• Link to SK Organic Resources
  • Learn to Manage Pests Naturally
  • Learn About Colony Collapse Disorder and How to Protect Bees
  • SNAP Display at Event
  • Weeds Can Be Managed Without Chemical Pesticides
  • SNAP Tour of Organic Vegetable Garden
  • Learn to Keep Insects Out of your Crops
  • Learn To Manage Weeds Without Chemical Pesticides
  • LIving Near Fields Increases Pesticide Exposure
  • Grow a Lush Garden Organically

Archives for 2018

Sunday, December 30, 2018

New Developments in the Link Between Parkinson’s and Pesticides

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New Developments in the Link Between Parkinson’s and Pesticides  (Beyond Pesticides, December 20, 2018)

'Lectin, which is often found in healthy foods like raw vegetables, eggs, and dairy, combined with paraquat in the gut and triggered the formation of a misfolded protein called alpha-synuclein, a foreign agent that likely plays a role in the development of Parkinson’s. Alpha-synuclein travels from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve'

'Any herbicide implicated in the development of a disease, which is expected to double in diagnosis over the next 20 years, raises serious questions about compliance with safety standards. A large body of scientific studies strongly implicates this chemical in the development of Parkinson’s disease. Earlier this year, research published in the journal Cell Reports implicated paraquat for its ability to create senescent cells that cause inflammation in the brain.'

filed under nervous system effects/ Parkinson's

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding

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Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding  (Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2019) 

Adding blackberry leaf litter in stormwater catch basins creates an “ecological trap,” enticing mosquito females to lay eggs in sites unsuitable for larvae survival. 

filed under mosquito control

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Caymans research unit to stop releasing GM mosquitoes

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Caymans research unit to stop releasing GM mosquitoes  (GM Watch,13 November 2018) ''

'Nevertheless, it remains unclear how effective the project, which involved the release of millions of genetically modified insects into the environment, really was and whether the reason to curtail the programme related to a cost or efficacy issue...While there has been evidence of some limited success in suppressing the mosquito, the project appeared to have fallen short and has also faced a number of glitches including issues regarding import licences and allegations that the number of bio-modified female insects, which can bite, was far higher than expected.'

filed under gmo/malaria

Sunday, December 23, 2018

WATCH – A Question of consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso

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WATCH – A Question of consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. (Global Justice Ecology Project, December 20, 2018)

'The (15 minutes - a lot in French with English subtitles) film, “A Question of Consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso” documents conversations with residents of the areas where Target Malaria is conducting tests, as well as opposition from civil society groups in the region. This is not the first time Burkina Faso is experimenting with GMOs: Monsanto introduced genetically modified BT cotton into the country in 2008, which led to a drop in the quality of cotton.'

SNAP Comment: Large scale fogging with insecticides has been a failure over and over again for mosquito control and the gmo mosquito experiment on Grand Cayman Island was suspended. Detail: Several decades ago the Regina Public Library had a few scientific compendiums of research on the successes and faillures of pesticides in controlling pests. On a world scale study of malaria and other diseases control and with thousands of papers referenced), the efforts had been a failure. After plastering the world with DDT and other long lasting organochlorines and then moving on to other classes of insecticides like carbamates and organophosphates, the only place in the world where these efforts led to a disappearance of mosquitoes was on a tiny island in the Mediterranean. This only occurred for a few years until new mosquitoes found their way in and they were back to square one. What they found instead is that resistance appeared in only a few years and the quantity of insecticide used had to be increased constantly to keep ahead, until they tried a new product and the same thing quickly happened. There is a term for that: the pesticide treadmill. Of course there were no concurrent efforts to identify and manage the mosquito habitat or educate people on mosquito management. These gmo mosquitoes have also been released on Grand Cayman Island and the program is now being suspended with questions on its efficacy. However, now we think we can have better success on a huge continent??? Imagine how many species of mosquitoes there are, and that many species can often be carriers of the same disease and that you would need to bioengineer every species in an attempt to control it. If you only control one another species will likely become dominant and so on. As far as I am concerned, this type of intervention is madness and the money should be redirected.

filed under mosquito control

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Glyphosate perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees

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Glyphosate perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees  (Erick V. S. Motta, Kasie Raymann, and Nancy A. Moran, PNAS October 9, 2018 115 (41) 10305-10310) complete sccientific paper.

'The honey bee gut microbiota is dominated by eight bacterial species that promote weight gain and reduce pathogen susceptibility. The gene encoding EPSPS is present in almost all sequenced genomes of bee gut bacteria, indicating that they are potentially susceptible to glyphosate. We demonstrated that the relative and absolute abundances of dominant gut microbiota species are decreased in bees exposed to glyphosate at concentrations documented in the environment.

filed under bee die-off and pesticide fact sheets/glyphosate

Monday, December 17, 2018

Cardiovascular Disease Linked to Pesticide Exposure

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Cardiovascular Disease Linked to Pesticide Exposure  (Beyond Pesticides, December 17, 2018)

As Science Daily reports, “After taking account of potentially influential factors, including lifestyle and workplace factors, exposure to pesticides was associated with nearly six-fold higher odds of atrial fibrillation, while exposure to metals was associated with nearly four-fold higher odds.”...'A 2016 meta-review of research by Azizah Wahab, et al., and published in the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, concluded that, “individual pesticide evaluation revealed significant association with non-fatal myocardial infarctionOrganochlorine pesticides are significantly associated with peripheral arterial disease and stroke. In severe poisonings, the general impression is that cardiac abnormalities are common. This systematic review suggests that pesticide exposure is associated with increased risk of CVD and CVD mortality.”'

filed under Health/Cardiovascular

Monday, December 17, 2018

Safe LevelsOf Exposure Don t Exist When It Comes To Monsanto s Glyphosate Poison

interesting and accurate video on the state of research on glyphosate

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“Safe Levels” Of Exposure Don’t Exist When It Comes To Monsanto’s Glyphosate Poison (The Ring of Fire, Dec 16, 2018)

interesting and accurate video on the state of research on glyphosate.

The main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, glyphosate, is not safe, even at levels that the EPA is telling us is safe. Mike Papanotnio and Farron cousins discuss.

SNAP comment: Technically, neither the EPA or the PMRA can say a pesticide is 'safe" because all registered products are designed to kill. What they determine through LD50 (the dose that kills 1/2 fo the animals) put through some equations, is an acceptable dose i.e.a dose at which they don't think negative health effects will occur. Another issue with re-evaluation of pesticide is the people chosen to sit on the re-evaluation committees, many of whom have a long history of contracting with pesticide companies to do 'regulatory science'. The case of 2,4-D re-evaluation for home use in Canada (2005) illustrates that. The committee was formed of 2 industry-related 'experts', 1 PMRA official and 2 epidemiologsts. Studies of cancer in dogs were eliminated, and the cancer ones minimized so it remained on the Canadian market. The pesticide industry previously unsuccessfully tried to re-write the book on epidemiology so the burden of proof would be so high that all studies would be negative. Regulatory pesticide testing was designed decades ago and has not kept up with the science of low dose and endocrine effects so is totally meaningless in that regards.

filed under pesticide fact sheets/ chlorpyrifos 

Sunday, December 16, 2018

U.S. Asks World Trade Organization to Force Lower International Safety Standards

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U.S. Asks World Trade Organization to Force Lower International Safety Standards

(Beyond Pesticides, December 13, 2018) 'The U.S. is pushing back against international standards that restrict pesticides by appealing to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to intervene. At issue are new EU maximum residue levels (MRLs) on food for the following pesticides: buprofezin, diflubenzuron, ethoxysulfurom, ioxynil, molinate, picoxystrobin and tepraloxydim.'

'Taking issue with the new MRLs – as with all other STCs mentioned above – the U.S. said new MRLs would cause barriers to trade, and therefore, must be rejected by the WTO. Advocates point to the introduction of GMOs as an example of the U.S. using the WTO to block standards that restrict potentially hazardous products.'...

'In her book Stolen Harvest: The hijacking of the global food supply, Vandana Shiva, PhD, says, “The right to food, the right to safety, the right to culture, are all being treated as trade barriers that for the continuation of the WTO need to be dismantled.” Dr. Shiva continues, “The WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture legalizes the dumping of genetically-engineered foods on countries and criminalizes actions to protect the biological and cultural diversity on which diverse food systems are based.”'

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Vermont, Confirming Insect Apocalypse

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Vermont, Confirming Insect Apocalypse

(Beyond Pesticides, December 14, 2018) 'The richness, diversity, and abundance of wild bumblebees in Vermont has plummeted over the last century, according to an analysis from researchers at the University of Vermont and Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE). This research adds fresh evidence to the growing realization that mankind is witnessing and contributing to, as the New York Times recently labeled, a worldwide insect apocalypse.'

'According to the results, of the 17 bumblebee species considered native to Vermont, four showed evidence of significant declines, and four are simply not detected, leading researchers to the conclusion they are likely to be locally extinct...Overall Vermont’s pollinators experienced significant declines in species richness (the number of different species found), abundance (the number of pollinators found), and diversity (a measure of species richness and relative abundance).'

filed under wildlife/insects

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Camera-wielding robot records effects of pesticide on bees’ behavior

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Camera-wielding robot records effects of pesticide on bees’ behavior  (Mongabey, by Stephanie Parker on 21 November 2018)

'The team found that bumblebees exposed to environmentally realistic amounts of neonicotinoid compounds reduced their nursing and caretaking activities at night and were less able to regulate the colony’s temperature, among other behavioral changes that may impact their population.' SNAP comment: A very sophisticated experiment with results indicating that curent pesticide testing is woefully inadequate to prevent damage. 

filed under wildlife/insects

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Beekeepers at Risk of Losing Hives after Mosquito Insecticide Spraying

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Beekeepers at Risk of Losing Hives after Mosquito Insecticide Spraying  (Beyond Pesticides, November 21, 2018) A study published last month in the Journal of Apicultural Research finds significant numbers of U.S. honey bees at risk after exposure to hazardous synthetic pesticides intended to control mosquitoes. With many beekeepers rarely given warning of insecticide spraying, researchers say the risk of losing colonies could increase.

SNAP Comment: The Saskatchewan government West Nile virus program trained municipal workers in identifyng mosquito larvae breeding grounds and using the bacterium Bti as larvicide for mosquito control This program has been discontinued by the SaskParty. However, some municipalities have kept on using malathion or other insecticide fogging and some routinely spray the area of upcoming events with insecticides. Check with your municipality on their approach and policy. 

filed under Bee Die-Off

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

new pesticides in glaciers page on SNAP

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pesticides in water/pesticides in glaciers. Includes Canadian study

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Adverse Impacts of Pesticide Drift in Pineapple Production

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Adverse Impacts of Pesticide Drift in Pineapple Production (Beyond Pesticides, December 12, 2018) 

'Recent studies in Costa Rica identified evidence of increasing fur discoloration in black mantled howler monkeys ((Alouatta palliata) as a result of their exposure to sulfur-based pesticides.'

'In addition to altered pigmentation, excessive exposure often results in sensitivity to light, skin irritation and cancer. In addition to pigmentation bleaching, the use of pesticides in this region have adversely impacted surrounding communities resulting in increased incidences of epithelial damage, gastrointestinal issues, nervous system disorders, eye irritations and birth defects." 

filed under pesticide drift/incidents

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Beyond Damaging Crops, Dicamba is Dividing Communities

As the EPA extends use of the controversial herbicide for two more years, farmers continue to take sides, and the effects on rural America are snowballing.

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Beyond Damaging Crops, Dicamba is Dividing Communities (Civil Eats, BY VIRGINIA GEWIN, Nov 8 2018)  As the EPA extends use of the controversial herbicide for two more years, farmers continue to take sides, and the effects on rural America are snowballing.

