All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Mars commits to No Deforestation, exposes P&G for its inaction | Greenpeace International

Mars committed to remove deforestation from all of its products by the end of 2015, a move that places pressure on companies such as Procter & Gamble to set an equally ambitious No Deforestation Policy. In addition, Greenpeace activists today documented ongoing forest clearance and unfurled a giant banner in a palm oil plantation in Indonesia which is owned by P&G supplier Musim Mas, and where orangutan habitat was recently cleared.

“Mars joins a growing list of companies including Unilever and Nestlé that are finally promising forest-friendly products to their consumers. It shows that global public pressure is working, and is leaving P&G, which refuses to clean up their supply chains, increasingly isolated,” said Areeba Hamid, forest campaigner at Greenpeace International.

Mars’ policy includes an ambitious timeline of 2015 to remove forest destruction from its supply chain. Importantly, the policy recognises the need to move beyond the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards and Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) commitments to break the link between palm oil and deforestation – an issue that P&G has refused to recognise.

via Mars commits to No Deforestation, exposes P&G for its inaction | Greenpeace International.

Mars and P&G: one just took deforestation seriously, and the other didn’t | Greenpeace International

Greenpeace activists hold a banner inside palm oil consession owned by PT Multi Persada Gatramegah (PT MPG), a subsidiary of Musim Mas company, a palm oil supplier to Procter and Gamble in Muara Teweh, North Barito, Central Kalimantan.  10/03/2014

This morning, a dozen activists unfurled a giant banner in a plantation owned by Musim Mas – a company we identified as a supplier to P&G and involved in ongoing forest and orangutan habitat clearance. This is not “sustainable” – at least not for the half a million of you who have already called for forest-friendly products.

via Mars and P&G: one just took deforestation seriously, and the other didn’t | Greenpeace International.

Pokagon Potawatomi Seeking to Have Squaw Creek Renamed to Nokmes Creek | Native News Online

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, based in Dowagiac, Michigan, is seeking to have a name of a creek changed from Squaw Creek to Nokmes Creek.

The word Nokmes, which means “grandmother,” honors American Indian women, unlike the term “squaw.” Many American Indians consider the term extremely derogatory.

via Pokagon Potawatomi Seeking to Have Squaw Creek Renamed to Nokmes Creek | Native News Online.

Agricultura Urbana y Periurbana como herramienta para la seguridad alimentaria y el desarrollo municipal (copy 1)

Agricultura Urbana y Periurbana como herramienta para la seguridad alimentaria y el desarrollo municipal

El curso aporta toda la experiencia acumulada en la FAO para la formación de capacidades al interior de las instituciones públicas para la formulación y ejecución de programas integrales de agricultura urbana y periurbana y seguridad alimentaria y nutricional en los municipios de la región.

Los contenidos fueron diseñados y editados por el Grupo de Agricultura Urbana y Periurbana (GAUP) de la Oficina Regional de la FAO para América Latina y el Caribe, IPES Promoción del Desarrollo Sostenible y la Fundación RUAF.

via Agricultura Urbana y Periurbana como herramienta para la seguridad alimentaria y el desarrollo municipal (copy 1).

H5N1: China: Do dogs transmit H1N1 to humans?

During 2012, we identified dogs sampled with elevated antibodies (≥1:40) against A(H1N1)pdm09 virus: HI assay (24.7%) and MN assay (10.8%). This high seroprevalence of A(H1N1)pdm09 among dogs without clinical signs of influenza support the premise that dogs may play a role in human influenza ecology in China.

via H5N1: China: Do dogs transmit H1N1 to humans?.

However! Seems to be a very human-centric view of things. We look for animals, insects, bacteria, and viruses that transmit disease to humans but not for diseases that humans pass to animals, etc. Dogs and cats especially, are as likely to become ill from human ills, as is the opposite since we live in such intimate environment with them. The same can be said for horses, camels, sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs, and people.

H5N1: Antibiotics as “fat drugs”

If you walk into a farm-supply store today, you’re likely to find a bag of antibiotic powder that claims to boost the growth of poultry and livestock. That’s because decades of agricultural research has shown that antibiotics seem to flip a switch in young animals’ bodies, helping them pack on pounds. Manufacturers brag about the miraculous effects of feeding antibiotics to chicks and nursing calves. Dusty agricultural journals attest to the ways in which the drugs can act like a kind of superfood to produce cheap meat.

But what if that meat is us? Recently, a group of medical investigators have begun to wonder whether antibiotics might cause the same growth promotion in humans. New evidence shows that America’s obesity epidemic may be connected to our high consumption of these drugs. But before we get to those findings, it’s helpful to start at the beginning, in 1948, when the wonder drugs were new — and big was beautiful.

via H5N1: Antibiotics as “fat drugs”.

International Women’s Day: Where is Egypt now?

Egyptian Streets

Egyptian women mark International Women's Day in 2013 by taking to the streets. Credit: AFP Egyptian women mark International Women’s Day in 2013 by taking to the streets. Credit: AFP

By Farida Ezzat, Contributor, EgyptianStreets.com (editing by Mohamed Khairat)

Since its start in the socialist movement, International Women’s Day has been a day where female activists all over the world come together under the certainty that women’s equality is not only a sign of societal development, but a human right that cannot be overlooked.

It is a day where thousands of women defy society’s restrictive and discriminating views of women and march for hours chanting their rights of equal pay, voting rights and overall equality.

A day to celebrate women’s freedom and courage, International Women’s Day stands as a reminder of how far we have come and how long we have to go.

With political instabilities and economical downfalls, women have continued to brave discrimination and sexual abuse in order to fight for…

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