in demand and supply.

Chinese authorities had imposed quarantine restrictions on Pakistan’s meat which has the world’s lowest price. Pakistan exports beef to Vietnam in bulk and from there it enters into China without any restrictions, according to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Nasser Hyatt Maggo.

Maggo lamented the bilateral trade figures are not reflecting the narrative of close friendship. There are multiple hidden tariff barriers imposed on trade with Pakistan.

“We don’t have direct relations with importers in China,” he said during a meeting with Chinese Consul General in Karachi Li Bijian and Economic and Commercial Counselor Guo Chunshui.

“China should give Pakistan its due share in Chinese imports to let Pakistani businessmen take benefits by exports to China.”

Javed Ilyas, chairman of Pak-China Business Council said bilateral trade was $18 billion in 2019 after signing of second phase of free trade agreement. Of this, Chinese exports were $16 billion while imports from Pakistan were only $1.9 billion as Pakistani businessmen faced barriers from China.

Amjad Rafi, former president of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Pakistani basmati rice is best in the world and in much demanded in Europe. Indian Basmati was banned in the European Union and Pakistan exported $2 billion basmati last year, but Chinese authorities imposed quota on basmati rice.

“If Pakistani exporters are allowed free dealing in China the trade ratio could be enhanced many times,” Rafi said.

The participants discussed the matter of mutual interests and the state of affairs in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Bijian said there are various hurdles in business relations between Pakistan and China. He expressed concerns over safety and security situation for Chinese businessmen and workforce in Pakistan. He also complained about inconsistent economic policies of the government.

Lack of basic infrastructure is also harming trade and industrial relations, he said. Unskilled labours are damaging the business environment. “We spend our money, effort and time in training the labour but after some time they change their loyalties.”

The envoy said Gwadar government has not built any power plant. China is establishing its own electricity sources, which would take time. Karachi is the largest port city “that suits us.”

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Mar 31 2021

Nature Bio Foods BV inaugurates futuristic organic food processing plant in Netherlands

Nature Bio Foods BV (NBF BV), a 100% subsidiary of Nature Bio Foods (NBF) India, one of leading organic food producers and a subsidiary of LT Foods on Wednesday announced the inauguration of its futuristic organic food processing plant at Maasvlakte near Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The new state-of-the-art integrated organic ingredients processing facility of Nature Bio Foods is another step in the company’s efforts to provide organic food ingredients to customers through a sustainable supply chain.

Nature Bio Foods BV offers a vast bouquet of quality organic food ingredients, which are directly sourced from sustainable organic farms of India, Africa, and other Asian countries. NBF in the past few years has set-up its distribution channels in the US and Europe to fortify its business model and other existing networks across geographies.

Strengthening its establishments further, Nature Bio Foods has setup now food processing capabilities in EU which would allow it to reach its customers and brands directly.

The inauguration of the new state-of-the-art line was presided over by the Ambassador of India to the Netherlands Mr. Pradeep Kumar Rawat.

Commenting on the occasion, chairman Mr. V K Arora said, “Nature Bio Foods has had an impeccable legacy in supplying quality organic food ingredients to its customers in some of the most regulated & demanding markets across the globe. We take immense pride in adding yet another induction of latest technology in our Rotterdam facility which is in-line with the long-term vision of the Company to expand and strengthen its organic business in Europe.”

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Mar 30 2021

Here are the 10 best places in the world to retire

If you’re considering retirement abroad, you need information, and you need lots of it. But more than that, you need guidance on how to interpret that information. That’s what we’re here for, and that’s why we’ve compiled the 2021 Annual Global Retirement Index: to help you with the exciting business of choosing where in the world will best suit your needs.

When it was first conceived, our Retirement Index was our special way of coping with an embarrassment of riches. At that stage, IL had already spent over a decade exploring all manner of dream locales. The result was a huge and exciting variety of choice and opportunity. Fast-forward to 2021.

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Three decades have gone by, during which our scouts have scoured every corner of the globe many times over. The result is a much bigger and ever-growing selection of outstanding destinations where you can live a healthier and happier life, spend a lot less money, and get a whole lot more.

But how do you choose?

The Retirement Index is the most comprehensive and in-depth survey of its kind. It’s the best way we know of to sift through the wealth of opportunity the world offers, bring some order, and help you pinpoint the best destination for you.

Our index is informed by hundreds of opinions and real-life experiences—information—compiled by our trusted sources in the best retirement destinations across the globe. We think of it as a tool for you, our reader. A way for you to quickly compare and contrast your best options and begin to narrow down your choices.

We have our people out there pounding the pavement in attractive overseas communities we know you should consider. They’re reporting back to us with insights, and information about what’s really going on. They’re not beholden to relocation service providers or real-estate agents or tourism boards or economic development organizations. They work for you.

In no way is our Global Retirement Index meant to be a scientific output. It’s designed to be a useful tool for people, constructed out of real-world, on-the-ground information interpreted through a lens of well-informed experience and opinion.

Our sources are living in the places where they’re gathering their intelligence. And we trust their judgment. If they say the healthcare is good, or that a meal for two in a nice restaurant costs $20, then we believe them.

Our intention with this index is that it be genuinely useful. We’re not looking for random input from random people around the world—you can get that with a simple internet search. Instead, we’re in the business of providing sound recommendations about a refreshingly limited number of options.

Beyond data, it offers information, opinions, perspective and guidance.

   What has their research revealed about the best retirement havens in 2021? Read on…

