Farming Lifestyle Research Articles

Which aspects of the farming lifestyle explain the inverse association with childhood allergy?

Which aspects of the farming lifestyle explain the inverse association with childhood allergy?

Maternal Nutritional Status in Pastoral versus Farming Communities of West Pokot, Kenya: Differences in Iron and Vitamin A Status and Body Composition

Underweight and micronutrient deficiencies are sequelae of the prevailing harsh living and economic conditions of women in sub-Saharan Africa. There are few data describing maternal nutritional status in these resource-poor settings. Provision of more effective modes of intervention requires that public health and nutrition policy at both the national and the multisectoral levels be based on community-specific nutritional and behavioral practices. This longitudinal study investigated maternal micronutrient status in two remote, semiarid, rural communities that are ethnically similar but have distinctly different pastoral and farming lifestyles. We looked at differences in iron stores, vitamin A levels, and body composition of women in the third trimester of pregnancy and again at 4 months postpartum. Complete data were collected from 113 pastoral and 110 farming Pokot women. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and serum ferritin and retinol levels were measured. Infants were weighed within 7 days of birth. Women from the farming community had significantly (p < .05) lower hemoglobin concentrations than women from the pastoral community during the third trimester of pregnancy. Pastoral women had significantly higher serum ferritin concentrations than farming women during the third trimester of pregnancy (p <.05) and at 4 months postpartum. There were no significant differences between pastoral and farming women in the percentage of women with serum retinol levels < 0.70 micromol/L during the third trimester of pregnancy (27.9% [34/113] and 24.2% [31/110], respectively) and at 4 months postpartum (29.2% [33/113] and 30.9% [34/110]) In the farming community, mean infant birthweight was significantly lower (p <. 01) than in the pastoral community and a significantly higher (p < .05) proportion of newborns weighed less than 2.5 kg. At 4 months postpartum, the percentage of body fat was significantly lower in pastoral women than in farming women. Women from the farming community in West Pokot, Kenya, have lower iron stores during the third trimester of pregnancy than women in the pastoral community. In addition, the mean weight of their newborn infants is lower than that of infants in the pastoral community. These findings may be associated with differences in living conditions, which are usually harsher in farming than in pastoral communities.

Which aspects of the farming lifestyle explain the inverse association with childhood allergy?

Farmers' children have a reduced prevalence of allergic disorders. The specific protective environmental factors responsible are not yet identified. We sought to determine whether farmers' children in the rural county of Shropshire, England, have a reduced risk of atopy and, if so, to identify the factors responsible. The Study of Asthma and Allergy in Shropshire was a 2-stage cross-sectional study. In stage 1 a questionnaire to elicit allergic status, diet, and farming exposure was completed by the parents of 4767 children. In stage 2 a stratified subsample of 879 children underwent skin prick testing and measurement of domestic endotoxin. Compared with rural nonfarming children, farmers' children had significantly less current asthma symptoms (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.91; P = .01) and current seasonal allergic rhinitis (adjusted OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.33-0.77; P = .002) but not current eczema symptoms (adjusted OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.68-1.21; P = .53) or atopy (adjusted OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.40-1.16; P = .15). In contrast, current unpasteurized milk consumption was associated with significantly less current eczema symptoms (adjusted OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.87; P = .008) and a greater reduction in atopy (adjusted OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.10-0.53; P = .001). The effect was seen in all children, independent of farming status. Unpasteurized milk consumption was associated with a 59% reduction in total IgE levels (P < .001) and higher production of whole blood stimulated IFN-gamma (P = .02). Unpasteurized milk consumption was the exposure mediating the protective effect on skin prick test positivity. The effect was independent of farming status and present with consumption of infrequent amounts of unpasteurized milk. Unpasteurized milk might be a modifiable influence on allergic sensitization in children.

The origin of European cattle: Evidence from modern and ancient DNA

Cattle domestication from wild aurochsen was among the most important innovations during the Neolithic agricultural revolution. The available genetic and archaeological evidence points to at least two major sites of domestication in India and in the Near East, where zebu and the taurine breeds would have emerged independently. Under this hypothesis, all present-day European breeds would be descended from cattle domesticated in the Near East and subsequently spread during the diffusion of herding and farming lifestyles. We present here previously undescribed genetic evidence in contrast with this view, based on mtDNA sequences from five Italian aurochsen dated between 7,000 and 17,000 years B.P. and >1,000 modern cattle from 51 breeds. Our data are compatible with local domestication events in Europe and support at least some levels of introgression from the aurochs in Italy. The distribution of genetic variation in modern cattle suggest also that different south European breeds were affected by introductions from northern Africa. If so, the European cattle may represent a more variable and valuable genetic resource than previously realized, and previous simple hypotheses regarding the domestication process and the diffusion of selected breeds should be revised.

