Four-fifths of all antibiotics are consumed by the meat industry

Livestock consumption of antibiotics reached a record nearly 29.9 billion pounds in 2011.

The Food and Drug Administration, last year,  proposed a set of voluntary “guidelines”designed to nudge the meat industry to curb its antibiotics habit.  Since then, the agency has been mulling whether and how to implement the new program. Meanwhile, the meat industry has been merrily gorging away on antibiotics—and churning out meat rife with antibiotic-resistant pathogens—if the latest data from the FDA itself is any indication.

 

 

Continue reading… “Four-fifths of all antibiotics are consumed by the meat industry”

Chicken farms turn to oregano as a substitute for antibiotics

Chickens at Bell & Evans eat feed laced with oregano oil.

Anyone visiting Bell & Evans these days will notice the smell of oregano wafting for Scott Sechler’s office.  The smell is so strong that visitors will wonder whether Sechler has quit the production of chicken and gone into the pizza business.

 

 

Continue reading… “Chicken farms turn to oregano as a substitute for antibiotics”

Scientists plan to clone Brazil’s endangered species

Black Lion Tamarin, the most endangered of the eight species in Brazil

Scientists in Brazil want to expand a mass effort to clone the populations of eight endangered species.  The Basilia Zoological Garden, along with Embrapa, the government’s agricultural research agency are spearheading the project.

 

 

 

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2012 drought reaches proportions not seen since the ‘Dust Bowl’ era

dust-bowl-farmer

Over 50% of the U.S. is under drought conditions.

More than half of the United States is under drought conditions right now, putting 2012 in the same category with some of the worst droughts in the nation’s history. This makes 2012 the sixth worst drought on record with a 54.6 percent figure (not counting Alaska and Hawaii) in terms of area covered, behind only the brutal droughts of the mid-1950s and the “Dust Bowl” era of the 1930s. Other more recent droughts — such as 2000, 2002, and 1998 — saw a greater percentage of the country suffering from the “severe” or “extreme” drought categories. However, even by that standard, June 2012 still ranks among the top 10 worst droughts of all-time.

Continue reading… “2012 drought reaches proportions not seen since the ‘Dust Bowl’ era”

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