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Frankenfish approved as Drug by FDA

12/7/2015

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The Horrifying News: (from Organic Consumers Association):

Frankenfish Fraud Fest
On November 2, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first genetically modified food animal—an Atlantic salmon that grows twice as fast as natural salmon, thanks to the insertion of genes from Chinook salmon and eelpout (an eel-like fish).

This approval is so wrong, on so many levels, that it’s hard to know where to start.
For one, the FDA regulates GMO salmon as a drug, not a food—"because the recombinant DNA (rDNA) construct introduced into the animal meets the definition of a drug."

If that’s the case, you would think this new “drug” should be labeled. But it won’t be, because out of the other side of the FDA’s mouth, the agency has declared GMO salmon to be nutritionally equivalent to conventional farm-raised Atlantic salmon. (REALLY?)

As this article on Mercola.com says:
In the eyes of the FDA, it's a perfectly normal fish, but it's also a drug, but since it's a fish that is comparable to other fish, it doesn't need to be labeled, even though all drugs typically need to be labeled...

But of course the new frankenfish is not nutritionally equivalent to farmed salmon. Worse yet, the FDA approved GMO salmon on the basis of flawed studies, none of which included long-term safety testing to prove genetically engineered salmon is safe for human consumption.

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The "at least not everyone has a death wish" News:
Many are fighting the good fight on this issue, and most major food retailers, including Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Whole Foods, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, and Giant Eagle have announced they will not stock GE salmon. (Interestingly, AquaBounty, who is owned by the synthetic biology firm Intrexon, recently purchased the patent for Okanagan's GM non-browning apple too.) Hmm.

Want to find out more?
Center for Food Safety GE fish
Beyond Pesticides Genetically Engineered Salmon without Labeling Approved by FDA


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The Insidious Pesticide Glyphosate

11/8/2015

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Humans are not Roundup ready

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©SourceWatch
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in one of the most heavily used pesticide in the world: Monsanto's Roundup. Recent studies are proving Monsanto's claim of safety for humans to be not only wrong, but insidious in the ways that it has contaminated our food, our soil, and our bodies. In fact, 19 EU countries have banned the use of GMOs, and all 28 EU countries require GMO labeling.

What's up with that USA? ....You do not have to scratch very deep to see who owns the USDA:
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Cornucopia Institute

Monsanto is one of the "Big 6" Biotech Corporations, along with BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemical Company, Dupont, and Syngenta (so called because they dominate the agricultural input market -- that is, they own the world’s seed, pesticide and biotechnology industries).

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Seed Industry Structure by Dr. Phil Howard - larger view here

In the news last month:
How Monsanto Took Control of Our Food System
Gut-wrenching: New Studies Reveal the Insidious Effects of Glyphosate
Ditch the Tampons-They are riddled with glyphosate and other carcinogens
Suspended USDA Researcher Alleges Agency tried to Block his Research....
Monsanto Faces Lawsuits of Cancer linked to Roundup
Roundup damages Earthworms and Soil Biota
Are We Roundup Ready?

What can you do? Support organic farmers, vote for labeling-or outlawing-GE foods, advocate for non-toxic farming and pest control methods, and please, spread the word: Poison is not the answer.

Support GMO testing, liability, and labeling; more info from Friends of the Earth.
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Click here for larger size poster and more info
Did you notice that there are some names on the Big Biz side that used to be independent?
That is one of the sneaky tactics of the industry, to buy up popular organic brands and then to pretend that they support non-organic legislation. Let's see....there is Naked juice/Pepsi, LaraBar/General Mills, Kashi/Kellogg, Santa Cruz Organic/Smucker, Celestial Seasonings/Hain, and Odwalla/Coca-Cola. Creepy, isn't it?

See more of who owns what here (Thank you Dr. Phil Howard).
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California labels Roundup as cancer-causing

9/14/2015

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Beyond Pesticides News Release (Sept. 10, 2015):
California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced that it intended to list glyphosate (Roundup) and three other chemicals as cancer-causing chemicals under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). Glyphosate is far from being "safe" and it has been linked to multiple chronic diseases that have become prevalent in Western societies, including obesity, depression, autism, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

Joining glyphosate on the Proposition 65 list is malathion, parathion, and tetrachlorvinphos. A California Environmental Health Tracking Program (CEHTP) report, titled Agricultural Pesticide Use near Public Schools in California, finds that 36 percent of public schools in the state have pesticides of public health concern applied within a quarter mile of the school, including malathion and parathion. Malathion, which is also classified as a Group 2A material by the IARC, is a nonsystemic, widespectrum organophosphate nerve poison that causes numbness, tremors, nausea, incoordination, blurred vision, difficulty breathing or respiratory depression, and slow heartbeat, among others. Parathion and tetrachlorvinphos are also organophosphates that attack the nerve system, particularly in young children, causing neurological damage.