The Impact of Farm Lifestyle and Health Characteristics

Rural residence, access to healthcare facilities, and multiple roles of farmwomen may pose barriers to cervical cancer screening among women living in southern farm states. To compare the proportion of women failing to obtain cervical cancer screening in three Southern states to state-level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data and to identify factors contributing to cervical cancer screening and detection behaviors. A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected using several Farm Family Health and Injury Prevention surveys via telephone interviews in three southern states. Farmwomen (N = 2,324) from three states comprised the sample on Pap testing. Data were used from summary reports of the BRFSS for each state to compare the proportion of farmwomen >or=18 years of age who had failed to obtain a Pap test within the past 3 years to failure to obtain Pap tests statewide. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors of failure to obtain early screening. Pap testing did not meet Healthy People 2010 target goal of 90%. Farm lifestyle predicting failure to obtain cervical cancer screening included having a house on the farm and engaging in no off-farm work and minimal involvement in farm tasks. The risk of failing to obtain Pap testing increased with age and decreased with education. The only health access variable contributing to failure to obtain Pap testing was women with no insurance. Positive preventive risk factors contributing to compliance with up-to-date status were previous mammogram and previous breast exam. Being married was a positive risk factor. Although the failure to obtain Pap testing in Texas was comparable to state BRFSS rates, failure to obtain Pap testing rates in Kentucky and Louisiana were at least 6% greater for farmwomen than women living in the state. Farmwomen, a subgroup of the rural population, have unique barriers to obtaining screening services. Geographical isolation and minimal role involvement on the farm may contribute to the likelihood that women are not seeking cervical cancer screening.

NRCS and the Acequia Community—A Lifestyle of Family Farming

NRCS and the Acequia community--a lifestyle of family farming. DOI:10.2458/azu_rangelands_v27i6_barnes

Unraveling the Voices and Identity of Farm Women

In this qualitative study I explored how rural farm women construct, negotiate, and perform gender identity in their everyday lives. To understand this process, 22 farm women located on family farms in Southwestern Ontario were interviewed. Differences were found between those women who were raised and socialized on farms and women who were born in the city. Women who worked off-farm had another experience when they returned to the farm from their workplace. Collectively the women took on the farmwork that was expected of them. They learned to adjust to the lifestyle and ways of farming. The ideology of agrarianism and separate spheres helped to delineate ways of being and doing that maintained their strong yet traditional and submissive sense of self.

Sex Differences in the Genetic Basis of Morning Serum Cortisol Levels: Genome-Wide Screen Identifies Two Novel Loci Specific to Women

Relatively little is known about the influence of specific genes on cortisol levels, particularly morning cortisol levels. The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci associated with morning serum cortisol levels. We carried out a genome screen for morning serum cortisol using linkage and association methods tailored for use in large pedigrees. We conducted these analyses both in the whole sample and partitioned by sex. This study was conducted on nine communal Hutterite farms in South Dakota. The Hutterites are a young founder population who practice a communal, farming lifestyle in the western United States and in Canada. Hutterites (n = 504, 53% female) aged 11-89 yr from a single pedigree participated in this study. The main outcome measures were markers significantly linked or associated with variation in morning serum cortisol levels. One genome-wide significant association was identified in the whole sample on 11p (D11S1981, P = 0.000092). Results of sex-partitioned analyses indicated that this association was restricted to females (females, P = 0.000084; males, P = 0.20). The 146-bp allele at this locus accounted for 7% of the variance in morning cortisol values in females, and females homozygous for the allele had an 89% increase in morning cortisol levels compared with female noncarriers. A second genome-wide significant association in females was identified on 14q (D14S74, P = 0.000091). Our results suggest that the genetic determinants of morning cortisol levels may be different for men and women and that loci on 11p and 14q influence morning cortisol levels in women.

NRCS and the Acequia Community—A Lifestyle of Family Farming

NRCS and the Acequia Community—A Lifestyle of Family Farming

戦時下における「満州」分村開拓団の経営および生活実態

戦時下における「満州」分村開拓団の経営および生活実態

Viral respiratory infection and the link to asthma.

