Many virologists do not want to see a blanket ban on wet markets. Rather, they prefer a more nuanced approach and more narrow regulation to control their most dangerous aspects. To understand why, it helps to unpick what wet markets are, and their role in the feeding of billions of people. Continue reading
Tag Archives: The Economist
On a frugal continent of ‘economic vegetarians’, consuming more meat means longer, healthier lives—The Economist
The Economist reports that the future of food lies in Africa. And why that’s a good thing. As Africans get richer, they will eat more meat and live longer, healthier lives. Continue reading
On the heels of the 2011 eradication of cattle plague (rinderpest) is a new ‘frieze-dried’ vaccine that could eradicate goat plague—The Economist reports from ILRI
On the heels of the 2011 eradication of cattle plague (rinderpest) is a new ‘frieze-dried’ vaccine that could eradicate goat plague—The Economist reports from ILRI Continue reading
Africa’s indigenous land grabs—African middle-aged public-sector urbanites in rush to buy farmland
The popular obsession with foreign land grabs is wrong-headed, says Isaac Minde of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro. If there is a land grab in Africa, it is being done by African urbanites. Continue reading
The animals die first—Ethiopian drought
‘Estimates of the number of people affected by drought [in Ethiopia] doubled between June and October in 2015 to 8.2m, and are now pushing beyond 10m (of a population of about 100m). . . . Continue reading
Got milk? It may have built Europe’s long-run economies–The Economist
The Economist magazine recently ran a piece on research indicating that the ability to digest milk may explain how Europe got rich (28 Mar 2015). Continue reading
All things zoonotic: An ‘Urban Zoo’ research project tracks livestock-based pathogen flows in and around Nairobi
An Urban Zoo research project in Kenya (more formally called ‘Epidemiology, Ecology and Socio‐Economics of Disease Emergence in Nairobi’) is tracking pathogen flows in and around Kenya’s capital city. Continue reading