Each week, Food Tank is rounding up a few news stories that inspire excitement, infuriation, or curiosity.
First Human Case of a Flesh-Eating Parasite Detected in the U.S.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced the first human case of the flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm (NWS) has been detected in the United States. The parasitic fly burrows into the flesh of a living animal, and it can devastate cattle herds, with infections also possible in pets and wildlife.
Although the U.S. successfully eradicated screwworms in the 1960s, cases in Mexico led to reinfestation in the American Southwest into the 1970s. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, livestock producers in Texas were forced to spend US$132.1 million per year in response to an outbreak in 1976 that affected almost 1.5 million cattle. And it cost the state economy between US$283-375 million—not adjusted for inflation. Another outbreak hit the Florida Keys in 2016 and it was successfully eradicated the following year.
Today, New World screwworm is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and countries in South America, and the pest is pushing northward into Mexico.
The recent infection involved a person who had traveled to El Salvador. A spokesperson for HHS says the risk to the public is “very low.” But farmers are on alert as New World Screwworm spreads. A USDA report estimates that an outbreak today could cost Texas at least US$1.8 billion in livestock deaths, labor costs, and medication.
In June, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released a five-pronged plan to detect, control, and eliminate the pest. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is also partnering with other USDA agencies, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to monitor and respond to outbreaks.
Amazon Protection Agreement at Risk
Created in 2006, a voluntary agreement, known as the soy moratorium, brought together farmers, environmentalists, and food companies including Cargill and McDonald’s. They agreed that global traders would not purchase soybeans from farms producing the crop on deforested areas beginning July 2008.
For almost two decades, the agreement has allowed soy production to expand while preventing an estimated 17,000 square kilometers of deforestation. Greenpeace Brazil calls it “one of the most effective multi-stakeholder agreements in the world.”
But last week, the anti-trust regulator CADE (or the administrative council for economic defence) launched an investigation into the agreement and, concerningly, ordered its suspension. CADE argues that the moratorium—which involves the sharing of commercially sensitive information—violates competition law. They gave grain traders 10 days to comply by pulling out of the agreement.
Andre Lima, who leads the Brazil’s Environment Ministry’s anti-deforestation efforts stated that if the moratorium is determined to be illegal, it will “make it a lot harder to control and reduce legal deforestation.”
In the days since, the Environment Ministry and federal prosecutors have mounted a public defense. And on Monday, a federal Brazilian judge ruled to temporarily suspend CADE’s decision. Advocates hope the judge’s ruling will stand because there has been encouraging progress to protect the Amazon. Last year, deforestation was 50 percent less than what it was in 2022.
Nigeria Declares its Malnutrition Crisis a National Emergency
Nigeria’s federal government recently declared malnutrition to be a national emergency that costs the country US$1.5 billion annually in lost productivity and economic potential.
During a visit Cross River State, Uju Rochas-Anwuka, the Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, shared that Nigeria ranks first in child malnutrition on the African continent and ranks second globally. And UNICEF reports that the country has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world. Children are particularly at risk. According to the Nigerian government and the United Nations, 10 million children under five suffer from acute malnutrition, and the lives of nearly 400,000 children are at risk without urgent intervention.
As part of a unified, multi-sectoral response, the government developed the Nutrition 774 Initiative, which will focus on grassroots-level interventions. Rochas-Anwuka says a five-phase strategic plan will focus on strengthening governance structures, ensuring accountability, and driving sustainability. Each state council on nutrition will be expected to provide leadership, policy direction, and oversight to drive the initiative’s implementation.
Farmers Feel the Effects as Deportation Fears Deter Workers
In a recent New York Times op-ed, Robert Rivas, the Speaker of the California State Assembly and Shannon Douglass, President of the California Farm Bureau explain that the administration’s plans for mass deportations are sending California’s farm workers into hiding.
Farmers are already seeing the effects as fruits and vegetables go unharvested and lie rotting in fields. And it’s likely that this will have consequences for all eaters in the U.S., who may face higher prices and fewer options in the produce aisle.
It’s not just California that’s feeling the impact. A cherry farm in Oregon estimates at least a quarter of a million dollars in losses because of unpicked fruit. And in Florida, a farmer says he is cutting his strawberry production down to 35 percent of what he typically does because he doesn’t have the workforce needed. This farmer, who goes by F., tells NPR “the government is killing farming.”
As Rivas and Douglass write, undocumented workers are not a burden on the state or country. They are “nothing less than the backbone of America’s food supply…they are part of the fabric of our communities. Many have lived and worked here for decades. Our kids go to school together. We live in the same neighborhoods.”
A New European Seaweed Farm Shows Promising Early Signs
Eighteen miles off the Dutch coast, situated between wind turbines, is a five-hectare seaweed plantation that just yielded its first crop. The experimental seaweed farm is demonstrating that wind farms can be used as multi-purpose sites that generate energy and support the blue economy.
The deeper and rougher waters further from the shore present some technical challenges to seaweed production, but the area, which is free from shipping traffic, doesn’t face as much competition for space.
So far, the team behind the farm are seeing positive results, reporting that the seaweed is growing well and fast. They also find that the seaweed can host baby muscles, pointing to the potential for multi-species farming inside wind parks. Now, researchers are looking into the environmental benefits of offshore aquaculture, hoping to understand the potential for carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
Although seaweed farming is still in its early stages, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that seaweed farming is the fastest-growing aquaculture sector that can bring about positive results for farmers, communities, and the environment. And Project Drawdown calls seaweed farming one of the most sustainable types of aquaculture. They report that expanding seaweed farming can enhance carbon sequestration and boost production that can be used for biofuel, bioplastics, livestock feed, and human consumption.
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Photo courtesy of Antonio Gross, Unsplash