Acute wheezing secondary to viral infection is common in children. Whereas many children suffer primarily mild to moderate symptoms, others develop severe coughing and wheezing. Review of recent medical literature regarding the correlation between viral illness and increased susceptibility to develop severe respiratory illnesses and subsequent asthma. In infants factors that predispose to severe disease and lower respiratory airway effects include small lung size, passive smoke exposure, virus-induced immune responses, severe disease and infection at a young age. Acute asthma symptoms have been correlated with a variety of viral pathogens, most commonly respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis in infancy and rhinovirus in older children. Epidemiologic and biologic factors that influence development of asthma include repeated exposure to infectious disease during early childhood, early exposure to pets, a farming lifestyle, alterations in bacterial flora of the intestine and increased use of antibiotics. Thus the likelihood of asthma is related to the specific pathogen, severity of infection, cumulative number of infections and stage of immunologic development. Progress is also being made in understanding how viruses can adversely affect lung or immune development. In asthmatic children viral infections initiate bronchospasm and airway obstruction. It is hoped that research on virus-induced airway alterations and the host factors that lead to severe clinical illnesses can help clinicians to identify children whose wheezing is an early sign of asthma.

Archaeology: sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic.

The introduction of domesticated plants and animals into Britain during the Neolithic cultural period between 5,200 and 4,500 years ago is viewed either as a rapid event1 or as a gradual process that lasted for more than a millennium2. Here we measure stable carbon isotopes present in bone to investigate the dietary habits of Britons over the Neolithic period and the preceding 3,800 years (the Mesolithic period). We find that there was a rapid and complete change from a marine- to a terrestrial-based diet among both coastal and inland dwellers at the onset of the Neolithic period, which coincided with the first appearance of domesticates. As well as arguing against a slow, gradual adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry by Mesolithic societies, our results indicate that the attraction of the new farming lifestyle must have been strong enough to persuade even coastal dwellers to abandon their successful fishing practices.

The Socio-economic structure of Irrigation Communities – water markets and the structural adjustment process

Structural adjustment is an ongoing process within Australian agriculture. Governments have encouraged this process through rural adjustment schemes and since the 1990s, water markets and pricing policies have been seen as drivers of the process. This paper investigates the structural adjustment impact of temporary water markets within the Pyramid-Boort and Torrumbarry irrigation districts in northern Victoria. This investigation is based on interviews with temporary buyers and sellers in the market during 1998/99. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and cluster analysis are applied to the outcome of this process to group farm businesses depending on their position in the farm adjustment process. These analyses suggest that all sectors of the farming community use water markets to cope with the adjustment pressures. One group uses the markets to retain their farming lifestyle, another group uses it as part of the adjustment process to become larger and more viable, while a third group uses it opportunistically. The irrigators who are not using the market are significantly smaller and use all their water. The research outcome strongly supports that structural adjustment schemes should concentrate on assisting adjusting farmers to become economically viable and to adopt best practice natural resource management.

Depressive symptoms in farm women: effects of health status and farming lifestyle characteristics, behaviors, and beliefs.

A multitude of responsibilities, environmental and social influences, and stressors place farm women at high risk for depressive symptoms. This cross sectional survey design study examines demographic, health status, and farm lifestyle characteristics, behaviors and beliefs as risk factors contributing to depressive symptoms among farm women in southeast Louisiana. The study was conducted in a stratified, random sample of 657 women 18 years and older. Factors predictive of depressive symptoms in adjusted logistic regression included those who experience poor health, perceive hazards associated with farming, experience recent farm-related injuries and engage in farming over longer periods of time. These findings help target interventions toward women at risk for depressive symptoms.

Effects of land use changes on herbivores of masai mara ecosystem

The Narok District has undergone rapid changes in land use patterns from nomadic pastoralism to a sedentary and farming lifestyle. In this study we describe wildlife and livestock numbers and past and present land‐use patterns in three group ranches from 1975 to 1997. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of land‐use changes on herbivore populations. Research methods included observation and interpretation of satellite imageries and aerial photographs, field checks, participant observation and secondary data. Results indicate that human settlement areas have increased significantly (x2 = 11.475, 3 df, p=0.001), while natural vegetation area has decreased insignificantly (x2 = 0.2, 3 df, p = 0.777) between 1975 and 1997. Trend analysis indicated an increase in livestock numbers (601100 + 843 year; r2 = 0.127; P=0.018), a decrease in wildlife numbers (953400–632 year; r2 = 0.272; P = 0.036) and an overall increase in large herbivore numbers (155000+211 year; r2 = 0.150; P =0.043). The information gained in this study can be used in the process of zoning the dispersal areas for different land uses. Also, if supported by a further study it can establish the optimum sustainable land use(s) around Masai Mara Reserve, that can assure the coexistence of man and wildlife.

