Argentine president: Eat pork, spice your sex life

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina's president thinks eating pig meat is really sexy. Many people in this beef-loving nation reacted with surprise Thursday after Cristina Fernandez promoted pork in a speech during which she not only said pork is better than Viagra, but suggested she's personally proven it.

"I didn't know that eating pork improved sexual activity," Fernandez said in a meeting with representatives of the swine industry late Wednesday. "It is much more gratifying to eat some grilled pork than to take Viagra."

She even joked that "it was all good" after she enjoyed some pork with her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner.

"I think they might be right," Fernandez said to a laughing audience.

The president's half-joking speech in which she announced subsidies for the pork industry won prominent play on television and radio stations, prompting discussions on whether Argentines should add more pork to their diet.

Argentines are among the world's biggest consumers of red meat, and most people here stubbornly reject the idea of replacing beef with chicken, pork or other meats. Despite Argentina lying along rich South Atlantic fisheries, seafood is rarely seen on dinner tables.

Fernandez approved subsidies to keep the price of pork low despite inflation, and her government has also recently subsidized red meat producers after beef supplies sharply declined in the South American country.

The head of the association of pork producers, Juan Luis Uccelli, supported Fernandez's speech by saying that Denmark and Japan have a much more "harmonious" sexual life then the Argentines because they eat a lot of pig meat.

"In Osaka, Japan, there is a village in which the people who reached 105 years old and ate a lot of pork had a lot of sexual activity," he told radio Mitre.

Others were skeptical.

"There is no study showing that pork meat significantly improves sexual activity," Amado Bechara, a specialist in sexual disfunction, told the Web site of the newspaper La Nacion.

Source

Pork Safe To Eat, Pig Farmers Say

Monday, 27 April, 2009 - 20:13

Wellington, April 27 NZPA - Consumers should not be put off eating pork because swine flu is not spread through food, the pork industry said today.

Pork New Zealand said that though the H1N1 influenza A virus, called swine flu, may have originated in pigs, it was a human health risk because it was being transmitted from human to human.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had confirmed that it was safe to eat all pork products, the industry said in a statement.

"Swine influenza has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork," the WHO said.

"Swine influenza virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 70degC."

Though New Zealand has never recorded a case of swine flu in farmed pigs, the pork industry said today it was reminding farmers to be vigilant around disinfecting and cleaning, visitor access to farms and to "ensure staff do not work with pigs if they have flu-like symptoms".

Any unusual pig health issues should be discussed with a veterinarian, a spokesman for Pork NZ said.

Symptoms of swine flu in pigs included sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and loss of appetite.

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Pork producers enjoy banquet

By Linda Wenger

02/23/2009

	Iowa Pork Princess Jessie Droppert of Hudson (left) and Washington County Pork Queen Natalie Friese (right), also Iowa Pork Queen, enjoy a turn at the wheel of a 2009 Pork Racing simulator that was displayed at the Washington County Pork Producers 2009 M Members of the No. 1 county in the nation for Pork Producer membership enjoyed their 2009 Membership Banquet, Saturday night, at the Riverside Casino. More than 140 people attended the Washington County Pork Producers event, which included a cocktail hour and a buffet dinner featuring pork loin, twice baked potatoes, pasta primavera, salad and a choice of desserts.       Two members spoke briefly about the challenges pork producers will face in the future - retired Iowa Representative Sandra Greiner and her son, Iowa Pork Producer District Director Shaun Greiner.       Mike Berdo, the 2008-09 president, introduced Sandra Greiner. He told the crowd that Greiner is most proud of the bills that never saw the light of day while she was a member of the Iowa Legislature. She served in the House and Senate for a total of 16 years.       "We are in the midst of change and we're going to have to adapt," Sandra Greiner said.        Shaun Greiner told his fellow members, "Things are not going to get easier for us down the road."        Shaun spoke briefly about meat packing plants that are going to require hog producers to become Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA) and Transportation Quality Assurance (TQA) certified. He suggested that pork producers complete site inspections soon in order to qualify as PQA and TQA producers before the end of the year.       According to Shaun, Washington County Pork Producers has more than 200 members, making the county No. 1 in Iowa and the nation.        For the full story, see the Feb. 23 edition of The Washington Evening Journal Source

It's Not a Tumor, It's a Brain Worm

Doctor Surprised to Find a Worm Living Inside a Woman's Brain

By LAUREN COX
ABC News Medical Unit

Nov. 24, 2008—

Late last summer, Rosemary Alvarez of Phoenix thought she had a brain tumor. But on the operating table her doctor discovered something even more unsightly -- a parasitic worm eating her brain.

