Well… I think it’s crazy but… objective Science would argue otherwise. I came across this article on the Bits and Bytes webpage – which I highly recommend you check out – it is a clearing house for food security related literature/media and loaded with all sorts of great material.
http://bitsandbytes.ca/resources/YouAreWhatYourAnimalsEat.pdf
The gist of the study was to test the effects of finishing (feeding) cattle using a ration of, get this: chewing gum that is till in the wrapper. To be clear, this means feeding: a) chewing gum to cows and b) aluminum wrappers to cows. (more…)
I stumbled across a link to the United States Department of Agriculture’s YouTube site the other day. To my surprise, they had a channel dedicated to a new initiative launched earlier this year entitled “know your farmer, know your food”. Click for YouTube channel.
Ostensibly, the initiative aims to connect local consumers with local producers to create new economic opportunities for communities. The campaign includes a short video of the secretary of agriculture encouraging consumers to get to know their farmer and promoting the importance of local food.
I don’t have a sense of the authenticity of this campaign. Is there real action behind these words? (more…)
Word Cloud - PrioNet Poster 2009
Last week, I attended a conference in Edmonton hosted by PrioNet Canada. PrioNet was established in response to the socio-economic fallout and the potential human health implications of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow crisis in 2003. The organization has evolved substantially since then. Attendees at the conference included academics, politicians, bureaucrats, students, and one farmer (as far as I could tell). The majority of the delegates were Scientists working to uncover the mystery of the Prion or the protein that is believed to be the cause of BSE and other related diseases including Chronic Wasting Disease, Scrapie and the human variant of BSE: Creutzfelt Jacob Disease. (more…)
