• Learn To Manage Weeds Without Chemical Pesticides
  • Learn About Pesticides in Foods
  • Learn About Colony Collapse Disorder and How to Protect Bees
  • Link to SK Organic Resources
  • Driving Near Recently Sprayed Fields Exposes People to Pesticides
  • Learn to Manage Pests Naturally
  • SNAP Tour of Organic Vegetable Garden
  • LIving Near Fields Increases Pesticide Exposure
  • SNAP Display at Event
  • Weeds Can Be Managed Without Chemical Pesticides

Archives for 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Edmonton's Mosquito Control 2016

I believe Edmonton is the last Canadian city to still use the organophosphate chlorpyrifos for mosquito control

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Edmonton's Mosquito Control 2016
This map is based on City of Edmonton logs of the chemicals applied specifically to control mosquitoes in 2016. Click on each data point for details. Each point represents the center of a 1-mile square corresponding to a grid point from city data. The actual application(s) could be anywhere within the surrounding one mile square - this could be up to 1.2 kilometers on a diagonal line. The City does not track applications more precisely than to identify the grid ID. The comments indicate whether the application was Ground or Air. Additional comments are verbatim from City data. The data is presented in layers based on the product used. You can select or de-select layers as you wish to tailor your view.

SNAPComment: I believe Edmonton is the last Canadian city to still use the organophosphate chlorpyrifos for mosquito control.Chlorpyrifos has been banned for consumer use because of its toxicity.

more on common sense mosquito control at the link below and  chlorpyrifos 

filed under mosquito control


 

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Biological Control: Harnessing Nature in the Nursery Industry

8 minute video. An introduction to the basics of biological control for nursery and greenhouse growers, as well as community members

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Biological Control: Harnessing Nature in the Nursery Industry (NCAP: Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Dec 28, 2016)  8 minute video. An introduction to the basics of biological control for nursery and greenhouse growers, as well as community members concerned about pesticide use. Robin Rosetta, Associate Professor and Extension Horticulturist at Oregon State University, explains the essentials of biological control.

filed under Alternatives/Insects and Invertebrates

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Managing Bed Bugs Without Harmful Pesticides

Learn to identify and successfully deal with bed bugs without dangerous chemicals.

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Managing Bed Bugs Without Harmful Pesticides  (NCAP: Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Feb 3, 2014) This 12 minutes video discusses strategies for preventing and managing bed bugs without pesticides. It includes information about potential health risks of foggers, bug bombs, and other chemicals commonly used for bed bug treatment. It also teaches you to identify the various stages of bed bugs.

filed under Alternatives/ Insects and Invertebrates / additonal information bed bugs

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat

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Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat 
Assessment Details Options for Safeguarding Pollinators (UN Environment Programme Fri, Feb 26, 2016)

The assessment, titled Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production and the first ever issued by IPBES, is a groundbreaking effort to better understand and manage a critical element of the global ecosystem. It is also the first assessment of its kind that is based on the available knowledge from science and indigenous and local knowledge systems. 

16.5% - Percentage of vertebrate pollinators threatened with extinction globally.

+40% - Percentage of invertebrate pollinator species - particularly bees and butterflies - facing extinction.

"Wild pollinators in certain regions, especially bees and butterflies, are being threatened by a variety of factors," said IPBES Vice-Chair, Sir Robert Watson. "Their decline is primarily due to changes in land use, intensive agricultural practices and pesticide use, alien invasive species, diseases and pests, and climate change." ,,,The assessment found that pesticides, including neonicotinoid insecticides, threaten pollinators worldwide, although the long-term effects are still unknown. 

Genetically modified crops are usually either tolerant to herbicides or resistant to pest insects. The former reduces the availability of weeds, which supply food for pollinators. The latter often results in lower use of insecticides and may reduce pressure on beneficial insects including pollinators. However, the sub-lethal and indirect effects of GM crops on pollinators are poorly understood and not usually accounted for in risk assessments.

filed under bee die-off/ educational material

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

72 Toxic Inert Ingredients No Longer Used in Pesticide Products Cancelled, 300 Others Still Not Listed on Labels

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72 Toxic Inert Ingredients No Longer Used in Pesticide Products Cancelled, 300 Others Still Not Listed on Labels (Beyond Pesticides, December 23, 2016)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a proposal to ban 72 inert (or secret hazardous) ingredients from use in pesticide formulations following a long fight with environmentalists who, in 2006, asked that pesticide product labels disclose any of 371 inert ingredients that could be in products.

SNAP Comment: 'Inerts' are called 'formulants' in Canada. Meanwhile in Canada, the List of Formulants 2010 is still current. (/Canada). It lists 3173 formulants, of which only 25 have to be listed on labels with the 9 allergens subdivided in 35 formulants for a total of 51 (1.6%) formulants that have to be listed on labels The 593 list 2 (potentially toxic) formulants remain secret, as do known toxins in other categories.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

72 Toxic Inert Ingredients No Longer Used in Pesticide Products Cancelled, 300 Others Still Not Listed on Labels

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72 Toxic Inert Ingredients No Longer Used in Pesticide Products Cancelled, 300 Others Still Not Listed on Labels (USA)

(Beyond Pesticides, December 23, 2016) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a proposal to ban 72 inert (or secret hazardous) ingredients from use in pesticide formulations following a long fight with environmentalists who, in 2006, asked that pesticide product labels disclose any of 371 inert ingredients that could be in products. 

SNAP Comment: Inerts are called 'formulants' in Canada. In the meantime in Canada, the List of Formulants 2010  is still current with 3173 formulants listed, of which only 25 have to be listed on labels with the 9 allergens subdivided in 35 formulants for a total of 51 (1.6%) formulants that have to be listed on labels. The 593 list 2 (potentially toxic) formulants remain secret, as do known toxins in other categories. ( /Canada) I would need extra research to see if any of the cancelled formulants in the USA are still on the Canadian list. 

filed under Formulants/Inerts/ US

Friday, December 23, 2016

GM Maize NK603 and non-GM isogenic maize are not substantially equivalent

Proteins, metabolites and their expression are significantly altered in GM Maize.

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An integrated multi-omics analysis of the NK603 Roundup-tolerant GM maize reveals metabolism disturbances caused by the transformation process

Robin Mesnage, Sarah Z. Agapito-Tenfen, Vinicius Vilperte, George Renney, Malcolm Ward, Gilles-Eric Séralini, Rubens O. Nodari & Michael N. Antoniou
(Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 37855 (2016)}

SNAP NOTE: the GM Maize used in the Seralini study. This article seems to be by the same research group.

The set of parameters and analyses necessary to declare a GMO as substantially equivalent to its conventional counterpart is still vague and focuses on a restricted set of compositional variables, such as the amounts of protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. 

Currently, no regulatory authority requires mandatory untargeted molecular profiling omics analysis to be performed but some acknowledge their potential relevance for food and feed derived from GM plants with specific metabolic pathways modified, or in situations where a suitable comparator is not available4,21.

While only one protein is newly produced as a result of the transgene insertion, a total of 117 proteins and 91 metabolites have been altered in maize by the genetic transformation process and insertion of the EPSPS-CP4 cassette (Isogenic vs NK603 panel, Fig. 3). One protein (B4G0K5) and 31 metabolites had their expression significantly altered by the spraying of the Roundup pesticide (NK603 vs NK603+Roundup (R) panel, Fig. 3).

Although a clear mechanistic link between alterations in the GM feed and the possible health effects following long-term consumption of this product remains to be established, the evidence we present clearly shows that NK603 and non-GM isogenic maize are not substantially equivalent and the nutritional quality of GM feed might be hampered by metabolic imbalances related to plant energy and stress metabolism.

In addition, differences due to the pesticide spray were subtle: phenylpropanoid such as 4-hydroxycinnamate (0.63-fold), ferulate (0.59-fold) and sinapate (2.9-fold) were significantly changed.

filed under GMO/ Safety/Health Effects

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Pesticides stop bees buzzing and releasing pollen, says study

Researchers find neonicotinoid insecticides harm ability of bees to vibrate flowers and shake out pollen to fertilise crops

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Study Links Neonicotinoid Exposure to Learning Deficit in Bees

(Beyond Pesticides,  December 14, 2016) Preliminary research presented this week at the British Ecological Society’s annual meeting identifies yet another troublesome connection between the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and the health of bees, a critical pollinator species. The research links neonicotinoid use with an impaired ability of bees to learn to vibrate flowers and shake out the pollen, which is necessary for fertilization in crops like tomatoes and potatoes.

and Pesticides stop bees buzzing and releasing pollen, says study (The Guardian, US Ed, 13 Dec 2016)

SNAP Comment: Unfortunately there is nothing in either article on what the effects on the 2 ppb group were. These studies used the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, not imidaclopid which the Canadian government is considering banning.

filed under bee die off

Sunday, December 18, 2016

By Killing Beneficial Insects, Neonic-Coated Seeds Increase Pesticide Dependency, Just Like Other Insecticide Applications

researchers have found that the seed coatings impact predatory insects as much as broadcast applications of other insecticides.

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By Killing Beneficial Insects, Neonic-Coated Seeds Increase Pesticide Dependency, Just Like Other Insecticide Applications (Beyond Pesticides, December 16, 2016)

A new meta-analysis has challenged the belief that neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticide seed coatings have little to no effect on the health of beneficial predatory insect populations —on the contrary, researchers have found that the seed coatings impact predatory insects as much as broadcast applications of other insecticides.

For their meta-analysis, the researchers combined the results of approximately 1,000 observations for field studies across North America and Europe that had looked at the effect of neonicotinoid seed coatings on predatory insects. The researchers compiled datasets that compare predatory insect abundance in plots that are planted with coated seeds to control plots, which are either managed without insecticides, or managed with pyrethroid insecticides. As predicted, the population of predatory insects are reduced in the plots where coated seeds are planted, compared to the plots that are untreated by insecticides. Additionally, the meta-analysis finds that coated seeds affected predatory insect populations similarly to soil and broadcast applications of pyrethroids.

filed under wildlife / insects and fact sheet / neonicotinoid

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Letter to Minister of Health Philpott about banning the neonicotinoid imidacloprid now.

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 SumOfUs curently has a letter-writing campaign to Minister Philpott to ban the neonicotinoid imidacloprid now rather than in 3-5 years. I was going to sign the letter but  decided to write my own letter instead on behalf of SNAP:  Ban imidacloprid now 

filed under presentation and publications

Monday, December 12, 2016

Aerotoxic Syndrome: Why You Get Sick While Flying And How To Protect Yourself

The oil used in jet turbine engines contains TCP (tricresyl phosphate), belongs to the organophosphate family of chemicals originally designed as nerve agents for warfare

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Aerotoxic Syndrome: Why You Get Sick While Flying And How To Protect Yourself

(Thomas Ropp, Honey Colony,  Nov 4, 2016)

Bleed Air: Why This Happens

The problems began in 1962 when airlines decided to change the way passengers and crew received air. Before 1962, airlines used mechanical air pumps to produce breathing air for passengers and crew. However, according to Hoyte, the pumps were both “unreliable and costly to maintain.” After 1962, airlines decided to use air that bled off the jet’s turbine engines

Why Cabin Air Is Toxic

The oil used in jet turbine engines contains TCP (tricresyl phosphate), belongs to the organophosphate family of chemicals originally designed as nerve agents for warfare, which explains why so many of the aerotoxic symptoms are neurological. In turbines, TCP acts as an anti-wear agent that helps with the extreme temperatures of jet engines.

This article also links to symptoms, research, and law suit settements, how to know your flight is toixc,and things you can do.

SNAP comment: PCP is not registered as a pesticide in Canada, but it is an organophosphate.

filed under Air Travel

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Genetically Engineered Bentgrass Approved Despite Failure to Stop Spreading From Old Experiment Plots

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Genetically Engineered Bentgrass Approved Despite Failure to Stop Spreading From Old Experiment Plots  (Global Justice Ecology Project,  December 8, 2016) 

The Environmental Protection Agency released a final environmental impact statement today giving the green light to genetically engineered creeping bentgrass, a highly invasive grass genetically engineered by Monsanto and Scotts to withstand what would normally be a fatal dose of the herbicide glyphosate.

Decades-old outdoor experiments have proven the novel grass impossible to control, as it escaped from “controlled” plots and invaded irrigation ditches, river banks and the Crooked River National Grassland, crowding out native plants and the wildlife that depends on them. 

see also USDA: Escaped, Highly Invasive GE Grass Poses No Environmental Harm (Center for Biological Diversity media release, 7 December 2016): "The GE bentgrass has already illegally contaminated at least three counties, and the ultralight grass seeds and pollen have proven impossible to eradicate. Farmers and noxious weed experts in eastern Oregon have been outspoken critics of the proposal to approve the grass. In response to widespread contamination, GE creeping bentgrass was declared a noxious weed in Malheur County in 2016. With this approval responsibility for controlling the contamination now shifts from USDA, Scotts and Monsanto to become solely the problem of individual farmers and landowners."

filed under gmos / crops

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Local Pesticide Policy Reform Mapping Tool Launched

the Map of Local Pesticide Reform Policies documents pesticide policies adopted by local communities to protect people, pollinators and the environment.

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Local Pesticide Policy Reform Mapping Tool Launched; Sign Petition and Join the Campaign

(Beyond Pesticides, December 7, 2016) USA.Two national non-profit advocacy groups, Beyond Pesticides and Organic Consumers Association (OCA), today launched the Map of Local Pesticide Reform Policies, a resource for communities and activists that documents pesticide policies adopted by local communities to protect people, pollinators and the environment. The map spotlights over 115 communities in 21 states that have taken local action to protect their communities from the adverse effects of pesticides by substituting a range of alternative tactics.

filed under bylaws /USA

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Pesticide Exposure Alters Bacterial Diversity in the Mouth

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Pesticide Exposure Alters Bacterial Diversity in the Mouth

(Beyond Pesticides, December 6, 2016) A new study released by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle finds that exposure to organophosphate insecticides is associated with changes in oral bacterial diversity, particularly for exposed farmworkers. The study provides insight into the far-reaching changes pesticide exposure can cause to the human body, which are not captured by current risk assessment models used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Although past research has investigated the impact of pesticide exposure on the gut microbiome, this is one of the first studies to look at oral bacterial diversity.

 Scientists focused on exposure to the organophosphate insecticide Azinphos-methyl (AZM), which at the time of the study (2005-2006) had not begun its cancellation proceedings.

 Of the farmworkers that have detectable levels of AZM in their blood stream, scientists found “significantly reduced abundances of seven common taxa of oral bacteria, including Streptococcus, one of the most common normal microbiota in the mouth,” ... Researchers found that while reductions in bacterial diversity start in the heavy pesticide use season of spring/summer, they remain low into the winter.

