With hard work and persistence, growing animals for food can shift from being an important source of antimicrobial resistance to being an important part of the solution. Continue reading
Category Archives: Agri-Health
Tightened rules for use of antibiotics by livestock producers go into effect in the United States
From the United States comes this good news about a new rule that has gone into effect curtailing use of antibiotics in livestock production with the aim of reducing the rise of antimicrobial resistance to drugs of medical importance. Continue reading
The rise of ‘superbugs’ presents a nightmare scenario—the beginning of the end of modern medicine
Lethal bacteria are showing resistance to more and more antibiotics, and financial and legal hurdles are making it harder than ever for science to create effective new drugs. . . . The arsenal of antibiotics is nearly empty. And significant financial and legal hurdles are getting in the way of the already challenging process of discovering effective new ones. Continue reading
Towards a new global research agenda for nourishing—rather than just feeding—people
The era of commodity research aimed at feeding a starving world is over. A new era has begun that requires us to nourish everyone in ways that can be sustained environmentally, economically and culturally. Policymakers urgently need to recognize that diets are compromising economic productivity and well-being as never before. Continue reading
An ‘urban zoo’ project in Kenya is helping unpack the spread of disease in urban environments
Emerging infectious diseases are a major concern to the global public health community, both in terms of disease burden and economic burden. Understanding the processes that lead to their emergence is therefore a scientific research priority. Over the last five years Eric Fevre has been working with a group of researchers to understand what leads to the introduction of pathogens in urban environments and how those then emerge in the human population. Continue reading
Tropical animal diseases and veterinary public health: ILRI at first AITVM/STVM joint conference
From 4-8 September 2016 more than 250 researchers from 55 different countries met in Berlin, Germany, in the historic buildings of the Humboldt University for the first joint conference of the Association of Institutions for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (AITVM) and the Society of Tropical Veterinary Medicine (STVM). Continue reading
Contamination problems in Nairobi’s food supply chains
ILRI aflatoxin infographic, Nov 2013. ‘The rise of local agricultural industries (agro-industrialisation) has had both positive and negative effects on the economy. . . . ‘Prior to 2005, most studies were conducted after serious outbreaks of aflatoxin poisoning where several people died, especially in 2004. . . . ‘A 2006 study titled ‘‘Aflatoxin B1 and … Continue reading
As last defenses begin to fail, UN declares antibiotic resistance ‘the greatest and most urgent global risk’
An extraordinary gathering at the United Nations on September 21 may have permanently changed how the world deals with antibiotic resistance, which is believed to kill 700,000 people around the world each year. During the UN meeting, the entire assembly signed on to a political declaration that calls antibiotic resistance “the greatest and most urgent global risk.” Continue reading
Milk production: A nutritional buffer for households in times of conflict and other stress
A new discussion paper from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) recommends that livestock-oriented policies to improve child nutrition be designed to mitigate the harmful impacts of conflicts or related events, such as climate change or natural disasters, and that doing so will lead to healthier, more resilient children and communities. Continue reading
Clever eating: Meat for bigger brains
Consumption of animals helped hominins to grow bigger brains. But in a world rich with food, how necessary is meat?
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