Soil health, food security and climate change.

The way we farm not only affects soil,the quality of produce and climate changes it also impacts on our health and the productive ability of the land. The aggressive cultivation of land,combined with indiscriminate use of chemicals ,not only pollutes the environment,but has been identified as a source of poisoning. Deteriorating soil causes problems with our food supply and, surprisingly, leads to more carbon in the atmosphere. See what farmers and nonprofit organizations are doing to improve our farmland and our environment. There is a need to do something about this according to the recommendation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Its 2015 report states that “33 percent of land is moderately to highly degraded.” In fact, the report reads, “the majority of the world’s soil resources are in only fair, poor or very poor condition.” The effort is really just about changing the focus from the crop to the soil and what does the soil need so we don’t have to add a ton of fertility every year.” Reducing added fertilizers—natural or otherwise—meant giving scheduling priority to soil-building crops above revenue-producing ones. more

How to make paper from elephant dung.

This is an interesting write-up on waste to wealth,how to turn elephant dung into high quality paper.Kenyan entrepreneur John Matano it is all about what comes out of the other end of the world’s largest land mammal. The 58-year-old collects elephant dung that he turns into high quality paper, and for a continuing supply of dung, he very much wants Kenya’s elephants to remain alive and well. People might be a bit sniffy about the thought of elephant droppings being turned into paper,but the fact is its a small but growing industry in the East African country. There are 17 firms now involved, according to official government figures. “If you ask me ‘is paper from elephant dung of reasonable quality?’, the answer is a big yes,” says Mr Matano, whose business Nampath Paper employs 42 people, and makes an annual profit of 2.3m Kenyan shillings ($23,000; £15,700). Kenya’s elephant dung paper industry is centred on the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, a community-owned 36 sq km (14 sq mile) conservation area for elephants, 28 miles (45km) south west of the coastal city of Mombasa. Making the paper started as a pilot project in 1994, before commercialisation began a decade later when local farmers such as Mr Matano set up their own paper-making businesses. The sanctuary itself was established in 1993 both to help elephants, but also to assist 200 or so local farmers. The farmers had for generations had to put up with elephants from the nearby government-owned Shimba Hills National Reserve walking into their farmlands and eating or destroying crops. This resulted in serious and sometimes deadly conflicts between humans and elephants. Mr Matano says that making paper from elephant dung “is not complicated at all, it is an easy affair”. The faeces, which are full of grass and other plant fibre that has been broken down by the elephant’s digestive system, is first thoroughly washed. “After washing, clean fibres remain,” says Mr Matano. “Then the fibre is boiled for four hours in a vat to thoroughly ensure it is clean. “Then after that, much of the process is similar to that of making regular paper [from wood pulp].” Mr Matano adds: “An average elephant eats 250kg of food each day. Out of that amount about 50kg of dung is produced, and 125 sheets of [A4] paper can be produced from each 50kg.” He says that both the price and quality is similar to standard paper, but with the added benefit of reducing deforestation. The business is very rewarding,according

The bottled water story.

Bottled water risks include more than just draining your bank account. You see, those single-use bottles found in supermarkets, gas stations and gyms across the country are what I like to call “toxic rip-offs.” Why? Because you’re paying way more for a product that contains harmful compounds. Case in point: A recent German-led study found that a single bottle of bottle water contained nearly 25,000 chemicals. More on that later. And to be clear, I’m not talking about those hard plastic, reusable water bottles know for their BPA toxic effects. I’m referring to the ones people use once then either recycle or toss in the garbage. It’s time we explore how expensive, unhealthy and unsustainable bottled water is, along with some very harmful side effects of the bottled water industry. While I don’t want to discount the fact that some people are relying on bottled water to survive, for instance, families whose drinking water is contaminated from ever-more-common flooding, lead-contaminated, outdated infrastructure, fracking chemicals or pipeline spills, it’s safe to say that most Americans drinking bottled water are doing it out of convenience rather than necessity. Chemicals in the Bottled Water. Some of the chemicals detected in bottled water are linked to abnormal hormone function and an increased risk of cancer, among other ills. Most convenience-size beverage bottles sold in the U.S. are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This is referred to as #1 on the bottom-of-the-bottle recycling code. Believed to be a relatively safe single-use plastic, evidence is emerging that PET may leach antimony trioxide, a catalyst and flame retardant in PET. In fact, the longer the water is sitting in a PET bottle, the more chemicals released into the water. Warm temperatures also are believed to accelerate leaching. (Translation: Leaving bottled water in hot cars is dangerous.) Workers chronically exposed to antimony trioxide report issues like respiratory and skin irritation, irregular periods and miscarriage. Phthalate endocrine disruptors also leach from PET. One study found antimony levels in bottled water increased anywhere from 19 to 90 percent after 6 months of storage at room temperature. Antimony is considered a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization. continue

