Daily Archives: June 24, 2020

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio has been monitoring the precision medicine software market and it is poised to grow by USD 882.65 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of about 11% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the growth of various industries, the immediate impact of the outbreak is varied. While a few industries will register a drop in demand, numerous others will continue to remain unscathed and show promising growth opportunities. Technavios in-depth research has all your needs covered as our research reports include all foreseeable market scenarios, including pre- & post-COVID-19 analysis. Download a Free Sample Report

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Fabric Genomics Inc., Gene42 Inc., Human Longevity Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Koninklijke Philips NV, NantHealth Inc., Roper Technologies Inc., SOPHiA GENETICS SA, and Syapse Inc. are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

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The benefits of precision medicine has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Technavio's custom research reports offer detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 at an industry level, a regional level, and subsequent supply chain operations. This customized report will also help clients keep up with new product launches in direct & indirect COVID-19 related markets, upcoming vaccines and pipeline analysis, and significant developments in vendor operations and government regulations. https://www.technavio.com/report/report/precision-medicine-software-market-industry-analysis

Precision Medicine Software Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Precision Medicine Software Market is segmented as below:

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Precision Medicine Software Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The precision medicine software market report covers the following areas:

This study identifies the digitization of healthcare as one of the prime reasons driving the precision medicine software market growth during the next few years.

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Precision Medicine Software Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

Table of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY DELIVERY MODE

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

PART 14: APPENDIX

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Assessment of COVID-19's Effect on Precision Medicine Software Market 2020-2024 | Benefits of Precision Medicine to Augment Growth | Technavio -...

Dying of Whiteness (Basic Books)

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing Americas Heartland, by Jonathan Metzl, Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry and director of the Department of Medicine, Health and Society, has been awarded the 2020 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

The award was established in 1980 with the proceeds from Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.s best-selling biographyRobert Kennedy and His Timesto recognize a book each year that exemplifies Robert Kennedys values, concerns and legacy.

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Organization noted in its news release:The book offers an enlightening exploration of white identity politics and how the policies pitched to working-class white voters, promising to make white America great again, are actually making their lives sicker, harder and shorter as a result.

This sense of white identity politics was in some instances a more powerful driver than longevity or well-being for dictating how people behaved, Metzl said. In very pro-gun communities, what happened was that the people who were pushing for guns the most were also putting themselves at the highest risk because most gun deaths are gun suicides. Certain people we spoke to had tremendous medical need but at the same time they were going to reject the possibility of getting this health insurance, not because they didnt need it medically or financiallythey definitely didbut because of this bigger ideology about politics.

The award was announced during a nationally televised ceremony.

More:
Metzls Dying of Whiteness honored with RFK Book Award - Vanderbilt University News

You will get latest updated report as per the COVID-19 Impact on this industry. Our updated reports will now feature detailed analysis that will help you make critical decisions.

The Global Precision Medicine Software Market is expected to grow by 2025 at a CAGR of 12.53%.

Rising prevalence of cancer across the world will significantly enhancement the market development within the forthcoming years. Increasing usage of biomarkers for personalized medicine cancer therapy and advancements within the next generation sequencing further propels the precision medicine market evolution positively. Growing prevalence of chronic and rare diseases propel the necessity to grow technologically advanced tools for rapid integration and analysis of patient data. The bioinformatics system assists in translation of knowledge to form effective clinical solutions. Henceforth, the increasing amount of knowledge within the healthcare system will boost the demand for bioinformatics, enhancing the precision medicine market demand. The event of bioinformatics solutions and software will propel immunotherapy development and enhance microbiome analysis thereby, advancing the sector of precision medicine. Additionally, the event of high throughput technologies like next generation sequencing and microarray will pave the way for bioinformatics market growth which will further drive the market demand within the upcoming years.

Browse Full Report here: https://www.marketresearchengine.com/precision-medicine-software-market

The global Precision Medicine Software market is segregated on the basis of Application as Rare Diseases, Pharmacogenomics, Oncology, and Other Applications. Based on End User the global Precision Medicine Software market is segmented in Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, Research Centers and Government Institutes, Healthcare Providers, and Other End Users. Based on Delivery Mode the global Precision Medicine Software market is segmented in Cloud-Based Delivery Mode and On-Premise Delivery Mode.

The global Precision Medicine Software market report provides geographic analysis covering regions, such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World. The Precision Medicine Software market for each region is further segmented for major countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, China, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, and others.

Competitive Rivalry

Human Longevity Inc, Translational Software Inc, Sunquest Information Systems Inc, Gene42 Inc, Lifeomic Health LLC , Syapse Inc, 2bprecise LLC, Fabric Genomics Inc, Foundation Medicine Inc, Sophia Genetics Sa, and others are among the major players in the global Precision Medicine Software market. The companies are involved in several growth and expansion strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Industry participants also follow value chain integration with business operations in multiple stages of the value chain.

The Precision Medicine Software Market has been segmented as below:

Precision Medicine Software Market, By Application

Precision Medicine Software Market, By End User

Precision Medicine Software Market, By Delivery Mode

Precision Medicine Software Market, By Region

Precision Medicine Software Market, By Company

The report covers:

Report Scope:

The global Precision Medicine Software market report scope includes detailed study covering underlying factors influencing the industry trends.

The report covers analysis on regional and country level market dynamics. The scope also covers competitive overview providing company market shares along with company profiles for major revenue contributing companies.

The report scope includes detailed competitive outlook covering market shares and profiles key participants in the global Precision Medicine Software market share. Major industry players with significant revenue share include Human Longevity Inc, Translational Software Inc, Sunquest Information Systems Inc, Gene42 Inc, Lifeomic Health LLC , Syapse Inc, 2bprecise LLC, Fabric Genomics Inc, Foundation Medicine Inc, Sophia Genetics Sa, and others.

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Customization

Customized report as per the requirement can be offered with appropriate recommendations

Request Sample Report here: https://www.marketresearchengine.com/precision-medicine-software-market

Table of Contents:

1.1 Key Insights

1.2 Report Overview

1.3 Markets Covered

1.4 Stakeholders

2.1 Research Scope

2.2 Market Research Process

2.3 Research Data Analysis

2.4.1 Secondary Research

2.4.2 Primary Research

2.4.3 Models for Estimation

2.5 Market Size Estimation

2.5.1 Bottom-Up Approach Segmental Market Analysis

2.5.2 Top-Down Approach Parent Market Analysis

4.1 Introduction

4.2.1 Drivers

4.2.2 Restraints

4.2.3 Opportunities

4.2.4 Challenges

4.2 Porters Five Force Analysis

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Rare Diseases

5.2.1 Market Overview

5.2.2 Market Size and Forecast

5.3 Pharmacogenomics

5.3.1 Market Overview

5.3.2 Market Size and Forecast

5.4 Oncology

5.4.1 Market Overview

5.4.2 Market Size and Forecast

5.5 Other Applications

5.5.1 Market Overview

5.5.2 Market Size and Forecast

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

6.2.1 Market Overview

6.2.2 Market Size and Forecast

6.3 Research Centers and Government Institutes

6.3.1 Market Overview

6.3.2 Market Size and Forecast

6.4 Healthcare Providers

6.4.1 Market Overview

6.4.2 Market Size and Forecast

6.5 Other End Users

6.5.1 Market Overview

6.5.2 Market Size and Forecast

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Cloud-Based Delivery Mode

7.2.1 Market Overview

7.2.2 Market Size and Forecast

7.3 On-Premise Delivery Mode

7.3.1 Market Overview

7.3.2 Market Size and Forecast

8.1 Introduction

8.2 North America

8.2.1 North America Precision Medicine Software, By Application

8.2.2 North America Precision Medicine Software, By End User

8.2.3 North America Precision Medicine Software, By Delivery Mode

8.3 Europe

8.3.1 Europe Precision Medicine Software, By Application

8.3.2 Europe Precision Medicine Software, By End User

8.3.3 Europe Precision Medicine Software, By Delivery Mode

8.4 Asia-Pacific

8.4.1 Asia-Pacific Precision Medicine Software, By Application

8.4.2 Asia-Pacific Precision Medicine Software, By End User

8.4.3 Asia-Pacific Precision Medicine Software, By Delivery Mode

8.5 Rest of the World

8.5.1 Rest of the World Precision Medicine Software, By Application

8.5.2 Rest of the World Precision Medicine Software, By End User

8.5.3 Rest of the World Precision Medicine Software, By Delivery Mode

9.1 Key Insights

9.2 Company Market Share Analysis

9.3 Strategic Outlook

9.3.1 Mergers & Acquisitions

9.3.2 New Product Development

9.3.3 Portfolio/Production Capacity Expansions

9.3.4 Joint Ventures, Collaborations, Partnerships & Agreements

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Precision Medicine Software Market 2020: Challenges, Growth, Types, Applications, Revenue, Insights, Growth Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Forecast-...