'As dicamba use increases, so does the likelihood of non-farmers reporting damage. The number of homeowners and individuals reporting damage to gardens, trees, shrubs, and lawns, definitely increased in 2018 compared to 2017, says Norsworthy. “As individuals become more educated about the symptoms, they are more likely to pick up the phone and report it,” he adds.'

SNAP Comment: Indeed. It is a concern that states are no longer reporting or even collecting incident occurrences. This does not serve the public, the farming community, and only increases the doubts cast on the regulatory environment.

filed under pesticide fact sheets/ dicamba
 

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Multiple Pesticide Residues in Soil Raise Alarm

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Multiple Pesticide Residues in Soil Raise Alarm (Beyond Pesticides, November 30, 2018)

A pan-European study. 'A study published this month in Science of the Total Environment reveals numerous pesticide residues persisting in soil, harming the viability of agricultural lands and increasing risk of off-site contamination...Samples were then analyzed for the concentration of 76 pesticide residues. These 76 pesticides were selected as being most often applied on conventional crops. Eighty-three percent of samples contained varying degrees of pesticide residues, with 25 percent showing one pesticide residue and 58 percent showing mixtures of two or more. Only 17 percent of the tested soils had no pesticide residues detected. More residues detected inhe northern, eastern and western EU regions. Glyphosate was the most widely detected.'

SNAP comment: If anone bothered to look t agricultural soils n Saskatchewan or Canada, widespread soil contamination would be found too. We already know glyphosate and is by-product AMPA persist in our northern soils.

filed under Pesticides in Soils at http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/pesticides-in-soils

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Historical Trends of Organochlorine Pesticides in an Alpine Glacier

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Historical Trends of Organochlorine Pesticides in an Alpine Glacier  (Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry, November 2003, Volume 46, Issue 3, pp 295–311)

This study is in the Alps.
filed under pesticides in water/glaciers

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Cancer-linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

about the chemicals in Scothguard and a scientific manipulation an cover up

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Cancer-linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water (Bloomberg, By Tiffany Kary and Christopher Cannon, Nov. 3. 2018
This is about the chemicals in Scothguard and, apparently, fire-fighting foam. Note again the cover-up, just like Monsanto. and the story involves the same John Giesy, now at U of S Toxicology Center, who wrote an article defending glyphosate without actually having studied it much.

'On the eve of trial, 3M settled for $850 million without admitting any wrongdoing. The award—the third-largest for a natural-resource damage claim, behind the Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez oil spills—will help pay for the water filters in Cottage Grove and surrounding towns. State officials say an underground plume of PFAS stretches for 100 square miles.'
'The attorney general wasn’t finished. She also said there had been a scientific cover-up—that 3M knew its chemicals were dangerous, yet kept that information from regulators and local residents. Just as the suit settled, she posted a trove of 3M’s internal emails and memos on a state website to back up her allegations.'

'The team had chosen a handful of outside scientists to help it manage public perceptions, records show. One was John Giesy, a University of Michigan zoologist who was paid as a 3M consultant and studied the chemicals using 3M’s grant money. He was accused in Minnesota’s lawsuit of distorting the science on PFAS, in part by doing peer-reviews of other scientists’ studies for academic journals without disclosing his 3M ties. “In time sheets, I always listed these reviews as literature searches so that there was no paper trail to 3M,” Giesy wrote in a March 2008 email, explaining that conflict-of-interest rules mean some journals don’t let companies review papers about their own products. Giesy reported to 3M which PFAS papers he rejected or demanded changes to, according to records Minnesota obtained. The state’s allegations prompted a review by his current employer, the University of Saskatchewan, which said it found no wrongdoing.'

filed under industry shenanigans at http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/industrys-shenanigans
 

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Evaluation Used to Support Registration of Neurotoxic Chlorpyrifos Found To Be Fundamentally Flawed

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Evaluation Used to Support Registration of Neurotoxic Chlorpyrifos Found To Be Fundamentally Flawed (Beyond Pesticides, November 20, 2018)

Scientific conclusions used to support the registration of the insecticide chlorpyrifos were flawed and omitted key health impacts, according to a fresh analysis of the original data by a team of independent scientists from northern Europe and the U.S. This re-review not only casts further doubt on the safety of the neurotoxic chlorpyrifos, it highlights a major flaw within federal pesticide regulation that allows pesticide producers to submit their own safety evaluations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency without public oversight. “One conclusion we draw is that there is a risk that the results of industry-funded toxicity tests are not reported correctly,” says co-author Axel Mie, PhD. “This makes it difficult for the authorities to evaluate the pesticides in a safe and valid way... While these studies are generally considered ‘confidential business information’ and not available to the public, using Swedish freedom of information laws, researchers were able to obtain two key studies relating to the developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos

filed under pesticide fact sheets/chlorpyrifos

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Pesticides Contaminate Medical and Recreational Marijuana

pesticides not registered for use in the crop, and fraud.

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Pesticides Contaminate Medical and Recreational Marijuana  (Beyond Pesticides, December 7, 2018)

'Colorado’s recent experience is a case in point: in early December, the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) announced two recalls on cannabis products out of concern about their contamination by pesticide residues...Three off-label pesticides were listed in the recall announcement. Pyriproxyfen was found in samples tested from Colorado Wellness Centers LLC (dba Lush), and bifenthrin and diuron were found in samples from Crossroads Wellness LLC (dba Boulder Botanics). None of those compounds is approved by Colorado for use on marijuana; two are listed as possible carcinogens by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).'

'At roughly the same time came news out of California of a decidedly human glitch in that state’s recreational cannabis rollout: when the state’s new, mandated, and rigorous cannabis testing protocols became operational on July 1 of 2018, a lab director — at Sequoia Analytical Labs of Sacramento — allegedly began to falsify analyses of hundreds of batches of cannabis that went out to retailers. The alleged fraud continued for some months, without the knowledge of anyone else at the company.'

'Colorado, Washington State, and Oregon have all taken steps to list “allowable” pesticides for marijuana cultivation. California began in June 2018 to set out parameters for testing of cannabis; at this juncture, all cannabis for medical and recreational use must be tested for 66 different proscribed pesticides, as well as for other contaminants, such as E. coli,  feces, mold, insect and rodent parts, mycotoxins, terpenoids, and heavy metals. The regulatory matrix in the states is dynamic, and events such as Colorado’s recalls and California’s fraudulent lab reporting may spur further adjustments.'

SNAP Comment: Does anyone know what testing there is in Canada? or is it just assumed, as it is for all registered pesticides, that users will follow the label because it is a legal document?

filed under pesticides in drugs

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

DDT in Glacial Melt Puts Alaskan Communities at Risk

DDT has also deposited in Canadian mountain glaciers and is put into circulation again.

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DDT in Glacial Melt Puts Alaskan Communities at Risk  (Beyond Pesticides, December 11, 2018) 

SNAP Comment: In addition to pesticide aerial transport causing deposition in the far North, similar Canadian and world studies have detected DDT and several other pesticides in all mountain glaciers studied including in Banff and Jasper where the mountain aquatic organisms and fish contained higher pesticide levels than those of the Arctic. The ice is certainly melting off most glaciers of the world, putting these pesticides in circulation, and the environment and people at risk everywhere.

filed under water

Monday, November 26, 2018

French Government Starts Phase-Out of Glyphosate with Online Farmer Platform and Herbicide Tax

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Monday, November 26, 2018

Assumed safety of pesticide use is false, says top government scientist

Damning assessment by one of the UK’s chief scientific advisers says global regulations have ignored the impacts of ‘dosing whole landscapes’ and must change

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Assumed safety of pesticide use is false, says top government scientist  (The Guardian, Damian Carrington, 22 Sep 2017)

Damning assessment by one of the UK’s chief scientific advisers says global regulations have ignored the impacts of ‘dosing whole landscapes’ and must change

SNAP Comment: I have an issue with the comparison ofhow well drugs are regulated. Drugs have only recently been tested for in soil and water and have also been widely found. They regularly contaminate fish we eat. I don't think anyone drug co ever tested that. Some drugs have been found to widely kill vultures in 3rd World countries as well. At the scale of the planet and of their use. drugs are equally as impactful as pesticides.


'Tyrell, at Pesticide Action Network, said the current pesticide management system was not fit for purpose: “We don’t know how a pesticide will really impact the environment until it is too late. It can take years before enough scientific evidence is collected to persuade regulators to take action, and they will be fought every step of the way by pesticide manufacturers who make millions from these products.”'
filed under  Safety of Pesticides

Monday, November 19, 2018

Neonicotinoids Found to Change Frog Behavior Beyond Pesticides, November 15, 2018)

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Neonicotinoids Found to Change Frog Behavior  Beyond Pesticides, November 15, 2018)

In a study published late last month, scientists from the National Wildlife Research Center in Ottawa, Canada found that chronic exposure to real-world levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid limits the ability of juvenile wood frogs to escape a predator attack.

fied under wildlife/ frogs and amphibians

Monday, November 19, 2018

Pesticide Use Found to Surpass ‘Planetary Boundaries’ for Resistance

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Pesticide Use Found to Surpass ‘Planetary Boundaries’ for Resistance   (Beyond Pesticides, November 16, 2018) 

Pesticides and biocides used to control bacterial infections in humans and weeds and pests in agriculture are surpassing ‘planetary boundaries’ within which human civilization can continue to rely on these biocides.

filed under Resistance

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Organic agriculture in the Prairies 2017 data

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Organic agriculture in the Prairies. 2017 Data. (Report by the Organic Trade Association, November 2018)

As consumer demand continues to grow, farms, processors and retailers are choosing to participate in the organic sector. This has resulted in an increase in certified organic operations, along with an expansion of certified organic acreage across the Prairie landscape. Organic operations and acreage constitute approximately two percent of farmland and two percent of farms, as measured by the Census of Agriculture. Organic farm numbers and acres are growing despite the overall decline in non-organic farms and lack of overall acreage growth. Collectively, the Prairie organic food and beverage market is valued at $862 million, constituting over a fifth of the Canadian market. Alberta’s organic food and beverage market is valued at $676 million and together, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba markets are valued at $186 million."

filed under Organics/ farming

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Liver and Kidney Damage Tied to Exposure to the Organophosphate Insecticide Malathion

Malathion has been registered so long, it was grandfathered after the IBT scandal proved there were no reliable toxicity studies for pesticides.

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Liver and Kidney Damage Tied to Exposure to the Organophosphate Insecticide Malathion

(Beyond Pesticides, November 9, 2018) 'A Tunisian study (published in January 2018) on the effects in pre-pubertal mice of exposure to malathion — an organophosphate pesticide first registered for use in the U.S. in 1956 — demonstrates significant distortion of liver and kidney biochemistry and function in the animals. Deleterious effects include compromise of feeding ability, metabolism performance, neurologic deficits, reduction of overall body weight, and simultaneous increases in the weights of livers and kidneys, with structural anomalies and lesions in those organ.'

The article also refers to other recent studies that found deleterious effects of malahion. 

