Immunology

Omicron is making the holidays complicated. 50 COVID experts weigh in with their advice – Toronto Star

50 COVID experts weigh in with their advice for the holidays | The Star

","heading":"","fullWindow":false,"fullBleed":false,"showFullBleedOnMobile":false,"headColor":"","type":"html5mobile","textColor":"","mobileImageUrl":"","bgColor":"","imageUrl":"","registeredOnly":false,"linkUrl":"","aodaTitle":" ","internalScroll":false,"displayStyle":"small-up"},{"text":"She says her family is planning to protect her small Christmas gathering by being mindful of their risk budget in the week leading up to the holiday, postponing other social plans and limiting close contacts. Yammine posted tips for holiday gatherings on Instagram, including making it easy for guests to bail if they have symptoms, rapid testing between events and opening windows/having HEPA filters around (since COVID is airborne).","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Mohan, like many, is taking precautions. Everyone at his gathering who is eligible will be vaccinated a few people work in health care and they will have three doses and they will all isolate for three to five days beforehand. Hes watching the Omicron numbers closely, in case they need to cancel. ","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"But he also thinks its important to factor in mental health, and be empathetic with one another because this isnt easy for anyone.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"For Banerjee, its also a time to reflect on how much we have, as Canadians.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"type":"textBreakPoint","insertAt":"contentEndBreakPoint"},{"text":"We should be grateful we are at the stage of getting access to booster shots while so many low-middle-income countries are still waiting for their first dose of vaccination, she said.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Lex Harvey is a Toronto-based newsletter producer for the Star and author of the First Up newsletter. 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Omicron is poised to overtake Delta in Ontario: What you need to know

Kingstons Omicron-fuelled surge leads to strict measures and offers a preview

Millions of Ontarians will need a third COVID vaccine this month. Can we ramp up capacity like in the summer?

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Wed., Dec. 15, 2021timer5 min. read

updateArticle was updated 8 hrs ago

A dinner of chicken with stuffing, mixed in with some Indian food. A Secret Santa gift exchange. Everyone gathered around the TV to watch Home Alone.

These are the simple holiday pleasures Dr. Nitin Mohan, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Western University, is looking forward to sharing with a couple of extended family members, after COVID essentially cancelled the season last year.

While Im frustrated that we wont be having the Christmas we thought we would be having a month ago, when I look at where we were last year, I still think were in a better position than where we were back then, said Mohan, who is being extra cautious as he and his wife have a five-month-old son.

The Star reached out to COVID-19 experts, including Mohan, to ask how they were marking the 2021 holidays, whether that involved celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years Eve, or just enjoying some time off work.

Fifty epidemiologists, infectious disease experts, health analysts, virologists, immunologists, biostatisticians, a few PhD students and others from coast to coast, responded.

The upshot? Vaccines have opened up the possibility for gathering with loved ones, something many missed out on last year. But the pandemic is not over, and the quickly evolving situation with the new Omicron variant has made decisions even more complicated. The experts stressed that the situation is changing fast; theyre watching closely and are prepared to scale down, or even cancel plans, if needed. Thirty-nine experts who answered the Stars survey plan on having a small dinner or gathering with people outside of their household this holiday season.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontarios chief medical officer of health, told reporters Tuesday that people should keep things small and limit contacts as the risk goes up, hinting that more guidance will be coming soon. It also depends on your own individual health, and the situation in your family and community. If youre very vulnerable to COVID, than you should avoid contact with others altogether, he said.

Last year, when the Star conducted a similar survey, most Canadians were forced inside by government restrictions and only able to socialize within their households or outside in small groups.

This Christmas, Canadians are freer to gather (albeit with some restrictions), dine in a restaurant, and partake in some of the usual, pre-pandemic festive activities. Experts holiday plans reflect that range of choices.

Decisions on attending gatherings or holiday parties are largely influenced by peoples unique situations, like the prevalence of COVID in their area, the vaccination status of their friends and family, and their own personal risk tolerances.

As a result, feelings about socializing outside of the household vary significantly.

Dr. Martha Fulford, infectious-disease specialist at McMaster Childrens Hospital in Hamilton, said she has no concerns at all, adding, It is time to move on and learn to coexist with COVID.

Laura Cowen, professor of statistics at the University of Victoria, said: We just had an outbreak at UVic and we are now pivoting online. It would be reckless to have a gathering outside of my household at this time.

Its just not worth it, wrote Ananya Banerjee, assistant professor of epidemiology at McGill University, whose mom is immunocompromised and a cancer survivor. Instead of seeing people outside of her household, Banerjee plans to spend the holidays learning the amazing traditional Indian dishes her mom cooks. Shell visit with friends and family outdoors (weather permitting of course!) enjoying the wondrous beauty of nature.

Despite some risks, most experts feel its possible to gather safely in small groups. Many are taking precautions like using rapid tests beforehand, opening windows to increase airflow and ensuring everyone eligible is vaccinated.

After a holiday season in lockdown last year, most are just thankful to celebrate with loved ones at all.

Last year was very lonely for many of us. I was alone with my daughter, our first Christmas without her brother or grandparents, wrote Cynthia Carr, an epidemiologist in Winnipeg, adding that she picked up Christmas dinner from her parents. (They cooked, because I cannot.)

This year, shes excited to be able to celebrate with both of her kids, and to enjoy her parents amazing meal in person again.

Twelve experts are planning on attending a larger gathering of more than 10 people, though most are keeping it under 15, with just extended family or close friends. Some plan to take the bigger parties outside, to skating rinks and bonfires.

In Ontario, private indoor gatherings are still capped at 25. Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington health unit is asking that people keep them at five people or less, amid an Omicron surge.

While most experts will see friends and family, the majority will do so close to home. Just 11 are planning on travelling.

(As of press time Tuesday night, the federal government was poised to warn against non-essential travel over the holidays.)

Over the course of the five days we gave experts to answer the survey, at least three went back to change their answers as the situation became more dire.

I was feeling much better about my familys Christmas plans a few weeks ago. Now, less so, wrote Toronto-based science communicator Samantha Yammine in an updated response to the survey.

She says her family is planning to protect her small Christmas gathering by being mindful of their risk budget in the week leading up to the holiday, postponing other social plans and limiting close contacts. Yammine posted tips for holiday gatherings on Instagram, including making it easy for guests to bail if they have symptoms, rapid testing between events and opening windows/having HEPA filters around (since COVID is airborne).

