This post is a continuation from yesterday’s H1N1 topic that explored Alberta Pork’s experiences at the centre of the H1N1 media storm earlier this year. The information is based on a presentation I attended by Lee Funke of Torque Communications at the recently held Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference in Edmonton.
He outlined some of the [...]

A freelance science writer from Egypt speaking at a conference for science journalists helped shed some light on that country’s extraordinary decision to slaughter its entire pig population when H1N1 influenza was first announced earlier this year.
Nadia El-Awady, Program Manager with the Arab Science Journalists Association, spoke about the events that led up to the [...]

They’ve finally listened. Yesterday, the World Health Organization announced that they were re-naming what everyone’s been calling “swine flu” to H1N1 Influenza A.
Pandemic frenzy has taken hold as we grapple with this new flu that has emerged. It was quickly dubbed “swine flu” even though it really has nothing to do with pigs or pork [...]

Tough economic times and increased environmental awareness mean we’re seeing things we haven’t seen in decades. Things like the return of the laundry line, the resurgence of the vegetable patch and even the re-appearance of backyard chicken coops.
Municipalities are generally encouraging of anything that promotes environmental awareness and sustainability – but some are drawing the [...]

Food safety in Canada received a boost today with the announcement that an e.coli vaccine with the potential to reduce risk to human health has been approved for use in Canada.
Econiche, a livestock vaccine that greatly reduces the shedding of e.coli O157:H7 by beef and dairy cattle, is now available to Canadian farmers.

Outbreaks of the deadly e.coli O157:H7 regularly make headlines – and this time, the headlines are hitting close to home, right here in Ontario. We also have a made-in-Canada solution to this ongoing problem, but we need the government’s help to implement it.

The following article was first published in Ontario Beef Farmer magazine, July 2008:
It sickens thousands of people every year, killing some and leaving others with permanent health damage. But it doesn’t affect the animals that harbour and shed the bacteria, making the disease invisible to farmers.

Now, a new, made-in-Canada cattle vaccine to reduce human risk [...]