The Horn of Africa and American War on Terror, How You Eat Is As Important As What You Eat, & Bring the Oysters Back

Oct 05, 2021

In a remote corner of eastern Africa, behind tiers of razor wire and concrete blast walls, it’s possible to get a glimpse of America’s unending war on terrorism. Camp Lemonnier, a 550-acre military base, houses U.S. special-operations teams tasked with fighting the world’s most powerful al-Qaeda affiliates. Unfolding over miles of sun-scorched desert and volcanic rock inside the tiny country of Djibouti, the base looks—the troops stationed here will tell you—like a sand-colored prison fortress.
Inside, two subcamps sit behind opaque 20-ft. fences ringed with yet more razor wire. The commando teams emerge anonymously from behind the gates and board lumbering cargo planes to fly across Djibouti’s southern border with Somalia for what they call “episodic engagements” with local forces fighting al-Shabab, al-Qaeda’s largest offshoot. General Stephen Townsend, commander of military operations in Africa, describes it as “commuting to work.”
The Pentagon has dubbed the mission Operation Octave Quartz.

A disproportionate chunk of health discourse is concentrated on the subject of “what” kind of food one should eat to maintain good health — and rarely on the “how” one should eat to get optimum health benefits.
However, being an avid food experimenter myself, I’ve found that the “how” component of the eating experience is crucial in deriving the maximum benefits from “what” we eat. The majority of people are not unhealthy because they’re eating the wrong food — they’re unfit because they’re not eating correctly.
Today, I share the four integral components of good eating: mindfulness, quantity, time, and gratitude. These are nothing but the application of common sense while eating.

In the last century, 85% of the world’s oyster reefs have vanished. And we’re only recently beginning to understand what that’s cost us: While they don’t look incredibly appealing from the shore, oysters are vital to bays and waterways around the world. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water every day. And over time, oysters form incredible reef structures that double as habitats for various species of fish, crabs, and other animals.
In their absence, our coastlines have suffered. Now, several projects from New York to the Gulf of Mexico and Bangladesh are aiming to bring the oysters back. Because not only are oysters vital ecosystems; they can also protect us from the rising oceans by acting as breakwaters, deflecting waves before they hit the shore. It won’t stop the seas from rising - but embracing living shorelines could help protect us from what’s to come.