Efita Newsletter 1016, dated December 06, 2021

Efita Newsletter 1016, dated December 06, 2021
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EFITA


Châtenay-Malabry (FR - 92290), December 06, 2021

EFITA newsletter / 1016 - European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


Do not miss the Virus Jokes in English and French

Blagues de janvier – février 2021
Coronavirus 1 
Coronavirus 3
Ant joke
Virus 1
Virus 3
Virus 5 
Histoires drôles de l'oncle Paul (Jamet)
Dernières histoires de Michel Gil-Antoli
Et encore... 
Et celles de mars-avril 2021
Special "Biblical studies"
Celles de juillet 2021 en français et en anglais, dont 17 sur le virus en bas de page)
Blague d'octobre 2021

Suite des blagues d'octobre 2021

Coronavirus 2
Coronavirus 4
Virus et autres sujets
Virus 2
Virus 4
Virus 6
Histoires drôles de Georges Larroque

Les dernières histoires de Jean Pinon
Et encore

Tout sur le vaccin
Celles de mail 2021
Celles de juin 2021
Celles d'août

Celles de septembre
Le dico de Paul J.
Blagues de novembre 2021 (Nouveau)


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Ban the scan (Amnesty International), against the use of face recognition to meet security objectives

Around the world, facial recognition technologies are used to stifle protest and harass minority communities. Check out how and where it's used and why we must ban it!
See banthescan.amnesty.org


Just like modern humans, honeybees avoid each other amid plagues

They segregate behaviours in different parts of their hives to prevent parasites from spreading

This week our Graphic detail looks at social distancing—among honeybees. A recent study found that hives infected by parasites implement their own form of lockdowns to stop the spread of mites. In infected hives, forager bees, which bring in food but can also carry mites, dance far from the vulnerable core, where the nursery is housed. In healthy hives they mix with the bees working in the nursery. Our charts show how behaviour changes in infected hives.
See economist.com


Two-thirds of Gen Z believe current food systems are ‘destroying the planet’: survey, AFN, by Jack Ellis

Four-fifths of young people in Generation Z think that we urgently need to make food production and consumption more sustainable – while two-thirds believe that our existing agrifood systems are “destroying the planet,” recent survey findings suggest.

The research was commissioned by EIT Food, the EU’s agrifood innovation agency, and involved a survey of slightly over 2,000 members of Gen Z — that is, 18 to 24-year olds — in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the UK.

According to a summary of the findings from EIT Food:

- 78% of respondents agreed with the sentiment that society needs to take “urgent action to make the ways in which we produce and consume food more sustainable.”
- 66% said that extant systems of food production and consumption are “destroying the planet, and that the situation is only getting worse.”
- 61% said the agrifood industries have “become less sustainable in recent years.”
- Furthermore, 64% of Gen Z respondents said that the sustainability credentials of the food they eat have become more important to them in the past 12 months; while 65% said they believe that their age group “cares more” about food sustainability issues than older generations.
…/…
See agfundernews.com


Before computers

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Weekly newsletters about ICT in Agriculture in English and French
Both newsletters have around 14000 subscribers.

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Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: Peasant Woman Combing Wool, by Camille Pissarro

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agROBOfood newsletter - Issue #18 - December 2021

Our December Newsletter hosts Stefan Rilling, the coordinator of our sister project ATLAS presenting its progress and approach to interoperability.

Check out our recent project videos released and the latest published deliverable in the Project News and find out the latest caught On our radar.

Dig in the Funding Opportunities in agriculture and robotics and enjoy the videos of robots at work in agROBOfood TV.

In focus presents Farmer JoeBot one more project funded by the Industrial Challenges Open Call.

Lastly, Forthcoming events present a selection of high impact events.
See agrobofood.eu


FieldMate sensor, the tool for making the right decisions

Our FieldMate sensor measures relevant data where it counts most: ultra-locally, directly between the plants. This means that they keep track of everything you need to know about your crops, such as temperatures, humidity and soil climate. Additionally, they provide you with an ultra-local weather forecast, custom-tailored to the actual location of your field.
See smartfarm.nl


GenTORE : " Precision Phenotyping for Efficient Animal Agriculture "

GenTORE is a European Union funded project within the Research and Innovation Program H2020.

