Human health Archives - Page 35 of 38

“Higher prices should not be paid for by people’s hunger.” – Julia Kloeckner.

Global farm ministers urge free food trade during pandemic

Call comes as some exporting nations impose export restrictions

By Reuters February 1, 2021

Agriculture ministers from more than 70 countries urged governments to keep world food trade open to ensure food supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, a communiqué after a virtual meeting on Jan. 22 said. The meeting was part of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture conference in Berlin and the communiqué said that despite COVID-19,

File photo of South African malting barley. (Sunshine Seeds/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops, Markets

South Africa’s barley growers face bleak outlook on alcohol ban

Ban reinstated against COVID-19 surge

By GFM Network News January 29, 2021

Johannesburg | Reuters — South African barley farmers are bracing for a tough market ahead as demand for the grain used to make beer falls and stockpiles grow after a ban on the sale of alcohol was reinstated as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases. The government in December enforced its third ban

“I’d even be dead or in prison if it wasn’t for this place, because in no way I would have been able to cope in society if I hadn’t come here.” – Abi Edmed, 25.

Livestock, News

‘The cow can’t tell my secrets’ — U.K. care farms a pandemic lifeline

Therapy, mental help able to go forward in person with outdoor, farming activities

By Ben Makori, Jonathan Shenfield January 26, 2021

Reuters – Care farms nestled in the British countryside are providing a lifeline for people struggling with mental health during the pandemic, allowing them to swap therapy sessions on Zoom for the joys of fresh air, mucking out cow sheds and cuddling donkeys. With vital public services for vulnerable people shut down or reduced to

Comment, Op/Ed, Other

Comment: Underpaid ‘heroes’

As grocery companies pay executives millions in bonuses their lowest-paid staff are at high risk

By Sylvain Charlebois January 26, 2021

Almost everyone agrees that grocery store workers should earn better wages, especially during a pandemic. In Canada, their hourly rate hovers around $15 an hour. New hires get about $13 an hour, while the highest paid earn almost $50,000 annually, or about $25 an hour. In a high-volume, low-margin world, salaries are what they are,

Minks at a farm near Soroe in Denmark on Nov. 5, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)

Livestock, Other

Denmark to compensate mink farmers after nationwide cull

By GFM Network News, Reuters January 26, 2021

Copenhagen | Reuters — Denmark, the top exporter of mink furs, will compensate its mink farmers with up to 19 billion Danish crowns (C$3.95 billion) following an order last year to cull the country’s entire population. Denmark’s entire herd of some 17 million mink, one of the world’s biggest and highly valued for the quality

Supply delays of the COVID-19 vaccine have thrown a logistical wrench into vaccination plans.

News, Other

Few details on rural Manitoba vaccine roll out

The province has teased additional vaccination sites and vaccines out of doctor offices, but logistics are gumming up the works

By Alexis Stockford January 25, 2021

Manitoba’s farm communities will eventually be getting access to COVID-19 vaccines closer to home, although it’s not yet clear how close or when those plans might launch. Why it matters: Some rural residents are eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, but with only two sites operational, that could mean a long drive. During a technical briefing

News, Other

Provinces have no clear plans for TFW vaccinations

Many are employed in higher-risk environments like meat plants and other processors

By D.C. Fraser January 25, 2021

As Canadians brace for a COVID-19 vaccine shortage, it remains unclear when temporary foreign workers – thousands of whom are employed in meat-packing plants – will receive it. On Jan. 15, Canada’s minister responsible for vaccine procurement, Anita Anand, said the country’s supply of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine was experiencing a temporary delay because the

A road sign directs traffic to Smithfield Foods’ pork-processing facilities in Smithfield, Virginia.

News

Smithfield Foods plots new course

New CEO has shaken up management team of world’s largest pork processor amid COVID challenges

By Reuters January 18, 2021

Smithfield Foods has unveiled a management shakeup as the world’s largest pork processor and its new chief executive deal with the ripple effects of a pandemic-led drop in restaurant meat consumption and coronavirus infections among workers. The pandemic has reduced demand for meat at restaurants, cafeterias and other food-service outlets, delivering an economic shock to

The Big River Resources ethanol plant at West Burlington, Iowa, about 120 km southwest of Davenport. (Steven Vaughn photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Crops, Markets

Trump administration mulls industry-wide biofuel waiver

Comment period would end after Trump's exit

By GFM Network News, Stephanie Kelly January 15, 2021

New York | Reuters — The Trump administration is considering requests from the oil refining industry and its backers for a sweeping nationwide waiver to exempt them from their obligations to blend biofuels, a measure they argue would help them weather the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency

The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

Hogs, Livestock

USDA unveils more COVID-19 aid, mostly for livestock farmers

Funds earmarked for farmers under contract

By GFM Network News, Reuters January 15, 2021

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday it will pay an additional US$2.3 billion in COVID-19 aid to farmers, directing more money to livestock producers suffering from disruptions in slaughtering and restaurant demand for meat. The aid, which comes from money allocated to USDA from previous pandemic stimulus legislation, follows

Daily Network News

Canadian aquaculture should be classed as agriculture, industry groups say

CBOT Weekly: April supply and demand report a ‘nothing burger’

Canada blocks meats, dairy from Greece over foot-and-mouth disease

Human health