• Rinderpest: how the world’s deadliest cattle plague was eradicated

    Rinderpest, the deadliest of cattle diseases, was declared vanquished in May 2011; after smallpox, it is only the second disease (and first livestock disease) ever to be eradicated from the earth; the insights gained from the eradication campaign may be applied to similar diseases that today ravage the livestock populations on which the livelihoods of one billion of the world’s poor depend; the lessons could also be applied to “zoonotic” diseases which are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths per year

     

  • Smart agriculture will increase global food production, reduce environmental impact

    Global demand for food is expected to double by 2050 due to population growth and increased standards of living; a new study, based on analysis of agricultural data gathered from around the world, offers hope that with more strategic use of fertilizer and water, we could not only dramatically boost global crop yield, but also reduce the adverse environmental impact of agriculture

  • Antibiotic residues in sausage meat may promote pathogen survival

    Antibiotic residues in uncured pepperoni or salami meat are potent enough to weaken helpful bacteria that processors add to acidify the sausage to make it safe for consumption; sausage manufacturers commonly inoculate sausage meat with lactic-acid-producing bacteria; by killing the bacteria that produce lactic acid, antibiotic residues can allow pathogenic bacteria to proliferate

  • No-till could help stabilize crop yields despite climate change

    Reducing tillage for some Central Great Plains crops could help conserve water and reduce losses caused by climate change, according to studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

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  • China’s food production characterized by corruption, health-threatening practices

    A report on Chinese TV showed rotten peaches spiked with sodium metabisulfite to make the fruit look fresh, seasoned in bleaching agents and additives harmful to the human liver and kidneys, and pickled in outdoor pools surrounded by garbage; the peaches are then packed in dirty bags which were previously used to hold animal feed, and shipped off to big brand stores; trouble is, this story is typical of, rather than an exception to, food production practices in China 

  • World could be in for higher food prices

    This has been one of the driest summers in American history, but the weather is not only affecting the United States; weak monsoons in India and other weather issues across the globe are affecting crops and could lead to higher food prices in 2013

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  • Bioprinting to help produce an edible cultured meat prototype

    Modern Meadow is developing a fundamentally new approach to meat and leather production which is based on the latest advances in tissue engineering and causes no harm to animals; with funding from the Thiel Foundation’s Breakout Labs, they plan to apply the latest advances in tissue engineering beyond medicine to produce novel consumer biomaterials, including an edible cultured meat prototype that can provide a humane and sustainable source of animal protein to consumers around the world

  • Wastewater key to addressing growing global water shortage

    Parched cities and regions across the globe are using sewage effluent and other wastewater in creative ways to augment drinking water, but four billion people still do not have adequate supplies, and that number will rise in coming decades

  • Water sustainability flows through complex human-nature interactions

    The fate of water in China mirrors problems across the world: water is fouled, pushed far from its natural origins, squandered, and exploited; China’s crisis is daunting, though not unique: two-thirds of China’s 669 cities have water shortages, more than 40 percent of its rivers are severely polluted, 80 percent of its lakes suffer from eutrophication — an over abundance of nutrients — and about 300 million rural residents lack access to safe drinking water

  • USDA’s proposed chicken safety inspection policy could mean trouble for consumers

    The federal government has come up with a new proposal to examine chickens for contaminates and diseases, and the proposal has some people concerned and others outright scared; the proposal would reduce the number USDA food safety inspectors at poultry plants from four to one – and rely on plant’s employees to do safety inspections instead

  • Dropping lake levels in Michigan are a cause for concern

    In a state that boasts 11,000 lakes, Michigan is going through a year long drought that has residents and businesses scrambling as water levels continue to decrease; the low waters is the result of low snowpack last winter and a hot dry summer this year

  • Extreme summer heat events, global warming linked: research

    Since the late 1980s researches have been asserting that global warming would reach a point in the coming decades when its connection to extreme events would become more apparent; while some warming should coincide with a noticeable boost in extreme events, the natural variability in climate and weather can be so large as to disguise the trend; to distinguish the trend from natural variability, NASA researchers turned to statistics; the researchers did not focus on the causes of temperature change, analyzing instead surface temperature data

  • Surface coal mining destroying West Virginia streams, rivers

    More than 22 percent of streams and rivers in southern West Virginia have been degraded to the point they may now qualify as impaired under state criteria; the substantial losses in aquatic insect biodiversity and increases in salinity is linked to sulfates and other pollutants in runoff from mines often located miles upstream

  • Chronic 2000-4 U.S. drought, worst in 800 years, may be the "new normal"

    The chronic drought that hit western North America from 2000 to 2004 left dying forests and depleted river basins in its wake and was the strongest in 800 years, scientists have concluded, but they say those conditions will become the “new normal” for most of the coming century

  • Food prices in U.S., world set to rise as a result of drought

    The U.S. Midwest is suffering the worst drought since 1956, and a total of 1,369 counties in thirty-one states across the United States have been designated for disaster aid; the prolonged drought will lead to an increase in food prices in 2013 as animal feed costs increase