| Could Low–Emissions Livestock Be a Cash Cow? By Jason Strongin, Bloomberg | August 18, 2016 The hamburgers and cheese that come from U.S. cattle may be favorite fare at many summer cookouts, but the methane the same cows produce is significantly less appetizing. That's especially the case for sustainable investors looking for a low–emission place to park their cash. "Enteric fermentation," or livestock's digestive process, accounts for 22 percent of all U.S. methane emissions, and the manure they produce makes up 8 percent more, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And although agriculture is a growing industry as the world looks to feed its swelling population, some investors are reluctant to support a sector with such a hefty methane footprint. Complete Carbon Navigation Now Kevin O'Sullivan, The Corkman | August 20, 2016 The Carbon Navigator is an online software system developed originally by Teagasc and now overseen by Bord Bia. The intention is that the system will help farmers understand how their farms produce greenhouse gasses (GHGs). It will help farmers identify GHG emission mitigation possibilities on their farm and allow them to identify a route to reducing emissions on their farm. Myths And Facts: Addressing The Use Of Antibiotics In Food–Producing Animals Bizcommunity.com | August 19, 2016 While the science is not definitive about the role of antibiotics used in livestock in furthering the development of resistance in human pathogenic bacteria, the collective livestock industries, policymakers and scientists must, together, develop long–term solutions that protect public health and enhance food security and animal welfare. Proposed Changes To Antibiotic Use In Livestock Production Expected Corwyn Friesen, mySteinbach.ca | August 10, 2016 A Saskatchewan based Veterinary Epidemiologist says proposed changes to regulations governing the use of antibiotics in livestock production in Canada will benefit producers. Under the proposed changes regulations governing the importation of active pharmaceutical ingredients used to manufacture antibiotics used in animal agriculture will be tightened, importation of antibiotics by producers for their own use will be restricted, the use of antibiotics for growth promotion will be eliminated and a new structure designed to speed up the approval in Canada of animal health products used in other countries in place of antibiotics will be created. Meat of the Matter: A Tale of Two Choices Dan Murphy, Drovers | August 24, 2016 Media coverage of the controversies connected with antibiotic resistance is one of the most frustrating aspects of contemporary journalism. First and foremost, there are no clear–cut answers to the challenge of dealing with microbial pathogens resistant to mainline antibiotics — nor are the causes of what has become a troubling phenomenon nailed down to the point that a straightforward campaign can begin to reverse this curse. Sustainability Leadership Amid Fear and Pressure Bob Langert, GreenBiz | August 22, 2016 It is natural and expected to have conflict when it comes to sustainability. How you deal with conflict is the real issue. With stakeholders, why not see conflict as an opportunity? When a stakeholder judges your company, he or she will form an opinion of you as a leader, and your company overall, on the company's openness, honesty and transparency. Sustainable Intensification Could End Chronic Hunger Sir Gordon Conway & Dr Ousmane Badiane, Huffington Post UK | August 25, 2016 The majority of the hungry live in South Asia, but the proportion of hungry in Sub–Saharan Africa is very high, about a quarter of the population. Most shocking of all are the more than 150 million children under five years old in the world who are so malnourished that they die or grow up stunted, both physically and mentally. We must double food production in developing countries by 2050, and by 70%, globally. We also must greatly increase the access to food. But we have to do this in a sustainable fashion, and engineering and technology are key to ensuring that. We have to more prudently use inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers, be adaptive to climate change, reduce the greenhouse gases from agriculture, build up natural capital such as the quality of our soils, and on top of all this, be resilient. We call this approach 'Sustainable Intensification'. It's a tall order and developing country farmers need all the help they can get. Research into Cow Burps Could Cut Methane Emissions, And Budgets Andrew Brown, CBC. News, ca | August 29, 2016 Scientists are finding that some cows are more efficient than others. According to research scientist John Basarab, less efficient cows produce up to 30 per cent more methane. He said selective breeding could help cut emissions by 10 to 15 per cent over the next couple of decades. That's good news, as the methane from burps and flatulence accounts for more than half of the greenhouse gases produced by the beef industry in Canada. I am sure I posted this when it first came out, but as it passed my Twitter feed today, I thought I should include it in Connect again, as it remains as useful today as it was in April. Livestock and Climate Change: Fact and Fiction – UC Davis Blogs Andy Fell, egghead, UC Davis | August 27, 2016 One argument often made is that U.S. livestock GHG emissions from cows, pigs, sheep and chickens are comparable to all transportation sectors from sources such as cars, trucks, planes, trains, etc. The argument suggests the solution of limiting meat consumption, starting with "Meatless Mondays," to show a significant impact on total emissions. When divorcing political fiction from scientific facts around the quantification of GHG from all sectors of society, one finds a different picture. Leading scientists throughout the U.S., as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have quantified the impacts of livestock production in the U.S., which accounts for 4.2 percent of all GHG emissions, very far from the 18–51 percent range that advocates often cite. | |