-The Guardian Farms processing insects for animal feed might soon become global reality as demand grows for sustainable feed sources   The best way to feed the 9 billion people expected to be alive by 2050 could be to rear billions of common houseflies on a diet of human faeces and abattoir blood and grind them up to use as animal feed, a UN report published on Monday suggests. Doing so would...

-The United Nations     While insects can be slimy, cringe-inducing creatures, often squashed on sight by humans, a new book released today by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says beetles, wasps and caterpillars are also an unexplored nutrition source that can help address global food insecurity. The book, Edible Insects: future prospects for food and feed security, stresses not just the nutritional value of insects, but also the benefits that insect farming...

-The Times of India BANGALORE: The newly-elected Congress government in Karnataka has decided not to allow a ban on cow slaughter in the state. The Karnataka Prevention of cow slaughter and Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2012 passed in the state legislature during the BJP rule would be reversed. "We will go back to the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, 1964. We will withdraw the bill amended last year," chief...

A recent statistical study by Indian researchers suggest that the MNREGA program in rural Andhra Pradesh might be having a positive effect on school enrolment and grades by improving the bargaining power of women within their household, as a consequence of earning wages in the rural job security program. The study is based on data from rural households in 5 districts in Andhra Pradesh and comprised of 3006 children, comparing...

-The Hindustan Times Adhering to Mao Tse-Tung's guerrilla warfare style of surrounding urban centres from the countryside, Communist Party of India (Maoist) has unleashed a long-term grand plan of expansion. Their target is the Restive northeast where they plan to build their presence steadily in villages. "The plan is five-pronged and is centred on building up support networks in the villages of Assam and Tripura as of now. Then it will move...