Alvarez, 37, was first referred to the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix with balance problems, difficulty swallowing and numbness in her left arm.

An MRI scan revealed a foreign growth at her brain stem that looked just like a brain tumor to Dr. Peter Nakaji, a neurosurgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

"Ones like this that are down in the brain stem are hard to pick out," said Nakaji. "And she was deteriorating rather quickly, so she needed it out."

Yet at a key moment during the operation to remove the fingernail-sized tumor, Nakaji, instead, found a parasite living in her brain, a tapeworm called Taenia solium, to be precise.

"I was actually quite pleased," said Nakaji. "As neurosurgeons, we see a lot of bad things and have to deliver a lot of bad news."

When Alvarez awoke, she heard the good news that she was tumor-free and she would make a full recovery. But she also heard the disturbing news of how the worm got there in the first place.

Nakaji said someone, somewhere, had served her food that was tainted with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite.

"It wasn't that she had poor hygiene, she was just a victim," said Nakaji.

Pork Tapeworms a Small, But Growing Trend

"We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it."

The pork tapeworm has plagued people for thousands of years. The parasite, known as cysticercosis, lives in pork tissue, and is likely the reason why Jewish and Muslim dietary laws ban pork.

Kuhn said whether you get a tapeworm in the intestine, or a worm burrowing into your brain can depend on how you consumed the parasite.

How Humans Get Worms

Eat the parasite in tainted meat and you'll end up eating the larvae, called cysts. Kuhn said in that case, a person can only end up with a tapeworm.

"You can eat cysts all day long and it won't get into your brain," said Kuhn. Instead, the larvae go through the stomach and mature in the intestine.

"When it gets down into their small intestine, it latches on, and then it starts growing like an alien," said Kuhn.

Once there, the tapeworm starts feeding and gets to work. A single tapeworm will release 50,000 eggs a day, most of which usually end up in the toilet.

"They can see these little packets pass in their feces," said Kuhn. "And ... sometimes people eat the eggs from feces by accident."

Kuhn said it is then feces-tainted food, and not undercooked pork, that leads to worms burrowing into the brain.

Unlike the cysts, the eggs are able to pass from the stomach into the bloodstream. From there, the eggs may travel and lodge in various parts of the body -- including the muscle, the brain or under the skin -- before maturing into cysts themselves.

According to Kuhn, who has traveled to study this parasite, cysticercosis is a big problem in some parts of Latin America and Mexico where health codes are hard to enforce and people may frequently eat undercooked pork.

As people travel across the border with Mexico for vacation and work, Kuhn said so does the tapeworm. One person infected with a parasite, who also has bad hand washing habits, can infect many others with eggs.

"These eggs can live for three months in formaldehyde," said Kuhn. "You got to think, sometimes, a person is slapping lettuce on your sandwich with a few extra add-ons there."

Getitng the Worms Out

Dr. Christopher Madden, an assistant professor in the University of Texas Southwestern department of neurological surgery in Dallas, has operated on a number of these cysts himself. He said not every worm needs to be surgically removed; those whose location is not an immediate threat to the patient's health can be treated with medications that cause the worms to die.

But when the cysts are in problematic locations, as was the case for Alvarez, an operation is necessary. Fortunately, the long-term prognosis for most patients is positive.

"Most patients we see actually do very well with medicines and/or surgery to take out a large cyst," Madden said.

Alvarez is not alone in accidentally eating tainted food, but Nakaji rarely sees cases so severe that people require surgery. Nakaji said he only removed six or seven worms in neurosurgery this year.

"But lodging in the brain stem is bad luck," he said.

Nakaji said other parts of the brain have more "room" or tissue to expand around a growing cyst. However the brain stem, which is crucial to life, is only the width of a finger or two.

