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Showing posts with the label Factory Farms

Emissions impossible

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Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy A confined animal feeding operation in the U.S. Photo by the E.P.A. How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet. Story here. RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust -  Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry in Manitoba, Canada."

Industrial farms in Britain receive millions in subsidies

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The Guardian The Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism establish that intensive farms in the UK received nearly £70m in two years. Details here. Dead pigs in a dumpster outside a Manitoba factory farm await  removal to an unknown destination.  A PinP photo. Please read related:  "In Hogs We Trust - Part 11  -   The price Manitobans pay for corporate pig$."  

Why I’m looking forward to my first vegan Christmas

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The Guardian Damian Carrington   I won’t be eating turkey this year because of meat’s environmental impact. More here. A turkey farm in Missouri. Photo by  Billy Hathorn .

Chickens freezing to death and boiled alive: failings in US slaughterhouses exposed

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The Guardian. Chickens slowly freezing to death, being boiled alive, drowned or suffocating under piles of other birds are among hundreds of shocking welfare incidents recorded at US slaughterhouses, according to previously unpublished reports. Story here. An American broiler (meat) chicken house. USDA photo by Joe Valbuena.

European parliament approves curbs on use of antibiotics on farm animals

TheGuardian Move is aimed at halting the spread of ‘superbugs’ resistant to medical treatment. Details here. RELATED: Starting this December, Canadian farmers will need a prescription to obtain veterinary antibiotics for their livestock. According to a retired University of Guelph professor, John Prescott, the federal regulatory changes mean the agriculture industry will be required to play its part in reducing the use of antibiotics here and around the world. More here.

The RM of Yellowhead will ask an independent investigator to solve a dispute over an allegedly illegal hog barn operation in southwestern Manitoba.

The citizens' group HogWatch Manitoba made an official presentation to the RM council two week ago, It claimed the barn owner, Wim Verbruggen had built a bigger barn housing more animals than the rules allowed. A Hogwatch official, Ruth Pryzner, suggested it be shut down because it had deprived any concerned resident the right to be heard. She also feared he may have to spread the waste on fields in winter, which is illegal. That's because he apparently has not expanded his storage capacity to take care of the waste from the barn. But, following a council meeting today, Mayor Don Yanick told PinP, Verbruggen still maintains he is not keeping more animals than he should (He claims it is 297, not the 300 or more he is alleged to be). The Mayor says the RM will ask some independent person to look into the situation to confirm who is right before deciding on any further action. Despite the controversy, the Mayor says he would not be opposed to one or two more barns in the re

How animal waste is helping turn China's lakes green

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The Guardian                                    Lest we North Americans feel smug, this image shows                                                           one of countless "eutrophied" sloughs in Manitoba,                                                                                              on the Canadian prairies .                                                                                                                            A PinP   photo.      Animal husbandry is contaminating China's water and has been linked to bright-green lakes, a phenomenon know as eutrophication.  More here.   Related: In Hogs We Trust -  Part 1V - The health and environmental price we Manitobans will pay for an expanded hog industry.

Officials Worry Yet Another Lethal Pig Disease May be Coming to Canada

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by Larry Powell The Manager of the "Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network"  warns, now that African Swine Fever (ASF) has been confirmed in China, the risk of it spreading to North America, has increased.  Dr. Jette Christensen, veterinary epidemeologist. Dr. Jette Christensen (above) describes ASF as "a serious and trade-limiting viral infection." Speaking on the industry-sponsored radio program, "Farmscape," she assured listeners, if  the Canadian industry follows import regulations, "they should be safe." But she also warns that the virus can survive for months outside the host in pork products. The swelling around the kidneys and the muscle hemorrhages shown here are  typical of pigs with  African swine fever.  Karen Apicelli USDA Dr. Christensen warns Canadian producers, that workers they hire, could bring the disease home with them after vacationing in China or Eastern Europe. And they should even be car

Rural Americans’ struggles against factory farm pollution find traction in court. Will it happen in Canada, too?

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THE CONVERSATION A Manitoba animal factory. Photo credit - Mercy for Animals, Canada. As U.S. livestock farming becomes more industrial, it is changing rural life.  More here. RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust."   A critique of Manitoba’s runaway hog industry. Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$.   Part 111 - The magnitude of animal diseases, worldwide. Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry. Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Find the answers here!

