Agriculture News and Research

RSS

Pink slime to make its way into school lunches: Debate ensues

McDonald's and other fast food chains may have removed “pink slime” from their foods but the ‘gooey’ sounding chemical treatment that removes bacteria from meat is still making its appearance at kids’ school lunches.

11 Mar 2012

Genetically modified pig may hold keys to develop treatments for RP

A newly developed, genetically modified pig may hold the keys to the development of improved treatments and possibly even a cure for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the most common inherited retinal disease in the United States.

9 Mar 2012

Africare hosts panel discussion on issues of health care, women and economic development

In honor of International Women's Day, Africare in partnership with Global Health & Diplomacy (GHD) and the United Nations Foundation (UNF), hosted a panel discussion and press conference focused on issues of health care, women and economic development in Africa and the developing world.

8 Mar 2012

Reducing consumption of antimicrobial agents reduces resistance: DANMAP

Antimicrobial agents are the most important weapons in the fight against bacterial infections in humans and animals, but these agents can lose their potency. When bacteria are exposed to antimicrobial agents they can develop resistance. This would make it more difficult to treat common diseases such as pneumonia and other infections.

8 Mar 2012

U.S. Farm Bill has global implications for food security

In this ONE Blog post, Jennifer Wynn, an intern with ONE's policy team, reports on a recent panel discussion held at George Washington University that examined the U.S. Farm Bill and its implications for global hunger and food security.

7 Mar 2012

Health Impact Project announces awardees of 15 new grants

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, announced the awardees of 15 new grants today. Selected following a nationwide call for proposals, the grantees will conduct health impact assessments (HIAs), a type of study that looks at potential health impacts of policies and projects in other sectors.

5 Mar 2012

Packaged meats to carry nutrition labels like other food products

Starting this Thursday nutrition labels found on almost all packaged foods can be found for ground meat and poultry as well. Forty of the most popular whole, raw cuts or meat and poultry, such as chicken breast or steak, also will have nutritional information either on the package labels or on display at the store, under a new Department of Agriculture rule. The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service has required nutrition labeling since 1993 for products that are not raw or that contain more than one ingredient.

2 Mar 2012

Aid agencies must implement long-term solutions in Horn of Africa to 'banish hunger'

With each of the three droughts in the Horn of Africa over the last decade, "the international community agreed that long-term measures were needed to prevent another tragedy. But each time, when the rains finally came, the world's good intentions melted away," Jose Graziano de Silva, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

2 Mar 2012

Children consuming too much sugar: Report

According to new data children are consuming too much sugar than they should, and processed and packaged foods, not beverages, are the leading source in their diets.

1 Mar 2012

New portable device can quickly diagnose infectious disease

Infectious diseases can spread very rapidly, so quickly identifying them can be crucial to stopping an epidemic. However, current testing for such diseases can take hours and days. But not for much longer.

1 Mar 2012

Project uses remote sensing to track and predict impact of climate change

Scientists from the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University are partnering to track and predict the impact of climate change internationally.

29 Feb 2012

World Bank needs better leadership to achieve goals of reducing poverty

With the proper leadership, the World Bank "can play a key role" in fighting "poverty, resource depletion and climate change," therefore "the global stakes are ... very high this spring as the bank's 187 member countries choose a new president to succeed Robert Zoellick, whose term ends in July," Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a special adviser to the U.N. secretary general on the Millennium Development Goals, writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

28 Feb 2012

Citrus fruits may keep stroke at bay for women

In the study published last Thursday in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed the flavonoid intake of 69,622 women from the U.S.-based Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed nurses since 1976 to assess risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer. The total flavonoid intake of the 69,622 women was calculated after they completed food intake questionnaires collected every four years using a U.S. Department of Agriculture database. They found that during 14 years of follow up surveys beginning in 1990, 1,803 incidents of strokes were confirmed from the women.

26 Feb 2012

Gates calls for greater coordination among U.N. food agencies, announces nearly $200M in grants for agricultural development projects

In a speech delivered at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome on Thursday, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told IFAD, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the "approach being used today to fight against poverty and hunger is outdated and inefficient" and asked the agencies "to unite around a common global target for sustainable productivity growth to guide and measure their efforts," a Gates Foundation press release states.

24 Feb 2012

Oscar nominated movie influences people to change eating and food shopping habits

As Academy Award voters mark their ballots, researchers at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center released a study measuring a movie's power to change the behavior of people who see it. Using an innovative instrument developed by the Lear Center, the study of more than 20,000 people found that those who saw the 2010 Oscar nominee Food, Inc. had significantly changed their eating and food shopping habits.

23 Feb 2012

Overall positive attitude towards concept of uniform CVD prevention guidelines across Europe

The next Joint European CVD Prevention Guidelines, scheduled for publication later this year at EuroPRevent 2012, will be shorter, tighter and supported by fewer references.

23 Feb 2012

Childhood Obesity celebrates second anniversary of Let's Move! initiative

Faith-based advocacy has been cited as a valuable tool in combating childhood obesity, but evidence is needed to support this assertion and to define how the link between advocacy and policy can contribute to promoting permanent lifestyle changes. This article is part of a special issue of the journal Childhood Obesity celebrating the second anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative.

22 Feb 2012

Shah says 'difficult choices' made in FY13 International Affairs budget request

In this post on USAID's "IMPACTblog," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah says the FY 2013 International Affairs budget request "showcases President Obama's commitment to making smart, efficient investments to help those in the greatest need while helping to create economic opportunity and safeguarding American security." Despite

18 Feb 2012

Millions of North Koreans face malnutrition despite recent food aid, relief agencies warn

"Relief agencies have warned that millions of North Koreans are malnourished, with the most vulnerable facing starvation in the coming months, despite reports that the impoverished state has received food aid from China and South Korea," the Lancet reports.

18 Feb 2012

U.N. meeting delegates urge international community to respond thoroughly, rapidly to drought-stricken Sahel

"Delegates at a meeting convened by the United Nations to draw up strategies to respond to the humanitarian crisis in West Africa's drought-prone Sahel region on Wednesday called for comprehensive and rapid assistance to the millions of people affected, especially children and women," the U.N. News Centre reports.

17 Feb 2012