News Archive

Davos 19: Strong message from David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough has told Prince William that people have never been more “out of touch” with the natural world than they are today.

In an interview with the prince at the World Economic Forum, the naturalist warned: “We can wreck it with ease, we can wreck it without even noticing.”

Sir David said people must care, respect and revere the natural world.

Heeding his words, the prince said: “Work to save the planet is probably going to largely happen on our watch”.

Sir David, 92, said: “When I started 60 years ago in the mid-50s, to be truthful, I don’t think there was anybody who thought that there was a danger that we might annihilate part of the natural world.”

In his early career, he said, simply showing people a new animal on television would astound them.

Even then, he added: “Television in Britain in the 50s was only seen by a few million people in southern England.”

To read more……click on full article link.

Credit: BBC News. (Image: Getty Images)

Full article: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46957085

Gove continues to lack clarity on Agriculture Bill

While the organisers of the Oxford Real Farming Conference welcome the Rt. Honorable Michael Gove MP and thank him for his forthright session at ORFC 2019, there is some frustration on the continued lack of clarity on the role of agroecology (including organic) within the Agriculture Bill.

The session – entitled “The future of farming: Brexit and Beyond” was held on Thursday 3 January, and chaired by Kerry McCarthy MP for Bristol East and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology – saw frank questioning from the attendees and upfront responses from the Defra Secretary.

Colin Tudge, ORFC co-founder said: “While Mr Gove says all the right things and is enthusiastically knowledgeable on a wide variety of issues that are important to the ORFC, he remains difficult to pin down on vital details, such as why agroecology and organic farming continue to be omitted from the Agriculture Bill, despite widespread support for its inclusion and his personal support for the environmental protections whole-farm systems bring.”

During the session, Kerry McCarthy MP asked the question on everyone’s minds: What assurances do farmers have that Mr Gove’s commitments to sustainable farming will be upheld if there are no references within the Bill?

The Environment Secretary responded: “One of the ways we think it’s possible to get the Bill on the statute book relatively rapidly is by making it clear we are not attempting – in this government – to dictate what every future government should do in terms of agricultural support.”

There was a recent amendment tabled in November 2018 which, among other linked issues, called for an overt reference to agroecology, particularly with regards to the idea of whole farm agroecological systems.

For conference participants, the question remains – does Defra see the mere mention of agroecology or organic farming as a barrier to passing the Agriculture Bill quickly?

Agroecology and organic farming provides the type of sustainability and resilience vital for a safer future. Mr. Gove offered assurances that initiatives such as the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Climate Change Act will champion these practices. However, participants do not believe these assurances offer enough clarity on the incentives, support and enforcement required.

Originally published by ORFC. For further information……click on full article link.

For further information……click on full article link.

Credit: Oxford Real Farming Conference. (Image: Hugh Warwick)

Full article: http://orfc.org.uk/gove-continues-to-lack-clarity-on-agriculture-bill/

Russia’s Clear GMO Labelling Rules Reach the Shelves

Russia’s Clear GMO Labeling Rules Reach the Shelves across Eurasian Economic Union

Credit:Sustainable Pulse

Full article: sustainablepulse.com

Food webs essential for nature conservation efforts

Lake ecosystems make annual environmental changes more predictable. Nature conservation should not focus on individual species but on whole food webs, because the protection of their functioning is important for the predictability of species, especially when global warming is increasing environmental variability.

The environment varies drastically from year to year. Yet the variation of species in natural populations is positively correlated so that consecutive years tend to be fairly similar. Traditional population models cannot explain this phenomenon. Researchers have for long been wondering what the explanation could be, but they have now discovered a mechanism that translates various environmental variations into positive correlations in natural populations.

A new, more predictable food web model

A team of Finnish and US researchers used a food web model to simulate daily biomass development of plankton and fish species in Lake Constance. The model accounted for the prey-predator interactions and the age structure of fishes. The food web was subjected to environmental variation in terms of algal growth, that is, in the lake’s primary production. Such variation can be caused by annual changes in temperature, for example.

“This model differed from earlier ones, as it depicted a whole food web dynamics with 30 different species or age categories and altogether 133 prey-predator interaction links,” says Associate Professor Anna Kuparinen from the Department of Biological and Environmental Science in the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

Read more ……click on full article link.

Credit: EurekAlert!

Full article: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/uoj–fwe112818.php

Eat organic meat to tackle antibiotic crisis

Shoppers should choose organic or high-welfare meat to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant bugs, England’s chief medical officer has urged.

Dame Sally Davies has warned that if antibiotics stop working, society faces an “apocalyptic” scenario in which treatments including chemotherapy and hip replacements become impossible and common infections kill.

She has called on consumers to use their buying power to pressure the food industry into reducing antibiotic use. That includes choosing organic meat and poultry or produce labelled with the “Red Tractor” and Scottish or Scandinavian fish that have been vaccinated, rather than reared using antibiotics.

“Like many people I am eating less meat,” she said. “And yes, I do look to try to make sure it is at least Red Tractor.

Read more ……click on full article link.

Credit: The Times

Full article: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eat-organic-meat-to-tackle-antibiotic-crisis-nh03wkxs8

Pesticides harming bees and could affect food production

Bees are pollinators but they risk global extinction due to pesticides and other factors, which would have serious implications for food production and ecosystem health.

In Summary

In recent years, bees have been mysteriously dying off from “colony collapse disorder.”
It has been blamed partly on pesticides as well as mites, viruses, and fungi.
The United Nations has warned that 40 percent of the planet’s insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction.
This would have serious implications for food production and ecosystem health.

A new study that allowed humans to spy on bumblebees inside their nests showed that pesticides can impair social behaviour, making it hard for bees to eat and rear their young, researchers said Thursday.

Previous research has shown that the common class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids can harm bees’ ability to forage outside the nest.

The latest findings add to long-standing concerns about these important pollinators’ health, which could affect food production.

Researchers tracked the changes in bees’ behaviour by placing cameras inside 12 specially made boxes that contained one chamber for a nest and another chamber for foraging.

Some bees were exposed to concentrations of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid similar to that expected in the environment. Others were not.

They found the pesticide-exposed bees were less social in a variety of ways than control bees placed in similar boxes but not fed nectar that contained neonicotinoids.

Read more ……click on full article link.

Credit: Daily Nation

Full article: https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/health/Pesticides-harming-bees/1954202-4843802-92336t/index.html

Whole Health Agriculture

Archives: News

Davos 19: Strong message from David Attenborough

Gove continues to lack clarity on Agriculture Bill

Russia’s Clear GMO Labelling Rules Reach the Shelves

Food webs essential for nature conservation efforts

Eat organic meat to tackle antibiotic crisis

Pesticides harming bees and could affect food production

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