Ground breaking findings by an international consortium of scientists who sequenced and analysed the bovine genome, could result in more sustainable food production. The findings, published in two reports in the journal Science today, will have a profound impact on Australia’s livestock industry, according to the CSIRO. CSIRO scientists were among the 300 researchers from 25 countries involved in the six-year Bovine Genome Sequencing Project designed to sequence, annotate and analyse the genome... ...Read more »

Sustainable practices in agriculture, combined with the development of local food systems, can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the food system, finds a new paper by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in the US. The paper, “Identifying our Climate ‘Foodprint’,” by Jennifer Edwards, Jim Kleinschmit and Heather Schoonover, looks at the entire food chain and identifies opportunities to shift toward a more climate-friendly system. The paper concludes... ...Read more »

Sainsbury’s has opened its flagship “green” store, built with consideration for the use of energy, water, waste, timber and land. The store is aiming to be one of the first supermarkets to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for its commitment to sustainable construction, and has been specifically designed to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. The pioneering store will save 40% of its overall CO2 emissions. This will be achieved by using cutting edge technology... ...Read more »

The H. J. Heinz Company has vowed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2015. The effort is part of Heinz’s sustainability vision as they seek to be a leader in this field. “From using potato peels to generate energy, to reducing the amount and size of our packaging, every day we’re finding new ways to reduce our environmental footprint and improve the efficiency of our company,” said Heinz CEO Bill Johnson. “Everyone in the Heinz community is involved... ...Read more »

A wave of ‘green’ supermarkets is set to hit Australia as supermarkets begin to tackle alarming emission rates. The concept, which follows similar commitments by European supermarkets, primarily revolves around the improvement of refrigeration systems to lower global warming potential of refrigerants. A $2 million Federal Government grant has been provided to the Green Cooling Council (formerly the NRTB), under the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program, to evaluate the benefits of new technologies... ...Read more »