Teen introduces program to Cambridge that helps the planet with plant-based meals
Seventeen-year-old Ruti Pfeffer is leading the "Eat for Impact" program this month, hoping to better the environment with planet-conscious meals.
"For me, the thing that started it was, I care about how the animals are treated in our food systems, but for some people that's really about the environment," said Pfeffer.
The junior at Meridian Academy worked with city leaders and restaurants to include more plant-based menu options for the month of March with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"I think it's super important because of how much plant-based eating can reduce our emissions," she explained.
Eat for Impact Cambridge is one of five initiatives happening around the world this month. Others are taking place in New Jersey, Nigeria, France, and the Netherlands.
City leaders were happy to get on board with the program and support the teen.
"Including more fresh, local produce and plant-based foods in meals helps reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and Type II diabetes. We are looking forward to the partnerships between 'Eat for Impact' and restaurants here in the city," the manager of the public health nutrition services at the Cambridge Public Department Bridget DeVeau, said in a statement.
Base Crave is one of the restaurants adding new climate-friendly meals this month.
"Since she called, we are now offering basil tofu and eggplant basil paneer," said restaurant owner, Bhola Pandey.
Pandey told WBZ-TV that the cafe already has an extensive vegetarian menu, but the program is a good reminder that what we eat and how food is sourced and prepared has a larger impact.
"This is the only planet we have," added Pandey. "Food is basically all medicine. What you eat makes you."
Both Base Crave and Pfeffer hope their efforts will inspire diners to make small daily choices to better their health and the health of the planet.
"Hopefully, these restaurants will keep the wonderful dishes they've created because truly they look so amazing," said Pfeffer.
Base Crave says they plan on keeping their newly designed dishes on the menu permanently.
"Let's encourage people to eat more vegetables," concluded Pandey.
The "Eat for Impact" program in Cambridge was made possible with the help of the non-profit Planted Society. At the end of the month, a climate report on the program's impact will be published to highlight the restaurant's greenhouse gas savings. According to Planted Society, past initiatives have reached an average of 600,000 individuals, sparking conversations and driving awareness.
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Yahoo
08-07-2025
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A recent study from Stanford Medicine that "totally surprised" researchers highlighted what could be a promising approach to slowing Parkinson's disease progression. The research, published in the journal Science Signaling, took a closer look at enzymes — proteins in the body that speed up chemical reactions and are essential for digestion, liver function and other key functions, according to Cleveland Clinic — and their role in Parkinson's. The team found that targeting a certain enzyme helped to restore neuron and cell communication in mice. Music Conductor With Parkinson's Sees Symptoms Improve With Deep Brain Stimulation Lead author Suzanne Pfeffer, PhD, the Emma Pfeiffer Merner Professor in Medical Sciences and a professor of biochemistry at Stanford, told Fox News Digital that the team was "totally surprised that we saw as much improvement as we did." In about 25% of Parkinson's cases, the culprit is some form of genetic mutation. One of the most common mutations creates an overactive enzyme called LRRK2, according to a Stanford press release. Read On The Fox News App When there is too much LRRK2 activity, it changes the structure of the brain cells, disrupting important communication between neurons and cells. This system is crucial to movement, motivation and decision-making, according to the researchers. The goal of the study was to determine whether a specific molecule — the MLi-2 LRRK2 kinase inhibitor — could reverse the effect of overactive enzymes. Parkinson's Patients Who Take 'Magic Mushrooms' See Key Benefits, Study Finds Using mice that had the genetic mutation that causes overactive LRRK2 and also had symptoms consistent with early Parkinson's disease, the scientists tried feeding them the inhibitor for two weeks. There were initially no changes detected in brain structure, signaling or function of the dopamine neurons. However, after three months of eating the inhibitor, mice affected by the overactive enzyme appeared to have restored their neurons to the point where they were virtually the same as those without the genetic mutation, the study found. "Findings from this study suggest that inhibiting the LRRK2 enzyme could stabilize the progression of symptoms if patients can be identified early enough," Pfeffer said in the press release. The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged. "This was in mice, not people, but our current results indicate that similar pathways are important in humans," Pfeffer told Fox News Digital. While the study focused on a specific genetic form of the disease, overactive LRRK2 is also present in other cases, meaning this treatment could help multiple types of Parkinson's patients and possibly those with other neurodegenerative diseases, the reseachers claimed. Looking ahead, the team plans to investigate whether other forms of Parkinson's could benefit. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Parkinson's — a disease that involves the slow death of dopamine-producing neurons, leading to symptoms like tremors and stiffness — affects nearly one million Americans, according to the Parkinson's Foundation, which has offices in New York and Miami. Experts agree that early intervention is key, as Parkinson's symptoms often appear years after the disease begins. Identifying and treating at-risk individuals sooner could potentially halt or reverse neuron loss. "These findings suggest that it might be possible to improve, not just stabilize, the condition of patients with Parkinson's disease," Pfeffer said. For more Health articles, visit The researcher told Fox News Digital that it's important to encourage patients to undergo genetic testing to learn more about their suitability for clinical trials and future treatments. The study was funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's initiative and the United Kingdom Medical Research article source: Stanford scientists 'totally surprised' by potential Parkinson's treatment discovery
Newsweek
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Let us know via health@ Reference Jaimon, E., Lin, Y.-E., Tonelli, F., Antico, O., Alessi, D. R., & Pfeffer, S. R. (2025). Restoration of striatal neuroprotective pathways by kinase inhibitor treatment of Parkinson's disease–linked LRRK2-mutant mice. Science Signaling, 18(793).
CBS News
24-03-2025
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Teen introduces program to Cambridge that helps the planet with plant-based meals
A teen is introducing an initiative in Cambridge, Massachusetts that she hopes can help the planet with a simple change that starts with people's diets. Seventeen-year-old Ruti Pfeffer is leading the "Eat for Impact" program this month, hoping to better the environment with planet-conscious meals. "For me, the thing that started it was, I care about how the animals are treated in our food systems, but for some people that's really about the environment," said Pfeffer. The junior at Meridian Academy worked with city leaders and restaurants to include more plant-based menu options for the month of March with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. "I think it's super important because of how much plant-based eating can reduce our emissions," she explained. Eat for Impact Cambridge is one of five initiatives happening around the world this month. Others are taking place in New Jersey, Nigeria, France, and the Netherlands. City leaders were happy to get on board with the program and support the teen. "Including more fresh, local produce and plant-based foods in meals helps reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and Type II diabetes. We are looking forward to the partnerships between 'Eat for Impact' and restaurants here in the city," the manager of the public health nutrition services at the Cambridge Public Department Bridget DeVeau, said in a statement. Base Crave is one of the restaurants adding new climate-friendly meals this month. "Since she called, we are now offering basil tofu and eggplant basil paneer," said restaurant owner, Bhola Pandey. Pandey told WBZ-TV that the cafe already has an extensive vegetarian menu, but the program is a good reminder that what we eat and how food is sourced and prepared has a larger impact. "This is the only planet we have," added Pandey. "Food is basically all medicine. What you eat makes you." Both Base Crave and Pfeffer hope their efforts will inspire diners to make small daily choices to better their health and the health of the planet. "Hopefully, these restaurants will keep the wonderful dishes they've created because truly they look so amazing," said Pfeffer. Base Crave says they plan on keeping their newly designed dishes on the menu permanently. "Let's encourage people to eat more vegetables," concluded Pandey. The "Eat for Impact" program in Cambridge was made possible with the help of the non-profit Planted Society. At the end of the month, a climate report on the program's impact will be published to highlight the restaurant's greenhouse gas savings. According to Planted Society, past initiatives have reached an average of 600,000 individuals, sparking conversations and driving awareness. For more information about "Eat for Impact", click here .
