Australian body calls for RENEWABLE FOOD (aka ‘regenerative agriculture’ or ‘circular food economies’) as well as renewable energy
Advocacy / Agri-Health / Agriculture / Australia / Consumption / Event report / Food Security / Human Health / Nutrition / Policy

Australian body calls for RENEWABLE FOOD (aka ‘regenerative agriculture’ or ‘circular food economies’) as well as renewable energy

The Commission for the Human Future’s second round table conference on global threats and solutions has called for a worldwide effort to transform global food production to a system that is renewable, healthy and fair to all. Continue reading

US nutrition experts say limits on saturated fats should no longer be recommended to reduce heart disease
Consumption / Diet / Event report / Human Health / News clipping / North America / Nutrition / USA

US nutrition experts say limits on saturated fats should no longer be recommended to reduce heart disease

Following a two-day, DC-based workshop entitled “Saturated Fats: A Food or Nutrient Approach?” a group of leading nutrition scientists, mainly from the U.S., released a consensus statement detailing their findings on the latest research regarding the intake of saturated-fats and heart disease. After reviewing the evidence, the expert group agreed that the most rigorous and current science fails to support a continuation of the government’s policy limiting consumption of saturated fats. Continue reading

‘High-yield’ farming costs the environment less than previously thought—and could help spare habitats
Agriculture / Climate Change / Crops / Dairying / Environment / Farming Systems / Intensification / Science paper

‘High-yield’ farming costs the environment less than previously thought—and could help spare habitats

New findings suggest that more intensive agriculture might be the “least bad” option for feeding the world while saving its species—provided use of such “land-efficient” systems prevents further conversion of wilderness to farmland. Continue reading

UN reports rising numbers of hungry people worldwide
Agri-Health / Consumption / Food Security / Gender / Nutrition / Poverty / Vulnerability / Women

UN reports rising numbers of hungry people worldwide

New evidence continues to signal that the number of hungry people in the world is growing, reaching 821 million in 2017 or one in every nine people, according to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 released today. Limited progress is also being made in addressing the multiple forms of malnutrition, ranging from child stunting to adult obesity, putting the health of hundreds of millions of people at risk. Continue reading

Germany and ILRI intensify scientific cooperation to protect consumer health in Africa and Europe
Agri-Health / AHH / AMR / Animal Health / Food Safety / Germany / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / Zoonotic Diseases

Germany and ILRI intensify scientific cooperation to protect consumer health in Africa and Europe

With the participation of German research institutions and authorities, a workshop to improve human and animal health protection is taking place in Kenya from 27 Feb to 1 Mar 2018. The workshop is organized by ILRI, in Nairobi. Ten scientists from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Freie Universität (FU) Berlin and Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) are participating on behalf of Germany. Continue reading

DFID/UKAid fund British, ILRI, African genetics research to advance African livestock development
Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Biotechnology / Cattle / CGIAR / Climate Change / CTLGH / Dairying / East Africa / Europe / Genetics / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / Launch / LiveGene / Poultry / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / Trypanosomiasis / UK / Vaccines / Zoonotic Diseases

DFID/UKAid fund British, ILRI, African genetics research to advance African livestock development

During the visit Ms Mordaunt also announced plans to develop the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health, which is based in both Edinburgh and Nairobi. The centre uses the most recent scientific advances in genetics and genomics that are being used by farmers in the UK and apply these to help smallholder dairy and poultry farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading

Concrete solutions underline centrality of livestock to sustainable development
Directorate / Ethiopia / Event / ILRI / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / Scaling

Concrete solutions underline centrality of livestock to sustainable development

Today, the 7th Multi-stakeholder Partnership meeting of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock brings together more than 250 livestock specialists from over 50 countries to demonstrate the positive contribution of livestock to the lives and wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people on the planet, and foster the sustainable development of this rapidly-growing sector. Continue reading

New USAID grant to asses projects aiming to reduce poverty and the need for food aid in Kenya’s drylands
Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / News clipping / Pastoralism / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Resilience / SLS / Vulnerability

New USAID grant to asses projects aiming to reduce poverty and the need for food aid in Kenya’s drylands

A new grant funds a project, recently launched by UC Davis researchers in northern Kenya, that will use a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of combining programs that offer training, support and aid with affordable insurance to reduce chronic poverty.

The new project is led by Michael Carter, a professor of agricultural and resource economics and director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access at UCD, and Andrew Mude from the International Livestock Research Institute, or ILRI, in Kenya. The researchers hope the project will help create a pathway out of poverty and reduce the need for aid, which Kenya’s government provides each year, even without drought. Continue reading