Human impact on the environment in Japan and New Zealand: a comparison

Because of its proximity to Asia, Japan has been populated by humans for a much longer time period than New Zealand and has a much higher population density. The similarity in geology and tectonic setting of the two island groups has forced both peoples to confront similar environmental hazards but this was achieved in different ways. During the Edo period (1600–1868) when contact with outside countries was limited, the Japanese adapted their agricultural practices to the environment and developed an agricultural system that corresponds closely to the ideals of sustainability. Indeed, it can be argued that the farming lifestyle of the Edo period was the most advanced way of life that can be adopted without depleting stock resources. Following the Meiji restoration in 1868, the policy of rapid industrialization led to many environmental mistakes, particularly after World War II. By the end of the 1960s, Japan was the world's most polluted country. The situation has subsequently improved greatly from this low point but much remains to be done. New Zealand was initially occupied by the Maori over 1000 years ago. They did more environmental damage than was previously thought, particularly in burning off bush and destroying the bird life. However, it was the colonization of New Zealand by the Europeans after 1840 that led to the greatest environmental damage with their introduction of farming methods unsuited to the conditions. Although the need for better scientific planning of land use practices within New Zealand is recognized, sustainable management of the environment remains a distant goal. More detailed study of the agricultural methods and lifestyles adopted in Japan during the Edo period could help in defining the concept of sustainability.

Colonial secondary education in a global age: Economic

Retaining a secondary education structure designed during British colonial times has resulted in a secondary education system ill suited to serve the labor market needs of Bangladesh. As the country enters an era when increasing numbers of people move away from subsistence farming lifestyles into the informal and small business sector, Bangladesh requires a system that provides large number of people with basic skills for such activities. The economic distortions caused by a secondary sector mismatched with the realities of the labor market result in ongoing income inequalities, unnecessary demand for secondary education growth, and expenditures for private tutors by parents who can ill-afford such services.

WF16, a new PPNA site in Southern Jordan

Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan has a remarkable archaeological landscape with the remains of a vast Romad/Byzantine settlement and field system, many later prehistoric sites and a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B village dating to c. 8700 radiocarbon years BP. Since 1996 we have been conducting survey and excavation within this Wadi, and especially at its confluence with Wadi Ghuwayr, to locate the precursor to the PPNB site and any earlier prehistoric activity. The most important site so far discovered has been called WF16 and is a well preserved Pre-Pottery Neolithic A settlement, dated to between 10,200 and 9400 radiocarbon years BP (FIGURE 1). Sites of this period are extremely rare in the Near East and of considerable importance for they lie right at the juncture between a hunting-gathering and farming lifestyle (Bar-Yosef &amp; Belfer-Cohen 1989). WF16 is particularly well preserved for, unlike other PPNA settlements such as Jericho, it was not buried by a later PPNB settlement, this having been located approximately 100 m away in the lower reaches of Wadi Ghuwayr. Neither does there appear to be significant Natufian deposits at WF16 — it appears to be a pristine PPNA site and for that reason is of considerable significance.

Schoolhouse in the Field: How Agrarian Cultural Values Shaped Texas Schools for Mexican Children, 1910-1930.

This paper discusses the influence of agrarian cultural values on schools for children of Mexican heritage in Texas from 1910-1930. Both White landowners and Mexican laborers displayed values connected to the farming lifestyle in regards to children and education during this period. These shared agrarian values were bolstered by White racist behavior to keep education for Mexican children at a minimum. The weak educational system these values created has fostered continued low academic achievement for Mexican Americans during the past 80 years. Beliefs held by both Whites and Mexicans about children's work in the fields and the necessity of education are discussed. Other characteristics of both Whites and Mexicans in Texas are described. School facilities, teachers, curriculum, funding, compulsory attendance, and the typical attendance and achievement for children of Mexican heritage are explained. The challenge to the old system by Mexican Americans is also noted. The purpose of the rudimentary schools created in Texas and the implications for today concludes the discussion.

Working off the farm: Impacts on quality of life

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of off-farm employment on perceptions of quality of life. Data collected on 311 Western Ontario male and female farmers revealed that although most indicated satisfaction with their lives, some differences are apparent. Women employed off the farm report more areas of lower satisfaction than their male counterparts and men and women working solely on the farm. Low levels of satisfaction with time issues, leisure and exercise were most evident for employed women. Men employed off the farm report the most effects from time issues, satisfaction with the farm business, income and the environment. People working off the farm feel their farms are less successful and are more concerned with their environment. Whereas the farm family's pluriactivity enables many to hold on to herished aspects of the farming lifestyle for a while, its burdens are perceived to fall neaviest on female farmers especially if they have young children. The magnitude of their concerns about the quality of their environment and not being able to farm successfully suggests that many of these farmers would improve their quality of life by peeding up the transition out of farming before all their farm's equity is lost.