'Information from the (EPA) risk assessment was disturbing enough that the EPA took the uncharacteristic step; that information included evidence of histopathological lesions of the nasal cavity and larynx from exposures below the “dose” that typically causes the inactivation of acetylcholinesterase'

SNAP COMMENT:  In 2005, I attended a pesticide session when the SK government was working on the Green Strategy. I was immediately and repeatedly attacked by the Syngenta representative but won every argument. The last one of the day was about malathion. I pointed out that the US EPA had requested studies on the respiratory toxicity of malathion but had apparently not yet received any. The EPA's concern came from the even more widespread spraying of malathion for mosquito control after the West Nile virus scare. He was sure I was out to lunch and promised he would find the info and let me know. No need to say, I never heard from him. The fact is that the standard tests to determine toxicity (dose at which 1/2 of the animals die) for pesticide registration are dermal (skin) exposure and oral (eating the pesticide in food), On toxicity charts, these are the 2 measurements you will find. I have never seen a chart reporting how toxic a pesticide is when breathed in, although it is the most common form of exposure. It appears the US EPA now has received some data allowing them to publish a warning about respiratory exposure. 

filed under pesticide fact sheets/malathion

Sunday, November 11, 2018

The Myth of Natural Foods

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The Myth of Natural Foods

I don't think there is an official definition of 'natural' different from the USA for Canadian foods. Correct me if I am wrong. 

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Nutrition Research Is Deeply Biased by Food Companies. A New Book Explains Why.

The author writes: “Food science is the food industry.”

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Nutrition Research Is Deeply Biased by Food Companies. A New Book Explains Why. (Vox, by Julia Belluz, October 31, 2018) 

'Food companies don’t want to fund studies that won’t help them sell products. So I consider this kind of research marketing, not science. People who do the studies say the conduct of their science is fine, and it well may be. But research on where the bias comes in says the real problem is in the design of the research question — the way the question gets asked — and the interpretation of results. That’s where the influence tends to show up.'

This article links to the book titled "Unsavory Truth   How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat"

SNAP COMMENT: The same type of bias exists about pesticide research when paid for by the pesticide industry. 

filed under Industry Shenanigans/ Interference with Research

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Breakfast Favorite Orange Juice Tainted

and glyphosate present in water with cyanobacteria

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Breakfast Favorite Orange Juice Tainted by Glyphosate Herbicide Threatens Our Health and Florida's Environment  (Moms Across America, by Zen Honeycutt October 26, 2018)

Needs to be said again! Buy organic!

'The amount of glyphosate that is used in Florida on orange groves, sugar cane fields, and on city streets is enormous. Over 3.5 million lbs per square mile of glyphosate was sprayed in Florida according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) between 2000-2012.'

'In addition, glyphosate herbicide AquaMaster was permitted to be sprayed directly in waterways such as Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, a nature reserve. Local environmentalists are outraged by the lack of action from their governor and local authorities to discontinue the use of glyphosate herbicides and protect marine life. '

'Glyphosate Test Results in Florida’s Water'

'Moms Across America commissioned the testing of water in Lake Okeechobee and off the coast of Cape Coral. Lake O results, where cyanobacteria was present, showed levels between half the amount and 2 times higher than is allowed in European drinking water. Because cyanobacteria digests glyphosate it would be expected that where cyanobacteria is present the water would sometimes test for lower levels of glyphosate.'

The test results off the coast of Cape Coral, at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River where cyanobacteria was present* showed levels of glyphosate 5 -12 times higher than is allowed in European drinking water. 

filed under Food- Pesticides in  and Water

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Study Confirms Chemical-Intensive Production Contaminates Organic with Glyphosat

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Study Confirms Chemical-Intensive Production Contaminates Organic with Glyphosate  (Beyond Pesticides, November 8, 2018)

EWG’s results detected glyphosate residues in all 28 samples of conventionally grown oat products. The vast majority (all but two) of sampled products containing conventionally grown oats had residues well above 160 ppb. The highest level of glyphosate detected by the lab was 2,837 ppb in Quaker Oatmeal Squares breakfast cereal. Surprising to some, glyphosate was also detected in five of the 16 organic samples at concentrations of 10 ppb to 30 ppb. EWG notes that organic oats can be exposed by neighboring drift or at facilities where conventional oats are also processed. Any evidence indicating cross-contamination from conventional to organic underscores the urgency of protecting organic integrity.

SNAP COMMENT: Note that fewer organic products were contaminated, and those that were had at least 5 to10 times less glyphosate than conventional products indicating drift, or presence in water. 

filed under food- pesticides in 

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Study: GMOs Lacking in Proteins and Nutrients

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Study: GMO's Lacking in Protein and Nutrients (Rare Seeds, by Shannon McCabe, November 6, 2018)

'Traditional corn has 28% more protein than the average GMO food/feed corn in our study, meaning you have to eat 28% more on average to get the same nutrition. Modern GMO food is full of empty carbs and calories, but greatly lacking in real nutrients.'

SNAP Comment: So much for the concept of equivlency! It certainly desn't appear it was based on testing...

filed under gmos/foods

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Bees’ Medicine Chest Should Include Sunflower Pollen, Study Finds

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Bees’ Medicine Chest Should Include Sunflower Pollen, Study Finds

(Beyond Pesticides, October 25, 2018) A study published last month in Scientific Reports finds that eating sunflower pollen significantly reduces protozoan infection in bumblebees...However, noting sunflower pollen is not a silver bullet, Dr. Alder indicates that, “Bees do not do well eating just sunflower, but it may be part of a solution.' 

filed under bee die-off

Thursday, November 8, 2018

EPA Considers 300,000-Acre Expansion of Bee-Toxic Pesticide

Five products are already registered in Canada.

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'EPA Considers 300,000-Acre Expansion of Bee-Toxic Pesticide  (Beyond Pesticides, October 19, 2018) Pollinator advocates and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are imploring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny Bayer CropScience’s application for use of “Sivanto,”a pesticide product with the active ingredient flupyradifurone, a chemical the company claims is safer for bees, but poses the same risks at the notorious bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides. If approved, Sivanto would be sprayed in tobacco-growing states along 300,000 acres in the southeast U.S., areas home to more than three dozen species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Bayer’s proposal for expanded uses comes after EPA’s own assessment indicated risks to endangered species, and despite the fact that the agency has not undergone an ESA mandated consultation with federal wildlife agencies. Flupyradifurone is a systemic insecticide like neonicotinoids, and is highly water soluble.

SNAP Comment: According to PANNA Pesticide Database, it is of 'unclassified' chemical class. Five flupyradifurone have first been registered in Canada since 25 November 2015. It is therefore a recent product, too 'young' to have been submitted to independent research but seemingly, company data indicates 'risks to endangered species.'  Here is what the Sivanto label says:

'Section 2: The Product
Sivanto Prime Insecticide is intended for the control of insect pests in a wide variety of
vegetable crops, fruit crops and field crops. Sivanto Prime Insecticide is a broadspectrum
insecticide that is acropetally systemic, moving from roots to the leaves in the
case of soil applications. Sivanto Prime Insecticide moves translaminarly through the
leaf tissue in the case of foliar applications, and can provide control of pests on the
underside of leaves. Sivanto Prime Insecticide is readily absorbed into leaf tissue and is
considered “rainfast” within 1 hour after spray dries. Sivanto Prime Insecticide can be
applied by air-blast, aerial and ground application equipment.'
 

filed under Pesticide fact sheet

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Bumblebees Shown to Suffer Reproductive Failure after Pesticide Exposure

even low doses of clothianidin damaged 332 genes associated with major biological functions

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Bumblebees Shown to Suffer Reproductive Failure after Pesticide Exposure (Beyond Pesticides, November 1, 2018)

'A new study offers fresh evidence that wild bumblebee pollinators are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides, finding that exposure to these compounds interferes with mating success and population stability...While field-realistic consumption of clothianidin reduced survival rates in all test bumblebee populations, worker bees showed higher tolerance to chronic oral clothianidin exposure than queens. However, though queens are known to show reduced fertility following neonic exposure, bumblebee males, revealing surprising vulnerability, showed reduced sperm production and 50% mortality at the lowest administered doses'...

'RNA testing results also revealed even low doses of clothianidin damaged 332 genes associated with major biological functions, including immune system response, learning and memory, locomotion, and reproduction.'

filed under wildlife

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Dolphins in Gulf of Mexico Contaminated with “Inert,” but Toxic, Pesticide Product Ingredients

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Dolphins in Gulf of Mexico Contaminated with “Inert,” but Toxic, Pesticide Product Ingredients

(Beyond Pesticides, October 24, 2018) 'Bottlenose dolphins found along Florida’s west coast contain detectable levels of phthalates, chemicals used in plastics, cosmetics and as inert ingredients in pesticide products, research published in the journal GeoHealth last month indicates...The type of phthalates discovered was indicative of the source of the contaminant. With researchers detecting mono‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) most frequently. While MEHP is associated with plastic pollution, MEP is a breakdown product of diethyl phthalate (DEP), a compound that has been used in pesticide products as an inert ingredient.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Study of Rural New York State Homes Finds Pesticides in Every Sample Tested

Every single compound tested for was discovered in every home examined.

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Study of Rural New York State Homes Finds Pesticides in Every Sample Tested  (Beyond Pesticides, October 18, 2018) 

'Researchers focused in on 132 households in rural counties of New York State that agreed to test for pesticide residue inside their home. Wipe samples were collected from both carpeted and non-carpeted areas, and tested for pesticides used commonly as part of agricultural production in the region. The pesticides analyzed included 15 compounds ranging from organophosphates like chlorpyrifos and malathion, to synthetic pyrethroids like resmethrin, the triazine herbicide atrazine, and the widely used herbicide 2,4-D...Every single compound tested for was discovered in every home examined.'

SNAP COMMENT: Pesticides are easily tracked indoors and, once there, they hardly break down. If anyone had the interest and money to repeat the test in SK, they would likely find the same results for whatever products are used in our area. However, SK has no current pesticide sales or use database, which makes it hard to know what to test for. Recently, researchers have been using the Manitoba pesticide data as a surrogate.

filed under Exposure to Pesticides

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer RiskFindings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study

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Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer RiskFindings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study (JAMA Internal Medicine, October 22, 2018) 

High organic food scores were inversely associated with the overall risk of cancer (hazard ratio for quartile 4 vs quartile 1, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63-0.88; P for trend = .001; absolute risk reduction, 0.6%; hazard ratio for a 5-point increase, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.96).

filed under health/cancer and organics/health

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Brazilian Researchers Link Rise in Colon Cancer to Increase in Pesticide Use

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Brazilian Researchers Link Rise in Colon Cancer to Increase in Pesticide Use  (Beyond Pesticides, November 7, 2018)

'The researchers link the rise in the country�s pesticide use since the turn of the century to significant increases in colon cancer, particularly in the country�s most intensive agricultural southern regions.'

'Researchers note that as Brazil�s agriculture industry has grown over the last two decades, it has become the world�s leading consumer of pesticides. In the year 2000, roughly 160 million tons of pesticides were used in the country. By 2012, that number reached nearly 500 million tons. Scientists compared pesticides sold to standard mortality rates (SMR) in each Brazilian state. SMR measures mortality by comparing observed mortality to expected mortality when adjusting for age and gender. A rate above one indicates that there is excessive mortality.

Despite improvements in detection and treatment, colon cancer deaths recorded in the country increased from roughly 950k in 2000 to over one million by 2012. Using a series of statistical models, researchers showed that as the amount of pesticide sold in the country increased, the SMR for colon cancer increased in close correlation. This trend held for both male and female populations.'

filed under health/cancer

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Coconut-Derived Insect Repellent More Effective than the Hazardous DEET

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Coconut-Derived Insect Repellent More Effective than the Hazardous DEET  (Beyond Pesticides, November 6, 2018) 

'Scientists... have discovered natural compounds derived from coconut oil that are more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, bed bugs and other insects. Given the long-lasting efficacy of the compounds researchers tested, commercialization could make the regular use of toxic insect repellents, like DEET, obsolete.'

