Category Archives: Profiteering

H5N1: Guinea says Ebola outbreak contained; death toll rises

The outbreak of mysterious haemorrhagic fever was first detected in Guinea in February. Scientists have since identified it as the most virulent Zaire strain of the Ebola virus.

The virus is believed to reside primarily in bats between rare outbreaks in humans. Some experts believe it may have been carried by bats from central Africa, where it is more common.

BAN ON BATS AND BUSHMEAT

In an effort to contain the disease, Guinea has banned the sale and consumption of bats and other types of bush meat, and banned public funerals for those killed. Volunteers from the Guinean Red Cross were disinfecting the homes of victims and dealing with infected bodies.

via H5N1: Guinea says Ebola outbreak contained; death toll rises.

Zhu Zhu Cries For Animals To Ban China’s Cruel Cosmetics Animal Testing – Look to the Stars

The animal-loving film star, announced this week as a Be Cruelty-Free China Ambassador, joins international celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney and Leona Lewis, in speaking up for cosmetics with compassion on behalf of the global Be Cruelty-Free campaign.

Zhu Zhu’s Be Cruelty-Free photo campaign launched in Beijing, features the actress crying whilst cradling a rabbit, one of the most commonly used animals in cosmetics testing. An estimated 300,000 rabbits, mice and other animals are used in cosmetics testing each year in China. They have chemicals dripped in their eyes, spread on their shaved skin or force fed to them in massive, lethal doses. No pain relief is given.

via Zhu Zhu Cries For Animals To Ban China’s Cruel Cosmetics Animal Testing – Look to the Stars.

Redskins Owner Starts Charity So That You’ll Forget About the Racist Team Name – The Wire

Crippling poverty and institutional racism are both bad things, and just because eradicating poverty is more urgent than changing a racist team name does not mean that the latter issue ceases to exist. This is, of course, not even broaching the idea that poverty and racism might somehow be intertwined.

via Redskins Owner Starts Charity So That You’ll Forget About the Racist Team Name – The Wire.

Five richest UK families have more wealth than the 12m poorest Brits

The five richest families in the UK are wealthier than the bottom 20 per cent of the entire population and the gap between the rich and the rest has grown significantly over the last two decades, according to new figures published today by Oxfam.

The agency warned that just five UK households have more money than the poorest 12.6 million Britons – almost the same number of people as those living in households below the UK poverty line.

Oxfam’s figures also show that over the past two decades the wealthiest 0.1 percent have seen their income grow nearly four times faster than the least well off 90 percent of the population. In real terms, that means a wealthy elite have seen their income grow by £24,000 a year, enough to buy a small yacht or a sports car, whilst the bottom 90 percent of Britons’ incomes have gone up by only a few pounds a week. The average UK salary is £26,500-a-year.

via Five richest UK families have more wealth than the 12m poorest Brits.

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.

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”.

Ranbaxy calls back cholesterol drug in US – The Times of India

Ranbaxy Laboratories, facing a host of regulatory issues, has recalled over 64,000 bottles of the generic version of a cholesterol-lowering drug, Lipitor, in the US after a dosage mix-up was detected. It recalled the tablets of atorvastatin calcium after a pharmacist found a 20mg tablet in a sealed bottle marked for 10mg tablets, the US Food and Drug Administration said on its website.

Ranbaxy, India’s biggest drugmaker by revenue and majority owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, confirmed the recall of select batches of the drug. But it said the company had not received any product complaints. The recall is being conducted at the retail level. A company spokesperson said Ranbaxy is proactively recalling the lots out of an abundance of caution, keeping the safety of its patients in mind and with the full knowledge of the US FDA.

The recall is the latest in a series of problems to hit Ranbaxy, which has had all its domestic units banned from sending drugs and ingredients to the US, its biggest market.

via Ranbaxy calls back cholesterol drug in US – The Times of India.

The best Indian government Big Ag can buy! Monsanto India & BASF India surge as government approves field trials of GM crops

Shares of Monsanto India and BASF India have rallied by up to 10% on reports that the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has approved field trials of genetically modified (GM) food crops on a conditional basis. Monsanto India is locked in upper circuit of 10% at Rs 1,467, also its record high on BSE. A combined 224,000 shares already changed hands over the counter and there are pending orders for around 27,000 shares on the BSE and NSE at 1320 hours.

In the past month, shares of agrochemicals manufacturer has rallied 77% from Rs 828, against 2.2% rise in S&P BSE 500 index. Monsanto India, a subsidiary of the Monsanto Company, USA is a seed company focusing on maize and agricultural productivity.

BASF India too, surged 7% to Rs 698 on the BSE. The stock opened at Rs 670 and touched a 52-week high of Rs 704 so far.

via Monsanto India & BASF India surge as government approves field trials of GM crops.

U.S. Plans to Speed Poultry Slaughtering, Cut Inspections to please Tyson’s bank account- Inter Press Service

 

The U.S. government is in the final stages of weighing approval for an overhaul of regulations governing the country’s poultry industry that would see processing speeds increase substantially even while responsibility for oversight would be largely given over to plant employees.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) inspector at a poultry processing facility in Accomac, Virginia checking for cleanliness and testing poultry for the Avian Influenza (AI) virus. Credit: USDA/public domain

The plan, which was originally floated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) two years ago, is currently slated to be finalised by regulators next month. Yet opposition has been heating up from lawmakers as well as labour, public health and consumer advocacy groups.

On Thursday, over 100 such groups and businesses delivered a letter, along with nearly 220,000 petitions, to President Barack Obama, asking that the proposal be withdrawn.

via U.S. Plans to Speed Poultry Slaughtering, Cut Inspections – Inter Press Service.

Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!

Calling all Atkins, Paleo, and standard American diet eaters — listen up! ‘More animal protein’ does not mean ‘more health and happiness.’ According to a study published Tuesday in Cell Metabolism, people who consume lots of animal protein in their middle years should instead expect it to mean ‘more cancer, diabetes, and premature mortality.’

via Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!.