Mohan, like many, is taking precautions. Everyone at his gathering who is eligible will be vaccinated a few people work in health care and they will have three doses and they will all isolate for three to five days beforehand. Hes watching the Omicron numbers closely, in case they need to cancel.

But he also thinks its important to factor in mental health, and be empathetic with one another because this isnt easy for anyone.

For Banerjee, its also a time to reflect on how much we have, as Canadians.

We should be grateful we are at the stage of getting access to booster shots while so many low-middle-income countries are still waiting for their first dose of vaccination, she said.

More from The Star & Partners

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Omicron is making the holidays complicated. 50 COVID experts weigh in with their advice - Toronto Star

Human Behavior

The Worst Lifestyle Habits Causing You to Feel Older, Science Says Eat This Not That – Eat This, Not That

We're all getting just a little bit older each day, but at least we're in it together. The World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2050, there will be over two billion people ages 60 and older on a global scale! Indeed, people all over the world are living longer than ever, and there's no sign of that trend slowing down. Near unbelievably, a recent study published in Demographic Research even predicts that we'll see a human live into their 120s by the end of this century.

The prospect of waking up one day and blowing out 125 birthday candles may sound preposterous, but just a couple short centuries ago, the average American life expectancy was only roughly 40 years old!

Now, plenty of people tend to worry that with advanced age comes more pain, less independence, and a decline in mental facilities. While a certain level of physical and mental deterioration is unavoidable as the years pass by, it's not a foregone conclusion. Research released in Nature Human Behavior concludes that many older adults actually see their mental capacities improve with age.

"These results are amazing, and have important consequences for how we should view aging," says senior study investigator, Michael T. Ullman, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience, and Director of Georgetown's Brain and Language Lab.

"People have widely assumed that attention and executive functions decline with age, despite intriguing hints from some smaller-scale studies that raised questions about these assumptions," he continues. "But the results from our large study indicate that critical elements of these abilities actually improve during aging, likely because we simply practice these skills throughout our life."

No aging outcome is set in stone. We all very much dictate how smoothly we age with the choices we make each day. Of course, that also means there are lifestyle decisions and choices we should avoid in the interest of graceful aging. Read on to learn about the worst lifestyle habits causing you to feel older, and for more, don't miss 4 Exercise Tricks to Fight Aging.

There's nothing wrong with the occasional night spent watching movies, but don't make a habit of gluing yourself to the living room couch.

One compelling set of research from the American Heart Association tells us that too much time channel surfing during middle age can lead to increased odds of cognitive decline and loss of thinking skills later in life. More specifically, the research indicates watching lots of television is associated with lower gray matter volumes in the brain. Gray matter is responsible for a number of important neural processes, such as decision making.

"Our findings suggest that the amount of television viewing, a type of sedentary behavior, may be related to cognitive decline and imaging markers of brain health," says Priya Palta, a neurologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "Therefore, reducing sedentary behaviors, such as television viewing, may be an important lifestyle modification target to support optimal brain health."

Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Sit Too Much Every Day, Say Experts

It isn't just TV either. Too much lounging, in general, can lead to you feeling older than you shouldboth mentally and physically. It's well documented that exercise keeps our muscles and bones healthy, but did you know that more movement can help you stay young from a biological and cellular perspective?

Research published in JAMA and Archives Journals finds that those who stay active in their free time are actually biologically younger than other, lazier people of the exact same age. That's right, a stagnant lifestyle can literally age you at a faster pace. "A sedentary lifestyle increases the propensity to aging-related disease and premature death," the study reads. "Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to aging-related diseases but also because it may influence the aging process itself."

Further research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings also tells us that a regular cardio habit can be a major asset when it comes to maintaining robust brain health well into old age. Study authors report cardio workouts are linked with increased levels of gray matter volume. "This is another piece of the puzzle showing physical activity and physical fitness is protective against aging-related cognitive decline," comments editorial co-author Dr. Michael Joyner, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and physiologist.

Related: 5 Quick Cardio Workouts That Burn Fat Fast

If you've had an erratic sleep schedule lately, you're certainly not alone. The pandemic has interrupted virtually everyone's slumber to varying degrees, but sleep is an age-fighting endeavor well worth prioritizing. This study released in the scientific journal Sleep even finds that middle-aged adults who sleep more or less than 6-8 hours regularly may experience an accelerated rate of cognitive decline equal to 4-7 years of aging! That's a high cognitive price to pay for staying up late (or sleeping in too often).

Another research project published in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology discovered that poor sleepers' skin tends to age at a faster pace. "Our study is the first to conclusively demonstrate that inadequate sleep is correlated with reduced skin health and accelerates skin aging. Sleep deprived women show signs of premature skin aging and a decrease in their skin's ability to recover after sun exposure," explains Dr. Elma Baron, Director of the Skin Study Center at UH Case Medical Center and Associate Professor of Dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. It isn't always easy, but sticking with a regular sleep schedule can keep you feeling and looking young.

Related: The Best Supplements for Sleep, According to Doctors

The internet is an incredible tool, but just like anything else in life, it's very possible to have too much of a good thing. More specifically, it's a good idea to cut down on your screen time. Research suggests that prolonged exposure to the blue light emitted by computers, smartphones, and everything in between may accelerate the aging process. Published in Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, the study concludes the blue light may damage both brain and eye cells.

Instead, invest your time in offline activities like reading or writing. Plenty of research indicates that a consistent reading habit can do wonders for both the brain and body. This study from the Radiological Society of America reports that writing and reading help preserve the "structural integrity" of our brains. Sounds like it's time to dust off the old library card. "Reading the newspaper, writing letters, visiting a library, attending a play or playing games, such as chess or checkers, are all simple activities that can contribute to a healthier brain," study co-author Konstantinos Arfanakis, Ph.D., comments.

Doing your reading away from a computer screen benefits more than just the mind. This study from the University of Liverpool actually found that joining a book club can help alleviate back pain and chronic pain, in general. Another study published in Cell Reports collected evidence suggesting that reading outside can improve eyesight.

Life moves fast, and oftentimes, it's easier to push stress aside than actually process and deal with it. Living with constant stress may save time, but finding a way to destress that works for you can go a long way toward slower, more graceful aging. New research from Yale University just published in Translational Psychiatry finds that chronic stress indeed causes our biological clocks to tick faster.

Researchers focused on DNA-related chemical "epigenetic" bodily changes, or disease markers associated with growing older like increased insulin resistance. Among a collection of over 400 participants, those who reported higher levels of stress universally showed signs of accelerated aging.

