My Journey Towards Ethical Eating (Part 2): The Ironies in Our Food Industry

This is part of an article series. Check out part 1 here.

As I continue to talk about ethical eating, and lest I be misunderstood, I would like to disclaim that I love food. To me it’s one of life’s joys, and truly our tastebuds and our body respond well when we get the kind of food that we want. We feel happy, we get into a great mood, and we become ready to seize the day.

That I love food is precisely why I’d like to contribute to the discussion on eating. Indeed a lot of authors have talked about this oxymoronic, love-hate relationship mankind has with food, and I’d like to say that for my part, I want none of the hate. I simply want to address the current food situation so that all of us can just eat and live in peace, with our fellow creatures on Earth.

The truth is, we are facing a very, very sad irony. Today, we have an array of drastically improved technologies, mechanisms, and processes to produce food on the table for every human being on the planet. We have mastered agriculture as a science, and have allocated millions and millions of tracts of land for the purpose of growing plants and animals that we can later eat. And yet, millions of people across the globe are hungry, or do not meet the daily recommended dietary allowance for nutrients, in order to become productive citizens. In Africa children are dying of malnutrition, and more are at risk.

Most of the farmers who are responsible for creating food, are some of the poorest members of society in the developing world. Those who are fortunate to own their land, meanwhile, face the tough competition as big multi-national corporations operate according to a centralized notion of production, with a huge capital to expend for machinery, pesticides, and fertilizers.

Moreover, while agriculture has become much more advanced over the decades, a lot of people are suffering from diabetes, liver disease, kidney problems and other health conditions directly linked to poor diet. It would seem that the way we have been producing food has not addressed what should be its main function: provide sustenance for the human body.

These ironies have since incited a growing movement for good food. And when I say good food, I mean delicious food that will give our bodies the much-needed nutrients, while also coming from sources that do not disrupt the ecological balance.

This is a guest blog post by Richard A Kimball. To learn more about him, check out his social media profiles here, here and here.

My Journey Towards Ethical Eating (Part 1): An Invitation

I will begin this entry with this argument: There is something very wrong with the way Americans eat today. Along with that is an invitation to consider the idea of a paradigm shift. I have been reading up on the concept of ethical eating and/or sustainable diet, and I understand the very first sentiment you will probably have, it’s really difficult to say where to begin.

But let me tell you that I myself have not been a really conscious eater until a few years ago. I was raised in these staples of American diet: cereals and milk, ready-mix pancakes, or hotdogs and eggs with bread for breakfast, whatever they serve at the school cafeteria for lunch, then for dinner, mom’s meaty, salty, and fatty dishes with sides of chips or mashed potatoes, then pies for dessert. Throughout the day there’d be a lot of candies, chips, softdrinks and other junk food too. As far as I know, my family sourced these items from the grocery, and it’s a family bonding experience, driving there to get the goodies and point to chocolates for my parents to buy.

When I have moved out of my parents’ home and started working on my nine-to-five job, my diet has changed – for the worse. No proper breakfast for me anymore, just a tall latte from a coffee shop, although sometimes I also grab very sugary pastries. For lunch and dinner it’s fast food most of the time, except when I had time to pack a sandwich, or during my payday, when officemates and I would head to a restaurant. And like when I was growing up, I subsisted in a lot of sweet treats between meals, too.

For some time I thought this was the only way to do it, because it was the case for almost everyone around me as well. With my very unhealthy diet, I found myself not having the right weight, but again, so did everybody else.

That’s until I found myself in the development world and met people whose diet formed a part of a sustainable lifestyle. And it helped that we are also having a national conversation on the relationship with obesity, health, and diet in America. As soon as I embraced the tenets of environmentalism, changing the way I eat just made a lot of sense. Check out my next entries as I continue to share my journey towards ethical eating.

This is a guest blog post by Richard A Kimball. To learn more about him, check out his LinkedIn and Pinterest pages.