"She could have recovered," said Nakaji. "But if the compression lasted for long enough, she could have been left permanently disabled or dead."

Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures

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Philippine authorities assure public it is safe to eat pork

By Channel NewsAsia's Philippine Correspondent Christine Ong | Posted: 27 January 2009 0035 hrs MANILA : The Philippine Health Department is assuring the public that it is safe to eat pork.  This is even though it recently confirmed that a farm worker had been infected with the Ebola virus, from contact with pigs.  Business used to be brisk in the district of La Loma in Quezon City, which is known as the Lechon Capital of the Philippines.  Nena Cesario, Lechon Maker, said: "Business is slow. Not too many people are buying lechon, maybe because of the hard times and they think there is a problem with the pigs."  The Health Department recently announced that a farm worker has been infected with Ebola-Reston antibodies.  It is the first known case of the virus jumping between pigs and humans.  But health officials said there is little immediate health risk.  They also said the farm worker is healthy and has had no serious illness in the past 12 months.  According to the Department of Health, eating pork remains safe, and so most Filipinos still continue to savour the delicious taste of the lechon, especially its crispy and crunchy skin.  Some regular patrons said they cannot resist pigging out.  One of them said: "A lot of people are eating lechon and they are still alive, so I am not afraid to eat it because it is really delicious."  Another added: "As long as there are people selling lechon and eating lechon, I will continue to eat it because it is my favourite."  But authorities are reminding the public to take general precautions in handling and cooking meat.  They also advise them to buy meat only from stalls certified by the National Meat Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture.  Dr Enrique Tayag, National Epidemiology Center, said: "Do not undercook the meat, you have to cook it adequately so that you kill any viruses or any other bacteria."  The government ban on pork exports is still in effect, while more tests are being done on the other farm workers that may have been exposed to the virus. - CNA/ms Source

Japan praises Irish handling of pork scare

HARRY McGEE

THE JAPANESE government praised the Irish Government for its handling of the discovery of dioxin in Irish pork products, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith said yesterday.

Mr Smith met his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba, yesterday and said the meeting had been very successful. He said opportunities existed to greatly expand Irish food produce to one of the world’s biggest markets.

“[Mr Ishiba] commended us very strongly on the action we took when we had the pork recall incident over dioxin. It was his view and that of his department that we acted very decisively and made the right decisions. We were transparent and open with the public,” Mr Smith told The Irish Times.

Irish pork produce makes up one-quarter of Irish exports to Japan. The overall value of exports bound for Japan is €90 million, of which pork products, mostly frozen, are worth more than €20 million.

He said that following the meeting, there were many opportunities for increasing agricultural trade between the two countries.

“Japan is only 40 per cent self-sufficient in food. It is a country that has a population of 128 million people. We believe there is a great potential to expand the market we have in pork products and in sea food and in dairy products,” Mr Smith said.

The possibility of the Japanese market being reopened for Irish beef was also raised during meetings the Minister held with the ministries of health and agriculture yesterday. Beef from all EU countries is excluded from the Japanese market because of the BSE outbreak of 2000.

Mr Smith said the incidence of BSE was very low in Ireland. In 2008, there were 24 cases in total, down from a high of 355.

Source

Pork/ham eaters, homosexuals are both unclean

Published on: 1/6/09.

GREETINGS THROUGH our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

What is the difference between pork/ham eaters and homosexuals?

We read in Leviticus 11-7: The swine though he divide the hoof and be clove-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud: he is unclean. What I am saying is that pork/ham eaters are disobeying God.

Romans 1 26-27 says for this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: Verse 27, And likewise also the men, having the natural use of the woman, burned into their lust, one toward another: men working that which is unseemly: God is looking on, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was met. I am inviting my readers to read the remaining verses.

Quite recently I read in THE NATION newspaper, "Gays to mark seven years". It said members of the United Gays and Lesbians Association of Barbados would mark the seventh anniversary of the group on Sunday with a service at the Church of the Glorious Christ, River Road, St Michael, starting time is 5 p.m.

I am wondering how that service was conducted. Did they sing hymns? How did they pray? Did they have a sermon and where was it taken from? Did they pray and thank our Almighty God for the seven years as a group? And did they ask him to bless them to see many more? I would like that church to read Verse 32 . . . "who knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them".

Do you see the difference between the pork/ham eaters and the homosexuals, both are disobeying God.

Do we know that it is only one sin in this world and that is disobeying God? But there are many, many, many ways to disobey Him which we call sin. 

Pork/ham eaters say it is sweet, and I believe homosexuals will say it is sweet also. But thank God I know that both are, as the Bible puts it, unclean.

– MERTON KINCH

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Some Austin pork plant workers struggle with disease and its aftermath

by Sea Stachura, Minnesota Public Radio

December 18, 2008

A year after a neurological disease surfaced among workers at a pork plant in Austin, some workers still can't get worker's compensation for their illness. Doctors traced the disease to a mist of pig brains at Quality Pork Processing.

Austin, Minn. — Felicitas can't do much now besides watch TV. She'd rather be working, but the disease doctors say she developed at Quality Pork Processing--or QPP-- makes everything a struggle. Even walking from the living room where her daughter's toys are piled in the corner and to the kitchen where her mother is cooking dinner.

"Now, nothing is the same," she says in Spanish. MPR news translated her comments into English.

Felicitas is in the country illegally, so we've agreed to only use her first name.

The disease originated at the "head table", where workers would stick hoses with compressed air into pigs' skulls to blast out the brains. Felicitas worked on the head table for only a week, but she walked through the area half a dozen times a day for three years.

The pressurized air created an aerosol mist of pig brains. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic and the Health Department found that breathing in the brain matter prompted an auto-immune response in workers' bodies. That means their bodies began to attack the nerves in the arms and legs, and sometimes even the central nervous system. For Felicitas, at first her hands and feet started to go numb.

"I felt horrible. I couldn't walk. If I sat down I had to help myself up with my hands. In order to climb stairs I had to pull myself with both hands," she says.

Felicitas's claim for worker's comp was denied by QPP's insurance company. As a result she can't afford to buy the steroids she needs to manage the disease. Shortly after she renewed her request for worker's compensation, QPP fired her.

She was told the company discovered she was working illegally. QPP confirms that. Courts have ruled that workers can receive workers' compensation regardless of their immigration status.

"Who determines whether or not an individual is a case and who's not from a worker's compensation perspective is completely out of my hands," says Mayo Clinic neurologist Dan Lachance, one of two doctors treating all of the QPP workers.

Lachance says he does not work with QPP's insurance company.

"I have no idea what criteria the people deciding are using even though we are the ones who are defining the disease," he says.

Lachance, along with scientists from the Center for Disease Control and the Minnesota Department of Health recently submitted scientific articles on the disease to a major medical journal. QPP has hired a neurologist from Johns Hopkins University to decide whether a patient qualifies for worker's comp. But Lachance says that neurologist has not been privy to any of the research on the disease or to the patients.

MPR news has spoken with two diagnosed workers who have been unable to get worker's compensation. A worker's compensation lawyer tells MPR, he represents two other workers who have also been denied coverage.

Quality Pork Processing has been open about this disease and fully responsible for its workers, according to company president Kelly Wadding.

"We said anybody has any symptoms or problems even family members, come up tell us about it. We drove people to the doctor's," he says.

Each worker's comp cases is thoroughly reviewed, Wadding says. But the process has taken longer than usual because this is a new disease.

"I think 95 percent of the people who have been diagnosed are covered under worker's comp," he says.

Wadding can't discuss specific cases, and won't go into detail on the criteria for worker's comp. But he will say that Felicitas's case is being re-examined.

That's news to her, and in the meantime she's making do without her medicine.

"There's no point to my life anymore. I feel like a burden to my family. It's not fair to them and it's not fair to me," she says. "It's really hard. The truth is it's really hard to live with this disease. But what can I do?"

Source

1,000 kilos of double dead meat seized

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:24:00 12/13/2008
Filed Under: Local authorities, Food, Health

MANILA, Philippines – A few days after the Ebola-Reston virus hit hog farms in Luzon, health officials in Quezon City seized over 1,000 kilos of double dead meat at the Balintawak market before dawn Friday.

City veterinarian Dr. Ana Marie Cabel said they confiscated the spoiling pork after a routine nighttime inspection of markets for illegally slaughtered meat, as well as pork unfit for consumption.

“It is part of our regular inspection. We know that Balintawak is a dumping ground of double dead meat,” she told the Inquirer.

In a phone interview, she described the spoiling pork as foul smelling, very pale, and cold from being stored in blocks of ice.

She added that since the double dead meat came from a sick hog that died and was cut up for sale, its skin hair tended to stick to the fat even if it is dipped in boiling water.

“Maitim na rin ang balat ng double dead meat (even its hide is dark),” Cabel noted.

Meanwhile, she defined hot meat as illegally slaughtered meat which did not pass sanitary standards but can still be fit for human consumption.

Cabel’s team stumbled upon the meat, worth around P100,000, at around 1 a.m. Friday. They were however unable to arrest the vendor of the merchandise.

“We suspect this is coming from hog farms in Bulacan. But we have not yet identified the financier of this operation,” she added.

Cabel said they are upping their monitoring and inspection of markets after reports that the Ebola-Reston virus infected pigs in four hog farms in Luzon.

“We are always for the protection of the consuming public against this virus strain, thus we are doubling our inspections of meat vendors,” she explained.

The health official noted that there is a need to ensure that pork products to be consumed for the holidays are safe for eating.

“We are going after these vendors of hot meat and double dead pork to make sure that the pork we buy for Noche Buena are fresh and fit to eat,” Cabel added.

The pork was buried at the Payatas dump Friday morning to prevent unscrupulous residents from making use of the spoiled meat.

Source

€125m of pork to be destroyed in biggest food scare since BSE

AN ESTIMATED 100,000 pigs will have to be destroyed because of the pigmeat crisis which has led to the recall of all Irish pork products in Ireland's largest food scare since BSE.

The public have been told to dump or return all pork products which they purchased since September 1st last because of the risk of dioxin contamination.

It is estimated that €125 million worth of food products in home and in export markets - up to 25 countries - will have to be destroyed.

The recall followed the discovery of potentially dangerous dioxins, known as PCBs, in pigmeat. They were initially traced in an un-named meat plant in the Republic. The dioxins were contained in feed supplied from a Co Carlow food recycling plant, it emerged yesterday.

As the Government moved to ease the fears of consumers, investigations were continuing at 10 pig farms and 38 beef farms in the Republic. The contamination is likely to have a severe impact on the €7 billion Irish food industry.

It emerged yesterday contaminated feed from the Co Carlow facility, Millstream Recycling in Clohamon Mills, had also been supplied to nine farms in Northern Ireland which now have been restricted.

The investigation has found contaminated pork with dioxin levels of 80 to 200 times above the safety limits. It is being led by the Departments of Agriculture and Health, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The Garda Síochána are also involved.

The dramatic food recall was announced on Saturday night as the investigation into the source of the contamination, understood to be oil, was stepped up after tests at a UK laboratory in York confirmed the presence of dioxins in the pigmeat.

The crisis began, however, last month when a routine sample was taken from the meat plant. Results of further tests from cattle farms will be known later today.

Other examination of Irish products in the Netherlands, France and Belgium prompted the action by the Government in an attempt to protect consumer confidence at home and abroad.

The European Commission has called a meeting of food safety experts from Ireland and other affected EU states tomorrow to co-ordinate a Europe-wide response to the contamination of Irish pork products.

Millstream Recycling has confirmed it has been working with Department of Agriculture officials to identify the source of PCBs found in pig meal used in a number of farms in Ireland. Accepting the need for a recall, Millstream Recycling said it would be carrying out "a full investigation to establish how the company's strict health and safety procedures and the high quality standards could possibly have been breached".

Last night the FSAI repeated its advice to consumers not to eat any pork products. But it said people should not be alarmed or concerned in relation to the potential risks from short-term exposure to dioxins found in pork products.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, said a number of health studies conducted in Belgium since the dioxin scare in 1999 had not found any negative effects on the population. "From the experience in Belgium we don't anticipate any health effects and on that basis we are reassuring people."

Prof James Heffron, a specialist on the biochemistry of detoxification at UCC's biochemical toxicology lab, told The Irish Times, however, the Government in his view needed to do more to reassure the public. Prof Heffron said information on the amount of dioxin found in affected meat should be released in addition to further details on the duration of exposure. "When we have this information we can relate it to World Health Organisation guidelines on acceptable levels of dioxin," he added.

