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Emaho Strategies — Science Communication Consulting

  • Conservation,  Ecosystem Threats,  Featured,  Food Supply,  Science,  Sustainability

    Farmed Salmon Develop Ear Deformities All Around the World

    May 31, 2016 / 3 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio Salmon farming is the fastest growing food production system in the world—accounting for 70 percent (2.4 million metric tons) of the market. Increasing demand is leading to the gradual development of responsible practices to minimize its negative impacts on the environment. Indeed, salmon farming is known to pollute the oceans, use toxic pesticides to control the spread of sea lice, foster diseases caused by viruses and bacteria, allow escapees, and deplete the stocks of forage fish—depending on the production region, 1.5 – 8 kilograms of wild fish are needed to produce one kilogram of farmed salmon. However, despite the development of the open and transparent production practices…

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Tuberculosis in China: A Success Story for a Global Problem

    March 22, 2014

    “Iceman” Wim Hof and the Flow Within: The Immune System Goes with It

    May 20, 2014

    Nanoparticles and Sunscreen Products: Toxicity to Sea Life in Coastal Waters

    August 31, 2014
  • Ecosystem Threats,  Featured,  Food Supply,  Ocean Pollution,  Water Pollution

    Salmon Farming: The Chilean Massive Die-Off

    May 21, 2016 / 8 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio Salmon farming—the fastest growing food production system in the world—is going through hard times in Chile, the world’s second-largest salmon producer after Norway. Last year, Chile exported $4.5 billion of farmed salmon, but now a deadly algal bloom is killing millions of farmed fish. A few months ago, an estimated 40,000 tons of salmon died in the Los Lagos region, which is known as the Switzerland of the Southern Hemisphere’s—the snow-capped peaks of the Andes Mountains tower over deep mountain lakes and green farming valleys, creating a fairy-tale landscape. Unlike Switzerland, the fairy-tale landscape extends down to the coast and its beaches, which became covered with dead…

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Flame Retardants in Honey?

    December 19, 2013

    Unsafe Medical Care: Global Burden and Policy Needs

    October 31, 2013

    Globalization Collection and Chanel Globe

    April 23, 2013
  • Climate Change,  Ecosystem Threats,  Featured,  Food Supply,  Global Changes,  Global Threats,  Science,  Urbanization

    Soils Are Threatened: Can We Halt The Problem?

    December 4, 2015 / 7 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio Today, December 4, 2015, is World Soil Day — a day to connect people with soils, and raise awareness of their critical importance in our lives. Soils — the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity — have been neglected for too long. We fail to connect soil with our food, water, climate, and life. The maintenance or enhancement of global soil resources is essential to meet the world’s need for food, water, and energy security. Soil loss is an unfolding global disaster that will have catastrophic effects on world food production, according to scientists from the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures. …

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Reducing the Foodprint by Eating Misfits

    June 4, 2013

    A New Kind of Global Die-Off: Bananas Hit by Rapidly Spreading Diseases

    February 23, 2014

    Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Effect and Greening of Deserts

    July 13, 2013
  • Featured,  Food Supply,  Global Threats,  Health

    Food-Borne Parasites: The “Top Ten” List

    July 1, 2014 / No Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio Food-born parasites affect the health of millions of people all around the world, causing huge social costs. However, we don’t know much about these parasites — where they come from, how they live in the human body, and how they make us sick. Today (July 1, 2014), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), a report — Multicriteria-based ranking for risk management of food-borne parasites — as a first step in tackling the problem. Parasites are organisms that derive nourishment and protection from other living organisms known as hosts. Parasites that are present in food cause food-borne infectious diseases.…

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Globesity

    May 25, 2013

    Global Decline of Insect Pollinators Threatens the Human Food Supply

    April 24, 2013

    The Giant African Land Snail (Achatina fulica) Goes Global

    April 17, 2013
  • Featured,  Food Supply,  Global Threats,  Sustainability

    A New Kind of Global Die-Off: Bananas Hit by Rapidly Spreading Diseases

    February 23, 2014 / 4 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio The world loves bananas. Actually, the world loves the Cavendish bananas, mostly because it is (almost) the only variety commercially available worldwide. The entire global banana industry relies on this seedless and, therefore, sterile variety made of bananas all essentially identical to each other — and equally susceptible to infection by the same harmful microbes, which can spread very easily across plantations around the world. This is not a hypothetical scenario — instead, it’s happening as we speak. Two species of fungi are threatening the world supply of the Cavendish bananas. One is Mycosphaerella fijiensis, a fungus that causes a disease dubbed Black Sigatoka, also known as…

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Wasting Syndrome and Starfish Die-Off

    February 9, 2014

    Climate Change Arguments? Use Flowchart Help!