Importantly, however, certain participants showed more resilience to the impact of stress on aging. This cohort scored very well when it came to both emotional regulation and self-control, suggesting that finding a way to cope with stressors in a healthy way is of the utmost importance to healthy aging.

"These results support the popular notion that stress makes us age faster," notes study co-author Zachary Harvanek, a resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, "but they also suggest a promising way to possibly minimize these adverse consequences of stress through strengthening emotion regulation and self-control."

If you're looking for a new way to de-stress, consider trying yoga or meditation. And for more on how to fight the effects of aging, check out The Best Anti-Aging Diets, According to Science.

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The Worst Lifestyle Habits Causing You to Feel Older, Science Says Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

Human Behavior

Talar trochlear morphology may not be a good skeletal indicator of locomotor behavior in humans and great apes | Scientific Reports – Nature.com

It is generally accepted that the trochlear surface of humans and great apes can be approximated by a cone frustum1,2, but no previous studies have demonstrated this, to the best of our knowledge. The present study demonstrated, for the first time, that the talar trochlea surfaces in humans and great apes can actually be well approximated by a cone frustum, as suggested by Inman1 and Latimer et al.2. However, in gorillas, if the whole region of the talar trochlea was approximated by the cone, the apex of the cone was found to be located on the lateral side of the trochlea, owing to the fact that the curvature radii of the medial rims of the gorilla trochlea were larger than those of the lateral rims because the surface of the posteromedial portion of the trochlea was flattened, as shown in Fig. 2, as previously reported12,24. To bring the apex of the cone on the medial side of the trochlea as in other species, only the conical portion of the trochlea should be used to approximate the trochlear surface in gorillas.

Although the calculated apical angles of the approximated cones were significantly correlated with the talar angles (P=0.0003) conventionally used to estimate the apical angles of the cones3,7 (Fig.7), the present study demonstrated that the correlation between these angles was weak (R=0.379). Geometrically, the talar angle should be half of the apical angle because the cone apex is at the intersection between the line passing through the supratalar surface and the talocrural rotational axis corresponding to the cone axis, and the talar angle is the angle between the two lines on the coronal plane. However, this geometrical relationship was not clearly observed in our study (Fig.7B). These discrepancies indicate that the talar angle could not precisely estimate the apical angle of the cone frustum fitted to the trochlea. This is because the apical angle of the cone is a 3D quantity but the talar angle estimated the apical angle only two-dimensionally on the coronal plane, and the angle projected on the transverse plane was not incorporated. Therefore, the talar angle cannot be used as a synonym of the apical angle of the cone frustum approximating the trochlea but is only a 2D angle of the trochlear rotation axis estimated based on the two inferior-most points of the tibial and fibular facets with respect to the superior surface of the talar trochlea.

The present study demonstrated statistically significant interspecific differences in the apical angle. The apical angles of the humans and chimpanzees were significantly smaller than those of gorillas and orangutans, but no statistical difference was detected between humans and chimpanzees, as well as between gorillas and orangutans (Fig.5). This result contradicted the findings of Latimer et al.2 and DeSilva3, who reported that the talar angle of humans was smaller than that of chimpanzees and gorillas. In the present study, the human talar angle was confirmed to be significantly smaller than that of gorillas (P<0.0001), but not that of chimpanzees (P=0.149). These findings suggest that the talar angle may not be as different as once thought between humans and chimpanzees. Humans engage in habitual bipedalism. Gorillas engage in knuckle-walking and are regarded as the most terrestrial of the great apes, although western lowland gorillas are known to climb on trees for feeding to some extent25,26. Chimpanzees also engage in knuckle-walking and travel between feeding trees mainly on the ground27, but they frequently engage in vertical climbing and suspensory locomotion as well28,29. Orangutans are fundamentally quadrumanous climbers in the rain forest canopy, and they seldom walk on the ground30,31,32. Therefore, there is a distinctive difference in the degree of arboreality among species. However, the present study suggested that the apical (or talar) angle is not clearly associated with the degree of arboreality in humans and great apes.

Our geometric morphometric analysis clearly extracted and visualized interspecific differences in the shape of the talar trochlea among humans and great apes, which were not clearly observed in the comparisons of the apical and talar angles. Chimpanzees, along with macaques, possessed a longer and highly curved talar trochlea (Fig.9A). The longer and curved trochlea possibly allows greater sagittal rotation of the tibia on the trochlea surface at the ankle joint, possibly increasing the mobility of the ankle plantar and dorsiflexion. The greater mobility in dorsiflexion of the ankle joint has been suggested to facilitate vertical climbing3,33,34. It was also found that chimpanzees and gorillas possessed more trapezoidal trochleae than humans (Fig.9A) as reported by previous studies5,12,24. Because the anterior region of the superior surface of the talar trochlea contacts the tibial plafond during dorsiflexion35, the relatively wider anterior part of the trochlea may increase the contact area of the ankle joint during ankle dorsiflexion, possibly to adapt to greater weight bearing when the ankle is in a dorsiflexed posture. Conversely, the human (and macaque) trochleae did not exhibit such a feature, but the trochlea was more rectangular than those of the other species, possibly to adapt to increased contact force during plantarflexion, particularly in the late stance phase of human walking36. The gorilla trochlea differed from that of the other four species in having a less-curved posteromedial trochlea, more medially projected medial malleolar extension onto the talar neck, and deeper central groove. The former two features may be related to the reduced range of the talocrural joint in gorillas to accommodate their large body mass37,38. The enhanced central groove provides increased stability of the talocrural joint in the mediolateral direction. The orangutan trochlea is unique in having a wider posterior margin of the trochlea and a more dorsally turned anteromedial and posterolateral trochlear surface, indicating that the trochlear surface is relatively flatter. The functional significance of this morphological feature is obscure, but it might be related to the fact that the orangutan foot functions as a suspensory supporting organ for hook-like digital gripping without involvement of the hallux, although in the chimpanzee and gorillas, the foot may be adapted to hallux-assisted power gripping39. However, to make further inferences about the form-function relationship of the talar trochlea, data on actual foot use in African great apes and orangutans during terrestrial and arboreal locomotion are lacking and should be investigated in future studies.

