A senior advisor to the Scottish Government has said he was ‘astonished’ at Ministers’ failure to act swiftly on clear warnings that the Covid virus was ‘vastly more dangerous’ to the elderly and the vulnerable. Professor Mark Woolhouse, who was a member of the Scottish Covid-19 Advisory Group (C19AG) from March 2020, gave evidence to Baroness Hallett’s inquiry that ‘the single most important intervention was always to protect those most vulnerable to severe disease’. Despite this, he said, he and his C19AG colleagues struggled to get Ministers to listen and act on this crucial point despite delivering ‘at least half a dozen direct briefings to the First Minister’ on aspects of the pandemic. The professor, a leading expert on tracking infectious diseases, said: ‘I was astonished throughout those early stages, March through April 2020, how difficult it was to get people to accept that this virus was vastly more dangerous to the elderly, the infirm and the frail than it was to young,
CANADA is seeking to expand its footprint in Philippine agriculture following the success of some of its collaborations in the Philippine hog and dairy industries, a Canadian government official said. Diedrah Kelly, executive director of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office, said at a food security forum late Monday that the use of Canadian technology in some Philippine farms has yielded efficiency and productivity gains. “As a result of this technology, the yield on those cows is about a liter more (of milk) each day than what they had previously,” Ms. Kelly said. “Canadian technology and genetic material are being provided for both pork and dairy,” she added. The technology-sharing supports the Philippines’ drive to expand its dairy industry. The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it set a target of 5% of the Philippines’ dairy requirements to be serviced by domestic production within the next two or three years. The Philippines currently imports about 99% of
Tourists love picturesque places — if a photo can do well on social media, you know that tourists are going to dig that attraction. However, at the New Forest National Park in southern England, tourists seem to love the pigs that roam the park, almost 600 of them. They seem to be so obsessed that they have befriended them and are constantly taking pictures with them. Some of them took it to an extreme and took selfies with the phone near their snouts, while other park workers have also noticed the tourists leaping out of their cars and following the piglets down a busy road. While a few other tourists have taken a more respectful and gentle approach. The visitors have now been labelled the “piggy tourists”, a social crime that has annoyed people at the park as well as those in charge of animal welfare. The reason there are so many pigs in the park is becuse of a yearly ritual called “pannage”, where the swine are released to eat up all the acorns and nuts that could otherwise be toxi
A 1-year-old pig that led New Mexico authorities on an Albuquerque highway chase has a new permanent home, officials said. The pig was spotted on the Interstate 40 off-ramp to Louisiana Boulevard on Nov. 11 and video captured at the scene shows Albuquerque officers chasing the slippery swine through the roadway. The pig was eventually taken to Albuquerque's Westside Shelter and Albuquerque Animal Welfare announced on social media that the animal has found a new forever home. The new owners, who dubbed the pig Boar-is, said they saw his plight on the news and knew he needed to become a new member of the family. The owners, Jerrod and Katherine Hinchman, have another pig named Swine-nona. "When we saw him running, we just saw his little spirit and how hard he was working to survive. And we just knew that he would fit right in with our pig," the Hinchmans told KRQE-TV. The couple said their property has a sturdy fence, so Boar-is will not be going on anymore highway adventures anyti
duBreton acknowledges Health Canada's decision to indefinitely paused its proposed update to the novel food policy governing foods derived from cloned cattle and swine, as well as their progeny. The organization's recent announcement credits the hold to the volume and nature of feedback received from both industry stakeholders and the public. As a Canadian leader in responsible and ethically raised pork production, duBreton welcomes this pause as an important opportunity for Canadian food officials to deepen engagement with producers, retailers, and most importantly Canadian consumers. "Canadians expect clarity, transparency, and meaningful consultation on issues that directly touch their food supply," said Vincent Breton, duBreton President. "As producers, we consider it our responsibility and believe our governing food authorities should too." duBreton reached out to Health Canada following the novel food announcement and received confirmation, gene-editing technologies are not in
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all we ever wanted to do was farm a hundred acers with some beef and goats
they say no one has interest in small family farms
we are a dad 45 daughter 24 son
we would beef farm in manitoulin islands where people dont even care anymore
or look after the farms and fences
but where do people like us get the money when you have no family
to help
we are willing to work and live in a garbage house for anyone that would help us
get the farm and pay it off over the next twenty years
by then i will be sixty and my son and daughter could take over
wheres the help? I know farmers in ontario that have THREE three hundred thousand dollar combines PAID FOR and trade every two years
wheres the support for new farmers LIKE us thats all we have EVER WANTED
integrity@cyg.net
All the best to you and yours in 2010!
Steve