The Gaza Strip − why the history of the densely populated enclave is key to understanding the current conflict

Destruction from the latest siege of Gaza. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Maha Nassar, University of Arizona

The focus on conflict in the Middle East has again returned to the Gaza Strip, with Israel’s defense minister ordering a “complete siege” of the Palestinian enclave.

The military operation, which involves extensive bombing of residences, follows a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel from Gaza and killed around 1,200 Israelis. In reprisal airstrikes, the Israel military has killed over 1,400 Gazans. And that figure could escalate in the coming days. Meanwhile, an order to cut off all food, electricity and water to Gaza will only worsen the plight of residents in what has been called the “world’s largest open-air prison.”

But how did Gaza become one of the most densely populated parts of the planet? And why is it the home to militant Palestinian action now? As a scholar of Palestinian history, I believe understanding the answers to those questions provides crucial historical context to the current violence.

A brief history of Gaza

The Gaza Strip is a narrow piece of land on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C., it is wedged between Israel to its north and east and Egypt to its south.

An ancient trade and sea port, Gaza has long been part of the geographic region known as Palestine. By the early 20th century, it was mainly inhabited by Muslim and Christian Arabs who lived under Ottoman rule. When Britain took control of Palestine following World War I, intellectuals in Gaza joined the emergent Palestinian national movement.

During the 1948 war that established the state of Israel, the Israeli military bombed 29 villages in southern Palestine, leading tens of thousands of villagers to flee to the Gaza Strip, under the control of the Egyptian army that were deployed after Israel declared independence. Most of them and their descendants remain there today.

Following the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the Gaza Strip came under Israeli military occupation. The occupation has resulted in “systematic human rights violations,” according to rights group Amnesty International, including forcing people off their land, destroying homes and crushing even nonviolent forms of political dissent.

Palestinians staged two major uprisings, in 1987-1991 and in 2000-2005, hoping to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant group centered in Gaza, was founded in 1988 to fight against the Israeli occupation. Hamas and other militant groups launched repeated attacks on Israeli targets in Gaza, leading to Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. In 2006, Palestinian legislative elections were held. Hamas beat its secular rival, Fatah, which had been widely accused of corruption. Elections haven’t been held in Gaza since 2006, but polling from March 2023 found that 45% of Gazans would back Hamas should there be a vote, ahead of Fatah at 32%.

After a brief conflict between Hamas and Fatah militants in May 2007, Hamas took complete control of the Gaza Strip. Since then, Gaza has been under the administrative control of Hamas, even though it is still considered to be under Israeli occupation by the United Nations, the U.S. State Department and other international bodies.

Who are the Palestinians of Gaza?

The more than 2 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are part of the 14 million-strong global Palestinian community. About one third of Gaza’s inhabitants trace their family’s roots to land inside the Gaza Strip. The remaining two-thirds are refugees from the 1948 war and their descendants, many of whom hail from towns and villages surrounding Gaza.

A freshly painted mural at the Shati camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Palestinians of Gaza trend young: nearly half the population is under 18. The enclave is also very poor, with a poverty rate that stands at 53%.

Despite this grim economic picture, education levels are quite high. Over 95% of Gazan children ages 6-12 are in school. The majority of Palestinian students in Gaza graduate from high school, and 57% of students at the prestigious Islamic University of Gaza are female.

But because of the circumstances of their surroundings, young Palestinians in Gaza find it difficult to live fulfilling lives. For graduates between the ages of 19 and 29, the unemployment rate stands at 70%. And a World Bank survey earlier this year found 71% of Gazans show signs of depression and high levels of PTSD.

There are several factors that contribute to these conditions. A major factor is the crippling, 16-year blockade that Israel and Egypt – with U.S. support – have imposed on Gaza.

Years of blockade

Shortly after the 2006 elections, the Bush administration tried to force Hamas from power and bring in a rival leader from the Fatah party who was considered friendlier to Israel and the U.S. Hamas preempted the coup and took full control of Gaza in May 2007. In response, Israel and Egypt – with U.S. and European support – closed the border crossings into and out of the Gaza Strip and imposed a land, air and sea blockade.

The blockade, which is still in effect, limits the import of food, fuel and construction material; limits how far Gaza’s fishermen can go out to sea; bans almost all exports; and imposes strict limitations on the movement of people into and out of Gaza. In 2023, Israel has allowed only around 50,000 people a month to exit Gaza, according to U.N. figures.

The years of closure have devastated the lives of Palestinians in Gaza. Inhabitants there don’t have enough water for drinking and sanitation. They face electricity cuts that run 12 to 18 hours each day. Without adequate water and electricity, Gaza’s fragile health care system is “on the brink of collapse,” according to the medical rights group Medical Aid for Palestine.

These restrictions hit the young and the weak of Gaza particularly hard. Israel routinely denies sick patients the permits they need to receive medical care outside of Gaza. Bright students with scholarships to study abroad often find that they are unable to leave.

U.N. experts say this blockade is illegal under international law. They argue that the blockade amounts to a collective punishment of the Palestinians of Gaza, a violation of the Hague Convention and the Geneva Conventions that form the backbone of international law.

No end to the suffering

Israel says that the blockade on Gaza is necessary to secure the safety of its population and will be lifted when Hamas renounces violence, recognizes Israel and abides by previous agreements.

But Hamas has consistently rejected this ultimatum. Instead, militant fighters stepped up the firing of homemade rockets and mortars into populated areas surrounding the Gaza Strip in 2008, seeking to pressure Israel to lift the blockade. They have sporadically attacked Israel in this way in the years since.

Israeli soldiers take up a position in Gaza in 1993. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Israel has launched four major military assaults on Gaza – in 2008-09, 2012, 2014 and 2021 – in efforts to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities. Those wars killed 4,000 Palestinians, more than half of whom were civilians, along with 106 people in Israel.