The study of the intestinal microbiota is important not only for specialists in the field of medicine

The condition of the human body is closely associated with microorganisms this thesis in recent years has become particularly relevant. There is growing interest in studying the role of microbiota in the development of various diseases and also investigated the use of probiotics to prevent diseases, restore health and increase the longevity of active life.

Let us consider, what is it microbiota, what role it plays in maintaining health and longevity, as well as to know the opinion of Professor, doctor of medical Sciences Oleg Shadrina G., President of the Association, Executive Board member, head of the Department of nutrition and somatic diseases of children of early age Institute of Pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology NAMS of Ukraine.

Professor, doctor of medical Sciences Oleg Shadrin

Our body is home to a huge variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast and protozoa. They form a community of microbiota. Its particular microbiota inhabited every system of our bodies gut, skin, urinary system, vagina, respiratory tract, ENT organs.

The most extensive it is estimated about 100 trillion microorganisms the microbiota. It performs many important functions, to name just a few. Intestinal microflora AIDS in digestion, involved in the synthesis of essential fatty acids, vitamins, hormones, antioxidants. It protects the intestinal cells, performs detoxification and anti-carcinogenic functions, supports the activity of the immune system and inhibits allergic reactions. The balance of the gut microbiota a key to health and longevity.

The balance between the microorganisms of the intestines is of fundamental importance to human health. Various diseases, infections, medications, stress, changes in environment and diet can upset the balance of the microbiota, says Oleg Shadrin. Dysbiosis, i.e. an imbalance of microbiota can lead to the development of not only diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, but also allergic reactions, diseases of metabolism, skin, musculoskeletal, nervous and respiratory systems.

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It should be noted that the partnership of the microorganisms in the gut begins at birth. The childs body colonized by the flora of the mother as it passes through the birth canal, and breastfeeding promotes growth of beneficial microflora. Therefore, the microbiota of infants born by caesarean section or undergoing artificial feeding, greatly different in composition and less diverse than the children, going naturally.

Today, there is evidence of a programming effect of the microbiota in the childs long-term health, including in the adult age, says the Professor.

To maintain balance in the gut microbiota, it is important to conduct a correct lifestyle, and eating variety of foods.

Gut microbiota of a healthy person depends largely on the nature of food and food habits. Improve intestinal ecology plant foods fruits and vegetables and fermented dairy products, says the doctor of medical Sciences.

If the balance of microbiota is disturbed, to restore it possibly affecting the number and diversity of microorganisms. Positively affect the microbiota probiotics. Oleg G. Shadrin explained that it is probiotics:

Currently, in medical literature, most authors refer to the recommendations of the world organization of gastroenterologists, according to which probiotics are live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts have a positive effect on the health of the owner. This effect can be both local and systemic. Modern technologies allow the use of probiotics for the correction of microbiota; prevention and treatment of diarrhea especially occurs with antibiotic treatment, prevention and treatment of allergic diseases, intestinal diseases, and so forth.

Interest in the role of the microbiota in maintaining health and longevity is growing every year as experts in the field of medicine, and those who care about the quality of their lives. All currently available knowledge on the subject, including his extensive experience, gathered at the first major international platform Institute of microbiota Biocodex. In late may, he joined forces in the study of the microbiota with the world gastroenterology organisation (WGO). The platform helps lay the Foundation for extensive research and accurate network data on the microbiota, which will allow patients and medical workers to learn about the most important achievements in this field, and thus, will provide new opportunities to strengthen our health.

