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More Dirt on the Agricultural Industry

4/30/2019

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©EarthJustice.org
It is spring and I have soil on my mind: we've just received another load of wood chips and organic manure. Additionally, we have turned our compost barrel and now have a chocolate fudge of goodness to bestow on our garden boxes. We've been eating asparagus all week and baked our first rhubarb crisp of the season. Our arugula and kale survived the snows and our herbs continue to be year-round producers.

With all this organic goodness happening in my yard, it saddens me to read that the EPA is refusing to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos-even though the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the pesticide completely off the market last summer. The EPA is fighting that decision. "Several studies have linked prenatal exposure of chlorpyrifos to lower birth weights, lower IQs, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other developmental issues in children. But the EPA in 2017 ignored the conclusions of its scientists and rejected a proposal made during the Obama administration to ban its use in fields and orchards." Hawaii was the first state to pass a full ban last year. Now California, Oregon, New York and Connecticut are trying to do the same. I hope that they are successful and that this poison is fully banned from use soon.
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Other bad news on the food front: from Carolyn Fortuna, PhD at Clean Technica
"It is becoming increasingly apparent that a yeast called Candida auris (C. auris) has resistance that is traceable to industrial agriculture’s mass application of fungicides. These chemicals approximate the molecular structures of antifungal drugs and that of many other fungi species. This yeast is killing immunocompromised patients in hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes at a fast pace — up to 40-60% of those who suffer bloodstream infections now die in a month’s time. The reason for the rise in patient deaths is agricultural applications, which generate drug resistance across multiple human bacterial infections. This drug resistance kills 23,000-100,000 in the US annually. If you extend that death toll to global infections, we’re looking at 700,000 people worldwide." Read the full article
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©Civil Eats
Some good news? Dung Beetles are awesome! Virginia Gewin of Civil Eats reports:
In 2013, Matt Jones, a doctoral student from Washington State University, approached dozens of West Coast produce farmers, both organic and conventional, with an unusual request. He wanted them to apply pig feces to broccoli fields to study whether dung beetles and other soil organisms were able to reduce food-borne pathogens.

While roughly 50 farmers declined, ironically because it introduced too much risk to their operation, the 43 farms that took part in the experiment helped demonstrate that greater biodiversity, including both dung beetles and soil microbial communities, suppressed E. coli and other harmful pathogens. In addition, a seven-day laboratory experiment revealed that two dung beetle species reduced E. coli numbers by over 90 percent and nearly 50 percent, respectively. Read full article here.

I still find it hard to believe that ANYONE thinks it is a good idea to use poisons to grow food. I say "Bring on the Dung Beetles!"
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This Should Be Something We Could Agree on

9/8/2018

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According to independent laboratory tests commissioned by EWG (Environmental Working Group), popular oat cereals, oatmeal, granola, and snack bars come with a hefty dose of the weed-killing poison in Roundup.

You'd think the news that popular breakfast cereals contain the cancer-causing poison glyphosate would sound an alarm, yet I have seen several disinformation articles down-playing the issue with titles such as "How Much of an Herbicide Is Safe in Your Cereal?"  and "Don't worry, your cereal probably won't poison you with pesticides".

Really? Come on humans, we certainly can do better for our kids and the environment.

                   Want to know more? Please visit my webpages Pesticides and Go Organic.
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Monsanto found Guilty

8/15/2018

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In case you missed it:
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How to honor the victims? Get the poisons out of the schools!
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Environmental Working Group Dirty Dozen

4/20/2018

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EWG's new Shoppers Guide is out!
Environmental Working Group is a one-stop shop to keep you informed on how to make healthier choices, and what to look out for when shopping for alternatives to toxic products.
It is pretty crazy when you start to understand the insidious consequences of using pesticides to grow our food! To begin with, by killing off such large numbers of insects, humans have created a trophic cascade, with a not-so-positive result of bird populations dropping by 50-75% in the UK (and elsewhere). Personally, I would rather not eat poison, and I love to watch the bugs and birds in my backyard, so I stick to organics. I strongly believe in supporting our local organic farmers and co-op, and enjoy fruits and vegetables that not only taste better but also support our natural systems.

To really scare your pants off, check out EWG's Dirty Dozen Endocrine Disruptor infographic (with safe choices included). Why on earth are we allowing corporations to get away with this? Yikes.
kab_dirty_dozen_endocrine_disruptors.pdf
File Size: 17612 kb
File Type: pdf
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Go Organic

12/27/2017

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Environmental Health News (repost)
New data released recently by the FDA shows a disturbing rise in the occurrence of pesticide residues detected in thousands of samples of commonly consumed foods. In addition, the latest USDA residue report found that fruits and vegetables showed the highest frequency of pesticide residues in the findings.

Of the 10,000 foods sampled, roughly 82 percent of domestic American fruits and 62 percent of domestic vegetables carried residues of weed killers, insecticides and other pesticides commonly used by farmers. Among the domestic food samples, FDA said 97 percent of apples, 83 percent of grapes, 60 percent of tomatoes, 57 percent of mushrooms and 53 percent of plums carried residues. Looking at imported fruits and vegetables, the FDA found that roughly 51 percent of imported fruits and 47 percent of imported vegetables carried residues. Overall, the imported foods had more illegally high levels of pesticide residues than did domestic foods sampled. (12/21)

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These pesticides are poisons that persist in our soil, contaminate our water, drift in the air, and are in and on our flowers and foods. The constant and accelerated use of pesticides in the last forty years is not only killing insect pests, but also the myriad of beneficial flora, fauna, and soil micro-organisms that provide us with the ecosystem services that keep our planet balanced. The evidence is clear that our children are also at risk, as pesticides are undermining our children’s health and intelligence. Unfortunately, this information is not readily available to the public and is not making the headlines that it deserves. Luckily, watchdog groups are creating user-friendly apps and websites so you can be informed and make safe choices for your family.
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To see what's on your food visit Pesticide Action Network's
What's On My Food?

Warning: prepare to be absolutely terrified

Find out what's on your food at: whatsonmyfood.org
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...this is just a partial list of the toxin residues found on apples :^(
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Saying No to Monsanto

11/15/2017

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EU Fails to Agree on Glyphosate License Renewal
(repost from Organic Consumers Association)
The European Commission has again hit a wall in renewing the approval for the weedkiller glyphosate. The vote comes after 18 months of agonizing over the controversial herbicide. The European Union on Thursday voted on whether to prolong the use of the common but controversial herbicide glyphosate within its borders, but failed to reach a consensus.

The proposal to renew the EU license for glyphosate for another five years failed to a reach a qualified majority, meaning a decision has again been postponed, according to lawmakers. The current license is due to expire on December 15, but there is an 18 month grace period.

Fourteen countries voted in favor of the renewal, nine against, while five, including Germany, abstained from voting. The proposal could now be referred to an appeal committee, or alternatively the Commission could draw up a new proposal to be voted upon.

"No qualified majority for glyphosate renewal in vote today," said Luxembourg's Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg on Twitter. Belgian Agriculture Minister Denis Ducarme confirmed the result. A qualified majority requires two conditions be met: that 55 percent of EU countries vote in favor, and that the proposal is supported by countries representing at least 65 percent of the total EU population.

Taking Action: Oppose the Monsanto-Bayer Merger
Beyond Pesticides: In late 2016, Monsanto and Bayer announced a $66 billion merger. The Department of Justice is in the midst of reviewing it, and a decision is expected in late 2017.  Should this merger go through, only four companies in the world will control all seed and agricultural chemical business: Bayer-Monsanto, Dow-DuPont, ChemChina-Syngenta, and BASF. What does this mean for farmers and consumers? 

Pesticide Action Network reports
"Monsanto is already the largest seed corporation in the world. And it’s the fifth largest pesticide company, manufacturing hazardous chemicals to accompany its genetically engineered seed lines. Bayer comes in as the second largest pesticide corporation, with widely used bee-harming neonics a key part of its portfolio, and the ranks seventh in the seed market. A merger between these already-monolithic corporations raises serious antitrust concerns, including increased costs and reduced choices for farmers. And in farming states like Iowa, where one in five jobs is connected to agriculture, higher seed prices and increased pesticide resistance would be catastrophic."

Visit these letter writing campaigns here and here to let the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission know how you feel about this proposed merger.

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Lovely images from ©DuyHuynh
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Neonics: also bad for Butterflies

7/4/2017

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Art credit: New Yorker magazine cover, March 2010
The insidiousness of systemic pesticides is that the pesticide is absorbed into the tissues of the plant, which causes it to poison any insect or mammal that eats its leaves or fruit or harvests its nectar and pollen. In addition, these chemicals leach into the soil and groundwater where they mix with other pesticides and herbicides to create a toxic cocktail and become pervasive in both farmed and wild habitats. Kind of makes me worried for all the things that could go wrong...

A 2016 study, Increasing neonicotinoid use and the declining butterfly fauna of lowland California and a similar study in the UK, Are neonicotinoid insecticides driving declines of widespread butterflies? show that our butterfly and honeybee populations are in peril along with other non-target insect species and small mammals. No surprise here.

Are we prepared for a world without pollinators? The need for hand-pollination by humans? What will the birds and fish and frogs eat? It truly is time to put a stop to this madness. 

                 Learn more from the Bee Protective campaign at Center for Food Safety.
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Download full-size PDF at Center for Food Safety
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Monsanto: up to their old tricks

7/3/2017

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How the EPA's pesticide self-reporting policy works 

Good news for bees this week: 
EcoWatch: 
California to Officially List Key Ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup as Cancer-Causing
UK Bug Life: Wild Bee Declines and Neonics Case Closed-What Next?
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Beyond Pesticides: Did Dow Chemical Influence the EPA Decision to Reverse the Chlorpyrifos Ban? 
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and Consumers Sue Monsanto for Misleading Label of Round-up Herbicide

Meanwhile, Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dupont, Croplife America (the biotech giants who own the world's seed, pesticide, and biotech industries) are once again attempting to use slick PR tactics to muddy the waters concerning the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides. They are just a few of the members of the "Honey Bee Health Coalition" who want you to understand the real reasons why bees are dying and how they are working-together with farmers and beekeepers-to remedy the situation. Don't fall for it, this is a continuation of Bayer's slimy high-production Follow the Honey strategy for spinning the bee crisis to protect their profits.

Girl Next Door Honey has written an excellent post about Why the Bees Are Dying. Thank you Hillary, for your erudite thoughts. 

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related BeePeeking posts
Who Cares? (Hint: not Bee Care)
The Insidious Pesticide Glyphosate
Pesticides & Children
Xerces Society How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees summary 
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Connecting the dots

1/28/2016

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In case you missed this headline, here it is:
Seattle seeks millions from Monsanto to clean up PCBs from Duwamish
The Seattle Times reports: The city of Seattle is suing to make Monsanto pay for cleanup of toxic PCBs from the city’s drainage system and the Duwamish River.

Monsanto was the sole producer of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) for commercial use in the U.S. from 1935 to 1977, and continued to profit from their sale for years even as its officials knew the chemicals were polluting the environment, causing harm to people and wildlife, said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes.

“When the profit motive overtakes concern for the environment, this is the kind of disaster that happens,” Holmes said Tuesday. “I’m proud to hold Monsanto accountable.”
Seattle is the sixth major city in the West to seek cleanup damages from the company, joining San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, San Diego and Spokane, which Holmes said gave him the idea to file the federal lawsuit.

Documents uncovered in the Spokane case revealed the company’s own medical department warned in 1955 that the chemicals were so toxic, by either ingestion or inhalation, that employees making PCBs could be harmed just from eating lunches contaminated from the chemical fumes or residue on workers’ hands.

Named as plaintiffs in the suit are Monsanto Company, plus Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia Corp., which were spun off through a series of reorganizations of the company. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.

Monsanto on Tuesday denied responsibility for the pollution. Read the full story here.

Feb. 2017 UPDATE from Seattle Times:
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed last year by the city of Seattle against Monsanto to make the company pay for the cleanup of toxic PCBs from the city’s drainage system and the Duwamish River.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik, in denying Monsanto’s motion to dismiss the case, said the city’s claim “plausibly alleges that Monsanto knew that its chemical products were toxic, yet chose not to modify its toxic chemical products, or to warn of their toxicity, in order to maximize its profits.”

The lawsuit now proceeds to discovery. A tentative trial date is set in April 2018.

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Hmmmm. Monsanto denied responsibility? Again?

Organic Consumers Association reports:
The Gates Foundation is taking their newest show on the road with a $5.6 million propaganda campaign and a goal to "depolarize the charged debate" about GMOs. You do not have to scratch very deep into the Gates/Cornell so-called 'Alliance for Science' to see that this is an aggressive propaganda tool for corporate biotech and agribusiness (Shame-on-you Cornell).

By the way, did you know that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation owns 500,000 shares of Monsanto Stock?

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GMOs to end world hunger? I think not...
Proponents of GM crops tell us that we need genetic modification to feed a growing population and reduce world hunger. However there is not a single study that proves GMOs have helped “feed the world.” Here are 5 facts, gathered by Canadian crusader Rachel Parent, that prove this statement is purely a marketing claim used by agrochemical companies to sell more patented seeds and chemicals.

Monsanto, Bill Gates, Cargill...go ahead, connect the dots for yourself. And don't forget: buy organic.

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Neonics: Bad for everyone

12/28/2015

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 Re-posted from the Center for Food Safety

Popcorn's Dirty Secret" won the 2015 Digital Edge award!
It’s no secret we love popcorn. We Americans consume more than 16 billion quarts of popcorn each year. But we’re getting more than we bargained for in all those bowls of popcorn: bee-toxic pesticides.

Bees are dying at alarming rates, and scientists have identified a group of insecticides called neonicotinoids (“neonics”) as a prime culprit in these drastic population losses. The largest single use of neonicotinoids is as a seed coating for field crops (like corn, soy, canola, and wheat). In fact, researchers estimate that 95-99% of all field corn grown in the U.S. comes from seed coated with bee-toxic neonic chemicals.

Neonics are the most widely used insecticides in the world. What makes them different from most pesticides is that they are systemic chemicals, meaning they are dispersed throughout the treated plant, rendering the whole plant toxic. Just as alarming, neonics are shown to last in the environment for years, harming species that the chemical was not designed to kill – like bees, butterflies, birds, and other helpful insects.

Unfortunately, the popcorn industry uses bee-killing chemicals on their seeds, too.  That’s why we’re calling on Pop Secret, one of the biggest brands in the industry, to urge them to source their popcorn from seeds that are NOT coated in these harmful chemicals.

Pop Secret would not be alone in taking action against neonics:
  • Pop Weaver has already agreed to a phase-out of neonics.
  • To date, more than 4 million Americans have called on the government to take stronger actions to protect bees from toxic pesticides like neonicotinoids.
  • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will implement a ban on neonicotinoid insecticides on all wildlife refuges nationwide by January 2016.
  • The European Union instituted a moratorium on the most toxic uses of neonicotinoids.
  • The Province of Ontario, Canada has announced plans to reduce the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid-coated corn and soybean seeds by 80 percent by 2017.
  • Although it is currently difficult to obtain non-coated seeds in the U.S., growers in Canada requested and received non-treated seed, proving that it is possible to diversify the seed supply with non-coated options when companies and growers are willing to demand it.
  • Given the countless risks, lack of benefits, and widespread consumer demand for pollinator protection, it’s time for Pop Secret to join Pop Weaver and commit to phasing out the use of neonic-coated seeds for their popcorn. Mythbusting and True Cost
  • Learn more about the insidious nature of neonics and what you can do; take action here: pollinatorsandyourplate.org
                                              
The American Bird Conservancy reports that "a single corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoud can kill a songbird", and the Center for Food Safety reports that they are polluting our water systems too.
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  It is ironic to think that man might determine his own future by something so seemingly trivial as the choice of an insect spray. - Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
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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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