Memorable: to Say the Least

I have been very fortunate to have traveled to over fifteen countries around the world and eat the food of many cultures, tribes, and peoples. I attribute my passion for cooking to my travels and worldly experiences. However, for my eighteenth Birthday, I was taken out to dinner to one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. The Girl and the Goat in Chicago was a dinner I will never forget. The two month reservation waiting period is more than worth it. The ten course dinner began with one of the most beautiful raw oyster dishes I have ever seen. Atop the small succulent Chesapeake Bay oyster were beautiful fresh vegetables, a flower and some Beluga Caviar. I will never forget the feeling of the Flavor Burst. Nine courses later, I felt full but not uncomfortable. After the dinner I had a personal realization of how truly fortunate I am. This may seem random but while walking to the car to drive home, I couldn’t help but notice the many homeless men, women, and children looking for warm places to sleep on the streets of Chicago. As a person of service and responsibility, I knew I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I talked with a few peers of mine from my temple congregation and although we make lunches for the homeless every other month, they agreed that we need to do it more often. I then came up with a proposal and pitched the idea to my temple’s program director who instantly agreed that more can and needs to be done to help hungry homeless people in the city. I have now helped to organize monthly lunch-making events and get more food out to those who really need it. I have been immensely blessed and have come to realize that it shouldn’t take an elaborate event to open one’s eyes. However, in my case, I believe that not only were my eyes opened to a problem, but a solution as well.

Global Warming May Bring More Lyme Disease

Recently, about a week ago, temperatures soared in Deerfield, IL. I can’t remember the last time the temperature reached 80 degrees in March. In addition to flours and trees blooming early, many insects and animals came out of hibernation. Although we mainly think of only getting mosquito bites in warm weather, recently, ticks have started to latch on to more and more people, giving them Lyme Disease. It was that same hot week that we found numerous ticks on kids during gymnastics practice. After doing a little research, I found many interesting conclusions. It turns out that, “A quarter of all Lyme disease cases are among children.” At the highest risk are kids ages 5 to 17, who are more likely to play outdoors.

In addition, due to the recent temperature highs, overall numbers are on the rise. The number of people contracting Lyme each year jumped from about 27 to 45 of every 100,000 people. Around 15,000 cases nationwide were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the late 1990s. That number is now 30,000 to 40,000, although the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) admits it could be as much as 12 times higher.

Lyme is just one of many emerging infectious diseases that are soaring in North America. Experts say that increasing temperatures and altered precipitation patterns that continue to change are already playing a role in the “spread of zoonoses -- infectious agents that begin in animals and account for an estimated 75 percent of all newly emerging diseases.”

"There are lots of factors that contribute," says Ben Beard, a climate change expert with the CDC, highlighting the influence of international travel, wildlife management and the suburban lifestyle on emerging infectious diseases. "But climate disruption and change clearly have an impact."