Reading Time: 3 minutes A new egg-laying barn currently under construction at the Brant Colony in Vulcan County will be the first such ‘net-zero’ facility in the province. “The thought was that if we had a barn designed from scratch and we put all these different things in it, we could get to the point where the energy inputs […] Read more
Egg-laying barn produces as much energy as it uses
Brant Colony’s new barn will also be a learning project about ‘what it takes to get to net zero’
California considers adding meat to cancer-alert list
Reuters — California is examining new World Health Organization findings to determine whether to add red meat and foods such as hot dogs, sausages and bacon to a cancer-alert list, setting the stage for a potential battle with the meat industry over warning labels. The inclusion of meat and processed meat on the list could […] Read more
McDonald’s Canada to tighten antibiotic policy for chicken
Following its U.S. arm’s move this spring, McDonald’s now plans to source only chicken raised without medically important antibiotics for its restaurants in Canada by the end of 2018. And Canada’s chicken producer group says the Canadian chain’s move dovetails with a direction the Canadian industry was headed already. “McDonald’s believes antibiotics have important benefits, […] Read more
Brazil’s JBS considering slew of acquisitions
Sao Paulo | Reuters –– JBS SA, the world’s largest meat packer, is ready to take on a slew of acquisitions next year, chairman Joesley Batista said Tuesday. The Brazilian company controls assets in the U.S., Canada, Australia and other countries. Batista, speaking on the sidelines of a telecommunications industry event in São Paulo, declined […] Read more
CleanFARMS collection begins this week
Reading Time: < 1 minute CleanFARMS is collecting obsolete pesticide and livestock medications this week at 20 locations across the southern part of the province. Farmers can drop off their obsolete materials at a designated collection site at no charge. The products will then be transported to a high-temperature incineration facility for safe disposal. Pickups will occur at four locations […] Read more
Love rural Alberta and want to be a vet? Call U of Calgary
There’s a huge demand for livestock and equine veterinarians — and vet school wants to train more rural practitioners
Reading Time: 2 minutes The University of Calgary has just one message for aspiring veterinarians: There’s plenty of jobs out there — especially in rural Alberta. “We have areas in rural Alberta where I still get a phone call after a class has graduated that they have a job and need a veterinarian,” said Dr. Alistair Cribb, dean of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, hogs sag while digesting meat warnings
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower on Monday, following last Friday’s cash prices that fell short of expectations and worries over potential consumer response to news about a possible tie to red meat and cancer risk, traders said. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that eating processed meats can […] Read more
Cancer ‘hazard’ not a cancer ‘risk,’ meat industry cautions
A new report classifying processed meats such as hot dogs and bacon as “carcinogenic” to humans doesn’t set out a cause-and-effect link between meats and cancer, industry groups caution. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research arm of the World Health Organization, on Monday published a report placing processed meats in its […] Read more
Processed meat can cause cancer, red meat probably can: WHO
Paris | Reuters — Eating processed meat can lead to bowel cancer in humans while red meat is a likely cause of the disease, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts said on Monday in findings that could sharpen debate over the merits of a meat-based diet. The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part […] Read more
Meat industry braces for WHO cancer risk verdict
Paris | Reuters — As international health experts prepare to publish a report on potential cancer risks linked to red and processed meat, industry groups are bracing for a damaging blow to consumer confidence. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) gathered health experts in France this month to discuss available […] Read more