The present study demonstrated that the talar trochlea was clearly different in shape between humans and great apes. However, the present study also found that the talar shape was not clearly associated with the differences in locomotor behavior and the degree of arboreality among the species. For example, the apical or talar angle of the trochlea is believed to be correlated with the degree of foot inversion facilitating vertical climbing by positioning the foot sole against the tree substrate2,3, but the apical angle of the trochlea was not substantially different between humans and chimpanzees (Fig.5). In addition, the scatter diagram (Fig.8A) demonstrated that the trochlea is more similar in shape between humans and orangutans, which differ substantially in locomotor behavior. The morphology of the talar trochlea may not be a distinct skeletal correlate of locomotor behavior possibly because the talar morphology is determined not only by locomotor behavior, but also by other factors such as phylogeny and body size. This is consistent with Sorrentino et al.5 indicating that the morphology of the hominin trochlea is not unequivocally linked to locomotor behavior. Therefore, caution needs to be exercised in assessing the morphological affinities of fossil hominid tali to reconstruct their locomotor behavior.

The present study has some limitations. First, the apical angle of the cone may be affected by the manual extraction of the trochlear surface. However, we defined the extracted region as objectively as possible; hence, this effect was confirmed to be relatively minor. Second, the present study included both wild and captive specimens in non-human species. However, we confirmed that the use of captive specimens has only minor effect on our results (Supplementary Information). Third, the present study did not investigate morphological variations in the distal tibia40 and fibula41, which are also important determinants of the mobility of the talocrural joint.

In conclusion, we demonstrated that the trochlea of the talus can be approximated by a conical surface in humans and great apes. However, it was found that the calculated apical angle did not clearly correspond to the degree of arboreality. Our detailed trochlear shape analysis using geometric morphometrics successfully extracted interspecific differences in the morphology of the trochlea; however, no clear association was observed between the morphology and locomotor behavior. The morphology of the talar trochlea may not be a distinct skeletal correlate of locomotor behavior.

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Talar trochlear morphology may not be a good skeletal indicator of locomotor behavior in humans and great apes | Scientific Reports - Nature.com

Human Behavior

Architect Who Helped Restore Navy Pier Wanted To ‘Make Places That Are Good For Families And Everybody To Enjoy’ – Block Club Chicago

EDGEBROOK Jerome Jerry Butler Jr. is best known for his award-winning restoration of Navy Piers East End buildings. But the prolific Chicago architect made his mark throughout the city, designing numerous fire stations, police stations, city buildings and landmarks during his long career.

What motivated Butler the most was not awards or recognition, said his daughter, Carolyn Butler.

It was his passion for Chicago and to change it for the better, Carolyn Butler said. He wanted to, make places that are good for families and everybody to enjoy, like Navy Pier, she said.

Jerome Butler, who also served multiple roles in city government, died in his Edgebrook home Dec. 2. He was 93.

Jerome Butler felt a deep affection for the city of Chicago, just like he loved, and was loved by, the many people in his life everyone from his family to the kids in the neighborhood to the janitors who worked at Navy Pier, his daughter said.

People just loved him. He understood human behavior. All the kids in the neighborhood loved him, Carolyn Butler said. Wherever he worked, the janitors would come up to him and just talk to him like he was one of the guys.

Butler was a lifelong Chicagoan he grew up in Edgewater and graduated from the University of Illinois Navy Pier campus in 1952.

His father, Jerome Butler Sr., was an engineer for the city who worked on the bridges and bridge houses along the Chicago river, and he influenced Butler Jr.s decision to pursue architecture, Carolyn Butler said.

After graduation, Jerome Butler Jr. joined architecture firm Naess & Murphy, where he worked on the building now known as One Prudential Plaza, Carolyn Butler said. He began working in city government in 1960; in 1967, Mayor Richard J. Daley appointed him city architect, according to the Tribune.

It was during Jerome Butlers time as city architect that he completed one of the crowning achievements of his career: Navy Pier.

By the early 1970s, the parts of Navy Pier that werent related to its function as a port facility had fallen into disrepair, author Douglas Bukowski wrote in his book, Navy Pier: A Chicago Landmark.

But Jerome Butler brought new life to the pier. Beginning in 1974, he led the restoration of several landmarks on Navy Pier, including whats now known as the Aon Grand Ballroom, a promenade on the north side of the pier and a solar energy project to heat up the east end of the pier, according to Bukowskis book.

Jerome Butlers work at Navy Pier in 1979 earned him a spot in the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, an honor bestowed to only 3 percent of the organizations members who have made significant contributions to the profession, according to the the group.

Jerome Butler also helped design State Street Mall, a pedestrian-friendly stretch of the street to draw shoppers to the citys major retailers, which was completed in 1979 according to Robert P. Ledermann, author of State Street: One Brick at a Time. Mayor Richard M. Daley closed the mall in 1993 and reopened it as a thoroughfare for cars like the street is today, according to the Tribune.

In 1979, Jerome Butler was named the head of the citys Department of Public Works under Mayor Jane Byrne, according to the Tribune. In 1985, under former Mayor Harold Washington, he served briefly as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Jerome Butler later worked as the deputy general manager at Navy Pier in the 1990s, helping oversee its $200 million renovation in 1995 into the popular tourist attraction many know today, according to the Tribune.

Jerome Butler was incredibly passionate about his work and never missed a day, Carolyn Butler said.

He was there every day from 8 to 5. Sometimes hed get home late because of openings and projects and teaching young architects, she said.

Roula Alakiotou was one of the architects who worked under Jerome Butler, from 1976 to 1979, in her first job after graduate school. She remembers him as a no-frills, good man who advocated for diversity in the field. Alakiotou said she become good friends with him and his wife even after she left her city role.

Jerome Butler also helped Alakiotou launch her studio, Roula Architects, by introducing her to larger commercial firms and helping her secure city contracts.

I loved the man. He was a simple, straightforward guy, and I miss him terribly, Alakiotou said. He had a long life, but he made a big difference to architects in the city.

Outside of work, Jerome Butler enjoyed outdoor hobbies like handball, sailing, golfing and swimming. After he retired, he took up watercolor paintings and photography, both of which he excelled at, his daughter said.

Jerome Butler was married to the late Marianne Butler for 65 years. He is survived by his three children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A frequent pastime for the Butler family was to visit Downtown and see Navy Pier.

He was a great father. He was always in good spirits, Carolyn Butler said. People loved him; even the people at Navy Pier who were the lowest on the totem pole loved my father. He showed no prejudice or a bad word about anybody, everybody. All my friends, they all loved my dad.

