An agenda for assessing and improving conservation impacts of sustainability standards in tropical agriculture.

Sustainability standards and certification serve to differentiate and provide market recognition to goods produced in accordance with social and environmental good practices, typically including practices to protect biodiversity. Such standards have seen rapid growth, including in tropical agricultural commodities such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, and tea. Given the role of sustainability standards in influencing land use in hotspots of biodiversity, deforestation, and agricultural intensification, much could be gained from efforts to evaluate and increase the conservation payoff of these schemes.

Increased consumption of refined carbohydrates and the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United States: an ecologic assessment.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic that is affecting an ever-increasing proportion of the US population. Although consumption of refined carbohydrates has increased and is thought to be related to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes, the ecologic effect of changes in the quality of carbohydrates in the food supply on the risk of type 2 diabetes remains to be quantified.

Objective: The objective was to examine the correlation between consumption of refined carbohydrates and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the United States.