Livestock industry is daily producing large amounts of multi-scale data (pathogen-, animal-, site-, system-, regional- level) from different
sources such as diagnostic laboratories, trade and production records, management and environmental monitoring systems; however, all these
data are still presented and used separately and are largely infra-utilized to timely (i.e., near real-time) inform livestock health decisions.
Recent advances in the automation of data capture, standardization, multi-scale integration and sharing/communication (i.e. The Internet Of
Things) as well as in the development of novel data mining analytical and visualization capabilities specifically adapted to the livestock industry
are dramatically changing this paradigm. As a result, we expect vertical advances in the way we prevent and manage livestock diseases both
locally and globally. Our team at the Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS), in collaboration with researchers at Iowa
State University and industry leaders at Boehringer Ingelheim and GlobalVetLINK have been working in an exceptional research-industry
partnership to develop key data connections and novel Big Data capabilities within the Disease BioPortal (http://bioportal.ucdavis.edu/). This
web-based platform includes automation of diagnostic interpretations and facilitates the combined analysis of health, production and trade data
using novel space-time-genomic visualization and data mining tools. Access to confidential databases is individually granted with different
levels of secure access, visualization and editing capabilities for participating producers, labs, veterinarians and other stakeholders. Each user
can create and share customized dashboards and reports to inform risk-based, more cost-effective, decisions at site, system or regional level.
Here we will provide practical examples of applications in the swine, poultry and aquaculture industries. We hope to contribute to the more
coordinated and effective prevention and control of infectious diseases locally and globally.
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The CAFO in the Bioreactor
Abstract A 2020 report published by the think tank RethinkX predicts the “second domestication of plants and animals, the disruption of the cow, and the collapse of industrial livestock farming” by 2035. Although typical of promissory discourses about the future of food, the report gives unusual emphasis to the gains of efficiency and near limitless growth that will come by eradicating confined livestock and aquaculture operations and replacing them with protein engineered at a molecular level and fermented in bioreactors. While there are many reasons to disrupt industrialized livestock production, lack of efficiency is not one of them. This article examines to what extent this so-called second domestication departs from the radical transformations of animal biologies and living conditions to which it responds. Drawing on canonical texts in agrarian political economy, it parses animal bio-industrialization into sets of practices that accelerate productivity, standardize animal life and infrastructures, and reduce risk to maximize efficiency. It shows these practices at work through recent ethnographic accounts of salmon aquaculture and pork production to illustrate how efforts to override temporalities and contain species in unfamiliar habitats, in the name of efficiency, may be the source of vulnerability in such production systems rather than their strength.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1749184
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10332936
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Environmental Humanities
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2201-1919
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 71 to 88
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract As the fastest growing food production sector in the world, aquaculture may become an important source of nitrous oxide (N2O)—a potent greenhouse gas and the dominant source of ozone-depleting substances in the stratosphere. China is the largest aquaculture producer globally; however, the magnitude of N2O emission from Chinese aquaculture systems (CASs) has not yet been extensively investigated. Here, we quantified N2O emission from the CASs since the Reform and Opening-up (1979–2019) at the species-, provincial-, and national-levels using annual aquaculture production data, based on nitrogen (N) levels in feed type, feed amount, feed conversion ratio, and emission factor (EF). Our estimate indicates that over the past 41 years, N2O emission from CASs has increased approximately 25 times from 0.67 ± 0.04 GgN in 1979 to 16.69 ± 0.31 GgN in 2019. Freshwater fish farming, primarily in two provinces, namely, Guangdong and Hubei, where intensive freshwater fish farming has been adopted in the past decades, accounted for approximately 89% of this emission increase. We also calculated the EF for each species, ranging from 0.79 ± 0.23 g N2O kg−1animal to 2.41 ± 0.14 g N2O kg−1animal. The results of this study suggest that selecting low-EF species and improving feed use efficiency can help reduce aquaculture N2O emission for building a climate-resilient sustainable aquaculture.
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Epigenetics has attracted considerable attention with respect to its potential value in many areas of agricultural production, particularly under conditions where the environment can be manipulated or natural variation exists. Here we introduce key concepts and definitions of epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNA, review the current understanding of epigenetics in both fish and shellfish, and propose key areas of aquaculture where epigenetics could be applied. The first key area is environmental manipulation, where the intention is to induce an ‘epigenetic memory’ either within or between generations to produce a desired phenotype. The second key area is epigenetic selection, which, alone or combined with genetic selection, may increase the reliability of producing animals with desired phenotypes. Based on aspects of life history and husbandry practices in aquaculture species, the application of epigenetic knowledge could significantly affect the productivity and sustainability of aquaculture practices. Conversely, clarifying the role of epigenetic mechanisms in aquaculture species may upend traditional assumptions about selection practices. Ultimately, there are still many unanswered questions regarding how epigenetic mechanisms might be leveraged in aquaculture.
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Legumes are the second most important family of crop plants. One defining feature of legumes is their unique ability to establish a nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis with soil bacteria known as rhizobia. Since domestication from their wild relatives, crop legumes have been under intensive breeding to improve yield and other agronomic traits but with little attention paid to the belowground symbiosis traits. Theoretical models predict that domestication and breeding processes, coupled with high‐input agricultural practices, might have reduced the capacity of crop legumes to achieve their full potential of nitrogen fixation symbiosis. Testing this prediction requires characterizing symbiosis traits in wild and breeding populations under both natural and cultivated environments using genetic, genomic, and ecological approaches. However, very few experimental studies have been dedicated to this area of research. Here, we review how legumes regulate their interactions with soil rhizobia and how domestication, breeding and agricultural practices might have affected nodulation capacity, nitrogen fixation efficiency, and the composition and function of rhizobial community. We also provide a perspective on how to improve legume-rhizobial symbiosis in sustainable agricultural systems.more » « less
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Food production data — such as crop, livestock, aquaculture and fisheries statistics — are critical to achieving multiple sustainable development goals. However, the lack of reliable, regularly collected, accessible, usable and spatially disaggregated statistics limits an accurate picture of the state of food production in many countries and prevents the implementation of effective food system interventions. In this Review, we take stock of national and international food production data to understand its availability and limitations. Across databases, there is substantial global variation in data timeliness, granularity (both spatially and by food category) and transparency. Data scarcity challenges are most pronounced for livestock and aquatic food production. These challenges are largely concentrated in Central America, the Middle East and Africa owing to a combination of inconsistent census implementation and a global reliance on self-reporting. Because data scarcity is the result of technical, institutional and political obstacles, solutions must include technological and policy innovations. Fusing traditional and emerging data-gathering techniques with coordinated governance and dedicated long-term financing will be key to overcoming current obstacles to sustained, up-to-date and accurate food production data collection, foundational in promoting and monitoring progress towards healthier and more sustainable food systems worldwide.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-9481440
