The nutrient application limits were imposed by a judge as a temporary measure in a settlement agreement that ended a lawsuit involving six poultry companies, the city of Tulsa and the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority. TULSA The city and its utility authority want a federal court to revise rules and further limit how much poultry waste can be spread on land in two watersheds in northeastern Oklahoma. According to court papers filed in federal court Friday by the city and the utility...

A novel vaccine against the H5N1 bird flu could mean that far more people will be protected against the deadly disease in case of a worldwide pandemic, a study released yesterday showed. The new drug which combines a standard vaccine with a patented oil-in-water emulsion produced up to six times as many antibodies capable of neutralising the bird flu virus as the same dose without the emulsion. In clinical trials, the new drug not only required fewer scarce antigens, it also triggered a...

India's huge gene resources for food and agriculture has got limited to about 12 varieties of food, which provide 80 per cent of food energy, because of changing lifestyles and taste and nutrition value of country's food basket. The National Bio-Diversity Action Plan says 41 per cent of India's forest cover is at different levels of degradation and the country is making limited use of is vast gene pool in agriculture and livestock, thereby creating a risk of food security. The Environment...

Pitt's Poultry was named as the battery-hen farm where animal-rights campaigners allegedly filmed horrific images of hundreds of dead and dying hens in April. The release of the company name came as the State Government and RSPCA spoke out against battery-hen farming and announced the launch of random animal welfare checks. RSPCA chief executive Rick Butler said random checks on battery-hen farms, piggeries, dairy farms and pet shops would begin. Mr Butler said the RSPCA supported a...

agency warned that there was a good possibility of another major scourge like AIDS, SARS or Ebola fever with the potential of killing millions appearing in the coming years. It was therefore vital for countries to share information on outbreaks so risks can be assessed and mitigated, Chan said. The report called for renewed efforts to monitor, prevent and control epidemic-prone illnesses such as cholera, yellow fever and meningococcal diseases. International assistance may be required to...