Tag: 

Food security

The emergence of new genomic technologies such as CRISPR, which allows targeted gene editing to a level never before possible, and the recent successes of companies such as Impossible and Beyond Meat, which have pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable and possible in the marketplace and to the consumer, indicates food production and consumption could be in the midst of a revolution.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Wisconsin Department of Health, and Minnesota Department of Health are investigating a Salmonella Infantis outbreak linked to Del Monte Fresh Produce vegetable-dip trays.

The University of Minnesota and Dave Wright, DVM, produced a series of short videos to assist veterinarians and producers to identify and prepare for the possible introduction of Foreign Animal Disease (FAD). The goal of the videos are to supplement material provided by the Secure Pork Supply (SPS) website.

Since the Missouri legislature banned lab-grown products from using “meat” in their labels, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Wyoming have all followed suit. Montana will likely join if the governor signs the “Real Meat Act.”

Biodiversity is the variety of life at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. In terms of agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, biodiversity “includes the domesticated plants and animals that are part of crop, livestock, forest or aquaculture systems, harvested forest and aquatic species, the wild relatives of domesticated species, and other wild species harvested for food and other products." It also encompasses what is known as “associated biodiversity,” the vast range of organisms that live in and around food and agricultural production systems, sustaining them and contributing to their output.

This week, the Lancet Commission published a comprehensive report on the “Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change.” Coined in the 1990s, the term “syndemic” refers to the co-occurrence of multiple epidemics that interact with one another and share common societal drivers. 

A recent study found that a bacteria-derived compound might provide a novel option in protecting against mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases. Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined a bacterium called Xenorhabdus budapestensis that lives inside roundworms.

As the government shutdown continues into its third week with no end in sight, there is growing concern over the dangers and risks of the shutdown to public health.