Tag: USDA

As H5N1 Bird Flu Spreads To More States, Many Are Wondering What Will Happen If People Start Getting Infected…

ETH – February 23, 2022

(OPINION) I have been watching the H5N1 bird flu for a very long time. Many of my readers don’t even know this, but many years ago I actually had an entire website that was dedicated to tracking the latest news regarding bird flu.

Fortunately, H5N1 hasn’t been a significant threat for ages, but now it is back. It is spreading very rapidly in birds in North America right now, and some experts are concerned that it could mutate into a version that could begin spreading easily in humans. If that happens, it would make the COVID pandemic look like a bad joke in comparison, because the death rate for H5N1 in humans is extremely high.

Over the past several days, we have received some really troubling news about the spread of bird flu inside the United States. For example, bird flu has now been detected in a “non-commercial backyard flock” in Suffolk County, New York. The following comes from the official USDA website…

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry) in Suffolk County, New York.

Samples from the flock were tested at the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.

APHIS is working closely with state animal health officials in New York on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the properties will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

A Highly Virulent Form Of The Bird Flu Is Starting To Spread Like Wildfire Across Several Eastern States

– February 15. 2022

I know that this isn’t exactly going to be welcome news to a lot of people, but bird flu appears to be spreading rapidly in several U.S. states.  Long before COVID ever came along, bird flu was one of the main threats that global health authorities were concerned about.  The good news is that human cases of the bird flu have been fairly rare in recent years, but just like COVID, bird flu has the ability to mutate rapidly.  And when humans do catch bird flu, the death rate can be over 50 percent.  For now, the outbreak in the United States is limited to birds.  It is hitting turkeys, it is hitting chickens, and authorities have informed us that “dozens of wild birds have tested positive along the East Coast in recent weeks”…

Avian flu has now been detected in flocks of birds in Virginia and Kentucky, just days after Indiana officials had to euthanize 29,000 turkeys due to the spread of the virus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.

Dozens of wild birds have tested positive along the East Coast in recent weeks, including three in the Carolinas last month. Avian flu usually does not cause any symptoms in wild birds, but it can be deadly in domestic poultry.

What this tells us is that the outbreak is not contained.

It is already in multiple states, and authorities have no idea where it originally started.

On Monday, bird flu was detected “in a flock of commercial broiler chickens” in Kentucky…

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture announced Monday a confirmed case of high pathogenic avian influenza — deadly bird flu — in a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Fulton County, with a second suspected case in Webster County.

The fact that it is now affecting our food supply should definitely get our attention.

In neighboring Tennessee, there is a tremendous amount of anxiety about what is happening in Kentucky, because a widespread outbreak of the bird flu in Tennessee could have enormous implications for the entire globe.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

FDA purchased baby heads and other body parts, documents show

WND Staff – September 14, 2021

Hundreds of pages of U.S. Food and Drug Administration records obtained under a Freedom of Information Act case brought by government watchdog Judicial Watch reveal the U.S. government was buying the heads of unborn babies, and other body parts, for its “humanized mice” project.

The watchdog organization announced this week it has obtained 198 pages of records from the FDA confirming the purchase plans for “human fetal heads, organs and tissue.”

The “supplies” came from Advanced Bioscience Resources, and many of the deals were reached between Perrin Lawton, of ABR, and Kristina Howard, an officer with the FDA.

The lawsuit over the records had sought “all contracts and related documentation on disbursement of funds, procedural documents and communications between FDA and ABR for the provision of human fetal tissue to be used in humanized mice research.”

A federal court recently ordered the government to provide more details about the purchase of the human body parts, “including ‘line item prices,’ or the price per organ the government paid to ABR,” Judicial Watch said.”

The court also found ‘there is reason to question’ whether the transactions violate federal law barring the sale of fetal organs. Documents previously uncovered in this lawsuit show that the federal government demanded the purchased fetal organs be ‘fresh and never frozen,'” Judicial Watch reported.

https://www.wnd.com

Plunging Crop Supplies Send Prices Soaring And Reignite Food Inflation Fears, WASDE Reports

Tyler Durden – August 12, 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was released Thursday afternoon and pointed to declining grain supplies that sent grain futures prices higher and will keep food inflation in focus.

The closely watched supply and demand report slashed estimates for corn yields and stockpiles. World inventories for wheat were reported near a five-year low.

Grain and oilseed futures soared to a near-decade high earlier this year but have been in a holding pattern for the last month, awaiting new reports on the outlook for upcoming U.S. harvests. A megadrought and back-to-back heat waves have plagued the corn belt and the U.S. West for much of the summer. 

Bloomberg outlines the key takeaways from the August WASDE report:

  • DROUGHT BITES: U.S. corn and soybean yields fell below analyst expectations and the declines were largely centered in the drought-stricken northern Plains, where severe drought has withered crops.
  • RUSSIA: So goes Russia’s harvest, so goes the wheat market. A large cut in the harvest means a lot less global wheat supplies and Russia’s wheat-export throne as the world’s top shipper is in doubt with the current forecast in line with exports out of the E.U.
  • WHEAT PEAK: Benchmark Chicago wheat prices hit the highest levels for a most-active contract since 2013. Corn and soybeans each touched multi-week highs but remain below multi-year peaks from earlier in 2021.
  • YOUR MOVE, FUNDS: With the USDA seeming to appease bullish traders with aggressive cuts and dry weather continuing to grip the Plains, an influx of speculative buying could bring the rally in grains, nearly a year-old at this point, to new heights.
  • FOOD INFLATION: Of course, with grain and soybean prices elevated for months, the higher costs should start to filter through the supply chain, pointing to higher prices for feed, seed, fertilizer, food and other goods.

This report means that adverse weather conditions are another driver of food inflation that shows no signs of stopping. We noted not too long ago, grocery store prices were expected to rise through the fall. Earlier this week, Tyson Foods Inc. said the surge in raw materials costs would force them to raise food prices in the coming weeks.

https://www.zerohedge.com