In the past ten years, veganism has risen by 160%. Regardless of the potential for growth, this is an impressive number. Even more remarkable is the fact that 375 million people around the world consider themselves vegans or vegetarians. You may point out this is only 0.05% of the total population, yet hundreds of millions of people can’t be ignored.
Using these stats, it’s easy to say one thing – the lifestyle is popular. Sure, the vast percentage of people still eats meat, yet the tide seems to be turning. However, as this happens the spotlight falls on the life, it begs one question: is it as helpful as it advertises?
All Around The World
The west hasn’t decided to pump money into veganism and increase food supplies. Nope, the raw materials come from countries around the globe, a lot of which that are poor. Avocados are in vogue today, as are beans and lentils. Unlike a slab of meat, these ingredients come from countries such as Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia. In short, they have to be flown thousands of miles, emitting dangerous gases along the way. Ag sprayer nozzles can help preserve them for longer, yet the damage has been done. Meat may be cruel but it doesn’t travel as far.
‘Avo Look At The Price
As relatively wealthy people, a price hike isn’t the worst thing in the world. Indeed, vegans are happy to pay over the odds to save the planet, which is commendable. Citizens from less economically developed countries aren’t on the same page. And, it seems to be them who are paying the price, literally. Kenya has had to ban exporting avocados because the stock fell dramatically and the cost rose to $25 per fruit. Vegans are happy to take advantage yet people are losing out on the other side. Some would argue this isn’t fair.
SJW
SJW stands for social justice warriors; people who fight for causes no matter how big or small. Great, this is what the world needs. As a society, we are losing touch and need to fight back against the man. Sadly, as the last paragraph points out, this isn’t always the case. Plus, there is a developing trait connected to veganism: labeling. Vegans, believing their choice is the right one, preach and make others feel uncomfortable. Worse than that, they boycott, protest and scream obscenities at suppliers and customers alike. This attitude is permeating every walk of life and is splitting societies in two.
Evolution
Human beings have evolved to need protein. In fact, all animals are the same. Chimpanzees are typical herbivores, eating a diet high in vegetation and fruit, yet even they hunt other monkeys. Why? They do it because they need the meat to provide protein. Cutting out meat in all forms could be potentially harmful to health. Sure, there are other ways to source protein, yet meat is the main source. Eradicating meat altogether isn’t the issue; cutting back should be the plan.
Veganism is a worthy cause, but it’s worth remembering that it isn’t infallible.
If you are an entrepreneur, you might have already implemented some budgeting and financing methods in your household. Just like with your business, you will have to plan your investments well ahead and have a reserve fund for emergencies. To make your household run as smoothly as your business, you might want to check out the below resources and tips.
The first thing you will need to do is create a budget. It is important that you separate your business expenses and income from your personal one, or you will never know how far you can stretch at home and in your professional life. A budget will help you manage your money efficiently, and avoid having to take out credit and living off your business budget. Try to increase your income or reduce your expenditures by making small adjustments every time.
Take Out Insurance
To help you deal with unexpected household expenses, you might consider taking out a home insurance, or a home emergency cover. There are different benefits of each type of insurance. A home emergency cover will only deal with your issues if they endanger you or interfere with your normal living, for example not having heating or hot water, or your home becoming uninhabitable. A home insurance, however, will also cover you for accidents and break-ins.
If you are good with tools and enjoy doing your home improvements yourself, you can save money on tradesmen’s bills. You can easily learn how to change a sink or a faucet from the internet, and put up wallpaper, you can save money, and reduce the amount of mess created in your home when you call a tradesman and wait around until they can complete the job. From fixing windows to cleaning your drive, there are plenty of tasks you can try yourself at.
Have Reliable Tradesmen Ready
In some cases, you will, however, need a reliable person to carry out work that requires specialist knowledge. Your time is better spent at the business than trying to research and figure out why your furnace is not firing up. You should get the contact details of people who are able to help you out at a reasonable price, so you don’t have to spend time and energy searching for a plumber or electrician when you need them. Ask your friends for recommendations or check out websites like fixitt.co.za for information on packages.
Have a Maintenance Plan
If you buy appliances with an extended warranty, you will be able to benefit from the convenient and accessible repair service, so you don’t have to worry about finding the right parts or specialist. You can sign up for a personal household maintenance plan as well, and this means that you are protecting your valuables and addressing issues at an early stage. As you will reduce the risk of things breaking down, you can save money on your home insurance, too.
Busy business owners often find it hard to manage their household and business simultaneously. Hopefully, the above tips will help you do it better in the future.
Robots. They are coming, whether you like it or not. In fact, in reality, they are already here. The majority of factories today employ robots to do the lion’s share of work and have done for many years if not decades. Robots are nothing new, yet, we are entering a new phase in their development.
Today, we are being introduced to life-like robots that we would have once only seen in a science-fiction movie. The first robot citizen, Sophia (who was granted citizenship to Saudi Arabia, last winter) has started turning heads in a number of interviews where she has displayed a human-like ability to comprehend and respond to emotion; so rather than be limited to fast functional features such as bolting together car components, she is able to converse and “relate” on a human level.
For many, this is viewed as an amazing scientific breakthrough, whilst for others, they feel this is a slippery slope that is leading us toward an I, Robot film scenario which could have disastrous consequences if robots gain so much intelligence they can outsmart humans; and reverse the roles so that we are the “robots” doing menial tasks.
Of course, in the real world, where people run for Arizona secretary of state office and we are faced with increasing tensions between countries like North Korea and Russia… robots are the last thing on our mind – yet, it’s important to keep up with the latest advances, as robots do seem to be coming, and the future is now.