SNAP Comment: The last allowed retail sale of Azinphos-methyl in Canada is dated on the label as 2011-12-31. Chlorpyrifos has also been found to cause dysbiosis in several areas of the digestive tract. There are still 29 Chlorpyrifos products registered in Canada. It is disappointing that studies take so long to be published. It is likely that other pesticides have the same effects. 

filed under digestive tract / Human Microbiome

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Industry Challenges Local Maryland Restrictions of Lawn Pesticides as Preempted by State

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Industry Challenges Local Maryland Restrictions of Lawn Pesticides as Preempted by State

(Beyond Pesticides, November 30, 20  A landmark Montgomery County, Maryland ordinance, which protects children, pets, wildlife, and the wider environment from the hazards of unnecessary lawn and landscape pesticide use, is facing a legal challenge filed last week by the industry group Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE). The plaintiffs, which include local chemical lawn care companies and a few individuals, allege that the local ordinance is preempted by state law, despite the fact that Maryland is one of seven states that has not explicitly taken away (or preempted) local authority to restrict pesticides more stringently than the state.

filed under bylaws / USA

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Rodent bait from oilsands poisoning animals commonly trapped in Alberta

Oilsands companies respond by banning rodent poison

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 Rodent bait from oilsands poisoning animals commonly trapped in Alberta 

Oilsands companies respond by banning rodent poison (David Thurton · CBC News December 2, 2016)

25 per cent of fishers and 10 per cent of martens had detectable levels of the poison. The research also traced the restricted rodent poison Bromadiolone to its use in nearby oilsands operations."Those animals that were sampled were the animals healthy enough to pursue prey and then be captured on the trapline. So obviously those sick and lethargic animals we are not sampling," Thomas said. As a result, 25 companies voluntarily stopped using the poison researchers found in martens and fishers.

filed under pesticides and wildlife / mammals

Sunday, December 4, 2016

How can I protect myself from a pesticide-spraying neighbor?

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How can I protect myself from a pesticide-spraying neighbor?

(Grist, By Ask Umbra® on Jul 18, 2016)

Essentially, research the pesticide and give them the info to educate. If they don't cease and desist, there is not much you can do other than sue. 

SNAP Comments: My approach has been to send a letter to the neighbours explaining that pesticides made me sick and ask for notification. It took a while but most complied and now have mostly given them up.

filed under Action/ How to

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Consumers Score Two Wins—Right in Monsanto’s Backyard

New GMO technologies such as cloning, nanotechnology, synthetic biology—technologies sometimes referred to as GMO 2.0—won’t be allowed in organic

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Consumers Score Two Wins—Right in Monsanto’s Backyard (Organic Consumers Association, 29 Nov. 2016)

New GMO technologies such as cloning, nanotechnology, synthetic biology—technologies sometimes referred to as GMO 2.0—won’t be allowed in organics, thanks to a recent decision by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). (And thanks also to the thousands of you who signed our “say ‘no’ to GMOs in organics” petition to the NOSB).

Sunday, December 4, 2016

European Court Decision Rules in Favor of Increased Pesticide Transparency

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European Court Decision Rules in Favor of Increased Pesticide Transparency (Beyond Pesticides, December 1, 2016)

A groundbreaking decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last Wednesday ruled in favor of the environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) and Greenpeace Nederland, which had been denied access to industry studies and other information submitted by chemical companies to European regulators on the controversial weedkiller glyphosate and the bee-toxic insecticide imidacloprid.

The Court found that “emissions into the environment” includes releases from pesticide products or active ingredients contained in these products, as long as the release is possible under realistic conditions of use of this product. It interpreted the “information on emissions into the environment” to cover information relating to the nature, composition, and quantity of those emissions, but also “information enabling the public to check whether the assessment is correct, as well as the data relating to the medium or long-term effects of those emissions.” This decision will allow for any interested party to obtain industry studies and underlying data that were submitted to European regulatory agencies for pesticide review and approval.

There are some concerns regarding the specific types of documents ECJ deemed suitable for release to the public, since the court stated that “the concept of information on emissions into the environment does not include information relating to purely hypothetical emissions.” This may ultimately mean that authorities can still deny access to certain documents that do not specifically include data on exposure to humans.

This is a huge win for environmental organizations that have long been critical of the lack of transparency in the government review process of pesticides. And while it does not apply to regulatory decisions in the U.S., it sets a legal precedent going forward.

SNAP Comment: In Canada, I believe this information is available to see in a secure facility where no recording device of any kind is allowed. I hope a pen and paper are allowed.

filed under Legislation/Regulatory/Europe

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Monsanto Supporters Admit Massive Fail over Glyphosate Report Criticism

Monsanto supporters went in to full attack mode to protect their number one product, however this time they fell on their own swords within a matter of days

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Monsanto Supporters Admit Massive Fail over Glyphosate Report Criticism (Sustainable Pulse, Nov 28 2016)  Read ful article for links and details. 

Fail #1: Criticism of testing methods

What happened following the publishing of ‘Glyphosate: Unsafe On Any Plate’ can only be described as an epic fail by some of Monsanto’s main supporters including Dr. Kevin Folta (University of Florida) and Dr. Michelle McGuire (Washington State University)...Folta was forced to withdraw his criticism, which he had already fed to a selection of journalists across the U.S.

Fail #2: Misinformation regarding the safety of low levels of glyphosate

Modern independent science has discovered that many toxic chemicals have as much or more of an influence on our health at low doses– these chemicals are known as hormone hackers (endocrine disruptors). Glyphosate is likely to be one of these.

Fail #3: Peer Review needed for food testing results?

Dr. Folta and colleagues have now taken to stating that they cannot trust the results because they are not peer-reviewed, even though they are all clearly aware of the difference between University studies and commercial laboratory reports.This is a ridiculous line of attack as millions of food samples in the U.S. are tested and reported by FDA-registered laboratories, such as Anresco Laboratories, every single year with no peer-review.

SNAP Comments: We may think they have failed but, as long as people believe their BS, they are winning...

filed under pesticide fact sheets / glyphosate

Friday, December 2, 2016

Parkinson's linked to gut bacteria

The germ-free mice were still overproducing alpha-synuclein, but their brain cells were not accumulating the protein.

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Parkinson's linked to gut bacteria  (Robert Ferris, CNBC, 1 December 2016)

The scientists published their findings Thursday in the journal Cell. 'The germ-free mice were still overproducing alpha-synuclein, but their brain cells were not accumulating the protein. The germ-free mice showed fewer symptoms and performed better on a series of motor skills tests meant to model the kinds of tests given to human patients.' More experiments determined that what gut flora produces affects the development of Parkinson's. 

SNAP Comments: Several pesticides and other toxins have been linked to Parkinson's in the past. Now we also know from research that some pesticides, including glyphosate, affect the health of gut bacteria, usually suppressing good flora and promoting bad. The effects of a pesticide on gut flora are not required tests for pesticide registration. Of course use of antibiotics and what one eats is also important, but remember that people eating conventional food ingest several pesticides on a daily basis. Evidence is accumulating that gut flora is extremely important to the maintenance of health and the development of many diseases. I sincerely hope that more pesticide and toxins regularly found in our environment start being tested for their effect on gut flora. That research would provide a mechanism of action.

filed under Parkinson's

http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/health/nervous-system-effects

http://www.snapinfo.ca/issues/food-pesticides-in

http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/fact-sheets / glyphosate

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Disinsection Policy - Air Canada

Air traveling? check whether your destination requires use of insecticides on the plane. I had US links before but here is an airCanada. These are international requirements.

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Disinsection Policy - Air Canada

Air traveling? check whether your destination requires use of insecticides on the plane. I had US links before but here is an Air Canada one. These are international requirements but some may be seasonal.

filed under Air Travel

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Frightened by Donald Trump? You don’t know the half of it

Many of his staffers are from an opaque corporate misinformation network. We must understand this if we are to have any hope of fighting back against them

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Frightened by Donald Trump? You don’t know the half of it  (George Monbiot, opinion piece, The Guardian)

'I first encountered the machine when writing about climate change. The fury and loathing directed at climate scientists and campaigners seemed incomprehensible until I realised they were fake: the hatred had been paid for. The bloggers and institutes whipping up this anger were funded by oil and coal companies.'

The article proceeds to name well known 'think tanks' and their sources of funding. worth a read. 

filed under industry shenanigans

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Health Canada proposes banning neonic

proposing a three year phase out of agricultural uses of imidacloprid

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Health Canada proposes banning neonic (Western Producer,  Nov. 23rd, 2016)

Consequently, the department is proposing a three year phase out of agricultural uses of imidacloprid or a five year phase out in cases where producers have no alternatives for pest control.

The proposed ban is not final because there will be a 90 day comment period, and Health Canada is planning a forum with industry stakeholders. 

In addition to the proposed ban, Health Canada announced a special review of two other neonicotinoid insecticides: thiamethoxam, a Syngenta product, and clothianidin, a Bayer product.

SNAPcomments: not final by any means. I suspect thr wwill be petitions to sign and letters to write to balance industry PR...

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

11 Surprising Reasons Organic Is Better For You

Need more convincing to buy organic? This should do it.

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11 Surprising Reasons Organic Is Better For You
Need more convincing to buy organic? This should do it.

(By Leah Zerbe, Rodle' organic Life,3 Nov. 2016)

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Trump's Top Environmental Adviser Says Pesticides Aren't Bad for You

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Trump's Top Environmental Adviser Says Pesticides Aren't Bad for You (Tom Philpott, Mother Jones, Nov. 16, 2016) 

To lead the transition of the Environmental Protection Agency, President-elect Donald Trump settled on notorious climate change denier Myron Ebell.Ebell directs the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The group runs a website, SafeChemicalPolicy.org, that exists to downplay the health and ecological impacts of chemicals. SNAP Comment: What could be worse than industry running the show?

filed under industry shenanigans 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

EPA Registers Dicamba for GE Crops, Adding to Growing Herbicide Resistance Issue

the new formulation claimed to be specifically designed to have lower volatility.

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EPA Registers Dicamba for GE Crops, Adding to Growing Herbicide Resistance Issue (Beyond Pesticides, November 11, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered a new formulation of dicamba to control weeds in cotton and soybean crops that have been genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate the chemical. The new formulation is called Xtendimax™ with Vapor Grip™ Technology, which is claimed to be specifically designed to have lower volatility...An important point of dicamba’s registration is that EPA has specified that the registration is time-limited and will expire after two years... Dicamba has been linked to damage of the kidney and liver, neurotoxicity, and developmental impacts. The chemical has a strong propensity to volatilize small particles of the herbicide into the air and drift far off-site. Sensitive crop species can be damaged by dicamba at levels in the parts per million.

A startling number of pesticides, nearly 65% of the more than 16,000 pesticides now on the market, were first approved by the process of “conditional registration.” Meanwhile, the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency finalized its decision to discontinue granting new conditional registrations.

SNAP Comments: Dicamba is also widely used lawn herbicide products in formulation with 2,4-D and mecoprop. Conditional registration means that a pesticide was registered before many of the mandatory studies for registration were submitted.

filed under Legislation / USA

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Study finds link between pesticide exposure and microbiome changes

"[We found] significantly reduced abundances of seven common taxa of oral bacteria, including Streptococcus, one of the most common normal microbiota in the mouth,"

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Study finds link between pesticide exposure and microbiome changes (UPI, By Brooks Hays. Nov. 11, 2016)

The oral microbiome of farmworkers are markedly different than other humans, and pesticide exposure explains why, new research shows.

Adults with concentrations of organophosphate pesticide, Azinphos-methyl, in their blood had a significantly altered oral microbiome.

"We found significantly reduced abundances of seven common taxa of oral bacteria, including Streptococcus, one of the most common normal microbiota in the mouth," researcher Ian B. Stanaway said in a news release.

Researchers also found a correlation between pesticide exposure and shifts in the abundance and diversity of several other strains and species of bacteria, including microbes belonging to genera Streptococcus and Halomonas.

Additionally, scientists measured shifts in bacterial diversity related to changing levels of exposure during the seasons.

"The challenge becomes, what does this mean," said researcher Elaine M. Faustman. "We don’t know, but we depend on the micriobiome for many metabolic processes."

SNAP Comment: This is the first study I know of that has looked at this issue. Although it specifically studies the organophosphate Azinphos-methyl, I would not be surprised that the link also exists with other pesticides. Time will tell. According to PMRA label search (15 Nov 2016), Azinphos-methyl is no longer sold in Canada. I did not check every historical label but the last sale I could find was in 2010. It could still be used by those with a stockpile.

 filed under the new page health/ Microbiota changes
 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Regenerative Agriculture Will Feed the World and Cool the Planet

a "triple win" for a type of agriculture that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help crops adapt to changing climate conditions and increase yields.

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Regenerative Agriculture Will Feed the World and Cool the Planet (Organic Consumers Association, Nov. 09, 2016)  "World governments spend $486 billion a year to subsidize an industrial food and farming model that the United Nations estimates, contributes 43-57 percent of total man-made greenhouse gas emissions," said Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association...The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank coined the term "Climate-Smart Agriculture" at the 2010 Hague Conference on Food Security, Agriculture and Climate Change. The Food and Agriculture Organization floated the concept as a "triple win" for a type of agriculture that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help crops adapt to changing climate conditions and increase yields.

SNAP Comment: I feel companies should be investigated for the stated goals before they can claim to promote "Climate-Smart Agriculture". Monsanto would likely not qualify. It's like info on Facebook, reader beware!

filed under organics

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Study Reveals Extent of Pesticide Contamination in Medical Marijuana

84% of samples tested positive for pesticide residues

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Study Reveals Extent of Pesticide Contamination in Medical Marijuana (Beyond Pesticides, November 2, 2016) The results reveal that 84% of samples tested positive for pesticide residues...This data is significant in that it looks specifically at the medical marijuana market and the impact pesticide-contaminated marijuana may have on medical marijuana consumers, who are often individuals suffering from chronic disease or illness.

In its analysis, Steep Hill found residue of the chemical myclobutanil, a key ingredient in pesticide Eagle 20, in more than 65 percent of samples tested during a 30-day period. Eagle 20, a fungicide, has not been approved for use on marijuana, and its active ingredient myclobutanil is an endocrine (hormone) disruptor classified as “toxic” by Beyond Pesticides. Myclobutanil is also listed as a reproductive toxicant in the California Environmental Protection Agency Proposition 65.

filed under Exposure to Pesticides

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Organic Farmland Increases as Consumer Demand Skyrockets

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Organic Farmland Increases as Consumer Demand Skyrockets (Beyond Pesticides, November 14, 2016) 11 percent increase in organic farmland since 2014. The number of certified organic farms grew to almost 15,000, marking a 6.2 percent increase of organic farms between June 2016 and 2014. The top five states leading the transformation to organic fields are California, Montana, Wisconsin, New York and North Dakota...Alex Heilman, a sales associate at Mercaris says that the number of organic acres will likely increase as larger companies like General Mills and Ardent Mills, the largest U.S. wheat miller, begin launching organic programs to meet consumer demands.

filed under Organic

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Glyphosate: Unsafe on any Plate Food Testing Results and Scientific Reasons for Concern

contains List of common foods tested and their levels of contamination.

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Monsanto Is Scrambling To Bury This Breaking Story – Don’t Let This Go Unshared! (By Food Babe

link to the full report "Glyphosate: Unsafe on any Plate  Food Testing Results and Scientific Reasons for Concern" by Food Democracy Now! and the Detox Project. List of common foods tested and their levels of contamination. 

filed under food

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

CDC Report Finds Occupational Pesticide Poisoning Widespread, with Farmworkers at Greatest Risk

The report finds that pesticide poisoning incidents among agricultural workers are 37 times those of nonagricultural workers

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CDC Report Finds Occupational Pesticide Poisoning Widespread, with Farmworkers at Greatest Risk (Beyond Pesticides, November 8, 2016)

over 2,600 cases of acute pesticide poisoning occurred among workers in 12 states between 2007 and 2011. The report, published by CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), highlights the hazards conventional pesticides pose to both farm and non-farm workers who apply these inherently toxic chemicals.