10. Vietnam By Wendy Justice “You’ll know within 36 hours of coming here whether you love it or not,” says 65-year-old Redwood City, California expat Deb Aronson. “I knew within three months of being in Vietnam that this would be my home. It captured my soul.” That was 21 years ago, and she’s still under the spell. She’s one of a growing number of expats who lives long term in Vietnam. I’ve lived here for 10 years now—in the coastal resort city of Nha Trang, in the progressive and delightfully livable city of Da Nang, and currently in Hanoi, Vietnam’s 1,010-year-old capital city. When I’m not at home, I’m often exploring other parts of the country—the wild, remote mountains of the far north, the pristine beaches of the central coast, the waterfalls and pine forests of the Central Highlands, and the skyscraper-filled skylines of Vietnam’s rapidly developing cities. Vietnam’s meteoric rise has been nothing short of phenomenal. It’s hard to imagine that this war-torn nation of 40 years ago has developed into the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2020. The signs of growth are everywhere: high-rise condos and gated communities with private yacht clubs and international schools, shiny new hospitals with all the latest equipment, controlled-access freeways, and even the occasional Rolls Royce. Despite the development that you see in every town and city, Vietnam hasn’t sold its soul. Ancient traditions, like the burning of offerings on the full moon and exotic ceremonies honoring the Mother Goddess, are still very much a part of life here. The ornate mansions left behind by the French during their lengthy occupation house embassies, government offices, and fancy restaurants now. The many parks and streets lined with century-old shade trees—also a legacy of the French—give a certain European grandeur to Vietnam’s urban areas. Glitzy shopping malls with the latest fashions and electronics compete with cavernous traditional markets selling gallon-size jugs of ginseng, traditional medicines, and $2 jeans. Elegant restaurants serving fresh lobster and Wagyu steak sit alongside humble street food stalls selling spring rolls and chicken soup. The rising middle class have no issues taking a meal at either place; they’re happy to splurge on occasion, but nothing quite compares to sharing a humble kettle of “hot pot” in the company of friends and family. Vietnam may be growing in leaps and bounds, but for retirees looking for a delightfully comfortable lifestyle, it remains one of the least expensive countries on earth. Couples who have made their homes in the mountain town of Dalat say they’re not sacrificing a thing to stay within a budget of $800 per month or less, and expats in Nha Trang rave about spending $1,000 per month and “living rich.” Even in the most expensive cities—Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)—you can live comfortably for less than $1,500 per month. 70-year-old Texas native Larry Chilcoat has lived in Dalat since 2018. He says, “I’m able to live well on just my social security alone. My monthly budget, with travel and everything, is $800 to $1,000 per month and I don’t hurt for anything–I have everything that I want and need. Things are so reasonable here.” The Vietnamese language is notoriously difficult to learn. Fortunately, the Vietnamese know this and are thrilled if you attempt to speak just a few words of the language, no matter how badly you might mangle it. Many locals speak excellent English, especially in urban areas. Vietnam scores well on the English Proficiency Index—higher than most other Asian and even Latin American countries. They are also eager to practice their English skills; many friendships are formed through informal language exchanges. That’s one of the things that makes Vietnam stand out from other countries: it’s an easy place to make local friends. Age isn’t a barrier here, either. One retired couple I met in Da Nang said that they were invited to their neighbor’s high school prom. My best friend is my daughter’s age. Whether they’re hoping to practice their English or simply curious about seeing a new face in town, the Vietnamese aren’t shy about initiating conversations. They’ll ask your name, your age, whether you’re married and if so, how many children you have and their ages. Before you know it, you’re invited to their house for dinner or to visit their ancestral home in the countryside. Many expats are drawn to Vietnam for its beaches, which stretch more than 2,000 miles along the entire length of the country. Places on the central coast like Da Nang, Hoi An, and Nha Trang have exceptionally pretty beaches, while offering residents the benefits of city life, too. In other places, such as the south-central village of Mui Ne and the southern island of Phu Quoc, the laid back lifestyle is centered around the coast. Wherever you are in Vietnam, you’re never far from quiet, rural roads, stunning mountain scenery, and tiny hamlets where life hasn’t changed much in the past century. It’s a country that invites exploration and adventure; scenic wonderlands like Halong Bay and Sapa, minority villages overlooking terraced rice fields that extend to the horizon, and the world’s largest caves attract tens of thousands of visitors. Vietnamese cuisine is delightfully regional, with savory broths in the north, spicy noodles in the south, and incredibly delicious dishes and specialties that are found in only one town or village in the entire country. The food is fresh and healthy, with complex flavors expertly blended to create unique dishes. The country is also famous for its coffee—strong, rich, and locally grown, it’s a source of pride for the Vietnamese, who are its biggest consumers. Vietnam is a regional travel hub. Several international airports serve regional destinations, while airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offered flights to all major global destinations, including direct, non-stop flights to the U.S., and likely will again, once borders reopen. Budget carriers like VietJet Air, Pacific Airlines, and Bamboo Airways offer ridiculously low promotional fares, while the signature carrier, Vietnam Airlines, has full-service flights.Get Your Free Report on the World’s Best Places to Retire: 9. Malta By Mary Charlebois Sitting right at the heart of the Mediterranean, Malta blends the best of southern-European graciousness with one of the best qualities of life to be found in Europe. First-World standards of service and infrastructure, a wealth of historical and architectural treasures from its eons of history, and the sparkling Mediterranean—all in a country one-tenth the size of Rhode Island—ensure that this tiny island will keep you occupied. Malta has three islands, Malta, Gozo, and Comino. The three islands have a total of 122-square miles, with a population of just over 500,000 people. Malta and Gozo are populated, while Camino is virtually uninhabited, having only 1.35-square miles of land. The weather is stable and the same everywhere in Malta. The average temperature is 72 F. Malta has one of the highest numbers of sunshine hours per year in Europe. Blue skies appear most every day. Cool north-westerly and dry north-easterly winds make life sweet. Malta’s ancient cities and villages were laid out to catch the prevailing breeze. Natural air conditioning flows down narrow streets, cooling apartments and houses through windows and vents in the sandstone. Whether it’s a lazy day on the beach or an afternoon exploring, there is plenty to see, do, and taste. Explore megalithic temples, bronze-age burial sites, age-old salt farms, spectacular churches, museums, and fortified cities. Immerse yourself in local fiestas and celebrations for crops, fishing, seasons, Village Saint Day, and more. Local, fresh, high-quality food is the standard in Malta. A trip to the market will seem a bargain. Supermarkets carry a wide variety of local and imported food. Better yet, are village shops, bakeries, greengrocers, fishmongers, and butchers. Prices are up to 25% less than in the U.S. Meals in cafés and restaurants cost less than in the U.S., too. From traditional street food to fine European dining, the quality is excellent, and the value is remarkable. A street food traditional pizzette lunch and a local Cisk beer will run around $2.60. A three-course dinner with a bottle of local wine and dessert in a village café will cost about $30 per person. Housing in Maltese cities is more expensive than in the countryside. Harbor or beachside living will cost a bit more. A modern one-bedroom apartment, fully furnished, including utilities and Wi-Fi, can run as low as $460 per month. A fully furnished four-bedroom classic villa with a pool, gardens, and stunning views is closer to $1,930 a month. There are bargains to be found on Gozo, especially for long-term renters. These are small islands so a car really isn’t needed. Public transportation in Malta is efficient and inexpensive. A monthly bus pass is $26. Lower rates are available for seniors and residents. Round-trip ferry tickets to Gozo are $6.15. Permanent residents pay $1.50. Ferries are free for permanent residents 60 and over. Taxis, car rental, and rideshare transportation are ubiquitous. Malta has modern, high-quality healthcare. It’s a popular medical tourism destination. Maltese citizens have a choice of free public healthcare or paid private facilities and physicians. Permanent residents can take advantage of discounts available in the private sector with the right type of insurance. Malta is a dual-language country, both English and Maltese. English is taught in schools and spoken by everyone. Maltese is a Semitic language heavily influenced by a mix of Arabic, Italian, English, and a bit of French. Maltese language classes are readily available in local schools. Permanent residency is easy to obtain for 12 months at a time. The status can be obtained by non-E.U. citizens with an application and a small fee made in person in Valletta. It can be renewed each year. One of the best reasons to live in Malta is its location. It’s 60-miles south of Italy, 176-miles east of Tunisia, and 207-miles north of Libya. A short flight away is—Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Spain, France, and many more. This tiny island nation in the center of the Mediterranean and the crossroads of history is surrounded by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. All are a ferry ride or a short flight away. Malta is ideal for travel to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. But the best part will be living the charming, easygoing Maltese way of life.

   <strong>8. France</strong>

By Tuula Rampont France is a dynamic, diverse country that offers retirement options for every taste and budget. If you’re a fan of fine European-living, look no further than this gourmet and cultural gem. From the flowing lavender fields of Provence to the charming cafés of Paris and the stunning scenery of the Brittany coast, opportunities for a rich, fulfilling retirement can be found throughout the country. While France keeps pace with modern times, much of its attractiveness lies in the time-honored traditions practiced throughout the country. Long lunches with fine bottles of wine, or picnics among the local vineyards, are examples of the joie de vivre that comes with living in France. Life is never rushed, and great care is taken to ensure that each day is lived to the fullest. You’ll find it at your local village café, where friends share a café au lait and a croissant before heading out to do their morning shopping. A visit to the farmers market is one of the most important stops of the day. Market stalls are piled high with the freshest seasonal fruits and vegetables—each beautifully displayed with the finest local products. No detail is overlooked. The cheesemaker (fromagerie) spreads out several goat cheeses prepared at a nearby farm, while the baker (boulanger) sets up a selection of freshly-baked fare—rustic baguettes, flaky pain au chocolats, and specialty bread like black-olive filled fougasse (a pretzel-like specialty from the south of France). Each artisan takes immense pride in their work, as they have done for generations. The wine merchant (cavist) can speak for hours on the importance of location (terroir) when it comes to grape-growing and will make sure you have the perfect wine pairing for your meal. The French passion for cuisine is infectious, and life in la belle France will provide you with access to its many gourmet pleasures. Although it all may sound a tad sophisticated, enjoying the French lifestyle doesn’t have to be expensive. While retiring in one of the country’s larger cities (Paris or Lyon, for example) will be a costlier option, France is full of affordable regions. A couple can live comfortably for $2,083 to $2,483 a month—with some retirees living on less than $2,000. The real day-to-day savings comes from housing costs, where, in certain areas, you can find two-bedroom, one-bathroom homes for under $150,000. While you can hit on these bargain prices in different pockets around the country, the most popular destinations (which combine attractive real estate deals with a high standard of living) include Normandy, Brittany, the Dordogne, and areas within Occitanie (formerly the Languedoc). Healthcare costs are also a huge factor when considering a move to France. Frequently cited as one of the top healthcare systems in the world, residents enjoy high-quality care at cut-rate prices. After living here for three months in the country, expats are eligible for universal coverage. Under the French system, members are reimbursed 70% of doctor’s visits and up to 100% on prescription drugs. Given that a visit to the doctor is $29, out-of-pocket costs are around $9—a 70% discount. Prices are fixed by the government, so you’ll pay the same $9 to see a doctor in Paris, Nice, or Strasbourg. There are no age restrictions or pre-existing condition limitations, everyone is eligible for healthcare. While you’ll pay a small percentage of your annual income to join, passive income (pensions and social security benefits) is exempt from the charge due to a tax treaty with the U.S. Besides its tempting lifestyle and impressive social system, France is a traveler’s paradise. Each region is more beautiful than the next, and with the country’s efficient, high-speed rail service, exploring the best of France is only a train ride away. As one of the world’s most captivating cities, Paris may be a pricey retirement choice, but it makes for a wonderful travel stop. From world-class cuisine to classic bistros and head-turning fashions, the City of Lights is one of the top draws for considering a move to France. And, it’s all a lot closer than you may think. Aix-en-Provence, a popular retirement destination in the south of France, is less than four hours away by TGV (high-speed) train. To the east, Alsace and Lorraine are refined regions that captivate with their cozy, flower-laden villages and half-timbered homes. A hop, skip, and a jump from the German border, the cuisine is hearty and the people gracious and welcoming. History buffs will be drawn to the seafaring regions of Normandy and Brittany. Beyond a rich, cultural heritage, these maritime strongholds provide some of the most picturesque scenery in all of France. Beautiful seaside towns like St. Malo and Dieppe are delightful getaways and tempting retirement locals. The sun-drenched regions of southern France have elevated easy-living to an art form. Splash out like a celebrity at lavish Côte d’Azur resort cities like Nice, St. Tropez, and Cannes or head to the “other” south of France—Provence and the Occitanie regions. Here you’ll find France at its most open and exuberant. Leaning heavily on Spanish influences, the university towns of Toulouse and Montpellier are full of the “fiesta” attitude. Life is meant to be lived out-of-doors, and you’ll discover residents soaking up the sun on café terraces around town—a chilled glass of rosé and a few spicy tapas make for the perfect southern happy hour. Many other fascinating areas exist for travel or retirement. Bordeaux and Burgundy attract wine-lovers from near and far, while the Loire Valley and the Dordogne offer stunning castle-filled views and lush, romantic landscapes. In France, there’s no shortage of things to keep you busy and you’ll find an endless list of hobbies and activities to take part in—cooking lessons, arts and crafts, outdoor clubs, and volunteer opportunities, to name a few. Whether retirees decide to settle along the beaches of the Mediterranean or take up residence in a charming hilltop village lost in the vineyards of Provence, France provides an idyllic retirement for those seeking the best of European living. 7. Malaysia By Keith Hockton Cities with a buzz, idyllic beaches, islands that seduce the senses, and some of the most pristine ancient rainforests in Southeast Asia—this is Malaysia. And these are just some reasons why I call it home. It has everything. Its weather is a tropical 82 F all year round and its beaches, islands, and jungles are pristine. It has some of the region’s best street food, great restaurants, bars, shopping malls, and movie theaters—and it’s all affordable. My wife, Lisa, and I vacationed in Malaysia in 2008 and at that stage, we were taking at least two holidays a year somewhere in Asia. When we got back and did the sums we realized that we could actually live in Malaysia and vacation back home, effectively reversing our situation and saving a heap of money. We started to make plans to do just that and moved to Penang in early 2010. Malaysia’s an easy place to make friends and integrate as English is the unofficial first language, so you don’t have to learn another language here if you don’t want to. Malaysian law is based on the British system and all road signs are in both English and Malay, which makes driving around easy. Lots of expats live in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and numerous organizations here can help you get settled and integrated. On $2,500 a month, a couple can live extremely well, rent in a modern high-rise with a pool, a gym, 24-hour gated security, covered car space or two, a shared communal area with a barbecue, and it will cost between $750 to $1,000 per month. For that price, you will get a modern 2,300-square-foot condo with three or four bedrooms, three to five bathrooms, and a balcony overlooking the ocean. If you don’t care to live with a view, or by the beach, you can rent a two- or three-bedroom place for about $550 to $650, which means you could easily live on less than $2,000 a month. As for healthcare, when you compare surgery prices between the U.S. and Malaysia, the benefits are obvious. More than 1 million foreigners seek treatment in the hospitals in Penang and Kuala Lumpur every year. There are specialists in every hospital, but unlike in the U.S., you don’t have to wait for months to get an appointment. Just turn up to the hospital, register, then take a number and wait your turn. If you are then referred to another doctor or need to get an X-ray or scan, that will also happen on the same day in the same place. Prescriptions in Malaysia cost a fraction of what you pay at home. But it’s not just the cost that’s attractive; it’s the service. The pharmacists, like the rest of Malaysia’s medical staff, are well trained and informed. Malaysians are friendly people, but it’s the genuine interest that they take in you, no matter how small or large the issue, which impresses. It takes you back to a time when personal service meant something. That same service is alive and well here. There are direct flights to more than 30 different countries from Kuala Lumpur and Penang international airports. The country makes a perfect base from which you can explore the innumerable natural, historical, and cultural treasures that Southeast Asia has to offer. The proliferation of cheap Asian airlines in recent years has made it easier (and more affordable) than ever to explore Thailand, Indonesia, India, and Japan. In Malaysia, Asia is truly at your doorstep. There are plenty of international grocery stores around as well, Tesco is one of the more popular ones, and you don’t have to forfeit your little tastes of home, like good cheese and French wine. In all the major cities, there are movie theaters playing the latest Hollywood flicks, and fantastic air-conditioned shopping malls to get your retail fix. Making friends and meeting new people in Malaysia is easy. The locals are kind and curious about what expats and tourists think of their country. They are proud of being Malaysian, and second to asking where you are from, is the question, “have you eaten yet?” Food is a crucial part of the culture throughout Malaysia, so it isn’t uncommon for your taxi driver, store clerk, or hairstylist to tell you where to go for the best plate of noodles. 