Category Archives: environment

Fish from west Africa being illegally shipped to South Korea, say activists | World news | theguardian.com

There is new evidence that large quantities of fish from west Africa are being \”stolen\” from communities heavily dependent on fishing, and loaded on to illegal vessels bound for South Korea.

Satellite technology suggests that a 470-ton fishing vessel is currently transporting illegally caught fish from Sierra Leone to Busan, South Korea\’s second-largest city, feeding high demand for seafood in Asia.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), which uncovered the case, said it was part of the biggest trade in illegally caught fish in the world.

It detected the Korean-flagged vessel fishing close to Sierra Leone\’s Sherbro Island, where communities are heavily reliant on fishing for their food and income.

News of the vessel – believed to be transporting more than 4,000 boxes of illegally caught fish – comes amid growing concern about falling fish stocks in wst Africa, as more traditional fishing communities are pushed into poverty.

via Fish from west Africa being illegally shipped to South Korea, say activists | World news | theguardian.com.

There’s a Major Foodborne Illness Outbreak and the Government’s Shut Down – Wired Science

In case it seems like this is not a big deal (just 300 illnesses, just some raw chicken): foodborne illness can have lifelong consequences that range from arthritis to kidney trouble to heart disease. And: The number of illnesses that can be identified in any foodborne outbreak are almost always an under-estimate.

In its statement, FSIS said:

Raw products from the facilities in question bear one of the establishment numbers inside a USDA mark of inspection or elsewhere on the package:

“P6137”

“P6137A”

“P7632”

The products were mainly distributed to retail outlets in California, Oregon and Washington State.

It is the second time this year that the firm at the center of this alert, Foster Farms, has been linked to a nationwide Salmonella outbreak. In July, according to the CDC, 134 people in 13 states were made ill by chicken linked to two Foster Farms slaughterhouses.

via There’s a Major Foodborne Illness Outbreak and the Government’s Shut Down – Wired Science.

UnderwaterTimes.com | Study: Longline Fishery In Costa Rica Kills Thousands Of Sea Turtles And Sharks

The researchers argue that time and area closures for the fisheries are essential to protect these animals as well as to maintain the health of the commercial fishery.

The research was conducted by a team from Drexel University, the Costa Rican non-profit conservation organization Pretoma and a U.S. non-profit working in Costa Rica, The Leatherback Trust.

The researchers used data from scientific observers on longline fishing boats who recorded every fish and other animal caught by the fishermen from 1999 to 2010 and the locations of the captures and fishing efforts. Those data provided the basis for a mathematical analysis of the fishery resulting in maps of geographic locations and estimates of the total number of captures of sea turtles in the entire fishery.

via UnderwaterTimes.com | Study: Longline Fishery In Costa Rica Kills Thousands Of Sea Turtles And Sharks.

Russia charges five Greenpeace activists with piracy – RUSSIA – FRANCE 24

Russian authorities on Wednesday charged five Greenpeace activists – a Briton, a Brazilian, a Finn, a Russian and a US-Swedish citizen – with piracy for protesting against Arctic oil drilling. Another 25 Greenpeace protesters are awaiting charges.

via Russia charges five Greenpeace activists with piracy – RUSSIA – FRANCE 24.

Startup in Palestine launches crowdfunding campaign for rooftop farming in refugee camps | Wamda.com

Now working in the West Bank, Refutrees hopes to end refugee reliance on institutions like UNRWA by training current refugees in the modern techniques of urban agriculture, not only to provide immediate nutrition, but also to educate the community in the longer term and reconnect a young generation to the memory of its ancestral lands.

To do so, Refutrees’ mission is three-fold: Roof-top gardens will provide fresh, organic produce and outdoor activity for a largely unemployed population; internships and courses will connect community members to international experts on urban agriculture and recycling; and an Eco-Art Palestine initiative will use recycled material to create safe play spaces for children used to more desolate landscapes.

via Startup in Palestine launches crowdfunding campaign for rooftop farming in refugee camps | Wamda.com.

New Survey Shows Food Hubs Poised for Further Growth – NSAC

Financial health and impacts on sustainable agriculture

In addition to examining what food hubs do and how they’re structured, the survey looked at their financial health and the impacts they are having on local communities, including ways food hubs influence producers in their production methods.  Among the positive findings:

A majority of the food hubs surveyed were on solid financial footing, with operating costs matching revenue.

Most food hubs were able to operate independently of grants or other outside sources of funding.  Two thirds of food hubs reported not receiving any funding from outside sources.

While most food hubs are small, with annual sales of $500,000 or less, they work with a broad range of producers.  Most of the food hubs surveyed work with 30 or more different producers, providing local consumers with access to a broad range of products from local farms and ranches.  Those producers were somewhat more likely to be women or people of color than the national averages for primary operators of farms.

On average, 60 percent of a food hub’s total gross sales came from small and mid-sized farms, while 76 percent of food hubs indicated that all or most of their producers fit this small to mid-sized farm category.

Most food hubs indicated that they have an impact on their producers, including influencing them to diversify their product offerings or adopt more sustainable production methods.

via New Survey Shows Food Hubs Poised for Further Growth – NSAC.

Ohio Senator Wants USDA’s Poultry Inspectors Assigned to China; Charges ‘Labeling Gap’ | Food Safety News

??? Export chicken to China, have them “cook” it and send back to US to be sold as Buffalo wings or nuggets???

American consumers need USDA “on station” to inspect chicken processing as it occurs in China, and a “labeling gap” is putting U.S. food safety at risk, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) suggests in a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Brown also raised numerous questions with Vilsack about Chinese chicken processors being approved to process chicken raised in the U.S., Canada or Chile and then export the cooked chicken back here.

Since the news leaked (just before USDA announced it on Aug. 30) that four Chinese chicken processors are being green-lighted for exporting cooked chicken to the U.S., it’s become one of this nation’s hotter discussion topics.

“Given the well-documented shortcomings of the Chinese food safety system, we shouldn’t allow unmarked meat into our markets that is processed in Chinese facilities that are not subject to food safety inspections,” Brown stated in a press release accompanying his letter to Vilsack. “This action could endanger the health and safety of American consumers and potentially undermines confidence in our nation’s food safety standards.”

Meat and poultry imported to the U.S. is subject to inspection by the foreign country, which must maintain a food-safety inspection system that is equivalent to USDA’s. “Equivalence” was originally established in 2006 for the People’s Republic of China’s food-safety inspection system for processed poultry after a two-year review by a USDA audit team.

via Ohio Senator Wants USDA’s Poultry Inspectors Assigned to China; Charges ‘Labeling Gap’ | Food Safety News.