They also discovered that growing mealworms takes up only about 10 percent of the land used for production of beef, 30 percent of the land used for pork and 40 percent of the land needed for chickens to generate similar amounts of protein.

MSN: Mealworms: They're not just for breakfast anymore...

Outside of the cities, farm-related growth jumped 13% as production of goods such as beef and wheat started getting back to normal.

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Constant reminders that a juicy quarter-pounder was once a wobbly-legged, big-eyed calf may put some people "in the mood to have a steak, " said Michael Pollan, who has written several books critical of modern beef production.

WSJ: Beef Industry Carves a Course

Did you know that it takes 4500 liters of water to produce a 300 grams of beef or that the same amount of chicken breast fillet requires 1170 liters for production?

CNN: Green designs that don't cost the Earth

Yet another possibility is to set up a co-operative through which local ranchers and feeders can earn money from every stage of production, as is done by the three big corporations in the business, Iowa Beef Processors, ConAgra and Excel.

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As I noted earlier, these developments have spurred investors to bid up shares of key equipment suppliers to the industry, including Xyratex and Intevac, in anticipation of orders to both replace equipment damaged in the floods and to beef up production in places outside Thailand.

FORBES: Will Thailand Floods Trigger Shortfalls In PC Production? (Updated)

Production was originally stopped on 12 February following a raid by police and FSA officials investigating the discovery of horsemeat in processed beef products.

BBC: Dafydd Raw-Rees