The report finds that pesticide poisoning incidents among agricultural workers are 37 times those of nonagricultural workers. Proportionally, acute poisoning rates among nonagricultural pesticide applicators were 0.5/100,000, while rates for farmworkers were 18.6/100,000. Most poisonings result from exposure to insecticides or herbicides. Within insecticide exposures, synthetic pyrethroids account for the highest number of incidents, while with herbicides glyphosate account for most poisoning events.

filed under Pesticide poisoning

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

EPA Revises Process, But Maintains Proposal to Stop Use of Neurotoxic Chlorpyrifos in Agriculture

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EPA Revises Process, But Maintains Proposal to Stop Use of Neurotoxic Chlorpyrifos in Agriculture (Beyond Pesticides, November 15, 2016) 

“The revised analyses indicate that expected residues of chlorpyrifos on food crops exceed the safety standard under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA),” EPA noted in its announcement. “In addition, the majority of estimated drinking water exposures from currently registered uses, including water exposures from non-food uses, continue to exceed safe levels even taking into account more refined drinking water exposures. “ To explain the decision to the public, EPA has put together a FAQ page on its website.

SNAP comment: Meanwhile in Canada, (15 Nov 2016) there are still 29 registered chlorpyrifos products including two baits for consumers (domestic) and 17 commercial registrations including Lorsban used by municipalities to spray the base of elm trees to prevent transmission of Dutch Elm Disease. I understand the City of Edmonton is still using chlorpyrifos to fog for mosquitoes. 

filed under Legislation/Regulatory / USA

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The NOFA Organic Lawn Care Guide

Free PDF and free pdf of Organic Fertilizer Fact sheet

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The NOFA Organic Lawn Care Guide 

Now Available as a Free PDF!

Read the entire Organic Lawn care guide for free at http://ctnofa.org/Documents/book_FINAL_OPT.pdf

and get the Organic Fertilizer Fact sheet at http://www.organiclandcare.net/sites/default/files/organicfertilizerfactsheet-opt.pdf

filed under Links/ Alternatives/ Landscapers and Pest Control 

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Hazards of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Are Underestimated

Chemical exposures cost the U.S. more than $340 billion each year in health care costs and lost productivity.

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Hazards of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Are Underestimated (Organic Consumer Association, 4 Nov.2016)  Chemical exposures cost the U.S. more than $340 billion each year in health care costs and lost productivity.

In the European Union (EU) — where regulations are more stringent and exposure is less severe than in the U.S. — medical expenses associated with EDC exposure still amounts to a whopping $177.5 billion (€163 billion) annually, according to the most recent estimates.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

IARC Scientists Defend Glyphosate Cancer Link; Surprised by Industry Assault

Monsanto and the pesticide industry are driving efforts to cut off U.S. funding for the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) after IARC scientists declared glyphosate a probable human carcinogen in March 2015.

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IARC Scientists Defend Glyphosate Cancer Link; Surprised by Industry Assault (Organic Consumers Association,October 30, 2016)

'Industry swagger is on full display in Washington where Monsanto and its friends at CropLife America are driving efforts to cut off U.S. funding for the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) after IARC scientists declared glyphosate a probable human carcinogen in March 2015. The industry is also demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency fully repudiate the IARC classification and green-light continued use of glyphosate herbicides, which spell billions of dollars in sales annually to Monsanto and the agrichemical brethren...But the industry, which deemed the meetings “unnecessary” and “inappropriate,” successfully derailed those Oct. 18-21 public meetings by challenging certain scientists appointed by EPA to an advisory panel. The EPA has “postponed” the meetings and has yet to reschedule.'

“I definitely wasn’t expecting anything at all,” said Fritschi, who specializes in the occupational causes of cancer and holds the “distinguished professor” title at Curtin University in Australia. “We were independent and just looked at the science. We had strict rules on what was admissible and came to a conclusion based on that evidence. We made the right decision based on the evidence.”

'Monsanto and other industry players can’t afford for that kind of talk to take root; which is exactly why we’re seeing these extraordinary efforts to undermine the scientists and push EPA to ignore cancer concerns. One letter in particular submitted by CropLife America to EPA this month shows the depths of the industry’s efforts to rein in EPA’s probe of glyphosate. CropLife told the EPA it was out of line for proclaiming a need for independent research on formulated glyphosate products - such as Roundup. The agency said in September it has been collaborating with the National Toxicology Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to develop a research plan to evaluate the role of glyphosate in product formulations and the differences in formulation toxicity. But apparently, it neglected to get industry permission. 

SNAP's Comment: Imagine how much more influential a Monsanto/Bayer merger would be....

filed under Industry shenanigans

Thursday, November 3, 2016

USDA Approves 2 New Varieties of GMO Potatoes

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USDA Approves 2 New Varieties of GMO Potatoes (EcoWatch, Nov. 02, 2016)

Now, pending what amounts to a fairly cursory review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company expects all three GMO strains to be available to farmers for planting next spring...(one was approved last year)..The three new varieties—Ranger Russet, Atlantic and Russet Burbank—all follow that first generation in that they are designed to minimize bruising and black spots, as well as reduce the amount of a chemical that is potentially carcinogenic that develops when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures. The trio of 2.0 cultivars have also been engineered to resist the pathogen that causes late blight, the disease that led to the great Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and for "enhanced cold storage," a trait that may be of particular interest to potato chip makers, according to The Associated Press.

SNAP comment: I have no idea what to think of this. The worrying part is the apparent lack of testing for unintended consequences. Please refer to the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) for more on gmo technology.

filed under gmos / crops
 

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Genetically Engineered Crops Fail to Increase Yields and Reduce Pesticide Use, Exposé Reveals

A Times report.

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Genetically Engineered Crops Fail to Increase Yields and Reduce Pesticide Use, Exposé Reveals (Beyond Pesticides, November 1, 2016)

A Times report. A comparison between rapeseed yields in Canada and Western Europe shows increases in both regions, with Europe’s yields consistently higher, independent of the use of GE crops. For corn, gains in food per acre were found to be roughly equal between the U.S. and Western Europe...As crop yields in Europe increased, pesticide use (fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides) decreased dramatically. As yields in the U.S. remained flat, insecticide use has remained the same, while the spread of herbicide-tolerant weeds has caused use of these chemicals to skyrocket. Much of this can be attributed specifically to traits within GE crops that allow plants to tolerate repeated spraying of the herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

filed under gmos / GMO crops require more pesticide use.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

EPA Postpones Glyphosate Cancer Review Meeting after Letter from CropLife America

the move was likely the result of a letter industry front group CropLife America sent to EPA just days before the postponement, challenging the bias of certain experts on the panel.

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EPA Postpones Glyphosate Cancer Review Meeting after Letter from CropLife America (Beyond Pesticides, October 21, 2016)

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) postponed a long-planned Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) on the carcinogenicity of the widely used herbicide glyphosate due to “recent changes in the availability of experts for the peer review panel.”  However, as veteran journalist, formerly with Reuters, Carey Gillam reports in the Huffington Post, the move was likely the result of a letter industry front group CropLife America sent to EPA just days before the postponement, challenging the bias of certain experts on the panel. Croplife America is a national trade association that represents manufacturers, formulators, and distributors of pesticides, and has a vested interest in tamping down consumer concerns over glyphosate’s carcinogenicity.

SNAP comments: We should all be complaining about the perennial use of industry-sponsored experts on panels. CropLife, both in Canada and the US, acts like if their studies, mosty unpublished, are the only objective ones while evidence has shown over and over again the industry-bias of industry-sponsored studies. 

filed under pesticide fact sheets / glyphosate

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Endocrine Disruptors Cost U.S. Billions in Health Care Costs and Lost Wages

exposure to pesticides and other chemicals found in common household items, such as toys, makeup and detergent, costs the U.S. more than $340 billion annually

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Endocrine Disruptors Cost U.S. Billions in Health Care Costs and Lost Wages (Beyond Pesticides, October 25, 2016) Last week, a study, Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the USA: a population-based disease burden and cost analysis, published in The Lancet journal, concludes that exposure to pesticides and other chemicals found in common household items, such as toys, makeup and detergent, costs the U.S. more than $340 billion annually in health care costs and lost wages. The chemicals in question, endocrine disruptors (EDCs), interfere with the body’s hormone system, which can lead to a variety of health problems...According to Environmental Health News, the researchers estimate the costs by looking at exposure data and then projecting 15 medical conditions that are linked to endocrine disruptors and their associated health costs and lost wages.

filed under Endocrine Disruption

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Study Reveals Extent of Pesticide Contamination in Medical Marijuana in California

84% contained pesticide residues and 65% a very toxic illegal fungicide.

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Study Reveals Extent of Pesticide Contamination in Medical Marijuana (Beyond Pesticides, November 2, 2016) 

SNAP comment: Is it any different anywhre else? in absence of mandatory testing, likely not.

The results reveal that 84% of samples tested positive for pesticide residues, a number significantly higher than experts had previously expected, causing great cause for concern for California medical cannabis consumers.

...This data is significant in that it looks specifically at the medical marijuana market and the impact pesticide-contaminated marijuana may have on medical marijuana consumers, who are often individuals suffering from chronic disease or illness. A law intended to address this issue, the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, was passed in 2015, but its oversight provisions, which include mandatory testing, will not go into effect until 2018, leaving California consumers to fend for themselves when it comes to determining if their cannabis has been contaminated by pesticides.

In its analysis, Steep Hill found residue of the chemical myclobutanil, a key ingredient in pesticide Eagle 20, in more than 65 percent of samples tested during a 30-day period. Eagle 20, a fungicide, has not been approved for use on marijuana, and its active ingredient myclobutanil is an endocrine (hormone) disruptor classified as “toxic” by Beyond Pesticides... When burned, myclobutanil turns into a poisonous hydrogen cyanide, a colorless and extremely poisonous compound that can be lethal in high doses. Hydrogen cyanide affects organs most sensitive to low oxygen levels, including the brain, cardiovascular system and lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hydrogen Cyanide is also a Schedule 3 substance under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

filed under food

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Neonicotinoid Insecticide Exposure Reduces Bumblebee Colony Size

clothianidin treated colonies had fewer workers, drones and reproductive female bees compared to the colonies with no exposure.

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Neonicotinoid Insecticide Exposure Reduces Bumblebee Colony Size (Beyond Pesticides, October 24, 2016)

Systemic neonicotinoid (neonic) exposure is associated with reductions in colony size and changes in foraging behavior, according to a recent field study done by a team of scientists at Imperial College London. The senior author of the study, Richard Gill, Ph.D., stated that when neonicotinoid “exposure is relatively persistent and combined with other stressors associated with land use change, they could have detrimental effects at the colony level.”

The study, Impact of controlled neonicotinoid exposure on bumblebees in a realistic field setting, assesses the effect of exposure to the neonic, clothianidin, on bumblebee foraging patterns and colony size. Clothianidin was given to 20 buff-tailed bumblebee colonies for five-weeks in a sugar solution at a concentration of 5 parts per billion, an environmentally relevant level of the pesticide. A bumblebee colony census was done before and after the field experiment, where the number of eggs, larvae, pupae, and workers bees were recorded along with the wax and pollen stores in the colony. The researchers found that the clothianidin treated colonies had fewer workers, drones and reproductive female bees compared to the colonies with no exposure. These data add to the growing body of research on sub-lethal effects, which must be considered when looking at the effects of pesticides on non-target organisms.

filed under Bee die-off

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Report Reveals Food Retailers Failing Pollinators

only four of the top food retailers have adopted a publicly available company commitment to increase offerings of certified organic food or to disclose data on the current percentage of organic offerings

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Report Reveals Food Retailers Failing Pollinators (Beyond Pesticides, October 31, 2016) 

SNAP comment: American retailers score card. Do we have something similar in Canada? Does a policy in US stores apply to Canadian stores? I don't know.

The report reveals that while consumer demand for organic and pesticide-free food continues to show double-digit growth, only four of the top food retailers, Albertsons, Costco, Target (TGT) and Whole Foods, have adopted a publicly available company commitment to increase offerings of certified organic food or to disclose data on the current percentage of organic offerings or organic sales. In addition to these retailers, Aldi, Food Lion, part of the Delhaize Group (DEG), and Kroger (KR) disclosed data on the current percentage of organic offerings or organic sales. 

filed under food

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Soil Biota Adversely Affected by Interaction of Inputs and Practices in Chemical-Intensive Agriculture

.Researchers observed a negative effect due to pesticide treatment on mites, and generally found that all taxonomic groups were affected negatively, especially following insecticide treatment.

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Soil Biota Adversely Affected by Interaction of Inputs and Practices in Chemical-Intensive Agriculture (Beyond Pesticides, October 14, 2016) 

.."The study demonstrates that simple evaluations of pesticide exposure on single organisms does not give a complete picture of pesticide risk"

The study, titled 'Pesticide Interactions with Tillage and N Source, Effects on fauna, microoganisms and selected ecosystem services', monitored soil biota during two cropping seasons of winter wheat...Researchers observed a negative effect due to pesticide treatment on mites, and generally found that all taxonomic groups were affected negatively, especially following insecticide treatment.

filed under wildlife/ terrestrial invertebrates

Monday, October 17, 2016

EPA Review Keeps Bee-Toxic Pesticide Sulfoxaflor on the Market with Limited Restrictions

EPA Review Keeps Bee-Toxic Pesticide Sulfoxaflor on the Market with Limited Restrictions.5 products registered in Canada.

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EPA Review Keeps Bee-Toxic Pesticide Sulfoxaflor on the Market with Limited Restrictions (Beyond Pesticides, October 17, 2016)

"Sulfoxaflor’s initial 2013 registration was challenged by beekeepers and subsequently vacated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals due to overwhelming risks to bees and EPA’s inadequate review of the data.EPA Review Keeps Bee-Toxic Pesticide Sulfoxaflor on the Market with Limited Restrictions . The Court concluded that EPA violated federal law when it approved sulfoxaflor without reliable studies regarding the impact that the insecticide may have on honey bee colonies."

Its mode of action is similar to that of neonicotinoid pesticides."Like nenonicotinoids, sulfloxoflor has a long half-life and persists in soil, where it is taken up by growing plants, presenting itself in the nectar and pollen that pollinators rely on for food." 

SNAP comment: As of 17 October 2016, there are 5 sulfoxaflor insecticides.

filed under Bee Die-Off /Regulatory

Friday, October 14, 2016

Grain Millers Inc. firm on glyphosate-treated oats ban

glyphosate as a pre-harvest management product disrupts the natural maturation process and negatively affects starch development, resulting in lower quality flakes and flour.

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Grain Millers Inc. firm on glyphosate-treated oats ban (Western Producer, Jan. 29th, 2016)

Tyson said use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest management product disrupts the natural maturation process and negatively affects starch development, resulting in lower quality flakes and flour.
There we go! Another reason for NOT using gyphosate!
filed under glyphosate 
 
 
Friday, October 14, 2016

The People Take on Monsanto for Crimes Against Humanity in International Tribunal

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The People Take on Monsanto for Crimes Against Humanity in International Tribuna(EcoWatch, 13 Oct. 2016) Lorraine Chow

Watch the Livestream here: http://www.monsanto-tribunal.org

Andre Leu discusses the poisoning of our children by Monsanto's poison.Please tell all your mom friends about Glyphosate! #MonsantosCrimesExposed  Moms Across America.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Glyphosate: New monograph published

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Glyphosate: New monograph published  (GM watch,11 October 2016)

'PAN International says, "Adverse human impacts detailed in the review include acute poisoning, kidney and liver damage, imbalances in the intestinal microbiome and intestinal functioning, cancer, genotoxicity, endocrine disruption, reproductive and development reduction, neurological damage and immune system dysfunction.”'

