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We all generally know the components of a nutritious meal: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein and...edible food wrap?! Scientists from India and Russia have found a solution to the both (currently) inedible and wasteful plastic product which is used to preserve various types of food. Their new invention is biodegradable and safe for human consumption. The shocking development is a positive sign that grocery shopping and commercialized food has potential to be reformed in a way that is safer and more sustainable for both the environment and human bodies. The concoction is a composite of alginate molecules and ferulic acid (a cinnamic acid derivative). Specifically, the sodium alginate used to create the edible film is found in brown algae, and “performs as liquid gel”, helping the compound fuse together, claims senior researcher Rammohan Aluru. According to scientists involved in the research, the production of the edible film does not require any Star Trek-esque, futuristic equipment. Grigory Zyryanov, professor of organic and biomolecular chemistry at Ural Federal University, says that the edible food wrap can be made at a polymer production facility and “if an inexhaustible source of algae in the ocean is nearby it will be quite simple to create such films.” Now, there are many things that humans can technically eat, but have no real health properties—think fruit roll-ups, Cheetos, or almost any item your child begs you to buy them when you are going through the check-out line. Surprisingly, this edible food wrap has healthful components—scientists claim that ferulic acid has a wide variety of antioxidant and pharmacological properties. And, it appears that manufacturers could add antiviral agents that make the food within the wrappers safer. Zyryanov claims that “we can add to the films natural antiviral agents, which will also extend the shelf life of food. Garlic, turmeric, and ginger contain compounds that may prevent the spread of the viruses.” In time, one may truly be eating their way through their groceries. The official study as published in the Journal of Food Engineering can be found here.

When you are the presumptive No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft, it is hard to keep the fame from getting to your head. Yet, for Trevor Lawrence of Clemson University, he has had no trouble starting off on the right foot in his predicted new home of Jacksonville, Florida, donating $20,000 to the Jacksonville community for their kindness and gifts after his recent wedding. Trevor Lawrence, the former star quarterback at Clemson University, is pretty certain he will be starting his career off in Jacksonville, as the Jaguars have the first pick in the 2021 NFL draft, and the fans couldn’t be happier. The 21-year-old married long-time girlfriend Marissa in early April of this year, and the newly-weds were immediately showered with wedding gifts and donations to charities of their choosing by Jaguar fans. The couple expressed their gratitude in a tweet, and announced their generous donation of $20,000 to charities in Jacksonville. Lawrence has been talked about since he was a star in high-school, and in his three years with Clemson, scored 108 total touchdowns, winning 97% of his games as a starter. But, his prowess as a player is not the only thing that keeps Lawrence in the headlines. Lawrence has continually used his platform as an elite college athlete to fight racial injustice and promote social change. In the fall of 2020, along with other college football stars from across the country, created a five-point plan to create real change, and posted it to Twitter, along with this statement: "Over the course of the past year, our country has witnessed some of the most atrocious racial injustices against countless Black and African-American people. Too many have fallen victim to racial injustice and system inequities. Enough is enough. Real change must come." He has been a spokesman for his team and athletes across the country in regards to social change, and has remained humble despite the fame that comes with his platform. "So grateful and thankful for my wife and all the people in our life," Lawrence captioned the Instagram post of his wedding.  

78-year-old Linda Owens of Hayward, California was recently honored after taking in her 81st infant as a foster parent. “This is what God’s handed me a gift to do,” said Owens, a retired grocery department manager. Owens took in her first baby 34 years ago, and cares for each child on her own. Sometimes she even watches two at a time. Owens cares for the children until they are adopted or can return to their birth family. When she has to part ways with the babies, she often struggles to say goodbye. "I can give her a kiss on the forehead and wish her the best, and say, 'I love you,'" Owens said of the baby she is currently fostering. She has had this 7-week-old baby girl since she left the hospital as a newborn. She gets paid for her foster care, but she also buys certain supplies like baby gear and clothing with her own money. Many babies have come to Owens exposed to drugs in the womb, while others have developmental delays. Many of the babies do not sleep through the night. About 140,000 children are adopted in the United States each year. About 59 percent of those adoptions come from the foster care system, according to Adoption Network. Owens says she still remembers all the babies that she has cared for, despite all the years that have passed. The oldest child she cared for is now 37. She has also cared for three sets of twins. “It’s a challenging job,” she said, “but very rewarding.”  

The impact of the world’s largest painting is going to far surpass its 17,000 square feet. In March, artist Sacha Jafri sold his massive magnum opus, The Journey of Humanity, to businessman Andre Abdoune for $62 million at a Dubai charity auction. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to programs supporting child health and education. Children were central to the creation of Jafri’s enormous work. The British painter asked children from around the world to send him artwork reflecting their personal experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Jafri pasted their work in various places across his sprawling canvas—which about the size of four NBA basketball courts. Guinness World Records named the masterpiece the world’s largest canvas painting. Stuck in Dubai because of the pandemic, Jafri was inspired to use his isolation as a means to create his most expansive work yet. Last year, at the start of the project, Jafri told CNN that he “wanted to create something poignant, something that would mean something. Something that could potentially make a really big difference.” So, Jafri filled up the entire ballroom of Dubai’s Atlantis Palm hotel with canvas and quite literally got on his hands and knees to create The Journey of Humanity. According to a CBC article, Jafri spent 20 hours per day painting during the eight month project. The operation included 1,065 paint brushes and over 1,600 gallons of paint, along with one emergency back procedure. Jafri’s back, pelvis, and heels all suffered injuries during his relentless creative process, which involved strenuous, active body movement. He tells CBC: "I did a lot of damage to my body. I paint from a very sort of deep, meditative state. So I'm in a trance. I don't realize the damage I'm doing [to my body].” Jafri had cut his painting into 70 different panels, with the goal of selling them individually. He anticipated that, in total, he would fetch $30 million at auction to ultimately distribute to various youth-focused charities and organizations. So, Abdoune’s offer to buy all of the panels for $62 million came as a shock—and made Jafri’s vision all the more real. Quoted in CNN, Jafri says: “I had a vision to reconnect our broken planet through the hearts, minds and souls of the children of the world. I feel in my heart that we have come one step closer to achieving [this goal]...thanks to Andre."

Walmart has just announced that it will be making efforts to reduce pollinator extinction by adopting integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and building pollinator habitats. This is all part of Walmart’s 2020 pledge to become a regenerative company. In terms of IPM, by 2025, Walmart promises that all of its fresh flowers and produce will be sourced from suppliers that are third-party integrated pest management- approved. Senior Vice President Martin Mundo stated, “We will also continue to avoid selling invasive plant species in our retail sources...and we will work with local organizations to protect, restore or establish pollinator habitats in major pollinator migration corridors.” Walmart also plans to include a pollinator garden in its new headquarters. A pollinator garden is planted and designed with specific nectar and pollen producing plants in order to attract pollinating insects. At this new 350-acre campus in Bentonville, Arkansas, set to be fully completed in 2025, three-quarters of the plant species will be pollen-producing plants in order to attract bees and other pollinating insects. Mundo stated, “Meadows planted near lakes will provide ample undisturbed pollinator foraging habitats as well as important water access and potential for more intentional nesting habitat spaces for insects, small animals and birds.” As of today, over twenty Walmart stores already have their own pollinator gardens. More gardens are in the works. Further, Walmart has partnered with solar companies to establish pollinator habitats near solar panel clusters, such as its distribution centers in South Carolina and Minnesota. Also, the retail giant is asking its suppliers to label pollinator-friendly plants in order to educate and encourage customers to purchase environmentally friendly species. It is Walmart’s hope that its consumers will produce their own pollinator gardens. According to Mundo, “In total, more than 1.3 million annual and perennial pollinator-promoting plants will carry tags in Walmart stores this spring.” The desire to save the bees, birds, and butterflies is just one of Walmart’s many initiatives to protect and restore the environment. Earth Day may only be once a year but Walmart is now paying tribute to mother nature everyday.

Carl Wallace, the owner of Diablo’s Southwest Grill in Augusta, Georgia, was shocked when he showed up to his restaurant one morning to a shattered front door. He quickly checked his surveillance cameras, and saw the scene that had unfolded earlier that morning. At 4 AM, the burglar smashed the front door and ran up to the cash register, only to find it empty, after which he promptly left. Instead of calling the police, as most would after such a crime, Wallace decided to take to Facebook, offering the suspect a job and a chance at a better life. On the post Wallace wrote: “To the would-be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues... please swing by for a job application. There are better opportunities out there than this path you’ve chosen…. Let’s sit down and talk about how we could help you and fix the road you’re on.” Wallace soon went viral for his act of kindness, and hundreds are flocking to his restaurant because of it. “They’re risking so much every time they do this: to the business owner, to themselves, or what could happen if the police show up during the process of the break in,” Wallace said sympathizing with the suspect. Wallace said that he thinks the robber was the culprit of two other recent local robberies, as the victims of an attempted robbery said their surveillance footage matched his. Wallace and Diablo’s are being praised in the Facebook comments, and Wallace hopes that others will follow in his lead. "I can't save the world but maybe I can make a change in one person's life," he said. "If they're willing to do better then I'm willing to be there for them... The police catch him and he's back on the street a few days later and that person's life didn't get corrected."  

