U.S. sees first case of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotic

Reuters — U.S. health officials on Thursday reported the first case in the country of a patient with an infection resistant to a last-resort antibiotic, and expressed grave concern that the superbug could pose serious danger for routine infections if it spreads. “We risk being in a post-antibiotic world,” said Thomas Frieden, director of the […] Read more

(AOHVA.com)

Alberta lifts off-roading ban

Citing an outbreak of “wet and cool weather” across parts of the province, reducing the overall fire hazard, the Alberta government has lifted most of its restrictions on off-highway vehicle (OHV) use. The province lifted its OHV ban for “much of the province” except for its forest areas around Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray, […] Read more



A cluster of E. coli bacteria. As an alternative to using antibiotics for fighting E. coli infections in newborn and weaned pigs, scientists are finding promising results from introducing mixes of beneficial bacteria, obtained from other pigs, into the gut of young pigs.

Vet Advice: Exploring the ‘hygiene hypothesis’

As a veterinarian, I wondered for many years if animals and humans could function normally in an environment free of pathogens, free of stress and devoid of all things considered harmful. What might the balance be between not enough and too much? Are city kids raised in a semi-sterile milieu advantaged or disadvantaged compared to […] Read more


(Darden.com)

Activists press Olive Garden on antibiotics, worker pay

Los Angeles | Reuters — Dozens of activist groups, emboldened by recent policy shifts at major U.S. restaurants, are demanding Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants change its food and labour practices. Their sweeping agenda, part of a campaign called “Good Food Now,” includes calls for the nation’s largest full-service restaurant operator to strengthen its antibiotics […] Read more

(JBSsa.com)

JBS posts large loss, announces reorganization

Brasilia | Reuters –– Brazilian meat packer JBS posted a much larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on Thursday, but its shares jumped the day after it announced a corporate reorganization to bring together international operations. JBS, the world’s biggest meat packer, lost 2.741 billion reais (C$1.02 billion) on currency hedging costs and poor results on the company’s […] Read more





October 2019 saw strong domestic and export demand for beef.

World food prices edge up in April

Rome | Reuters — World food prices rose slightly in April, up for the third month in a row but they remained almost 10 per cent lower than a year earlier, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf dishes up first-quarter profit

Reuters — Canadian meat processor Maple Leaf Foods reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher earnings in its prepared meats business. Adjusted operating earnings in the meat products segment rose nearly eight-fold to $61.3 million in the Toronto company’s first quarter, helped by lower operating costs and price increases. The company, whose brands include […] Read more