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Architect Who Helped Restore Navy Pier Wanted To 'Make Places That Are Good For Families And Everybody To Enjoy' - Block Club Chicago

Human Behavior

Parental praise associated with longer toddler toothbrushing, a barometer of persistence | Penn Today – Penn Today

Any parent of a young child understands the battle of wills that daily toothbrushing can entail. Research led by the University of Pennsylvanias Allyson Mackey and Julia Leonard of Yale University shows that parental praise during this task is associated with longer brushing, a barometer of the childs persistence. They shared their findings in the journal Child Development.

Persistence in early childhood has consequences for many life outcomes, from what children learn to whether they maintain friendships or reach their goals, says Leonard, an assistant professor at Yale and former postdoc in Mackeys lab, The Changing Brain. Its a really important skill for children to develop.

Most work in this area asks parents and children to come into a lab where researchers then study a behavior in the moment for a brief period. Mackey and Leonard wanted a more realistic situation.

They also knew it would be crucial to pick a task that wasnt yet a full-blown habit for a toddler. When youre learning something, you use the cortex, but, once youve learned it, it transfers to subcortical areas of the brain. You can do the same thing over and over without having to think about it, says Mackey, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and study senior author. We wanted to study something more variable and more sensitive.

In consultation with colleagues across Penn, including David Lydon-Staley in the Annenberg School for Communication, Angela Duckworth in the School of Arts & Sciences and Wharton School, and Dani S. Bassett in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, they landed on a design in which parents would record their 3-year-olds brushing teeth at home, each morning and evening, for 16 days in a row. Eighty-one families enrolled.

Its the first time this kind of video-based paradigm has been used to study how young children behave during consecutive days. This way of measuring kids every day gave us a window into peoples homes, into the interaction between parent and child, Mackey says.

Rather than capturing a static picture, the work obtained something much more dynamic, adds Lydon-Staley. To study things like emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, we need methods that move us outside of the lab, says Lydon-Staley, an assistant professor of communication who runs Penns Addiction, Health, & Adolescence Lab. You can learn something thats more ecologically valid. With toothbrushing, you see natural fluctuations, how much it varies under natural conditions, and how much children get pushed by parent talk. You get to see life as its lived.

What the researchers saw once they watched and analyzed the videos surprised them.

For one, parental behaviors mattered, the strongest effect the team discovered. When parents encouraged their children with words as simple as good job, rather than instructed with comments like brush the backs or keep brushing, children spent longer on the task.

Second, the researchers noticed that other factorsthe parents stress level, the childs mood, how much sleep the child had gotten the previous nightalso played a role, though less so than parent talk.

Finally, a childs persistence changed from one day to the next. Our behavior and our childrens behavior varies every day, almost as much as it does from person to person, Leonard says. Thats just a really profound way to view human behavior. Even if we think were having a bad day, that could totally change the next day.

Using the video-based approach and using toothbrushing as a measure of child response offer great tools for future work on persistence, according to Mackey, who says that these findings likely hold for other age groups and other tasks.

Beyond that, these approaches are key to determining more personalized interventions, for example, understanding the child who responds to praise compared to one who doesnt but is sensitive to sleep disruptions. If you can figure that out for your kid, she says, thats the first and most critical step toward figuring out how to change behavior.

Funding for this research came from a Jacobs Foundation Early Career Research Fellowship and from MindCORE at the University of Pennsylvania

Allyson Mackey is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. She runs The Changing Brain lab and is a researcher in MindCORE.

Julia Leonard is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University.

Other University of Pennsylvania researchers who contributed to the work include Dani S. Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences and Wharton School, David Lydon-Staley of the Annenberg School for Communication, and from The Changing Brain lab, graduate student Anne Park, research specialist Sophie Sharp, and research assistant Hunter Liu.

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Human Behavior

The air we breathe | @theU – @theU

Dr. Paines essay first appeared on the Good Notes blog.

Our state can be awinter wonderlandof abundant sun-drenched ski slopes. Unfortunately, Utah can also be a winterinversion-land.

Were learning more about bad health effects from bad air we breathe, especially during our annual winter temperature inversions. It may not be easy to see, but we also know that, because of changes in better human behavior, our dirty air has slowly been getting cleaner. Theres still a long way to go.

Through our research, weve recently learned about the effects of different, specific aspects of air pollution. We know more details about the effects of particulate pollution. During our wintertime inversions, we develop high levels of tiny particles in the air, called PM 2.5. These particles are just the perfect size to get down into the working part of the lung, where blood and air come close together. Higher levels of PM 2.5 over long periods of time cause all sorts of effects, such as increased rates of cardiac events, including heart attacks and deteriorating cardiac function, increased rates of asthma, and more premature births. Exposure to PM 2.5 also contributes to strokes and to deterioration in mental capacities in seniors. We know from recent research in Utah that theres an association of increased PM 2.5 levels with risk of severe pneumonia. We also know that pollution can contribute to mortality, even at lower levels than were previously considered safe.

Pollution and COVID-19

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we already knew poor air quality was a risk factor for respiratory failure following a variety of insults, such as viral pneumonia or trauma. COVID-19 has expanded our understanding of this risk. A number of studies from the United States, Western Europe, and China show that people who have had greater exposure to air pollution over prior years are more likely to contract COVID-19, to have a more difficult course with the disease, and even to die from COVID-19.

So, like many aspects of health, air pollution makes COVID-19 worse. The most likely explanation is that chronic, low-level air inflammation in the lungs due to air pollution leaves a person more prone, when they become infected with the virus, to develop explosive, dysregulated inflammation that causes severe respiratory failure. These individuals require hospitalization, care in ICUs, support with ventilators, and are at great risk of death.

I spend a lot of time talking to patients about what they need to do when the air outdoors is more dangerous. I explain that they need to pay attention to air quality and should not just go outside and do their normal activity if the air quality is poor. I tell them to protect themselves and their children by staying indoors. Yes, people should still exercise, but they should try to shift to indoors rather than be exposed to high levels of pollution.

Its often important to pay attention to the time of day if going outside. Pollution is frequently not as bad in the morning, so its a better time to exercise. This is particularly true in the summer with ozone, but it can be true with particulate pollution as well, both summer and winter. So really think hard about timing and place for outdoor activity.

If its possible to find a silver lining to lockdowns during the pandemic, our air quality has improved. Remote work has been recognized for a long time as one way to improve air quality. We used to think that only a few special businesses could do it and that it would be very hard to do more broadly. The lockdowns made us discover that large numbers of people could work remotely, stop or decrease their daily commutes, and cut down on the vehicle portion of pollution.