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Microbiota: what you need to know about it to be healthy - The Times Hub

June 24, 2020Timothy Prickett Morgan

You didnt actually think that we would have forgotten that Sunday, June 21st, was the 32nd birthday of the Application System/400, did you? Of course we didnt forget.

It was also Fathers Day and the first day of summer, and to be perfectly frank (Soltis), I got a new smoker from my wife and I spent the afternoon learning about the joys of hickory smoked barbeque ribs. It is a gift that just keeps giving, because I made about 40 pounds of meat in various kinds and flavors because I needed to try everything all at once. Like a certain machine we know that can do just about anything.

As a man of a certain age, whose career nearly perfectly overlaps with the AS/400 and its progeny, I feel a certain kinship to the platform the machine, or rather the system, that taught me the true meaning of the word platform and to the many, many thousands of you who are faithful readers of The Four Hundred and who feel the same way I do, although many of you date back to the System/36 and even the System/38. More than a handful of you can go back to the System/3. I bow to your longevity and am inspired by it.

Aging is a funny thing, and the lesson of the System/38 to the AS/400, with the System/36 carved into its brain in emulation mode, to the AS/400e (remember that one?) to the iSeries to the System i to the Power Systems running IBM i, is that you can change the name but that doesnt affect the underlying flexibility of the system we all love one bit. This machine is truly the last of its kind still standing, and it has done what customers have needed it to do for more than three decades. This is an accomplishment in a world where companies change platforms every decade or so. As I have said before on these occasions, we have to accept the changes, absorb them as we can and learn from them, but it is the things that persist that matter as much. It is very hard to strike a balance between being always modern and yet embodying and supporting history. It takes not just IBM, but the entire ecosystem of software tool makers, programmers, and continued investments by IBM i shops to make this all happen. And I can tell you that we here at IT Jungle are deeply and emotionally grateful that we are part of this absolutely unique ecosystem.

We have played in many different parts of the IT sector, and continue to do so because we have to as a way to earn our keeps, but we have never heard of any community like the AS/400 through IBM i community. And despite the difficulties over the decades too numerous to rattle off in what amounts to a long birthday card to the platform we are still proud of we remain firmly committed to doing our job in this ecosystem. We dont owe that to IBM, by the way. We owe that to you, the IBM i shops who have taught us so much and who we have served for so long.

It is our pleasure to serve. And we serve at your pleasure. Without you, none of this works.

It is funny to contemplate how old the AS/400 is, as if it was a dog with a limited life span compared to humans. Data processing and storage architectures are like that they have dog years, and like I said, tend to last about a decade out there in the world. So like a dog, every year translates into something like six or seven or eight human years. So, in that regard, the AS/400 is something like 224 years old, and the IBM mainframe is nearly 400 years old. This is some Old Testament-class aging, right there.

But a machine is only as old as the applications it feels, to paraphrase a funny adage no longer politically correct from Groucho Marx, which is itself a twist on an old phrase: Youre only as old as you feel.

Most days, I do not feel my age and to be frank (Soltis, again), I have felt 35 most of my life and I am good with that. At this point, with kids ranging in age between 20 and 2, I have no choice but to be 38 and thats my age and I am sticking with it. In this, the AS/400 and me are kin.

So happy birthday, old friend. Er, I mean, young whippersnapper. Or maybe a little of both. And there is nothing at all wrong with that.

Tags: Tags: Application System/400, AS/400, AS/400e, IBM i, iSeries, Power Systems, System i, System/36, System/38

IBMiUnit Moves RPG Unit Testing Forward

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You're Only As Old As The Applications You Feel - IT Jungle

Differences in the rate that germline mutations accumulate in healthy young adults could help predict relative lifespan in both sexes and the remaining years of fertility in women, according to the results of research by scientists at the University of Utah (U of U) Health. Their study, believed to be the first of its kind, found that young adults who acquired fewer mutations over time lived about five years longer than those who acquired mutations more rapidly. The researchers suggest that the discovery could eventually lead to the development of interventions that may help to slow the aging process.

If the results from this small study are validated by other independent research, it would have tremendous implications, commented Lynn B. Jorde, PhD, chair of the department of human genetics at U of U Health and a co-author of the study, which is published inScientific Reports. It would mean that we could possibly find ways to fix ourselves and live longer and better lives. Jorde and colleagues reported their findings in a paper titled, Germline mutation rates in young adults predict longevity and reproductive lifespan.

Scientists have long known that DNA damage occurs continually in the body. There are various mechanisms that typically repair this damage and prevent potentially harmful mutations, the authors explained. However, as we get older, these mechanisms become less efficient, and so more mutations accumulate. And, as the investigators pointed out, several classes of DNA damage are known to accumulate through adulthood in both sexes, though at higher rates in men. Older parents, for instance, tend to pass on more genetic mutations through their germline (egg and sperm) to their children, than do younger parents.

The somatic theory of aging proposes that somatic mutations accumulating through life result in cell apoptosis, senescence, and tumorigenesis, or other cell pathologies, which lead to tissue dysfunction, chronic diseases, and death. There do remain a number of questions, however, the authors noted. One of these is how early in life might levels of mutation accumulation predict remaining longevity. Another question is whether levels of mutation accumulation early in life can predict reproductive lifespan. And also, do somatic and germline mutation accumulation rates rise after puberty? This would be predicted by the evolutionary biology principle that the force of natural selection to maintain robust health should begin to decline once the reproductive phase of life is attained, the investigators commented.

Headed by Richard Cawthon, MD, PhD, a U of U associate professor of human genetics, the researchers theorized that accumulated mutations could be a biomarker for rates of aging and potentially predict lifespan in younger individuals as well as fertility in women. To investigate this in more detail the team sequenced DNA from 61 men and 61 women who were grandparents in 41 three-generational families. The families were part of the Centre dEtude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) consortium, which was central to many key investigations that have contributed toward a modern understanding of human genetics.

Germline mutations are passed onto offspring, so the researchers analyzed blood DNA sequences in trios consisting of pairs of grandparents from the first generation and one of their children from the second generation. Mutations found in the childs blood DNA that were not present in either parents blood DNA were inferred to have originated in the parents germlines. The researchers were then able to determine which parent each germline mutation came from, and, therefore, the number of such mutations each parent had accumulated in egg or sperm by the time of conception of the child.

With this knowledge, the researchers were able to compare each first-generation parent to others of the same sex, and estimate their rate of aging. So, compared to a 32-year-old man with 75 mutations, we would expect a 40-year-old with the same number of mutations to be aging more slowly, Cawthon explained. Wed expect him to die at an older age than the age at which the 32-year-old dies.

When the scientists analyzed their data they found that mutations began to occur at an accelerating rate during or soon after puberty, suggesting that aging begins in our teens. The study results also found that some young adults acquired mutations at up to three times the rate of others. Our data suggest that germline mutation accumulation rates in young adults may be a measure of the rate of aging, they wrote. these data suggest that the rate of aging may vary 3-fold between young adults.

After adjusting for age, the researchers determined that individuals with the slowest rates of mutation accumulation were likely to live about five years longer than those who accumulated mutations more rapidly. This is a difference comparable to the effects of smoking or lack of physical activity, according to Cawthon. Women with the highest mutation rates also had significantly fewer live births than other women and were more likely to be younger when they gave birth to their last child. This suggested that high rates of mutation affected their fertility.

Here we have shown that lower sex- and parental-age-adjusted germline mutation rates in young adults are associated with lower all-cause mortality for both sexes, and more liveborn children and older age at last birth for the women, the authors concluded. Together, these observations support the hypothesis that aging begins at or soon after puberty, due to a decline in the force of natural selection to maintain robust health once the reproductive phase of life is attained.

Added Cawthon, The ability to determine when aging starts, how long women can stay fertile, and how long people can live is an exciting possibility. If we can get to a point where we better understand what sort of developmental biology affecting mutation rates is happening during puberty, then we should be able to develop medical interventions to restore DNA repair and other homeostatic mechanisms back to what they were before puberty. If we could do that, its possible people could live and stay healthy much longer.

The authors further suggested how the new knowledge might be used to benefit health. Interventions in adults directed toward returning mutation accumulation rates to the negligible or very low levels that may be present prepubertally would be expected to have broad benefits, greatly lowering the risks for multiple aging-related diseases and dramatically extending the human healthspan, they wrote. Perhaps a relatively small number of genes that are master regulators of gene networks maintaining genome stability and homeostasis generally are downregulated at puberty, but can be reprogrammed or otherwise coaxed back to their prepubertal levels of activity by a combination of lifestyle, dietary, and/or pharmacological interventions.