Wagly: where dogs and cats reign.

Wagly: where dogs and cats reign as Wagly caters to consumers’ increasing emotional bonds with their pets.The health and wellness craze has found an unlikely new home in the animal world. And if Shane Kelly has his way, your family dog or cat will soon be curled up right in the middle of it Kelly is founder and CEO of Bellevue, Wash.-based Wagly, a full-service pet care provider that embraces a new way of thinking about every phase of health and wellness for the family pet — veterinary care, boarding, grooming, training, day care and even trail hikes. Kelly has more than 30 years of CEO experience in the health care and pet care industries, including with animal hospital chain Pet’s Choice and pet service center chain Best Friends Pet Care. STORES contributing editor Bruce Horovitz recently spoke with Kelly about his plans to expand Wagly into a national chain.more Interested? see this

New canine cancer treatment protocol give hope for human cases.

New canine cancer treatment protocol gives hope for human cases. Flyer, a 70-pound golden retriever, lies patiently on her left side on an examination table as technicians scurry around, placing little sandbags on her legs and neck to keep her still. She's getting chest X-rays to answer a critical question: Has a deadly bone cancer spread to her lungs? When the session is over, Martha MaloneyHuss, a veterinarian at the University of Pennsylvania's Ryan Veterinary Hospital, glances at the images. "I don't see anything hugely obvious," she says, "but we'll see what the radiologist says." Oblivious to the good news, Flyer hops down the hall on three legs, eager to find her owner. After the 8-year-old retriever began limping last year, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a painful, aggressive cancer that often strikes Great Danes, Irish wolfhounds and other large breeds. At Penn Vet, she got the standard treatment: One of her left legs was amputated, and she underwent chemotherapy. Yet even as she adjusted to chasing squirrels, her prognosis was bleak. Most dogs die in about a year when the disease resurfaces in the lungs. The Penn vets recommended an experimental vaccine designed to prevent or delay the cancer's return; Flyer's owner was enthusiastic. The dog got three intravenous doses as part of a clinical trial and now returns to Penn periodically for X-rays. "Every day I pray that she will stay cancer-free," said her owner, Bob Street, who lives in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. "And that this treatment will work for other dogs and for people."Flyer is part of a burgeoning field called "comparative oncology." It focuses on finding new ways to treat cancer in pets, mostly dogs, in an effort to develop innovative treatments for people and animals. The growing interest in dogs reflects researchers' frustration with the standard approach to developing cancer treatments: testing them in lab animals, especially mice. Mice don't normally get cancer - it must be induced - and the immune systems in many strains of lab mice have been altered. That makes them especially poor models for immunotherapy, a rapidly growing field of medicine that directs patients' own immune systems to fight their cancer. Dogs, on the other hand, get cancer naturally, just as people do, and have intact immune systems. more

Salmonella control in cattle in Ireland.