Overall, air quality has improved in the last few years. Efforts by theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA)promoting cleaner fuels and more efficient, cleaner vehicles has been a huge help. The emissions per mile driven in our state has actually gotten considerably better. A little over half of the PM 2.5 pollution we see during the winter comes from mobile sources: cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles. The less we drive and the cleaner the cars, the better for our air.

A small amount of particulate PM 2.5 comes from the large smoke stacks that we worry about. We worry, because we can see them. But those big stacks at places such as Kennecott are pretty heavily regulated, and they have improved considerably in response to these regulations. That doesnt mean we shouldnt improve them further. We also need civic and state leadership to think about strict regulations for new industrial operations, such as the proposed inland port in Salt Lake City, to avoid adding to our pollution burden.

A third class of air pollution comes fromarea sources: our homes, small businesses, and such things as furnaces and hot water heaters. Weve had a lot of improvements on that front. Thanks to theState Air Quality Boardand with support from the legislature, we now have ultra-low NOx hot water heaters going into new buildings. We have improved insulation and the efficiency of heating and cooling. In these area sources, we can really push ahead even more. Anything we do now is a good investment for the future, as opposed to having to retrofit later.

Improving air qualitynowhas long-term benefits, even if it means paying a little more for a car, driving a little less, and altering life at home in terms of insulation and turning thermostats downall little things. Over the last 30 years, the EPA estimates that the cost of improving air quality has been about $60 billion, a big number. And the benefits have been about $2 trillion. There really is a huge return on investment.

Improving air quality will definitely improve our community health. But achieving better air quality will take a combination of personal behavior, political will, and economic incentives. We are far better than we used to be. Nevertheless, even with this improvement, lives are lost every day to air pollution.

It takes all of us participating to further improve the air we breathe. Lets aim for that wonderland of winter when we always see sharp outlines of the beautiful mountains that surround us.

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The air we breathe | @theU - @theU

Human Behavior

The 5 best books of 2021 according to Jessica Ferri – Los Angeles Times

As 2021 comes hobbling to an end, we ask four book critics to pick their favorites from a very fruitful year (at least where books are concerned). Here are five books that Jessica Ferri loved.

If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.

By Patricia Lockwood Riverhead: 224 pages, $25

My mom has an expression: Im laughing to keep from crying, and that could very well describe my reaction to this brilliant novel. After the past two years, it felt so good to laugh out loud at her portrayal of the utter insanity of social media. The second section tells of a family tragedy thats the to keep from crying part. Had the book ended halfway through, it still wouldve been one of my favorite novels of the last 10 years. But Lockwood goes further. Thank God.

By Gail CrowtherGallery: 304 pages, $28

Were all just poor suckers starving to death at the banquet of Plath Studies, and 2021 was a banner year. Beneath the blazing tail of Heather Clarks biography, Red Comet, sailed this fascinating book about Plath and her contemporary Anne Sexton. Inspired by the boozy afternoons the two spent together after Robert Lowells poetry seminar, Crowther delves into the archive to humanize two monolithic icons of poetry and feminism.

By Joy WilliamsKnopf: 224 pages, $26

I had never read Williams before, and Im not sure I completely understand the ending of Harrow, but perhaps thats the point. For those interested in plot, it has to do with the end of the world, though it feels terrifyingly familiar. This book shimmers like an oil slick. Williams has the weird ability to write about minor characters in such detail, its like catching a glimpse of someone and wondering Whats their story? Her writing feels like someone walking over your grave.

By Maggie NelsonGraywolf: 288 pages, $27

Nelson, quite simply one of the best writers and thinkers weve got, explores the title concept through four spheres: art, drugs, sex and climate. But at its heart this is a book about abolition more specifically the abolition of the policing of our own minds. Nothing could be more radical, as we navigate the last two years of continued racial violence and a pandemic, than her idea that no one is disposable.

By Katie KitamuraRiverhead: 240 pages, $26

Kitamuras last novel, A Separation, frustrated readers with its reluctance to tie its narrative up in a neat bow. Intimacies, about a woman who works as a translator in the Hague, is similarly demanding. But the authors choice to leave her stories suspended in a gelatinous stew of human behavior is exactly what keeps her fiction so sticky; we cant shake it off. Intimacies makes you wonder just how much is lost in the most basic translation from one mind to another.

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The 5 best books of 2021 according to Jessica Ferri - Los Angeles Times

Human Behavior

SQREEM’s New AI-powered Study Examines Motivations Surrounding COVID-19 Vaccine Resistance in the US – Yahoo Finance

Misinformation fuels skepticism and confusion; varying impact on the attitudes of vaccine-resistant people despite shared struggles with isolation and concerns of economic ramifications

NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- COVID-19 vaccines have once again become a hot topic in the United States as President Joe Biden pushes on with vaccination mandates in a bid to manage concerns around the Omicron variant ahead of the winter flu season. Despite vaccination rates reaching 60%, vaccination coverage remains uneven across the fifty states, with many Americans identifying with and embracing labels such as 'anti-vaxxer' as a form of social identity.

The Anti-Vaxxer and The Vaccine Hesitant

Leveraging proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) built to understand online human behavior in a completely anonymous way, SQREEM Technologies' recent U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Study provides a striking insight into the attitudes and motivations of anti-vaxxers and the vaccine-hesitant. The study utilizes anonymized digital engagement scores as the main metric to understand audience relevance to topics/aspects surrounding COVID-19 vaccination. In the study, 'anti-vaxxers' are audiences that do not agree with the COVID-19 vaccine and its use, while 'vaccine-hesitant' are audiences that are reluctant to use the COVID-19 vaccine despite its availability. For both groups, digital engagement scores with values greater than 5 signify awareness, while values greater than 10 signify a strong engagement with the topic.

Overall, the study found that anti-vaxxers are confused about the topic of COVID-19 vaccination, considering vaccines to be an inconvenience and ineffective. On the other hand, vaccine-hesitant persons are significantly more confused and tend to have misconceptions about vaccines; however, they showed stronger engagement towards topics and content directly related to various vaccine brands.

"At SQREEM, we believe in the power of tech for good, to uplift lives and bring social and economic progress for all. We recognize that many challenges still exist in the fight against this global pandemic, including people's hesitancy towards vaccination. The goal of this study was to develop a better understanding of the attitudes and rationales behind vaccine resistance to help healthcare professionals, regulators and policymakers find innovative ways to tackle the challenges," said Ian Chapman-Banks, CEO and co-founder of SQREEM.

