Biotech, Malnutrition, PATH Luke Timmerman wrote: Duffy Cox and his dad, James, had a great idea that went nowhere for years. Their quest to develop Vitamin-A fortified rice, which could put a dent in global malnutrition, started in 1985. That’s when the father-and-son inventors at Bellingham, WA-based Bon Dente International, a research and development firm, were asked to give it a shot by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Vitamin A deficiencies are thought to kill 2-3 million children a year in developing countries, so getting it into a staple food like rice is a big deal. For years, though, food scientists considered such rice fortification a big challenge, because Vitamin A has a short shelf-life and is susceptible to heat and humidity common in warehouses of the developing world, Duffy Cox says. After five years of experiments, and the assistance of a researcher at Iowa State University, they nailed it. Through a process that’s like making pasta—running rice through a type of noodle-making machine—they were able to extend the shelf life of Vitamin A in rice from one week to about six months, and withstand hot and humid storage conditions, Cox says. The patent issued in the mid-1990s, and the family entrepreneurs then traveled to Asia and Latin America, trying to strike deals with local partners and distributors to get it out into the marketplace. They trademarked it Ultra Rice. Then the whole thing fell flat. It could have been language barriers, cultural barriers, resistance from competitors, all of the above, or something else, Cox says. “We’re not marketers. We like to develop a unique concept and let somebody else take over,” he says. Cox, whose father has since died, ended up donating the Ultra Rice patent to PATH. The Seattle-based nonprofit, backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, specializes in nurturing technologies to reduce health disparities in the developing world. After a couple of false starts of its own, PATH has found partners to help it get Ultra Rice into commercial use by the end of this year, says Dipika Matthias, the project director for PATH. The organization now has a $6 million grant from the Gates Foundation to expand the use of Ultra Rice in its first four markets Brazil, Colombia, China, India. “This is a product now poised for success, on the brink of commercial production,” Matthias says. “We’re going to see an impact from this within five years.” The technology has evolved a bit at PATH. It now fortifies rice to carry extra iron, to counteract deficiencies that sap the energy and learning capacity of a billion people. Other varieties can make rice with folic acid to prevent birth defects, as well as zinc deficiency, which weakens the immune system of children. Here’s how it works. A pasta maker in a given country makes some minor equipment modifications …Next Page » Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS Less

Biotech, Malnutrition, PATH Luke Timmerman wrote: Duffy Cox and his dad, James, had a great idea that went nowhere for years. Their quest to develop Vitamin-A fortified rice, which could put a dent in global malnutrition, started in 1985. That’s when the father-and-son inventors at Bellingham, WA-based Bon Dente International, a research and development firm, were asked to give it a shot by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Vitamin A deficiencies are thought to kill 2-3 million children a year in developing countries, so getting it into a staple food like rice is a big deal. For years, though, food scientists considered such rice fortification a big challenge, because Vitamin A has a short shelf-life and is susceptible to heat and humidity common in warehouses of the developing world, Duffy Cox says. After five years of experiments, and the assistance of a researcher at Iowa State University, they nailed it. Through a process that’s like making pasta—running rice through a type of noodle-making machine—they were able to extend the shelf life of Vitamin A in rice from one week to about six months, and withstand hot and humid storage conditions, Cox says. The patent issued in the mid-1990s, and the family entrepreneurs then traveled to Asia and Latin America, trying to strike deals with local partners and distributors to get it out into the marketplace. They trademarked it Ultra Rice. Then the whole thing fell flat. It could have been language barriers, cultural barriers, resistance from competitors, all of the above, or something else, Cox says. “We’re not marketers. We like to develop a unique concept and let somebody else take over,” he says. Cox, whose father has since died, ended up donating the Ultra Rice patent to PATH. The Seattle-based nonprofit, backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, specializes in nurturing technologies to reduce health disparities in the developing world. After a couple of false starts of its own, PATH has found partners to help it get Ultra Rice into commercial use by the end of this year, says Dipika Matthias, the project director for PATH. The organization now has a $6 million grant from the Gates Foundation to expand the use of Ultra Rice in its first four markets Brazil, Colombia, China, India. “This is a product now poised for success, on the brink of commercial production,” Matthias says. “We’re going to see an impact from this within five years.” The technology has evolved a bit at PATH. It now fortifies rice to carry extra iron, to counteract deficiencies that sap the energy and learning capacity of a billion people. Other varieties can make rice with folic acid to prevent birth defects, as well as zinc deficiency, which weakens the immune system of children. Here’s how it works. A pasta maker in a given country makes some minor equipment modifications …Next Page » Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

