May 12, 2015--Water, Water

Rona was watering the plants on the terrace. It is a late spring here and she was trying to help the plants catch up with the calendar. Some savvy garden person had recommended a week of Boomerang application. Boomerang being a fertilizer that purports to help plants bounce back from the kind of harsh winter the city had endured.

"Just what they need," Rona said, adding, "A boost. But what the plants really need is just the right amount of water."

"Just like us," I said, "We too need just the right amount of watering. Come to think of it," I thought for the first time, "Why is it that they and we require water to live? To survive? We can do without food for weeks but only a few days without water."

Rona paused in her watering. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I too never thought about that. I mean the specifics. The biology in our case and the botany in theirs." She pointed toward her sage plants.

"I think it's universal," I said. "I mean I think all life on earth--animals, sea creatures, all vegetation--all, everything requires water."

"And maybe oxygen too?"

"Probably. Water after all is largely oxygen. H2O. The O being oxygen."

"Remember the time we were in the Namibian Dessert? You had work to do in Windhoek and I came along so after you were done we could take a week to look around."

"I remember that. Great landscape, great animals, interesting people."

"Unusual for us,"Rona recalled, "we hired a guide to take us into the dessert. It was amazing. Some of the world's biggest sand dunes. And . . ."

"I know where you're going with this," I said. "There were those pants that were millennia old. Thousands of years old. He said, the oldest plants on earth."

"How parched they looked. Actually dead."

"But from his canteen he wet one with maybe two, three drops of water. That was all."

"And with that they sprang back to life."

"As with Boomerang," I winked.

"Exactly. Amazing."

"I need to learn more about water. Probably from Wikipedia."

Which I did and here is some of what I learned--

First, the Namibian plant is Welwitschia, named for the German botanist who classified it, and, yes, some are more than 2,000 years old.

And, also true, all living things, all, require water to live. They, we use water in different ways--humans versus, say, sage plants.

For us water is essential to the proliferation of life. It carries out this role by allowing organic compounds to react in ways that contribute to cellular replication. It is vital as a solvent, dissolving many cell components and the chemicals and compounds cell division requires. In this way water is essential to many, perhaps most of the body's metabolic processes.

In one called catabolism, water is used to break the bonds of large molecules in order to generate smaller ones--glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids--to be used as fuel for biological energy. Without water these metabolic processes could not exist. And neither could we.

For sage plants and other flora water is essential to photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthetic cells such as chlorophil use the sun's energy to split off water's hydrogen from its oxygen. Hydrogen is then combined with CO_{2, which is absorbed from the air or water, to form glucose and release oxygen. All living plant cells use these fuels and in this cycle oxidize the hydrogen and carbon to capture the sun's energy and, through cellular respiration, re-form water and} CO_2.  

"Come on out and take a look at the akebia," Rona called downstairs to me, luring me away from the computer. "It's about to bloom and the flowers have such a lovely scent."

"Your garden is amazing," I said. "As Wiki says . . ."

She cut me off. "Forget Wiki. Sit by the honeysuckle," She whispered. "I saw a humming bird. Rare for the city. But they love the nectar of honeysuckle."

"Sit very still," Rona suggested. I did and sure enough, after a half hour . . .

Welwitschia Plant

February 17, 2015--Have It Our Way

Two major food companies last week released financial statements about earnings for the fourth quarter of 2014. Kellogg and McDonalds.

Both failed to meet expectations, with McDonalds reporting a significant and on-going decline in "customer visits," earnings, and profits. Speculation about both--for the most part confirmed by the companies as they scramble to turn things around--is that they are losing customers because people are seeking healthier food. And there are healthier fast-food alternatives to Mickey D's at places such as Chipolte, Chick-fil-A, and, if you must have a burger, Shake Shack.

McDonalds saw customer visits during the quarter decline by 1.7% and, more ominous, earnings decline by 21%. The third quarter was even worse with visits down 3.3%.

In response, they are launching an ad campaign, featuring a new slogan--"I'm Lovin' It." And employees are being made to wear new, lighter-feeling uniforms. Reportedly, they hate both. Especially the "lovin'" part.

Recognizing that much of this decline is the result of Americans becoming health conscious, McDonalds is experimenting with "custom burgers" (in other words, "Have it your way")  and eliminating some items, including quarter-pounders with cheese. A cholesterol nightmare.

For my money, they could get rid of the quarter-pounder altogether. The burger itself may start out weighing a quarter of a pound, but during the cooking, after all the fat runs out, it looks more like the sliver of a burger one gets at White Castle. If you want something resembling a burger that weights a quarter pound, head for Shake Shack. Though, as a guilty treat, McDonalds still does make some mean fries.

Meanwhile, over at Kellogg, the world's largest supplier of cereal, the picture isn't much brighter. There sales too have been plummeting. Fourth-quarter earnings were down an astonishing $293 million. Even after adjusting for currency fluctuations and accounting maneuvers, the company self-reports great concern. Like McDonalds, they too are scrambling to make modifications in their product lines. And for some of the same reasons.

CEO John Bryant cited weakness in sales of even Kellogg's "healthy" cereals, including  in the Special K line. He observed that consumers are shifting away from products that claim to be "diet" foods and are opting more and more for what executives in the industry call "functional foods." Those with fewer, simpler ingredients that do not include genetically-modified grains. So Kellogg accordingly is moving quickly to modify its breakfast cereals, Kashi brand, and snack foods.

As counter evidence that Americans are adjusting their diets for reasons other than health, Coca Cola continues to lose market share with bottled water, energy drinks, and coffee becoming beverages of choice for younger consumers. (The average age of Coke drinkers is 56.) It is obviously good to be moving away from drinks that are loaded with corn syrup, but becoming addicted to caffeine is not the ideal alternative.