Last year, the Center for Biological Study and Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the monarch butterfly. Their press release explains the dramatic 90 percent decline over the last 20 years:
The butterfly’s dramatic decline is being driven by the widespread planting of genetically engineered crops in the Midwest, where most monarchs are born. The vast majority of genetically engineered crops are made to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a uniquely potent killer of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar’s only food. The dramatic surge in Roundup use with Roundup Ready crops has virtually wiped out milkweed plants in midwestern corn and soybean fields.

Full report here

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Monsanto is reporting that it is "baffled" and "stunned" by this news; no doubt California is in for a fight. Please support legislation that will protect our food, our children, and our water! In the meantime, the safest choice is to eat organic foods and to use non-toxic methods of pest control.

Thank you California EPA for taking the lead on this issue.
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Why You Should Choose Organic

7/19/2015

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Farmers Market ©T. Byrne 2015
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Homegrown chard © T. Byrne 2015
Because it tastes so much better! Not only that...

I spent the bulk of this summer researching the effects of pesticides on children, and the health benefits of eating organic and non-processed foods. Things are much more dire than you would like to believe. Want to know more? Check out my new webpages: Go Organic and Pesticides, which I hope that you will find enlightening; included are hot links, resources, and my lastest infographic: "Pesticides are Not Healthy for Children or Other Living Things".

What can you do? Vote with your dollars!  Download a copy of Environmental Working Group's 2015 EWG Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce here. Please advocate for non-toxic pesticide alternatives, sustainable farming, and food labeling, and shop at your local Farmers Market or co-op regularly.
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Another excellent resource is "What's On My Food" by Pesticide Action Network. This is also available as an app–how handy is that?

See you at the Farmers Market!
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More on the Plight of the Honeybee

7/10/2015

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This little film is a powerful statement of what is wrong with our regulatory system.

Veteran Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald uncovered EPA memos that dealt with the long-term consequences of using clothianidin, a neonicitinoid, on the life cycle of the honeybee.

Tom writes, "Do We Have A PESTICIDE BLOWOUT? Clothianidin is agriculture‛s Deep Water Horizon. America‛s farmland is awash in questionable chemicals as surely as the shorelines of the Gulf Coast are awash in crude oil – and for many of the same reasons."
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What can you do to protect honeybees and all native bees and pollinators?
Do not buy flowering plants that have been treated with neonics
Support local & organic beekeepers
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Free Posters courtesy of Nora Wildgen at BeeSwell
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Soil Carbon Sequestration= Good Summer Read

6/17/2015

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"Cows Save the Planet" was my first read of summer, and I have to say, if you are unfamiliar with the term "soil carbon sequestration" (as I was), this book was truly fascinating.

In a nutshell, Schwartz interviews an eclectic group of farmers, ranchers, researchers, scientists, activists, and environmentalists, and presents a compelling case that proper soil management can end escalating worldwide desertification, improve soil fertility, preserve biodiversity, reduce obesity, and halt climate change.  From Australian soil carbon sequestration diva Christine Jones, who  explains the secrets of how we can save our planet by rebuilding our soil; to Allan Savory, a Zimbabwean ecologist, farmer, environmentalist, who promotes systems thinking; to Gene Govin, a North Dakota farmer who practices Savoy's Holistic Planned Grazing; to the four Slovakians and one Czech who have written about the New Water Paradigm...I am really excited to get my hands dirty!
and, for those of you who want to know more right now...I have two movies for you.  Enjoy~
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Pollinators & Pesticides

6/17/2015

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Action Alert June 17, reposted from Beyond Pesticides:

Protecting honey bees and wild pollinators from pesticides
Since 2006, honey bees and other pollinators in the U.S. and throughout the world have experienced ongoing and rapid population declines. The continuation of this crisis threatens the stability of ecosystems, the economy, and our food supply, as one in three bites of food are dependent on pollinator services. In 2013, Beyond Pesticides joined with beekeepers and environmental allies in a lawsuit challenging EPA's approval of two neonicotinoid pesticides. These highly toxic, persistent and systemic chemicals have been widely implicated as leading factors in pollinator declines.

