 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
World veterinary agency to probe link meat-climate link
Paris (AFP) Jan 7, 2010 The world's top authority in farm animal health announced on Thursday it would launch a study into the role of meat in climate change. The report, carried out by independent experts, is expected to be published "by the summer," Bernard Vallat, head of the World Organisation for Animal Health, known by its French acronym of OIE, said in Paris. It is the first time in its nearly 85-year history that the 175-nation OIE is to carry out an environmental investigation. The agency swaps information about diseases in farm animals and issues recommendations in veterinary scares such as H5N1 avian flu. The probe coincides with mounting interest in the role of meat-eating in stoking climate change. Farm animals are significant sources of greenhouse gases, either directly through methane emissions from digestion or indirectly, such as clearing forests for pasture and inputs used in raising cattle. Vallat, who is the OIE's director general, said there had been a "very strong request" from member-states for the report. The investigation's scope will be limited, and it will not seek to rival or replicate the work of the UN's global-warming scientists, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he said. By some estimates, there will be a 50-percent surge in demand for animal protein by 2020 in order to feed the world's burgeoning population and demands from emerging economies, he said. "Whatever happens, we are going to have to produce more animals to feed the planet," he told a press conference. Celebrity vegans such as Paul McCartney are urging consumers to boycott meat as a personal contribution to fighting climate change. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef causes more greenhouse-gas and other pollution than driving for three hours while leaving all the lights on back home, according to a 2007 study led by Akifumi Ogino of the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, Japan.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology
Chinese dairy bosses could face February trial: prosecutorShanghai (AFP) Jan 7, 2010 Three Chinese dairy executives could face trial as early as next month for selling tainted milk products, prosecutors said Thursday, admitting the case had been under investigation for months. The case against the general manager of Shanghai Panda Dairy and his two deputies comes after "illegally high" levels of melamine were found in powdered and condensed milk, a spokesman for Shanghai ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook