Arsenic in Poultry Litter: Organic Regulations

Most of the arsenic used as an antibiotic in commercial broiler production ends up in the litter. Using this litter as a soil amendment is not prohibited by the National Organic Program, but 7CFR S205.203(c) of the Rule requires that "the producer must manage plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter content in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops, soil, or water by plant nutrients, pathogenic organisms, heavy metals, or residues of prohibited substances." Poultry litter applied at agronomic levels, using good soil conservation practices, generally will not raise arsenic concentrations sufficiently over background levels to pose environmental or human heath risks. However, recent studies show that more than 70% of the arsenic in uncovered piles of poultry litter can be dissolved by rainfall and potentially leach into lakes or streams. Thus, organic producers must take care when they handle and apply poultry litter

Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture

Health professionals increasingly recognize the value of farm-and garden-scale urban agriculture. Growing food and non-food crops in and near cities contributes to healthy communities by engaging residents in work and recreation that improves individual and public well-being. This article outlines the benefits of urban agriculture with regard to nutrition, food security, exercise, mental health, and social and physical urban environments. Potential risks are reviewed. Practical recommendations for health professionals to increase the positive benefits of urban agriculture are provided

The effect of a multi-component intervention on disrespect and abuse during childbirth in Kenya

Background Disrespect and abuse (D & A) during labor and delivery are important issues correlated with human rights, equity, and public health that also affect women’s decisions to deliver in facilities, which provide appropriate management of maternal and neonatal complications. Little is known about interventions aimed at lowering the frequency of disrespectful and abusive behaviors. Methods Between 2011 and 2014, a pre-and-post study measured D & A levels in a three-tiered intervention at 13 facilities in Kenya under the Heshima project. The intervention involved working with policymakers to encourage greater focus on D & A, training providers on respectful maternity care, and strengthening linkages between the facility and community for accountability and governance. At participating facilities, postpartum women were approached at discharge and asked to participate in the study; those who consented were administered a questionnaire on D & A in general as well as six typologies, including physical and verbal abuse, violations of confidentiality and privacy, detainment for non-payment, and abandonment. Observation of provider-patient interaction during labor was also conducted in the same facilities. In both exit interview and observational studies, multivariate analyses of risk factors for D & A controlled for differences in socio-demographic and facility characteristics between baseline and endline surveys. Results Overall D & A decreased from 20–13 % (p < 0.004) and among four of the six typologies D & A decreased from 40–50 %. Night shift deliveries were associated with greater verbal and physical abuse. Patient and infant detainment declined dramatically from 8.0–0.8 %, though this was partially attributable to the 2013 national free delivery care policy. Conclusion Although a number of contextual factors may have influenced these findings, the magnitude and consistency of the observed decreases suggest that the multi-component intervention may have the potential to reduce the frequency of D & A. Greater efforts are needed to develop stronger evaluation methods for assessing D & A in other settings

A Baseline Assessment of Furbearers on the Upper Coastal Plain of Virginia

We assessed the status of furbearing mammals on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia during the 1998-1999 trapping season with the cooperation of local licensed trappers. Our analyses were based on 345 captures representing of 10 mammal species, ranging from one bobcat (Lynx rufus) to 157 beavers (Castor canadensis). Mean number of captures per 100 trap nights was 17.0. Captures varied from 11.9 to 17.9 per 100 trap nights for conibear traps and 9.7 to 18.3 per 100 trap nights for leg-hold traps. External measurements of six species were similar to those reported for other populations in the region. We suggest that valuable insights into the ecology and trends of furbearer populations can be obtained from studies conducted on government installations such as Fort A. P. Hill. Management plans that include evaluations of infectious disease reservoirs and transmission and impacts of furbearers on wetlands, other wildlife, and human activities would aid in long-term evaluation of these mammals from ecosystem and health perspectives

Small Mammal Communities in Riparian and Upland Habitats on the Upper Coastal Plain of Virginia

We compared small mammal communities between riparian (stream corridor) and nearby upland habitats in a hardwood forest ecosystem on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia. We used a combination of small-scale drift fence/pitfall trap arrays and snap traps to capture small mammals during April – October 1998, with an additional winter sample in January 1999. We captured seven small mammal species at 14 sites (7 pairs). Numbers of species were not significantly different between habitat types. Bray-Curtis polar ordinations showed that plant and small mammal community compositions were similar in upland sites and that these communities were most varied in riparian sites. Riparian sites supported wetland and moist soil obligate plants that made this habitat type distinct from upland sites. Small mammal communities were dominated by Peromyscus leucopus and Blarina brevicauda. Numbers of individual small mammals captured were higher in riparian sites than in upland sites. Mean number of captures per trap night averaged 2.6 in riparian sites and 1.4 in upland sites but the difference was not statistically significant. Numbers of rodent captures were significantly higher in both habitat types than captures for insectivores. Hardwood habitats in riparian and upland systems support diverse small mammal communities in the upper Coastal Plain of Virginia. Because small mammals use both habitat types extensively, composition of contiguous upland habitats should be considered in studies of these animals in riparian ecosystems

