U.S. Government is Funding Gain-of-Function Research in China to Make Bird Flu More Infectious
The U.S government is again funding gain-of-function (GoF) research with Chinese scientists to make a dangerous virus even more potent. This time it is with birds not bats. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave $1 million to fund risky research on bird flu viruses to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China; the […]
Bird Flu Outbreak in Oregon Leads to Mass Euthanization of Poultry
In November 2023, Oregon’s commercial poultry farm businesses experienced the first avian (bird) influenza outbreak in the state. In response to the outbreak, the state’s Department of Agriculture reported that approximately 800,000 chickens were euthanized.1 The two commercial poultry operations affected by bird flu were located in Linn and Marion counties in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. […]
Nearly 50 Percent of Federal Panelists Making Dietary Recommendations Have Money Ties to Food Industry
About half of the members of a U.S. federal government panel that shapes dietary recommendations in the United States have significant financial ties to big agriculture, processed food companies, weight loss companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other corporate organizations a recent report reveals. An additional four committee members had “possible” financial conflicts of interest.1 The Dietary […]
African Swine Fever Vaccines Co-Developed by USDA Approved for Commercial Use in Pigs in Vietnam
Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved commercial use of the first two African swine fever vaccines for pigs. The first vaccine is known as NAVET-ASFVAC, co-developed by Navetco Central Veterinary Medicine in Vietnam and United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the second is called AVAC ASF LIVE, […]
Highly Processed Foods Linked to Decline in Brain Health
Increased risks of diabetes, heart issues, obesity, and cancer are just some of the ways that highly processed foods impact human health. Research over the past 10 years has also demonstrated just how much American’s highly processed food pantry staples affect the brain as well.1 Studies have found that mental effects of highly processed foods […]
U.S. May Vaccinate Poultry in Response to Bird Flu Outbreak
The U.S. government is considering a mass vaccination campaign for commercial poultry as an option to address an outbreak of pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 (bird flu) in the country.1 In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced an H5N1 virus outbreak in a commercial turkey […]