The question, and perhaps, a concern is that with such impressive computing power, and the apparent ability to interpret human emotion, could robots ever reach a stage in their development where they become more intelligent than humans?
The answer is probably yes… indeed, in some ways they are more capable and certainly more efficient than humans in the tasks they undertake, and whilst these tasks are currently limited to relatively menial functions – there’s nothing stopping robots taking the place of our armed forces, police and even healthcare functions.
Hanson Robotics, has created one of the most life-like robots the world has ever seen, in that it has a surprisingly human appearance and, according to several sources has the ability to relate and understand emotion.
The Sophia-Bot has artificial intelligence that facilitates deep learning. Sophia has an interactive personality, akin to that of a child, that evolves and adapts to the situations she finds herself in.
Sophia explains, whilst demonstrating different facial expressions, that “I can let you know if I am angry about something or if something has upset me”, stating how she wants to live and work with humans so she needs to express the emotions to understand humans and build trust with people.
There’s an interesting political and cultural controversy surrounding this robot’s citizenship, namely that this female robot would appear to have more “rights” than human citizens of Saudi Arabia, yet the fact to focus on is that technology is aiming to become much more helpful… and it’s interesting to see what happens next.
How would you feel, if one day, rather than be met by an ‘imperfect human’ at the operating theatre, you were met by a robot that could facilitate your operation with absolute precision? It’s an interesting thought and it’s a good idea to keep an eye on where this technology is heading.
When you are closely involved in running a business, there can be many things that occupy your time. However, having a lot on your plate is no excuse to take your eye off the ball and forget the essentials, as these are often the thing that can make the difference between success and failure. With that in mind, why not check out the information below on four keys areas you always need to keep your eye on if you want your business to be a success.
First of all, your business will struggle to be successful if the building in which it is housed is not kept in good condition. In fact, if your commercial building isn’t up to scratch, you can end up putting thousands of dollars worth of equipment, as well as stock at risk, and that is even before you get started on the health and safety problems for your staff that such a building can cause.
To that end regular check of the condition of the building need to be carried out. Be sure to check the basement and roof as well as the just the occupied levels, and if you find things that need fixing call in the roofing contractors, or the relevant specialist right away. It is crucial to do this as soon as you can because the state of the roof and basement affect the overall integrity of the building, and so have an impact on how safe and secure it is.
Your sales figures
Next, another area that you will need to keep an eye on is your sales figures. In fact, monitoring and analyzing all sort of big data can be useful in mapping your customer’s patterns and preferences. Such information can then be used to tailor your products and marketing approaches to your customer demographic better, which is a strategy that should result in increased sales and long-term success.
Your security
Also, don’t forget that in the digital work cybersecurity is a significant area to keep an eye on. In particular, it is vital that you monitor users access to sensitive or confidential information.
The reason for this is because the primary threat to digital security is usually workers within your own company, as they either using unsecured networks or deliberately copying and remove data. This is a situation that could be disastrous to your success, and so safety measures need to be monitored regularly to ensure they are working to prevent it.
Your staff turnover
Lastly, remember to monitor your staff turnover. Your turnover is the number of staff that leave and need to be replaced every year. A high staff turnover can be indicative of a problem that needs addressing such as a stressful work environment or a lack of financial reward for the job you are asking people to complete.
It can even be a sign of relationship management issue and bullying in the workplace, all thing which needs to be dealt with right away for the continued success of your company.
Continual demand for low priced meat has left farmers struggling in recent years. Many are having to work long days for little pay. And, things don’t look set to improve with Trump’s trade war with China rippling into the industry. It’d be fair to say many lifelong farmers are starting to quake in their wellies. As though politics weren’t enough to throw the industry into dispute, agricultural workers are also dealing with the changing tastes of the nation. We are, of course, talking about veganism. While this was once the reserve of the militant few, 6% of Americans now refer to themselves as vegan. And, this only looks set to increase as people become more concerned about animal welfare and environmental impact. Plus, increased access to meat and dairy alternatives makes this lifestyle more accessible than ever. But, while some farmers are trying to push the message that meat is best, others are adopting a vegan mindest with open arms. And, it’s possible that’s the best way forward. After all, when you can’t beat the people, you have to join them. And, these farmers are certainly seeing better success than their counterparts. Only time can tell whether that success will stand last for the duration. Right now, though, it seems like every farmer could do with following in their footsteps. But how exactly are these farmers embracing the trend? A step away from animal products Perhaps the most obvious option is to step away from animal products. Companies like MKC can help meat farmers move towards crop production. In truth, this a more lucrative option than many farmers realize. Unlike animals, crops require little input before offering rewards. While money per product is less, production like this can drastically cut outward costs. So, many would argue it’s a worthwhile trade. What’s more, this is sure to help farms stay afloat in a world where meat eating is no longer a given. Either way, it’s fair to say that the grass is greener on the green side right now.
In recent years, the focus has been on cheaper meat, sometimes at the expense of conditions for animals. But, things are shifting the other way. Now, most consumers are willing to pay more for meat raised in humane conditions. As such, farmers could also benefit from focusing on better conditions, even if it does mean raising prices. Cutting out the middle-man Aside from just being about cutting animal products, veganism means paying attention to what you eat. And, that means watching where you buy it. As such, farms which sell products straight to customers are thriving right now. Even avid vegans may be willing to buy fresh eggs if they can see chickens in the yard. Many are also willing to eat organic meat products from farmers they trust. So, focusing on a shop space could be the last step to farming success right now. Who knows, this could even change the face of farms in our community.
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