Habitat Use by Bats on the Upper Coastal Plain of Virginia

We monitored bat activity on the upper Coastal Plain of Virginia using mist nets and acoustic detection (ANABAT) during April-October 2000 and April-August 2001. We classified forty sites into three forest-cover classes (pine forest, mixed pine, and hardwood forest) and three landscape-feature classes (permanent water, riparian corridor, and upland). We captured 406 bats (8 species) in mist nets; red bats (Lasiurus borealis; n = 281), big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus; n = 47), and eastern pipistrelles (Pipistrellus subflavus; n = 36) were the most commonly captured species. We captured fewer than 30 individuals of five other species. There were no significant differences in captures per 100 net nights for overall captures or for individual species among forest-cover classes. Overall captures per 100 net nights differed significantly among landscape-feature classes; however, post-hoc analyses could not tease out significantly different pairs. Captures of L. borealis were higher over permanent waters than along riparian corridors or in uplands. Bray-Curtis polar ordination suggested that landscape features such as beaver ponds and impoundments influenced habitat use by bats more than forest-cover type. Discriminant function analysis identified 713 bat calls (≥ 95% confidence) using ANABAT II detectors. Lasiurus borealis and P. subflavus were more frequently recorded by ANABAT II than northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) among the three forest-cover classes and among the three landscape-feature classes. Planned, a priori, contrast indicated that for 25 nights when mists nets and acoustic detectors were used simultaneously, mean number of bat species detected for the pooled results of both techniques was higher than the average number of species detected by the mean of each of the two techniques separately. Mean number of bat species detected by the ANABAT II system was higher than mean number detected by mist netting

Violence as an Under-Recognized Barrier to Women’s Realization of Their Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition: Case Studies From Georgia and South Africa

This article addresses under-acknowledged barriers of structural violence and discrimination that interfere with women’s capacity to realize their human rights generally, and their right to adequate food and nutrition in particular. Case studies from Georgia and South Africa illustrate the need for a human rights–based approach to food and nutrition security that prioritizes non-discrimination, public participation, and self-determination. These principles are frustrated by different types of structural violence that, if not seriously addressed, pose multiple barriers to women’s economic, public, and social engagement. </jats:p

Gender, Nutrition, and the Human Right to Adequate Food: Toward an Inclusive Framework

The food crisis of 2008 was not an isolated incident or unique event from which the world economy and food security has re-stabilized. Rather, as Valente and Suárez Franco (2010, 455) state, [the 2008 food crisis] is not new for more than 840 million people who have constantly been subjected to hunger over the last thirty years, millions of whom died of malnutrition and associated diseases, or had their quality of life severely affected by the consequences of malnutrition. Although estimates of food insecurity differ, the geography and socio-demographic profile of the food insecure remains unaltered (FAO, WFP, IFAD 2012; HRC 2011, para. 6). Among the most food insecure population groups are food producing peasants, including small-scale and family farm holders, landless farmers surviving as tenants or agricultural workers, hunters and gatherers, pastoralists and fisherfolk, more particularly those living in higher risk environments and remote areas, as well as non-farm rural households, and the urban poor (HRC 2014, para.44; Scherr 2003, 15). Within these, women and girls face violations of their right to adequate food and nutrition at a 60:40 ratio relative to men and boys (UN ECOSOC 2007) and comprise 70 percent of the poor (HRC 2012; World Bank, FAO, IFAD 2009). Obviously, not all women everywhere are hungry and gender does not connote the last or worst basis for discrimination but is further complicated by differences of age, social status, sexuality, and dis/ability, among others. Nevertheless, available data reveal that the structural power inequalities reflected in food and nutrition insecurity according to different status of livelihood, rural-urban location, nation, ethnicity, race, and class are consistently compounded by and manifested within gender discrimination.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fss2015/1012/thumbnail.jp

Keys to the Mammals and Mammal Skulls of the Northern Coastal Plain of Virginia

This publication is designed to function as a tool for the identification of mammal species that occur on the Coastal Plain of northern Virginia. We provide whole-body and skull keys to the 40 species that occur in this region. Baseline data for this work were collected during several studies conducted on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County. The intended audience includes interested naturalists, teachers, students, field biologists, and natural resource managers