Underweight Asians Face Higher Risk of DeathA new study of more than 1.1 million people in six Asian countries finds that, like Westerners, Asians are more likely to die if they are overweight or obese. However, some of the highest death rates were seen in people who were severely underweight.Many previous studies have found that the risk of death increases as body-mass index increases. Body-mass index, or BMI, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. The trouble is, those studies mostly analyzed Europeans and other Westerners. So scientists couldn't be sure if the results applied to other groups.To find out, Wei Zheng of Vanderbilt University and his colleagues collected data from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Bangladesh, and India. Adding up all the numbers, they concluded that the relationship between BMI and death rate in these Asian populations is generally consistent with studies of Westerners."Those people with lowest mortality in East Asian countries are those with normal weight," Zheng said. "And then with the reduced BMI and also increased BMI, they have increased risk of death."That part about those with "reduced BMI" is important because proportionately, more people in Asia are at the lower end of the BMI scale."For example, those with BMI less than 15, so this study shows really those with very low BMI have very high risk of death. This is a clear message for those people, [they] need to gain weight."The study also highlighted a surprising difference between East Asians and South Asians. Among the Indians and Bangladeshis, a higher BMI - in the overweight and obese range - did not translate into a notably higher death rate. Zheng says it might be that their weight reflected prosperity and a higher position in their community."They had relatively high socioeconomic status, so they had better access to health care," he suggested.Long History, Unclear Future for 'Golden Rice'This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.White rice is the world's most popular form of rice. But it goes through a milling process that removes many nutrients. As a result, people who eat a poor diet based on white rice may not get enough vitamin A.Each year an estimated two hundred fifty thousand to half a million children go blind from vitamin A deficiency. The World Health Organization says half of them die within a year of losing their sight. Vitamin A deficiency is a problem especially in Africa and Southeast Asia.So scientists thought of an answer. They combined white rice with plant compounds that the body can change into vitamin A. The rice contains beta-carotene and other carotenoids. These plant colorings give the rice a golden color.The scientists also thought of a plan to give away this Golden Rice for free to poor farmers. But the rice is genetically engineered. They say it cannot be made using traditional methods to breed plants.The scientists worked for ten years, until nineteen ninety, to develop the technology to add genes to rice. Then it took nine more years to get the genes they wanted into the seed.The first field tests took place in two thousand four at Louisiana State University in the United States. Golden Rice is currently being tested in the Philippines. It is still not available for general use.Co-inventor Ingo Potrykus says rice with two added genes will be available in twenty-thirteen. One gene comes from maize, or corn, and the other from a soil bacterium.Mr. Potrykus is retired from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He blames the delays on too many rules about genetically modified crops.Opponents say such crops may cause environmental damage by breeding with conventional plants. Opponents also question the safety of biotech foods.Mr. Potrykus says Golden Rice has never been shown to be unsafe for the environment or people. Many agricultural organizations support the project.But there are also critics, including researchers for the environmental group Greenpeace. Several months ago they questioned whether Golden Rice could do much for vitamin A deficiency. They said releasing genetically modified rice in Asia could permanently change traditional rice varieties and wild ancestors of rice.And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more news about rice research, go to . I'm Bob Doughty.States Put Pressure on Public UnionsThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.Americans have been watching the protests in the Middle East and North Africa -- and closer to home. Workers in Wisconsin, and now some other states, have been protesting efforts to limit the negotiating power of government employees.Wisconsin's newly elected governor, Scott Walker, says limits are needed on labor unions to help cut a deficit in the state budget. The Republican governor proposes to end collective bargaining rights for most public employees except on the issue of wages.The bill has led to big, noisy demonstrations that began earlier this month in Madison, the state capital.PROTESTERS: "This is what democracy looks like!"The bill would not affect police or firefighters. They are barred from striking. But firefighter Mahlon Mitchell came to protest anyway.MAHLON MITCHELL: "This is ground zero for the nation."Democrats in the state Senate fled to the neighboring Midwestern state of Illinois. They want to prevent the Republican majority in the Wisconsin Legislature from passing the bill which they consider anti-union. Labor unions are a traditional base of support for the Democratic Party.Governor Walker says the state could have to start dismissing workers unless the Democrats return to debate what he calls a budget repair bill.Dennis Dresang is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Wisconsin. He says the modern history of the state helps explain the strong reaction.DENNIS DRESANG: "Wisconsin was the first in the nation to establish the right of public employees to bargain collectively, and it's a real shock to a lot of people that these rights would be taken away."Collective bargaining rights differ from state to state. Lawmakers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio have also proposed limits on unions representing public employees. Critics say politicians are using state budget problems as an excuse for union-busting -- an effort to take away rights to organize.Unions have been shrinking in private industry. The Labor Department says only seven percent of workers in the private sector now belong to one. But more than one-third of government workers hold union cards. Local governments are the most unionized. Over forty-two percent of workers like teachers, health care workers and public safety employees are union members.But labor protests are not the only political dispute capturing attention right now. A budget battle in Washington could force the federal government to suspend many operations at midnight next Friday. The last government shutdown happened fifteen years ago. It lasted a record twenty-one days.And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. For more news, go to ,Where we also invite you to tell us your thoughts about organized labor. I'm Steve Ember.Looking for Answers to Rising Coffee PricesThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.Food prices are at their highest level since the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization began keeping records in nineteen ninety. The causes include bad weather and growing demand. Some