Accusations that “less meat means less heat”, inferring that cutting back on livestock production is a panacea for global warming, are wide off the mark according to the Australian Farm Institute (AFI). The Institute’s executive director, Mick Keogh, points to some flaws in the way livestock emissions are accounted for in several life-cycle analyses (LCAs) … Continue reading
Category Archives: Livestock
Animal Products / Asia / Dairying / India / Livestock / Markets / South Asia
Indian farmers preferring to rear livestock for meat
India’s almost-indelible perch atop global milk-producing nations is showing the first signs of cracks, with farmers increasingly preferring to rear livestock for meat, lured by lucrative prices and a friendly government policy. Read more … (Economic Times) Continue reading
Livestock keepers: Guardians of biodiversity
Smallholder farmers and pastoralists fulfill an invaluable yet undervalued role in conserving biodiversity. They act as guardians of locally adapted livestock breeds that can make use of even marginal environments under tough climatic conditions and therefore are a crucial resource for food security and possibly for adapting to climate change. But in addition, by sustaining … Continue reading
Improving access to livestock disease prevention in Mozambique
Although avian influenza and H1N1 have dominated the news for the last few years, many other serious diseases can ravage livestock and rural communities. Newcastle disease, which can wipe out entire flocks of chickens and can spread from farm to farm, is especially devastating for rural farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more … (Nourishing the … Continue reading
Grass-fed beef has bigger carbon footprint
Grass feeding produces more greenhouse gases than feedlot beef because of increased fermentation in the gut, research concludes. Red meat has a bad reputation among the green-minded for its emissions of heat-trapping gases that exacerbate climate change. Fertilizer derived from fossil fuels is required for growing grain to feed cattle, and cows’ digestion produces large … Continue reading
One step closer to livestock that burp less
On 28 January, the first map of a rumen methanogen DNA sequence was published in the journal PLoS One, giving scientists worldwide a major new opportunity to identify methods for cutting methane emissions from cows. Read more … (Scoop News) Continue reading
CIAT seeks Forage and Livestock Systems Specialist Asia
CIAT is seeking applications for the position of a Forage and Livestock Systems Specialist. The position will be based at the Regional Office of CIAT in Asia, in Vientiane, Lao PDR, and will be housed within the Tropical Forages Program of CIAT. Read more … (CIAT) Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock
Livestock – the lifeline of hundreds of millions of people
Livestock production in developing and developed countries are different. Livestock beneficial for developing nations is harmful for developed countries. While rising consumption of meat, milk and eggs is one of the factors in epidemics of obesity and heart disease in developed countries, consumption of meat and milk in developing countries is associated with good rather … Continue reading
Africa / Climate Change / Drought / East Africa / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock
Livestock farmers to receive compensation
Livestock farmers in North Eastern Kenya will be compensated against loss of their animals from drought following the launch of an insurance product targeting the sector. The compensation will ensure that pastoralists do not suffer losses when their livestock die from drought, disease or flooding. Read more … (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation) Continue reading
Stop eating meat and save the planet?
Delegates arriving at the gates of the climate conference in Copenhagen last month were met by women in furry animal suits holding placards showing pictures of lambs, cows and pigs and warning, “Don’t Eat Me.” But the virtues of vegetarianism as part of the battle to curb climate change are far from being an issue … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 