For a primer on the pollinator crisis, see the lawsuit's Press Release.
Also, read the 2013 Lawsuit, Appendix A: Clothianidin, and Appendix B: Thiamethoxam.

Click the links below for more in-depth information:
Resources and Educational Materials
BEE Protective in Your Community
Pollinator Alerts

For the latest pollinator-related articles, visit Beyond Pesticides' Daily News Blog
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June 15-21 is National Pollinator Week, and in order to move action forward on the pollinator crisis, Beyond Pesticides and The Center for Food Safety launched the BEE Protective campaign, a national public education effort supporting local action aimed at protecting honey bees and other pollinators from pesticides and contaminated landscapes. 

BEE Protective
 includes a variety of educational materials to help encourage municipalities, campuses, and individual homeowners to adopt policies and practices that protect bees and other pollinators from harmful pesticide applications and create pesticide-free refuges for these beneficial organisms. In addition to scientific and regulatory information, BEE Protective also includes a model community pollinator resolution and a pollinator protection pledge. Pollinators are a vital part of our environment and a barometer for healthy ecosystems. Let's all do our part to BEE Protective of these critical species. (Beyond Pesticides, 6/17/15)
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Shorebirds in decline At Montlake fill

4/30/2015

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                                                                    Wood Ducks by Wendy Morgan Crane Creek Graphics
Seattle Audubon Society recently reported:
"Shorebirds are in trouble. According to the 2014 “State of the Birds Report,” authored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and National Audubon Society among many others, "Shorebirds are declining more than many other species groups. Long-term migration counts for 19 shorebird species show an alarming 50% decline since 1974." Local declines are also apparent. This is significant because, as pointed out by the 2014 State of the Birds Report, "Long-distance migrants require healthy stopover habitats along their entire pathway, and the chain of sites is only as strong as the weakest link."


Please consider signing this petition from Change.org

As citizens of Seattle, and as environmental leaders concerned about the preservation of biodiversity, we call on the Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT) and the US Army Corps of Engineers, to alter the SR520 Wetland Mitigation Plan to create habitat that will return shorebirds to the Union Bay Natural Area (also know as "Montlake Fill").

Since at least the 1970s, the Union Bay Natural Area on the University of Washington campus has arguably been one of the most important stopover areas for migratory shorebirds in Seattle. Today shorebirds are rarely seen here due to the conversion of this area from open habitat to a wooded wetland. Recreational birders at Union Bay Natural Area have observed a decline from more than 1,400 shorebirds in the 1990s, to just 42 individuals last year. While loss of open habitat is a widespread threat to migratory birds, it is a threat we can address right here in Seattle. The phrase “think globally, act locally” comes to mind.

WSDOT's plan claims to include enhanced shorebird habitat, but instead it calls for increased planting of woody vegetation around all shorebird sites and maintenance and growth of trees where they exist. Although the mitigation design is meant to create habitat that would be used by diverse wildlife, no planning has occurred to consider any specific wildlife species or group.

The State legislature has allocated some $2 million to WSDOT for wetland habitat restoration at the Union Bay Natural Area. Unfortunately, WSDOT's mitigation plan will accelerate the catastrophic decline of shorebirds there.

Seattle Audubon advocates for tree planting and wetland restoration across Seattle, but also understands that not all species use the same habitat types and trees are not appropriate in all wetland habitats. We believe that biodiversity declines are a global problem that we can affect right here. Let us not lose a unique opportunity to bring back shorebirds to Seattle, and give ordinary citizens a glimpse into the lives of some of the planet's most extraordinary migrants.

Please join me in signing this petition to save critical shorebird nesting and stopover habitat!
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                                                                Common Mergansers and ducklings by Wendy Morgan

The Birds found at Montlake Fill

BirdWeb reports: Union Bay Natural Area is noted for its microhabitats, which attract a huge diversity of resident and migratory birds. Some 200 species have been seen here over the years, including such delights as American Bittern, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Green Heron, American Pipit, and Rufous and Anna's Hummingbird. The ponds attract migrating shorebirds such as Wilson's Phalarope, Stilt Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, and Solitary Sandpiper, along with the more common Leasts, Westerns, and dowitchers. Rarities can turn up at any time and include Black-headed Gull, Clay-colored Sparrow, Black Tern, Barn Owl, Sage Thrasher, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Lapland Longspur. Waterfowl such as Cackling Canada Geese, Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, and wigeons (both species) are common. The best feature about this area is that the birds quickly become accustomed to people and allow birders to approach closely.

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Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water

4/10/2015

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Is the drought in California a surprise to you? It would not be if you had read Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner. Way back in 1986, Reisner published this eloquent and well-researched expose on the history of water and the west.

From the back cover:
"The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruption and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecologic and economic disaster."

This book should be required reading for EVERYONE, and if you know someone living in California, you should consider sending them a copy too.
Be sure to watch the 1996 Cadillac Desert four-part TV series, which includes interviews with Reisner, farmers from Owen's Lake, and Mulholland's granddaughter, as well as historical and vintage photos of the desert and mountains at the turn of the century.
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                                                         Cathedral City near Palm Springs  ©Damon Winter
Last week, the New York Times ran a series of articles on the drought and the dire situation that the Golden State is in.  I found it odd that the issue of where L.A.'s water comes from was never addressed. Mayor Garrett of Los Angeles, remarked "Do we have enough water to sustain life? Absolutely. Do we have enough water to grow economically? Absolutely." Perhaps Mayor Garrett should find more knowledgeable advisers–for the truth is that L.A. has been piping water in, from hundreds of miles away, for over a century. This "drought" is not a matter of climate change or seasonal weather, but nature refusing to cooperate with the sham any longer.

Unsustainable & Unconscionable
: California is definitely living on borrowed time (and water); in addition to draining rivers and lakes from all over the west, they have been pumping groundwater at a tremendous rate, which is NEVER a good idea. Interestingly, California is the only state which does not regulate the use of groundwater, though they are starting to think about it. (Uh-huh.) This seems long overdue when people in East Porterville, CA have dry wells and are subsisting on bottled water.
Considering that one-quarter of our nation's food is grown in California, the repercussions of a century's worth of rampant unsustainable use of water will be felt far beyond its borders.
It is time to start growing your own veggies and attending local Farmer's Markets!

In our last visit to Orange County, I was heartened to see that homeowners were beginning to replant their front yards with native plants instead of turfgrass. The native yards were dizzy with birds, bees, and lizards. No surprise-we did not see any living things in the grassy lawn next door.
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Crazy Weather

11/1/2014

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Seattle has had an unseasonably warm fall and our usual lovely autumn leaf colors have been delayed by weeks, resulting in dull yellow and brown leaves still on trees...I had always thought that it was amount of daylight that caused the leaves to change color, but it turns out that it is a combination of daylight and temperature, as well as precipitation and wind that causes the bright fall colors.

The crazy weather has much farther reaching effects than just leaves, I am a bit worried about our bees-who are still out trying to forage and are using up their winter stores of honey. Climate change has caused the shrinking and shifting of bird habitats causing 314 species of North American birds to be imperiled.

Point Blue is a good place to start if you are researching effects of climate change and what we can do to help slow/reverse the process. Their goal is "to reduce the negative impacts of habitat loss, climate change and other environmental stressors, while developing and testing nature-based solutions to the challenges ahead."

Just how bad is it? Niles Eldredge, paleontologist and professor, writes that the Sixth Extinction is different than other extinctions, as it is a human-caused event. Only 10% of the world's species survived the last mass extinction. Who will survive this one? We need to be more careful!

Unfortunately, I think the weather will only get crazier...

                                                                                                       * image credit: Radu Voinea "Wind"
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    Author

    Tracey Byrne~

    I taught K-12 students from north of the Arctic Circle to the Puget Sound Ecoregion, garnering  40 years of experience as a classroom teacher, learning mentor, and private tutor. 

    I spent most of the 1980s and 90s in Alaska flying airplanes, floating wild rivers, winter camping, teaching, parenting, and living off the grid. 

    Here in Seattle, I am an advocate for environmental stewardship, place-based education, and outdoor play. I share my enthusiasm for birds, bugs, and backyards and have been a featured writer and photographer for Pacific Horticulture. 
    ​

    All photographs © T. Byrne unless otherwise noted.

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