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Safety, level of protection worries anti-vaxxers

Taking a closer look, the study found that anti-vaxxers are highly concerned about vaccine ingredients (10.45) and often search for information regarding COVID-19 vaccines and live viruses. Unwilling to get vaccinated because they fear that vaccines may contain live viruses (6.05), they however show an interest in knowing about the efficacy rate of various vaccines (5.8). Safety of vaccines administered (8.06) and concerns about the duration of protection offered (7.96) are top reasons that shape the attitudes of anti-vaxxers who predominantly worry about blood clots as a possible adverse side effect of COVID-19 vaccinations (5.77). Anti-vaxxers also showed a high interest in anti-vaccine protests (8.68) and were found to be heavily influenced by opinions of vaccine skeptics (11.86), including public and political personalities.

Anxiety outweighs health protection interests for the vaccine-hesitant

In comparison, vaccine-hesitant people turned to pro-vaccine key opinion leaders (10.14) such as medical professionals for information significantly more than they referenced vaccine skeptics (5.6). Interestingly, they also demonstrated a strong interest in vaccine myths and conspiracies (9.74). Curious about the ingredients (23.99) and mechanism of action (12.66) for various vaccine brands, this group also showed a strong interest in searching about vaccine appointments online (12.25). But despite being highly interested in the long-term personal health protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines (26.3), their vaccine-resistant behavior is driven by skepticism around the efficacy of vaccines and concerns over possible side effects, with blood clots (13.53) and death (9.23) being their primary fears.

Resistance heightens as the pandemic prolongs

The study also noted important changes in the online behavior of both groups as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed. While both groups showed a greater affinity towards religious leaders, the vaccine-hesitant increasingly placed value on the opinion of celebrities. Notably, mainstream media such as TV and radio become the main sources of information for both groups.

While concerned about the higher severity of infections (9.55), anti-vaxxers' rejection of vaccines was driven by longer-term concerns, including the inefficiency of vaccines against new variants and severe infections (5.32), and increased interest in side-effect myths, particularly the belief that vaccines alter a person's DNA (6.25). This group also felt strongly that people with underlying conditions should not get vaccinated (17) and showed high engagement on topics surrounding vaccines and fertility.

Despite their fears about the greater risk of transmission (9.9), the vaccine-hesitant remain skeptical about the technology used to develop vaccines (5.38) and believe it is unsafe for children (6.43) and breastfeeding women (5.09) to be vaccinated. Their pre-existing belief in myths compounded their fears of vaccine side effects, including concerns about increased susceptibility to COVID-19 (9.3), links to Bell's Palsy (7.13) and cancer caused by altered DNA (8.11), harmful effects from shedding of vaccine components (7.39) and human magnetism (6.81).

Ian added, "Insights from this study indicate that an important aspect of overcoming vaccine resistance lies in understanding the behavior of people and applying this knowledge to address their concerns. Tailoring messages to be meaningful and to resonate with different audiences can be effective in countering misinformation and conspiracy theories. Promote open, honest conversations by leveraging people's existing trust in their own doctors and health care providers to direct vaccine-resistant people to professionals for reliable information."

Methodology

The U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Study employs SQREEM Technologies' proprietary AI technology to analyze anonymized monthly online behaviors including searches, interactions on websites, apps, and publicly available social interactions, on topics surrounding COVID-19 vaccination in the United States.

'Anti-vaxxers' are audiences that do not agree with the COVID-19 vaccine and its use, while 'vaccine-hesitant' are audiences that are reluctant to use the COVID-19 vaccine despite its availability.

Monthly behaviors are represented by online engagement scores. Values between 0 and 5 signify unawareness, 5 to 10 signify awareness, while values greater than 10 signify a strong engagement with the topic. Engagement scores are deemed relevant and can be used to understand the level of engagement by the audience with the topic.

About SQREEM

SQREEM is the world's largest "behavioural pattern data aggregator" that collects, analyses, and creates a database of open data on the Internet using its own AI technology. Based on this technology, we provide data analysis and programmatic targeting services to more than 100 companies and government agencies across various industries. SQREEM has also been identified as one of Asia's fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times for two years running.

In 2021, the company introduced ONE Market, the world's first AI-enabled media exchange. ONE Market merges all of SQREEM's tech stack layers, delivering an optimised end-to-end solution that seamlessly connects the right audience with the right digital destination, when and where behaviours take place. ONE Market is purposefully designed as a plug and play platform to work directly into an agency's current workflow.

See the following link for more details.https://SQREEMtech.com

Cision

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Human Behavior

My Turn: On the power of sharing International Human Rights Day – The Recorder

We start by inquiring, What is a right? What makes a right human? How and why do we make the effort to conflate the two into a universal day of Human Rights?

A right is something is something we have earned during our life journey. Human Rights are, by their very terminology and definition, for all of us, regardless of circumstance and situation. Human rights are moral principles or norms for certain standards of human behavior and are regularly protected in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable, fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because they exist in the form of a human being. Human rights are inherent for all of us.

That these rights have been systemically and systematically ignored, overrun, over-turned, misused, and abused is beyond question over the nearly 250 years our country has in its history. The question that remains to us as we enter 2022 and celebrate this years International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), is: How does the world bring human rights to the forefront of all human endeavor? More and most importantly, what can we each of us, you and me do to install them into each day and each act of our existence?

Here, I pause as I wonder, What does it take to get genuine and authentic agreements, across peoples, places, and cultures, to create and sustain human rights as inalienable? At present, our nation and the world are highly dichotomized and hyper-charged, with a chasm wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon.

What has happened, I contemplate. As a developmental and intercultural psychologist, I have come to understand that there is a different breach at work the breach of open, honest, and civil discourse and communication. I observe that people have stopped listening and caring form one another when there is a diversity of opinion present. Without the patience, the poignancy and the respect to listen deeply for what lies underneath the surface of the days headlines, it becomes nearly impossible to build a community focused on seeking unity.

In our busy little city of Greenfield, we, too, have daily human rights challenges. Sadly, this has personally affected many of us, and our neighbors and colleagues lives in ways too many of us just dont see or experience.

At the same time, we are fortunate to have written right into the essence of our City Charter that there is a standing statute that affords all of us a voice and a place to advocate for our human rights: the Greenfield Human Rights Commission.