The U.N. Secretary-General has warned that failure to address the global food crisis properly could lead to economic, social and political crises around the world. In some areas, political aftershocks are already apparent, as a wrap-up of recent events in Latin America indicates. Less

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! ¡Esto es Monareta! Born in Colombia South America, Monareta’s medley has been active since the year 2000, when composer and producer Andres Martnez started playing break beats and hip hop flows in different clubs and electronic music festivals in Bogota with composer Camilo Sanabria. Since their high school years they’ve been interacting with different music projects such as punk band YURI GAGARIN (MTM), where Martinez was frontman and funk band Zigma (BMG), where Sanabria was keyboard player and music programmer. Besides doing music, both were BMX champions in their country; Sanabria a professional sportsman; Martinez a street bike improviser. Both went together to the same primary school, the same high school, same university, same music and arts department, and know they’re involved in this adventure of caribbean electroniche and negroclash sounds. The duo is on Nacional Records, a premiere label specializing in some of the most cutting edge latin sounds I’ve found thus far. This track is Monareta’s release ‘Electronoche’. It’s 8 o-clock. He is at home. He is sitting at his desk. He is heading to e-music on his computer… DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBE Spread It Around: Hide Sites Less

From Iraq to Colombia, today the candidates are focused on foreign policy. Lunch today includes Bill and Hillary's trade disagreements, Obama's "professorial" approach to Iraq, McCain's March money, and praise for Hillary's health care plan. Less

From Iraq to Colombia, today the candidates are focused on foreign policy. Lunch today includes Bill and Hillary's trade disagreements, Obama's "professorial" approach to Iraq, McCain's March money, and praise for Hillary's health care plan. Less

The second show of HOV FM, the Hands Off Venezuela podcast, is now available for download or to listen to online. This jam-packed show features the latest updates from Venezuela, including Vice-President Jorge Rodriguez’s recent response to the latest US propaganda as well as Foreign Minister Maduro speaking about attempts to facilitate a prisoner swap between the Colombian government and the FARC. We also interviewed Alfredo Toro-Hardy, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the UK, about constitutional reform and the importance of international solidarity and a Hands off Venezuela activist gives us an update on Sanitarios Maracay. As well as Venezuelan, Cuban and British revolutionary music to keep your heads ringing and George Monbiot on the bloodless western-coup, we also feature a recent discussion on workers’ control in Venezuela held at the London Hands off Venezuela branch meeting, and then top it all off with some upcoming events in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland. Less

Sanho speaks of US drug policy, how it effects foreign policy and specifically Colombia. Sanho Tree is a Fellow and Director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. The project works to end the domestic and international “War on Drugs” and replace it with policies that promote public health and safety as well as economic alternatives to the prohibition drug economy. Less

Marcela Ceballos works for MINGA, a human rights organization in Bogota’. She travels regularly to the department of Putumayo. Putumayo is a southern department on the boarder of Ecuador. This is an area of coca production armed conflict and human rights violations by many different actors. Marcela speaks of the current situation in Putumayo. Less

Caso de como los emails pueden generar desinformaciòn que atenta con el “Top of Mind” de una marca en un mercado tan competido y segmentado. Danone demandada. Less