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Will the world’s addiction to industrial livestock production bring an end to the age of the “miracle drug?”

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by Larry Powell -  *Hog Watch Manitoba  (Note: Asterisks link   to references at bottom.) A pork processing plant in Neepawa, MB.  Photo credit - HyLifeFoods. Antibiotics have been bestowing a world of good on the human condition ever since Alexander Fleming discovered the most famous one - penicillin - almost a century ago. Thanks to their ability to counter deadly infections, millions of lives have been saved -  truly a turning point in the history of mankind. But, for some years now, clouds have been gathering. Numerous agencies, from the **World Health Organization (WHO) to our own ***Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), have been sounding similar alarm bells. All the wondrous benefits inherent in these life-saving medications may already be in jeopardy.  As PHAC states on its website, “There’s increasing evidence that the use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary medicine and livestock production is an important contributing factor in the emergence of bacteria in people which h

Eating the Earth

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The Bureau of Investigative Journalism Cattle in the Amazon.  How industrial food is devastating the planet and driving climate change.

Step up adaptation to climate change now or risk ‘enormous toll’

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Reuters Unseasonal weather on the Canadian prairies in recent years has left vast amounts of food crops in the fields, unharvested over winter. A PinP photo. Scientists warn of risks of ignoring issue as COVID measures cuts climate funding. Story here.

Science Media Centre of Canada (SMCC) condemns Alberta's efforts to discredit climate journalists.

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  S M C C Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. Runs a "war room" at taxpayers expense which spreads false information about environmental groups. Alberta Inquiry Paid $28K for a Report Smearing Hundreds of Climate Journalists The Science Media Centre of Canada (SMCC) condemns all attempts by governments and third-party agencies to discredit the work journalists undertake to cover climate change in Canada.  Numerous journalistic bodies — including the Society of Environmental Journalists — are smeared in a new Government of Alberta-bankrolled report. It's called,  "A New Global Paradigm: Understanding the Transnational Progressive Movement, the Energy Transition and the Great Transformation Strangling Alberta’s Petroleum Industry."  This report was produced as part of the provincial government’s $3.5 million inquiry into international opposition to Alberta’s oilsands. The report argues that journalists are part of a “disturbing” movement to “coordinate and effectively d

Despite long-standing and widespread warnings of the dangers, hog producers on the Canadian prairies were still feeding more antibiotics to their pigs in 2018 than they did the year before. (Latest figures available.)

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by Larry Powell (Updated - Mar. 5th, 2021) A Canadian Pork Council photo. In 2019, an elite panel of experts - The Council of Canadian Academies -  confirmed that thousands of Canadians were already dying each year of  "antimicrobial resistance (AMR)." And, with that resistance still growing, up to 400 thousand will likely die  of it  by mid-century. It calls the problem,   “a serious existential threat.”  And, if anyone needs more convincing, here's how Canada's own Chief Public Health Officer puts it.  " Left unchecked, there's risk of losing these medications as an essential life-saving treatment. It's estimated that antibiotic-resistant infections could cause 10 million deaths a year, globally by 2050. This is more than the current annual worldwide deaths from cancer." AMR happens when  too many antibiotics are given (when they're not needed), not only to people, but mostly to livestock (domestic animals raised for food), like cattle, pigs

Oceanic sharks and rays have declined by over 70%

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Nature "Great Hammerhead Shark Swimming" by Skylar L. Primm The number of oceanic sharks and rays worldwide has fallen by 71% since 1970. A study in Nature this week finds that more than three-quarters of these oceanic species are now threatened with extinction. The risk of extinction to marine species is primarily caused by overfishing, but it has been difficult to measure the decline of individual species. Although reductions in oceanic and coastal shark and ray populations in different regions of the world have previously been documented, a global analysis has not been available. The Whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus).Photo by Jan Derk The authors attribute this decline to an 18-fold increase in relative fishing pressure — a measure of the proportion of sharks and rays caught relative to their global population — over the period. They argue that immediate action is needed to prevent collapses in populations. Specifically, they call on governments to implement catch l

Greener northern landscapes under climate change no help to endangered caribou

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Proceedings of the Royal Society The Woodland Caribou. Photo by Steve Forrest.   Globally, climate change and habitat loss are increasing “global greening.” While these changes benefit some species, animals such as woodland caribou may suffer in a greener world. We studied links between habitat alteration (e.g. forest cutting), primary productivity, moose, wolves and caribou across part of the Canadian Boreal forest. By studying all these components simultaneously, we found that habitat alteration led to more productivity, which in turn produced more moose and wolves, and precipitated caribou declines. Species like caribou, which are adapted to low productivity environments, however, are not expected to do well in a greener world. Find the full study here.

Climate change will alter the position of the Earth's tropical rain belt. Researchers.

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PHYS ORG Pixabay Public Domain Future climate change will cause a regionally uneven shifting of the tropical rain belt—a narrow band of heavy precipitation near the equator. This development may threaten food security for billions of people.  Story here.

Part of the Solution? Or part of the Problem? The Government of Manitoba fails in its sacred duty to protect our precious waterways

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  by John Fefchak - PinP guest-writer.          Lake Winnipeg, clogged with toxic algae. Nutrients from human and animal waste (including large commercial hog operations) pollute the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world. More than twenty years ago, I, along with many others, became aware of how Lake Winnipeg and other Manitoba waters were becoming polluted. Our government was ignoring the dire situation; and pressing on with the expansion of Intensive livestock (hog) Operations (ILO's).  Our concerns over the massive amounts of manure being created, were ignored. Despite evidence being presented in the media, including a major TV documentary, "Choking Lake Winnipeg," we were called fear-mongers.  Still, we didn't give up. Eventually, there was a glimmer of hope. In 2007, Manitoba's Clean Environment Commission released a ground-breaking report, recognizing a problem with the environmental sustainability of hog production.   The Lake Winnipeg Act was establis