The cow is of the bovine ilk, One end is moo, the other, milk. Now science knows why which is which, They’ve read the genome, without a hitch. While poet Ogden Nash had cow basics down, it took 300 scientists six years to outline the genetic sequence of “L1 Dominette 01449,” a Hereford cow living … Continue reading
Author Archives: ILRI Communications
New study shows steep declines in populations of giraffes and other animals at Kenya’s Masai Mara reserve
A 15-year study of the grazing wildlife in Kenya’s famed Masai Mara reserve has revealed a startling drop in the reserve’s giraffe, warthog, impala, hartebeest, topi and waterbuck populations. The study, published in the May issue of the British Journal of Zoology, is based on researchers’ analysis of data gathered from monthly monitoring of seven … Continue reading
FAO paper (2006) on fast changes in the developing-country livestock sector
The sustained rise in demand for food of animal origin, driven by growing populations, increasing consumer affluence, and increasing urbanization, is underpinned by structural changes along the whole animal food supply chain. Distribution, processing and production sites are affected. This “livestock revolution” is characterised by prominence of large retailers, a tendency towards vertical integration and … Continue reading
Free-range trichinosis
IS free-range pork better and safer to eat than conventional pork? Many consumers think so. The well-publicized horrors of intensive pig farming have fostered the widespread assumption that, as one purveyor of free-range meats put it, “the health benefits are indisputable.” However, as yet another reminder that culinary wisdom is never conventional, scientists have found … Continue reading
Cows with gas: India’s global-warming problem
Indolent cows languidly chewing their cud while befuddled motorists honk and maneuver their vehicles around them is an image as stereotypically Indian as saffron-clad holy men and the Taj Mahal. Now, however, India’s ubiquitous cows — of which there are 283 million, more than anywhere else in the world — are assuming a more menacing … Continue reading
Mara wildlife in serious decline
Wild grazing animals in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve are steadily disappearing, a study has found. Numbers of giraffe, warthog, impala, topi and hartebeest fell by 50% or more between 1979 and 2002. The falls are linked to rapid growth of Maasai settlements around the reserve, say scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). … Continue reading
ILRI joins NGOs to spearhead livestock insurance cover
Livestock farmers in Kenya are gearing up for insurance opportunities against losses from drought and disease-related deaths. The insurance products will come in handy at a time when global warming has affected rainfall patterns and food prices have shot up because of chronic shortages. The first set of livestock insurance products are set to hit … Continue reading
Slaughter project saves farmers in drought-hit area
The Kenya Meat Commission has started slaughtering animals from drought-hit regions to save farmers from incurring losses on livestock deaths. The exercise, which started on Monday, is a multi-million-shilling campaign launched by the government through the emergency drought mitigation project. Read more. . . ( Reuters) Livestock farmers reject Sh700m bailout project 30 April 2009 … Continue reading
Elephant grass disease on the loose
Hellen Margaret Kongai of Osigiria Parish, Ngora Sub-county in Kumi District has been a zero-grazing farmer for the last ten years. In 1998, Kongai received a cow from Send-a-Cow Uganda (SACU), an NGO, which has changed her life for the better. With the proceeds from the 25 litres of milk her cow, which she has … Continue reading
Livestock is no villain
BLAMING livestock for global warming distorts reality and will not solve the world’s complex environmental and economic problems, says IAIN WRIGHT Cattle have been getting some bad press lately. Western editorials report the consumption of too much fatty red meat leading to increased heart disease, the inefficient use of grain as feed for livestock and … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 