The vision of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to transform Accra, the capital city to a millennium city is laudable and has won accolades from many stakeholders. However one would least expect to find livestock roaming the streets of Accra, in a merry-go-round style, in the official gateway to the country. What is worrying is the … Continue reading
Leading scientists say meat grown in vats may be necessary to feed 9 billion people expected to be alive by middle of century Artificial meat grown in vats may be needed if the 9 billion people expected to be alive in 2050 are to be adequately fed without destroying the earth, some of the … Continue reading
Livestock production is growing fastest in the developing world, particularly in Asia and Latin America. Increased output has been achieved mainly through the intensification of production systems and through a shift towards poultry and pigs with much slower expansion of beef production; dairying too has increased in both scale and intensification. The industrialisation of livestock … Continue reading
Genetically modified fish could soon be on the table The Belgian blue is an ugly but tasty cow that has 40% more muscle than it should have. It is the product of random mutation followed by selective breeding—as, indeed, are all domesticated creatures. But where an old art has led, a new one may follow. … Continue reading
Africa is getting chairs at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) table where food safety and animal and plant health issues are decided. africa-apple-featured.jpgWTO is giving observer status to three regional organizations of African counties on its Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee. WTO’s new observers are the Economic Committee for West African States (ECOWAS), the Committee … Continue reading
The man behind one of the most influential reports on climate change, Lord Stern, has highlighted the impact meat production has on greenhouse gas emissions. Part of it comes through methane made by the animals as they digest food. So which farm animals expel the most methane? A diet that relies heavily on meat production … Continue reading
Meat is murder? Well, perhaps not for much longer. A pioneering group of scientists are working to grow real animal protein in the laboratory, which they not only claim is better for animal welfare, but actually healthier, both for people and the planet. It may sound like science fiction, but this technology to create in-vitro … Continue reading
Farming has always been messy and painful, and bloody and dirty. It still is. This is something the critics of industrial farming never seem to understand. I’m dozing, as I often do on airplanes, but the guy behind me has been broadcasting nonstop for nearly three hours. I finally admit defeat and start some serious … Continue reading
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
A group of Chinese dairy companies accused of selling tainted milk that sickened tens of thousands of babies has agreed to compensate the victims, the state media announced on Saturday. China’s Dairy Industry Association, a group of 22 milk producers, said it would provide one-time payments to the families of the children who were sickened … Continue reading
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