As the current chairperson of this group, I know that many people dont know much about us. We are currently composed of seven individuals who are steadfastly committed to bridging the gap in our services, attitudes, systems and activities when they do not promote equity throughout our diverse community.

Rest assured, those involved and those wishing to be involved want to know that our your needs and wants are being respected and held with equanimity. And, we are actively seeking two more commissioners.

If you are interested in serving on our Greenfield Human Rights Commission or know someone in Greenfield who might be or are just curious about who we are and what we are doing our meetings are generally held on the second Monday of each month. All are welcome, as is each and every voice. Dates, times, and further information are supplied on the citys Website approximately three days before each meeting is held.

In the ordinariness of everyday life, I can and do commit to all of the following to exercise and strengthen my and our human rights:

I will willfully engage in holding others accountable for jokes, slights, and stereotypes and interrupt them.

I will greet each person kindfully and with respect as though they are an intimate friend.

I will seek the goodness out in each person and each interaction I have and appreciate them.

I will look for opportunities to bring people with differences of opinion and perspective together so that they will listen and hear one another out.

I will use the worlds best-ever question, Is there more? to aid in gaining deeper insight and understanding.

And, I will ask myself, What else can I do on a daily and moment-by-moment basis?

On this International Day of Human Rights, it will help our friendship circles, professional and working relationships, and our community if we each take a moment to consider how each of us can be more active and engaged in the dynamic interplay of human relations to build an ever-strengthening network of human rights, and what is right about being human.

Daniel Cantor Yalowitz, Ed.D., chairs the Greenfield Human Rights Commission.

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My Turn: On the power of sharing International Human Rights Day - The Recorder

Human Behavior

Plant-based meat isn’t perfect, but it is a form of harm reduction – Fast Company

Its been several years since the newest wave of plant-based meat, made by leading companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, made its debut. Nowadays, you can get a vegan burger or taco at major fast-food chains. Even your staunchly omnivorous dad might throw a plant-based patty on the grill. Techy plant-based meat has penetrated industry and culture in a way that would have been unthinkable to vegetarians and vegans even a decade ago.

But as with any wave of change, plant-based meat has been the subject of some healthy criticism, particularly from the perspective of nutrition. Its no secret that these legume-derived, highly processed patties arent a diet food: By design, they have comparable caloric values, as well as fat and protein contents, as an equivalent serving of beef. And while many nutritionists agree that a Beyond or Impossible patty is a better choice than actual red meat, some detractors urge health-conscious eaters to opt instead for more traditional veggie burgers made with whole legumes and grains.

Heres the thing: Some people just wont. Black-bean and other veggie burgers, as we know them, have been around for decades, and despite the obvious health advantages they have over animal-based meatgenerally fewer calories, less saturated fat, no cholesterolnot everyone has come around. For some, the new-wave, realistically meat-like plant-based burgers are the first and only alternative to classic beef that they will accept. Taste preferences and tradition are hard to overcome, obviously. If not, salads would be the classic American dish, not burgers, and we probably wouldnt have much of a processed-food industry at all.

When health leaders and influencers urge people to eschew Beyond and Impossible meat and their ilk for an entirely whole food plant-based diet, theyre ignoring the realities of human behavior. Weve seen this line of thinking before, especially in public-health policy. Its been almost 40 years since First Lady Nancy Reagan told American children to just say no to drugs; abstinence-only sex education advocates ask teens to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STI transmission by avoiding sex altogether. Surprise, surprise: In both cases, theres overwhelming evidence that these moral appeals just dont work.

Askingor demandingthat anyone having premarital sex or abusing a substance simply stop doing it completely ignores the basic principles of human behavior and science of addiction. And if the only intervention being made is telling children to just never engage in the behavior in question, youre essentially giving up on aiding, informing, or empowering the huge swaths of the population who are unable or unwilling to follow the flat abstinence directives.

The tactic is to avoid unwanted outcomes by wholly discouraging behavior that carries risk. I see this paralleled whenever someone advocates for a diet consisting entirely of whole, unprocessed foods. Sure, meat is bad for you, but plant-based burgers are only marginally healthier and should be avoided too, or so the argument goes.

But if youre only interested in reaching those who are willing and able to make a full dietary change, youre giving up hope on changing the behaviors of anyone else. And no matter how reprehensible you or I might find the practices of industrial-animal agriculture or eating loads of factory-farmed meat, to the rest of those peoplewhich is to say, most of the populationit matters. To treat them as lost causes is not only moralistic and judgmental, it does nothing to address the real issues at stake: public health, the suffering of animals, and the health of the planet.

In more recent years, figures in public health have embraced harm reduction as a better solution to the problems caused by drug use and teenage sex. We dont know any way to cure society of addiction and transmissible diseases overnight. But there are actions our governments can take, and are taking, to minimize overdoses, to reduce rates of HIV and hepatitis infection, to mitigate teen pregnancy, and to prevent all sorts of associated issues, ranging from poverty and hunger to public safety. And evidence shows that, unlike, say, the costly decades-long D.A.R.E. project, harm reduction strategieslike clean needle exchanges and naloxone trainingactually work. Providing resources and education without making judgments or unrealistic demands of people just works better than any abstinence-based approach.

I see plant-based meat as a form of harm reduction, both for our health and that of the world around us. No matter how much time and money you spend, youre not going to convert everyone to a diet of nuts, seeds, fruits, and veggies. If swapping a beef burger for a vegan one every so often is the only intervention a person is willing or able to make, fine. At the very least, theyre saving themselves the cholesterol, heart disease, and stroke risks associated with eating too much red meat. Theyre also sparing the environment at least 10 pounds of CO2 emissions, 150 gallons of water, and 50 square feet of land per burger as compared to traditional beef.

Public health agencies have begun to accept the reality that an all-or-nothing approach to risky behavior wont put an end to it, but harm reduction strategies can create real, material benefits to the health and safety of a community. Its time for advocates of veganism to accept this principle as well. Big Techs plant-based meat certainly isnt without its drawbacks, both for us and the environment. But its still an improvement. And with the ticking clock of climate change looming over us, we cant afford not to take advantage of every tool at our disposal. Perfection is unattainable, but progress is not.

Brian Kateman is cofounder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy to create a healthy, sustainable, and compassionate world. Kateman is the editor ofThe Reducetarian Cookbook(Hachette Book Group: September 18, 2018) andThe Reducetarian Solution(Penguin Random House: April 18, 2017).

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Plant-based meat isn't perfect, but it is a form of harm reduction - Fast Company