To help prevent obesity, the dietary committee recommends shifting the focus from total fat intake to adoption of a healthier food-based dietary pattern.

Dietary guidelines shouldn’t place limits on total fat intake

Limits have no basis in science and contribute to bad consumer choices

In a Viewpoint published June 24 in the Journal of the Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Boston Children’s Hospital call on the federal government to drop restrictions on total fat consumption in the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Co-authors Dariush Mozaffarian, MD,

pigs on the farm

PED vaccine could aid in disease fight

Developers are waiting for approval to begin clinical trials

Pork producers may soon have a powerful new tool in the fight against porcine epidemic diarrhea or PED. The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization’s International Vaccine Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, better known as VIDO-InterVac, is waiting for final approvals from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to begin clinical trials of a vaccine


Horses are prone to allergic reactions

Horses are prone to allergic reactions

Horse Health: There are multiple triggers that can cause either skin or respiratory reaction

Horses, just like humans, can and do get allergies. Although allergies in horses are not fully understood, we do know that the root cause lies in the immune system. The body becomes hypersensitive and appears to “overreact” to seemingly innocuous substances called allergens. Histamine, a naturally occurring hormone in the body, reaches overly high levels,

cow receiving a vaccination

Beef 911: Preventing negative side-effects of cattle vaccinations

It is good practice to take a walk through any recently vaccinated cattle to check for reactions

There are now a multitude of vaccines on the market for all facets of the beef and dairy industry. Vaccinating has become part of the biosecurity program on your farm, ranch or dairy. It is good for our industry as it controls disease, minimizes antibiotic use, improves production, and decreases death or losses from abortion.


two men standing in front of brick building

Practising medicine outside the city limits

University of Manitoba medical students say early exposure to rural life draws some into rural practice

First-year medical students from the University of Manitoba got a dose of country life last week as part of an event showcasing the benefits of working and living in rural Manitoba communities. Thirty-three students from the University of Manitoba’s faculty of medicine were placed in 13 communities, including Brandon, Dauphin, Glenboro, Grandview, Hamiota, Neepawa, Rivers,

eggs on flat cartons

Avian influenza in U.S. poultry puts the squeeze on Canadian egg imports

Shipments are costing more and taking longer to get here

A major avian influenza outbreak in the United States is forcing Canada’s layer industry to scramble for imported eggs and pay through the nose for them. As the AI outbreak continues south of the border, Canadian importers must look further afield for processing eggs, increasing delivery times and transportation costs. Manitoba sources most of its


chickens in a barn

Editorial: It’s time to rethink poultry production

The bird flu epidemic has wiped out 12 per cent of U.S. egg-laying capacity in a matter of weeks

The numbers surrounding the bird flu epidemic change each day. But they are staggering. Early this week, the USDA was reporting 197 confirmed outbreaks among poultry flocks with losses of 44.6 million fowl, many of them egg-laying hens. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) predicts the number of birds affected will climb to 50

aerial view of a chicken farm

Wild birds have higher resistance to flu virus

With bird flu ravaging barns in the U.S. and knocking at Canada’s door, 
it might be time to reconsider how poultry are raised

For years, poultry producers have been breeding something in their barns other than birds. Avian influenza. Long present in wild bird populations, the low-pathogen version of the virus has entered barns, remaining there until a series of mutations turned into something else — something deadly. “We have been playing with fire,” said Earl Brown, a


exercise weights

The many advantages of strength training exercises

Prairie Fare: Rock and Roll Beef Wraps

Did you notice the amount of weight on the machine?” my husband asked. I was trying to push the handles on the weight machine forward. I would have had equal success moving a wall. I had plopped myself onto the seat of the weight machine without looking at the settings. I knew better. Starting with

white-feathered turkeys

CFIA blames wild birds for spread of avian influenza

While there are no new cases of bird flu in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says 
it’s still too early to breathe a sigh of relief

Officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are confident that the cases of avian influenza they’ve responded to in Ontario and British Columbia are the result of contact with wild birds, not farm-to-farm transmission. “From the seasonality of this disease and the characterization of the virus — we cannot be 100 per cent sure that