S'cientists zeroed in on a blend of C8 (caprylic acid), C10 (capric acid), and C12 (lauric acid) fatty acids as the most effective repellent mixture. Individually, only C12 exhibited anywhere near the same efficacy as the specific blend identified.'

filesd under alternatives/insects

Friday, October 19, 2018

Monsanto in Epic Fail* with attempted attack on Global Glyphosate Study

their PR campaign against the Study was only met with contempt and disdain from jouralists, politicians, scientists and the public in countries across Europe.

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Monsanto in Epic Fail* with attempted attack on Global Glyphosate Study  (Sustainable Pulse, 22 May 2018)  with links.

'However, this time their PR campaign against the Study was only met with contempt and disdain from jouralists, politicians, scientists and the public in countries across Europe.'

'The truth is that Monsanto has never been faced with an independent study on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, in which multiple Institutions and Universities are involved. They are used to attacking one single scientist or a small institution.' 

'Monsanto’s Mr. Partridge was obviously having a bad day, as he also suggested that “The Ramazzini Institute is an activist organization”. This could not be further from the truth. In fact they are expert scientists who have been protecting public health for over 40 years.'

'Epic Fail #3: Monsanto claims no link between glyphosate and cancer…off topic'
 

Friday, October 19, 2018

Monsanto witness admits calculations were wildly wrong

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Monsanto witness admits calculations were wildly wrong  (GM Watch, 10 August 2018) 

'The correct controls for any experiment are those within the experiment itself, since all variables except the test substance are controlled for. Diet and environmental conditions are the same in test and control groups and the only variable is the addition in the test groups of the particular substance under test.'

'But industry instead uses the unscientific ruse of comparing the results in the test groups with so-called "historical control data" – control animal data from numerous historical experiments, often unpublished and thus unverifiable, which were conducted in widely differing conditions.'...

About the main Monsanto witness in the Dwayne Johnson trial: 'Foster, a professor at McMaster University in Ontario, has Ph.Ds in “medical sciences” and veterinary sciences. He admitted under cross that he never studied glyphosate nor its carcinogenicity before Monsanto paid him to testify.' ...'Foster hailed from Ontario and worked for Environment Canada (Canada’s EPA)'  Monsanto’s key witness on the animal studies admitted his earlier calculations on background rates of cancer were all wildly wrong. These calculations were used to indicate that "the exposed mice developed tumors at lower rates than historical background levels". Recalculated, the background level, was in fact lower than the experimental animals showed.

This article also illustrates several more industry shenanigans. 

filed under industry shenanigans/ propaganda

Friday, October 19, 2018

Glyphosate study shows adverse health effects at "safe" dose

It was able to alter certain important biological parameters, mainly relating to sexual development, genotoxicity, and the intestinal microbiome.

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Glyphosate study shows adverse health effects at "safe" dose  (GM Watch, 16 May 2018) 

'The study was focused on the newborn, infancy and adolescence phases of life. The results reveal that glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) was able to alter certain important biological parameters, mainly relating to sexual development, genotoxicity, and the intestinal microbiome....The effects occurred at a dose deemed safe by regulators to ingest on a daily basis over a long-term period. In human-equivalent terms the dosing period corresponded to the period from the embryo stage to 18 years of age.'

The levels measured in urine suggest 'a bioaccumulation effect of glyphosate that was proportional to the length of treatment.'

filed under microbiota changes and fact sheets/ glyphosate

Friday, October 19, 2018

Brazil: Glyphosate found in over 80% of breast milk samples

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Brazil: Glyphosate found in over 80% of breast milk samples  (GM Watch, 11 August 2018)  

'Surprisingly, the same contamination level was detected in the municipality of Oeiras, roughly 750 kilometers from the Urucui, where agricultural activity is the least in the state.'

filed at pesticides and food and fact sheets/glyphosate

Friday, October 19, 2018

Glyphosate found in human hair as unique testing project releases first results

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Glyphosate found in human hair as unique testing project releases first results   (Sustainable Pulse, 18 October 2018)

'The unique project, which began in July 2018, has already discovered the world’s most used herbicide, glyphosate, in a number of hair samples at over 66 parts per billion (ppb), which is a much higher level than the average urine level of 3 ppb reported by the University of California San Francisco in 2016. The main metabolite of glyphosate, AMPA, was also found in some of the hair samples at even higher levels than glyphosate itself.'

Hair: A New Era for Pesticide Testing

It is only recently that new developments in laboratory technology and science have enabled pesticides to be tested accurately in hair. Hair testing is now set to replace urine and blood as the preferred matrix for public pesticide testing for the following reasons:

  • Hair testing shows your exposure to pesticides over a period of 90-120 days, whereas
  • Urine Testing shows your exposure for approximately 14-21 days and
  • Blood Testing shows your exposure for 2-3 days

    'Dr. Vincent Peynet, Director of Kudzu Science, stated; “Our initial testing involves 33 of the most ubiquitous pesticides used in the home and 32 of the most ubiquitous pesticides used in agriculture. You can receive online results within 15 days of your hair samples being received by the Kudzu Science laboratory.”'

    “This is just the start, we are developing a variety of hair tests for the public, which will be released over the coming months,” Dr. Peynet added.

The article links to hair test. Also link for testing your food and water for glyphosate using new affordable strip tests 

filed under exposure/ test

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Management of Pesticide Waste a Global Problem

The unsustainable life cycle management of pesticides during the past seven decades has created huge stockpiles of these (and other toxic) chemicals across much of the globe.

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Management of Pesticide Waste a Global Problem  (Beyond Pesticides, October 17, 2019) 

The unsustainable life cycle management of pesticides during the past seven decades has created huge stockpiles of these (and other toxic) chemicals across much of the globe.

'POPs are associated with a variety of health problems, including early menopause, and Type 2 and gestational diabetes. Also underscored in various of the IHPA papers and reports are: links between exposure to POPs and risks of obesity and metabolic syndrome, and the particular sensitivity of the developing fetus, especially the brain and immune system, to environmental chemical insults. The IHPA helps identify the enormity of the persistent organic pollutant (POP) problem globally, and in the Kyrgyz Republic, in particular, where levels of these chemicals in blood, breastmilk, and human placentas are very high. Increasing levels of organochlorine pesticides found in placental tissue were correlated with increased health risks of low birth weights, pre-eclampsia, infection, and congenital anomalies in newborns, among other impacts.'

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Roundup, Other Herbicides Advance Antibiotic Resistance

Bacteria exposed to widely used herbicides like Roundup develop antibiotic resistance 100,000 times faster than average,

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Roundup, Other Herbicides Advance Antibiotic Resistance  (Beyond Pesticides, October 16, 2018)

'Bacteria exposed to widely used herbicides like Roundup develop antibiotic resistance 100,000 times faster than average, according to new research published by New Zealand scientists in PeerJ. '

'Antibiotic resistance represents and existential threat to modern civilization. As the study authors’ note, “antibiotic resistance in our pathogens is medicine’s climate change: caused by human activity, and resulting in more extreme outcomes.” Like climate change, we successfully address growing antibiotic resistance, but there must be the cultural and political will to make the shift. Advocates already working towards pesticide reform can add another reason for policymakers to shift away from toxic herbicides and other pesticides: stopping antibiotic resistance.;

Sunday, October 14, 2018

New study links common herbicides and antibiotic resistance

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New study links common herbicides and antibiotic resistance  (University of Canterbury,October 12, 2018)    'A new study finds that bacteria develop antibiotic resistance up to 100,000 times faster when exposed to the world's most widely used herbicides, Roundup (glyphosate) and Kamba (dicamba) and antibiotics compared to without the herbicide.'

Also filed under  drug interactions and fact sheets/ glyphosate

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Shareholders Urge General Mills to Stop Pesticide Use in Its Supply Chain, Popular Products

The shareholder proposal ultimately garnered support from 31% of General Mills shareholders.

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Sunday, October 14, 2018

Study Finds Organic Farming Methods Help Maintain Healthy Pollinator Populations

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Study Finds Organic Farming Methods Help Maintain Healthy Pollinator Populations (Beyond Pesticides, October 11, 2018) a Swedish study.

“This is the first large-scale study over the course of several years to show that organic farming has a consistent, stabilizing effect on pollinator diversity,” says Romain Carrié, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at CEC.

'While this trend held in fields with cereal crops and temporary grasslands, semi-natural grasslands were not impacted by the type of farming that occurred. Scientists indicate that this outcome was likely because on these farms, management practices are similar between the two approaches. Specifically, because these fields are generally only used for grazing, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are not applied to these conventional plots.' 

SNAP Comment: perhaps it is in Sweden, but in Canada and the US, there are many pesticides registered for use on pastures. If the operator wants only grass, he will spray. Granted, pastures are likely directly sprayed less often, but in our Saskatchewan predominant crop landscape, they are still exposed to many pesticides that evaporate easily and fall back in runoff, rain or dry deposition. We know that because pesticides have been measure in air and water and found across the landscape. see pesticides in SK water

filed under Organics/environment

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Brain and Behavioral Effects of Early Exposures to Neurotoxicants

a 1 hour video presenting study results suggesting profound brain and learning effects of small exposures to chlorpyrifos.

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Brain and Behavioral Effects of Early Exposures to Neurotoxicants  (University of California Television (UCTV), Aug 11, 2015)

There is also a significant link to meaningful tremors and learning deficits. 

This presentation addresses the impact of prenatal exposure to a common neurotoxicant on brain structure and neuropsychological function in an inner-city cohort of minority children. The toxic chemical, an organophosphate insecticide (chlorpyrifos), has been banned for indoor residential use in the U.S. since 2001, but continues to have widespread application for agricultural purposes. Possible moncholinergic mechanisms involve disruption of neural cell development and neurotransmitter systems, including the formation and activity of synapses in different brain regions. This presentation examines the evidence for long-term effects of prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure on neuropsychological profiles and brain morphology as measured by MRI. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" Health and Medicine Professional Medical Education Show ID: 29838

filed under health/nervous system effects and fact sheets/chlorpyrifos

Saturday, October 6, 2018

US Military Base Has Legacy of Pesticide and Other Toxic Chemical Exposure and Harm

Some Canadian bases used Agent Orange

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Military Base Has Legacy of Pesticide and Other Toxic Chemical Exposure and Harm

(Beyond Pesticides, September 19, 2018) “‘Don’t get pregnant at George Air Force Base’” was the advice imparted from one female Air Force member to another in 1975 at that base...Among the many contaminants found at George AFB and other military sites are organochlorine-based pesticides (OCPs), such as DDT, dieldrin/aldrin, heptachlor, lindane, endrin, chlordane,mirex, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene, chlordane, and others. (all those listed are insecticides)

SNAP Comment: I don't know if Canadian military bases ever used as many chemicals as some US ones, but there has certainly been use of Agent Orange, Agent Purple and other military herbicides at CFB Gagetown. (archived document from National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces). Trichloroethylene (TCE), a common industrial solvent, had seeped into the underground water table from the adjacent Canadian Forces Base Valcartier. (What made Shannon so sick? Solvent in water table: 'Don't drink it, don't bathe in it, don't breathe it,' health officials warned. Charlie Fidelman, Montreal Gazette) There is likely more if one searches. 

filed under Exposure

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Inspector General Challenges EPA’s Allowance of Off-Label “Emergency” Pesticide Use

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Inspector General Challenges EPA’s Allowance of Off-Label “Emergency” Pesticide Use  (Beyond Pesticides, September 27, 2018) 

'The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report finding the agency’s practice of routinely granting “emergency” approval through its Section 18 program for pesticide use does not effectively measure risks to human health or the environment.'

