‘The Abundant Herds’ and the poetry of Zulu cattle naming
Animal Breeding / Books and chapters / Cattle / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock / South Africa / Southern Africa

‘The Abundant Herds’ and the poetry of Zulu cattle naming

A new edition of a stunning coffee table book about one of Africa’s livestock treasures—the indigenous Nguni cattle of South Africa—has been published. ‘Long the mainstay of traditional Zulu culture, [the Nguni] are possibly the most beautiful cattle in the world, with their variously patterned and multicoloured hides everywhere in demand. . . . Continue reading

The ‘year of meat’: Tamar Haspel, Bill Gates and others weigh in on the good, the bad and the ugly—and end up siding with ‘a little moderation and more innovation’
Animal Products / Article / Consumption / Directorate / Environment / ILRI / Nutrition / Opinion piece

The ‘year of meat’: Tamar Haspel, Bill Gates and others weigh in on the good, the bad and the ugly—and end up siding with ‘a little moderation and more innovation’

This was the ‘Year of Meat’, when animal flesh became the poster child for health and environmental ‘bads’. As the role of over-consuming meat in greenhouse gas emissions, obesity and cancer took centre stage, even iron man Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking at the United Nations COP21 climate change conference in Paris this Dec, climbed the bandwagon to advocate eating less meat. Below are summaries of two of the more balanced articles (evidence-based and not unreasonably optimistic about human enterprise and ingenuity) that appeared this year about our love-hate relationship with meat. Continue reading

Slum farming and superbugs—An ‘Urban Zoo’ science project tracks bacterial routes in complex environments
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / Zoonotic Diseases

Slum farming and superbugs—An ‘Urban Zoo’ science project tracks bacterial routes in complex environments

The Urban Zoo project is visiting 99 households across Nairobi, rich and poor, with livestock and without. They’re taking samples from people, their animals, and whatever wildlife they can find nearby (and catch): storks, mice, bats, et cetera. They’re sampling the ground around homes, yards and livestock pens with white paper booties. ‘The aim, says University of Liverpool veterinarian Judy Bettridge, is “to try and understand on a small scale how those bacteria are shared” among each household’s people, livestock and environment. “And then when we scale it up, are the bacteria here being shared with the household that’s 50 meters over there? Or 100 meters over there? So, how far can they actually spread?” . . . Continue reading

Winners of the Humidtropics Innovation Platform Case Study Competition
Agriculture / Animal Production / ASSP / Award / Buffalo / Cattle / Humid Tropics / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / India / Innovation Systems / Markets / Uganda

Winners of the Humidtropics Innovation Platform Case Study Competition

Three projects on innovative farmers’ cooperatives, best farming practices in hilly areas and better marketing of milk were winners at recent awards for Innovation Platforms (IP) Case Study Competitions held in Kampala. Continue reading

DID YOU MISS IT? Who’s developing African cattle resistant to sleeping sickness—and why it matters—by Tamar Haspel
Africa / Animal Health / Article / Disease Control / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKFISH / Trypanosomiasis / Zoonotic Diseases

DID YOU MISS IT? Who’s developing African cattle resistant to sleeping sickness—and why it matters—by Tamar Haspel

In case you missed it, earlier this year, Washington Post food–science columnist Tamar Haspel served up an interesting story in The Plate, a blog of National Geographic’s Future of Food series. Her story’s about a long-term research project’s attempt to develop disease-resistant cattle for African farmers. Continue reading

Injection of new genetics funding to boost the health and productivity of Africa’s farm animals
Africa / Animal Breeding / Biodiversity / Biotechnology / Cattle / Chickens / Climate Change / Genetics / Goats / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Southern Africa / UK

Injection of new genetics funding to boost the health and productivity of Africa’s farm animals

Scientists will use funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to look at how genetic information can improve the health and productivity of farmed animals in tropical climates. The institutions in Scotland and Africa where the researchers are based are also making additional contributions, taking the total funding pot to £20 million over the next five years. Continue reading

Livestock development conclusively shown to increase incomes, food security and diet diversity in southern Africa–New study
Article / Consumption / Food Security / Livelihoods / Nutrition / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / Southern Africa

Livestock development conclusively shown to increase incomes, food security and diet diversity in southern Africa–New study

The results of this analysis are conclusive: livestock development among resource poor smallholders in Zambia’s Copperbelt increases household dietary diversity and total consumption expenditures, with dietary impacts that are substantially greater for animals that produce food products for direct consumption. Continue reading

Bacon, sausage and other processed meats linked to cancer
Article / Consumption / Food Safety / Human Health

Bacon, sausage and other processed meats linked to cancer

Bacon (photo via Flickr/Kietil Ree). ‘The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday that it has classified processed meat as a human carcinogen. ‘Red meat also was classified as a probable human carcinogen, according to the release by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). ‘The group cited “sufficient evidence” linking processed meat—such as … Continue reading