As the population of the world continues to expand by about 78 million people per year, the demand for animal products will also increase. With this increase comes the necessity for ensuring the safety of our food resources.
"The growing population will increase the demand for animal products coming from developing countries" said Francois Le Gall, of the World Bank. Le Gall also agrees with Bernard Vallat, the director of the World Organization for Animal Health, that only 40 out of 200 countries could respond to a health crisis that originates from animal disease."
For instance, to date, avian influenza has forced the culling of about 100 million birds in Asia, especially in Vietnam. Other problems include farmers embracing antibiotics a little too fully, and causing antibiotic resistance in their livestock.
Anni McLeod of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says "more genetic diversity may be needed in the future. In poultry, for example, there are about three or four companies that control most of the poultry breeds in the world. If nothing is done to prevent diseases in livestock for human consumption the world could face a major crisis in the next 10 years."
In order to meet this coming challenge, international organizations are working together on several fronts of the issue such as "food safety, veterinarian services, packing, and transportation."
Click here to view the full story: http://www.flulab.com/overview.php?a=2007-10-16-fl54
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment