Press Release 1
Press Release 2
Press Release 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2006
CONTACT: Janet Byron, (510) 987-0668 or janet.byron@ucop.edu

October-December 2006 California Agriculture magazine

Press Release 1:
Lead poisoning still a risk to U.S. children
Lead levels in air and food have been drastically reduced since the 1970s, but some U.S. children still face an elevated risk of exposure to lead from old paint, dust, soil, imported pottery and ceramic ware, ethnic remedies, and some imported foods and other consumer goods, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the October-December 2006 issue of the University of California’s California Agriculture journal. The full article is posted online at http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu.
“Even very low levels of lead exposure are of concern in young children,” says lead author Karrie Heneman, postdoctoral researcher in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition. “Their nervous systems are still rapidly developing. Elevated lead levels put young children at higher risk of neurobehavioral and cognitive problems, including IQ deficiencies, behavioral issues and hearing impairment.”
Heneman and co-author Sheri Zidenberg-Cherr, Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, reviewed the most current data on lead concentrations in the environment (air, water, paint and soil); food (candy, chocolate and calcium supplements); and other sources (imported cookware and ethnic remedies).
Two major sources of lead exposure in the United States — paint and gasoline — have been reduced. But lead still lingers in older housing, soil and various consumer products. For example, very large amounts of lead have been found in some medicinal remedies used in ethnic communities; one study of 70 ayurvedic products (based on traditional medicine in India) in the Boston area found that 20% contained lead, often at very high levels. In recent years, health organizations have discovered lead in children’s lunchboxes and jewelry.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 430,000 children between 1 and 5 years old in the United States have blood-lead levels at or above 10 micrograms per deciliter. Studies have shown that IQ levels can be adversely affected even below 10 micrograms per deciliter — by as much as 7.4 points, “suggesting that any exposure to lead can put a child at risk,” the authors wrote.

Press Release 2
Nutrition education saves on California medical costs
A cost-benefit analysis published in the October-December 2006 issue of the University of California’s California Agriculture journal has determined that every dollar spent on nutrition education in California saves between $3.67 and $8.34 in future medical costs. The full article is posted online at http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu.
In the peer-reviewed study, University of California researchers measured the economic impact of nutrition education provided by the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), a federally funded USDA program administered by the University of California statewide to low-income families.
Using cost-benefit analysis methodology developed by Virginia Cooperative Extension, the authors compared food-related behavioral changes among California EFNEP participants to the predicted future incidence of eight nutrition-related diseases and conditions, including heart disease, obesity, stroke, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes. The study analyzed pre- and post-tests from over 9,500 participants to estimate long-term changes in food consumption.
During this study, EFNEP served over 13,000 low-income California families, in both urban and rural locations. Participants received 6 to 8 hours of education each week, for 4 to 6 weeks. The lessons emphasized the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreased fat intake, and improved skills in food safety, shopping and preparation, with the long-range goals of improved health and reduced risk of disease. At the time of the study, California EFNEP received approximately $3.6 million.
Lead author Amy Block Joy, specialist in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, emphasized that the study used the most conservative economic assumptions possible in order to arrive at the conclusion that every dollar spent on nutrition education in California saves at least $3.67 in future medical costs.
“Nutrition education appears to be a good economic investment for California and the country, especially with an underserved population that is likely to have poorer eating habits and higher risk for numerous chronic diseases and conditions,” Joy says. Joy serves as director of the California Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) program, another nutrition program that uses program delivery and evaluation methods similar to EFNEP and serves more than 60,000 food stamp­–eligible recipients each year. In California, the FSNE program receives approximately $12 million annually

Press Release 3
Weather can predict crop yields for some California crops
Historic weather data can be used to develop accurate yield predictions for a number of important California crops, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the October-December 2006 issue of the University of California’s California Agriculture journal. The full article is posted online at http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu.
Currently, the California Agricultural Statistics Service (CASS) develops estimates of coming harvests for major California crops, which are then used by growers and the food industry to plan strategies for crop harvest, storage and distribution. These labor-intensive predictions are based on phone interviews with hundreds of farmers, or on samples from hundreds of fields.
The authors obtained 24 years of actual yield data for 12 valuable California crops  — including walnuts, oranges, processing tomatoes and grapes — and compared it with daily weather measurements from 382 stations throughout California over the same time period. The resulting statistical models were able to predict the yields of some crops “with fairly high accuracy,” wrote the authors, based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University. For almonds, the model captured 80% of yield variance; the models also did particularly well at predicting low yields in almonds, processing tomatoes, oranges and cotton.
The authors note that while field-based surveys are likely to be more accurate than weather-based yield predictions, weather-based estimates are much less expensive to produce and are often able to provide reliable yield forecasts several months earlier in the growing season. “This gives growers the opportunity to use the information to make decisions,” says lead author David Lobell. “For example, our models for almonds and walnuts rely mainly on winter weather, while harvest does not begin until late summer.”
Growers and others interested in yield forecasts for the current season are encouraged to contact Lobell at lobell2@llnl.gov or (925) 422-4148.