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The research reveals that the low-cost devices could be as effective as diagnostics that are up to 50 times more expensive A new study, led by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), has determined that low-cost thermal imaging devices show minimal difference in effectiveness of detecting lameness in dairy cattle when compared to more expensive devices.

Eating pheasant killed using lead shot is likely to expose consumers to raised levels of lead in their diet, even if the meat is carefully prepared to remove the shotgun pellets and the most damaged tissue. By eating pheasant, people are also unwittingly eating lead, which is toxic. Professor Rhys Green A study has found that pheasants killed by lead shot contain many fragments of lead too small to detect by eye or touch, and too distant from the shot to be removed without throwing away a large proportion of otherwise useable meat.

A projected shortage of sulfuric acid, a crucial chemical in our modern industrial society, could stifle green technology advancement and threaten global food security, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) journal The Geographical Journal , highlights that global demand for sulfuric acid is set to rise significantly from '246 to 400 million tonnes' by 2040 - a result of more intensive agriculture and the world moving away from fossil fuels.

A new review from Dr Chris Bryant focuses on the health and environmental benefits of plant-based products, as well as consumer attitudes. Plant-based dietary alternatives to animal products are better for the environment and for human health when compared with the animal products they are designed to replace, say the authors of a new study.

Scientists evaluate the evidence that intensive livestock farming is causing pandemics, and find that intensive farming could actually reduce the risk of future pandemics compared to 'free range' farming. Those calling for a move away from intensive farming often fail to consider the counterfactual Harriet Bartlett In the wake of COVID-19, many have pointed to modern industrial farms with tightly-packed livestock as potential hothouses for further pandemics caused by "zoonotic" diseases: those transmitted from animals to humans.

Chickens were introduced to Britain, mainland Europe, and Northern Africa later than previously thought, and were primarily regarded as exotica not food, new research suggests. The study, led by Cardiff University and published in the journal Antiquity is one of two papers published today which together, transform our understanding of how humans' relationship with the popular poultry has evolved over time.

Climate change and intensive agricultural land use have already been responsible for a 49% reduction in the number of insects in the most impacted parts of the world, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The study published in Nature is the first to identify that an interaction between rising temperatures and land use changes, is driving widespread losses in numerous insect groups across the globe.

The research sheds new light on the mechanisms by which the adoption of agriculture led to complex hierarchies and states It challenges the conventional -productivity theory- which holds that regional differences in land productivity explain regional disparities in the development of hierarchies and states, by theoretical arguments and empirical analysis.

A new study challenges the universal land-saving claims of vertical farming, finding that there is no one size fits all approach for land use, food security and sustainable agriculture. Faced with population growth, environmental change, and increasing concerns over food security and sustainability - the interest in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is on an upward trend.

Making food more affordable for ethnic minority groups is crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our diets, scientists have suggested. According to a new study of food habits in the US, a healthy diet with lower environmental impacts is achievable for a large portion of the population. But it is unaffordable for up to 38% of Black and Hispanic individuals in the lowest income and education groups, twice the percentage of white individuals in the same group.

Global grasslands are a source of biodiversity and provide a host of benefits to humans, including food production, water supply, and carbon storage. But their future looks bleak without action to halt their degradation and promote their restoration, according to the authors of a new paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment .

New research from the University of Oxford's Departments of Plant Sciences and Engineering, as well as collaborators at VU Amsterdam, uses both mathematical modelling and experimental validation to study the metabolic processes controlling how bacteria provide ammonia to legumes, which is vastly important for sustainable agriculture Ammonia-based fertiliser is commonly used in industrial agriculture, and since the early 20 th  C.

Scientists have created plants whose cells and tissues 'blush' with beetroot pigments when they are colonised by fungi that help them take up nutrients from the soil. We can now follow how the relationship between the fungi and plant root develops, in real-time, from the moment they come into contact.

'Precision agriculture' where farmers respond in real time to changes in crop growth using nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI) could offer a practical solution to the challenges threatening global food security, a new study reveals. Climate change, increasing populations, competing demands on land for production of biofuels and declining soil quality mean it is becoming increasingly difficult to feed the world's populations.

Radical changes to the food system are needed to safeguard our food supply and combat malnutrition in the face of climate change, environmental degradation and epidemics, says new report. Advances in technology open up many possibilities for alternative food supply systems that more risk-resilient, and can efficiently supply sustainable nutrition to billions of people Catherine Richards Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production.

Researchers at the have shown that pea plants are able to make smart investment decisions when it comes to interactions with their symbiotic bacterial partners. Better understanding of how plants manage these interactions could help with the move towards sustainable agriculture. Researchers at the have shown that pea plants are able to make smart investment decisions when it comes to interactions with their symbiotic bacterial partners.

Cambridge plant scientists say circadian clock genes, which enable plants to measure daily and seasonal rhythms, should be targeted in agriculture and crop breeding for higher yields and more sustainable farming. Plants grow much better when their internal clock is matched to the environment they grow in.

Substantial cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved by raising water levels in agricultural peatlands, according to a new study. Peatlands occupy just three per cent of the world’s land surface area but store a similar amount of carbon to all terrestrial vegetation, as well as supporting unique biodiversity.

A new study analysing changing attitudes to meat-free diets finds growing support for plant-based alternative products in Belgium. Last updated on Tuesday 30 March 2021 Increasing numbers of people in Belgium are turning away from meat in favour of plant-based alternatives, according to new research from psychologists at the University of Bath, in collaboration with Belgian animal welfare organisation GAIA.

Eating processed meat has been linked with an increased risk of developing dementia. Scientists from the University’s Nutritional Epidemiology Group used data from 500,000 people, discovering that consuming a 25g serving of processed meat a day, the equivalent to one rasher of bacon, is associated with a 44% increased risk of developing the disease.