New Report Alleges Systemic Livestock Transport Abuse

“Do the math. It’s less than half a per cent.” – CRYSTAL MACKAY, OFAC Anew and controversial report by the World Society for the Protection of Animals claims farm animals routinely arrive at Canadian livestock auction markets and slaughterhouses dead, sick or severely injured. It bases its findings, not on anecdotal evidence, but on the

FAO Sees Bigger 2010 Grain Crops, Price Pressure

World cereals output is expected to rise this year to near-record highs, swelling overall supplies and putting pressure on already weakened prices, the UN’s food agency said June 3. The global wheat output is forecast to fall for the third consecutive year, but at 676.5 million tonnes it would still be close to 2008 record


World Food Safety At Risk From Climate Change: Lewis

“It’s paralyzing to see such hunger. But you can’t compromise on food safety.” – STEPHEN LEWIS Climate change poses a huge danger to food safety, especially in Africa, where many already go hungry, a national food science summit in Winnipeg was warned May 31. “Volcanic shifts” in weather patterns expected in the next 20 to

Africa Needs “Green Revolution” For Food Security

Sub-Saharan Africa needs a “Green Revolution” investing in agricultural technology to boost food security after decades of underinvestment, a United Nations agency said May 19. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report that technology and innovation must be targeted at the needs of Africa’s millions of smallholder farmers and reflect


Wabowden Garden Project To Be Showcased At UN

The Mel Johnson School Gardening Project began in 2006 as a part of the division’s science curriculum Veggie Adventures. Aproject that began with a few Wabowden schoolchildren and their teacher planting backyard gardens will be showcased in New York City before the United Nations Commission for Europe on Sustainable Development this month. The Mel Johnson

FAO On Disease Alert

The global threat from the animal sickness foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has increased after recent outbreaks in Japan and South Korea, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said April 28. “We … have to ask ourselves if we aren’t facing a possible replay of the disastrous 2001 FMD transcontinental epidemic which spread to South


Farming Reform Needed To End Hunger Without Obesity

Agriculture needs revolutionary change to confront threats such as global warming and end hunger in developing nations without adding to the ranks of the obese, an international study shows. The report says South Asia and Africa were “battlegrounds for poverty reduction” as the world population rose to a peak in 2050. Prospects for quick advances

“…And This Is My Garden”

“This connects the community and the school, and it is the hands-on commitment and the ownership that really draws the kids in and draws the families in.” – KATHARINA STIEFFENHOFER, Winnipeg FI LMMAKER OF “…AND THIS IS MY GARDEN.” The pepper plants are up in Mrs. Woitowicz’s classroom in Wabowden. So are the tomatoes. Planted


Agriculture Can Meet Long-Term Food Demand

Agriculture has the scope to meet soaring global demand for food by exploiting potential for higher yields and expanded farmland in certain regions, a Societe Generale analyst told Reuters March 18. Achieving large gains in farm output would however take several years and this time lag could bring renewed tensions in food supply in the

Arctic Seed Vault Sets Record, Over 500,000 Samples

A“doomsday” vault storing crop seeds in an Arctic deep freeze is surpassing 500,000 samples to become the most diverse collection of food seeds in history, managers said on Thursday. Set up on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard two years ago, the vault aims to store seeds of all food crops deep beneath permafrost to wi