Deadly African swine fever arrives in China, the world’s largest producer of pigs

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International Livestock Research Institute A piglet, one of countless who died of Porcine Epidemic  Diarrhea in Manitoba over the past 18 months. (A Manitoba Pork photo.)  Diseases deadly to hogs, some of which can also spread to humans, are legion. Long feared, it's now finally happened. African Swine Fever (ASF), an infectious and highly-lethal viral disease of pigs has, for the first time, reared its head in China.  Story here. RELATED; "In Hogs We Trust - Part 111"

A Third Smithfield Lawsuit Verdict Creates Alarm Among Producers

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FarmJournal’s PORK A Smithfield operation in Missouri. A Wikimedia photo.   A third lawsuit against Smithfield Foods had found the company guilty for “unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks.” A federal jury placed the fine at $473.5 million to six neighbors of pig farms. STORY HERE. Related:                                                                              "In Hogs We Trust"                                              A critique of hog industry expansion in Manitoba. Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. Part 11 - Government subsidies.   Part 111 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide. Part 1V - The environmental costs of an expanded hog industry in Manitoba. Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Click here and find out! Is Manitoba's factory hog industry becoming its own worst enemy?

When the EPA sided with factory farms, she quit. (Video)

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Back in 2001, Michele Merkel worked for the EPA. One of her first cases was with farmers who were suing mega-hog factory farms for polluting the community's air and water.  When the EPA sided with the giant corporations, she quit. Now Michele works at Food & Water Watch, fighting for laws and legislation that force our government and the EPA to protect your water, air and food from factory farms — as they are mandated to do. Check out Michele's TEDx Talk to hear her story and how you can fight with Michele against factory farms.

African Swine Fever could be in Germany in 4 years

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PIG PROGRESS A research team has concluded that the viral disease - often considered the most deadly of all hog infections - spreads west at a speed of around 200 km per year. More here. The ear of an infected hog. ASF causes a condition called petechia - red or purple splotches due to bleeding into the skin. Photo credit - USDA RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust" - Part 3 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide.

Diversion tactics: how big pharma is muddying the waters on animal antibiotics

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The Guardian Antibiotic use on farms is a major cause of human drug resistance. Yet slick social media campaigns – funded by the multi-billion-dollar industry – are confusing and complicating the issue. Story here. A Canstock Photo image.

Hog Watch Manitoba Exposes the Heavy Hand of Government. (An audio podcast interview)

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  Alon Olamel Onebird, host of the program "Rogue Primate" on CKUW - University of Winnipeg Radio - interviews Ruth Pryzner of Hog Watch Manitoba, about the tactics being used by our provincial government in order to secure the financial success of big hog corporations.

Underreporting of toxic waste at American hog farms prompts inquiry

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The Guardian Testing of 55 North Carolina lagoons showed large discrepancies in levels of key pollutants compared to what was self-reported. More here. Hog lagoons in Iowa.  Photo credit - USDA

Special Investigation: How the common agricultural policy promotes pollution - the View From Europe.

The Ecologist. Almost a trillion Euros in taxpayers' money is handed to EU farmers as part of the Common Agricultural Policy. The money is supposed to leverage environmental practices. But an international team of investigative journalists, today publishing with THE ECOLOGIST, has found the cash actually feeds significant pollution. More here.

Nipah virus outbreak in India 'definitely a concern,' Canadian scientist says

CBC news Much is unknown about the virus that is spread by bats, but here are some answers. More here. RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust. Part 3 - the magnitude of disease in the livestock industry."

'It’s wrong to stink up other people’s lives': fighting the manure lagoons of North Carolina

The Guardian Pigs outstripped people in Duplin county long ago - but now the residents are fighting back . More here.

Agroecology: A better alternative in Sub-Saharan Africa

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ScienceNews Two "big rigs" ready to begin work in western Manitoba. PinP photo. Agroecology is a better alternative than large-scale agriculture, both for the climate and for small farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to researcher. This agricultural model preserves biodiversity and safeguards food supply while avoiding soil depletion. More here.