Man-Made Meat May Soon Feed World And Help Save The Planet

Scientists are cooking up new ways of satisfying the world’s ever-growing hunger for meat. “Cultured meat” – burgers or sausages grown in laboratory Petri dishes rather than made from slaughtered livestock – could be the answer to feeding the world, saving the environment and sparing the lives of millions of animals, they say.

Granted, it may take a while to catch on. And it won’t be cheap.

The first lab-grown hamburger would cost around e250 000 (R2.73 million) to produce, said Mark Post, a vascular biologist at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, who hopes to unveil such a delicacy soon.

Experts say the meat’s potential for saving animals’ lives, land, water, energy and the planet could be enormous. [Read more...]

The Corn Belt Debate: Crops Or Cattle?

The Department of Agriculture predicts cattle prices will rise 20 percent in 2011 over last year. But that pales in comparison to the price of corn, which has more than doubled in the past year to nearly $8 a bushel.

You might think this scenario would tempt plenty of farmers to flip their acres from cattle pasture to cropland. But it’s a tough decision that depends on much more than recent prices.

Acres That ‘Flex’

Some farmers use the term “flex acres” to describe land that can be used either to graze cattle or to grow crops like corn and soybeans.

Wearing green coveralls and a tan hat, Morse stands outside his barn watching his 17-year-old son Noah drive a feed wagon down a row of cattle while the animals feast on corn and hay. [Read more...]

EU Pork Crisis A Warning On Food Dependency

Europe’s livestock farming crisis is a wake-up call that the region could become dependent on ever increasing food imports as farmers, unable to pass on soaring feed costs to supermarket shoppers, are forced out of business.

Farmers across the 27-country EU bloc say many are deeply in the red after a surge in feed costs, largely driven by bad weather and worries of food inflation, and fear herds will shrink and many farms fall into disuse in the coming months.

In Spain, the COAG union estimates half the country’s 700,000 livestock farmers could be out of work by the end of 2011, adding to what is already the EU’s highest jobless rate.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy highlighted food security during a chaotic week for north Africa, which has seen unprecedented anti-government protests in Egypt and continuing unrest in Tunisia, partly fuelled by higher food prices. [Read more...]

Cloned Meat Unlikely To Pose Food Safety Risk

Britain’s food safety regulator said that meat and milk from cloned cattle show no difference in composition, compared to traditionally bred cows, and are unlikely to pose a food safety risk.

The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes said that consumers still may want to see effective labeling of products from clones and their offspring partly due to animal welfare concerns.

The European Commission (EU) recently recommended introducing a five-year ban on the use of cloned animals for food production in the European Union.   Member states in the EU and the EU parliament are debating the proposal. [Read more...]

Where Cows Are Waited On Hand And Hoof

The attorney General may be the guest of honour at the opening of Bhaktivedanta Manor’s new farm today, but his status as a VIP will be overshadowed by a host of far more glamorous brown-eyed creatures.

At New Gokul, already dubbed the “Hilton of farms”, cows are worshipped by the Hare Krishna devotees who lovingly chant Sanskrit mantras and play relaxing music to them as they are milked or fed their favourite cabbage, carrots and jagari – raw sugar cane.

When Dominic Grieve QC MP cuts the ribbon and unveils the plaque at the £2.5m centre, he will do so under the docile gaze of 44 cows and bulls, adorned in flowers and brushed with coloured paint powders by devotees. [Read more...]

Livestock Sale Rules Are No Bargain

Tired of the federal government intruding into every aspect of your life? Be thankful you’re not a hog farmer.

In June, the Obama administration unveiled strict new rules for buying and selling livestock that are a disaster for North Carolina’s pork industry. And because the rules will stifle innovation and reduce competition, we may all soon be seeing higher prices and fewer choices in the meat case.

The Agriculture Department argues that the draft rules – now in an official “comment period” – are needed to “open” livestock markets. In fact, they will do the opposite. They will restrict marketing arrangements, dictate contract terms, lower prices and eliminate jobs. [Read more...]

A Kind Fascination

a kind fascination_It is really lamentable why the world has become a crazy place, where the economy is a mess, people are in conflict with one another and kids everywhere are locked indoors playing online games.  Although some of your loved ones would beg to differ, it is believed that people should look for means of keeping themselves at pace with some other outdoor activity, such as in horse-riding. Well, horses are wonderful animals, they fall somewhere in between exotic pets and livestock, but horses are like people too, and they deserve the very best conditions unto which they should work.

As a matter of fact, most horses are now companion animals, and the beauty, grace and its elegance attracts girls. There was even a time that only men rode horses, while women ride side-saddle with puffy dresses. Moreover, it’s hard to find a little girl who doesn’t have a kind fascination for a pony sometime in her childhood. But not just children want ponies; today lots of grown-ups still harbor dreams of riding too. And so, if anybody of you ever wanted to have your own horse, now is probably the best time to make that dream come true.

However, owing a horse is certainly a luxury. It is not cheap compared to many other leisure activities. You have to have tack and a place to board your horse. You have to have staff – stall cleaners, furriers, large animal veterinarians and trainers- to help you keep the horse healthy and sound. Besides, it is important to train any horse and a well-trained horse is one anyone can handle. Perhaps there are stories we have all heard of an exceptionally difficult horse emotionally attaching to a particular person, but horses by their mere size can be dangerous and must be carefully trained.