Pandemic Immune Upgrade

Project Summary:

1) Problem: A pandemic creates an urgent need to improve population immune system responses;

2) Proposed Solution: Selected fresh organic foods contain 58 percent more polyphenolics that act to upgrade immune system response (Univ. of CA, Davis research data). Consumption of algae, such as Spirulina, shiitake mushrooms, and Grain Amaranth containing squalene lipid is also known to improve immune systems. (N.B. Japanese diets and the diets of ancient Aztec & Inca civilization have provided evidence of same.) 

3) If scaled globally, populations under a pandemic threat could better survive any such threat.

The challenge is how to help people survive a pandemic such as the recent COVID-19 virus originating in China from consumption of bats or flawed research on a bat virus.  Typically, pandemics are global in nature and  worldwide populations are at risk. Few nations escape the threat and thousands or people may die as a direct or indirect result of a pandemic. Peoples in some nations are more at risk than others primarily due to diets. As an example, the U.S. has allowed the consumption of commercial corn and soy food products made from GMO-type Roundup Ready corn and soy sprayed with Monsanto's Roundup herbicide containing the very hazardous chemical glyphosate. The glyphosate is found in these food products and acts to damage the immune responses of consumers of these food products (several scientific studies). Populations in nations where the sale of glyphosate herbicides are illegal are far less at risk from a pandemic. The SCOTUS decision for Citizens United and the resulting "flood" of "political payola" has facilitated the continued manufacture and sale of harmful products such as Roundup herbicide with glyphosate. Thus, consumers will need to be far better educated on what foods to consume or not consume.      

People need to have the best possible immune system responses in order to best survive the threat to life caused by any pandemic. As noted above, there are certain natural organic foods that act to improve immune responses due to the polyphenolics and other beneficial elements that they contain. At the same time, people need to avoid consumption of foods containing any chemical that lowers or damages immune system responses.  This solution is found and documented in the dietary history of healthful civilizations such as the Aztec and Inca.  These people consumed organic Grain Amaranth containing squalene lipids and harvested wild algae that was sun-dried and added to bread flour, soups, and stews.  By contrast, Americans now consume foods that are often a "chemical-cocktail."   

To better prepare Americans to effectively survive the next pandemic with minimal loss of life, the suggested solution is urban farming to produce and deliver, local, fresh, organic food crops (high in polyphenolics) to consumers.  Since food production and delivery is a typical problem for pandemics, there is a major food security benefit to this solution. Organic food offerings provided will include algal products, breads made with Grain Amaranth flour, and some shiitake mushrooms grown on hardwood logs.  All food products know to improve immune system responses. There is an element of pandemic mitigation from COVID-19 since large structures made vacant by business failures (pandemic-caused) will be used for indoor food production using a labor force who mostly became unemployed as a result of this pandemic. The technologies NPI has developed and tested for indoor production of food crops may be found in the "Healthy Foods Handbook," posted on NPI's website (www.needfulprovion.org) ... see the 3rd topic on the upper left of this site. The major impact of subject solution is to make Americans more healthful while becoming better prepared for the next pandemic.

The challenge is focused on pandemic preparedness and that is the solution being offered while being a solution highly desired by the target population.

NPI has created and tested several new innovations to advance urban farming and provide fresh, organic foods to enhance immune system responses. These innovations include an all-season greenhouse for 34/7/365 production on vacant lots and unique modifications to large vacant structures to grow crops as in a greenhouse.  Such innovations include water collection & storage to support year-long subsurface, micro-drip irrigation of crops in grow-beds, solar-zeolite cooling, supplemental solar heating, green-construction means, and alternative power (solar & Kohilo Wind for urban areas).  The latter is to provide electricity for grow-lights and operating systems. Innovations for crop production means includes the addition of biochar bioactivated with soil microbes to grow-bed soil mixes to double typical crop yields.  Overall, NPI's solution is unique because it provides target populations with the mix of fresh, organic foods high in polyphenolics to greatly increase immune system responses. In addition, the urban farming methods used will provide foods when they might otherwise not be available during a pandemic. 

The core technologies for subject project are the integrated, sustainable, organic, healthful crop production means to provide a mix of foods high in the polyphenolics and other elements needed to greatly improve immune system responses in target populations.  A crop-chain is created whereby quail provide meat, eggs, and manure to provide nutrients for algal crops. The algae provides a food supplement and feed for tilapia fish (algae-eater), with fish waste and some water used to "fertigate" (fertilize & irrigate) the vegetable and Grain Amaranth crops. This is but one example of integrated crop options that power subject solution.

The project Team Leader (Nuttle) has developed and tested parts of the above urban farming system in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the U.S. for more than five decades. His "healthy Foods Handbook," posted on NPI's website (see above) provides details on this crop production means along with documentation of a recent demonstration project for the same.  As previously noted, certain fresh organic foods greatly improve immune system response and NPI's urban farming methods are designed to provide those foods to include algae, squalene from Grain Amaranth, added levels of essential polyphenolics in foods, with some foods being fermented. In S. Korea, regular consumption of kimchi (a fermented food containing significant amounts of lactobacillus plantarium) helped to reduce death rates from COVID-19 to 1.4 percent (100 times less than the COVID-19 death rate in Italy). Research data in S. Korea has confirmed this fact.  

Once a target population is educated on how to make food choices to greatly improve their immune systems responses they will tend to do so. During an actual pandemic threats to life due to poor immune systems is an action that will further motivate these populations accept the subject change. However, there will still be some people who refuse to abandon diets that offer little or no such protection during a pandemic.