'Glyphosate is sprayed on over 80% of GM crops and is used to “desiccate” other crops to make them easier to harvest.'

The new review can be accessed here:
http://pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Glyphosate-monograph.pdf

more on glyphosate at http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/fact-sheets

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Ecological Tick Management Workshop

up to date info on tick management tools

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Ecological Tick Management Workshop (Beyond Pesticides 2016 conference workshsop)

up to date info on tick management tools from a tick and tick transmitted diseases researcher, and a preserve manager successful in tick management with cedar chips and cedar oil. SNAP Warning: some people may be allergic to cedar, but lots of other options presented.

filed under alternatives/ insects and invertebrates/ additional information

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Pyrethroids are everywhere and more dangerous than you realize

soaring use to replace other insecticides, increased finding in body fluids and increasing reports of harm

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Pyrethroids are everywhere and  more dangerous than you realize (by Shruti Ravindran, The Verge,  Feb 19, 2014, US article)
 
A specific group of bug-killers, pyrethroids and pyrethrins, have been soaring in popularity in recent years and now account for more than a quarter of the global market.In 2008. (NOTE: For instance Raid contains types of pyrethroids.) The Center for Public Integrity analyzed 90,000 adverse reaction reports and found that health problems linked to pyrethroids had increased 300 times in 10 years. Up to 2/3 of people in studies have pyrethroid breakdown products in their urine. "A regulatory system that utilizes animal studies can't simulate the effect of toxins on children".
Thursday, October 6, 2016

Zika virus - facts and management

Best mosquito repellent and many other facts about the virs and its mosquito carrier.

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Zika virus-facts and management Facts about the biology of Zika virus and its carrier, the Aedes mosquito.Best mosquito repellent is picaridine. Widespread spraying does not work for control but there seems to be good potential in the release of sterile GMO male mosquitoes.Interesting fact: don't use mosquito repellent and sunscreen at the same time.they interfere with each other. 

fie under mosquoto control

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Glyphosate testing - levels and timeline

Both Canada and the US recently started testing for glyphosate in food, but reports are not yet available.

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Glyphosate testing

In response to many inquiries, I wrote the following. Prior to 2005, testing detection level  was not sensitive enough to detect environmental concentrations. 

Testing levels for glyphosate are 200ppt (ng/l)

And for AMPA 1000ppt (ng/L) (AMPA is a formulant used in RoundUP formulations. There is evidence indicating it may be more toxic than glyphosate)

Both Canada and the US recently started testing for glyphosate in food, but reports are not yet available.

filed under Presentations and Publications

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Former Undisclosed Ingredients in Pesticide Products Found in Fish, Birds, and Dolphins

Researchers detected the presence of PFPIAs in the blood of 100% of animals sampled. Still used as a pesticide formulant in Canada.

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Former Undisclosed Ingredients in Pesticide Products Found in Fish, Birds, and Dolphins  (Beyond Pesticides, October 4, 2016)

Chemicals previously used as inert ingredients in pesticide formulations have been detected in a wide range of North American wildlife species, according to research published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The compounds, perfluroalkyl phosphinic acids (PFPIAs) (CAS number 68412-69-1) were widely used as anti-foaming agents in pesticide formulations until 2006, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took regulatory action to cancel their use, citing “human health and environmental risks of concern.” However, the chemicals continue to be used today in consumer goods, including carpet cleaning formulas.

Researchers detected the presence of PFPIAs in the blood of 100% of animals sampled.“Previous work by other scientists in three separate publications have shown perfluorophosphinic acids are found in human blood samples from North America and Germany,” Dr. De Silva continued to CNN. Dr. De Silva’s previous research detected the presence of PFPIAs in 83% of household dust samples from homes sampled in Toronto, Canada.

SNAP NOTE: Inerts are called Formulants in Canada. We have little more information than the US on formulants as so few of them have to be disclosed on labels, but there is a list of allowed formulants. Interesting that they are considered too dangerous for pesticide formulations but still used in carpet cleaning formulas and other uses. A good example of how inadequate the regulatory system is. PFPIAs are still listed in the current (as of October 2016) 2010 List of Formulants in Canada: 

068412-69-1 PHOSPHINIC ACID, BIS(PERFLUORO-C6-12-ALKYL)
DERIVATIVES  List 3

filed under formulants/inerts where you will also find links to the list of formulants.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Endangered Species Status Proposed for Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

a victory for environmental groups who have fought to protect the rusty patched bumble bee from widespread threats such as habitat loss and pesticide use.

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Endangered Species Status Proposed for Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

(Beyond Pesticides, September 23, 2016) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed listing the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This is a victory for environmental groups who have fought to protect the rusty patched bumble bee from widespread threats such as habitat loss and pesticide use. 

Monday, October 3, 2016

FDA Tests Confirm Oatmeal, Baby Foods Contain Residues of Monsanto Weed Killer

I don't know if we test for it in Canada.

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FDA Tests Confirm Oatmeal, Baby Foods Contain Residues of Monsanto Weed Killer

(Huffington Post, 09/30/2016; Updated 2 days ago) 

In the sample results shared, the levels ranged from nothing detected in several different organic oat products to 1.67 parts per million, according to the presentation.


Farmers are encouraged by Monsanto to use RoundUp on most crops. “A preharvest weed control application is an excellent management strategy to not only control perennial weeds, but to facilitate harvest management and get a head start on next year’s crop,” according to a Monsanto “pre-harvest staging guide.”


Even though the FDA annually examines foods for residues of many... other types of pesticides, it has skipped testing for glyphosate residues for decades. It was only in February of this year that the agency said it would start some glyphosate residue analysis. That came after many independent researchers started conducting their own testing and found glyphosate in an array of food products, including flour, cereal, and oatmeal.


Quaker Oats has said any trace amounts of glyphosate found in its products are safe, and it stands by the quality of its products.

HERBICIDE IN HONEY

In addition to oats, the FDA also earlier this year tested samples of U.S. honey for glyphosate residues and found all of the samples contained glyphosate residues, including some with residue levels double the limit allowed in the European Union,

filed under pesticides in food

Monday, October 3, 2016

EPA Fines Syngenta $1.2 Million for Multiple Safety Violations under Settlement

“The repackaging, sale and distribution of unregistered and misbranded pesticides is illegal and puts people and the environment at risk."

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EPA Fines Syngenta $1.2 Million for Multiple Safety Violations under Settlement

(Beyond Pesticides, September 27, 2016) 

EPA charged Syngenta with three major violations of the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), including: (1) Failure to have repackaging agreement and/or maintain records on registered pesticides; (2) Distributing misbranded pesticides, and; (3) Failure to maintain data submitted for pesticide registration. However, under the consent agreement reached with EPA, the company neither admits nor denies the allegations.

The repackaging, sale and distribution of unregistered and misbranded pesticides is illegal and puts people and the environment at risk. Users rely on accurate, up-to-date information about ingredients, directions for use, hazards and safety precautions,” said Anne Heard, Acting Regional Administrator for the Southeast in an EPA press release. 

SNAP NOTE: The label is also the legal document setting rules for use of a particular pesticide. Repackaging often does not come with a copy of a label. The US has a history of large fine while, in Canada, the PMRA is issueing piddly fines whenenver it has to. It generally believes that educating the party is more appropriate.

filed under Legislation/ US

Monday, October 3, 2016

Pesticide residue found on nearly half of organic produce

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Pesticide residue found on nearly half of organic produce (CBC News, Jan 08, 2014)

'I would hope that the products are without pesticides,' says organic food consumer

“It’s a dramatically lower figure than conventional food, so it illustrates the advantages of organics. But it's also very disturbing that it very clearly illustrates the fact that we've soiled our own bed,” Kastel said in an interview with CBC News from his farm near Rockton, Wis.
It is still worth buying organic because it encourages the industry and a general reduction in pesticide use. SNAP NOTE: A news item missed in 2014. Usually the news of contamination of organic produce by pesticide is released by CropLife Canada, the pesticide industry organization. as a media release .I don't know where CBC got this news. Organic certification certifies growing methods, but when it rains and snows pesticides and they contaminates most surface waters, nothing and nowhere is pesticide-free.

filed under pesticides in food

Monday, October 3, 2016

Beyond Pesticides Launches Comprehensive K-5 Pollinator Curriculum

For any interested teacher out there. Available on-line and seems free.

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Beyond Pesticides Launches Comprehensive K-5 Pollinator Curriculum

(Beyond Pesticides September 28, 2016)

For any interested teacher out there. Available on-line and seems free. There are even grants to help adoption of the courriculum in specific areas in the US.

filed under bee die-off / educational material

Monday, September 26, 2016

Séralini wins again in court against his attackers

a victory for good research. Seralini found that gmo corn caused cancer.

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Séralini wins again in court against his attackers 

'On 22 September a judge in the Criminal Court of Paris found Marc Fellous guilty of forgery and the use of forgery in order to defame Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini and CRIIGEN, a research association which focuses on the risks of genetic engineering and pesticides and the development of alternatives.'

'The ruling marks a second court victory this year for Prof Séralini, his research team, and CRIIGEN. On September 7 they won a libel suit in the Appeals Court against Marianne magazine and its journalist Jean-Claude Jaillette, who repeated the defamatory words of the American pro-tobacco and -GMO lobbyist Henry I. Miller.'

Monday, September 26, 2016

Lawn Chemicals Linked to 2 Types of Cancer in Dogs

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Lawn Chemicals Linked to 2 Types of Cancer in Dogs

'According to a study conducted over a 6 year period at the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, exposure to lawn pesticides, specifically those applied by professional lawn care companies, raised the risk of canine malignant lymphoma (CML) by as much as 70%,' (link below) this adds to evidence of a link with bladder cancer in earlier research, which was excluded from the 2,4-D for lawn care re-evaluation in Canada in 2005. 

Household Chemical Exposures and the Risk of Canine Malignant Lymphoma, a Model for Human Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (Biki B. Takashima-Uebelhoer et al. Environ Res. 2012 Jan; 112: 171–176)

more on 2,4-D

filed under pets 

Friday, September 23, 2016

Farmworker Advocates Call For Suspension of Highly Toxic Pesticide

Meantime in Canada, 29 chlorpyrifos insecticides are still registered

Farmworker Advocates Call For Suspension of Highly Toxic Pesticide (EarthJustice, 21 September 2016)

Advocates from across the country urge EPA to swiftly ban chlorpyrifos citing unacceptable risks to farmworkers and their families.

Meantime in Canada, 29 chlorpyrifos insecticides are still registered (23 September 2016) including 3 technical products which leaves 26 for commercial use. One product, Lorsban (registration number 29650), can still be used in agriculture for most grain and vegetable crops with time between last application and harvest from 7 (potatoes) to 90 days (beets), PESTS OFORNAMENTALS (COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION ONLY) - GREENHOUSES AND NURSERIES ONLY, and PESTS OF TURF (SOD FARMS ONLY). It can also be used by aerial application with lots of restrictions on wind speed, nozzle type and conditions of application. This particular product is not approved use for mosquito control that I saw.

The label identifies it as TOXIC to birds, wild mammals, bees and certain beneficial insects with accompanying use restrictions.

With so many rules and restrictions, and so few federal PMRA inspectors to ensure the pesticides are used according to label, who is really checking that the million of annual pesticide applications follow the label description (i.e. the legal document) Chances of getting caught are close to 0. Who can honestly say or imply that, because a pesticide is registered, it's safe?

This fall 2016, thankfully, neither the City of Regina or Wascana Center Authority have yet reported basal tree spraying of elms for Dutch Elm Disease control (with chlorpyrifos), which they have been doing yearly for over a decade. 

filed under risk assessment

Friday, September 23, 2016

BEE Protective

Protecting Honey Bees and Wild Pollinators From Pesticides

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BEE Protective (Beyond Pesticides)

filed under Bee Die-Off

Friday, September 23, 2016

SNAP site updates to Legislation page

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I updated the legislation page under Canada. There were some PCPA regulaton updates and a disclosure of the pesticides with conditional registration.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

https://evidencefordemocracy.ca/en/content/expert-panel-should-we-ban-neonicotinoid-pesticides

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Expert panel: Should we ban neonicotinoid pesticides? (Evidence for Democracy)

"The current scientific evidence on the negative impacts of neonicotinoids on wildlife is very compelling and is growing rapidly. There are numerous peer-reviewed studies showing lethal and sublethal effects on a variety of taxa."

filed under neonicotinoids

Monday, September 12, 2016

Glyphosate in Childhood Vaccines

Moms & Scientists Demand FDA & CDC Test Vaccines for Glyphosate

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Glyphosate in Childhood Vaccines (Moms Across America, Sep 6, 2016)  

DTap Adacel (Sanofi Pasteur) vaccine had 0.123 ppb, Influenza Fluvirin (Novaris)  0.331 ppb and HepB Energix-B (Glaxo Smith Kline) 0.325 and Pneumonoccal Vax Polyvalent Pneumovax 23, (Merck) had 0.107 ppb of glyphosate.The MMR II (Merck) vaccine, which CDC whistle blower Dr.William Thomas has linked to autism, had levels up to 25 times higher than the other vaccines, at 2.671ppb. Subsequently, multiple rounds of additional independent tests have confirmed these findings at or above the same levels.

SNAP NOTE: Small amounts but injected, not eaten. Furthermore glyphosate is know to have negative helath effects at low dose. 

filed under glyphosate

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Unique Study Causes Global Concerns over Glyphosate Damage to Freshwater Ecosystems

"These impacts were observed even at the concentration levels allowed by the Brazilian regulations".

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Unique Study Causes Global Concerns over Glyphosate Damage to Freshwater Ecosystems  (Sustainable Pulse September 1, 2016)

 "These impacts were observed even at the concentration levels allowed by the Brazilian regulations". Link to the original article in Phycologia scientific journal.
 

Friday, September 9, 2016

Scientist Attacked for Proving GMO Dangers Wins Defamation Suit in Frech Court

Science win over PR

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Scientist Attacked for Proving GMO Dangers Wins Defamation Suit in Frech Court (REALfarmacy.com by PAUL FASSA) The article reviews the Seralini research results and how monsanto managed to get the journal to retract the scientific article. The article was later republished. Seralini's team challenged Marianne Magazine and it’s feature journalist Jean-Claude Jaillet for publicly claiming in 2012 that Seralini and his team were guilty of “scientific fraud in which the methodology served to reinforce predetermined results”. 

Then after a three year investigation ending on the 25th of November 2015, the High Court of Paris indicted Marc Fellous, one of those charged in the original libel case earlier. He just happened to be the chairmen of France’s Biomolecular Engineering Commission who had rubber stamped many genetically modified products for consumption.The court’s investigation also discovered that American journalist Henry Miller via notoriously pro-GMO Forbes Magazine had initiated the libelous attacks. 

see more under RoundUp and industry shenanigans

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Pesticide concentrations were higher in the air and on surfaces of farmworker households.

Living 250 meters or more from sprayed areas reduced indoor exposure.

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Passive Sampling for Indoor and Outdoor Exposures to Chlorpyrifos, Azinphos-Methyl, and Oxygen Analogs in a Rural Agricultural Community(Environmental Health Perspectives. Jenna L. Gibbs,1,2 Michael G. Yost,2 Maria Negrete,2 and Richard A. Fenske2) 12 August 2016.

Overall, indoor air concentrations were lower than outdoors​.However, this study found that pesticide concentrations were higher in the air and on surfaces of farmworker households. There were less pesticides in households at 250 meters or more from the spray area. 

NOTE: Although chlorpyrifos is more volatile than some other pesticides, we know that 2,4-D and many other pesticides are volatile and also contaminate indoor air and surfaces.

filed under Hazards of Living Close to Spryed Fields

Thursday, September 8, 2016

GE Crops Lead to Increase in Toxic Herbicide Use

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GE Crops Lead to Increase in Toxic Herbicide Use (Beyond Pesticides, September 8, 2016) 

The research... found “clear evidence of increasing herbicide use by GE variety adopters over time for both soybeans and maize,” a finding that they credited partly to the emergence of weed resistance...The farm-level dataset that the researchers used was collected over the years 1998-2011 and includes a yearly average of 5,424 corn farmers and 5,029 soybean farmers. One striking trend that was noted since 1998 was the increase in the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. As of 2011, glyphosate was the primary herbicide used on soybeans, with just over 80% of total herbicide applied, and in corn it made up 40% of herbicide use, representing close to a 20-fold increase since 1998.

filed under gmos/GMO crops require more pesticide use

Sunday, September 4, 2016

FDA toughens stand on antibacterial soap labelling

'Antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long term,' says FDA medical doctor

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FDA toughens stand on antibacterial soap labelling

'Antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long term,' says FDA medical doctor  (CBC News, Sep 02, 2016)

This includes the registered pesticides triclosan and triclocarban. The FDA statement said that data submitted by the companies about the 19 ingredients wasn't sufficient:

"For these ingredients, either no additional data were submitted or the data and information that were submitted were not sufficient for the agency to find that these ingredients are Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective." but "The rule does not affect hand sanitizers or wipes."


and from 
FDA Finally Bans the Antibacterial Triclosan in Soaps, While EPA Allows Its Use in Common Household Products and Toys, we learn that 
"Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has jurisdiction over household products containing triclosan (microban), continues to allow the use of this hazardous chemical in numerous plastic and textile products, from toys, cutting boards, hair brushes, sponges, computer keyboards to socks and undergarments." and it remains in toothpaste!

In the meantime in Canada:
In 2012, a Canadian government study found that triclosan in waste water can interfere with the growth and reproduction of plants and animals in lakes and streams.

'We propose a voluntary cut out by industry and "The government will continue to monitor new scientific evidence related to triclosan and will take further action if warranted," André Gagnon said.'

This example illustrates how difficult it is to get any registered product off the market in spite of long-standing evidence of harm. 

posted in  antibacterials 

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Over Two Million Bees Killed after Aerial Mosquito Spraying in South Carolina

Naled is an organophosphate insecticide with the highest acute toxicity of any mosquitocide and has caused human symptoms.

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Over Two Million Bees Killed after Aerial Mosquito Spraying in South Carolina (Beyond Pesticides, September 2, 2016) 

Sprayed with the very toxic organophosphate Naled. "Naled is an organophosphate insecticide with the highest acute toxicity of any mosquitocide. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Naled can cause cholinesterase (an enzyme necessary to the transmission of nerve impulses) inhibition in humans, meaning that it can overstimulate the nervous system causing nausea, dizziness, confusion, and, at very high exposures (e.g., accidents or major spills), respiratory paralysis and death. Naled is highly toxic to honey bees."

I guess they will have to go to court and sue for damages. I have a feeling the compensation will not come by itself.
PANNA Pesticide Database indicates that,besides being a cholinesterase inhibitor (toxic to the nervous system, Naled is a development/reproductive toxins and has not been tested for endocrine disruption. 
Better options for mosquito control.

filed under bee die-off

Friday, August 26, 2016

Half of the Total Decline in Wild Bees throughout the UK Linked to Use of Neonics

Interesting for Saskatchewan as canola is a major user of neonic seed treatment.

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Half of the Total Decline in Wild Bees throughout the UK Linked to Use of Neonics

(Beyond Pesticides, August 18, 2016)  Decline of wild bee populations is linked to the use of toxic, systemic neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides used on oilseed rape (canola), according to new research done by a team of scientists at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the United Kingdom.The study, Impacts of neonicotinoid use on long-term population changes in wild bees in England, published in the journal Nature Communications, analyzed 18 years of UK national wild bee distribution data for 62 different species, and related it to amounts of neonicotinoid use. 

filed under Bee Die-Off

Friday, August 26, 2016

Non-Profits Sue General Mills for False and Misleading Use of ‘Natural’

Tests Reveal Nature Valley Products Contain Glyphosate, an Ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup

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Non-Profits Sue General Mills for False and Misleading Use of ‘Natural’

Tests Reveal Nature Valley Products Contain Glyphosate, an Ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup (Washington, DC, August 25, 2016)

“As a mother, when I read “100% Natural” I would expect that to mean no synthetic or toxic chemicals at all... A national survey conducted by Consumer Reports in 2015 finds that sixty six percent of consumers seek out products with a “natural” food label under the false belief that they are produced without pesticides, genetically modified organisms, hormones, and artificial ingredients.

Proponents of glyphosate herbicide use may claim that the residue levels found in many foods and beverages in America recently are below the EPA allowable levels established in 2014, and therefore consumers have no reason to be concerned. However, a 2015 study published in the journal Environmental Health finds that chronic, low-dose exposure to glyphosate as low as .1 parts per billion leads to adverse effects on liver and kidney health. A study released in early 2016 finds that glyphosate can cause changes to DNA function resulting in the onset of chronic disease, including diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Friday, August 26, 2016

78 Commonly Used Agricultural Pesticides Linked to Wheezing

“Fifty-one of the pesticides we tested in this study had never been analyzed in terms of their effects on respiratory outcomes. And some of them, like glyphosate, 2,4-D and permethrin, aren’t just used on farms.

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78 Commonly Used Agricultural Pesticides Linked to Wheezing

(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2016) New research connects 78 pesticides commonly used by farmers withmany adverse respiratory effects, including both allergic and non-allergic wheeze.

This is one of the most comprehensive evaluations of pesticides in relation to wheeze that has been evaluated to date, finding that several commonly used pesticides in both agriculture and residential settings can cause adverse respiratory effects.

“Fifty-one of the pesticides we tested in this study had never been analyzed in terms of their effects on respiratory outcomes. And some of them, like glyphosate, 2,4-D and permethrin, aren’t just used on farms.

Nice graph illustrating the pesticides and effects. NOTE: the mandatory testing od pesticides is usually done orally. To my knowledge, there are no regularly mandated tests for respiratory exposure except perhaps for individual chemicals known to cause problems like fumigants which are very volatile. In 2005, when malathion was used all over for mosquito control for West Nile virus, the US EPA had requested information on respiratory toxicity but not yet received it. 

filed under Health/respiratory

Friday, August 26, 2016

More Evidence Shows Neonics Harm Butterflies

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More Evidence Shows Neonics Harm Butterflies

(Beyond Pesticides, August 19, 2016) A study published earlier this week has found that the increasing use of neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides is correlated with a steep decline in butterfly health and reproductive success – as more neonics are used, butterflies are struggling to survive. This study adds to previous evidence that demonstrates, in addition to bees, neonics can cause serious harm to other important pollinators.

The study, Increasing neonicotinoid use and the declining butterfly fauna of lowland California, looks at 67 species of butterfly fauna in the lowlands of Northern California at four sites that were monitored for approximately 30-40 years...In November 2015, a study published in the United Kingdom used over 1,000 sites cataloged from 1984 to 2012 in the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) database to point to the strong association between neonic use and butterfly population decline.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Australian Study Finds Nearly Half of Insecticide Poisonings Affect Young Children

oung children are disproportionately poisoned by toxic pesticides used indoors

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Australian Study Finds Nearly Half of Insecticide Poisonings Affect Young Children

(Beyond Pesticides, August 16, 2016) Young children are disproportionately poisoned by toxic pesticides used indoors, according to a study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Data analyzed from the Queensland, Australia Poisons Information Centre (QPIC) finds that 49% of 743 insecticide-related calls in 2014 concerned young children...A significant share of childhood pesticide poisonings occurred in very young children.

filed under Children

Friday, August 26, 2016

Banned Chemicals Linked to Increased Autism Risk

Researchers at Drexel University report that higher levels of some organochlorine compounds during pregnancy are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID)

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Banned Chemicals Linked to Increased Autism Risk (Beyond Pesticides, August 24, 2016)

Researchers at Drexel University report that higher levels of some organochlorine compounds during pregnancy are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). The organochlorine compounds under study have long been banned in the U.S., and include pesticides like DDT, underscoring how pervasive and persistent these chemicals are, and their continued impact on human health.

The research is reported in the study Polychlorinated Biphenyl and Organochlorine Pesticide Concentrations in Maternal Mid-Pregnancy Serum Samples: Association with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability, 

filed under Nervous System effects /Autism

Thursday, August 25, 2016

When It Comes To Food, “Generally Recognized As Safe” May Not Mean What It Sounds Like

GRAS substances also commonly used as pesticide formulants

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When It Comes To Food, “Generally Recognized As Safe” May Not Mean What It Sounds Like (ConsumeristAugust 24, 2016 By )

GRAS Substances can also be included as formulants in pesticide formulations. This is interesting new information of what GRAS means. Not much as it turns out. Also, I am sure the whole testing is plagued by old thinking that the dose makes the poison, which has been proven false in many cases. However. I assume there is little or no independent testing for endocrine effects on substances generally recognized as safe. The priority would be elsewhere.

In Canada, GRAS substances would be under list 3 or 4B of the List of Formulants
List 3: List 3 contains formulants that do not meet the criteria of any of the other lists.
List 4A: List 4A contains formulants that appear on the US EPA Minimum Risk Inerts List, which are generally regarded to be of minimal toxicological concern, as well as substances
commonly consumed as foods.

filed under formulants
 

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Regina begins dandelion-spraying today

Broadleaf weeds will be sprayed in some but not all areas

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Regina begins dandelion-spraying today (CBC News, Aug 22, 2016)

Broadleaf weeds will be sprayed in some but not all areas

This is city property only. for Wascana Park spraying go to SNAP home page. Link on the bottom right.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Pesticides on Planes: How Airlines Are Softly Killing Us

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Pesticides on Planes: How Airlines Are Softly Killing Us  (Truthout, 16 June 2015 By Maryam Henein, HoneyColony | Op-Ed)

'How many of you have felt sick following a flight, only to chalk it up to a virus or sinus infection you caught from a fellow passenger? What if I told you, you may have been poisoned by pesticides on the plane without knowing it?' 'According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization, certain aircraft cabins are sprayed with a ‘quick-acting insecticide’ immediately before takeoff, while passengers are on board.' 'Many countries require disinsection of aircrafts from countries with insects that spread disease, such as malaria and yellow fever.' 

Most spray programs currently use pyrethroids. Has video of airpane spraying while passengers on board.

While this is not exactly news, it does not get in the news often enough. It is worth repeating. Most spray programs use pyrethroids. More on health effects of pyrethroids

filed under Air Travel

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Crime In The Fields: How Monsanto And Scofflaw Farmers Hurt Soybeans In Arkansas

Tens of thousands of acres of soybean (in the US) are showing Dicamba herbicide damage after dicamba-resistant seed released before the new herbicide formulation is approved.

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Crime In The Fields: How Monsanto And Scofflaw Farmers Hurt Soybeans In Arkansas (NPR, 1st Aug 2016)

Tens of thousands of acres of soybean (in the US) are showing Dicamba herbicide damage. 'The story starts with Monsanto because the St. Louis-based biotech giant launched, this year, an updated version of its herbicide-tolerant soybean seeds. This new version, which Monsanto calls "Xtend, isn't just engineered to tolerate sprays of glyphosate, aka Roundup. It's also immune to dicamba", as well as higher yielding...However, 'the Environmental Protection Agency has not yet approved the new dicamba weedkiller that Monsanto created for farmers to spray on its new dicamba-resistant crops. That new formulation of dicamba, according to Monsanto, has been formulated so that it won't vaporize as easily, and won't be as likely to harm neighboring crops.'..and they apparenty 'made it clear to farmers that they were not allowed to spray dicamba on these dicamba-resistant beans.'

'Whatever the original motivation for buying Xtend seed, some scofflaw farmers did try to take advantage of it by spraying dicamba on their soybean fields. Swaths of vulnerable soybeans on neighboring fields are showing the damage. "There's a tremendous amount of injury on soybean fields," says Barber. There also are reports of damage to vegetable crops.'

'Barber says farmers whose fields are damaged are especially angry, because they're already under economic stress because of low crop prices.'

NOTE: I believe this was a very predictable outcome, and it shows a lack of common sense and concern by Monsanto. It also illustrates the extent of disregard for regulations with piddly fines.

filed under gmos/ Safety/Health. Could also have been filed under GMO crops require more pesticide use

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Steam Weeding In Canada - new contractor

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Steam Weeding In Canada

I am overjoyed to have found a Canadian company currently successfully using steam weeding in Canada. I am sure there is an opportunit to grow the business. 

"Here at STEAM 'N' WEEDS we use patented steam technology from Weedtechnics to eradicate unwanted vegetation. There are no chemicals required in this process. Simply 1 ingredient, WATER."

STEAM 'N' WEEDS

Address: Wainwright, AB, Canada.

Phone: 587-43-STEAM (587-437-8326)

Email: info@steamnweeds.com

Web: www.steamnweeds.com

Friday, July 22, 2016

Mixtures of Multiple Pesticide Ingredients in Products Not Evaluated by EPA for Elevated Toxicity (

A new report concludes that nearly 100 recently approved pesticide products with chemical mixtures that elevate the formulations’ toxicity, are not specifically evaluated by the agency for the effects of chemical mixtures

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Mixtures of Multiple Pesticide Ingredients in Products Not Evaluated by EPA for Elevated Toxicity (Beyond Pesticides, July 21, 2016) 

'An investigative report released yesterday by Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) concludes that, over the past six years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved nearly 100 pesticide products with chemical mixtures that elevate the formulations’ toxicity, but are not specifically evaluated by the agency.'

The report Toxic Concoctions: How the EPA Ignores the Dangers of Pesticide Cocktails, highlights a long-running blind spot within EPA’s pesticide evaluation program: the risk associated with combining mixtures of different pesticide active ingredients, which independent science shows may be more toxic than a single active ingredient by itself, also known as pesticide synergism.

NOTE: The same is true for Canada.

file under  Legislation

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Lab analysis shows strawberries are contaminated with 20 different pesticides, majority of which cause cancer in humans

Buy organic strawberries...

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Lab analysis shows strawberries are contaminated with 20 different pesticides, majority of which cause cancer in humans  (Natural News, July 19, 2016 by: Isabelle Z).

A Switzerland story with lots of US data. 'Only one of the non-organic samples taken from the supermarket actually met the standards for making baby food.'...  "The news comes just two months after a report released by the Environmental Working Group found that strawberries had replaced apples as the fruits with the highest levels of pesticide residues."

filed under food

 

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Glyphosate Causes Changes to DNA Function Resulting in Chronic Disease, According to Study

It is incorporated in DNA instead of glycine, preventing it from folding properly. Why won't this info be considered by the EPA in their upcoming risk assessment?

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Glyphosate Causes Changes to DNA Function Resulting in Chronic Disease, According to Study (Global Justice Ecology Project, July 20, 2016 by GJEP staff}

Another study on effects of glyphosate (RoundUp) this time looking at the mechanism of action. It is used instead of glycine in molecules in DNA, therefore preventing it from assuming the right shape for being used. I guess it prevents the puzzle pieces from fitting properly.

"However, EPA indicated that much of the information provided may not impact their current risk assessment for glyphosate, which is expected sometime in 2017."

SNAP note: Why not? It does not help that 'industry experts'... usually form the majority (or close to) of any risk assessment committee, it also seems that they EPA's main concern is not public health. I don't think the EPA or the Canadian PMRA have any ideas on how to handle questions outside the very inadequate 'regulatory testing'.

posted under glyphosate 

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Manitoba re-opening discussion on newly-implemented ban on cosmetic pesticides in the province.

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 Manitoba re-opening discussion on newly-implemented ban on cosmetic pesticides in the province. Reversing cosmetic pesticide ban? Opponents wonder why Tories re-opening discussion(By Joyanne Pursaga, Winnipeg Sun, July 18, 2016  

Of course the Weed Man is behind that. 'Hinton said some of the pesticides banned by the province are approved by Health Canada.'' “They are safe for use. The last government did this just for (politics) only,” he said.'
 
Mr Hinton is making an illegal statement by inferring that because a pesticide is registered, it is safe.  However, I doubt he will be fined for it. Not much ever happens from the PMRA to enforce this part of their Act and regulations.
 
more on pesticide registration and regulation at  Pesticide Issues in Saskatchewan: A Primer by Paule Hjertaas. This article gives an overview of pesticide health effects and the pesticide situation in Saskatchewan and Canada. (June 2007)
 
Wednesday, July 13, 2016

California to List Atrazine and Other Triazine Weedkillers to Prop 65 as Reproductive Toxicants

The listing can finally proceed after Syngenta's legal challenge was unsuccessful.

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California to List Atrazine and Other Triazine Weedkillers to Prop 65 as Reproductive Toxicants  (Beyond Pesticides, July 13, 2016) 

'The listing of these chemicals was initially to be effective on August 3, 2015. However, Syngenta, manufacturer of atrazine, challenged the listing decision, leading to a delay in the formal decision. Syngenta Crop Protection v OEHHA (Sacramento Superior Court case#34-2014-800001868). Syngenta’s challenge was unsuccessful and now the official listing can move forward, in spite of Syngenta’s pending appeal.'

Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, was enacted as a ballot initiative in November 1986. The proposition protects the state’s drinking water sources from being contaminated with chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and requires businesses to inform Californians about exposures to such chemicals.

posted in Reproductive Health 

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Roundup Ready GMO Grass Coming to a Lawn Near You?

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is developing another variety of GMO grass that's engineered to withstand applications of glyphosate

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Roundup Ready GMO Grass Coming to a Lawn Near You?

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is developing another variety of GMO grass that's engineered to withstand applications of glyphosate ( by Lorraine Chow, Ecowatch)

This latest effort follows Scotts's first fiasco with GMO turf. In 1997, the lawn care company teamed up with Monsanto to create GMO grass for golf courses. Unfortunately, their bio-enhanced creeping bentgrass escaped from field trials into the Oregon wild in 2003, thus eliminating any chance of federal approval for commercial use, as the New York Times reported in 2006.

Scotts was fined $500,000 for the incident but their lab-grown grass is still found in parts of Oregon, and has sparked concerns from local residents and organic livestock farmers who are worried that the hard-to-eradicate grass could invade pastures or contaminate non-GMO hay or grain fields.

According to Forbes, trials are already underway for Scotts's latest Roundup Ready grass that grows at half the speed of conventional grass. The company hopes the novel grass will enter the market in three years.

saved in gmo / crops

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Charlottetown bans use of cosmetic pesticides

It bans the use of non-domestic pesticides on any residential or commercial property in the town

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Charlottetown bans use of cosmetic pesticides  (By Brian Higgins, CBC News, 11 July 2016)

The new bylaw goes into effect on January 1, 2017

The new bylaw is based on similar bans in Cornwall and Stratford. It bans the use of non-domestic pesticides on any residential or commercial property in the town with some exceptions such as golf courses, agriculture use or public utilities land.

saved in bylaws / provincial/ Prince Edward Island

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Vancouver votes to ban bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides

Use of hotly-debated neonicotinoid had 'dramatically increased' in Vancouver for lawns ravaged by chafer beetles

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Vancouver votes to ban bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides (By Lisa Johnson, CBC News, 12 July 2016)

Use of hotly-debated neonicotinoid had 'dramatically increased' in Vancouver for lawns ravaged by chafer beetles

Natural solution already exists in nematode wormsand, I believe, milky spore disease. 

Friday, July 8, 2016

Glyphosate Extended for 18 Months in Europe – With Restrictions

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Glyphosate Extended for 18 Months in Europe – With Restrictions (Beyond Pesticides, July 6, 2016) 

Unable to come to a formal decision on glyphosate, the European Commission has issued a limited license extension for glyphosate, the pesticide in Monsanto’s flagship product Roundup. The decision also comes with some restrictions, including obligations for member states to minimize use on playgrounds, and a ban on formulations with the ingredient POEA.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Europe Releases Weakened Criteria for Regulating Endocrine Disruptors

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Europe Releases Weakened Criteria for Regulating Endocrine Disruptors

(Beyond Pesticides, June 21, 2016) New regulations issued by the European Commission (EU) last week to regulate endocrine disruptors in pesticide products are being criticized by public interest groups and scientists as undermining the precautionary legal standard governing pesticide use in Europe. Previous investigations and reports have uncovered industry’s attempt to quash efforts to enact robust protections from these harmful chemicals, despite their likely contribution to billions of dollars in lost revenue due to health effects.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Government Lacks Data on Widespread Herbicide Use on Public Lands

The report includes Canada, the US and Mexico

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Government Lacks Data on Widespread Herbicide Use on Public Lands (Beyond Pesticides, July 8, 2016)  The report includes Canada, the US and Mexico. “We were surprised that we could not obtain a full accounting of herbicide usage for natural areas management in the U.S. and that no data were available for Canada,”  'A 2014 study shows that goats can adequately fill this need. Goats act as broad-spectrum weed killers; they will eat everything. In fact, goats are often more efficient at eradicating weeds, and are more environmentally sustainable than using harmful pesticides and chemicals.​'

NOTE: not a big surprise as the PMRA now is supposedly reporting on pesticide sales in Canada since 2007 but claims it is secret to divulge the sales by provinces. Canada is the land of darkness when it comes to information on pesticide sales and use.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Organic Agriculture Boosts Local Economies

organic hotspots boost median household incomes by an average of $2,000 and reduce poverty levels by an average of 1.3 percentage points

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Organic Agriculture Boosts Local Economies (Beyond Pesticides, June 16, 2016) New research links county-level economic health to agriculture, and finds that organic food and crop production, along with the business activities accompanying organic agriculture, creates real and long-lasting regional economic opportunities. The recently completed White Paper, U.S. Organic Hotspots and their Benefit to Local Economies, was prepared for the Organic Trade Association (OTA) by Penn State Agricultural Economist Edward Jaenicke, Ph.D. It finds organic hotspots –counties with high levels of organic agricultural activity whose neighboring counties also have high organic activity– boost median household incomes by an average of $2,000 and reduce poverty levels by an average of 1.3 percentage points. The research highlights the success of organic agriculture and demonstrates, yet again, that organic agriculture can and must feed the world.

filed under organic/Economy 

Friday, July 8, 2016

USDA Aligns with Chemical Industry for Pollinator Festival, Disinvites Environmentalists

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), during its Pollinator Week Festival at the “People’s Garden” on Friday, has shut out environmental public interest groups that are advocating pesticide restrictions to protect bees.

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USDA Aligns with Chemical Industry for Pollinator Festival, Disinvites Environmentalists

(Beyond Pesticides, June 24, 2016)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), during its Pollinator Week Festival at the “People’s Garden” on Friday, has shut out environmental public interest groups that are advocating pesticide restrictions to protect bees. Instead, the agriculture agency is teaming up with other federal agencies and chemical industry groups that advocates say have been tone deaf to beekeepers’ pleas for federal government action. This new controversy emerges in the midst of an escalating pollinator crisis with 44% bee colony losses in the last year.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Glyphosate Sprayed on GMO Crops Linked to Lake Erie’s Toxic Algae Bloom

not only does roundUp release phosphorus from some soils, it contains phosphorus that the bad algi can use to grow.

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Glyphosate Sprayed on GMO Crops Linked to Lake Erie’s Toxic Algae Bloom (EcoWatch, Lorraine Chow, 5 July 2016)  

"Through his own and others' research, Spiese found that depending on the types of metal in the soil, glyphosate does release phosphorus", and phosphorus is a known link to algi blooms.

 RoundUp ​is a phosphonoglycine type of chemical, meaning that it contains phosphorus (P). A lot of RoundUp used in the watershed is being detected in adjacent waterways particularly in the spring, 'The researchers also found that the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in the lake are capable of using phosophonates.'

"It turns out that many cyanobacteria present in Lake Erie have the genes allowing the uptake of phosphonates, and these cyanobacteria can grow using glyphosate and other phosphonates as a sole source of phosphorus," Bullerjahn said.

filed under water and glyphosate

Friday, July 8, 2016

Report Details Industry Efforts to Derail Pollinator Protections

According to the report, industry is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbying to delay state and federal action on the chemicals they manufacture.

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Report Details Industry Efforts to Derail Pollinator Protections (Beyond Pesticides, June 17, 2016)

The pesticide industry has weakened and delayed pesticide reforms and is shaping new state pollinator “protection” plans nationwide that do little to protect bees, according to a new Friends of the Earth report. The report is being released in advance of Pollinator Week (June 20-26, 2016), as people assemble to ask for improved protection for pollinators.

The investigation, Buzz Kill: How the Pesticide Industry is Clipping the Wings of Bee Protection Efforts Across the U.S., reveals an array of pesticide industry tactics to slow urgently needed pollinator protection measures at federal and state levels. The report details how new state pollinator protection plans, many still unfinished, have been heavily influenced by pesticide industry interests. According to the report, industry is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbying to delay state and federal action on the chemicals they manufacture.

saved under Industry Shenanigans

Thursday, July 7, 2016

The Last Roundup: How the world's best-selling pesticide is heading for a fall

Great compendium of RoundUp significant research and a textbook case of industry shenanigans with great references.

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The Last Roundup: How the world's best-selling pesticide is heading for a fall(National ObserverBy Warren Bell in Opinion | July 4th 2016}

"Monsanto, like other large corporations, has had a special department established for this purpose (to ferociously attack any study, researcher or organization that threatens the corporation's products) for a long time." I always wondered how the scientific journal could retract the Seralinini study here it is ( with links): "By some as yet undisclosed means, a veteran Monsanto researcher, Richard E. Goodman – with a background in dairy science and immunology, but not plant science or pesticides – suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the senior editorial board of the journal that had published the Séralini paper, in a newly created position called “Associate Editor for biotechnology”."

Very well researched and great links. Warren Bell is a family physician who is Past Founding President of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

filed under  industry shenanigans and glyphosate 

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

107 Nobel Laureate Attack on Greenpeace Traced Back to Biotech PR Operators

senior research specialist on GMOs, Charlie Cray, accompanied by Tim Schwab, senior researcher from Food and Water Watch were both physically prevented from entering the Press Club.

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107 Nobel Laureate Attack on Greenpeace Traced Back to Biotech PR Operators (Global Justice Ecology Project

more industry shenanigans. this time, media manipulation. and one wonders why the news can be so uninformative.
same thing in health. one acquaintance was organizing a meeting on diabetes treatment and was offered coverage of conference costs as long as the sponsor could control the agnda: i.e. choosing all the speakers and excluding prevention and topics and speakers they did not want. Thank goodness, she refused, but you can understand why it is so hard to get to the truth.
filed in industry shenanigans at http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/industrys-shenanigans
 

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

That Perfect Green Lawn Could Be Deadly For Your Dog

Treated lawns were associated with a greater risk of a type of cancer called canine malignant lymphoma (CML),

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That Perfect Green Lawn Could Be Deadly For Your Dog    By Christina M. Russo

mainly about rodenticides but "Arguably more concerning is a 2012 study examining the impact of lawn care on canines. Treated lawns were associated with a greater risk of a type of cancer called canine malignant lymphoma (CML), and professionally applied pesticides were particularly dangerous, associated with 70 percent higher risk of CML."

When we fought the battle to ban pesticides in Regina in the early 2000, one naturopathic vet spoke in favour of a ban and her presentation cited many cases she got every years of pets poisoned by pesticides. But when I subsequently went to the vet college in Saskatoon to ask about occurrences or statistics of pets poisoned by pesticides, I was told there were none... Are we training blind vets up there, in spite of the toxicology school?

I believe I have her presentation on the computer but in a format I can no longer access...

saved in pets 

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Municipalities with Pesticide Bylaws in Canada - June 2016 update

As of June 2016 the aggregate number of municipal by-laws in Canada totaled 180.

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Municipalities with Pesticide Bylaws in Canada
 
The lack of adequate protection from unwanted exposure to lawn pesticides at the federal and provincial level has fueled a growing surge in municipal pesticide ordinances designed to enhance the protection of public health and the environment. As of June 2016 the aggregate number of municipal by-laws in Canada totaled 180.
http://www.flora.org/healthyottawa/BylawList.pdf
Sunday, June 26, 2016

U.S. coal giant owed money to Canadian climate change deniers

Peabody's funding of groups like Friends of Science and others like CFACT shows a clear intent by the company to intervene in the climate public policy debate by casting doubt on the science.

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One more example of industry shenanigans.This example is not about pesticides, but the same happens there. 

U.S. coal giant owed money to Canadian climate change deniers (By Charles Mandel in News, Energy | June 16th 2016)

'Kert Davies, director of the Climate Investigations Center and one of the researchers who uncovered Peabody's links to the U.S. climate denial groups, told National Observer: "Peabody's funding of groups like Friends of Science and others like CFACT shows a clear intent by the company to intervene in the climate public policy debate by casting doubt on the science. They know full well that science is the engine that drives environmental policy; derail the science and you stop the train."'

filed under Industry Shenanigans

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Honeybees pick up 'astonishing' number of pesticides via non-crop plants

Raid and many other insecticides sold to consumers contain pyrethroids. Most people still used DEET based mosquito-repellents. Think before you use them.

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Honeybees pick up 'astonishing' number of pesticides via non-crop plants (Purdue UniversityMay 31, 2016)

Raid and many other insecticides sold to consumers contain pyrethroids. Most people still use DEET based mosquito-repellents. Think before you use them.

Why more pesticides in the untreated field? Pesticides do not remain where they are sprayed. They evaporate and come back in rain and snow. That must be how DEET gets into pollen... Most surface water is widely contaminated. Pesticides can also remain in the soil for many years.

"The researchers found 29 pesticides in pollen from the meadow site, 29 pesticides in pollen from the treated cornfield and 31 pesticides in pollen from the untreated cornfield.
The most common chemical products found in pollen from each site were fungicides and herbicides, typical crop disease and weed management products.
Of the insecticides, neonicotinoids and pyrethroids were the most common in the pollen samples and pose the highest risks to bees, 
Pollen from all three sites also contained DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellants."

 see Study Finds Honey Bees Frequently Collect Contaminated Pollen from Non-Crop Plants (Beyond Pesticides, June 1, 2016) for some solutions.

saved under Wildlife 
 

Friday, June 3, 2016

New EPA Report Will Lead to Virtual US Ban on Atrazine Herbicide

Is the regulatory system working? 200 times the level of concern, going on for decades and it's still registered????

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New EPA Report Will Lead to Virtual US Ban on Atrazine Herbicide

 (Sustainable PulseJun 3 2016)
One has to wonder what the regulatory system is actually doing. 200 times the level of concern going on for decades and it's still registered???? Atrazine is also registered in Canada.
"The second-most widely used pesticide in the United States and already banned in Europe, atrazine was found to cause reproductive harm to mammals and birds in real-world scenarios, with EPA “levels of concern” surpassed nearly 200-fold, according to the new EPA assessment."

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Canada ‘must’ review pesticides banned in Europe

In concusion, we may spend a lot of money on required reviews, but i is unlikely to result in much change for the reasons below:

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Canada ‘must’ review pesticides banned in Europe (Radio-Canada International, 24 May 2016)
I don't believe much in reviews after contributing to the 2,4-D review in 2005 from SNAP's presentations and publications page from http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/presentations-and-publications. After over 50 pages of descriptions of side effects and problems, the PMRA's conclusion was that "2,4-D is efficacious against certain problematic broadleaf weeds on turf and there are no alternative herbicides to phenoxyalkanoic and benzoic acid herbicides on turf. Considering that weed control on turf is important, it is concluded that 2,4-D on turf has value." (p 31)

In concusion, we may spend a lot of money on required reviews, but it is unlikely to result in much change for the reasons below: 

1. the whole regulatory system is based on "the dose makes the poison" which has now been proved to be an outdated concept but the government still acts like decreasing concentration used and frequency of use and instituting buffer zones will resolve all problems. In doing so, they take the concentration known to kill 1/2 the experimental mice and divide it by a mathematical factor that they think will ensure safety. Unfortunately, we now know that many pesticides have endocrine effects at doses well below those and commonly found in the environment, and such is the case for atrazine, one of the pesticides to be reviewed.

2. the tests required to register a pesticides have not been updated since 1984, when we had no idea of endocrine disruption. Neither the Canadian or the US regulatory systems are set up to intelligently evaluate independent research, especially in a model and action mode not covered by current regulatory practice. Recent enquiries to the PMRA indicate that we have yet no new mandated registration tests for endocrine effects, contrarily to the US EPA who was recently forced by court decision to include a few now inadequate ones. 

3. while there is a 'review' of health and some environmental effects of a pesticide, there are none of the government's reasons to keep using a pesticide. There is no consideration of alternative control methods successfully used by organic farmers, for instance, or alternative less toxic pesticides.


4. Review committees are stacked with "industry" paid researchers (also PR expert)s which are mysteriously somehow described as independent.
 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

93 percent of Americans tested positive for glyphosate,

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Wake Up and Smell the Poison. (Organic Consumer Association, 24 May 2016)

A staggering 93 percent of Americans tested positive for glyphosate, according to the test results, announced yesterday.

As I mentioned in comments about the Consumer Reports special report on pesticides in food (May 18, 2016 news item) claiming that many conventionally grown foods had low contamination, not all pesticides are government tested for and that includes glyphosate as mentioned here.

"Despite the warnings, in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA), under pressure from Monsanto, raised the allowed limits for glyphosate residue on fruits and vegetables. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), claiming pesticide residues are “safe,” doesn’t test for glyphosate residue on food."

"Only recently has the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said it will begin testing human food for glyphosate. The FDA is a bit late to the testing party. Independent testing has already found glyphosate in many foods. It’s also been found in breast milk"

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Study Finds Low Levels of Roundup Cause Adverse Effects to Soil Health

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Study Finds Low Levels of Roundup Cause Adverse Effects to Soil Health (Beyond Pesticides, May 13, 2016) 

A study published last month shows that the chemical is toxic to soil fungus at doses well below levels which are recommended for agricultural use. The commercial formulation of Roundup is more toxic than technical active ingredient, glyphosate, highlighting the need to evaluate full formulation effects, including so-called inert ingredients.

Not only does RoundUP kill some essential soil fungi at doses well below recommended application rates, but at lower concentration affects the soil fungus’ ability to break down nutrients for energy use.

Inert ingredients are called formulants n Canada and are mostlystill secret.

filed under pesticide fact sheet

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Association of Environmental Toxins With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Pesticide exposure in the cumulative exposure windows was significantly associated with ALS

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Association of Environmental Toxins With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 

Feng-Chiao Su, PhD1 et al;JAMA Neurol., May 09, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.0594

Pesticide exposure in the cumulative exposure windows was significantly associated with ALS... Military service was also associated with ALS in 2 time windows...A multivariable model of measured persistent environmental pollutants in the blood, representing cumulative occupational and residential exposure, showed increased odds of ALS for 2 Organochlorine pesticides  (pentachlorobenzene: and cis-chlordane, 2 PCBs (PCB 175 and PCB 202 and 1 BFR (polybrominated diphenyl ether 47.

see also Exposure to Pesticides linked to ALS (Beyond Pesticides, May 16, 2016) 

filed under Immune/ auto-immune Diseases

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Consumer Reports Special Report Pesticides in Produce

New produce guidelines show you how to make the best choices for your health and for the environment

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Eat the Peach,Not the Pesticide (Consumer Reports Special Report Pesticides in Produce)  New produce guidelines show you how to make the best choices for your health and for the environment. If you want to minimize your pesticide exposure, see our risk guide. (Download our full scientific report, "From Crop to Table.") We’ve placed fruits and vegetables into five risk categories—from very low to very high. In many cases there’s a conventional item with a pesticide risk as low as organic. Below, you’ll find our experts’ answers to the most pressing questions about how pesticides affect health and the environment. Together, this information will help you make the best choices for you and your family.

SNAP NOTE: Use the arrows to the left and right of the 'Apple' diagram to navigate to other fruit and veggies. Consumer Reports is concerned about cost to consumers. Conventionally grown produce is generally cheaper than organic. I personally disagree with the recommendation to keep using some regular produce because it does not mean that pesticides have not been used on therm with all their associated environmental contamination. I suspect that produce is not tested for every pesticide on the market. For instance glyphosate was not in the regular testing panel for a long time. In addition, batches may vary in pesticide load. Organic simply does not use any. 

filed under food

Our new produce guidelines
show you how to make
the best choices for your health
and for the environment

Monday, May 16, 2016

Report presents effects of pesticide exposure on children

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Report presents effects of pesticide exposure on children  (By Jean Ruzicka, Park Rapids Enterprise, May 14, 2016) 

The article above is from a Minnesota paper commenting on the Minnesota part of the report Kids on the Frontline, recently produced by PANNA. Indeed, Minnesota agriculture is the most similar in crops, and likely pesticide use to Saskatchewan, barring corn and soy although more is being grown in the South every year.

I would love to see a similar Canadian report, but with no pesticide use data collected and detailed pesticide use by province considered 'trade secret' by the PMRA, one could never get there. I guess we will forever remain ignorant. Don' t you know "Ignorance is bliss?"

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Not Just For Corn and Soy: A Look at Glyphosate Use in Food Crops

Ubiquitous in food production, glyphosate is used not just with row crops like corn, soybeans and wheat but also a range of fruits, nuts and veggies. Even spinach growers use glyphosate

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Not Just For Corn and Soy: A Look at Glyphosate Use in Food Crops (US Right to Know, 4 May 2016)

Ubiquitous in food production, glyphosate is used not just with row crops like corn, soybeans and wheat but also a range of fruits, nuts and veggies. Even spinach growers use glyphosate...
Notably, glyphosate use is also seen with a variety of crops not engineered to be sprayed directly. Looking at the period ending in 2013 compared to 2011, glyphosate use in wheat production was pegged at 8.6 million pounds, up from 8.1 million pounds; use in almonds was pegged at 2.1 million ...pounds, unchanged from the prior analysis; grape use was pegged at 1.5 million pounds, up from 1.4 million pounds; and rice use was estimated at 800,000 pounds, compared to 700,000 pounds in the prior analysis.
You can check out your own favorite food here and compare it to the prior analysis here . Some on the list may surprise you, including cherries, avocados, apples, lemons, grapefruit, peanuts, pecans and walnuts.

files under food

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Peeling Back the Curtain On Monsanto

Operating through sometimes murky social media channels, these critics have targeted Gillam along with others who raise question about GMO food, the chemicals used on them, and the companies that sell both.

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Peeling Back the Curtain On Monsanto (Huffington Post, 10 May 2016) But in recent years, Gillam’s work has turned “controversial” in the eyes of some. Operating through sometimes murky social media channels, these critics have targeted Gillam along with others who raise question about GMO food, the chemicals used on them, and the companies that sell both.

"If a story I wrote did not toe the line for the biotech industry, that created a phone call or an email to me or my editor. So I had to be extremely careful about the accuracy of every word. They couldn’t get at the facts, so they countered with this idea of “false balance.” They couldn’t say that things were wrong, so they would complain that I should not be presenting both sides."

filed under  industry shenanigans

Saturday, May 14, 2016

How the pesticide believed to be killing the bees could be affecting humans

The most prevalent symptom in all cases was a headache, followed by shoulder and chest pain.

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Neonicotinoids How the pesticide believed to be killing the bees could be affecting humans (By Nicole Mortillaro Science and Weather Reporter  Global News April 20, 2016)

Kumiko Tairo, who spoke at the symposium in Toronto, has studied the effects of NNIs on humans in Gunma Prefecture, near Tokyo. In 2004 and 2005, 78 and 63 patients respectively — young and old — began experiencing symptoms such as headaches and memory loss. When examined, many had abnormal ECGs. Then, in 2006 and 2007, there were 1,111 more patients with similar symptoms. The most prevalent symptom in all cases was a headache, followed by shoulder and chest pain.

Urinalysis detected high doses of neonics. Brain scans revealed that the mid-brain was clearly affected.

Tairo and her team found that the likely culprit was tea leaves which were affected by pesticide leaching into the soil. Aerial spraying also put residents at risk of increased exposure due to drift.

filed under health/Links

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

New evidence of pesticides in Calgary air, soil

An environmental testing facility has found pesticides that are expected to dissipate in a matter of days persisting in Calgary’s soil and air for months after lawn and garden season has ended.

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New evidence of pesticides in Calgary air, soil (Bridget Brown, CTV Calgary, June 10, 2015}

An environmental testing facility has found pesticides that are expected to dissipate in a matter of days persisting in Calgary’s soil and air for months after lawn and garden season has ended...In Calgary soil, Paracel found the pesticides 2,4D and Dicamba. Both are used to control weeds by the City of Calgary, golf courses and lawn care companies. The amount of Dicamba exceeded provincially regulated safe levels. In the air, the scientists found 2,4D, as well as Atrazine, which is an herbicide used by farmers.

SNAP NOTE: Pesticides don't just disappear after applied as inferred by this article. A part evaporates, another degrades to other chemicals, some of which being more toxic or lasting longer in the environment. They get carried by water, soil particies,rain and wind, circle the earth and concentrate in winter cold areas like mountain ecosystems and the Arctic where they fall with the snow.

filed under Exposure to Pesticides

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

EPA Finds Atrazine Threatens Ecological Health

for current uses at prescribed label rates, atrazine may pose a chronic risk to fish, amphibians, and aquatic vertebrate animals.

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EPA Finds Atrazine Threatens Ecological Health (Beyond Pesticides, May 10, 2016)

EPA’s preliminary ecological risk assessment finds that for current uses at prescribed label rates, atrazine may pose a chronic risk to fish, amphibians, and aquatic vertebrate animals. Where use is heavy, the agency indicates that chronic exposure through built-up concentrations in waterways is likely to adversely impact aquatic plant communities. Levels of concern, a wonky equation that EPA produces to measure risk, were exceeded for birds by 22x, fish by 62x, and mammals by 198x. Even reduced label rates were expected to harm terrestrial plant species as a result of runoff and drift from pesticide applications. It is important to note that these impacts were seen for uses which, based on data obtained during atrazine’s last review 15 years ago, EPA considered to be “safe” when used according to label rates.

SNAP's note: I don't believe much atrazine is used in Saskatchewan but perhaps its use in increasing with an increase in corn and soy crops. There are no pesticide use data in Canada and the Pesticide Sales data yearly report is for several years previously and not very informative on individual chemicals. A recent study of Calgary air and soil found atrazine. Before SNAP was started, I obtained the list of allowable Weed and Feed products (not from the PMRA as they are regulated somewhere else) and found one product on the market containing atrazine. The PMRA answer was standard: they were following the PMRA rules and no idea if they would follow up on my discovery or ignore it totally.

filed under wildlife

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Glyphosate Residues Found in Common Breakfast Foods

glyphosate residues are widely distributed in common breakfast foods, such as bagels, cereals, creamers, and eggs.

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Glyphosate Residues Found in Common Breakfast Foods (Beyond Pesticides, April 21, 2016) A report released Tuesday by the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) shows that glyphosate residues are widely distributed in common breakfast foods, such as bagels, cereals, creamers, and eggs. Glyphosate is a pervasive and toxic chemical found in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller and was classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a probable human carcinogen in 2015.

Categories tested were: flour, corn flakes, instant oatmeal, bagels, yogurt, bread, frozen hash browns, potatoes, cream of wheat, eggs, non-dairy creamers, and dairy based coffee creamers. Of note is the finding that a sample of organic cage-free eggs contain more glyphosate than the allowable tolerance level. The lab found glyphosate residue levels of 169 parts per billion (ppb), while the allowable tolerance level is only 50ppb. 

more on glyphosate. Filed under food

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

EWG is rethinking cancer prevention.

Check their site for their blog, research, resources, headlines and 'ask an expert' on cancer prevention.

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EWG is rethinking cancer prevention

Traditional initiatives that aim to prevent cancer have largely ignored the role of toxic substances in the environment. EWG wants to change that with new investigations on environmental causes of cancer. We will inform and empower you with tips and tools to help stop cancer before it starts. Check their site for their blog, research, resources, headlines and 'ask an expert' on cancer prevention.

filed under cancer 

Friday, May 6, 2016

Europe Bans Two Endocrine Disrupting Pesticides

The chemicals, amitrole and isoproturon are linked to thyroid cancer, infertility, reproductive problems and fetal malformations.

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Europe Bans Two Endocrine Disrupting Pesticides (Beyond Pesticides, April 27, 2016) The European Union (EU) has placed a moratorium on two endocrine-disrupting herbicides that are linked to thyroid cancer, infertility, reproductive problems and fetal malformations. The chemicals, amitrole and isoproturon, will be banned as of September 30, 2016, after the European Commission voted unanimously, for the first time, to ban the two endocrine disruptors.

As of 6 May 2016, one amitrole technical product is registered in Canada and no isoproturon.

saved under Endocrine disruption/Regulatory

Friday, May 6, 2016

Agricultural Crop Density Linked to Childhood Cancer in Midwest

living in crop-dense regions is linked to increased leukemia and central nervous system cancers in children.

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Agricultural Crop Density Linked to Childhood Cancer in Midwest (Beyond Pesticides, October 16, 2015) According to a new study, living in crop-dense regions is linked to increased leukemia and central nervous system cancers in children. Although there is a litany of scientific literature that highlights the link between pesticide exposure and childhood illness, this study is one of few that examines the relationship between residential exposures to agricultural pesticides via crop density and adverse health outcomes, and may serve as a basis for further investigation into childhood cancer rates in areas where agricultural pesticides are highly used. The study, titled Agricultural crop density and the risk of childhood cancer in the Midwestern United States: an ecologic study, was published in the journal Environmental Health.

saved in Cancer

Friday, May 6, 2016

The New Green Giants Is organic Better?

organic producers in the video indicate that their soils have improved and they have higher quality product since switching to organic

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The New Green Giants  Is organic Better? 

CBC Doc Zone, 5 May 2016. Direct link to the episode.

I don't know how the Stanford study was conducted but I know that who pays for a study dictates the results. The easiest way to falsify a stud is by excluding studies one knows wil not support our conclusion.

In any case, organic producers in the video indicate that their soils have improved and they have higher quality product since switching to organic. They refer to the dead soil they had before. We also know that switching children to organic food reduces their pesticide load within 24 hours. Numerous published studies have also indicated better nutrition, vitamins and antioxidants from organic foods.

saved under Organic Food

Friday, May 6, 2016

Study Finds Neonicotinoids Cause Compound-Specific Harm to Bumblebees

Te study found compound-specific effects at all levels, including within individual bee cells, individual bees, and whole colonies in semi-field conditions.

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Study Finds Neonicotinoids Cause Compound-Specific Harm to Bumblebees (Beyond Pesticides, May 2, 2016) The study, published in Scientific Reports, looked at field-relevant levels (2.5 parts per billion) of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin, and found compound-specific effects at all levels, including within individual bee cells, individual bees, and whole colonies in semi-field conditions.

saved under Bee Die-Off

Friday, May 6, 2016

Glyphosate Found to Contaminate California Wine

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Glyphosate Found to Contaminate California Wine (Beyond Pesticides, March 25, 2016) Glyphosate is found to contaminate California wines, according to a new report from the non-profit group Moms Across America. Glyphosate is pervasive and toxic chemical found in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller and was classified in 2015 as a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

filed under pesticides in food 

Friday, May 6, 2016

Scotts Miracle-Gro To Eliminate Neonics in Ortho Brand

Scotts Miracle Gro announced on Tuesday that it will immediately being phasing out neonicotinoid insecticides, including imidacloprid, clothianidin, and dinotefuran from its outdoor-use Ortho brand by 2017.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro To Eliminate Neonics in Ortho Brand (Beyond Pesticides, April 18, 2016) Major pesticide manufacturer Scotts Miracle Gro announced on Tuesday that it will immediately being phasing out neonicotinoid insecticides, including imidacloprid, clothianidin, and dinotefuran from its outdoor-use Ortho brand by 2017

Friday, May 6, 2016

Pesticide Residues on Foods Shown to Affect Sperm Quality

The results of this study also underscore the importance of an organic diet in reducing pesticide exposures.The study is believed to be the first to look into the consumption of fruits and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residue in relation to s

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Pesticide Residues on Foods Shown to Affect Sperm Quality (Beyond Pesticides, April 1, 2015) The study, published online in the journal, Human Reproduction, adds to a growing body of research that finds pesticide exposures give rise to impaired reproductive function, including reduced sperm counts, sperm quality and reduced fertility in exposed men. The results of this study also underscore the importance of an organic diet in reducing pesticide exposures.The study is believed to be the first to look into the consumption of fruits and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residue in relation to semen quality, PAULE'S NOTE: as our ability to measure minute amounts of chemicals increases, we are finding relationshisps that eluded us earlier, when testing was not good enough to detect common amounts of pesticide we are exposed to on a daily basis.

filed under reproductive health

Friday, May 6, 2016

EPA Finds 97% of Endangered Species Threatened by Common Pesticides

deals with several organophosphate and carbamate insecticides

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EPA Finds 97% of Endangered Species Threatened by Common Pesticides (Beyond Pesticides, April 12, 2016)  The determination is part of a settlement reached by EPA and the Center for Biological Diversity, which requires the agency to complete a review of the impact of organophosphate pesticides chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon by December 2017, and two carbamate class pesticides, methomyl and carbaryl, by the end of 2018.

filed under wildlife

Friday, April 29, 2016

Wascana Center Authority has started their pesticide spray program for the year.

link to Pesticide Spraying Schedules below

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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

GMOs health effects including the new non-browning apples and potatoes

Jeffrey Smith has written several bools on health effects of gmos and founded the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), "the Most Comprehensive Source of GMO Health Information on the Web.

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Dr Perlmutter's interview with Jeffrey Smith on gmos

Jeffrey Smith has written several bools on health effects of gmos and founded the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), "the Most Comprehensive Source of GMO Health Information on the Web.

The interview reviews health effects of RoundUp-Ready and Bt crops but also deals with potential health effects of the new apples and potatoes that do not brown  aproved for sales in USA and Canada in 2015.

filed under gmos

I did not know much about this new type of genetic engineering and figured that most people don't ether. Althoug it does not seem to imply pesticides, I choose to add this reference because this new technology has severe potential effects. 

Quotes from the interview:

“This form of genetic engineering may be worse than the Round-Up Ready kind because it uses a different process called 'double-stranded RNA”a little piece of RNA created that silences the browning gene in apples and potatoes. “Many scientists are concerned that this little RNA snippit that we eat might silence ro reprogram our (human) DNA.”

Example 1 :” honeybees were fed a single meal with double-stranded DNA and, over the next several weeks, over 1400 genes changed their level of expression compared to those who had not had that meal. That's 10% of the genome.”

Example 2: “Certain mice also change gene expression when eating double-stranded RNA”

“So we now have potatoes and apples that can change our gene expression. I think that is extremely dangerous, but so too do scientists at the USDA and EPA who published studies to the effect that our regulatory agencies are not prepared to regulate and test for effects of double-stranded RNA. And in spite of these studies, double-stranded RNA was allowed on the market.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Chlorpyrifos Reduces Memory and Learning in Exposed Bees

Honey bees experience a learning and memory deficit after ingesting small doses of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, potentially threatening their success and survival

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Chlorpyrifos Reduces Memory and Learning in Exposed Bees

(Beyond Pesticides, March 4, 2016) Honey bees experience a learning and memory deficit after ingesting small doses of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, potentially threatening their success and survival, according to a study in New Zealand, . Chlorpyrifos is a highly neurotoxic organophosphate pesticide used worldwide on crops to protect against insects and mites.

Chlorpyrifos is still used in Edmonton, AB, for mosquito control, in Regina and many Saskatchewan municipalities as a basal spray in the fall for elm beetle control and still used in agriculture.

filed under Bee Die-off

Friday, March 4, 2016

Glyphosate Residues in Popular German Beers

These findings are a potential blow to Germany’s Beer Purity Law, which is highly regarded in German beer culture.

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Glyphosate Residues in Popular German Beers

(Beyond Pesticides, February 29, 2016) Last Thursday, the Munich Environmental Institute stated that it had found traces of glyphosate, the widely used and controversial weed-killer, in 14 of Germany’s most popular beers. These findings are a potential blow to Germany’s Beer Purity Law, which is highly regarded in German beer culture... According to the study’s results, all levels found were above the glyphosate residue level allowed in drinking water. Paulle' note:European drinking water standards are usually much tighter than Canadian and US.

filed in Pesticides in Food 

Friday, March 4, 2016

Label Warning on Dangerous PCP-Treated Poles Deemed Unconstitutional

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Spatt declared a dangerous wood preservative label ordinance unconstitutional, ending a three year battle between a New York town and Public Service Enterprise Group (PESG).

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Label Warning on Dangerous PCP-Treated Poles Deemed Unconstitutional

(Beyond Pesticides, March 3, 2016) Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Spatt declared a dangerous wood preservative label ordinance unconstitutional, ending a three year battle between a New York town and Public Service Enterprise Group (PESG)...

Because the utility poles are not intended to be sold to the public nor influence consumer behavior, PESG is not required to post “compelled warning signs” on their dangerous utility poles.

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a recognized cancer-causing wood preservative. As of March 4, 2016, there are still 3 products registered in Canada for commercila use. It is commonly used for railroad ties and utility poles. I have not heard of any efforts to have a mandatory toxicity label in Canada.

filed under  treated wood 

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Argentine and Brazilian doctors suspect mosquito insecticide as cause of microcephaly

Latin American doctors are proposing another possible cause: Pyriproxyfen, a pesticide used in Brazil since 2014 to arrest the development of mosquito larvae in drinking water tanks. Might the 'cure' in fact be the poison?

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Argentine and Brazilian doctors suspect mosquito insecticide as cause of microcephaly (Claire Robinson / GMWatch10th February 2016)

With the proposed connection between the Zika virus and Brazil's outbreak of microcephaly in new born babies looking increasingly tenuous, Latin American doctors are proposing another possible cause: Pyriproxyfen, a pesticide used in Brazil since 2014 to arrest the development of mosquito larvae in drinking water tanks. Might the 'cure' in fact be the poison?

some quotes

"Abrasco also names Pyriproxyfen as a possible cause of the microcephaly. It condemns the strategy of chemical control of Zika-carrying mosquitoes, which it says is contaminating the environment as well as people and is not decreasing the numbers of mosquitoes."

"Instead Abrasco suggests that this strategy is in fact driven by the commercial interests of the chemical industry, which it says is deeply integrated into the Latin American ministries of health, as well as the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organisation"

Abrasco adds that the disease is closely linked to environmental degradation: floods caused by logging and the massive use of herbicides on (GM) herbicide-tolerant soy crops - in short, "the impacts of extractive industries."


'The notion that environmental degradation may a factor in the spread of Zika finds backing in the view of Dino Martins, PhD, a Kenyan entomologist. Martins said that "the explosion of mosquitoes in urban areas, which is driving the Zika crisis" is caused by "a lack of natural diversity that would otherwise keep mosquito populations under control, and the proliferation of waste and lack of disposal in some areas which provide artificial habitat for breeding mosquitoes."'

please go to http://www.snapinfo.ca/issues/wnv to find the best alternatives to mosquito control.

filed under Birth Defects

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Science for Sale Meet the ‘rented white coats’ who defend toxic chemicals

How corporate-funded research is corrupting America’s courts and regulatory agencies

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Science for Sale Meet the ‘rented white coats’ who defend toxic chemicals How corporate-funded research is corrupting America’s courts and regulatory agencies  (By David Heath, The Center for Public Integrity, February 8, 2016) 

relevant to pesticides. same stories. Even mention of pesticides here.
filed in industry shenanigans 

“Mrs. Goodman and the company she works for have a reputation of misrepresenting the science consistently,” said Bert Brunekreef, director of the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands and co-author of two of the articles... A group of academic researchers were so outraged by an art...icle on BPA written by Gradient’s Julie Goodman and Lorenz Rhomberg that they wrote a lengthy response with a table listing all the “false statements” in it.
“In this article, there is nothing that is true,” vom Saal said. “It’s ridiculous. And that’s how they operate.”
...Since then, however, Gradient scientists have taken a leading role in trying to cast doubt on the studies’ findings. Gradient has published 37 articles on different aspects of air pollution, funded by the American Petroleum Institute, Navistar and the International Carbon Black Association, whose members are subject to clean-air regulations...

“This is not the way real science works. It doesn’t start with a lawyer coming up with a theory,” Poppe said.

    Tuesday, February 9, 2016

    The report of the Environmental Commisisoner on Pesticide Safety in Canada

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    The report of the Environmental Commisisoner on Pesticide Safety in Canada, 2015

    Findings, Recommendations, and Responses 4
    The Agency had not made progress in limiting the duration of some conditional registrations .......................................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . 4
    In its re-evaluations, the Agency considered the risks and value of pesticides,
    but had not assessed their cumulative health effects when required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9
    The Agency made insufficient progress in completing re-evaluations of older pesticides .13
    Special reviews of pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
    The Agency had begun to consider whether special reviews were warranted for pesticides banned since 2013 in OECD countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
    The Agency did not promptly cancel the registrations of some pesticides whose risks
    it had deemed unacceptable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
    The Agency did not provide the public with complete information on conditional registrations, as required by the Pest Control Products Act, or effectively communicate new information on pesticide risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... .. 21

    filed under the new page Safety of Pesticides

    Monday, February 1, 2016

    B.C. fruit growers say no to genetically modified apples

    Fruit growers in B.C. are planning to ask the government to de-register the genetically modified Arctic Apple until further studies are done.

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    B.C. fruit growers say no to genetically modified apples (InfoNews.ca, Penticton,BC) Fruit growers in B.C. are planning to ask the government to de-register the genetically modified Arctic Apple until further studies are done.

    There have been no previous gmos like the Arctic Apple,genetically engineered not to brown.It is unknown how to compare the potential effects of this trait with the effects of previous gmos like herbicide-resistance or the inclusion of insecticide in a crop. As for other gmos, there likely have not been enough studies, as the technology was generally shoved down out throats with an unsubstantiated consideration of the crops being equivalent to regular non-gmo crops.

    saved in gmos under food

    Monday, February 1, 2016

    A Dirty Little Secret: Your “Organic” Strawberries Aren’t Really Organic

    Methyl bromide, is used to sterilize the soil before strawberries are planted. It’s not sprayed on the fruit. It’s a soil fumigant that kills just about everything it touches. Many hybridized seed varieties have been created that can only grow in sterile

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    A Dirty Little Secret: Your “Organic” Strawberries Aren’t Really Organic

    Methyl bromide, is used to sterilize the soil before strawberries are planted. It’s not sprayed on the fruit. It’s a soil fumigant that kills just about everything it touches. Many hybridized seed varieties have been created that can only grow in sterile soil.

    Yes, it is true the loophole of being able to purchase non organic seeds or plants has always been there when organic is not available. However, methyl bromide and, I believe iodide, are very volatile, which is what causes so many problems to neighbours, but it means it may not remain in the plant. Also, I am not getting sick eating them....We do live in an imperfect world and hopefully will soon have organic strawberry nurseries.

    more on organic and pesticides in food

    Monday, February 1, 2016

    Bayer Concurs with EPA Findings on Certain Neonicotinoid Hazards to Honey Bees

    This is a stark turnaround from Bayer’s statement last week,

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    Bayer Concurs with EPA Findings on Certain Neonicotinoid Hazards to Honey Bees (Beyond Pesticides, January 14, 2016)  A spokesman for Bayer CropScience said the neonic-selling giant has reviewed the assessment and found it to be “quite good and scientifically sound,” according to a news report. The Guardian is reporting that Bayer will be proposing new protections for pollinators, however the company has not yet announced what the new protections will be. This is a stark turnaround from Bayer’s statement last week, which said EPA’s assessment “appears to overestimate the potential for harmful exposures in certain crops, such as citrus and cotton, while ignoring the important benefits these products provide and management practices to protect bees.”

    more of Bee die-off and neonics

    Monday, February 1, 2016

    Federal inaction exposes Canadians, environment to unacceptable risks, report says

    The audit shows the PMRA is failing in myriad ways to protect Canadians and our environment from the risks of pesticide use.

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    Federal inaction exposes Canadians, environment to unacceptable risks, report says

    The Federal Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development (the “Commissioner”) released an audit Tuesday morning of the management of pesticides by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (“PMRA”) under the Pest Control Products Act (“PCPA”). The audit shows the PMRA is failing in myriad ways to protect Canadians and our environment from the risks of pesticide use.

    This article contains many links, including to the Federal Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development' audit.

    Monday, January 4, 2016

    Why You Should Never Eat Nonorganic Green Beans

    you definitely don't want these on your plate.

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    Why You Should Never Eat Nonorganic Green Beans
    For real. If you're worried about pesticides, or just want to stay healthy, you definitely don't want these on your plate. (The Editors of Rodale Wellness September 4, 2015)

    The Consumer Reports' FROM CROP TO TABLE PESTICIDE USE IN PRODUCE explains that the organophosphate chemical acephate and its breakdown product methamidophos is among the most concerning chemicals showing up on green beans, despite the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency canceled its use in 2009. 

    more on Pesticides in Food