OIG’s report finds “significant deficiencies in the OPP’s online database management, in its draft Section 18 emergency exemption standard operating procedure and application checklist, and in its reports to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget.

filed under Legislation/Regulatory/USA

 
Saturday, October 6, 2018

Organochlorine Pesticide Exposures in the Womb Linked to Poorer Lung Function in Childhood

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Organochlorine Pesticide Exposures in the Womb Linked to Poorer Lung Function in Childhood  (Beyond Pesticides, September 20, 2018)  

'Organochlorine compounds, which include the pesticide DDT, as well as electrical insulators and other industrial products, are now banned in most parts of the world. However, because they degrade very slowly, they are still present in the environment and in foods...The new study is the first to show a link with objective measures of lung strength and capacity in relation to low-level exposure to these chemicals.'

filed under Health Effects/Respiratory

Saturday, October 6, 2018

French President Calls for Glyphosate/Roundup Ban, MPs Balk

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French President Calls for Glyphosate/Roundup Ban, MPs Balk  (Beyond Pesticides, September 28, 2018) 

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Beyond Pesticides Joins Grassroots Groups, Organic Experts for Stonyfield Organic’s New #PlayFree Initiative

initiative to convert public fields and parks to organic land management

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Beyond Pesticides Joins Grassroots Groups, Organic Experts for Stonyfield Organic’s New #PlayFree Initiative  (Beyond Pesticides, September 25, 2018)

Last week the pioneering yogurt maker Stonyfield Organic announced a new initiative to convert public fields and parks to organic land management in collaboration with Beyond Pesticides, Nontoxic Neighborhoods, and natural land care experts Osborne Organics

filed under Lawn/Turf

Saturday, October 6, 2018

US FDA and Cornell University Reports Show Glyphosate Residues in Corn, Soybeans and Pet Food

“The authors of this study, as quoted in this article, are ignoring established scientific principles and evidence in arriving at their conclusion that the levels of glyphosate residues found in the pet foods are “within a range that would be deemed s

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US FDA and Cornell University Reports Show Glyphosate Residues in Corn, Soybeans and Pet Food  (Sustainable Pulse, Oct 4 2018)

The (FDA) results showed that glyphosate was found at high but legal levels in soybeans and corn but not in eggs or milk.

'Dr Michael Antoniou of King’s College London, who has conducted research on the health impacts of glyphosate herbicide, reacted in a quote for GM Watch; “The authors of this study, as quoted in this article, are ignoring established scientific principles and evidence in arriving at their conclusion that the levels of glyphosate residues found in the pet foods are “within a range that would be deemed safe for humans”.'
'“First, they do not acknowledge the well established principle of low dose toxicity, especially through endocrine disruption, which does not follow a linear ‘dose makes the poison’ model. Second, they ignore a large body of evidence that shows that daily intake of glyphosate well below what regulators have ruled as safe causes ill health to multiple organ systems such as the liver, kidney and reproductive system.”'

filed in pesticides in food 

Thursday, October 4, 2018

City of Prince Albert to examine alternatives to Pesticides

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City to Examine Alternatives to Pesticides for weed control. (PA Herald, 3 October 2018) City to examine alternatives to pesticides - print

"When local resident Estelle Hjertaas saw MIller's motion on the agenda, she signed up to address Council."

PA- Council Resolution to Examine Alternatives to Pesticides 

Estelle's Pesticide Presentation to PA City Council

filed under Bylaws/Provincial / Saskatchewan

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Hummingbirds and bumble bees exposed to neonicotinoid and organophosphate insecticides in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada

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Hummingbirds and bumble bees exposed to neonicotinoid and organophosphate insecticides in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada  (Christine A. Bishop et al., Environmental Toxicology, 05 July 2018)  free access journal. 

"the combined concentration of the neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin detected in hummingbird cloacal fluid from sites near conventionally sprayed blueberry fields was 3.63 ng/mL (ppb). Only piperonyl butoxyde was detected in fecal pellets. Only diazinon was detected in bumble bees (0.197 ng/g), whereas diazinon (1.54–1.7 ng/g) and imidacloprid (up to 18.4 ng/g) were detected in pollen collected from bumble bees"

filed under Wildlife/ birds and insects

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Scientific Reviews of Glyphosate’s Cancer Risk Fail to Fully Disclose Monsanto’s Role Publisher Requests Corrections of Studies That Contradicted World Health Organization Findings

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Scientific Reviews of Glyphosate’s Cancer Risk Fail to Fully Disclose Monsanto’s Role
Publisher Requests Corrections of Studies That Contradicted World Health Organization Findings
  (Center for Biological Diversity 27 September 2018)   

In an email sent yesterday to the Center, a representative from the publisher of the articles, Taylor and Francis, wrote:

“We note that, despite requests for full disclosure, the original Acknowledgements and Declaration of Interest statements provided to the journal did not fully represent the involvement of Monsanto or its employees or contractors in the authorship of the articles.”

filed under Industry Shenanigans/Interference with Research an d Research Publications

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Common Weed Killer Linked to Bee Deaths

glyphosate significantly reduced healthy gut microbiota in bees

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Common Weed Killer Linked to Bee Deaths  (University of Texas news, Sept. 24, 2018)

"The researchers exposed honey bees to glyphosate at levels known to occur in crop fields, yards and roadsides. The researchers painted the bees’ backs with colored dots so they could be tracked and later recaptured. Three days later, they observed that the herbicide significantly reduced healthy gut microbiota. Of eight dominant species of healthy bacteria in the exposed bees, four were found to be less abundant. The hardest hit bacterial species, Snodgrassella alvi, is a critical microbe that helps bees process food and defend against pathogens...The bees with impaired gut microbiomes also were far more likely to die when later exposed to an opportunistic pathogen, Serratia marcescens, compared with bees with healthy guts. Serratia is a widespread opportunistic pathogen that infects bees around the world."

also see  Study: Roundup Weed Killer Could Be Linked To Widespread Bee Deaths  (Vanessa Romo, NPR, September 25, 2018) 

filed under bee die-off and glyphosate

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Trees Accidentally Killed By ODOT To Be Logged

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Trees Accidentally Killed By ODOT To Be Logged  (Emily Cureton, OPB, Sept. 24, 2018)

'The herbicide Perspective is behind the die-off. An ODOT contractor in Jefferson County applied it for years to control weeds and minimize fire risk along Highway 20. Trees absorbed the chemical aminocyclopyrachlor through their roots and began to slowly die.'


As of 29 September 2018, there are 10 AMINOCYCLOPYRACHLOR products registered in Canada.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Dramatic postmortem evidence of glyphosate-linked damage to animal organs

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Dramatic postmortem evidence of glyphosate-linked damage to animal organs (Renewable Farming LCC WakeUP)

Sept. 17, 2017 -- We encourage you to study the web posting by Dr. Dupmeier at this link. It takes you to his "DOCTORTED" website. This practicing veterinariam's report was posted July 17, 2017 and soon "went viral." His presentation is called Without Prejudice - Glyphosate, in which he presents evidence of health damage to amimals by glyphosate and how changing feed and adding molasses can correct problems. 

Researcher Judy Carman is the principal author of the scientific report, which reveals essentially the same GMO/glyphosate consequences seen by Dr. Dupmeier. This article links to Dr. Carman's site, which contains that entire study plus more.

filed under fact sheets/ glyphosate

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Ottawa ignoring hazards of top pesticides sold in Canada

"and instead of coming up with better chemistry or more organic methods or whatever, (the PMRA) just replace bad chemistry with bad chemistry. And that happens repeatedly."

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Ottawa ignoring hazards of top pesticides sold in Canada   (By Bruce Livesey, Canada National Observer, August 9th 2017)  (#2 of 2 articles from the Special Report: Bureau of Poison)  

 "and instead of coming up with better chemistry or more organic methods or whatever, (the PMRA) just replace bad chemistry with bad chemistry. And that happens repeatedly." Cooper says.

This article presents the research and evidence on three case studies. Atrazine: birth defects and other health effects. 500,000 kg/yr is used in Canada where it contaminates water in several provinces including SK. The article also looks at neonicotinoids: more than 300,000 kilograms of neonics are used on Canadian crops every year with documented widespread contamination and effects on bees. It presents evidence that the PMRA is relying on poor industry studies for their pesticide assessment. and finally Glyphosate (the most popular herbicide sold in the world and in Canada - where over 25 million kilograms is used every year in 700 herbicide formulations.) 'Glyphosate is now found in food, drinking water and other beverages, honey, etc. A study in Germany last year found that 99.6 per cent of those (people) tested had traces of glyphosate in their blood.'

'As noted in Part One of our investigation into the PMRA, critics of the agency say it turns a blind eye to evidence that popular herbicides and insecticides are causing massive impacts on the environment and to human health. They accuse the PMRA of, in effect, being “captured” by the very agrochemical companies it’s supposed to be overseeing, such as Syngenta, Bayer, Dow-Dupont, Monsanto and BASF.'

filed under Legislation/Regulatory/ Canada

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Concentrations of Herbicides in Wetlands on Organic and Minimum-Tilllage Farms

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Concentrations of Herbicides in Wetlands on Organic and Minimum-Tillage Farms (David B. Donald, Allan J. Cessna and Annemieke Farenhorst. Journal of Environmental Quality Abstract - Wetlands and Aquatic Processes, September 13, 2018)

This paper includes an extensive bibliography of 'most of the citations for pesticides research conducted in the prairies from day one.'  Without subscription only the abstract is available. However, I received a paper copy of the article and will link to a psd of the bibliography.

Core Ideas:

  • Wetland biota may be at risk from toxic effects of herbicides.
  • We assessed 29 herbicides in wetlands on minimum-tillage and organic farms.
  • Fewer herbicides and lower concentrations were detected in wetlands on organic farms.
  • Detections were related to relative use, herbicide volatility, and water solubility.
  • Herbicides in wetlands on minimum-tillage farms were usually below toxic thresholds

Concentrations of clopyralid were significantly higher in wetlands on minimum-tillage farms than in those on organic farms, whereas no significant difference was observed for any of the other five herbicides. Glyphosate, including its degradation product AMPA, was detected in >50% frequency only in wetlands on minimum-tillage farms where the mean concentration (1278 ng L−1) was higher than the concentration of other herbicides.

SNAP Comment: I disagree with the following conclusion because pesticides were present in mixtures and there is a lack of studies on mixtures, and also because we now scientifically know that low levels effects happen. Many negative health and behavioral effects have been measured at environmentally relevant concentrations. 'Herbicide concentrations in all but two samples were less than their respective Canadian guideline for protection of aquatic life, suggesting that, overall, individual herbicide concentrations in the wetlands were not toxic to biota.'

filed under water/ Saskatchewan

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Amsterdam Leads Bee Recovery Efforts by Banning Bee-Toxic Pesticides, Improving Habitat

The increase (of 21 bee species) has been attributed to a range of pollinator-protective measures, including a ban on neonics

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Amsterdam Leads Bee Recovery Efforts by Banning Bee-Toxic Pesticides, Improving Habitat  (Beyond Pesticides, September 12, 2018)

"A new map published by the city identified 21 bee species not found in an earlier 1998 survey recorded by Amsterdam officials. The increase has been attributed to a range of pollinator-protective measures, including a ban on bee-toxic pesticides and the planting of native flowers, prioritized by the... city government since the turn of the century."

"While the EU recently made indefinite a ban on bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides in agriculture, urban spaces have been singled out for the continued risk to pollinators posed by the lawn and garden use of these chemicals. Amsterdam appears to have successfully made up the difference, banning the use of bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides on public city property, and encouraging residents and businesses to eliminate their use through brochures and informational pamphlets. Neonicotinoids have been implicated in the decline of wild and managed pollinators, leading governments, both large and small, to impose restrictions on their use.'

SNAP Comment: Similarly, I think the proposed Canadian ban of 3 neonicotinoids is mostly on farmland. If it covers outdoor uses, it would still mean that neonicotinoids would make their way to the consumers and the environment through allowed "indoor use" in greenhouses, presumably on food and bedding plants.

fileld under fact sheets/ neonicotinoids and wildlife/insects

 

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Has Ottawa sold out to Big Agro and its toxic chemicals?

Munro Bees is now a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit launched by Ontario beekeepers seeking $450-million in damages against Bayer and Syngenta, another agrochemical company, blaming neonics for harming their bees.

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Has Ottawa sold out to Big Agro and its toxic chemicals?   (By Bruce Livesey, Canada's National Observer, July 25th 2017) (#1 of 2 articles from the Special Report: Bureau of Poison)

SNAP Comment: If pesticides work, why are we using more and more every year? Well researched article.

'According to Statistics Canada, the area of farmland treated with herbicides, insecticides and fungicides increased by 3 per cent, 42 per cent and 114 per cent respectively between 2001 and 2011. In Canada, 100 million kilograms of pesticides were sold in Canada in 2014 – up from 82 million kilograms in 2009.'... 'However, the Auditor General of Canada has carried out three investigations... into the PMRA since 2003 — and found it wanting.' 'In response to the Auditor’s 2015 report, last year the PMRA announced it was going to stop giving conditional registrations – but only on new pesticides, not those currently on the market. This winter, Health Canada began considering phasing out one class of neonics, imidacloprid, due to its impact on aquatic insects – but only over a three-to-five year time frame. '

"Rarely will (PMRA) take a pesticide off the market,” says Cooper. “They will tweak the label or they will add additional requirements or mitigation for the workers or application rates… But you never get to ‘Boy, this thing is bad news’.”    'But more significantly, the PMRA uses a “risk-based” assessment model that critics believe ensures no pesticide could ever be banned. But more significantly, the PMRA uses a “risk-based” assessment model that critics believe ensures no pesticide could ever be banned. '... 'Back in Alvinston, Ontario, Munro Honey continues to struggle to keep its bees alive. While queen bees used to last three to four years, Munro finds now they usually only live a year. '

filed under bee die-off and fact sheets/ neonicotinoids and Legislation/Regulatory/ Canada

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Study Finds Bumblebees Increasingly Attracted to the Pesticides that Kill Them

the study indicates that bees may be undertaking the human equivalent of chain-smoking themselves to death.

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Study Finds Bumblebees Increasingly Attracted to the Pesticides that Kill Them  (Beyond Pesticides, August 31, 2018)

' the study indicates that bees may be undertaking the human equivalent of chain-smoking themselves to death.'

'By the end of the experiment, food containing 2 parts per billion of the pesticide was eaten 10% more than in the beginning of the study. Researchers changed the location of the nectar sources throughout the experiment, but bumblebees still sought out the toxic food.'

filed under fact sheets/neonocotinoids

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Over Dioxin Contamination from Poison Poles in Central California

SaskPower also extensively uses pentachlorophenol-treated utility posts.

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Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Over Dioxin Contamination from Poison Poles in Central California  (Beyond Pesticides, September 14, 2018) 

'The utility poles of concern were treated with the chemical pentachlorophenol, which is regulated as a pesticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is known to produce dioxin as a byproduct of its manufacture.'

SNAP Comment: Last summer, after an organic farmer contacted SNAP, we updated the treated wood page and have a subpage titled pentachlorophenol. A letter to SaskPower about their wide use of pentachlorophenol-treated utility poles resulted in no action on their part except a wide PR campaign on why they use them without mention of the health effects of penta. One of SaskPower's points was that the poles were 'reused/recycled' which they should not be because of their toxic nature. SNAP also posted irresponsble Government of Canada documents indicating the poles are no longer disposed off in incinerators for toxic products (apparently not good environmentally) but are being used for outdoor furniture and as fuel for some industries.

I never even thought of the dioxin contamination...

filed under treated wood  

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Glyphosate global weedkiller harms honeybees

Glyphosate – the most used pesticide ever – damages the good bacteria in honeybee guts, making them more prone to deadly infections

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Monsanto's global weedkiller harms honeybees, research finds (The Guardian, 24 Sep 2018) 

Glyphosate – the most used pesticide ever – damages the good bacteria in honeybee guts, making them more prone to deadly infections

'We demonstrated that the abundances of dominant gut microbiota species are decreased in bees exposed to glyphosate at concentrations documented in the environment,” ' 'Prof Dave Goulson, at the University of Sussex, said: “It now seems that we have to add glyphosate to the list of problems that bees face. This study is also further evidence that the landscape-scale application of large quantities of pesticides has negative consequences that are often hard to predict.”'

SNAP Comment: Monsanto claims that "More than 40 years of robust, independent scientific evidence shows that it poses no unreasonable risk for humans, animal, and the environment generally.” I doubt any of their research looked at this particular problem. Industry research is focused on the dose at which 1/2 the animals die, which is the basis of our regulatory system. It does not look at functional or low dose effects. Perhaps Monsanto should not have registered glyphosate as an antibiotic if they didn't want researchers to look at its effect on bacteria....

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Pesticide Residues in Cannabis Threaten Medical Use Market, According to Industry Insider

84% of 2016 product batches tested were found to harbor pesticide residue

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Pesticide Residues in Cannabis Threaten Medical Use Market, According to Industry Insider(Beyond Pesticides, September 7, 2018)

'84% of 2016 product batches tested were found to harbor pesticide residue; and that in the recent California round of assays, 20% failed established standards due to contamination from pesticides, bacteria, or processing chemicals, and in some cases, inaccurate labeling.'

'The risks of pesticide contamination of cannabis include: exposure from inhalation, ingestion, or absorption of pesticide residues on the crop, exposure to workers cultivating the plant, environmental contamination, and impacts on wildlife. Such risks are especially unnerving for those patients using cannabis products medicinally, because their health is already compromised. '

filed under drugs/pesticides in 

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

One week of content lost due to server problems.

now fixed.

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I hope to be able to bring this content again. Sorry.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

How a Ragtag Group of Oregon Locals Took On the Biggest Chemical Companies in World and Won

The bill was to stop the aerial spraying of pesticides on all forestry land.

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How a Ragtag Group of Oregon Locals Took On the Biggest Chemical Companies in World — and Won   (Sharon Lerner, The Intercept, September 15 2018)

The bill was to stop the aerial spraying of pesticides on all forestry land. The article describes Crop LIfe's strategy to defeat the bill and the money they invested in the fight. Of course, the pesticide industry's contribution to the fight was undisclosed to the public.

"The ordinance passed by 61 votes in May of last year despite the contributions of powerful groups, including the Fertilizer Institute, the Koch-supported Oregon Forest Industries Council, more than a dozen local farm bureaus, DuPont, and Oregonians for Food and Shelter — a group created in 1980 to “do battle with activists seeking an initiative to ban the aerial application of forest herbicides,” according to an archived page of its website."

"But the total amount of contributions to the Coalition to Defeat 21-177, which represents 22 times the contributions to the ban’s proponents and about $34 spent for every voter, doesn’t reflect any expenditures or services provided by CropLife America. The group’s internal documents show that it spent heavily to fight the ban in Lincoln County. The documents didn’t specify the total spent on its joint effort with Paradigm Communications, but they do show that CropLife America expected to spend more than $10 million on staff, consultants, and vendors in 2017 and clearly considered its work in Oregon a top priority. Yet none of the group’s spending on the ban was recorded in the Oregon Secretary of State’s database. State law requires public reporting of all contributions to campaigns over $750, including those from out-of-state organizations."

"Dan Meek, a public interest attorney based in Portland, Oregon, agreed that CropLife America’s failure to report its spending to fight the ordinance was a violation of state law. "

"I’ve been doing politics and government for 20 years, and I’ve never worked with any industry as intense and thuggish as the chemical companies,” said Hooser. “They filled the room full of their workers and told the world that Gary Hooser, and this bill was going to cost them their jobs.”
filed under industry shenanigans at http://www.snapinfo.ca/info/industrys-shenanigans

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Sask. farmer converts 40,000 acres into Canadas largest organic farm

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Sask. farmer converts 40,000 acres into Canada’s largest organic farm   (By Katelyn Wilson Reporter  Global News, Sept 13, 2018)

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Pest Control Products Sales for 2016 - Canada

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Saturday, September 15, 2018

Permaculture: Leadership for Sustainable Futures

A presentation by Professor Stuart Hill University of Western Sydney, to the Blue Mountains Permaculture community in June 2011, on permaculture and the 'inner landscape'.

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Permaculture: Leadership for Sustainable Futures 

Published on Jun 20, 2011

A presentation by Professor Stuart Hill University of Western Sydney, to the Blue Mountains Permaculture community in June 2011, on permaculture and the 'inner landscape'.

Dr Hill graciously forwarded a lot of information to be added to the SNAP web site. He established one of the first institutes of sustainable agriculture within a university: Ecological
Agriculture Projects (EAP) in 1974 in McGill University in Montreal, Canada ( www.eap.mcgill.ca ) and taught one of the first undergraduate courses on Ecological Agriculture in a university (from mid-1980s).

filed under OrganicConventonalAgricutureCompared Prof. Stuart B. Hill, Foundation Chair of Social Ecology, Western Sydney University (s.hill@westernsydney.edu.au)">Organics 

Saturday, September 15, 2018

An insider's look into the City of Regina's pesticide arsenal

The city has cut back on the amount of herbicide it sprays in parks and open spaces, while using more poison to respond to a booming gopher population

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An insider's look into the City of Regina's pesticide arsenal  (Arthur White-Crummey, Regina Leader-Post, September 10, 2018)

The city has cut back on the amount of herbicide it sprays in parks and open spaces, while using more poison to respond to a booming gopher population.

Paule Hjertaas was interviewed for this article but had not finished reviewing the data. 

 Here is the file as a pdf for when the link no longer works Insider Look in Regina's Pesticide Arsenal

 August 2018. The Regina Pesticide Use Report is apparently available on the city's web site. I am trying to locate it then I will add in the link.

filed under Pesticide Use and  Presentaions and Publications /Media

Saturday, September 15, 2018

A toxic Mist

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A Toxic Mist a pdf of many of Peter Von Stackleberg's articles on the IBT scandal in the Regina Leader Post in 1980. Peter, a former LP journalist who broke the story of the IBT scandal, gratiously send me a partial list of the Leader Post articles he wrote on the story in 1980. I had given up trying to collate all of them from microfiches, and all copies of his book A Toxic Mist had disappeared. 

He also mentions the updated (2014) edition of Carol Van Strum's book A Bitter Fog on Amazon in paperback and e-book formats.

