As the U.S. economy continues to struggle, with an unemployment rate that has hovered around 9 percent since May 2009, more and more families are looking to get assistance for their grocery bills. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, has recieved record participation.

As of May 2011 the number of people receiving benefits rose to 45.8 million, prompting criticism from Republicans about government spending. The number of people on SNAP began to increase in 1999 and has steadily gone up every year since, with a huge spike in participants in the last two years following the housing crash in 2009.

Both former presidents Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush encouraged wider participation, and President Obama has voiced similar convictions. This has begun to ease the negative stigma attached to those receiving food benefits and resulted in more participation. Part of the reason for the large increase in the number of people getting SNAP benefits is the large number of individuals in the program who are only employed part-time.

These are hard-working individuals who are often looking for full-time employment, but are having a difficult time having their hours increased. As a result, there just is not enough money by the end of the month for all of the necessary bills, and food. SNAP brings welcome relief to those who would like to be making enough money to not need assistance, but are currently unable to do so.

The growing number of individuals on food stamps is an indicator of the large number of people either out of work, or not getting enough work. Until unemployment numbers begin to go down, enrollment in SNAP is likely to stay fairly high.

The government cost of $68 million last year to run the program has led Republicans to encourage cutting some of the costs of the program as part of the overall goal to decrease government spending and reduce the nation’s debt. Democrats have disagreed with cutting this particular program because reportedly for every dollar that the program costs, $1.87 comes back into the economy.

It is believed that by spending money on SNAP benefits, the employees paid to transport, stock, and sell the food purchased helps to stimulate the economy. Another problem is the belief that the money spent on this program is wasted by those not using the benefits for their intended purpose.

While abuse of the system does exist, and there are certainly a number of people on SNAP who do things like sell their cards for cash, abuse of the system is not as widespread as is sometimes assumed. The Department of Agriculture estimates that approximately 2 percent of those receiving benefits are using their food stamps fraudulently.

While it would be preferable that no abuse of this program occurred, this low number indicates the large number of Americans whose incomes are legitimately at the level where they are unable to feed their families and keep up with rent and utilities. Whether or not SNAP benefit funding should be cut, or if it is an important part of rebuilding the economy remains to be decided.

However, the fact that record numbers of individuals are on the program and thousands more are eligible, but are not receiving benefits, is a symptom of America’s struggling economy.

The article Number of Food Stamp Recipients at All-Time High appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

By now, London is in a state of collective hangover, but the recent week’s mayhem could just as well have swept through Athens, Madrid or Rome. The year 2011 will be remembered as the year of youth revolt; where the youth of Europe realized generations before them did not leave much for their future.

But lawmakers around Europe can’t really say that the protests, which most recent turned into arson and looting, were all that surprising. Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten reported that the generation that took to the streets in European capitals are the first in decades who cannot expect to reach a higher living standard than their parents. The rioting in Britain underlines this with socio-economic irony; the underbelly of society has been ignored for years while leaders scrambled to save the economy under the global financial crisis. A breakdown was unavoidable.

The initial problem has played out in several countries. In Spain, a staggering 40 percent youth unemployment led to mass protests in Madrid in May. Demonstrators, despite a ban, gathered to express their anger at the unbearable unemployment rate, the recent austerity measures and political corruption. In Athens, demonstrations and strikes led to violent clashes between police and protesters and last weekend saw a protest in Tottenham, UK, against the shooting of Mark Duggan turn into a weeklong street riot that destroyed so much more than materials.

The English anarchy was a display of societal meltdown — the media and politicians were quick to point their finger at fault but the explanation is straightforward. What it comes down to is a generation, raised in the economic boom of the 90s with all its optimism, but held back as they were about to enter society themselves as workers. A strained labor market and an increasingly nervous financial climate prevents many from looking to the future. No wonder those with the least hope, financially or socially, will break first and most furiously. It may be a terrible and upsetting situation, but it shouldn’t be a surprising one.

According to Chris Roycroft-Davis, a British political commentator, Prime Minister David Cameron’s harsh words in the wake of the recent riots will achieve nothing without direct, unrestrained consequences.

“Society is being destroyed because for decades we’ve gone soft on a underclass of lawbreaking, drug dealing layabouts who treat with contempt a world which they think owes them a living,” Roycroft-Davis said.

Though Roycroft-Davis’ words are hard, they voice the tension between the have’s and have-not’s which triggered the violence in London. One part is that young people have no jobs and no future to plan for – another is that some of the European welfare states have taken such good care of their people that they have forgotten society is a two-way agreement.

Some countries have nothing to give and the opportunity to give back is equally limited. The unemployment rate in Greece climbed to 14.2 percent by March and Spain was at a staggering 20.9 percent in the second quarter of 2011. In comparison, Germany only had 7 percent unemployment as of July.

But on the other hand, many western European countries continue their generous benefit systems despite numbers showing that only half of the population is employed. With the deduction of children, students and elderly, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten found that there were still a large amount of people who simply lived off the state — a vicious circle that many of the newest generations on the labour market will drop into by default.

In comparison with other decades and areas, the youth of Western Europe was arguably spoiled rotten by optimistic and protective states. Whether they achieved academically or was raised on the streets, there was always some sort of security net that tried to catch them if they fall.

There comes a point where people stop being grateful and start expecting more: ‘we want jobs’ or ‘we’re entitled to benefits’. The point is when they truly believe the world owes them just because they were born into it. The people who had no problem destroying their fellow citizens’ livelihood in the last week should be considered the fruit of society’s unrelenting labor. Kids down to eight years of age were out smashing windows and grabbing all they could get because society kept telling them that they were “entitled”. On the other hand, students and graduates want governments to take responsibility for creating jobs for them, while blaming people at the top for everything without fully appreciating the complicity of their parents, the greater society — not to mention the world.

The lost generation of Europe is in the end a motley bunch. All layers of society, educated or not, face bleak prospects in the coming years. While the student camps in squares with eloquently written protest banners, the mobster throws stones and steals designer hoodies but none of this can really change the probability that economic order will not be stabilized before our most important years on the labour market have passed. Governments will ask for patience and restraint but the revolting youth will not be silenced with words and they may spend the rest of the year proving this.

Image Courtesy of Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64742792@N05/6026530372/

The article London Riots and Spanish, Greek Protests – The Lost Generation? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In a nation where formula is the preferred nutrient for infants, a healthier alternative to both traditional breast milk and formula may be available globally within the next ten years. A team of scientists from State Key Laboratories for Agro Biotechnology at China Agricultural University, led by director Li Ning, have recently published their findings involving a number of experiments with a herd of genetically altered Holstein cows. As a result of genetic modification, these cows produce milk that is in many ways similar to human breast milk. This finding, which was published this spring, has sparked a flurry of interest. While this is exciting news for those looking for a healthier alternative to formula, some are concerned about the safety of feeding genetically altered milk to infants.

If this does end up on the market, there are a number of benefits that this new milk has to offer. Because they were able to infuse these cows with specific human DNA as embryos, their milk now has large amounts of Lysozyme. This protein, found in large quantities in human milk, helps to prevent bacterial infections. Additionally, the proteins Lactoferrin and alpha-lactalbumin, were also produced in higher quantities, and these proteins help to boost immune levels. Not only would it help give infants whose mothers are unwilling or unable to breastfeed these important proteins, in the cows that were used in this experiment, it helped to prevent the bacterial infection mastitis.

The packaging that this new “human” cow milk would come in has not been decided on yet, but it will most likely be similar to the powder formula on the market today. Part of this experiment included using the temperature required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to pasteurize the milk to ensure that it still retained the nutritional integrity of the Lysozyme. They found that in order to process it into milk powder that a higher temperature is required, but it is still nutritionally sound. This milk is primarily for human infants, although it could be drunk by anyone, especially those with nutritional deficiencies or intestinal problems, since Lysozyme has been shown to increase gut health.

It also offers a nutritional choice for those who wish to give their picky toddlers a healthy nutritional boost. Some have combated the picky-eater syndrome that is common among two-to-five-year-olds by choosing to continue breastfeeding long after infancy. Some mothers extol the benefits of long-term breast feeding, and even the WHO recommends two years of breastfeeding, especially in poorer countries. Extended breastfeeding is clouded by negative stigma. Many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of a child who is able to walk and talk, but is still going to mom to have a drink. If this is put on the market, it could offer an alternative to a mother wanting to give her toddler greater nutrition, but not wanting to experience the negative social stigma or the inconveniences associated with breastfeeding.

Another possible benefit to adding Lysozyme is the increased shelf life in comparison to traditional formula. This would allow for shipping to a wider range of areas, and decreased loss of product in stores and at home due to expiration.

Despite the possible benefits, there are a number of serious concerns associated with giving infants milk from genetically altered cows. Especially in the United States and Europe, the general public is not very receptive to these types of products. An increase in the demand for organic and home-grown food has led to a number of companies deciding to change the ingredients in a number of their products, or offering slightly pricier organic and natural alternatives to their more highly processed foods. Even if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does eventually allow this new milk to be stocked on grocery store shelves, the number of people willing to buy it is questionable. Only time will tell if this new “human” breast milk will be here to stay or if it will be soon forgotten for a better product.

The article Human Breast Milk from Genetically Altered Cows appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.