With egg shortages already a familiar sight on supermarket shelves, farmers are warning that vegetables and grains could be next, because environmental plans take out large areas of land that are used for food production.

Stephen Holt, who owns 670 acres in Northamptonshire, said farmers were being incentivized (刺激) by the government subsidy to reduce food production in favour of wildlife. He has signed up to an environmental plan which is being carried out in England under the concept of “public money for public goods”.

“Instead of 1,300 tonnes of product, we will produce 900 tonnes of product from our farm,” Holt said. Under the new plan, his input costs will be reduced and he will be paid a guaranteed (有保证的) sum.

“In my view, the huge danger is that there will be a serious decrease in agricultural output,” he said. “We are not helping but we can't have the whole food system of the UK on our shoulders, because everyone has to act in their individual best interests.”

James Williams, who farms in Oxfordshire, said the environmental plans will reduce the risks in his farm business and that he will not be affected by the weather and international markets. “It does mean that we will be taking perhaps 30 per cent of our wheat land out of production for a season or two, or more,” he said. “What has not been mentioned is that if some disaster fell and our imports were disrupted (扰乱), growing wheat to produce bread could not be turned on like a tap. It will take several years and a significant increase in prices to get production back up to today’s levels.”

The UK produces about 60 per cent of its food consumption, including the majority of grains, meat, dairy and eggs. However, seasonal labour shortages have led many British farm businesses to reduce their production by as much as 20-30 per cent since 2020. Egg production has dropped to its lowest level in nine years.

Liz Webster, a farmer in north Wiltshire, said, “There just doesn't seem to be any thought or concern for food security and food supply. They’ve just left it up to the supermarkets.” The farmers’ concerns include imported food produced in countries with lower welfare (福利) standards, and labelling of food origins. “These imports are packaged here, and if they’re packaged or processed here they can have a British flag, which is absolutely dishonest,” Webster said.

Your youngest son or daughter has just graduated from high school, and soon he or she will trade his or her bedroom in your home for a college residence hall. You’re starting to worry about the coming silence in your home and are wondering how you will fill the hours that you previously spent with your son or daughter attending his or her school and sporting events.

Take heart — the empty nest “is often worse in anticipation (预料) than in day-to-day practice”, says psychologist Bert Hayslip Jr.

Hayslip, who has studied retirement adjustment (调整) and other aging problems, such as aging sleeplessness, for many years, points out that, more often than not, children who leave do not completely cut off contact with their parents. He advises parents to think of it as a series of life events, instead of a sudden change. He also says an empty nest can cause bigger problems to surface “if a couple hasn’t looked after their marriage while raising their children”. According to Hayslip, some couples may find they no longer have anything in common once the children are out of the house.

Thinking of an empty nest as the loss of children makes the adjustment more difficult.“With the empty-nest syndrome (综合症), parents actually need to deal with the loss of the parenting control over children, not with having really lost their children,” Hayslip says. “They just have to find a new way to get along with their children.”

“Relating to their college-age children in this new way will come easily to parents as the months pass. As with many things, the passage of time heals the pain of loss,” Hayslip says.

There are over one million superstitions, and most people believe at least one or two of them. Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers. The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13.In Japan “4” is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word “four” is pronounced the same as the word “death”. The Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything.

What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and “8” is considered a lucky number in Japan and China. In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8. Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people called numerologists make a living by giving advice about numbers. In 1937, when the Toyoda Family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if “Toyoda” would be a good name for the company. The numerologist said it would not be. He explained that “Toyota” would be a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive “Toyotas” and not “Toyodas.”

There are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching. There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes.

There are even superstitions about superstitions. Those superstitions tell people how to reverse bad luck. When the Japanese bump (撞) heads, they immediately bump heads again.

According to a Japanese superstition, the first bump means their parents will die, but the second bump “erases” the first bump. To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pocket inside out, or put their hats on backwards.