Throwing everything at TB
The Government’s current method of controlling cattle TB – surveillance, testing and slaughter – is not working effectively. That is the conclusion of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee in its report Badgers and cattle TB, published on February 27th.
Royal Society points TB finger at badgers
A new, independent report, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, has concluded that the majority of bovine tuberculosis spread in high-risk areas is a result of badger-to-cattle interaction.
On Jamie and organic chicken
The “Jamie Oliver” effect, resulting from the screening of the TV show Jamie’s Fowl Dinners, is seeing supermarkets suffering shortages of free range and organic chicken, reports the Daily Mail.
Wheat Breeding LINK Project Summary
The return of set aside
Cash for farmers to leave land uncultivated as wildlife habitat (set-aside) in on its way back into UK farm policy
GM coexistence in trouble in Spain
GM maize edges out organic production in Spain.
GM rape persists in Swedish trial
Seeds from some genetically modified crops can endure in soil for at least 10 years. That’s the finding of Swedish scientists who examined a field, originally planted with experimental oilseed rape a decade ago, and found transgenic specimens were still growing there.
A bright future for horses
Horse power on Iain Tolhurst’s holding
Re-think on EU logo
The European Commission has confirmed that the implementation of the new EU-wide organic “Bio” logo will be postponed until 2010.
Livestock numbers game
Are the world’s livestock such polluters of our atmosphere?
Small change for climate
New plan from EU to combat climate change
Biofuels - bad,bad,bad
MPs say biofuels are no solution
Conversion grant distortions?
Mark Measures discusses the effects of organic conversion grants – OELS
Shop local - save the planet
Exeter Univ shopping study
Rocky road for organic market
UK retail market analysis from TNS
Green shoots of organic plant breeding
New hope for EU effort on organic plant breeding
In sickness and in health
We have had a year of disease after disease.
Focused organic funding
For organic read multifunctional
Organic chicken and ITV
A call for real organic poultry – produced with ethics, principles and adherence to proper organic standards
No Catch cod gets battered
The world’s first organic cod farm, run by Johnson Seafarms just off Shetland, is in crisis. The firm has been put into administration with its directors sacked after they allegedly ran up debts totalling £40 million in the last two years.
Pirbright FMD whitewash
The Anderson Report into last summer’s FMD outbreak in Surrey is a whitewash