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Rédaction Africanews Last updated: 8 hours ago FARMING They may come across as dirty, ugly and nasty creatures that transfer germs from one source to another, but they are worth more than that. According to the World Bank, insects farming could be the answer to the continent's hunger, poverty, and ecological crisis. Aside the economic benefits, insect farming is said to have some great nutritional value as it tackles undernourishment that affects one in five people in the continent. Insect consumption has a long history in Africa, but insect farming is much more recent. Africa consumes about 25% of the...

The European Commission has approved new rules aimed at limiting the spread of a virus that has killed millions of piglets in the United States, highlighting the risk of animal feed products as a potential transmission agent. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) has wiped out more than 10% of the US pig population since it appeared a year ago, and has also struck in Canada, Mexico and Japan. The European Union has not been affected by this strain. In the United States, the world’s biggest pork exporter, losses from PEDv could cut pork production as much as 7% in 2014,...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Protesters rallied in dozens of cities Saturday as part of a global protest against seed giant Monsanto and the genetically modified food it produces, organizers said. Organizers said "March Against Monsanto" protests were held in 52 countries and 436 cities, including Los Angeles where demonstrators waved signs that read "Real Food 4 Real People" and "Label GMOs, It's Our Right to Know."… The U.S. Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

N.Korea 'Importing Animal Feed for Human Consumption 'North Korea is reportedly importing animal feed grain from China to distribute on the market for human consumption as the regime struggles with food shortages. According to Radio Free Asia, Pyongyang gave the animal feed to its military as well as to merchants, bringing down the surging cost of rice. A source in North Korea said the feed is commonly darker in color than normal rice and is often mixed with chaff and stones. The U.S.-based broadcaster said lower prices caused by several natural disasters in China last year allowed the North to...

The first cases of BSE or "mad cow disease" could have been caused by animal feed contaminated with human remains, says a controversial theory. Some raw materials for fertiliser and feed imported from South Asia in the 60s and 70s contained human bones and soft tissue, the Lancet reports. Bone collectors could have picked up the remains of corpses deposited in the Ganges river to sell for export. If infected with prion diseases, they could have been the source for BSE. But the theory has been greeted with scepticism by several experts on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). The authors admit...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's long winter will just fly by for a herd of Russian cows which, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, will be fed confiscated marijuana over the cold months. Drug workers said they adopted the unusual form of animal husbandry after they were forced to destroy the sunflowers and maize crops that the 40 tonnes of marijuana had been planted among, Novye Izvestia daily reported. "There is simply no other way out. You see, the fields are planted with feed crops and if we remove it all the cows will have nothing to eat," a Federal Drugs Control...

January 27, 2004 Rules Issued on Animal Feed and Use of Disabled Cattle By DENISE GRADY and DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. The Food and Drug Administration imposed new rules yesterday to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, including a ban on feeding cow blood and chicken wastes to cattle. The agency also banned using dead or disabled cows to make products for people like dietary supplements, cosmetics or soups and other foods with traces of meat. The rules, described by Mark B. McClellan, commissioner of food and drugs, in a telephone news briefing, take effect in a few days,...

FDA bans cow blood in livestock feed Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The government is outlawing cattle blood in livestock feed and the use of cow brains and other parts in dietary supplements, part of broader restrictions in wake of the nation's first known case of mad cow disease. The Food and Drug Administration announced steps late today to close loopholes in its livestock feed ban -- a key protection against the spread of the brain-wasting disease in cattle -- and to make sure that people don't consume risky animal parts in processed foods and supplements. "The steps we're taking today...