During that time, the U.N. estimates that there has been more than $5 billion worth of damage to Gaza’s homes, agriculture, industry, electricity and water infrastructure.

Each of those wars ended in a fragile cease-fire but no real resolution to the conflict. Israel seeks to deter Hamas from launching rockets. Hamas and other militant groups say that even when they have upheld previous cease-fires, Israel has continued to attack Palestinians and has refused to lift the blockade.

Hamas has offered a long-term truce in exchange for Israel ending the blockade on Gaza. Israel has refused to accept the offer, sticking to its position that Hamas must first end violence and recognize Israel.

In the months leading up to the latest escalation, conditions in Gaza have deteriorated even further. The International Monetary Fund reported in September that Gaza’s economic outlook “remains dire.” Conditions became more dire when Israel announced on Sept. 5, 2023, that it was halting all exports from a key Gaza border crossing.

Without an end in sight to the suffering caused by the blockade, it appears that Hamas has decided to upend the status quo in a surprise attack on Israelis, including civilians. Israel’s reprisal airstrikes and its imposition of a “complete siege” on the strip have heaped even further suffering on ordinary Gazans.

It is a tragic reminder that civilians bear the brunt of this conflict.

This article was updated on Oct 12, 2023 to reflect the change in casualty figures.

Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Quantum dots are part of a revolution in engineering atoms in useful ways – Nobel Prize for chemistry recognizes the power of nanotechnology

Flasks of quantum dots fluorescing at the Nobel Prize announcement. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University

The 2023 Nobel Prize for chemistry isn’t the first Nobel awarded for research in nanotechnology. But it is perhaps the most colorful application of the technology to be associated with the accolade.

This year’s prize recognizes Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov for the discovery and development of quantum dots. For many years, these precisely constructed nanometer-sized particles – just a few hundred thousandths the width of a human hair in diameter – were the darlings of nanotechnology pitches and presentations. As a researcher and adviser on nanotechnology, I’ve even used them myself when talking with developers, policymakers, advocacy groups and others about the promise and perils of the technology.

The origins of nanotechnology predate Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov’s work on quantum dots – the physicist Richard Feynman speculated on what could be possible through nanoscale engineering as early as 1959, and engineers like Erik Drexler were speculating about the possibilities of atomically precise manufacturing in the the 1980s. However, this year’s trio of Nobel laureates were part of the earliest wave of modern nanotechnology where researchers began putting breakthroughs in material science to practical use.

Quantum dots brilliantly fluoresce: They absorb one color of light and reemit it nearly instantaneously as another color. A vial of quantum dots, when illuminated with broad spectrum light, shines with a single vivid color. What makes them special, though, is that their color is determined by how large or small they are. Make them small and you get an intense blue. Make them larger, though still nanoscale, and the color shifts to red.

The wavelength of light a quantum dot emits depends on its size. Maysinger, Ji, Hutter, Cooper, CC BY

This property has led to many arresting images of rows of vials containing quantum dots of different sizes going from a striking blue on one end, through greens and oranges, to a vibrant red at the other. So eye-catching is this demonstration of the power of nanotechnology that, in the early 2000s, quantum dots became iconic of the strangeness and novelty of nanotechnology.

But, of course, quantum dots are more than a visually attractive parlor trick. They demonstrate that unique, controllable and useful interactions between matter and light can be achieved through engineering the physical form of matter – modifying the size, shape and structure of objects, for instance – rather than playing with the chemical bonds between atoms and molecules. The distinction is an important one, and it’s at the heart of modern nanotechnology.

Skip chemical bonds, rely on quantum physics

The wavelengths of light that a material absorbs, reflects or emits are usually determined by the chemical bonds that bind its constituent atoms together. Play with the chemistry of a material and it’s possible to fine-tune these bonds so that they give you the colors you want. For instance, some of the earliest dyes started with a clear substance such as aniline, transformed through chemical reactions to the desired hue.

It’s an effective way to work with light and color, but it also leads to products that fade over time as those bonds degrade. It also frequently involves using chemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment.

Quantum dots work differently. Rather than depending on chemical bonds to determine the wavelengths of light they absorb and emit, they rely on very small clusters of semiconducting materials. It’s the quantum physics of these clusters that then determines what wavelengths of light are emitted – and this in turn depends on how large or small the clusters are.

This ability to tune how a material behaves by simply changing its size is a game changer when it comes to the intensity and quality of light that quantum dots can produce, as well as their resistance to bleaching or fading, their novel uses and – if engineered smartly – their toxicity.

Of course, few materials are completely nontoxic, and quantum dots are no exception. Early quantum dots were often based on cadmium selenide for instance – the component materials of which are toxic. However, the potential toxicity of quantum dots needs to be balanced by the likelihood of release and exposure and how they compare with alternatives.

Quantum dots are now a normal part of many consumer items, including televisions. Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images

Since its earlier days, quantum dot technology has evolved in safety and usefulness and has found its way into an increasing number of products, from displays and lighting, to sensors, biomedical applications and more. In the process, some of their novelty has perhaps worn off. It can be hard to remember just how much of a quantum leap the technology is that’s being used to promote the latest generation of flashy TVs, for instance.

And yet, quantum dots are a pivotal part of a technology transition that’s revolutionizing how people work with atoms and molecules.

‘Base coding’ on an atomic level

In my book “Films from the Future: the Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies,” I write about the concept of “base coding.” The idea is simple: If people can manipulate the most basic code that defines the world we live in, we can begin to redesign and reengineer it.

This concept is intuitive when it comes to computing, where programmers use the “base code” of 1’s and 0’s, albeit through higher level languages. It also makes sense in biology, where scientists are becoming increasingly adept at reading and writing the base code of DNA and RNA – in this case, using the chemical bases adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine as their coding language.

This ability to work with base codes also extends to the material world. Here, the code is made up of atoms and molecules and how they are arranged in ways that lead to novel properties.

Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov’s work on quantum dots is a perfect example of this form of material-world base coding. By precisely forming small clusters of particular atoms into spherical “dots,” they were able to tap into novel quantum properties that would otherwise be inaccessible. Through their work they demonstrated the transformative power that comes through coding with atoms.

An example of ‘base coding’ using atoms to create a material with novel properties is a single molecule ‘nanocar’ crafted by chemists that can be controlled as it ‘drives’ over a surface. Alexis van Venrooy/Rice University, CC BY-ND

They paved the way for increasingly sophisticated nanoscale base coding that is now leading to products and applications that would not be possible without it. And they were part of the inspiration for a nanotechnology revolution that is continuing to this day. Reengineering the material world in these novel ways far transcends what can be achieved through more conventional technologies.

This possibility was captured in a 1999 U.S. National Science and Technology Council report with the title Nanotechnology: Shaping the World Atom by Atom. While it doesn’t explicitly mention quantum dots – an omission that I’m sure the authors are now kicking themselves over – it did capture just how transformative the ability to engineer materials at the atomic scale could be.

This atomic-level shaping of the world is exactly what Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov aspired to through their groundbreaking work. They were some of the first materials “base coders” as they used atomically precise engineering to harness the quantum physics of small particles – and the Nobel committee’s recognition of the significance of this is well deserved.

Andrew Maynard, Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions, Arizona State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system works well – here’s how Hamas got around it

Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system launches interceptor missiles to shoot down incoming missiles and rockets. Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images

Iain Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder

Because of its unique national security challenges, Israel has a long history of developing highly effective, state-of-the-art defense technologies and capabilities. A prime example of Israeli military strength is the Iron Dome air defense system, which has been widely touted as the world’s best defense against missiles and rockets.

However, on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel was caught off guard by a very large-scale missile attack by the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas. The group fired several thousand missiles at a number of targets across Israel, according to reports. While exact details are not available, it is clear that a significant number of the Hamas missiles penetrated the Israeli defenses, inflicting extensive damage and casualties.

I am an aerospace engineer who studies space and defense systems. There is a simple reason the Israeli defense strategy was not fully effective against the Hamas attack. To understand why, you first need to understand the basics of air defense systems.

Air defense: detect, decide, disable

An air defense system consists of three key components. First, there are radars to detect, identify and track incoming missiles. The range of these radars varies. Iron Dome’s radar is effective over distances of 2.5 to 43.5 miles (4 to 70 km), according to its manufacturer Raytheon. Once an object has been detected by the radar, it must be assessed to determine whether it is a threat. Information such as direction and speed are used to make this determination.

If an object is confirmed as a threat, Iron Dome operators continue to track the object by radar. Missile speeds vary considerably, but assuming a representative speed of 3,280 feet per second (1 km/s), the defense system has at most one minute to respond to an attack.

The fundamental elements of a missile defense system. Nguyen, Dang-An et al., CC BY-NC

The second major element of an air defense system is the battle control center. This component determines the appropriate way to engage a confirmed threat. It uses the continually updating radar information to determine the optimal response in terms of from where to fire interceptor missiles and how many to launch against an incoming missile.

The third major component is the interceptor missile itself. For Iron Dome, it is a supersonic missile with heat-seeking sensors. These sensors provide in-flight updates to the interceptor, allowing it to steer toward and close in on the threat. The interceptor uses a proximity fuse activated by a small radar to explode close to the incoming missile so that it does not have to hit it directly to disable it.

Limits of missile defenses

Israel has at least 10 Iron Dome batteries in operation, each containing 60 to 80 interceptor missiles. Each of those missiles costs about US$60,000. In previous attacks involving smaller numbers of missiles and rockets, Iron Dome was 90% effective against a range of threats.

So, why was the system less effective against the recent Hamas attacks?

It is a simple question of numbers. Hamas fired several thousand missiles, and Israel had less than a thousand interceptors in the field ready to counter them. Even if Iron Dome was 100% effective against the incoming threats, the very large number of the Hamas missiles meant some were going to get through.

The Hamas attacks illustrate very clearly that even the best air defense systems can be overwhelmed if they are overmatched by the number of threats they have to counter.

How Iron Dome works.

The Israeli missile defense has been built up over many years, with high levels of financial investment. How could Hamas afford to overwhelm it? Again, it all comes down to numbers. The missiles fired by Hamas cost about $600 each, and so they are about 100 times less expensive than the Iron Dome interceptors. The total cost to Israel of firing all of its interceptors is around $48 million. If Hamas fired 5,000 missiles, the cost would be only $3 million.

Thus, in a carefully planned and executed strategy, Hamas accumulated over time a large number of relatively inexpensive missiles that it knew would overwhelm the Iron Dome defensive capabilities. Unfortunately for Israel, the Hamas attack represents a very clear example of military asymmetry: a low-cost, less-capable approach was able to defeat a more expensive, high-technology system.

Future air defense systems

The Hamas attack will have repercussions for all of the world’s major military powers. It clearly illustrates the need for air defense systems that are much more effective in two important ways. First, there is the need for a much deeper arsenal of defensive weapons that can address very large numbers of missile threats. Second, the cost per defensive weapon needs to be reduced significantly.

This episode is likely to accelerate the development and deployment of directed energy air defense systems based on high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves. These devices are sometimes described as having an “infinite magazine,” because they have a relatively low cost per shot fired and can keep firing as long as they are supplied with electrical power.

Iain Boyd, Director, Center for National Security Initiatives, and Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Intelligence failure or not, the Israeli military was unprepared to respond to Hamas’ surprise attack

Israeli soldiers ride on a transport vehicle near Re'im, Israel, on Oct. 10, 2023. Marcus Yam/ Los Angeles Times

Liam Collins, United States Military Academy West Point

As the Israeli army has stepped up its counteroffensive into the Gaza Strip, questions remain on how the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was able to use bulldozers, hang gliders and motorbikes to conduct the largest attack in 50 years against the most powerful military in the Middle East.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, around 6:30 a.m. local time, Hamas launched upward of 3,000 rockets and sent 1,000 fighters across the border from Gaza into Israel.

Despite the scale and scope of the attack, ABC News reported that Israeli defense officials claimed to have had no specific warning that Hamas “was preparing a sophisticated attack that required coordinated land, air and sea attacks.”

Many political and military analysts have criticized Israel for its intelligence failure to anticipate the attack, but the success of Hamas’ surprise attack was an operational failure as well.

Over the course of my military career in special operations, I conducted hundreds of tactical, operational and strategic missions based on intelligence. Never once did I expect intelligence to be perfect.

In fact, it rarely was. I based my plan on the best intelligence available, but I also thought of every possible scenario that I could in order to be ready for anything the enemy might throw at me. It seems the Israelis didn’t do that.

The limits of intelligence

If the definition of an intelligence failure is “when something bad happens to you and you didn’t know about it,” as former U.S. Sen. Warren Rudman once described it, then the Hamas surprise attack on Israel was clearly an intelligence failure.

At present, no one knows why the Israelis were unable to detect the Hamas attack, and it may be many months before the Israelis can answer the question.

Historically, Israel has been perhaps the best government in the world at penetrating terrorist organizations, which are arguably the most difficult to infiltrate with informants.

Israel built a defense plan that relies on preventing rocket attacks, border crossings and early warnings.

But intelligence can only do so much. The other key piece of defense is understanding how your enemy thinks and operates. And there the Israelis also appeared to struggle.

Known as the Iron Wall, the 40-mile-long security barrier that separates Gaza from Israel was completed in 2021 at a cost of US$1.1 billion. It includes a sensor-equipped, 20-foot-tall fence, hundreds of cameras and automated machine gun fire when sensors are tripped.

But the wall was not effective against the surprise Hamas attack. Hamas was able to breach the barrier in multiple locations around Gaza and continue its attacks without much initial resistance.

Likewise, Israel built its Iron Dome, an air defense system, to protect its citizens from rocket attacks emanating from Gaza. Completed in 2011, the dome cost the U.S. and Israeli governments $1.5 billion to develop and maintain. Before the surprise Hamas attack, the defense system had a success rate of between 90%-97% of striking down enemy rockets.

A member of the security forces walks past an Israeli police station in Sderot on Oct 8, 2023. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

The Iron Dome worked well when militants launched relatively few rockets, but it was less effective against the Hamas attack. When Hamas launched as many as 3,000 rockets into Israel in just 20 minutes, the system was overwhelmed and not able to respond. The quantity “was simply too much for Iron Dome to manage,” according to an analysis by the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Beyond intelligence

In my view, the Hamas attack was not particularly sophisticated, nor particularly innovative. At its core, the attack was a textbook military operation involving ground, sea and air attacks launched by one group against another.

It’s my belief that this type of basic attack is something that the Israels could have and should have anticipated – even if not on the scale it was executed. Given that the basic goal of Hamas is “destroy the State of Israel,” Israel could have developed a defense plan that was not reliant on intelligence that is inherently unreliable.

Ancient Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu stressed the importance of “knowing the enemy.”

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,” he wrote in “The Art of War.”

The problem for the Israelis, and many modern militaries, is that they have become too reliant on intelligence instead of knowing the goals of their enemy and developing a deeper understanding of how they think and operate.

That understanding may not prevent the next surprise attack, but it can help prepare the military defense.

Liam Collins, Founding Director, Modern War Institute, United States Military Academy West Point

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Quick, Easy Recipes to Add to Your Dinner Rotation: Simple, nutritious meals to make more time for family

Making time for meals together can have a positive impact on the well-being of families, including children and adolescents. In fact, regular meals at home can help reduce stress and boost self-esteem, according to research published in “Canadian Family Physician.”

Mealtime conversations are also a perfect opportunity to connect with your loved ones. A study published in “New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development” showed these conversations help improve children’s vocabularies more than being read aloud to.

Making time for meals together shouldn’t require spending all night in the kitchen, however. A simple-to-prepare ingredient like eggs can help you spend less time cooking and more time with family.

For example, these heart-healthy recipes for Poached Egg Tostadas with Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa, Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs and Poblano Frittata from the Healthy for Good Eat Smart initiative, nationally supported by Eggland’s Best, are ready in 15 minutes or less. They include a wide variety of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and healthy protein sources, which are recommended by the American Heart Association to help prevent heart disease and stroke.

To find more tips for family mealtimes and recipe inspiration, visit heart.org/eatsmart.

Poached Egg Tostadas with Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa

Servings: 4 (1 egg and 1/2 cup salsa per serving)

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 4          corn tortillas (6 inches each)
• 4          cups water
• 1          tablespoon white vinegar
• 4          large eggs

Salsa:

• 1          medium avocado, diced
• 1          medium Anaheim or poblano pepper, seeds and ribs discarded, diced
• 1          medium tomatillo, papery husk discarded, washed and diced
• 1/2       medium tomato, diced
• 1/4       cup diced red onion
• 1/4       cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2          tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1          medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/8       teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Arrange tortillas in single layer on foil. Lightly spray tortillas with nonstick cooking spray. Using fork, pierce tortillas to prevent from filling with air. Bake 5-6 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer to serving plates.
3. In large skillet over high heat, bring water and vinegar to boil.
4. Once water is boiling, reduce heat and simmer. Break egg into cup then carefully slip egg into simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs, avoiding eggs touching in water. Simmer 3-5 minutes, or until egg whites are completely set and yolks are beginning to set but aren’t hard. Using slotted spoon, drain eggs. Place each egg on tostada.
5. To make salsa: In medium bowl, gently stir together avocado, pepper, tomatillo, tomato, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic and salt. Serve with tostadas.

Nutritional information per serving: 185 calories; 11 g total fat; 2.5 g saturated fat; 3 g polyunsaturated fat; 5 g monounsaturated fat; 186 mg cholesterol; 169 mg sodium; 15 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 2 g total sugars; 9 g protein.

Poblano Frittata

Servings: 4 (2 wedges per serving)

• 4          large eggs
• 1/4       cup fat-free milk
• 2          tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1          teaspoon olive oil
• 2          medium poblano peppers, seeds and ribs discarded, chopped
• 2          cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
• 2          medium green onions, chopped
• 1/4       cup finely shredded Cotija cheese or crumbled queso fresco
• 1          medium tomato, chopped
• 1/4       cup fat-free sour cream

1. In medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk and cilantro.
2. In medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil, swirling to coat bottom of skillet. Cook poblano peppers 3 minutes, or until browning on edges, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in corn and green onion. Reduce heat to medium-low and carefully pour in egg mixture. Cook, covered, 10 minutes, or until mixture is just set on edges and still soft in center. Avoid overcooking. Remove from heat.
4. Sprinkle with cheese. Cut into eight wedges. Place two wedges on each plate. Top with tomatoes and sour cream.

Nutritional information per serving: 244 calories; 8.5 g total fat; 2.5 g saturated fat; 1.5 g polyunsaturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat; 192 mg cholesterol; 177 mg sodium; 27 g carbohydrates; 4 g fiber; 8 g total sugars; 13 g protein.

Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs

Servings: 4 (1 cup per serving)

• 2          teaspoons canola or corn oil
• 1/2       medium onion, chopped
• 4          medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2       medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 2/3       cup fat-free, low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2          teaspoons minced garlic
• 2          teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1          teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2       teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1/2       teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 1/8       teaspoon salt
• 4          large eggs
• hot pepper sauce (optional)

1. In pressure cooker set on saute, heat oil. Cook onion 3 minutes, or until soft, stirring frequently. Turn off pressure cooker.
2. Stir in potatoes, bell pepper, broth, garlic, paprika, cumin, thyme, pepper and salt. Secure lid. Cook on high pressure 3 minutes. Quickly release pressure. Turn off pressure cooker.
3. Remove pressure cooker lid. Crack one egg into small bowl. Using back of spoon, make small well in potatoes. Slip egg into well. Repeat with remaining eggs, making separate well for each egg. Secure lid with pressure vent open. Saute 2 minutes. Let stand on “keep warm” setting 2 minutes, or until eggs are cooked to desired consistency.
4. Serve hash sprinkled with dash of hot pepper sauce, if desired.

Nutritional information per serving: 258 calories; 7.5 g total fat; 2 g saturated fat; 1.5 g polyunsaturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat; 186 mg cholesterol; 244 mg sodium; 39 g carbohydrates; 6 g fiber; 9 g total sugars; 10 g protein.

SOURCE:
American Heart Association

Elevate Your Tailgate with Easy-to-Make Recipes

Concoct a winning game plan, gather the parking lot games and call the biggest fans you know – it’s tailgating season. This year, before you root on your favorite team, make sure your pregame party matches the intensity of the fourth quarter with recipes that really fire up the crowd.

For a pregame meal that gives diehards the energy they’ll need to stay on their feet, turn to easy-to-prepare Kielbasa and Veggie Kebabs. This tailgate-friendly recipe relies on smoked pork sausage from Coleman Natural Foods that’s blended with flavorful spices, naturally cured with cultured celery powder and sea salt then slow-smoked for rich flavor.

If a morning kickoff at your alma mater calls for a breakfast-friendly beverage, these Chile Bacon Straws offer a perfect complement to a Bloody Mary. With a perfect touch of pizazz, they’re a simple yet impressive garnish that pairs well with other toppings like olives, pickles, peppers and more.

As a delicious way to add bursts of flavor to favorite dishes, pork from Coleman Natural Foods provides premium quality you can feel good about serving to your family and friends whether you’re tailgating in the parking lot or home-gating in your own backyard. It’s humanely raised by family farmers in the U.S. with no antibiotics, added hormones or artificial ingredients to give fans countless ways to elevate favorite game day dishes.

Visit ColemanNatural.com to find more easy-to-prepare tailgate recipes.

Kielbasa and Veggie Kebabs

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

• 4          wooden skewers
• 1          red onion
• 2          bell peppers
• 2          ears of corn, cut crosswise into 2-inch rounds
• 1          package Coleman Natural Polish Kielbasa, sliced thick
• 12        whole mushrooms
• 12        cherry tomatoes

1. Soak skewers in water 30 minutes to prevent burning. Preheat grill to 300 F.
2. Cut red onion, peppers and corn into bite-sized chunks.
3. Alternate placing kielbasa slices, onion, peppers, corn, mushrooms and tomatoes on skewers.
4. Grill, rotating every few minutes until veggies are tender, about 20 minutes.

Chile Bacon Straws

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6

• 6          slices Coleman Natural Hickory Smoked Bacon
• 6          wooden skewers
• 1          teaspoon Mexican spice blend
• prepared Bloody Marys

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Wrap one bacon slice diagonally around each skewer, making sure to overlap edges of bacon so there are no gaps. Don’t wrap too tightly or it will be difficult to remove skewers; try to ensure each end of bacon ends up on same side of skewer.
3. Place each wrapped skewer on wire rack set over sheet pan with end seams down. Sprinkle spice blend over each skewer.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes until bacon is brown, crispy and fully cooked to give straws their shape. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Gently slide skewers out of each straw using twisting motion.
6. Insert straws into Bloody Marys.

SOURCE:
Coleman Natural Foods

Go Beyond Quick Fixes with Long-Term Allergy Relief Options

4 tips to tackle and alleviate symptoms for lasting relief

Warmer weather means flowers and trees are blooming, but for the millions of Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies, it also means coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, congestion and other symptoms aren’t far behind.