6. Ecuador By Donna Stiteler Ecuador is the land of diversity. Whether you want to live, vacation, retire, or simply relax in Ecuador, you’ll find the perfect combination of climate, culture, and affordability to make your dreams come true. It’s a country Anthony Bourdain described as “a republic on the equator lying on the west coast of South America and is the 2nd smallest country on the continent. With 1,200 miles of beach, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes, and the Galápagos Islands, it is one of the most ecologically diverse places on the planet.” Ecuador is a largely undiscovered country not yet gentrified but still offering the conveniences of modern living including high-speed fiber optic internet, American dollar currency, temperate weather, good public transportation, and affordable healthcare and housing. It has a tranquillo culture where manana means sometime in the future, and people welcome each other with cheek kisses and deep hugs. It’s often described as a trip back to the 1950s, only now the indigenous men in tribal dress pulling donkeys on long ropes are talking on iPhones. Walk down any major city street and you will see a mix of indigenous, Spanish descendants, mixed ethnicities, North Americans, and Europeans. Because of its unique geological topography with the equator creating temperate weather, you can live on the beach and enjoy cool sea breezes which makes the weather in the 70s and mid-80s. Or settle in the Andes, where the equator places the mountains closer to the sun, making even locations at 8,000 altitudes produce weather in the 60s–70s F. Visit the beaches and you can sit on the shores of Puerto Lopez and whale watch while you enjoy a pilsner and eat freshly made ceviche in beachside canopies. Venture north on the coast and you’ll encounter small sleepy coastal towns that attract expats wanting to escape the rat race, surfers, and hippies riding bicycles in towns like Montanita. Further north is the launching point to explore the Galápagos Islands and its famous blue-footed boobies and giant green tortoises. On the southern coastal tip of Ecuador is Salinas, a modern oceanside town known for its party bars, seafood, and year-round fiestas. Head inland and you’re in the Andes, where you can zip line over mountain valleys, white water raft, get purified by Shamans, and shop for colorful textiles loomed by the indigenous. Many expats settle in Quito or Cuenca to enjoy the 16th century Spanish colonial and 18th century French Republican architecture which earned these cities UNESCO Heritage site designations. Both these colonial towns offer modern conveniences and have a booming tourist industry. Their stone-laden streets are lined with shops, chic bars, and restaurants tucked into scenic historic buildings. Go east into the Amazon rainforests and you can paddle down the Puyo river where you’ll see the indigenous tribes who live on the river with their children, who hoist blow dart guns to test their aim. Expats are scattered all over Ecuador depending on their lifestyle choices. Larger expat communities are in Salinas, with its beaches lined with modern condos; Cotacachi, a small sleepy village where craftsman make everything from leather goods to alpaca ponchos; Cuenca, the modern Andean town which is the cultural center of Ecuador, where music, art, and New Orleans-style architecture attracts visitors from around the world; and Vilcabamba, the home of the Valley of Longevity known for its indigenous centurions and laid back expats who sit outside at cafés trading philosophies. While I appreciate the natural beauty and the mix of indigenous, Incan, and Spanish culture, one of my favorite benefits is the affordable lifestyle. There are few places where living is as affordable as in Ecuador. There is something for everyone, regardless of your budget. Consider that you can own a home on a Pacific Coast beach or a condo with great views in the Andes for less than $150,000. Rentals are plentiful and affordable too with a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo available in downtown Cuenca for $500. A couple can live here for anywhere from $1,650 to $1,825 a month, depending on location and lifestyle. Since the land produces excellent food, mostly with year-round growing seasons, prices at local mercados are so low, it is difficult to carry more than $15 worth of fruits and vegetables. Household help is available for $20 per day, and services like pedicures and haircuts are just a few dollars. No need for heating and cooling bills in most of the country, and you can live most places without a car, paying 30 cents or less for buses, and $2 to $5 for cab rides. There are tight-knit active expat communities and many activities to get involved in—day trips to nearby towns, card games, dinner clubs, trivia, art classes, hikes in the Cajas, and long lunches with friends. Every day I get up and have a choice of what I’d like to do. Living in Ecuador has given me the retirement I could only have dreamed about if I had stayed in the U.S. 5. Portugal By Terry Coles It’s no wonder that Portugal has topped the charts for the best places to retire through the years. This tiny country in the southwest corner of Europe has something for everyone. Vibrant cities full of Old World charm, miles of golden sandy beaches, green, rolling hills, some of the best healthcare in the world, low cost of living, and safety. But for me, the best part about living in Portugal is the people. The Portuguese people are warm, friendly and greet everyone with double-cheeked kisses. Since English is taught in the schools, many Portuguese speak some English, which makes retiring here a little easier. Last year my husband Clyde took our car into a service center for an oil change. To pass the time he went next door to a family-run café for a cup of coffee. The lady of the house was in the next room preparing to serve lunch to her family and insisted that Clyde join them. Since he had already eaten, he declined but had to smile about her generous offer. If you are looking to retire in a city full of Old World charm, check out Lisbon. The city comes alive with colorful tiles, museums, palaces, nightlife, and a tram system that navigates the steep, cobbled roads. Take a deep breath and inhale the sweetness of the pastries that are all around. Sample an original custard tart in the famous bakery of Belem that has been baking these delectable treats since 1837. Head north to visit Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto. Famous for its production of port wine, stately bridges, a colorful riverfront area, university vibe, and tours along the Douro river, there is much to explore. Porto also has an international airport, one of three in the entire country which makes it easy to come and go. Looking to retire and live without a car? Then city life in either Lisbon or Porto might be for you. Portugal has an excellent long-distance bus and train system also making it easy to visit other areas of the country. South of Lisbon is the Alentejo region that includes the cities of Beja and Évora. The largest and most rural region of the country, it is famous for the fields of wildflowers, stately cork oaks, historic towns, and a sparse population. Life here is slow, winters are cool, and summers are hot and dry. The southernmost region of Portugal is the Algarve. Known for its Atlantic beaches, fishing villages, golf resorts, water parks, hot, dry summers, and tourists. Due to its long history of British tourists coming here on holiday, English is widely spoken. So, how much do you need to retire to Portugal? Although it depends on many factors, you can estimate that you can live on about one-third less here. A couple can live comfortably, but not lavishly in Portugal on $2,500 per month. If you want to live in Lisbon, Porto, Cascais, or the Algarve, you should bump that number up to $3,000 or more. My husband Clyde and I have called Portugal our home for over two years now. We began life here one hour north of Lisbon near the city of Caldas da Rainha. For just $400 per month, we rented a fully furnished, three-bedroom home. The house offered views of lush, rolling hills and fertile farmland that we loved. But the winters were too cold and wet for us, so we moved further south. Now we live in Vilamoura, an unincorporated area near the city of Quarteira. Here we rent a two-bedroom condominium in a gated complex with a pool for $1,030 per month. We love Portugal and have never regretted our decision to move here. Read: Want to retire to Portugal for less than $30,000 a year? Check out these seven places Also: Hot springs in January, no traffic, and universal health care — the best retirement escape you’ve never heard of 4. Colombia By Nancy Kiernan Located at the northern tip of South America, the gateway country of Colombia is where the Pacific and the Caribbean collide with the Andes mountains and the Amazon rainforest. It’s a country that is more beautiful, dramatic, and diverse than nearly any other. It offers colonial towns and thriving cosmopolitan cities; places to enjoy the mountains and Caribbean beach towns to soak up the sun. Just three hours from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Colombia welcomes nonstop flights into its major cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Armenia, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, Cartagena, and Cali. Colombia offers something that will appeal to just about everyone. You will find that Colombia is a more developed country than most in Latin America, with the infrastructure, modern products, and services you’d expect in a country on the move. Colombia is no longer Latin America’s best-kept secret because more and more expats are moving here to start a new life in this beautiful country…either retiring or continuing to generate an income. Colombia provides high-quality healthcare at a low cost with easy access for expats. I spent 30 years working in healthcare when I lived in the States, so I know good healthcare when I see it. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Colombia’s health system at number 22 in the world, far better than Canada at number 30 and the U.S. at number 37. Colombia is home to 24 of the top 58 Latin American hospitals. Four of them are Joint Commission International accredited hospitals. Two are in the capital of Bogotá, one is in Medellín, and one is in Bucaramanga. Medellín is one of the fastest-growing expat havens in Colombia. Due to the near-perfect climate, flowers are constantly in bloom and dot the streets with color year-round. Spend just a few hours walking around the city and you will see why it is nicknamed “The City of Eternal Spring.” This is what first drew me to the city. I lived in Maine for 27 years before I moved to Medellín in 2012, and I am ecstatic to announce that I have not had to deal with snow since my move. If you want hot and tropical, consider retiring to the lovely Caribbean coastal cities of Santa Marta or Cartagena. These cities are havens for sun and sea worshipers. The clear, tranquil waters off the beaches offer scuba divers the opportunity to spend hours exploring the coral reefs and photographing the large variety of vibrant-colored tropical fish, who have made their homes in the wrecks. Or spend hours soaking up the sun on the sandy beaches. Eddie Echeverri opened the Coffee Tree Boutique Hostel in the quaint town of Salento, within Colombia’s coffee triangle. He says, “for tourists, they kill three birds with one stone in Salento. There is colonial architecture, coffee farms, and then one thing that no other town has, even other colonials: Valle Cocora. That’s the number one attraction. It’s a beautiful hike of five to six hours that takes you through a striking landscape. I haven’t met anybody who wasn’t impressed by it.” Visiting Colombia is simple. You can come for 90 days with just your U.S., EU, Canadian, or Australian passport, and then extend for another 90 days. Any longer than that and you will need a visa. Retirement visas are relatively easy to get, require proof of at least $750 monthly Social Security income, or $2,500 from a private pension or 401(k), and are issued for up to three years. Retirement dollars go much further in Colombia. A couple can live in many cities around Colombia for $2,000 per month or less. Of course, your cost of living will depend on your lifestyle and where you choose to live. I can tell you that my living expenses are 60% less than they were back in Maine. Just the fact that I don’t have to pay heating or cooling costs has saved me about $3,400 per year alone. Michael Huseby freelances as a copywriter for clients around the world from his home in the coffee triangle region. “My modern, top-floor apartment in Manizales, Colombia—with a gym and a balcony—costs $500 per month. I found this accommodation through Airbnb, and in my experience, long-term rentals on Airbnb tend to have reasonable rates in Colombia. Many of the country’s larger cities also have English-language websites dedicated to helping expats find furnished houses and apartments. “Other living expenses are likewise significantly cheaper than in the U.S. In Manizales, a movie theater tickets cost $2, beer at a bar costs $1, and a crosstown taxi rarely costs more than $5. Meanwhile, health insurance premiums run up to 70% less than in the States.” The dark days of Colombia’s past are gone, and it has been transformed into a country that is thriving. One of the best things about the country is the warm, welcoming Colombian people. Don’t let a lack of Spanish keep you from trying out life here. As the expression goes, “You don’t meet a Colombian…you meet the entire family.” Here you’ll always feel part of the community. 3. Mexico By Jason Holland Mexico has been a retirement haven for residents of its North American neighbors to the north for 50, 60 years. More than 1 million Americans and a half-million Canadians call the country home today, living there either full-time or part of the year (often in winter, to escape cold weather). This makes Mexico one of the most popular—if not the most popular—expat destinations in the world. That makes your transition to a new life in Mexico all that much easier. This large expat community is very welcoming to newcomers, and there is no shortage of activities, clubs, events, happy hours, and more to take part in. you can easily meet new people and make friends. Plus, because of its proximity and trade and cultural ties to the United States, you’ll find that much of what you find on store shelves, on restaurant plates, on TV, and elsewhere is familiar to you. And you have modern conveniences like a well-maintained highway network, cellphone service, high-speed internet, including fiber optic, cable and satellite TV, and any other amenity you might want. Yet, at the same time, the distinct culture of Mexico is still very much alive. With its traditions, celebrations, and holidays very much in evidence throughout the year. The Mexican people have a real zest for life, with plenty of singing and dancing in the streets, welcoming attitudes towards new neighbors, and a live and let live attitude. Oh, and don’t forget the food, which comes in as many varieties as their distinct regions. It’s not just tacos, although they are all very delicious. You have ceviche and other seafood on the coasts, the marinated roast pork cochinita pibil of the Maya people in the Yucatán, hefty tortas (sandwiches) at street stalls, and grilled corn slathered in mayo and cheese and sprinkled heavily with chile powder. And that’s just a small taste of real Mexican cuisine. Those who move to Mexico are drawn by a multitude of other benefits too. A retired couple can live well in Mexico on a fraction of what they might spend back home. Cost of living is, of course, very dependent on specific people and their lifestyle, but on average, you could spend under $2,000 per month per couple—for all expenses, and have a life filled with fun, no scrimping necessary. This is possible because of low-cost real estate (to rent and buy), affordable food at the market and in restaurants, cheap transportation, low-cost medical care, free and affordable entertainment options, and more. Residence is easy to qualify for and obtain. The application and approval process is streamlined, much of it is online, and you can secure residence in a matter of a few months. You start with an initial appointment at the Mexican embassy or a Mexican consulate in your home country. There are dozens of consulates in the U.S. You can make an appointment online and then bring in documentation to prove your home country citizenship, marriage (if applying with a spouse), and income. You finish the process at the immigration office nearest your new home in Mexico. There are two types of residence most expats apply for. Temporary residence requires an income of $1,600, or $82,000 in the bank. (These amounts vary based on the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and Mexican peso.) Some consulates require that the income comes from Social Security, a pension, or some other guaranteed source. Some are okay with investment or other forms of income. You can be a temporary resident for up to four years at a time. At that point, you can re-apply for temporary residence or convert to permanent. For permanent residence, which you can apply for right out the gate, you must have $2,000 in monthly income, or $102,000 in the bank. Once you have either form of residence you are free to stay in Mexico as much or as little as you want. There is no minimum amount of time required to stay in the country, except you can only renew your residence in Mexico. One of the major benefits for folks of retirement age in Mexico is the widespread availability of high quality/low cost healthcare. In one of the government-run healthcare systems, INSABI, care is actually free to Mexican citizens and foreigners with temporary and permanent residence. There is also another government program, IMSS, that provides coverage (but excludes pre-existing conditions) for $40 per person per month. There are also private doctors (of every specialty), clinics, and world-class hospitals with all the modern equipment throughout the country, including several that are Joint Commission International certified, which is the gold standard in healthcare. You can pay cash at private facilities or use local or international insurance. Costs are a fraction of what you’d pay in the U.S. Plus, because Mexico is so large (it’s about three times the size of Texas), it has a great diversity of climates, landscapes, and lifestyles. You can be in a world-class big city, rural village, colonial town, funky beach town, or bustling resort area… You can be in a condo or villa on the beach, high in the cool mountains, off-grid, and in the middle of the jungle… You can enjoy heat, humidity, and sea breezes on the coast. Temperate climates in the Colonial Highlands… the dry heat of Los Cabos… or the southern California “perfect” climate of northern Baja. With so many locations to choose from, there really is something for everybody in Mexico. And no matter where you go, you can expect a comfortable life of friends and fun, along with a no-hassle residence process, warm weather, beautiful landscapes, modern conveniences, quality healthcare, and more. Read: I’m 60 and want to retire on between $800 and $1,200 a month, ideally near the ocean in Mexico — where should I go? 2. Panama By Jessica Ramesch Panama has ranked at the top of IL’s retirement index many times for many reasons. Even after all these years, the country consistently delivers when it comes to overall value. This is particularly true for anyone looking to stay in the Western Hemisphere. Panama offers ocean views, warm weather, and big-city amenities in a hurricane-free environment. Think about it—how many places in the region offer so much while also making it easy and affordable to live there? Thanks to Panama’s strategic position outside the hurricane belt we enjoy very mild weather, with lots of sunshine throughout the year. Even during the May through November “rainy season” we have mostly sunny mornings, with an hour or two of rain in the afternoon. Daily highs in the city and beaches are usually around 88 F, with lows around 78 F. In mountain towns like Boquete and El Valle, temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees cooler. There’s truly something for everyone here. Panama’s location also made it the ideal “Hub of the Americas.” Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal has helped make Panama one of the richest countries in the region. These days big ships pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for each transit. Panama is also a flight hub. It’s just over three hours from Miami, and many of the airlines that serve the U.S. offer direct flights here. Panama’s Copa Airlines is one of the best regional airlines, while Tocumen International Airport is the best airport in the Central America/Caribbean region as well as one of Latin America’s top 10 passenger-friendly airports. It’s easy to travel in-country, too. We have reliable inter-city buses and domestic flights to multiple destinations. The capital, Panama City, is home to Central America’s only light-rail or metro system. The infrastructure here is top-notch across the board. Panama is one of few countries in the region that boasts well-paved roads, potable tap water, and top-notch Internet and cellphone connections. And yet Panama remains affordable and accessible. The Pensionado or Pensioner visa has earned Panama a top score, year after year, in the “Benefits and Discounts” category of the index. The program was created to ensure retired Panamanians could live with dignity as active members of society. If you have a pension—regardless of your age—you too can apply to become a resident pensionado. The main requirement is straightforward: you must have a pension of at least $1,000 a month. Once you become a retiree resident of Panama, you gain access to all the pensioner discounts offered to locals. The savings are almost too good to be true…25% off power bills, 50% off movie and show tickets, 25% off plane fares, 20% off medication, 25% off meals at restaurants, and the