The recall led to almost 2,000 calls to the FSAI helpline yesterday. Queues formed at supermarkets as shoppers returned products for which the Government said they should receive a refund. The National Consumer Agency (NCA) said consumers were entitled to be refunded. NCA chief executive Anne Fitzgerald said: "Under legislation consumers are entitled to repair, replacement or refund of a faulty product. In the case of pork meat or other food products containing pork, consumers are entitled to a refund as a repair or replacement does not apply in this instant.

The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association called on the Government to provide an emergency compensation package so that retailers and suppliers would not be left out of pocket.

Source

Prison served pork to muslim prisoners

Solveig Horne of the Progress Party says no to special diets in prison. She thinks the reporting of Trondhem prison to the police for serving pork to muslims should be dismissed.

A muslim prisoner at Trondheim prison has reported the prison for discrimination, after muslim prisoners were served pork without being told.

Muslims reacted strongly when they discovered they had eaten pork, which is forbidden for muslims.

Pork in the sauce

«We were given fish in bread-crumbs. While we ate, someone discovered small pieces of pork in the sauce that was inside the fish. Many here pray and practice their religion more than me, and several of them were furious when they found out they had eaten pork,» says the 39.year old Salma to Adresseavisen. He has reported the prison on behalf of himself and the other muslim prisoners.

No to special diets

MP, Solveig Horne, who is a member of the Justice Committee, says on the party's home page that special diets behind bars should be refused.

«There are already limited resources in the prison unit. We shouldn't use time, money and energy on making room for special diets for some prisoners, based on religious convictions, culture, or taste buds, for that matter,» she says.

Horne thinks that certain muslims, who want to live in accordance with the Koran, are more concerned with food in prison than with not commiting the criminal acts that send them there.

Halal-meat for everyone

Abid Raja of the Left-Wing Party (Venstre), thinks the most practical thing would be for the prisons to serve only halal-meat.

«Norwegians have no problems eating halal-meat. If they want pork, they can have this as an addition,» he says to Dagavisen.no.

He points out that pig is shameful for many muslims, and that eating pork for some muslims feels like abuse.

More than a third of all prisoners in Norwegian prisons are muslims. There are no prisons in Norway that offer halal-meat to prisoners.

Pork several times

The muslim prisoners have been served pork several times. Following the first episode, a couple of months ago, they complained and received an apology from the kitchen. A few weeks later it happened again, and in November again, the story repeated itself.

All prisoners have a right to dinner in prison, which caters for muslims, vegetarians and those with allergies.

«I can confirm that a prisoner in Trondheim prison has reported the prison for discrimination and breach of human rights. As long as the parties have not yet been questioned, I can't comment any further on the matter,» says the criminal duty-officer, Geir Olav Granbo of South Trøndelag police district.

«It's a meaningless use of resources to prioritize such a case. It should be immediately dismissed,» says Horne.

Source

Pork Industry To Turn Waste Into Energy

2 December 2008 - A new project launched today will look at the potential to turn pig manure on New Zealand farms into energy, significantly reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

The Pork Industry (NZPork), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) have joined together to launch the eight month project which will evaluate using manure in different biogas systems on farms.

Farm biogas systems convert methane emitted from farm manure into renewable energy resources that can be used to power the farm, or in some cases, exported to the local electricity network. Using manure for biogas has many benefits including reducing harmful emissions and limiting nutrient leaching through improved storage. Using a waste product to generate energy also reduces costs and can provide security of energy supply to rural farms and communities.

The pork industry has the overall capacity to produce over 8,500 tonnes of methane annually, which has the potential to generate over 100 GWh (400,000 GJ) of renewable energy each year.

"The New Zealand pork industry has identified a significant potential opportunity to better manage our emissions, and deliver on our climate change goals, said New Zealand Pork Chief Executive Sam McIvor.

'We are committed to taking a lead role in the reduction of industry emissions and we already have several projects underway. Working in partnership with EECA and MAF means we can identify the most effective projects and share that knowledge across the whole industry," Mr McIvor said.