Allergies, defined by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) as an immune reaction to a foreign substance, or allergen, can develop after an allergen is ingested, inhaled, injected or touched. About one-quarter (25.7%) of adults suffer from seasonal allergies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are commonly caused by grass, tree and weed pollens.

When allergies act up, many people reach for medications like antihistamines, decongestants and other over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for quick, yet temporary, symptom relief. While symptoms may subside, there are side effects to prolonged use of OTC medicines such as dry mouth, drowsiness and blurred vision, among others.

Innovative alternatives, such as allergy immunotherapy, are now available from the convenience of a patient’s home. This treatment offers more effective long-term relief compared to antihistamine pills, which only mask symptoms temporarily. Sublingual immunotherapy is an effective option for people who don’t want the inconvenience or safety risk associated with allergy shots.

“More than 120 million people in the U.S. suffer from allergies and their related diseases, making it the most prevalent chronic illness facing our nation,” said Dr. Ken Chahine, Ph.D., J.D., founding CEO of Nectar Life Sciences. “Nectar’s mission is to empower consumers with breakthrough solutions that can put an end to allergies and, in turn, build healthier, more productive communities.”

To help combat symptoms this allergy season, which will be longer and more intense due to climate change, according to the AAFA, consider these tips for long-lasting symptom relief.

Recognize Allergy Symptoms
Although seasonal allergies typically affect the nose, eyes, mouth and sinuses, the symptoms and triggers can vary among individuals. While itching in the roof of the mouth, hives and watery eyes are considered classic allergy symptoms, others may resemble signs of illness or infection, such as coughing, sneezing, congestion, body aches, pain or a stuffy or runny nose. If these symptoms persist for a week or two, it is possible you are reacting to seasonal allergens. Conversely, if you experience symptoms throughout the year, they might be caused by common allergens found in homes and workplaces, such as dust, mold or pet dander.

Reduce Exposure to Allergens Outdoors
The best way to avoid allergy symptoms is by eliminating or reducing exposure to triggers. In the case of seasonal allergies, the primary trigger is typically pollen. This may require staying indoors on dry and windy days or choosing to go outside later in the day when pollen counts are generally lower. Before heading outside, check pollen forecasts and current levels in the area.

Rainfall helps clear pollen from the air, making rainy or cloudy days ideal for outdoor activities. However, many outdoor activities rely on clear and sunny weather. In such situations, taking additional precautions becomes necessary. For instance, try wearing a face mask while performing outdoor chores like mowing, gardening or pulling weeds, which can stir up allergens. It’s also important to refrain from hanging laundry outside, as pollen tends to adhere to linens and clothing. People should promptly remove clothes after being outside and take a bath to rinse off any pollen from the skin and hair. Bringing allergens indoors, especially onto bedding, can worsen symptoms or prolong their duration. Additionally, closing doors and windows when pollen counts are high is advisable.

Look for Long-Term Symptom Relief
While allergen avoidance and OTC medications like antihistamines and decongestants can be effective, they may not work for everyone. For those seeking an alternative to antihistamines, allergy immunotherapy offers a viable option. With more than 100 years of clinical practice, allergy immunotherapy has shown it can improve long-term quality of life. The concept behind this therapy is to regularly expose the body to the allergen, gradually building immunity and reducing sensitivity, ultimately leading to fewer or even no allergy symptoms.

Sublingual immunotherapy is an innovative form of immunotherapy that is common in Europe and is now available in the U.S. It involves taking two drops per day of a personalized prescription under the tongue to achieve the same long-term relief that allergy shots can provide. Allergy care platform Nectar offers a comprehensive allergy treatment program that can be conducted from the comfort of a patient’s home. The program begins with an at-home allergy test, which is Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified and covers a wide range of indoor and outdoor allergens. After carefully reviewing the test results and taking into account the patient's clinical history and geographic location, a licensed provider determines the most suitable treatment option. The personalized prescription is then delivered to the patient every three months. Over time, as the body builds tolerance to the allergens, symptoms generally diminish and fade away.

“Sublingual immunotherapy allergy drops have been used and studied extensively in Europe for more than 30 years but have only recently started to gain popularity in the U.S.,” said Dr. Shyam Joshi, MD, board certified allergist and immunologist and chief medical officer at Nectar Life Sciences. “Our allergy drops are unique from most others in the U.S. market because the allergen concentrations we use are higher than other allergy drops, which, based on scores of clinical studies conducted both in Europe and the U.S., are necessary to achieve clinical benefits and long-term relief.”

Keep Indoor Air Clean
To maintain allergen-free indoor spaces, it is advisable to refrain from opening windows in the house or car when pollen counts are high. However, there are other measures you can take to minimize exposure indoors. Utilizing an air conditioner equipped with high-efficiency filters and adhering to regular maintenance schedules for heating and cooling systems are effective strategies. Additionally, frequent dusting of countertops, shelves and tables is recommended, along with cleaning carpets using a vacuum cleaner equipped with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Using a dehumidifier can help maintain dry indoor air and reduce the risk of mold growth. Furthermore, consider installing portable air purifiers with built-in HEPA filters in bedrooms or frequently occupied rooms throughout the home.

To learn more or access online resources that can help you fight allergies, such as the Help Center and Learning Hub, visit MyNectar.com.

 

SOURCE:
Nectar

4 Workplace Benefits that Support Parents

Balancing work and life can be challenging for many parents, especially when it comes to affording child care. When employers recognize and address this need, they’re not only helping working families, they’re also positioning themselves as an employer of choice for prospective employees.

“Our Parent Confidence Survey shows parents are in dire need of child care support and they’re willing to change jobs for better access to employer-sponsored child care support,” said Dan Figurski, KinderCare Learning Companies’ president for employers and champions. “When employees say child care is the second most important benefit their employer can offer – second only to health insurance – that’s a sign employers cannot ignore if they want to retain and attract top talent.”