SNAP Comment: Why is this still relevant? Because many pesticides still on the market today were grandfathered after this scandal in spite of no valid studies. Some likely still don't have all the studies mandated for registration.
 

filed under Industry Shenanigans

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Organic & Conventional Agriculture Compared

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Organic & Conventional Agriculture Compared (20 May, 2007) – part of requested submission to IAASTD OrganicConventonalAgricutureCompared

Prof. Stuart B. Hill, Foundation Chair of Social Ecology, Western Sydney University (s.hill@westernsydney.edu.au)

filed under Organics

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Pesticide residues vex food firms

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Pesticide residues vex food firms (by Ed White,Western Producer Sept  2018)

SNAP Comment: I am sure this problem is indeed vexing but realize that the term 'natural' has never had any official legal definition and been used by the food industry to make consumers think such labeled products were better than others and gain market share. In addition,  independent research has indeed shown that the EPA and PMRA's "acceptable limit" is not protective to consumers.

filed under Pesticides in Food

Monday, September 10, 2018

Column: Dont Ignore the Risks and Fallout of GMO American Chestnuts

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Column: Don’t Ignore the Risks and Fallout of GMO American Chestnuts

 (Campaign to Stop GE Trees, September 10, 2018)

"If approved by the government, the GMO American chestnut tree would be the first ever self-replicating GMO to be released directly into the wild for the purpose of contaminating as many wild relatives as possible. It would be one giant uncontrolled experiment and set a dangerous precedent for the future our forests and natural environment."

filed under gmos/crops

Saturday, September 8, 2018

In Blow to Monsanto, India's Top Court Upholds Decision That Seeds Cannot Be Patented

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In Blow to Monsanto, India's Top Court Upholds Decision That Seeds Cannot Be Patented (EcoWatch, May 2018)

Citing India's Patents Act of 1970, the Delhi High Court ruled last month that plant varieties and seeds cannot be patented, thereby rejecting Monsanto's attempt to block its Indian licensee, Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd., from selling the seeds.

Friday, August 31, 2018

Bayer Needs More Than an Aspirin to Cure Its Monsanto-Sized Headache

For Bayer the worst is yet to come.

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Bayer Needs More Than an Aspirin to Cure Its Monsanto-Sized Headache (Organic Consumers Association, August 28, 2018, by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.) 

'Perhaps more ominously for Bayer, Monsanto also faces cascading scientific evidence linking glyphosate to a constellation of other injuries that have become prevalent since its introduction, including obesity, depression, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, kidney disease, and inflammatory bowel disease, brain, breast and prostate cancer, miscarriage, birth defects and declining sperm counts. Strong science suggests glyphosate is the culprit in the exploding epidemics of celiac disease, colitis, gluten sensitivities, diabetes and non-alcoholic liver cancer which, for the first time, is attacking children as young as 10.'

'My colleague, Brent Wisner, estimates that 80 percent of the documents we wanted to show to the jury were not used, many because of the rulings we considered to be judicial error. We believe that our future Monsanto juries will see this evidence.' and the article details the most damning of these documents. 

SNAP Comment: In essence, according to Robert Kennedy, the judge did her best to protect Monsanto but the jury ruled in favour of the plaintiff anyways. I did not know that glyphosate had first been tested by IBT Labs found to have falsified test data around 1980. So essentiallly it was 'grandfathered' pending more studies like most other pesticides involved at that time. I didn't know either that "When the EPA asked Monsanto to retest glyphosate safety in the wake of the IBT scandal, the company’s own 1983 study found a statistically significant number of benign and malignant kidney tumors in male mice exposed to high amounts of glyphosate. This study prompted EPA to classify glyphosate as a possible human carcinogen in 1985... Under extreme political pressure from Monsanto’s allies in Ronald Reagan’s cabinet, EPA folded and withdrew the cancer classification on the condition that Monsanto re-perform the mouse test. Monsanto promised to do so, but once the EPA cancelled the cancer classification, the company reneged, refusing to test glyphosate’s carcinogenicity for 40 years." and more.

filed under Industry Shenanigans

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Mothers with High Exposure to DDT More Likely to Have Children with Autism, Study Finds

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Mothers with High Exposure to DDT More Likely to Have Children with Autism, Study Finds  (Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2018) 

women tested for DDE and PCBs "Though this study links autism to long-banned DDT, it raises significant concerns about legacy contamination from this chemical, which remains ubiquitous in the environment and in human bodies."

filed under health/nervous system effects 

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Roundup for Breakfast? Weed Killer Found in Kids Cereals, Other Oat-Based Foods

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

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Roundup for Breakfast? Weed Killer Found in Kids’ Cereals, Other Oat-Based Foods (Environmental Working Group,Aug. 15, 2018)

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

'These new findings come days after a California jury awarded $289 million to a school groundskeeper who claimed Roundup gave him lymphoma.'

Glyphosate was found in all but two of 45 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. "More than two thirds of the samples had glyphosate levels above what EWG scientists consider protective of children's health with an adequate margin of safety.'

'About one-third of 16 samples of foods made with organically grown oats also had glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG's health benchmark. Glyphosate may get in organic oats by drifting from nearby farm fields, or cross-contamination in a processing facility that also handles non-organic foods.'   

test chart and explanation of toxic levels at Breakfast With a Dose of Roundup?

filed under pesticides in food 

Friday, August 17, 2018

In the U.S. and the world, pesticide use is up

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In the U.S. and the world, pesticide use is up (PANNA, 2 August 2018)

"in the U.S., nearly $14 billion was spent on all pesticides at the user level in 2012. Agricultural sector pesticide usage accounted for nearly 90% of the total pesticide usage between 2005-2012."  includes chart.

What the numbers tell us

  • 'In the U.S., agricultural pesticide expenditures by users totaled over $9 billion in 2012, accounting for 66% of the pesticide market.'
  • 'Farmers are spending more on pesticides. Average pesticide expenditures in the U.S. were 4.2% in 2007 and 5% in 2012 of total farm expenditures.'
  • Organophosphate (OP) insecticide use is still decreasing' (likely replaced with worse neonicotinoids)
  • 'World pesticide usage was nearly 6 billion pounds in 2011 and 2012. U.S. pesticide usage was over 1.1 billion pounds in 2011 and 2012'.
  • 'Agricultural pesticide use is up — mainly herbicides... Herbicides accounted for nearly half of total U.S. pesticide usage in 2011, and nearly 60% of usage in 2012.'​

​filed under pesticide sales / US

Friday, August 17, 2018

Popular nicotine-based pesticides pose risk to aquatic insects: Health Canada

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Friday, August 10, 2018

Glyphosate-based Herbicide Impairs Female Fertility - new study

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Glyphosate-based Herbicide Impairs Female Fertility - new study

What the 3 month studies mandated by regulatory agencies cannot show:

The dosages were selected based of the reference dose (dose supposed to be safe over a lifetime) and the higher dose was 1/5th of the "industry-declared no-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)". 'However, although all glyphosate herbicide-exposed first generation female rats became pregnant, they had a lower number of implantation sites of fertilized eggs, compared with controls. The second generation offspring from both glyphosate herbicide-exposed groups showed delayed growth, evidenced by lower foetal weight and length, and a higher incidence of abnormally small foetuses...Also, to the authors' surprise, malformations (conjoined foetuses and abnormally developed limbs) were detected in the second generation of offspring from the higher dose of glyphosate herbicide group...The findings of malformations reflect epidemiological findings that people living in an Argentine town in the heart of the GM soy and maize growing area, where glyphosate-based herbicides are sprayed in large amounts, suffer birth defects at twice the national average rate.'
Link to original study and others.


filed under fact sheets/ glyphosate  and reproductive health 

Friday, August 10, 2018

Rats fed GM stacked-trait maize developed leaky stomachs

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Rats fed GM stacked-trait maize developed leaky stomachs  (GM Watch, 09 July 2018) 

The study lasted twice as long as industry studies ( 6 months) and the control rats were fed a non-gmo diet. 'Drs Zdziarski and Carman said, "Joining together all the adverse findings into a single severity score, we found that the rats on the GM diet had a score that was 33% higher than rats on the non-GM diet. The changes we saw are closest to those seen with chemical gastropathy (also called reactive gastritis), caused by chemical irritants, such as aspirin, damaging the lining of the stomach."'

filed under gmos/ safety and health/digestive tract

Friday, August 10, 2018

Pest Control Products Sales Report for 2011

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Pest Control Products Sales Report for 2011  (Government of Canada) French and English versions 

However, the general trend has shown a small (3%) increase in the overall sales of pesticides in Canada (from 87 522 435 kg a.i. in 2008 to 90 324 969 kg a.i. in 2011). a.i. stands fo active ingredient. The number one pesticide used is glyphosate, as it was in the Saskatchewan sale's figures 2001-2003. With these numbers 3% is a huge quantity: an increase of 2,704,749.07 kg

filed under pesticide sales

Friday, August 10, 2018

US CourtTells EPA to Ban Chlorpyrifos

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US Court Tells EPA to Ban Chlorpyrifos

(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2018) "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must ban a widely used organophosphate pesticide linked to brain damage in children, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. The appellate court ordered EPA to finalize its proposed ban on chlorpyrifos, produced by DowDupont, based on undisputed findings that the pesticide is unsafe for public health, and particularly harmful to children and farmworkers."

Friday, August 10, 2018

CRISPR causes greater genetic damage than previously thought

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CRISPR causes greater genetic damage than previously thought   (GM Watch, 17 July 2018) 

"These results create safety implications for gene therapies using CRISPR/Cas9 in the future as the unexpected damage could lead to dangerous changes in some cells. Potential consequences could include triggering cancer....Reported on 16 July 2018 in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study also revealed that standard tests for detecting DNA changes miss finding this genetic damage, and that caution and specific testing will be required for any potential gene therapies." 

filed under gmos / safety

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

California to List Chlorpyrifos as a Toxic Air Contaminant

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California to List Chlorpyrifos as a Toxic Air Contaminant (Beyond Pesticides, August 8, 2018)

"based on evidence of its neurological effects and exposure risks of concern...According to the assessment, “chlorpyrifos meets the criteria of TAC designation based on either the developmental neurotoxicity endpoint or the AChE inhibition endpoint, even without the additional 10x uncertainty factor necessary to account for the fact that the developmental neurotoxicity effects occur at a lower level than AChE inhibition.” As defined in California, a TAC is “an air pollutant which may cause or contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious illness, or which may pose a present or potential hazard to human health.”"

filed under fact sheets/ chlorpyrifos

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Suburban Bees Still Vulnerable to Neonicotinoids Despite EU Ban

Neonicotinoid exposure for agricultural areas bees declined post-ban but bees in suburban environments remain at risk of high levels of neonicotinoid exposures.

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Suburban Bees Still Vulnerable to Neonicotinoids Despite EU Ban

(Beyond Pesticides, August 1, 2018) According to new research from the University of Sussex, bees living in suburban habitats are still being exposed to high levels of neonicotinoid pesticides. Even though there is a European Union (EU) ban on these chemicals, the ban focuses on agricultural and not residential applications. The study’s authors are urging gardeners to forgo the use of these pesticides in favor of more holistic, pesticide-free approaches. 

'The authors of the study say it is the first of its kind to highlight the risk to bees in urban areas posed by garden use of pesticides. Entitled Monitoring neonicotinoid exposure for bees in rural and peri-urban areas of the UK during the transition from pre- to post-moratorium, the study sampled pollen and nectar from bumblebee colonies in rural and peri-urban habitats ... over three years. Sampling began prior to the ban (2013), during the initial implementation when some seed-treated winter-sown oilseed rape was still grown (2014), and following the ban (2015). Honey bee colonies in rural habitats were also sampled to compare species-level differences between bumblebees and honey bees.'

SNAP comment: I am not aware of any Canadian study looking at the concentration of neonics in pollen and nectar in urban areas. However, a recent study looking at pesticide contamination of bedding plants have found commercial bedidng plants to be widely contaminated with neonics. In Canada, a quick search (5 August 2018) of the PMRA domestic formulations for a few neonicotinids found many Canadian registered neonicotinoids for treating fleas and lice on pets, but also for ant treatment indoors and out. Many neonicotinoids are licensed for  professionals to use in greenhouses and nurseries insects in lawn, fruit and ornamental trees. Any commercial applicator can use some for treating your lawn, trees or landscape. 

filed unde bee die-off and fact sheet/neonicotinoids 

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Weeds on Missouri Cropland Found To Be Resistant to Six Different Herbicides

including 2,4-D

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Weeds on Missouri Cropland Found To Be Resistant to Six Different Herbicides

(Beyond Pesticides, August 2, 2018) 'Weed scientists from the University of Missouri (UM) have just published evidence of a water hemp population resistant to six different herbicides. The study is sending shock waves throughout the chemical-intensive agricultural community, particularly in light of the plant’s resistance to 2,4-D.'