experts also blame the use of food crops to make fuel.But higher food prices are not always the result of limited supplies.Coffee prices have jumped almost fifty percent in six months. Prices have reached a thirteen-year high. Yet growers expect their current crop to be almost ten percent bigger than the last one.JM Smucker is an American company known for its jellies and fruit spreads. But Smucker also owns Folgers, America's top-selling packaged coffee. And it owns Dunkin' Donuts, which sells coffee to wash down the doughnuts at its stores.On Tuesday, Smucker said it would raise the prices of its coffee products by an average of ten percent. It said the increase is driven by the higher prices for coffee beans.Experts say coffee prices are rising mainly because people are willing to pay more. Coffee sellers like Mark Warmuth say tastes are changing and more people want a good cup of coffee.MARK WARMUTH: "There's no right or wrong answer with regard to ‘What's a good cup of coffee?' A lot of it has to do with personal preference or taste."Mark Warmuth owns the M.E. Swing Coffee Company in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington. He says big coffee sellers like Starbucks help his business by building a base of customers who want something better.MARK WARMUTH: "They're seeking something that would be better than what they can buy at Starbucks. They're seeking out smaller, boutique, artisan, craft coffee roasters, which I consider us to be, a boutique coffee roasting company. What we can do is source better quality beans and supply them at a fresher level because we're smaller and we can cater to the smaller metro area. That helps us compete with bigger companies."Yet Mr. Warmuth can thank those bigger companies like Starbucks for spreading the idea of coffee as an affordable luxury. The thinking goes that during hard times, people might not go on a trip but they might be willing to pay extra for good coffee.The company supplies restaurants and other businesses, but also has a store in Washington near the White House. Customers pay thirteen dollars for less than half a kilogram of beans -- about double the price of other brands.Greater demand for high-quality coffee has helped drive coffee prices higher. That includes greater demand among Brazilians. Brazil is the world's largest exporter of coffee.People in India are also drinking more coffee. Starbucks just announced plans to enter that market in a deal with India's Tata Coffee company.Groups Offer Ideas to Cut US DeficitsThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.Continuing debt problems in Greece and Portugal. The banking crisis in Ireland. Atrillion-dollar deficit in the United States. These are all reasons why high levels of public debt are a big worry around the world.Countries that keep spending a lot more than they earn may not be able to repay their debts. That risk of default can make it harder and costlier for them to borrow more money. Heavy debt can also affect a country's competitiveness.Voter anger at government spending and taxes helped lead to the big Republican gains in America's elections this month.President Obama says for the economy to improve, the government must cut spending and reduce its deficit. In February, he formed the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. The two chairmen are Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and Alan Simpson, a Republican.Last week, the chairmen presented their own ideas for how to cut the federal deficit to about two percent of the economy by twenty fifteen. The administration estimates this year's deficit at about ten and a half percent.The two chairmen say their proposals would cut the deficit by almost four trillion dollars over the next ten years. One hundred billion would come from the military. Other proposals would cut the federal workforce by ten percent and freeze civilian pay.The chairmen propose to simplify the tax laws and reduce tax rates. But they also propose to cut some popular tax breaks. One target is deductions for interest paid on home mortgage loans over five hundred thousand dollars.Another proposal would add two years to the full retirement age for Social Security -- raising it to sixty-nine by about twenty seventy-five.The commission includes current and former lawmakers from both parties. The group is supposed to reach a compromise acceptable to at least fourteen of the eighteen members by December first.Other groups are offering their own debt reduction plans. Former senator Pete Domenici and former Clinton administration official Alice Rivlin led a task force that presented its plan on Wednesday.That plan aims to save six trillion dollars over ten years.?It would freeze federal spending for several years, change the tax laws -- and create a national sales tax.Obama Urges Steps to Strengthen EconomyThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.This week, President Obama proposed new measures to lift the economy. The central bank in its latest report said there was continued growth in the past several weeks, but with "widespread signs" of slowing.Congressional elections are November second. One new survey showed that forty-nine percent of likely voters think Republicans should control Congress. Other polls find that about sixty percent of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction.President Obama gave a speech Wednesday near Cleveland, Ohio. He proposed a tax plan for businesses that make capital improvements, like buying new equipment.BARACK OBAMA: "And I'm proposing that all American businesses should be allowed to write off all the investment they do in 2011. And this will help small businesses upgrade their plants and equipment, and will encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits to work in places like Cleveland and Toledo and Dayton."Mr. Obama also proposed to permanently extend a tax credit for research and development.And on Monday he offered a plan for "rebuilding and modernizing" America's roads, rails and runways. He said it would create jobs and improve transportation. The plan would cost fifty billion dollars, but he promised it would not add to the budget deficit over time.The president spoke in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both speeches were in the Midwest, an area hit hard by the recession.He said almost every Republican in Congress is saying no to his ideas. But retiring Senator George Voinovich of Ohio tells the Washington Post that he plans to help push a bill through the Senate next week. That bill, supported by the president, contains measures to help small businesses.Still, there is disagreement over the future of the tax cuts approved under President George W. Bush. These are set to end this December. President Obama wants to extend the tax cuts for families that earn less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year.But John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, told ABC News:JOHN BOEHNER: "You can't have a strong economy if you're raising taxes on the very people you expect to invest in our economy to begin hiring people again."Republicans oppose ending the tax cuts for higher earners. They say it would hurt small businesses. Democrats argue that few small businesses earn enough for their taxes to go up.Congress passed a big stimulus bill shortly after the president took office last year. But there is little that his newest proposals could do to help the economy before November.。