Salmonellosis is a disease caused by bacteria, of which numerous types exist. In Ireland cattle are most frequently infected with two types of Salmonella species, Salmonella dublin and Salmonella typhimurium. What are the signs of salmonellosis? Infected animals can suffer from diarrhoea or abortion. In most herds either one syndrome or the other is seen. Less often, herds show signs of both syndromes. Diarrhoea; Signs of diarrhoea in affected cattle can be mild but frequently animals have a raised temperature, extremely watery diarrhoea, are dehydrated and can die as a result. A condition seen in calves on farms with endemic infection is called Terminal dry Gangrene. Affected animals may not have previously shown any signs of scour but after an outbreak these calves develop gangrene of the feet, tips of the ears and the tail. Carrier animals can be a source of infection to others and these carrier animal are more likely to shed Salmonella during periods of stress such as at dry off or housing or if affected by other diseases such as BVD or liver fluke infestation. Chronic cases of salmonellosis may appear as ill-thrifty animals. Abortion; Usually, abortion associated with Salmonellosis occurs in cows infected with Salmonella Dublin in Ireland. Timing of Salmonella associated abortion is from the fifth to the eighth month of pregnancy. Infection of the aborting cow can have occurred up to 12 weeks before the abortion is seen. Aborting cows are often sick with a raised temperature and hold their cleanings. Some cows do die as a result of this infection. Diagnosis; Send all aborted calves and their cleanings to the lab for post-mortem examination and testing. A blood sample from aborted cows can be useful for analysis. Salmonella species can be detected from dung samples but often the number of bacteria shed in faeces can be quite low which can make detection difficult. Isolate suspected cases and contact your attending veterinary surgeon for best advice. Control of Salmonellosis in cattle; Ideally infected or carrier animals should be culled. However, detection of carrier animals is extremely difficult rendering this aspect of control difficult to apply on farm. Herds which purchase animals are at risk of purchasing carrier animals. Contact with neighbouring cattle also increases the risk of spread so maintenance of boundary fences can reduce the threat of introduction of disease. Visitors should be kept to a minimum on farm and access to stock restricted. Vaccination is available in Ireland to protect cattle against the effects of infection with both Salmonella Dublin and Salmonella typhimurium. Calves can be vaccinated from 3 weeks of age and require 2 doses given 3 weeks apart. Pregnant cows and heifers which have received their primary vaccination course can receive a booster vaccine 3-4 weeks prior to calving. Zoonosis; Salmonella infection can potentially pose a serious threat to human health. Control of disease within a herd therefore protects both the stock and the stockperson. Surveillance of the herd disease status by testing of aborted calves or affected animals allows prompt diagnosis and is a useful monitoring tool. Biosecurity measures including maintain a closed herd and good boundary fences further protects the herd. Vaccination provides the animals with immunity to reduce infections and may reduce Salmonella typhimurium contamination of the environment.more

Ireland needs to be ‘proactive’ in preventing bird flu outbreaks.

Ireland needs to be ‘proactive’ in preventing bird flu outbreaks.Ireland needs to take a proactive approach to preventing bird flu outbreaks, according to the Chairman of the IFA Poultry Committee Nigel Renaghan. His comments come after a prevention zone was put in place in England on Tuesday, December 6, and is set to remain in place for the next 30 days. Under the new measures in England, keepers of poultry and other captive birds are now required to keep their birds indoors, or take appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds. Renaghan believes similar measures must be put in place to protect the poultry sector in Ireland. “This is the critical period, if we put in place measures for 30 days and hold off the disease, we can then sit down and reassess the situation,” he said.As the Chairman of the IFA Poultry Committee has previously said, organic and free range birds are most at risk of contracting the disease due to being outside. He believes that these birds should be housed in-doors to prevent contact with wild birds, while all poultry keepers should pay special attention to their bio-security measures. “Preventative measures must be put in place to protect poultry producers, as an outbreak of the disease in Ireland could inhibit the ability to export,” he said.In the first week of December, 44 outbreaks of the disease were reported in seven EU Member States to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Outbreaks were reported in France, Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Germany, Austria and Finland in a mixture of wild birds and commercial poultry flocks. In total 44,292 birds died or had to be destroyed due to the disease, while both protection and surveillance zones were set up around large poultry farms that were infected by the highly pathogenic disease. Under the preventive measures put in place in England all domestic chickens, hens, turkeys and ducks should be housed immediately, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). As well as this all bird keepers must now take extra biosecurity steps, such as minimizing direct and indirect contact between poultry and wild birds.Bird keepers are also advised to take all reasonable precautions to avoid the transfer of contamination between premises, including cleansing and disinfection of equipment, vehicles and footwear.more