Brazil supermarkets ‘to avoid Amazon meat.’  “The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets, which has 2,800 members, hopes the deal will cut down on the illegal use of rainforest for pasture. Under the deal, supermarkets have promised to reject meat from areas of the Amazon where illegal activities take place, such as illegal logging and invasion of public land.”

Kenyan utility to insulate power lines, protect storks.   “Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warden for Wajir County Aablon Omulako said electrocutions have killed at least 15 marabou storks per day for the past 15 years. ‘Marabou storks are environmental cleaners because of their scavenging nature. Their mass killings pose a health threat to the people because without them, carcasses of animals that die due to drought, illness or age would litter around.'”

Trafficking wildlife pays as well as drugs or guns.  “Wildlife trafficking is a murky, lucrative, violent trade; ongoing, increasingly organized and sophisticated, but one that still remains largely unnoticed. And it is out of control. Interpol rates it on a par with drugs and arms when it comes to scale and the overall market value of the ‘products’ killed, bought, traded and smuggled.”

Big Agriculture flexes its muscle.  “Congress holds the purse strings, but who holds Congress these days when it comes to farm policy: the meatpackers and Monsanto? So it seemed last week as lawmakers sent the White House an updated budget for the Agriculture Department complete with industry-backed orders on how Secretary Tom Vilsack should run the place.”

Hogwash: Big Ag’s ban on caging pregnant pigs is just for show. Pork producers care nothing about pigs and everything about profits.

Photo credit: Government Press Office via Flickr