EECA's business programme enables New Zealand companies to become more energy efficient and competitive, using more renewable energy and emitting less carbon dioxide.

"Our primary production businesses are operating in an increasingly competitive international market where demonstrating a commitment to sustainability can make all the difference to market share," said EECA Chief Executive Mike Underhill.

"Managing energy use and using renewable energy are two key ways a business can move towards more sustainable practices and save on their energy bills at the same time."

The initial research stages of the project were supported by MAF's Sustainable Farming Fund. "Reducing the emissions from our agriculture sector is a key goal for New Zealand, said James Stevenson-Wallace, Manager - Sustainable Businesses, at MAF. 'There is no one silver bullet that will solve the problem, but projects like these make positive contributions towards making a real difference."

The project will assess up to 10 individual farm biogas systems across various regions and farm sizes and the results will be used to inform the industry of the most effective opportunities for their farms.

"The feasibility studies will create a basis of knowledge for pork producers, whether small or large, to learn about new options to create additional energy, and therefore value, from manure,' Mr McIvor said.

"As we gather experience with farm-scale biogas systems, NZPork envisages that the industry may develop a regional network of biogas installations. The longer-term aim is to use our learnings to benefit the primary production sector as a whole by providing concrete learnings and plans to help reduce greenhouse gases," Mr McIvor said.

"The programme will help pork producers improve their environmental performance, improve their energy efficiency and achieve cost savings for their businesses at a time when electricity and fuel costs are rising,' said Mike Underhill.

The pork industry is one of several industry groups to work with EECA in developing knowledge. EECA has supported the tourism industry, the Seafood Industry Council and Plastics New Zealand in the development of their best practice programmes, which have committed to real savings and already uncovered significant potential economic benefits for their industries.

Source

Plenty pork left despite piglet theft

Despite the theft of hundreds of piglets from major pig farms in Trinidad, the owners have bounced back and are in a position to supply enough hams and pork products for Christmas.

Three months ago a ring of pig thieves entered several farms and stole the piglets which were being culled for the Christmas season.

Police in the affected areas went into action, and although they did not arrest anyone they were able to suppress the attacks, the owners said

Ian Leong Poi, President of the Pork and Pork Producers Association said recently: "Pig farmers were hit with severe losses and apart from the vigilance of the police the large farms were forced to spend thousands of dollars fencing their properties and setting bright lights throughout the farms."

He added: "We have recovered from the losses but now we are faced with labour shortages. CEPEP is now controlling the labour market and workers are not prepared to work for less than $200 a day." CEPEP is the State-run Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme, responsible mainly for maintaining verges.

Leong Poi said several farmers went out of the pig business last year because of the steep increase in the price of pig feed. "When the price went from $80 for a 100 -pound bag to $140, many farmers found it uneconomical to rear pigs for sale."

He said pig production in Trinidad had increased slightly.

"We are now producing about four million pounds of pork a year, that represents an increase of five per cent." Leong Poi said farmers in Trinidad were enjoying the benefit of exporting meat to Guyana and Suriname. He said the sale of hams had already shown an increase over last year's sales.

Source

Ukraine: ban on russian pork

The outbreak of swine fever in Russia last week, that caused 600 pigs to be destroyed, has led to the government of Ukraine imposing a ban on Russian pork from the region. 

The State Committee on Veterinary Medicine spokesman, said “ It is prohibited to bring animals susceptible to African swine fever, as well as the products and raw materials from them into Ukraine territory”.

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Three tons of double dead pork seized in Balintawak Market

Three tons of double dead pork were seized by Quezon City health officials several meat stalls in Balintawak Market, Thursday night.

Councilor Allan Francisco said a tip from market goers prompted the raid conducted by the Quezon City Health Division at the market.

Francisco said the spoiled pork came from Bulacan province. The names of the spoiled meat's owners have been withheld, but the city government assured that charges will be filed against them.

The councilor said more raids will be conducted by the city health division because they expect more double dead pork to be delivered in other public markets in the city as the Christmas season nears.

Francisco said that aside from the three tons of double dead pork, they also recovered 500 kilograms of processed meat product, including tocino and smoke, that could have been made of spoiled meat. -- DOLAND CASTRO, ABS-CBN News

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