GenTORE will develop innovative genome-enabled selection and management tools to empower farmers to optimize cattle resilience and efficiency (R&E) in different and changing environments.

In today’s modern animal agriculture there is an increasing need to balance resilience and efficiency. The balance of resilience and efficiency determines the ability to adapt to changes. The need for resilient production systems is clear and increasingly urgent, and such systems include resilient animals.

Animals need to be more resilient because future farming conditions will expose them to increasing challenges in under different production systems and grazing environments. They also need an ability to recover from challenges like diseases which can vary across environments and farm systems.

Although the importance of balancing resilience and efficiency for production purposes is clear, the problem is that it is still difficult to measure them on research farms, and almost impossible under commercial conditions. This limits the ability for animal breeders to select for resilience and efficiency and farmers to assess and manage their livestock for an optimal balance under their system. Moreover, the optimal trade-off between resilience and efficiency will differ according to the local production environment, i.e. tailored solutions to optimizing resilience and efficiency are needed.

GenTORE is a 5-year EU funded project (H2020) that will tackle the issue of developing large-scale phenotyping of resilience and efficiency in both dairy and beef cattle.



Increase of nitrogen fertilizer production from 1961 to 2014




The nitrogen fertilizers save us from starvation



Futurefarming.com

> Taking digital security for granted
Agriculture is big money, and thieves can smell it. This is the reality. But according to Andrew Rose, executive director for CyberAg, an American cybersecurity organization, the sector has been comparatively slow to protect itself.

> Field robots: Tensorbot targets and kills weeds with super-heated veg oil
Tensorfield Agriculture, based in the California Bay Area, USA, is currently testing its Tensorbot V2 robotic chassis.

> Pest control: FarmSense wins $ 2.2 million in funding for smart pest control
The company’s classification algorithms, combined with its FlightSensor, help farmers identify harmful insects in their fields in real time.

Harvesting robots: Asparagus harvesting robot sprouts success
While currently in the ‘proof of concept’ stage, Sprout can successfully navigate fields autonomously and harvest green asparagus.

> Weeding robots: Autonomous weeding – a year of tests
Three autonomous weeding robots were put through the ringer in Ontario this year – and with good results.

> Bird damage: Laser reduces bird damage in crops by up to 90%
Australian orchard Priest Bros Orchards has reduced bird damage in its orchards in one year by up to 90%, using a bird laser repellent.

> Video: How does a fixed bed plough work?
Steverink's fixed bed plough still requires some precision adjustment to achieve an optimal soil.

> 10 robots compete for Best Field Robot Concept Award 2021
A common definition of a robot is an automatic machine that replaces human effort. Our review of the latest developments in the Best Field Robot Concept Award 2021 show that in agriculture they can do significantly more than that.

> Robot manufacturer explains possibilities of Robotti 150D
Robotti 150D is an autonomous tool carrier and uses implements to do the farmers work.

> Market trends: Japanese Kubota on takeover path
Japanese company Kubota is on the warpath to become a major supplier of agricultural machinery worldwide.

> Farm report: How Finnegan’s Farm uses tech to transform crop yield
The adoption of technology in agriculture has the potential to improve farming practices, support sustainability and dramatically increase yield.

> Crop science: Dioxd increases seed productivity with carbon dioxide
The Brazilian agtech company Dioxd claims it can increase bean and soybean seed productivity by 12% using carbon dioxide.

> Field robots: geo-konzept distributes Robotti field robot in Germany
Agrointelli’s field robot, Robotti, will be from now on available to German customers with full support and service.
Business

> CNH Industrial completes acquisition of Raven Industries
The first in-house products featuring fully integrated Raven precision agriculture systems will become available in 2022.
See futurefarming.com


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: Peasant girl knitting while waiting for the laundry to dry in the sun, by Frans Pieter Lodewyk van Kuyck (1852–1915):

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Archives of our newsletters in French and English
Voir Afia
Voir Efita


 


Robotics and innovation are part of the dairy industry, By Elizabeth Maslyn, August 18, 2021
.../...
My favorite part about having automation on the farm is having the ability to have lunch with the whole team. With the robots milking and the alley scrapers cleaning, there is no reason why the team cannot get together for an hour to celebrate a birthday or have a pizza party.

These little things add up to a lot when it comes to employee welfare and happiness in the work-place. With automation, anything is possible.
See agdaily.com


Solving the Biggest Agricultural Challenges Through Data Innovation

USDA and ARS partnered with technology leaders and academia to create the Partnership for Data Innovation to focus on addressing the biggest challenges facing the agricultural community. One project involves using data innovation to help save the billion-dollar citrus industry from the devastating citrus greening disease. Watch this video to learn more.
See tellus.ars.usda.gov


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: A peasant girl knitting, c.1870, by Jules Breton (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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How Blockchain Technology Can Create More Transparent and Traceable Food Supply Chains

Blockchain is an emerging topic to be discussed at VISION Conference 2022. Learn what makes it a perfect fit for supply chain management.
See precisionag.com


CNH Industrial Completes the Acquisition of Raven Industries

The acquisition builds upon a long partnership and is an important milestone in CNH Industrial's digital transformation.
See precisionag.com


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: Été, 1891, par Jules Breton (1827-1906)

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EFC Systems Receives Significant Financial Investment

The new investment strengthens the company’s neutrality as a service partner for all of the ag retail and service provider supply chain.
See precisionag.com


Farmers Edge Named to Deloitte Enterprise Fast 15 for 2021

Among many successes, the company has launched one of the most effective carbon programs in ag today and introduced a first-of-its-kind insurance product.
See precisionag.com






Self-Driving Robots Key to Future of Our Food

Fieldin's Midnight Robotics acquisition is a sign of rapid maturation in smart farming.
See precisionag.com


Farmers have been burned by agtech too often. Here’s how to win back their trust, AFN, by guest contributor: Michael Gilbert

Visiting farms these days, it’s not uncommon to see the ghosts of agtech promises scattering the fields. Abandoned weather stations stretch out like metal scarecrows. Forgotten soil moisture meters are nothing more than tripping hazards. The companies that installed them are long gone and the tools remain as a reminder of a failed investment.

As farms face increasing pressure in an era of unpredictable weather and tenuous supply chains, agtech can help improve sustainability and resiliency. But there’s a big problem: a growing trust gap between farmers and the tech companies trying to sell them on the next big thing.

The good news? This problem isn’t insurmountable. Farmers are still willing to listen if these technologies can actually save them time, money, and risk. Agtech companies are busy earning trust, and the successful ones are those who understand why the gap existed in the first place.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


Aanika Biosciences raises $12m to boost food traceability with edible microbial tags, AFN, by Jennifer Marston

US synthetic biology startup Aanika Biosciences has made a $12 million initial close of its Series A round led by Jon Cholak, managing director at Adit Ventures, along with existing investors Draper Associates and SOSV.

The company will use the funding to scale up its platform that develops traceable, microbial tags for food items. Funds will also go towards accelerating research and building a larger manufacturing facility in its hometown of Brooklyn, New York.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: Les vendanges, les personnages, la vigne, la récole, le paysage (Affiche scolaire)

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Q&A: Aerobotics co-founder James Paterson on centering the farm in ‘farm tech’ AgFunder portfolio co!, AFN, by Jocelyn Nyaguse

Farm tech investments have been on a tear. Last year the sector, which covers agricultural technologies that sit closest to the farm (think robotics, high-tech greenhouses, and online marketplaces connecting farmers to inputs and buyers), secured $7.9 billion in investment – up 41% from the previous year, according to AgFunder.

South Africa’s Aerobotics was one startup to share in that explosive growth. The Cape Town-based company, which provides farm-level data insights using satellite and drone imagery for fruit growers, raised close to $17 million in Series B funding last December from Naspers Foundry, FMO, Endeavor Catalyst, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation, and others. Today, it serves more than 350 farming groups cultivating 600,000 acres annually in Africa and the US.

As Aerobotics grows, it is positioning itself as a farming company, enabled by technology, rather than a tech company that is focused on farming. The distinction is important in a sector exploding with new offerings, says co-founder and CEO James Paterson, who comes from a family of citrus farmers in South Africa.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


Agrifoodtech innovation doesn’t happen in the boardroom, but in the field: Thai Wah CEO, AFN, by Jack Ellis

One of the world’s leading manufacturers of noodles — and a major supplier of starches to the wider food industry — is launching a VC fund to advance agrifoodtech innovation in Southeast Asia.

Ho Ren Hua, CEO at Thai Wah, announced the launch of Thai Wah Ventures on stage at last week’s Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore.

“As a medium-sized player with scale across the region [and] the ability and potential to partner startups across various dimensions of ag and food, we think this is very [promising],” Ho told delegates.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory (?????): Jeune fille de Concarneau par François-Alfred Delobbe (1835-1920)

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For Lentera Africa, remote work is the future of farming on the continent, AFN, by John Njiraini

2020 saw a massive shift to remote work worldwide. The technological advancements that enable people to work from anywhere are also reaching the farming sector.

“The potential for remote farming is huge,” says Moses Kimani, CEO of Kenyan agtech venture Lentera Africa. The Kiambu-based company wants to enable more people to become “remote farmers” by providing the weather data, crop analytics and drone imagery needed to keep track of a farm’s growing conditions.

Lentera’s mobile app, CropHQ, acts as a “digital farm assistant,” says Kimani, enabling farmers and farm managers to get weekly farm insight reports, as well as manage record keeping, profit/loss projections, and even connect with buyers when crops are nearing harvest.

The company supports a network of 7,000 farmers, most of which are small operations. Kimani says he hopes to see greater uptake with medium and large-sized farms as African operators increase adoption of organic practices and tech solutions, like smart irrigation.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory (?????): Retour des champs par François-Alfred Delobbe (1835-1920)

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Asia will lead agrifood’s ‘future of breakthrough innovations,’ says Cargill strategy chief, AFN, by Jack Ellis

Last week delegates descended — albeit virtually — on Singapore for SWITCH, the city-state’s annual tech festival. And in a refreshing turn for an event historically dominated by discussion of fintech, e-commerce, and enterprise software, agtech and foodtech featured more prominently on the agenda than ever before.

Part of the reason for this is that Singapore, which imports over 90% of its nutritional needs, has placed more of an emphasis on food security and resiliency in recent years. This trend was only accelerated by Covid-19 and resulting supply chain breakdowns.

Indicative of agrifood’s ascendancy in Singapore and the wider world of tech was the choice of speaker to deliver the opening keynote at SWITCH: Marcel Smits, Asia-Pacific chairman and global head of corporate strategy at Cargill.

That the US agribusiness major has appointed Smits to hold both those roles concurrently speaks volumes about its outlook when it comes to Asia.

“Today [Asian markets] are not looking to play catchup to their Western counterparts anymore; instead, they are looking to leapfrog in terms of growth and development, and will be the backbone of global innovation for many years to come,” he said, noting the region’s contributions in areas such as AI, blockchain, and augmented reality as examples..

However, “while the region is thriving, sectors such as agriculture have somewhat lagged in adopting and fully leveraging these new technologies,” he continued.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


The Fifth wheel

There were a lot of funny inventions made, that never were widely used. This movie shows a car with an additional fifth wheel that should make parking a lot easier.
Voir vidéo
Signalé par Georges LARROQUE
Mél : larroque.georges(a)orange.fr



The map we need if we want to think about how global living conditions are changing

Part of our mission at Our World in Data is to make the big global problems understandable — and we often do this by showing maps.

But despite the popularity and familiarity of world maps, they can mislead our understanding of global living conditions because they only show us where the world’s landmasses are. They don’t show us where people are.

To show where the world’s people live, we need a population cartogram — a geographical representation of the world where the size of the countries are drawn not according to the distribution of land, but according to the distribution of people.

In this article from September 2018, we present a detailed population cartogram, zooming in to the different world regions and describing what this people-centered perspective can teach us.



Farm robotics startups raised $491m in H1 2021 to automate the basics Data, AFN, by Jennifer Marston

Farm robotics ventures raked in a total of $491 million in investment during H1 2021, according to AgFunder data.

Many of the noteworthy deals during the period went to startups using robotics to automate everyday on-farm tasks usually performed by individuals, rather than complex agricultural operations.