How Colors Enhance a Room

With all the colors in the world, it's hard to know exactly which one to use when painting your house. Those of you determined to fairly represent each hue might set out to paint one room red, one orange, one yellow, one green, one blue, one indigo, and one violet. But, for everyone else, painting a room has less to do with equal opportunity decorating and more to do with personal taste.

Still, colors have their limits and certain ones are better at doing certain things. The following is a list of tips describing what each color has the potential to do when it finds itself up against a wall.

White: Painting a room white will make the room look bigger and cleaner (until your three year old decides to smear a mural of ketchup on the back wall). White is an ideal color when you are looking to add a lot of different hues: white, like black, goes with almost anything. Painting with white can give rooms a pure and bright look, while using that white to accentuate other colors. But, be careful: using too much white can make a room too bright, and make it hard to look at. If people routinely run from your room yelling "My eyes, my eyes," chances are, you've overdone it.

Black: Like white, black is an ideal color when you want to mix and match shades. Though black has the potential to make a room look too dark or too small, it also has a solid conventional appeal. A black wall, like a black piece of clothing, captures a sensuous, secretive, and intelligent look. Appearing more intellectual and sophisticated than all the other colors, you will be much more likely to catch your black wall reading the short stories of Rudyard Kipling than your white one.

Orange: Depending on the brightness, the color orange can be a hue that demands notice - like a shade perpetually screaming "Look at me!" It can also be welcoming or it can be a soothing earth tone. Because of this versatility, orange is a popular color in decorating. A room used for socializing can benefit from the use of bright (but not too bright) orange and a room used for relaxing can benefit from a darker orange. But orange, like all colors, has its limits: you have to be careful of the colors you mix and match. Orange with black might come across as too Halloween-ish, orange with pink might remind people of sherbert, and orange with blue might deem you - among your neighbors - a die hard Denver Bronco fan.

Blue: Blue is perhaps the most natural of colors: the sky is blue, the ocean is blue, even peoples' moods are sometimes described as blue. The "naturalness" that blue evokes makes it a good color for a bathroom or a bedroom. In a bathroom, blue can represent water and cleanliness (without being as bright as white). In a bedroom, blue is calming and can help you rest more peacefully. It's conservative, but not too conservative (it's not a Republican). It is also just dim enough to keep your bedroom dark, and free of the sunlight that can wake you up before you're ready.

Green: Green has the unique ability to emit freshness: painting a wall the regular shade of green is like panting your house with a garden. This gives your house a new, spring like feel: yes, even in the dead of winter. Like blue, green is also very natural: grass is green, trees are green, and the stems of flowers are green. Darker or forest greens can be used for a harvest look, one that is soothing and comforting, while lighter greens can be used for a more vibrant, stylish look.

Red: The color red is a dichotomy: it represents both danger and romance. For this reason, red is best used in bedrooms or rooms that are begging for a confident look, such as a library. Red is typically not a good color to use for bathrooms (who wants to be sexy while brushing their teeth), or rooms that you want to look open and large, such as living rooms. Red is also not a good color to paint the outside of your house: doing so can make it resemble a barn, causing livestock to flock to your front door at sunrise. You might find yourself up to your elbows in cows, but at least you won't ever have to buy milk again.

Tip on How to Increase Fuel Economy and Save Cash

So you want to save some green? All you have to do is drive smart to save green. It is not just about having an eco friendly car. Common sense tells us that if more people took up the challenge our whole country - even the whole world - would benefit in a

1. It has to be said: the very best thing you can do to help the environment with your car is stop driving it! Well unless you are a college student, you may not have that option any longer. The best alternative then is just to drive slower instead. You see, most cars appear to save gas when driven at speeds of between 50 mph to 60 mph. So drive like Goldie Locks, not too slow and not too fast. This is how to drive smart, save green.

