October 2021 – purplexed science

“Food poverty is contributing to social unrest. Add school closures, redundancies, and furloughs into the equation and we have an issue that could negatively impact generations to come. It all starts with stability around access to food.”

– Marcus Rashford, Manchester United/England Football Player

Last year, Marcus Rashford, a young professional footballer threw himself headfirst into a campaign to ensure children in the UK were not left hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially met by resistance from the government, he was able to bring about something that has been lacking for years – action.

However, it’s worth noting that the best way to eradicate food poverty is to understand what it is and how it comes about. Many people in economically well off countries struggle to understand how people can’t afford to feed themselves or their children.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast cancer affects 55,000 women every year in the UK and 7.8m worldwide over the past five years, with 2.3m women being diagnosed in 2020 alone. Men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. They make up 0.5-1% of breast cancer patients.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world, and while it’s more common in women over 50, anyone above puberty age can get it.

Breast cancer awareness is about knowing the sign and symptoms so that it can be caught early. It’s believed that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the prognosis.