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Opinions: Rebuilding Haiti

In a Baltimore Sun opinion piece, Richard Santos - president and CEO of IMA World Health, a non-profit that provides health care services and supplies - describes what he sees as the top three priorities for the rebuilding of Haiti, beginning with healthcare, which he describes as " foundational to all else." He continues, "Development groups have experience setting up basic health care systems in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other difficult environments.

12 Feb 2010

DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition segment expected to grow by 10% in 2010, says James C. Borel

DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel said he expects the DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition segment to grow sales by 10 percent in 2010 and increase pre-tax operating income margin across the seed, crop protection, and nutrition and health businesses.

11 Feb 2010

BBSRC commits £15M to establish training for food security research and development

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is today (10 Feb 2010) committing up to £15M to establish training for food security research and development.

11 Feb 2010

Haitian death toll climbs to 230,000, government says

The death toll from the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti has risen to 230,000, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, the country's communications minister, said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

11 Feb 2010

India puts indefinite 'moratorium' on release of country's first GM vegetable

"India has postponed the launch of its first genetically modified (GM) vegetable, saying it would adopt a cautious approach and wait for more scientific studies on the impact of the new variety of eggplant," Reuters reports (Majumdar, 2/9).

11 Feb 2010

MSU launches research and training program to address product counterfeiting

Michigan State University has launched the nation's first comprehensive research and training program designed to address product counterfeiting-- which the FBI has called "the crime of the 21st century."

10 Feb 2010

Beer may help prevent osteoporosis

A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density. Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis studied commercial beer production to determine the relationship between beer production methods and the resulting silicon content, concluding that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon. Details of this study are available in the February issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry.

8 Feb 2010

Stronger animal disease traceability system will help minimize harm to other food animals, food producers and the public

In response to a statement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is reaffirming its call for a strong, national animal disease traceability program to help maintain and improve the health of U.S. livestock.

6 Feb 2010

WFP has reached 600,000 Haitians with food voucher plan

On Thursday, a food distribution voucher campaign that launched last Sunday, "hit all 16 fixed distribution points around the capital" of Port-au-Prince, CNN reports. "So far, 600,000 people affected by the devastating January 12 earthquake have been able to collect food under this plan, said Marcus Prior, spokesman for the United Nations World Food Programme [WFP]. 'We're encouraged by the way the system is working to get food out into the city to those in need, but still have a long way to go,' Prior said" (Basu, 2/5).

6 Feb 2010

BIO releases proposed policy options to support U.S. job growth

Additional Congressional action is needed to follow through on the Obama administration’s recently announced initiative to rapidly build an integrated value chain for the bioeconomy, create jobs and kick start economic growth.

5 Feb 2010

Low-cost soy chicken offers numerous health benefits

Sure, some delicacies might taste just like chicken, but they usually feel and look much different. Soy meat alternatives, such as the soy burger, have become more popular recently, with increased sales of eight percent from 2007 to 2008.

5 Feb 2010

Secretaries to release new report on children’s health insurance

One year after President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit the Mazique Parent Child Center to discuss efforts to identify and enroll children in health coverage and announce new steps the Departments are taking to insure more kids.

4 Feb 2010

New African Union chair's focus to include food security; First Ladies discuss HIV/AIDS

The African Union (AU) Summit concluded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday with newly elected AU chairman Bingu Wa Mutharika, of Malawi, encouraging African leaders to make agriculture and food security a top priority, Angola Press reports (2/2).

4 Feb 2010

World Cocoa Foundation launches CLP to improve livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire

At a ceremony held in Abidjan, the World Cocoa Foundation today announced the launch of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP) in Cote d'Ivoire. The program, first announced in February 2009, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 14 chocolate industry companies, is expected to significantly improve the livelihoods of 75,000 cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire by 2014.

3 Feb 2010

Obama's budget addresses the urgent need for bringing healthy food options to underserved communities

In his FY2011 budget proposal, President Barack Obama addressed the urgent need for bringing healthy food options to underserved communities by calling for more than $400 million in investments in new and expanded supermarkets, farmers markets and other food stores.

3 Feb 2010

Obama's FY 2011 budget gives global health funding boost

President Barack Obama's FY 2011 budget request for global health totals $9.6 billion and includes funding for global health activities within the State Department, USAID and HHS, the Wall Street Journal reports

3 Feb 2010

Researchers identify 1.1M base pairs of DNA in soybean genome

In 2009, soybeans represented an almost $30 billion industry in the U.S. alone, making soybeans the second-most profitable crop next to corn. Worldwide, soybeans have been used in human foods and livestock feed for centuries and have been a key component in industrial products, such as plastics and soy biodiesel, an environmentally friendly fuel.

2 Feb 2010

Cryogenetics invents a method for cryo-preservation of fish embryos

The Norwegian company Cryogenetics Ltd. has made a significant breakthrough by inventing a method for cryo-preservation of fish embryos down to -130° C (-202° F).

2 Feb 2010

Also in Global Health News: Retrovirus enzyme; audit of USAID program; Africa's agriculture

A study published on Sunday in the journal Nature has shed light on the enzyme integrase, "which is found in retroviruses like HIV and is a target for some of the newest HIV medicines," Reuters reports. Scientists at the Imperial College London and Harvard University grew a crystal of integrase in the lab allowing them to see the enzyme's structure. According to the news service, the scientists "said that having the integrase structure means researchers can begin fully to understand how integrase inhibitor drugs work, how they might be improved, and how to stop HIV developing resistance to them," according to the news service (Kelland, 2/1).

2 Feb 2010

U.S. government resumes medical evacuations from Haiti; new food voucher distribution targeting women begins

"The U.S. government said on Sunday it would resume military evacuation flights" within 12 hours for critically ill and injured Haitians who were harmed in the Jan. 12 earthquake, Reuters reports (Rosenberg/Brown, 1/31). Medical evacuations had been suspended for a few days, but the reason for the suspension "is unclear as various government authorities have provided different explanations," the Wall Street Journal reports.

2 Feb 2010

Agriculture News and Research

Opinions: Rebuilding Haiti

DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition segment expected to grow by 10% in 2010, says James C. Borel

BBSRC commits £15M to establish training for food security research and development

Haitian death toll climbs to 230,000, government says

India puts indefinite 'moratorium' on release of country's first GM vegetable

MSU launches research and training program to address product counterfeiting

Beer may help prevent osteoporosis

Stronger animal disease traceability system will help minimize harm to other food animals, food producers and the public

WFP has reached 600,000 Haitians with food voucher plan

BIO releases proposed policy options to support U.S. job growth

Low-cost soy chicken offers numerous health benefits

Secretaries to release new report on children’s health insurance

New African Union chair's focus to include food security; First Ladies discuss HIV/AIDS

World Cocoa Foundation launches CLP to improve livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire

Obama's budget addresses the urgent need for bringing healthy food options to underserved communities

Obama's FY 2011 budget gives global health funding boost

Researchers identify 1.1M base pairs of DNA in soybean genome

Cryogenetics invents a method for cryo-preservation of fish embryos

Also in Global Health News: Retrovirus enzyme; audit of USAID program; Africa's agriculture

U.S. government resumes medical evacuations from Haiti; new food voucher distribution targeting women begins

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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