    April 29, 2013

    Breastfeeding: Benefits of Early Exposure to Maternal Antibodies

    February 13, 2014
  • Featured,  Food Supply,  Sustainability

    The Golden Grain of the Andes: Are You Ready to Cook?

    December 4, 2013 / 1 Comment

    By The Editors The Golden Grain of the Andes — quinoa — is being praised all around the world. Indeed, the year 2013 is “The International Year of the Quinoa”, which celebrates not only quinoa, but also the indigenous peoples of the Andes, who have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as food for present and future generations, thanks to their traditional knowledge and practices of living in harmony with nature.   A few days ago, in a speech dedicated to the introduction of “Quinoa in the Kitchen“, José Graziano da Silva (FAO Director-General), said “Quinoa is part of the effort to recover these lost foods and to promote traditional…

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    theglobalfool

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    Childhood Poverty: Effects on the Immune System

    October 9, 2013

    Breast Cancer: Prevention is Better than Cure

    November 4, 2013

    Eco-Label Effect: The Good Taste of Coffee

    December 7, 2013
  • Featured,  Food Supply,  Sustainability,  Sustainability in Action

    Sustainability in Action: Family Farming

    November 28, 2013 / 1 Comment

    By Roberta Attanasio There are many family farms in the world, farms based on rural activities managed and operated by a family — they deserve our support for their contribution to the global food system and are now a recognized reason for celebration worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that there are about 500 million of these farms on our planet.   The FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in his statement of November 22, 2013 “Family farmers rely mainly on family labor. Many times they have little more than their own physical strength to harvest the land. They usually run non-specialized, diversified…

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Quality Water, Quality Life: Aquatic Health and Contaminants in the Midcoast Oregon Salmon Watersheds

    June 8, 2015

    The Global Toll of Preterm Births

    November 24, 2013

    Electronic Waste: A Global, Interactive Map

    December 17, 2013
  • Ecosystem Threats,  Featured,  Food Supply,  Global Threats,  Health,  Science,  Toxic Exposure

    Sentinel Bottlenose Dolphins: Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

    October 22, 2013 / 4 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio Bottlenose dolphins – the playful, intelligent and sleek swimmers frequently seen in warm and shallow waters along coastlines – are important biological indicators or sentinels. As coastal dwellers, they are exposed to pollutants deriving from human activities and, as predators at the top of the food web, they can help evaluate the overall health status of their ecosystems. In 2011, two teams of researchers published results from their studies on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) as indicators of persistent organic pollutants in coastal ecosystems. Persistent organic pollutants are toxic chemicals recognized as a global threat to human health and the environment. Because they can be transported by wind…

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    Roberta Attanasio

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    Breastfeeding: Benefits of Early Exposure to Maternal Antibodies

    February 13, 2014

    The Giant African Land Snail (Achatina fulica) Goes Global

    April 17, 2013

    Tasmanian Devils: Contagious Cancer Drives the Risk of Extinction

    December 5, 2014
  • Ecosystem Threats,  Food Supply,  Global Threats,  Sustainability

    Reduction of Livestock Gas Emissions May Be Within Reach

    October 2, 2013 / 3 Comments

    By The Editors Livestock is known to be a major global threat to the environment. In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a highly influential report (Livestock’s Long Shadow – Environmental Issues and Option) stating that the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation. Henning Steinfeld, senior author of the 2006 report said at that time: “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.” These words are certainly true…

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    theglobalfool

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    Circular Economy: Turning Waste into Resources

    May 9, 2015

    Arsenic in Rice: Links to Genetic Damage

    July 27, 2013

    Arsenic in Chickens: Finding More of What Is Already Known

    July 7, 2013
  • Featured,  Food Supply,  Food Waste,  Global Threats,  Sustainability

    Food Waste Harms Climate, Water, Land and Biodiversity

    September 14, 2013 / 1 Comment

    By The Editors The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a few days ago a report detailing the first study to analyze the impacts of global food wastage from an environmental perspective, looking specifically at its consequences for the climate, water and land use, and biodiversity. Key facts and figures from the report are: The global volume of food wastage is estimated at 1.6 billion tonnes of “primary product equivalents.” Total food wastage for the edible part of this amounts to 1.3 billion tonnes. Food wastage’s carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent of GHG released into the atmosphere per year. The total…

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    AnnaJosephine

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    Embarrassing Facebook Posts May Cause Anguish

    December 10, 2013

    Dante’s Fainting: A Medical Enigma from the Middle Ages

    May 15, 2015

    Global Threats: The Spread of Crop Pests

    September 2, 2013
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