“Autonomous equipment will be as transformative as mechanized agriculture. It’ll be the platform that will fulfill the promise of digital farming, which has struggled to drive value from insights alone,” AgFunder founding partner Rob Leclerc wrote recently following John Deere’s $250 million acquisition of his firm’s portfolio company Blue Flag Robotics.
…/…
See agfundernews.com


New plan to pay UK farmers who protect winter soil, BBC, by Roger Harrabin

The empty brown fields of England's winter countryside could be transformed under government plans for farming.
.../...
See bbc.com


Perspective: Agriculture needs the global economy, by Kelsey Pagel
.../...
I’m all about supporting American businesses. I’m here for that. I am. But, I’m also very thankful for a global economy. Did you know in order to put “made in America” on a product, only just over 50 percent of the parts of the product have to be manufactured in America? Just over 50 percent. That’s it. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t get some of its pieces off those cargo ships. It just means that over 50 percent is made here. Labels can be incredibly deceptive.
.../...
See agdaily.com


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory:
Bergère par François-Alfred Delobbe (1835-1920)

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Food waste: The ugly duckling many consumers won’t face, By Michelle Miller, Farm Babe

Did you know that as much as 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted? Thrown out before it ever made it to the grocery store or sat rotting in the fridge until it was tossed with this week’s trash. Globally, about one-third of the food produced is “wasted,” or thrown out for various reasons. Yet, this is an ugly duckling that many consumers just won’t face.

>>>>So how do we solve this problem?

1. Be OK with less than perfection! Start supporting companies that resell perfectly good produce (even the “ugly” ones), like Misfits Produce. Even better, start communicating with retailers with your money that perfect appearance isn’t the sole buying factor for food. Purchase the “ugly” produce, the apple with a slight bruise, or the twisted carrot, or else it might be thrown out.

2. Be conscious of your food purchases. Only purchase what you can consume in a reasonable amount of time, before food spoilage occurs. Plan out meals and purchase the necessary ingredients while trying to use the product in multiple meals so you can use all of it (like a whole head of lettuce, or a whole bag of carrots).

3. Eat leftovers! Try to prepare meals and portion sizes that leave sufficient enough left-overs for lunch the following day, or to be incorporated into another meal instead of throwing it out.

4. Compost your own waste. If you have biodegradable products to throw out, why not compost it yourself? Although this won’t provide an exceptional reduction of GHG emissions related to decomposing food, it will allow those products to be recycled to your lawn or garden rather than simply sitting useless in a landfill mixed with products that won’t breakdown.



Farm Babe: Better animal care equals greater profits, by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe

Is animal welfare in opposition to profitability?

The short answer to that question is no.

It’s animal welfare and profitability, not animal welfare or profitability. There’s a misconception going around that larger-scale farms don’t care about the welfare of their animals in order to increase their profits. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
.../...
See agdaily.com


 
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Viewpoint: By failing to endorse carbon-cutting biotechnology innovations, Glasgow climate summit missed ‘low hanging fruit’, by Val Giddings, December 1, 2021

A lthough verdicts vary, and some progress was clearly made, the climate change consensus emerging among scientists post-Glasgow is that the world continues on a path to exceed the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius identified in Paris in 2015 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But there is a course, so far too much neglected, that could magnify the tangible progress against carbon emissions everyone wants: embracing biotechnology innovation.

Strangely, Glasgow was marked by the almost complete absence of any discussion of agriculture, which is widely charged with contributing 20 to 30 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change. This is an unfortunate omission as advances in genetics over just the past decade have given us powerful tools to tailor precisely the metabolisms of plants and animals. Living organisms are major sources and sinks for atmospheric carbon, so researchers are developing ways to apply genetic tools to reduce emissions and increase carbon capture and sequestration.
See geneticliteracyproject.org


Viewpoint: ‘Fashionable nonsense’ — The deadly impact of ‘kowtowing to academia’s political zeitgeist’ in biomedicine, by Alex Berezow

In August 2018, The Lancet published a curious paper, reminiscent of America’s long-forgotten Prohibition Era. The research came to a remarkable conclusion: There is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
.../...
The Lancet study is indicative of a larger trend in scientific journals, namely, an increasing prevalence of fashionable nonsense that is supported not by research but by ideology. Scientific journals are supposed to be the gatekeepers of objective facts, not cheerleaders for moral crusades or voguish ideologies. Kowtowing to academia’s political zeitgeist is not something that a medical journal — or any scholarly journal — ought to do. Yet, increasingly, that is exactly what they are doing. This is dangerous. And we can turn to a landmark book for some guidance as to why this is happening.
.../...
See geneticliteracyproject.org


Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: Deux bretonnes au panier de pommes, par Wadysaw ŚLewski (PL, 1856 - 1918)

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For Brexiters who dreamed of taking back control, France is too close for comfort, by Rafael Behr (The Guardian)

.../...
So other reasons must be confected as to why relations with France have become so prickly. The leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, suggested that dialogue was uniquely tricky last month because “the French are always grumpy in October, the anniversaries of Trafalgar and Agincourt upset them”. Even if he was not being serious, it says something about the degradation of British political culture that seriousness is not a requirement when cabinet ministers intervene in delicate matters of foreign relations. No one on the French side has felt compelled to raise the Battle of Castillon.

The childish compulsion to reference medieval wars, Napoleon and the Third Reich is a way for Brexiters to deny contemporary economic and strategic reality of the European project. There is no need to build an analysis from modern facts or even recent history if the EU’s immutable character and secret agenda are encrypted in events that pre-date the Treaty of Rome.

The parochialism that masquerades as historical erudition is a chronic syndrome in Tory Euroscepticism. It is Johnson’s preferred idiom as a propagandist, not least because it excuses him from a duty to engage with detail. But it does not translate into practical government. It nurtures the fiction that Britain can have a foreign policy for old continental powers that avoids engaging with their modern interests as members of the EU. That is the core of the misunderstanding with France, and the relationship will not be fixed until it is resolved. The reality of 21st century Europe cannot be wished away any more than the Channel can be made wider.
See theguardian.com


COVID-19 update: How does the number of confirmed COVID deaths compare to excess deaths?

Excess deaths measure the difference between how many people died during the pandemic, from any cause, and how many deaths would have been expected had there been no pandemic. Excess deaths give a more comprehensive picture of the total impact of the pandemic on deaths than confirmed COVID deaths alone.

How do these two metrics compare?

In many countries the number of excess deaths is much higher than the number of confirmed COVID deaths. In Russia, for instance, the official COVID death toll stands at 253,000, while excess deaths are nearly 3.5-times higher at 871,000.

This shows that in many countries the impact of the pandemic on deaths has been far worse than what is suggested by the official COVID death toll.

Explore our global vaccination dataset, alongside cases, deaths, hospitalizations, testing, and other metrics by country in our COVID Data Explorer.



Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory: Les travaux d'automne (Affiche scolaire)

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"Depressing" report reveals meat & dairy company failings on methane reduction, deforestation, AFN, by Jack Ellis and Louisa Burwood-Taylor

While several major protein-producing companies have made significant advances when it comes to tackling climate change, the animal agriculture sector as a whole remains “unprepared” for the task, looking “outdated and unattractive,” according to new analysis from activist investor group FAIRR.

Starkly, FAIRR’s new research reveals that just 18% of global meat and dairy producers track methane emissions. FAIRR also discovered that several meat giants, such as McDonalds suppliers JBS and Marfrig, do not monitor the third-party suppliers that are responsible for up to 90% of deforestation from rearing cattle, despite having a zero-deforestation pledge. Multi-national promises to reduce methane emissions by 30% and end deforestation by 2030 were two of the highest-profile outcomes of the COP26 summit in October.

FAIRR’s Protein Producer Index, which is now in its fourth iteration, rates 60 publicly-listed companies involved in animal-derived protein production — including 49 companies mainly producing meat and dairy from land animals, and 11 primarily focused on aquaculture.

These companies are rated by FAIRR on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance against metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, antibiotic usage, and investment in alternative proteins.

Asset management firms like Aviva Investors and Robeco are members of the FAIRR network and can access the research behind the index as well as best practice tools and networking to help with their own ESG investing endeavours.

Several large asset management firms like Aviva Investors and Robeco are signatories to FAIRR’s work and use the index and the research behind it to inform their investment decisions and ESG endeavours.

“These results are depressing,” Eugenie Mathieu, senior analyst at Aviva, told AFN.
.../...
See agfundernews.com


Madagascar's food crisis has been blamed on climate change. Scientists say that's wrong, CNN, by Angela Dewan

The UN's World Food Programme and multiple media organizations have been warning that the African island nation of Madagascar is on the brink of the world's first climate-change-induced famine. But a new study says the human-made climate crisis has had little to do with the current food scarcity in the country.

Consecutive years of low rainfall have led to a prolonged drought that has shaken Madagascar's food security and has already pushed tens of thousands of people into famine-like conditions.
A study by scientists at the World Weather Attribution initiative, an international collaboration led by Imperial College London and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, found that a natural variation in the climate was most likely the main reason for the drought.
The group said that poverty, poor infrastructure and a high level of dependence on rain for agriculture were also behind the country's food crisis.
Madagascar received only around 60% of its usual average rainfall for two years in a row, the lowest in 30 years. The drought has led to widespread crop failure in the country's south, and around 1.3 million people nationwide are in need of food assistance, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
…/…
See edition.cnn.com



Food waste is responsible for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions

The production of food accounts for around one-quarter — 26% — of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is a lot, but it’s slightly easier to digest when we remind ourselves that food is a basic human need.

What’s harder to make sense of is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions which are caused in the production of food that is never eaten — this stands at 6%. For context, this is around three times the global emissions from aviation.

In this short article from March 2020, we describe how around one-quarter of the calories the world produces are thrown away, and what this means in terms of emissions.



Joachim Sauer über die miese Impfquote: »Zum Teil liegt das an einer gewissen Faulheit und Bequemlichkeit der Deutschen«

Angela Merkels Ehemann spricht selten über aktuelle Themen in der Öffentlichkeit. Nun hat er sich in der italienischen Presse zur deutschen Impfquote geäußert.
Sehen spiegel.de


Minister Jens Spahn an Ungeimpfte: »Was muss eigentlich noch passieren, damit ihr es kapiert?«

Angesichts steigender Coronazahlen wird Gesundheitsminister Jens Spahn gegenüber Impfverweigerern deutlich. Sein CDU-Kollege Friedrich Merz brachte einen Lockdown für Ungeimpfte ins Spiel.

Eine bundesweite Inzidenz an der 400-Marke, dazu noch deutlich höhere Zahlen unter anderem in Ostdeutschland: Von einer Verbesserung der Coronalage ist Deutschland immer weiter entfernt. Trotzdem verweigert eine nicht unerhebliche Minderheit weiter eine Impfung gegen das Virus.

An diese Gruppe wandte sich der geschäftsführende Bundesgesundheitsminister Jens Spahn (CDU) mit folgender Ansage in der »Rheinischen Post«: »Es gibt immer noch diejenigen, die glauben, das Virus könne ihnen nichts anhaben. Diese Menschen würde ich am liebsten auf eine Intensivstation zerren und sie im Angesicht des Leids fragen: Was muss eigentlich noch passieren, damit ihr es kapiert?«
Sehen spiegel.de


Las grandes canciones de Serrat, en cinco minutos

EL PAÍS reúne algunas de sus mejores actuaciones, con clásicos como ‘Mediterráneo’, ‘Penélope’ o ‘Cantares’.

El cantautor Joan Manuel Serrat, de 77 años, ha decidido que se retirará después de una gira que comenzará en mayo de 2022 en Nueva York y acabará a finales de ese año en Barcelona, la ciudad en la que nació.
Ver elpais.com


 


$100.000?

A preacher was told by his doctor that he had only a few weeks left to live.

He went home feeling very sad, and when his wife heard the sad news she said to him, "Honey, if there's anything I can do to make you happy, tell me."

The preacher answered, "You know, dear, there's that box in the kitchen cabinet with what you always called "your little secret" in it and you said you never would want me to open it as long as you lived. Now that I'm about to go home to be with the Lord, why don't you show me what's in that secret box of yours?"

The preacher's wife got out the box and opened the lid. It contained $100,000 and three eggs.

"What are those eggs doing in the box?" the preacher asked.

"Well, Honey," she replied, "every time your sermon was really bad, I put an egg in the box."

Now the preacher had been preaching for over forty years and seeing only three eggs in that old shoe box, he started to feel very proud about himself and it warmed his soul.

"And what about that $100.000?"" he asked.

"Oh, you see," she whispered softly, "every time there were a dozen eggs in the box, I... sold them."


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