CDC: First Severe Bird Flu Case in America Shows Mutation

Chickens

The CDC conducted a genetic analysis of an H5N1 bird flu sample from a person in Louisiana that shows the disease could be more transmittable to humans.

The person became infected with the “D1.1 genotype virus,” which closely resembles the virus “detected in wild birds and poultry in the United States and in recent human cases in British Columbia, Canada, and Washington State,” according to the CDC.

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Demonized as Contributing to Climate Change, Cattle May Actually Decrease Emissions, Research Shows

Cows

Few things have escaped environmentalists’ scorn, and even cows have not been exempt from blame for climate change. Emissions from livestock production have become an increasing focus of efforts to fight climate change. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 11.1% of emissions worldwide come from livestock production, and the organization released a report last year urging Americans to eat less meat. If people aren’t eating meat, the argument goes, then fewer cows are produced. If there’s fewer cows, there’s less emissions.

However, research by pro-agribuisness outfits Alltech and Archbold suggests that the thinking on reducing emissions at the source is missing a bigger picture on cattles’ relationship with the land, and possibly, by removing grazing from pastures, emissions will actually go up.

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Commentary: More Cows Needed to Reverse Climate Change, Experts Say

Cows

In a little-noticed presentation on Dec. 9, 2023, at COP28 in Dubai, a panel of soil experts presented the case for cows as climate allies, not gas-spewing destroyers. The event, titled “Conscious Livestock Rearing and Soil Health,” discussed “animal rearing’s impact on soil health, and its place as a part of the climate solution.” Contrary to the anti-cow cacophony of the climate crisis crowd, these experts explained the vital role ruminants like cows play in nourishing and rebuilding precious soils. It turns out, grazing cows sequester massive amounts of carbon.

On the panel of experts was Seth J. Itzkan, co-founder of SOIL4Climate, Inc., a nonprofit that “promotes soil restoration as a climate solution,” and a man akin to a Lorax for the cows.

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