2. If you desire to make your car more fuel efficient you could conserve a staggering 20% of your car's fuel consumption just by reducing tire roll resistance! If you are to drive smart and save green then you need to think about this. Simply spend a bit more and buy quality tires. Even though they might cost a little more they will perform better. It is important to note that under inflated tires cost you more in gas bills! So here is another simple way to increase fuel economy, imagine if everyone did it.

3. I'll bet there are many items that you store in your car's trunk that don't need to be there. Lighten the load in your car. Each season go through each item you regularly carry. In spring get rid of your winter emergency gear. If you don't really need it, well recycle it some how. This is the most cost effective wayto drive smart, save green - just drive with a lighter load. That will let your car be more fuel efficient.

4. If you are going to be sitting still for long, switch off your engine while you wait. Realistically, if you are likely to be waiting more than one minute than restarting your engine burns roughly about the same amount as one minute of idle time. So it is worth considering if you think you will be idling for more than a minute, cut the engine. You'll save gas and money - drive smart, save green.

5. Drive in a more gradual and smooth manner. While really this one might be obvious on its face, it should be the unspoken rule of drive smart, drive green. Erratic driving full of sudden starts and hard braking uses up a lot of extra gas. Not to mention the extra wear and tear on your car, which means extra costs to you and the environment.

So as you can see, learning to drive smart, save green is basically just common sense. Some people really need their cars to get around. It that is you, then learn to drive it responsibly and sensibly. The best alternative is if you can walk easily to where you need to go, then just do it! Walk across the parking lot to the video rental store. So if you must drive than drive smart, save green when you can't walk.

Hedge Fund Trends: Constant Industry Growth, Concern Regarding Regulations

The hedge fund industry sees brighter horizon this 2015 and expects to surpass the $3.02 trillion figure set in 2014. According to Preqin, despite some issues that emerged after CalPERS’ exit and the poor industry performance last year, 63 per cent of surveyed fund managers still have a positive outlook on the remaining months of 2015. Aside from its continuous growth, other hedge fund trends to watch out for are the following:

Best and worst strategies. In a presentation provided by Glocap Search LLC, part of the market trends this year is the continued activity in long/short, pairs trading, event driven, and global macro. There will also be some pick-up in merger arbitrage, it adds.

Preqin’s study demonstrates that investors consider macro strategies (24 per cent), equity strategies (23 per cent), and event driven strategies (18 per cent) as the best practices to apply this 2015, while 30 per cent of the participants believe that financial institutions better veer away from credit strategies.

Industry regulations. Provisions and guidelines set by regulatory bodies, such as the SEC, may have helped increase opportunities for hedge fund managers in regions where investments were once constrained. However, they also bring a number of regulatory burdens and compliance measures that greatly challenge fund managers.

Higher than last year’s 50 per cent, Preqin said that 58 per cent of managers now believe that regulations could bring negative consequences. 57 per cent specifically cited AIFMD as the most challenging regulation.

In the Alternative Investment Management Association’s industry survey conducted in 2013, results suggest that the hedge fund sector has already invested heavily in compliance efforts to meet regulatory policies, allocating more than $3 billion dollars on compliance costs. Additional data also demonstrate that nine out of ten managers expect their budget for regulatory compliance to double over the next five years.

Investor demands and concerns. This year, investors have been strengthening dialogues with managers over hedge fund terms and conditions. 68 per cent of them, according to Preqin, want to see improvements in management fees, followed by performance fees at 38 per cent.

Capital Management Services Group explained that fund managers normally demand management fees of 1 to 2 per cent of assets under management (AUM), while performance fees range from 20 per cent to 50 per cent of net trading gains.

Meanwhile, other key issues raised by investors include increased transparency at 29 per cent, hurdle rate at 24 per cent and manager commitment to fund at 18 per cent.

To respond to the influx of challenges for this year, investors are advised to seek help from trusted asset management firms that are not just fully aware of the up and coming hedge fund trends, but can also provide proprietary solutions to reach financial goals and make the most out of today’s market opportunities.