Why these benefits matter:

• Talent attraction and retention: According to Harris Poll, 69% of parents have or have considered switching jobs because quality child care is too difficult or expensive to secure.
• Encouraged engagement: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4.9 million people missed work because they were caring for children not in daycare.

More than half of parents who responded to the survey said they would stay in their current jobs if any of the following child care benefits were offered to them:

1. Tuition. This benefit is one of the easiest ways employers can offer child care support, by covering up to 100% of tuition at an accredited early learning center. This allows parents, no matter their work style, to have affordable access to high-quality early childhood education and care for their children. It also allows employers to offer child care support to a broader swath of their employee population. According to Harris Poll, 67% of employees believe employers should offset the cost of child care.
    
2. Backup care. Backup care supports families on a moment’s notice when their regular child care falls through by allowing them access to in-center care.
    
3. On-site child care. A custom, high-quality on-site early learning center brings child care directly to employees, allowing parents to be near their children even while they’re at work.
    
4. Before- and after-school care. Child care needs don’t end when a child goes to elementary school. Many families struggle to bridge the gap between school and workdays beginning and ending. Employers can help bridge the time gap by providing access to a safe place for elementary school-age children to continue their educational journey while parents start and finish their workdays.

Learn more and find tips to talk with your employees or employers about these offerings at kindercare.com/employer-sponsored-child-care.

SOURCE:
KinderCare

America’s farmers are getting older, and young people aren’t rushing to join them

Seeking greenhorns with green thumbs. Steve Smith/Tetra Images via Getty Images

David R. Buys, Mississippi State University; John J. Green, Mississippi State University, and Mary Nelson Robertson, Mississippi State University

CC BY-ND

On Oct. 12, National Farmers’ Day, Americans honor the hardworking people who keep the world fed and clothed.

But the farming labor force has a problem: It’s aging rapidly.

The average American farmer is 57 and a half years old, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s up sharply from 1978, when the figure was just a smidge over 50.

As researchers who study well-being in rural areas, we wanted to understand this trend and its implications. So we dug into the data.

Amber waves of graying

We found that the average age of farmers was fairly consistent across the country, even though the general population’s age varies quite a bit from place to place.

For example, the average Maine farmer is just a few months older than the average farmer in Utah, even though the average Maine resident is more than a decade older than the average Utahn.

To be fair, we did find some local differences. For example, in New York County – better known as Manhattan – the average farmer is just north of 31. Next door in Hudson County, New Jersey, the average farmer is more than 72.

On the whole, though, America’s farming workforce is getting older. If the country doesn’t recruit new farmers or adapt to having fewer, older ones, it could put the nation’s food supply at risk. Before panicking, though, it’s worth asking: Why is this happening?

A tough field to break into

To start, there are real barriers to entry for young people – at least those who weren’t born into multigenerational farming families. It takes money to buy the land, equipment and other stuff you need to run a farm, and younger people have less wealth than older ones.

Young people born into family farms may have fewer opportunities to take them over due to consolidation in agriculture. And those who do have the chance may not seize it, since they often report that rural life is more challenging than living in a city or suburb.

The overall stress of the agriculture industry is also a concern: Farmers are often at the mercy of weather, supply shortages, volatile markets and other factors entirely out of their control.

The ups and downs of farm life take center stage in “On the Farm,” a docuseries produced by Mississippi State University.

In addition to understanding why fewer younger people want to go into agriculture, it’s important to consider aging farmers’ needs. Without younger people to leave the work to, farmers are left with intense labor — physically and mentally – to accomplish, on top of the ordinary challenges of aging.

In other words, the U.S. needs to increase opportunities for younger farmers while also supporting farmers as they age.

Opportunities to help

The USDA already has programs to aid new farmers, as well as farmers of color and female farmers, and those who operate small farms. Expanding these programs’ reach and impact could help bring new talent into the field.

Congress could do just that when it reauthorizes the farm bill – a package of laws covering a wide range of food – and agriculture-related programs that get passed roughly every five years.

The farm bill also includes nutrition aid and funds telehealth and training and educational outreach for farmers, all of which could help meet the needs of young and aging farmers alike. Notably, the Cooperative Extension Service offers programs that range from 4-H and youth development, including introduction to agriculture, to providing on-site technical help.

Congress was supposed to reauthorize the farm bill by Sept. 30, 2023, but it missed that deadline. It now faces a new deadline of Dec. 31, but due to dysfunction in the House of Representatives, many expect the process to drag on into 2024.

Also in 2024, the USDA will release its next Census of Agriculture, giving researchers new insight into America’s farming workforce. We expect it will show that the average age of U.S. farmers has reached a new all-time high.

If you believe otherwise – well, we wouldn’t bet the farm.

David R. Buys, Associate Professor of Health, Mississippi State University; John J. Green, Director of the Southern Rural Development Center & Professor of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University, and Mary Nelson Robertson, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Mississippi State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

20 years after the publication of ‘Purple Hibiscus,’ a generation of African writers have followed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s footsteps

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2004, shortly after the publication of ‘Purple Hibiscus.’ Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

Simon Lewis, College of Charleston

Twenty years ago, in October 2003, 26-year-old Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the North American publishing scene with her debut novel,“ Purple Hibiscus.”

Since then, Adichie’s literary fame has only grown: She’s published two more novels and a collection of short stories, while two of her TED talks have garnered tens of millions of views. In September 2023, she published her first children’s book – a joyful celebration of mother-daughter love – under the nom de plume Nwa Grace-James.

But the October 2003 publication of “Purple Hibiscus” didn’t just signal the start of a single author’s brilliant career. It also forged a path for a whole new generation of African novelists who had come to America as immigrants or students and who have been mining that experience in their writing.

Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ came perilously close to never seeing a printing press. Michel Delsol/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The struggles to get published by prior generations of African authors are almost legendary. Thirty years apart, Chinua Achebe and Tsitsi Dangarembga have both described how close their manuscripts of “Things Fall Apart” (1958) and “Nervous Conditions” (1988) came to being lost. Achebe’s only copy of the manuscript was a handwritten draft. He sent it to a typing agency in London that nearly dismissed it as a joke. Dangarembga’s manuscript sat unread in the basement of a British publishing house for years. Only when the writer stopped by the offices during a work trip to London did the editors agree to read it.

Through attending American MFA programs, however, Adichie and her contemporaries were able to tap into the networks of agents and found their work snapped up by American publishers.

Writers born in Africa who studied at American universities – Teju Cole, Yaa Gyasi, Uzodinma Iweala, NoViolet Bulawayo and Akwaeke Emezi, to name just a few – have followed in Adichie’s footsteps.

“Purple Hibiscus” has been to these writers what Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” (1967) was to aspiring Latin American writers during the Latin American literary boom of the 1960s and 1970s, and what Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” (1981) was to the proliferation of Indian writers in English from the 1980s on.

While it would be reassuring to think that the current surge of African novelists represents a wider American interest in all things African, the success of these novels may also have to do with the fact that so many are actually set in the U.S.

The recurrent theme of immigration to the U.S. gives many of these works direct – and instructive – relevance to U.S. readers. As Black outsiders in the U.S., African immigrants have a particularly acute insight into the way race and racism affect daily life in this country. One of the common features of these novels is the way in which they explore the tension of racial solidarity and mutual misunderstanding between African immigrants and Black Americans.

When I first started teaching African literature, I often had difficulty finding books in print. Now my problem is deciding who to leave out of my syllabus. Here is a very brief list of some of the books that I would consider must-reads.

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “Americanah” (2013)

As its title suggests, Adichie’s fourth novel, “Americanah,” is arguably the definitive novel of contemporary African immigration to America.

It tells the story of Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman overstaying her student visa, and how she negotiates the new Black identity forced on her by the blunt instrument of American race-construction.

In a brilliant metafictional move, Adichie has Ifemelu achieve internet fame by writing a blog dedicated to non-American Blacks: “Dear Non-American Black,” Ifemelu writes, “when you make the choice to come to America, you become black. Stop arguing. Stop saying I’m Jamaican or I’m Ghanaian. America doesn’t care. So what if you weren’t ‘black’ in your country? You’re in America now.”

Ifemelu’s experience of racism is simultaneously hurtful and baffling to her. On the one hand, her illegal status makes her both psychologically and physically vulnerable. But at times American racism is almost comical; Ifemelu doesn’t understand why an innocent reference to eating watermelon might be misconstrued, for instance, and she is totally bewildered by a shop assistant’s attempt to avoid distinguishing between two shoppers by reference to their skin color.

2. Yaa Gyasi, “Homegoing” (2016)

Ghanaian-born Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel takes the form of a series of skillfully interwoven stories set on either side of the Atlantic.

Beginning with two half sisters, Effia and Esi, in the Gold Coast in the middle of the 18th century, the stories trace the two sets of the sisters’ descendants through six subsequent generations in West Africa and the U.S. In the final two stories we meet the young teenager Marjorie, who, as the American-born daughter of Ghanaian parents, struggles to come to terms with her identity as one of Ifemelu’s “Non-American Blacks.” She finds herself ostracized by her Black classmates for “acting white” but is unable to enjoy a normal relationship with a white classmate. One of the only Black teachers at her high school tells her, “You’re here now, and here black is black is black.”

Yaa Gyasi in 2017, a year after the publication of her debut novel, ‘Homegoing.’ Leonardo Cendamo/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

3. NoViolet Bulawayo, “We Need New Names” (2013)

When “We Need New Names” appeared, Nigerian novelist Helon Habila accused NoViolet Bulawayo of peddling “poverty-porn” by pandering to American stereotypes of Africa.

However, for Bulawayo’s teenage protagonist Darling, it’s American culture that is dangerously dysfunctional – and personally discombobulating. Darling finds American high school ridiculously easy, is horrified by the laxness of American parenting and is generally unimpressed by the urban blight she sees around her in the city she calls Destroyed, Michigan.

Late in the novel, her mentally ill countryman Tshaka Zulu is shot to death by police when off his meds and ranting in his home language. You might think that such a violent, tragic event would be a major plot driver. Sadly, it seems to exemplify just one more random peril – little different from being hit by a car or struck down by cancer – that many Africans coming to America have to endure.

4. Uzodinma Iweala, “Speak No Evil” (2018)

Even wealth and class status offer no protection from such perils.

In Uzodinma Iweala’s “Speak No Evil,” the main character, Niru, is the high-achieving son of high-achieving Nigerian parents in supposedly cosmopolitan Washington, D.C. The first three-quarters of the book appear to be exploring Niru’s dilemma: how to come out as gay to his conservative parents.

It turns out that Niru’s gayness – an invisible characteristic, after all – is not the problem; his Blackness is. When he gets in a row outside a bar with his best friend, Meredith – an equally well-off, well-connected, high-flying white female classmate – someone calls the cops. In the space of a paragraph the inevitable has happened: Shots are fired. “You’re safe,” someone says to Meredith. “He can’t hurt you.”

Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala. Fairfax Media/Getty Images

By extraordinary coincidence, Adichie grew up in the very house that Chinua Achebe had lived in on the campus of the University of Nigeria in Nsukka. She, and the other writers of her generation, grew up in the house of fiction that Achebe and his generation established. The writers of that older generation were concerned with the material and cultural despoliation of colonialism. In Achebe’s words, their task was to let their African readers know “where the rain began to beat” them.

Today’s African writers demand readers’ attention by letting them know that for African and African-descended people in the U.S., although the winds may have shifted, the storm is far from over.

Simon Lewis, Professor of English, College of Charleston

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.