list goes on. Panama isn’t the cheapest country in the region, but given all it has to offer, it is incredibly affordable. Including rent, it costs me about $2,600 a month to live well in cosmopolitan Panama City. I live in a nice apartment just a seven-minute walk from a metro station. I can take an air-conditioned train and get downtown in 10 minutes for $0.35. If it’s a late night, an Uber home costs me $3 or $4. On my budget I can afford to go out often. From film and music festivals to gourmet restaurants and wine expos, I’m spoiled for choice. This is Central America’s most modern, happening city. It’s incredibly international, and whatever your interests, they’re likely to be represented here. There are language and cultural institutes, museums and galleries, sporting and fitness events of every type…. From skydiving clubs to motorcycle enthusiasts, I’ve seen it all. My vacations and weekends away are inexpensive, though they seem very glamorous to my friends back in the U.S. I can get a round-trip ferry ticket to Taboga Island for $20 (the trip takes 45 minutes). Contadora Island is a little more upscale—the ferry costs about $98 and takes less than two hours. Or I can hop in my car and—within an hour and at very little expense—find myself in a completely different environment. There are beaches like Chame, Gorgona, and Coronado…the mountain town of Cerro Azul…Campana National Park…again, I’m spoiled for choice. Staying home is fun, too. In Panama City we now have great options for everything from sushi and sashimi to pizza and pasta. Many restaurants offer delivery, and with services like Uber Eats things have only gotten easier. The food scene is so exciting that in 2019 UNESCO recognized Panama City as an Ibero-American Capital of Culture with a rich culinary landscape. Of course, you don’t have to be in the city to enjoy a great meal. I’ve had excellent Indian food in Caribbean Bocas del Toro, Peruvian in the mountain hamlet of Boquete, Argentinian in beachy San Carlos, Cambodian in the rural village of Santa Fe, and Italian in the crater town of El Valle. At supermarkets and shops across the country you’ll find cheap local produce and products as well as imports from around the globe. From European cheeses to primo aged beef, you can get pretty much anything you want. And when it comes to wine, the prices and selection are unbelievable. (By the way…from wine shops to pharmacies to supermarkets, there are plenty of companies here that offer home delivery.) Then there’s the worry-free healthcare: Panama’s private facilities are among the best in the region. And there are English-speaking doctors all over the country. I pay $10 to $20 to see a doctor, $40 for dental cleanings, and $100 for five chiropractic sessions. My health insurance is less than $150 a month. I no longer worry about getting older and having medical bills eat up all my savings. Add to that the warm and welcoming people I’ve met here…the fertile land yielding abundant crops…the two coastlines lined with beaches…and it’s easy to see why I choose to stay. I’ve been here since 2005, and my life has just gotten better and better. Sure, I enjoy traveling and exploring different parts of the world. But I’m always thrilled to come home. For me, Panama still checks all the boxes. Read: ‘It is an act of insanity to stay in the U.S.’: Why this 63-year-old teacher ditched Massachusetts to retire in the highlands of Panama 1. Costa Rica By Kathleen Evans On the narrow, volcanic isthmus of land between the continents of North and South America, there exists a country so rich in natural beauty, the adjective is actually in its name. “Rich Coast” or Costa Rica attracts millions of visitors and foreign residents throughout the year with its tropical climate; lower cost of living; friendly locals; affordable medical care; vast real estate options; and, of course, its natural beauty. Earning the nickname “Switzerland of Central America” this peace-loving democracy shines in a region often plagued by political and civil unrest. Costa Rica abolished their army in 1948 and pledged that budget to education and healthcare. Resulting in a well-educated population and medical access for all citizens and legal residents. This republic is internationally known for its safety, neutrality, and commitment to the environment—with roughly a quarter of its land protected as national parks and wildlife refuges. The current democratic government, under Carlos Alvarado Quesada, is considered progressive and LGBTQ equal rights are mandated—officially legalizing same-sex marriage in May 2020. A rare policy to find in Latin America. Once you have acquired your residency, you pay approximately 7% to 11% of your reported monthly income into the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social healthcare system (Caja for short) and the national medical program is available to you without pre-existing exclusions or age disallowance. Residents have the option to blend public healthcare with private medical care either through out-of-pocket self-insuring or with the purchase of insurance policies. You can purchase these through familiar names like Blue Cross/Blue Shield, CIGNA, Aetna, or a Costa Rican private policy. All at a fraction of the cost compared to the U.S. You will find three JCI accredited private hospitals in the San José area, as well as numerous private clinics throughout the country. The public system has over 29 hospitals and nearly 250 regional clinics, making it easy to find healthcare no matter where you choose to settle. A couple can live comfortably, but not necessarily extravagantly, here for around $2,000 a month. This includes renting a two-bedroom home with North American amenities, air conditioning, plus groceries, entertainment, transportation, and healthcare. If your monthly budget is closer to $2,500 to $3,000, you will find a relaxed lifestyle with every comfort you require. One of the things you hear often from expats is how warm and welcoming the ticos (Costa Ricans) are. They are wonderful people, eager to share the magic of their culture, food, and traditions with foreigners. You will also find engaging international communities of expats who will help you through the process of acclimation. The vast majority of new arrivals say it is very easy to make friends and fit in here. Black Americans are also finding peace in Costa Rica away from the systemic racism associated with the U.S. The Costa Rican government’s official proclamation rejects all forms of racism and discrimination. Pura Vida is a common Costa Rican phrase. Although it translates to “pure life,” this definition merely scratches the surface of a phrase deeply woven into Costa Rican culture, and used to convey anything from “hello” and “goodbye,” to “great news,” “cheers!” and countless declarations in between. Expat, Nicole Rangel, explains it in this way, “What makes Pura Vida such a check-all statement is that it translates to more than just a greeting. It is a solution, an action, and a way of life. When you approach life with a Pura Vida state of mind, you are opening yourself up to the possibilities of life beyond what you experienced before. You are sharing together in this communal acceptance that life doesn’t have to be controlled or mandated, you can make it what you want, you can have friends you never thought you would have, you experience things you never thought possible because you are opening up to a life less complicated. “That is why so many people come to Costa Rica and find the best version of themselves—they embrace a new appreciation on life. It is just a bonus that it is in such a beautiful setting,” she continues. Most expats will confirm living a healthier lifestyle once they arrive. Costa Rica is an outdoor culture—with no shortage of physical activities from fishing, golfing, and horseback riding to hiking, surfing, and yoga. Plus, there are less processed foods, and abundantly healthy choices of locally grown fruits, vegetables, organic eggs, and endless seafood and grass-fed beef. It is no surprise to hear reports about expats having shed unwanted weight, taking fewer prescription drugs, and overall better fitness of mind, body, and soul. This revelation should come as little surprise since Costa Rica possesses one of only five “Blue Zones” on the entire planet—located on the Nicoya Peninsula in Guanacaste. These zones were discovered by National Geographic scientists and longevity researchers in the early 2000s. They consist of regions that have an unusually high population of centenarians (100+ year-olds). Ten times greater than in the U.S. The research confirms qualities such as healthy diets, natural calcium-enriched water, sunshine, active lifestyles, strong familial and friendship ties, and faith contribute greatly to their longevity. Costa Rica, like all of Latin America, is predominantly Roman Catholic with approximately 75% identifying with Catholicism. However, you will not find the deeply rooted religious holiday traditions you find in other Latin countries. Costa Rica is considered quite secular. The government assures religious freedom for all. You will also find Evangelicals, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and small numbers of Jews, Mormons, and Muslims. Expats who settle in larger international communities will find English-speaking churches—primarily nondenominational Protestants. With a dozen official climate zones and hundreds of microclimates, there is someplace for everyone’s personal weather preferences. Many people love the temperate “eternal spring” climate of San José, the capital, and the surrounding Central Valley. Or the dry, hot beaches of Guanacaste, or the lush, green landscape of the jungles in the south and Caribbean side. Like everywhere in the world, the pandemic has dealt the Costa Rican economy a harsh blow and put strains on the healthcare system. Even so, the country remains a good long-term bet as we move toward a post-COVID world, given its natural beauty, resilient population, and progressive vision. Read: ‘I could live on my Social Security and still save money’: This 66-year-old left Chicago for ‘calming’ Costa Rica — where he now plans to live indefinitely How we compile the Annual Global Retirement Index Each year, we use our ever-expanding network of editors, correspondents, and contributors all over the world to give us the on-the-ground information and recommendations we need to put our index together… All these people were once in your shoes. All of them wondered if they could ﬁnd a better life abroad. Many of them were former International Living readers who took the plunge, and now want to share their love for their new home with the world. These are the people we draw upon to put together our index each year. We rank and score each of the 25 countries in the Index across the following 10 categories:

Housing. This looks at the value of real estate and how easy it is to buy or rent your dream home overseas. We assess things like the price of houses and condos in areas an expat retiree would like to live in, annual property tax, and if there are any restrictions on expats owning property. We also asked our correspondents whether there are good opportunities to invest in property as a means of earning a rental or capital return.
Benefits & Discounts. In some countries, as a retiree you can get discounts on lots of things, from airfare and food to electricity and public transport. All the beneﬁts and discounts retirees can get in the country are factored into this category.
Visas & Residence. If you can’t legally and easily call a country home, it won’t be much good as a retirement spot. This category looks at things like how easy it is to get permanent residence, whether the income you make outside of the country will be taxed within it, and if there are any special residence options for retirees.

   <p><strong>Read:</strong> <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-you-can-get-foreign-citizenship-and-a-second-passport-in-as-little-as-two-years-11601480137" target="_blank" class="icon none" rel="nofollow noopener">Here’s how you can get foreign citizenship and a second passport in as little as two years</a></p><ul class="articleList"> <li> 
  <strong>Fitting In/Entertainment.</strong> This isn’t just about making friends with locals and expats. It’s also about feeling at home. Can you pick up your favorite North American comforts when you need them? And how easy is it to adapt to the local culture? This category looks at all of these things. Also, what will you do when you’re there? Are there lots of museums, events, and exhibitions? Are there lots of outdoor activities? And can you catch a movie in English when you want to?


  </li> <li> 
  <strong>Development.</strong> You wouldn’t want to live anywhere where you couldn’t stream your favorite movies, call home, or access reliable electricity. You’ll also want quality roads and an efficient public transport network. These are just some of the factors that feed into the Development category.


  </li> <li> 
  <strong>Climate.</strong> Moving abroad gives you the chance to escape from the extremes of weather back home. You can ﬁnd places overseas where the weather is just perfect for you. In this category, we rate the climate of each country, factoring in things like rainfall, temperature, and humidity.


  </li> <li> 
  <strong>Healthcare.</strong> In this category, we put our experts to the test like never before. How much will you have to pay for things like laser eye surgery, a tooth crown, or a blood transfusion? Can you get common medications for things like asthma and diabetes? And do you need a prescription to get a reﬁll? When it comes to assessing healthcare, we factor in both quality and price to give you a fair and balanced view.


  </li> <li> 
  <strong>Governance.</strong> Knowing that your new home respects personal freedom, keeps the bureaucracy to a minimum, and offers a stable and safe environment in which to enjoy retirement is a nice feeling. You’ll also appreciate an efficient banking system. And how well did each country cope with the COVID-19 situation, according to our correspondents? The Governance category examines these factors.


  </li> <li> 
  <strong>Opportunity.</strong> Retirement doesn’t need to be a grinding halt. Maybe you have a business project you’d like to try out, or perhaps you’ve thought about supplementing your income with some freelancing work or online employment. We’ve examined how well the local authorities support small business, whether it’s easy to work remotely, and whether there’s a strong economy in each country. You’ll see the answers reflected in the Opportunity score.


  </li> <li> 
  <strong>Cost of Living.</strong> A country has to be affordable to be a great retirement spot. It’s that simple. And to assess how affordable each country is, we got our experts on the ground to ﬁll out a comprehensive monthly budget. Everything from the cost of a liter of milk to a bottle of beer to a movie ticket was factored in.


  </li> </ul> 
   <p><em>Note: We’ve given Nicaragua and Bolivia low scores in the Opportunity and Governance categories. They’re still viable retirement locations, but because they’ve experienced political instability in recent years, proceed with caution.</em></p> <p><em><a href="https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/" target="_blank" class="icon none" rel="nofollow noopener">This story originally appeared in International Living</a>.</em>


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Mar 30 2021

3 Top Medical Instruments Stocks to Beat COVID

The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 crisis has in a way drastically transformed the fortunes of the medical instrument industry. While full-fledged vaccine rollouts are going on, industry watchers are still unable to gauge the magnitude of economic revival in 2021 because of the emergence of new virus strains. In such a scenario, primarily, diagnostic testing lab and non-service providers making significant strides in the field of COVID-19 testing have seen their stocks rally amid the economic volatility. Natus Medical (NTUS – Free Report) , IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX – Free Report) and Hologic Inc. (HOLX – Free Report) are a few such stocks.

