'It’s not if, it’s when': the deadly pig disease spreading around the world

The Guardian

Swine fever has made its way into China, home to half the world’s pigs. Farmers in Estonia are already counting the cost. Story here.
The images below show piglets with "PED," another deadly disease of hogs which has been 
rampant in North America (& Manitoba) in recent years. Photos by Manitoba Pork.

Related:

Officials Worry Yet Another Lethal Pig Disease May be Headed to Canada.

In Hogs We Trust Part 111 - The magnitude of livestock diseases, worldwide.

Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ is the largest ever measured

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

This NASA image shows the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

The dead zone is now approaching an area the size of Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg! More here.

How animal waste is helping turn China's lakes green

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.

Bad News for Crops! Global Warming = More & Hungrier Bugs!

PHYS ORG

A corn rootworm. Public Domain.

Crop losses for critical food grains will increase substantially as the climate warms, as rising temperatures increase the metabolic rate and population growth of insect pests, according to new research. More here.

Most harm will befall crops in the temperate zone (shown in green). 

The more pesticides bees eat, the more they like them

PHYS  ORG

Bumblebees forage on organic chives.
Another PinP photo.

Bumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food as they become more exposed to it, a behaviour showing possible symptoms of addiction. More here.

How does agriculture affect vulnerable insect-eating birds?

The American Ornithological Society

A tree swallow. A PinP photo.

Aerial insectivores--birds that hunt for insect prey on the wing--are declining across North America as agricultural intensification leads to diminishing insect abundance and diversity in many areas. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications looks at how Tree Swallows' diets are affected by agriculture and finds that while birds living in cropland can still find their preferred prey, they may be working harder to get it. More here.

Related: New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too. Is modern agriculture's hold on nature becoming a death grip?