PLANET IN PERIL

Manitoba Co-Operator Stance on antibiotic issues hard to pin down. Story here. Larry Powell PinP photo.

OpEdNews - Chris Hedges A feedlot near Dauphin, Manitoba, CA. PinP photo. My attitude toward becoming a vegan was similar to Augustine's attitude toward becoming celibate -- "God grant me abstinence, but not yet." But with animal agriculture as the leading cause of species extinction, water pollution, ocean dead zones and habitat destruction , and with the death spiral of the ecosystem ever more pronounced, becoming vegan is the most important and direct change we can immediately make to save the planet and its species.  Details here. Related  "Overgrowth."

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Oct 8 2014 (IPS) - Livestock farmers in the Caribbean are finding it increasingly difficult and expensive to rear healthy animals because of climate change, a situation that poses a significant threat to a region that is already too dependent on imports to feed its population. Story here. A cow skeleton in Canada. PinP photo.

Manitoba Co-Operator Ducks in a nutrient-rich river  in Manitoba.  P in P  photo. Ultimately, storing water on the land isn’t just about flood control, it’s about capitalizing on available nutrients as well. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator. Laura Rance PLT photo Canadian health and veterinary authorities have been discussing the virtually unregulated and poorly monitored antibiotic use in farm animals since the late 1990s. Full story here.

OnEarth 'Poultry litter' is exactly what it sounds like: the filthy stuff scraped off the floor of a chicken coop. Feeding it to cattle (yes, that happens) risks the spread of mad cow disease—yet the FDA has done nothing to stop it. Full story here.

Summit County Citizens Voice Cattle on a prairie feed lot. PLT photo. Massive use of antibiotics for food (livestock) production is only marginally beneficial and poses a huge long-term risk to human health, researchers in Canada say. Details here.

Organic Consumers Association  More than 36 years ago the U.S. Food & Drug Administration acknowledged there was a problem with the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms. In March 2012, the courts forced the FDA's hand. Finally, last week, the  FDA announced a plan to curb the routine use of sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to treat and fatten up livestock on factory farms. But the mostly voluntary, loophole-riddled “plan” falls far short of what scientists say is needed to stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that now pose a real and widespread danger to public health. Details here.  Related: "Food and Drug Administration in the US Moves To Phase Out Widespread Use Of Antibiotics In Meat "

Trevor Herriot's Blog.  PLT photo Manitoba Pasture-Users band together to keep pastures under public ownership.  Details here. Please also read: "Pasture News of the Week" for more background.

19 Au '10 by: Anna Lappé, YES Magazine As marketers learn to fake... Cattle feedlot l.p. photo

Monday, July 26th, 2010 - Council of Canadians One of the Harper government’s main... EDITOR'S NOTE: Once again, Harper-Dearest lets trade trump human health and safety! l.p.

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 01.31.09 - Treehugger The largest rainforest in the world is being chopped down almost entirely for...

by Elecia Chrunik - THE SASQUATCH - Dec/Jan '09 The Canadian hog industry is in trouble. Supply is...

Oc 29'09 - by Tom Philpott - Grist 6 months after the outbreak, is anyone?

Editor's note: If this is "sustainable agriculture," what, pray tell, is not? l.p. ======= Manitoba News Release ............................................................ October 26, 2009 In response to increased challenges facing Manitoba's pork industry, pork producers will now be able to access 75 per cent of their estimated 2009 AgriStability payment. This increase to the targeted advance payment will make an additional $70 million available in cash flow assistance to the industry. "This Government is always willing to adjust programs to make sure they hit the farmgate and that's why we're announcing targeted advances to Manitoba pork producers," said federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "We're working side-by-side with the Government of Manitoba to help pork producers weather the current storm and get back to profitability." "The challenges facing our pork producers have neither decreased nor stabilized since June when

by Robert Goodland & Jeff Anhang - WWI Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change are...cows, pigs, and chickens?

Anne-Marie Hickey, University of Saskatchewan - 10/16/2009 Food and water around the world could soon become safer for human...

Winnipeg Free Press - By: Staff Writer - 16/10/2009 l.p. Photo WINNIPEG - The province announced today that it is implementing new rules for livestock waste, in the wake of heated...

Manitoba Co-Operator - Staff - 9/3/2009 Sarah Kearney - Wpeg. F.P. The pandemic flu strain H1N1 has crossed over to hogs in various areas of Manitoba... Please also read - "Green Party of Manitoba Believes Now is the Time to Put an End to CAFOs" and "The CAFO Syndrome."

An interview with Mia MacDonald on China’s growing appetite for Western-style meat Posted on 17 Feb 2009 - by Anna Lappe - Grist ==== Across the planet, old ways of farming are giving way to the environmentally devastating factory farms we’ve pioneered in the West... Photo by Kichiro Sato