Without a job, a place to live, or any substantial financial support, the lives of homeless people are erased all too easily from our global narrative. How does one combat this? A London community organization believes that this involves getting homeless people pens and paper to share their stories. The Accumulate Art School for the Homeless has published, according to their website, “the world’s first ever graphic novel created by people affected by homelessness.” Released in October 2020, The Book of Homelessness is a 160-page anthology of poetry, collage, illustration, and personal essay co-authored by 18 different individuals who have experienced homelessness. Accumulate conducts fundraising work to provide creative workshops at eight different hostels across London. The charity’s origin story is as heartwarming as the services it provides. According to its website, Accumulate was established in 2013 when the North London YMCA hostel reached out to Marice Cumber, a founder of an arts festival in Crouch End. Cumber and young hostel residents agreed to plan an exhibition at Crouch End Festival to display the creative talent of those affected by homelessness. Cumber and fellow volunteers began the Preserves with a Purpose Project, making and selling jars of jam out of discarded fruit to pay for the creative workshops needed to prepare for the festival. The Accumulate Art School for the Homeless was born. The organization has now moved away from jam-making in favor of other independent fundraising work. Tutors and students at nearby Ravensbourne College head Accumulate’s art courses, providing instruction in photography, film, creative writing, and jewelry-making, amongst others creative pursuits. Encouraging art as a means of social and personal advancement for homeless people, Accumulate has awarded eight university scholarships since 2016. It is the hope that sales of The Book of Homelessness will fund a ninth. The Book of Homelessness comes out of a three-month course at Shoreditch’s Autograph Gallery. Providing uncut, raw, and candid portrayal of the human condition, the graphic novel gives voice to specific life experiences that are so often obscured by the catch-all “homeless” label. For this reason, The Book of Homelessness has received critical acclaim—notably from Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth who, in a review on the book’s back cover, claims that “the fact that these beautiful, personal works are the expressions of our neighbours makes it untenable to ignore them ever again.” The book can be purchased on Accumulate’s website and is currently selling for £25.

When you pick up a deck of cards to play a game of Go-Fish, you probably aren’t thinking about how those playing cards enable systemic gender inequality. However, Israeli 16-year-old Maayan Segal saw playing cards as a striking example of sexist norms from a young age, asking her father during a family game: “Why is the queen card worth less than the king?”. Maayan decided to take instant action. She headed to the drafting board and created the first-ever gender-balanced deck of cards. Maayan branded the deck with the name “Queeng”—a gender-balanced combination of “queen” and “king.” Her project has been immensely successful, garnering coverage from CNN, USA Today, and The Jerusalem Posti. Maayan has sold over 50,000 decks in one year, amassing more than a half million dollars from backers who invested in the first edition of the cards. Maayan began hearing feedback that Queeng was not totally representative of global diversity. She realized she needed to revise the cards’ design to be more ethnically diverse because, according to Queeng’s website, “if we are going to give these cards to kids to hold in their hands and play with, don’t we want them to see an accurate depiction of the world?!”. Queeng’s second edition was born; Maayan introduced a variety of new skin tones and facial features to the deck, aiming to supplement the already-existing gender inclusivity with a more ethnically diverse design. You may be wondering: this sounds beautiful in theory, but are these cards actually functional in a basic card game? With her entrepreneurial brilliance, Maayan’s alterations do indeed work seamlessly in all games played with a traditional deck of cards. Queeng’s second edition, which hit the market in March, replaces Kings with male and female “monarchs” (marked with the letter “M” on the card). In place of Queens, Maayan introduced “dukes” and “duchesses” (marked with the letter “D”). Finally, Maayan removed Jacks from the deck, replacing them with “princes” and “princesses” (marked with the letter “P”). So, yes—while playing with a Queengs deck, a game will still have a winner. Just without the harmful gender stereotypes. Read more about Maayan’s cards—and buy some for yourself—on her website.

When Michael King left his wallet containing $10k on his bumper, he never could have imagined someone would find it, return it, and expect nothing in return. King had just taken money out from the bank to cover a business debt. “I just took the withdrawal that day, and I don’t know what compelled me to leave it on the bumper of the truck,” King told the Seattle Times. Luckily for King, Steve Harrison, a Washington state native, was the one to find his lost property. Harrison, who was driving in the opposite direction, noticed something floating in the breeze and quickly realized it was cash. He pulled over and snatched it all up, finding King’s wallet in the process. His first order of business after finding the wallet containing a total sum of $10,003 was to return it to the rightful owner. “I never took seriously the notion of keeping it,” Harrison told the Seattle Times. “It’s just simpler to do the right thing. Once I realized that there was an ID involved, I knew I would return the money.” After the two arranged a meeting, King realized he was unable to offer Harrison a financial reward. Instead, King brought along a jar of homemade applesauce, one that was made with love by his family. King’s culinary gifts to Harrison aren’t stopping there. He has also promised to share some home-smoked salmon, homemade blueberry jam, along with other sweet treats. “I am just flabbergasted that it didn’t get picked up by somebody else. It would have crippled us to have that amount of money disappear,” King says of his gratitude towards Harrison. Though some people might be a bit let down by the lack of financial reward for such an amazing act of honesty, King’s gifts are sure to leave Harrison with a sweet taste in his mouth and remind him just how meaningful his actions were.