NPI currently supports an urban farming operation for 34 Montagnard refugee families (from Vietnam), in Greensboro, NC.  In one-year, NPI plans to engage over 2,300 people in SW Colorado in urban farming.  Within five years, it is hoped that NPI's subject system will be replicated in all 50 U.S. states to serve several million Americans.  An estimate of the number of people who are directly and meaningfully affected is 33 million during this time period.

In the next year NPI seeks to have its urban farming systems in operation to include an all-season greenhouse and indoor garden producing a mix of immune system enhancing fresh, local, organic, healthful foods. Several possible locations in SW Colorado are being explored. Crop production levels will be designed to sustain nutrient intake, for target populations, in the event a future pandemic prevents the production and/or delivery of needed foods. Within the next five years NPI will seek to replicate the above urban farming system in urban areas of all 50 U.S. states. N.B. There are a number of other urban farming systems being promoted but none are reported to have good all-season crop production means or a focus on producing foods that act to greatly enhance immune system response.   

There is a financial barrier to the start of urban farming. In addition, vacant lots and large vacant structures will need to be leased or purchased to begin needed crop production.  For some urban areas zoning requirements will need to be modified to facilitate urban farming.  The high cost of electricity in urban areas may also be a barrier.

NPI has applied for a $2 million grant from USDA (USDA-FNS-SNAP-PTIG-FY2020) to fund its initial urban farming model. Pfeifer Guard-All has donated significant engineering to assist with this NPI start. Real Estate agents are assisting in finding the needed vacant lot(s) and large vacant structure(s). If zoning changes are needed to facilitate urban farming, NPI will work with the City Council, for the target urban area, to make required changes. Low-cost power will be provided by alternative means (solar as well as Kohilo Wind for urban areas).

For the subject project, NPI will have 3 full-time staff, 2 part-time staff, several volunteers from Dolores Rotary (Club 1159), and 3 contract personnel from Pfeifer Guard-All.

NPI's staff has engaged in agricultural development, worldwide (to include urban farming) since 1995. In the U.S. NPI already has an initial urban farming project in Greensboro, NC. The proposed urban farming project will have many added innovations as outlined herein.

In the U.S., NPI partners with Rotary Clubs, Pfeifer Guard-All, Hays Engineering, Kansas State University, and Russell Concessions. Overseas, NPI has been working with The University of Embu, Embu, Kenya and The Chinese Academy of Sciences (PR China). Past research included NC State University and Duke University. 

These partners provide volunteer labor, engineering services, manufacturing of specialty items, crop research, and services of a professional food lab in the case of Kansas State University. Russell Concessions will provide a USDA/ FDA certified mobile, self-sustained food processing trailer to safely process project crops to deliver the desired food products. 

NPI's business model is based on providing foods needed by all consumers that will help improve their immune responses to defend against COVID-19 and any other pandemic that follows. At the same time these foods will be local, fresh, organic, and healthful delivered to urban customers in the cities where they live. In brief, this method also provides pandemic preparedness via the creation of crop and food production means not requiring delivery from distant sources.  Since pandemics tend to disrupt food production & delivery, having a local food source provides a defense against pandemics. NPI will use a USDA/FDA certified mobile, self-sufficient food processing trailer to safely and efficiently convert crops from urban farming to needed food supplies critical for human survival.

NPI's initial urban farm model will require grant funding to start. Once started, sales of food products produced will sustain operations a generate some profits. Once the profitability of urban farming is demonstrated and fully documented, investors with investment capital are expected to rapidly replicate NPI's subject project. NPI has the option of using its for-profit affiliate, PSI (Preparedness Systems Intl., Inc.) to franchise its model to help speed the replication of same. 

Solve appears to offer a good opportunity to promote NPI's urban farming.

NPI would like to partner with a law firm skilled at developing franchise operations as well as a venture capital group with the means to help fund such ventures.

NPI has partnered with Pfeifer Guard-All to perfect the design, engineering, and needed manufacturing for NPI's all-season greenhouses and modified structures for indoor urban farming.

In addition, NPI has partnered with the food lab at Kansas State University to undertake the nutrient analysis and related food product labeling for the safe sale of urban-farmed crops processed for food products.

NPI is open to other partner possibilities.

NPI's health security is based on providing the three solutions below using very innovative urban farming techniques:

1) Fresh, local, organic, healthful foods are produced from crops grown by urban farming means to provide food for a target population when usual food supplies are not being provided due to a pandemic or other crisis; 

2) Crops so grown will be processed locally in a USDA/ FDA certified, mobile, self-sufficient food processing training equipped to process, can, freeze, dry, and provide temporary cold storage of value-added food products; and

3) The crops grown by NPI will be selected for the quality and quantity of vitamins, minerals, proteins, lipids, polyphenolics, and other elements known to provide a significant boost to immune system response.

The Elevate Prize, if awarded to NPI, will be used to fully demonstrate all the above in an urban farming model producing said crops 24/7/365.

Women have proven to be best for sustained production of crops in a greenhouse or greenhouse type of environment requiring repetitive duties. NPI would use the Women Prize funds to further demonstrate the above fact.

NPI would use the Andan Prize to further the urban farming work for refugees to include expansion of an urban farm for 34 Montagnard tribal political refugee families in Greensboro, NC. These Montagnards are from Vietnam.

The People's Prize would be used to provide added support and expansion of NPI's pandemics preparedness efforts as detailed in this application.