On the other hand, there are many stocks catering to specialized non-COVID niches like Intersect ENT and Dexcom, which, even after one year of the pandemic, are still struggling to cope up with the impact of delayed elective procedures.

Industry Description

The Zacks Medical – Instruments industry is highly fragmented, with participants engaged in research and development of new devices for specific therapeutic areas. This FDA-regulated industry comprises an endless number of products, starting from transcatheter heart valves to orthopedic and trauma products to imaging equipment.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the Medical Instruments space was advancing well in terms of research and development (R&D). Among the path-breaking inventions of recent times, wireless brain sensors, Bluetooth-enabled smart inhalers, artificial pancreas, human-brain pacemaker, electronic skin that displays vital signs of the body, needle-free injections, precision medicine and many more are worth mentioning.

However, over the past several months, the pandemic has put a brake on the flow of seamless R&D operations. Many non-coronavirus and non-emergency-line innovations have been stuck or delayed due to the lockdown. Edwards Lifesciences and Varian Medical are among the companies whose R&D has taken a hit.

Notably, some of the key players in this industry are Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO – Free Report) , Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG – Free Report) , and Abiomed, Inc. (ABMD – Free Report) .

4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Medical Instruments Industry

Trend Improvement in the Cards: Even amid the new waves, medical instruments companies’ collective business growth has started to show strong signs of rebound in base sales volumes. Particularly, companies that have invested in virtual physician education, remote clinical support and digital sales enablement suitable for healthcare support amid the pandemic are riding on huge market adoption of their COVID-19-related healthcare-support products and services. Per Fed’s latest Economic Projection, average economic growth is expected to be 6.5% in 2021, a significant rise from December 2020 prediction of 4.2%. Unemployment rate is pegged at 4.5% for 2021, a reduction from December prediction of 5%. Core PCE inflation (the percentage rates of change in the price index for personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy) is now expected to be 2.2% (up from 1.8% projected earlier). The Fed’s upbeat forecast is particularly based on the latest $1.9 trillion stimulus package known as the America Rescue Plan with once again possibility of near-zero interest rate. This has significantly bolstered investors’ confidence across sectors including medical instruments.

M&A Trend Continues: The medical instruments space has been benefiting from the ongoing merger and acquisition (M&A) trend. In fact, various reports suggest that M&A has been the key catalyst in the U.S. MedTech space of late. It is a known fact that smaller and mid-sized industry players attempt to compete with the bigshots through consolidation. The big players attempt to enter new markets through a niche product. Smaller tuck-in acquisitions are dominating the M&A space even amid the pandemic with Medtronic, Stryker and Exact Sciences being a few prime line acquirers. Among the colossal deals, Varian Medical’s previously announced acquisition by Siemens Healthineers is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2021.

Focus on Emerging Markets: Growing medical awareness and economic prosperity have been increasing the uptake of medical instruments in emerging economies. An aging population, increasing wealth, government focus on healthcare infrastructure and expansion of medical insurance coverage make these markets a happy hunting ground for global medical instruments players. A Mercer Capital report states that although Americas is still the largest medical device market in the world, Asia/Pacific and Western Europe are expected to expand at a quicker pace over the next several years. Going by the pre-pandemic picture, the MedTech market in China is projected to grow significantly through 2022. India’s MedTech market is currently growing at a rate of 15% annually (per Business Standard). If this continues, India may give tough competition to Japan and Germany by 2022.

Digital Revolution: With an increase in the adoption of digital platforms within the medical device space, robotic surgeries, big-data analytics, bioprinting, 3D printing, electronic health records (EHR), predictive analytics, real-time alerting and revenue cycle management services are gaining prominence in the United States. A June 2019 Health care News report suggests that this market, valued at $123 billion in 2018, is witnessing CAGR of 25%. Various other reports suggest that companies that adopted artificial intelligence technologies witnessed a 50% reduction in treatment costs and also experienced more than 50% improvement in patient outcome.

Amid the pandemic, this line of healthcare is becoming a major choice for contactless healthcare services. Telemedicine stocks received an impressive response, when, in February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked healthcare service communities to broaden the use of telemedicine. Further, the FDA approved the expanded use of remote patient monitoring technologies with the aim of minimizing hospital visits, thereby reducing the risk of exposure to the virus. MedTech companies are currently collaborating with technology majors like Google, Apple and IBM to grow in this space.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects

The Zacks Medical Instruments industry falls within the broader Zacks Medical sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #127, which places it in the top 50% of more than 250 Zacks industries.

The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates strong near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

We will present a few stocks that have the potential to outperform the market based on a strong earnings outlook. But it’s worth taking a look at the industry’s shareholder returns and current valuation first.

Industry Underperforms S&P 500, Outperforms Sector

The industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite but outperformed its own sector in the past year.

The industry has gained 42.9% compared with the S&P 500’s 55.6% increase and the broader sector’s 21% rally in a year’s time.

One Year Price Performance

Industry’s Current Valuation

On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing medical stocks, the industry is currently trading at 34.10X compared with the broader industry’s 21.57X and the S&P 500’s 22.44X.

Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 41.56X, as low as 22.81X and at the median of 29.94X, as the charts show below.

Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)

3 Stocks to Buy Right Now

Natus Medical: Even amid the changing economic and business environment through the pandemic months, Natus Medical business began to recover from the second half of 2020. In 2021, Natus Medical expects to continue to bring innovative products and solutions to market, including a new handheld newborn hearing screener, cloud telemedicine capability for certain products and a variety of product software enhancements.

Price and Consensus: NTUS

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company’s 2021 sales is pegged at $465.7 million, indicating 12% rise year over year. The same for adjusted earnings per share is pegged at $1.18, indicating an increase of 202.6% from the year-ago period. The company has returned 6.9% in a year’s time. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

IDEXX Laboratories: The company is consistently registering sturdy gains in CAG (Companion Animal Group) Diagnostics recurring revenues, supported by high organic gains in both the United States and International markets. The company’s performance in major geographies is also encouraging. Further, the company’s human health business, OPTI Medical Systems’ COVID-19 human Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing is also contributing to the top line. The upbeat initial financial outlook for 2021 instills investors’ confidence in the stock.

Price and Consensus: IDXX

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s 2021 sales is pegged at $3.09 billion, indicating 14.3% rise year over year. The same for adjusted earnings is pegged at $7.59 per share, indicating an increase of 13.1% from the year-ago period.

Hologic: Robust demand for COVID-19-related products and ongoing recovery in other arms have enabled Hologic to provide a strong outlook. Recently announced buyouts of Biotheranostics and SOMATEX Medical Technologies GmbH, along with the receipt of a slew of regulatory approvals bode well for the company. Expansion of both margins looks encouraging.

Price and Consensus: HOLX

The consensus estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s fiscal 2021 sales is pegged at $5.70 billion, indicating 50.8% rise year over year. The same for adjusted earnings per share is pegged at $8.81, indicating 121.4% improvement from the year-ago period figure.

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Category Archives: Food

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Industry Description

4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Medical Instruments Industry

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects

Industry Underperforms S&P 500, Outperforms Sector

One Year Price Performance

Industry’s Current Valuation

Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)

Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)

3 Stocks to Buy Right Now

Price and Consensus: NTUS

Price and Consensus: IDXX