Excerpt from:
Germline Mutation Rate in Healthy Young Adults Predictive of Fertility, Lifespan - Clinical OMICs News

Though it is often described as the smallest of Japans main islands, Okinawa is better thought of as the largest of a culturally distinct set of islands: the Ryukyu islands, which stretch from Kyushu all the way to Taiwan. Characterized by their spectacular coral reefs and tropical rainforest climate, the kingdom of the indigenous Ryukyu people was an independent state until the early 17th century, when it was invaded and colonized by Japan. And it was only in 1879 that the islands were fully integrated into Japan itself.

Members of Slow Food Ryukyu at Indigenous Terra Madre in Ainu Mosir, 2019

Slow Food activist Shogo Manna collecting food for redistribution as part of the Masamun Rescue project

Okinawa is also home to a thriving Slow Food community, which shouldnt come as a surprise, as the traditional Okinawa dietlots of vegetables, little meat, low in grains and sugar and almost no dairyhas contributed to the exception longevity of the islands, which have the highest life expectancy in the world. Talk about living Slow! Its also home to two of our most dedicated Slow Food activists in Japan: Remi Ie, the Director of Slow Food International Japan, and Dai Kitabayashi, one of the members of the Advisory Board for the Indigenous Terra Madre network.

So far, the isolation of Okinawa has also meant that there have been significantly few cases of Covid-19 here (around 150 at time of writing, and 7 deaths) compared to Japan as a whole (over 17,000 cases and 950 deaths). But that could all change if tourists from the rest of Japan flock to Okinawa for their summer holidays, something Okinawas local government is trying to avoid. Its a similar conundrum as weve seen in Europe, where economies that are heavily reliant on tourism have to weigh a healthcare emergency against the solvency of local businesses.

We havent had a real lockdown, Dai tells me. But most of the restaurants and hotels decided to close anyway, or switch to take-out, so the idea of tourism is somewhat redundant at the moment. Nonetheless, this self-imposed shutdown has had a major impact on the local food system. There was so much food going to waste, from farms to restaurants, so we decided to start a campaign to highlight the foods which are most at risk.

The Masamun (Delicious Food) Rescue project bears similarities to other Slow Food initiatives which have sprouted like spring flowers all over the world, born out of necessity in this radically-transformed reality. This is a group that connects producers with unsold items due to the influence of Covid with people that want to support those producers. While our economy is largely based on tourism, lots of food producers are facing severe difficulties and we aim to do what we can to alleviate the situation as a local community. The group has over 500 members so far and has ensured that lots of products have been sold out rather than being thrown out.

Dai Kitabayashi speaking at Indigenous Terra Madre in Ainu Mosir, 2019

The way it works is straightforward: producers post their unsold items with photos, price and location, and group members contact them directly for pick-up or delivery. It seems so simple, yet it took a pandemic to push communities to act decisively to facilitate these direct producer-to-consumer relationships. The objective for Slow Food both in Okinawa and around the world must be to ensure these direct relationships survive and thrive beyond the current Covid emergency: because this is precisely the sort of action which Slow Food has been advocating for over 30 years: to cut out the corporate middleman!

In another move reminiscent of Slow Food Youth Networks Disco Soup Days, members of Slow Food Ryukyu with restaurants are adapting their take-out menus to incorporate vegetables which would otherwise go to waste. As Dai explains: In this society-shaking situation, the questions of good, clean, fair food are clearly manifested in front of our eyes. The power of information and our ability to share and react quickly has been vital, as we knew there was a lot of deliciousness to lose! And so weve come together as a community, as people who support the delicious. Thats what this is all about.

The Masamun (Delicious Food) Rescue Project

info.eventi@slowfood.it

Today, June 23, also marks Okinawa Memorial Day ( Irei no Hi), commemorating the end of the Battle of Okinawa in World War 2, where over 240,000 people lost their lives. The island was returned to Japanese control in 1971, but retains a large American military presence to this day.

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Rescuing the Delicious on Okinawa - Slow food