Food insecurity linked to higher health care expenditures, study shows
URBANA, Ill. – Food insecurity is emerging as a serious health care issue in the United States. One in eight Americans is food insecure, which may lead to a range of serious health conditions. A new study looks at the relation between food insecurity and health care expenditures across the country.
Human waste an asset to economy, environment, study finds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Human waste might be an unpleasant public health burden, but scientists at the University of Illinois see sanitation as a valuable facet of global ecosystems and an overlooked source of nutrients, organic material and water. Their research is reported in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Food insecurity crisis prediction can be greatly improved with real-time data, study shows.
URBANA, Ill. – When international aid organizations respond to hunger crises around the world, they rely on food security early warning and monitoring systems. However, assessments from those systems can lag months behind the actual situation on the ground.
More accurate and timely warnings could greatly improve the global response to food crisis and help alleviate acute problems, according to a team of agricultural economists at the University of Illinois, working in collaboration with the University of Texas, Austin.
Livestock transfer programs in Zambia can alleviate poverty, but the effects may not last for all households, U of I study shows
When poor households in developing countries receive assistance in the form of livestock, they experience an infusion of assets that may bring them out of poverty in the short term. But do these effects last over time, changing the households’ likelihood of being poor in the future?
University of Illinois researcher leads $1 million grant to reduce food insecurity
URBANA, Ill. – Millions of Americans struggle with food insecurity.
Corn ethanol production has minimal effect on cropland use, study shows
URBANA, Ill. – Ethanol production has increased sharply in the United States in the past 10 years, leading to concerns about the expansion of demand for corn resulting in conversion of non-cropland to crop production and the environmental effects of this. However, a new study co-authored by a University of Illinois researcher shows that the overall effects of ethanol production on land-use have been minimal.
Weekly Outlook: Sell the rumor? Trade negotiations and soybean prices
URBANA, Ill. - A recent rally in soybean prices rested on the potential for a trade deal between the United States and China. A few rallies occurred since the escalation of trade issues between the U.S. and China in June. According to University of Illinois agricultural economist Todd Hubbs, the question becomes should one sell on rallies associated with trade negotiations.
“An analysis of current projections of supply and foreign consumption along with a discussion of recent developments in soybean exports may help in this decision,” Hubbs explains.
Weekly Outlook: Corn prices show lackluster response to smaller crop
URBANA, Ill. - The USDA reports released on Nov. 8 contained a lower corn yield, significant revisions to Chinese corn data, and a downward revision of some major corn consumption categories. Corn prices failed to respond despite the smaller crop size projection, explains University of Illinois agricultural economist Todd Hubbs.