Trends
Green Economic Transition Needed to Achieve More Equitable and Sustainable Development
As global unemployment continues to rise and job opportunities remain scarce, especially for youth, the creation of a green economy might hold the answers to addressing some of today's most critical challenges. Global unemployment reached an estimated 205 million in 2010, up from 177 million in 2007, according to the Worldwatch Institute's recently released report, State of the World 2012: Moving toward Sustainable Prosperity. The report highlights the need for a green economy to address current social and economic woes.
Eating Meat is Ethical
Humans and animals evolved together. Our brains are tuned into animals. Research with epilepsy patients who had monitors implanted in their brains, showed that the amygdala responds more to animal pictures, compared to pictures of landmarks or people. The amygdala is an important emotion center in the brain. Pictures of both cute and aversive animals got a big response. Recordings from the hippocampus, which is involved with memory, had no differences. Human beings have an intrinsic bond with animals, but our treatment of animals has ranged from respectful to horrendous. Scientific research indicates that animals have emotions and they feel pain and fear. It is our duty to provide the animals that we raise for food with a decent life.
U.S.A: How safe is Our Food?
More and more countries are banning imports of American food products for safety reasons. Last week, Indonesia became the first country to halt imports of US beef following the discovery of an American dairy cow infected with mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The disease is fatal to cows and can cause a deadly brain disease in people who eat tainted beef.
UNITED KINGDOM: Halal hysteria
The British “debate” about meat, animal cruelty and ritual slaughter has become a proxy for deep fears about Muslims in our midst. I am sitting in one of London’s finest Indian restaurants, Benares, in the heart of Mayfair. I’ve just placed an order for the “Tandoori Ratan” mixed-grill appetiser – a trio of fennel lamb chop, chicken cutlet and king prawn. I’ll be honest with you: I’m pretty excited. Most of the upmarket restaurants in London do not cater for the city’s burgeoning Muslim population. Benares is one of the few exceptions: all of the lamb and chicken dishes on its menu are Halal.
U.S.A: Growth of Carbon Capture and Storage Stalled in 2011
Global funding for carbon capture and storage technology, a tool for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, remained unchanged at US$23.5 billion in 2011 in comparison to the previous year, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute. Although there are currently 75 large-scale, fully integrated carbon capture and storage projects in 17 countries at various stages of development, only eight are operational----a figure that has not changed since 2009.
The Perfect Milk Machine: How Big Data Transformed the Dairy Industry
Dairy scientists are the Gregor Mendels of the genomics age, developing new methods for understanding the link between genes and living things, all while quadrupling the average cow's milk production since your parents were born. While there are more than 8 million Holstein dairy cows in the United States, there is exactly one bull that has been scientifically calculated to be the very best in the land. He goes by the name of Badger-Bluff Fanny Freddie. Already, Badger-Bluff Fanny Freddie has 346 daughters who are on the books and thousands more that will be added to his progeny count when they start producing milk. This is quite a career for a young animal: He was only born in 2004.
U.S.A: How Safe Is Our New Food Technology?
Europeans have said no to food technology we've embraced. So, how safe is it? Six weeks of vacation. National healthcare. A tolerance for philandering politicians. In general, Europeans exhibit more liberal tendencies than Americans. But when it comes to the purity of their food, they are far more conservative. The European Union has banned—or required labeling on—foods whose production involves genetic modification or irradiation, for example, while the United States has largely embraced these innovations.
U.S.A: Bringing a Muslim Culinary Tradition Mainstream
Think "Halal" is a just a dietary restriction? Adnan Durrani, the founder of American Halal, wants to change the definition. Most Americans know the term Halal-if they are familiar with it at all-as the Muslim system of dietary regulations. Adnan Durrani wants consumers to understand Halal in different terms: "Wholesome and pure. Sustainable, fair trade, and just practices in terms of the environment and animal welfare."
Economic Recovery Brings Return to Growth of CO2 Emissions
Although global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) declined slightly in 2009, the beginnings of economic recovery led to an unprecedented emissions increase of 5.8 percent in 2010. In 2011, global atmospheric levels of CO2 reached a high of 391.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 388.6 ppm in 2010 and 280 ppm in pre-industrial times. According to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org) for its Vital Signs Online project, energy use represents the largest source of global CO2 emissions.