Global Wellness Real Estate Market Continues Surge During Pandemic––Forbes, September 29, 2021
Coverage of the GWI’s recent symposium and new research on the wellness real estate market, noting that the diverse experts at the event see the market as a huge opportunity, with the pandemic leading to new experiments in designing the built environment as ‘preventive medicine.’ Trends driving future growth: 1) technology to create more ‘well’ buildings will proliferate, whether air purification or telemedicine, 2) working from home will play a role with wellness-centered down time spaces and new ownership models, 3) baby boomers will reinvent senior living with an emphasis on creativity, purpose and multi-generational connections, 4) affordability will play a more important role because the pandemic drove home the importance of healthy living spaces for all.
The new wellness imperative for long-haul travel–Skift, September 7, 2021
The break from long-haul air travel has led to a long-overdue recognition that it takes a huge toll on your body, mind and sleep. This article argues that the days of decadent business travel are over and that the premium end of the travel industry will finally start to treat long-haul travelers like what they are: endurance athletes. Airline and hospitality services will pivot to sleep, recovery, wellness and restoration.
Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story––The Counter, September 22, 2021
For those interested in the future of food, this article questions the view that a new era of cheap, accessible cultured protein is rapidly approaching and argues the opposite: Cell-cultured meat will likely never be a cost-competitive food because “the cell-culture process will be plagued by extreme, intractable technical challenges at food scale.” If correct, the research-based assertions made in this piece suggest that the idea of feeding a meaningful number of people with cultured animal protein is “a fable driven by hope, not science, and when the investors finally realize this, the market will collapse.”
Combatting an invisible killer: New WHO air pollution guidelines recommend sharply lower limits––The Conversation, September 22, 2021
This helps understand why the fight against air pollution is gaining so much traction and why it embeds so many investment/business opportunities. Air pollution is now clearly associated with dangerous health outcomes such as low birth weight, respiratory problems, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and the WHO has just decided to tighten its recommended limits for almost every pollutant. According to the World Bank, lowering the health burden associated with air pollution exposure could save $5 trillion annually in health-related costs and $225 billion in labor productivity.
For many people, the term “misinformation” conjures up images of conspiracy-theorist chat rooms and Russian bots. But as this podcast explores, an alarming amount of misinformation about the coronavirus is coming from so-called “wellness influencers.”
A Striking Stat
The pandemic has made health Americans’ #1 life priority in 2021, just edging out family life and relationships.