This woud certainly affect the effectiveness of 'Enlist Duo, developed by DowDupont in an attempt to address widespread weed resistance to glyphosate. Enlist Duo is an herbicide containing both glyphosate and 2,4-D, and is intended to be sprayed only on crops genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate exposure to both chemicals. However, with growing reports like this, many farmers may begin to rethink their approach.'

filed under resistance

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Trump administration lifts ban on pesticides linked to declining bee numbers

Environmentalists say lifting the restriction poses a grave threat to pollinating insects

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Trump administration lifts ban on pesticides linked to declining bee numbers

The rollback, spelled out in a US Fish and Wildlife Service memo, ends a policy that had prohibited farmers on refuges from planting biotech crops – such as soybeans and corn – engineered to resist insect pests and weed-controlling herbicides.

That policy also had barred the use on wildlife refuges of neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, in conjunction with GMO crops. Neonics are a class of insecticides tied by research to declining populations of wild bees and other pollinating insects around the world. 

filed under fact sheet/neonicotinoids

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Emails Show EPA let Monsanto Write the Rules on its Toxic, Drift-prone Herbicide

about dicamba

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Emails Show EPA let Monsanto Write the Rules on its Toxic, Drift-prone Herbicide (Beyond Pesticides, August 3, 2018)  

'This was part of the discovery process initiated by a lawsuit against EPA’s approval of its new dicamba product, called “XtendiMax with Vapor Grip Technology”. Emails released (start at p. 147) show Monsanto line-editing regulations first proposed by EPA. This is only the latest in a long string of instances where EPA has worked hand in glove with the agrichemical industry it is charged with overseeing.'

'In EPA’s original announcement of the new regulations, the agency quoted former Administrator Scott Pruitt as saying, “Today’s actions are the result of intensive, collaborative efforts, working side by side with the states and university scientists from across the nation who have first-hand knowledge of the problem and workable solutions.” However, from the documents released, it is evident that EPA’s collaboration focused primarily with industry, rather than states and university scientists.' 

filed under Industry Shenanigans/regulatory and legal

Monday, July 30, 2018

Under Trump, federal agencies halt reviews of toxic pesticides that endanger wildlife

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Under Trump, federal agencies halt reviews of toxic pesticides that endanger wildlife (Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, 18 July 2018, by Susie Neilson)

Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has uncovered a close relationship between pesticide companies and federal agencies, mirroring a pattern the Trump administration has followed with many other regulated industries. It describes meetings and documents between several US government agencies and the pesticide industry to develop methods of controlling the pesticide review process to ensure it will not find any effects on wildlife.

'In 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency asked the independent National Academy of Sciences to invent a new way of assessing the risks to endangered species. This process was put in place in 2013 and tested with the evaluation of three organophosphate insecticides: malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos'... Two days before President Donald Trump took office, federal officials issued a well documented 'preliminary report on these three highly toxic and popular agricultural insecticides, concluding that they threaten the survival of nearly 1,800 species protected by the Endangered Species Act, including 18 types of salmon...The agencies also agreed to a court-imposed deadline: By the end of 2017, the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service would publish final biological opinions on the three pesticides.' Now efforts are made to undermine the scientific report and ensure that no wildlife protection will result. 

SNAP Comment: I don't know of any such Canadian effort to assess effects of pesticides on wildlife. If you know of any, please let me know.

filed under Industry Shenanigans

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Briefing on the European Court of Justice ruling on genetically modified crops produced via mutagenesis

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Sunday, July 29, 2018

DowDuPonts Own Scientists Confirm Critical Differences Between Gene-Editing and Conventional Plant Breeding Techniques

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DowDuPont’s Own Scientists Confirm Critical Differences Between Gene-Editing and Conventional Plant Breeding Techniques   (Organic Consumers Association, July 24, 2018)

'The study lends support to the July 25, 2018, ruling by the European Court of Justice that food and crops produced using new gene-editing technologies must be regulated in the same way as genetically modified organisms (GMOs)—which in the EU means they must be labeled as GMOs....However, mounting research highlighting the potential human and environmental health effects suggests that gene-editing techniques should in fact be subjected to regulatory scrutiny. For instance, a study published in July found that CRISPR may cause frequent and extensive mutations and genetic damage that’s undetectable using existing DNA tests.'

filed under gmos/ Safety/Health Effects

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Updates on trial up to day 9: Plaintiff Testifies in Landmark Monsanto Roundup Trial

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Plaintiff Testifies in Landmark Monsanto Roundup Trial ( Organc Consumers Association, 
July 25, 2018, by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. )

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Retraction by corruption

reveals the depths of deception and malpractice to which some scientists and corporations will resort

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Retraction by corruption (GM Watch, 2 July 2018) about the Seralini study.

This article compares the study design of the Monsanto and Seralini studies. It  also documents that the Monsanto study had 'statistically significant differences between the GM-fed rats and the controls, but Dr Novotny explains that these were dismissed as being “not biologically meaningful” '. 

'Since the republication of the Séralini study, subsequent developments include a research finding that most of the standard rodent diets tested that are used as the basis for the feed given to rats in laboratory trials are contaminated with pesticides and unlabelled GMOs. This contamination casts doubt on the reliability of all previous studies that used these diets yet failed to control for these elements. Other studies support aspects of Seralini’s work, including a molecular analysis of the body tissues of the rats fed the lowest dose of Roundup, which showed that they suffered from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.'

'Dr Novotny's account of the events surrounding the Séralini study reveals the depths of deception and malpractice to which some scientists and corporations will resort in order to protect their products, even when they know or suspect that those products are harming the public. The journal that retracted the study, Food and Chemical Toxicology, no longer has Goodman and Hayes in place on its editorial board, but its publisher Elsevier should publish an apology to the Seralini team for its journal's role in the affair and the resulting damage to the reputations of the scientists involved.'

filed under Industry Shenanigans/ Inteference with Research and Research Publication

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Federal Bill Benefits Monsanto/Bayer, Overriding Labeling of Roundup/Glyphosate as a Carcinogen under California Law

bill introduced in Congress to remove accountability from Monsanto/Bayer for its glyphosate herbicide Roundup.

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Federal Bill Benefits Monsanto/Bayer, Overriding Labeling of Roundup/Glyphosate as a Carcinogen under California Law

(Beyond Pesticides, July 16, 2018)  'Legislative Sneak Attacks Continue. Yet another bill has been introduced in Congress to remove accountability from Monsanto/Bayer for its glyphosate herbicide Roundup.™ The so-called “Accurate Labels Act” (S.3019/H.R.6022) would repeal most, if not all, existing labeling and information disclosure laws adopted by state or local governments, including California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop 65), which has been responsible for the removal of hundreds of dangerous toxic chemicals, including lead, cadmium, and mercury, from commercial and consumer products nationwide. California listed Roundup as a probable carcinogen in 2015, requiring a label warning in the state, and California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal upheld the decision in April of this year, rejecting Monsanto’s challenge to the listing.'

filed under industry shenanigans/ regulatory and legal

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Another Lawsuit Blames Monsanto for Crop Loss

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Another Lawsuit Blames Monsanto for Crop Loss  (Beyond Pesticides, July 26, 2018)

This suit is about drift from dicamba, which is extremely volatile, n the US midwest.

Thus far, farmers across 10 states are suing Monsanto over dicamba damage to their crops.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Scotts-Monsanto Genetically Engineered Experimental Bentgrass Threatens Oregon Environment, Waterways, and Seed Industry

Yet the company has been allowed to escape ultimate responsibility

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Scotts-Monsanto Genetically Engineered Experimental Bentgrass Threatens Oregon Environment, Waterways, and Seed Industry

Experimental, genetically engineered, glyphosate tolerant bentgrass escaped into the wild.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 19, 2018) 'A variety of bentgrass, genetically engineered by Scotts Miracle-Gro and Monsanto to tolerate the glyphosate herbicide Roundup, escaped from an experimental field planting in Eastern Oregon 15 years ago, and continues to plague area farmers...Yet the company has been allowed to escape ultimate responsibility by a number of USDA (United States Dairy Association) decisions in recent years that absolve Scotts and Monsanto from the responsibility to fund clean-up efforts (to the tune of $250,000 annually) in exchange for an agreement not to commercialize GE bentgrass. This, according to Mr. Erstrom, leaves the burden of annual routing of the plant to county and state governments, and to local growers.'

filed under gmos/crops and industry shenanigans/regulatory and legal

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Trump Taps Former Pesticide Company Executive as Chief Scientist at USDA

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Trump Taps Former Pesticide Company Executive as Chief Scientist at USDA

SNAP Comment: Usually the revolving door between industry and regulatory agencies is not as obvious as Trump is making it although matter of fact. Ask yourself about the meaning of industry's agument that a pesticide is on the market only after stringent testing and now approved by the regulatory agency.  It means nothing when they have insiders pulling strings. 

(Beyond Pesticides, July 24, 2018) T'he White House named Scott Hutchins, PhD, former Dow Chemical Company executive, as Undersecretary of Agriculture for Research, Education and Economics for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Dr. Hutchins is now the third Dow alumnus to be hired by the Trump Administration. As a scientist who oversaw Dow’s pesticide research and development, his appointment, if confirmed, has troubling consequences to USDA’s research programs.'

'The lead science position directs the Agricultural Research Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (ARS), the Economic Research Service and the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and sets the agenda for USDA’s research budget. Dow Chemical, now merged with Dupont as DowDupont, contributed over $1million to Trump’s 2016 campaign. Shortly after taking office, the former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) met privately with Dow. Weeks later, EPA reversed its decision to ban Dow’s highly neurotoxic pesticide, chlorpyrifos, despite the agency’s own scientists confirming elevated risks to children.'

filed under Industry Shenanigans 

Friday, July 27, 2018

Dr. Wozniak: Roundup Damages DNA in Human Blood Cells at Low Concentrations

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Dr. Wozniak: Roundup Damages DNA in Human Blood Cells at Low Concentrations (publishd in Food and Chemical Toxicology, July 2018) with link to original article

DNA damage induced by glyphosate and its derivatives increased in order: AMPA, glyphosate, Roundup 360 PLUS. 

AMPA is the degradation product of glyphosate. The formulation Roundup 360 PLUS was toxic at 50 times lower concentration than glyphosate alone. For regulatory purposes, a pesticide is tested by itself, never as a formulation. Acceptable levels are also based on single pesticide testing, and not on its increased toxicity in formulation. 

filed under health/cancer  links between individual pesticides and cancer

Monday, July 16, 2018

EU To 'Completely Ban' Outdoor Use Of Pesticides Blamed For Devastating Bees

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Saturday, July 14, 2018

Monsanto Judge Won't Block Cancer Victims' Key Witnesses

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Monsanto Judge Won't Block Cancer Victims' Key Witnesses

(Joel Rosenblatt, Bloombeg, July 10, 2018)

Friday, July 13, 2018

Monsantos Roundup on Trial: Day 2 in Court

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Monsanto’s Roundup on Trial: Day 2 in Court (by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Organic Consumers Association, July 11, 2018)

"The email said:

“It would take quite some time and money/studies to get him there. We simply aren’t going to do the studies Parry suggests… We should seriously start looking for one or more other individuals. We have not made much progress in ginning up studies to prove RoundUp non-genotoxic and are currently very vulnerable in this area.”

In the end, Monsanto considered converting Parry too costly.

Subsequent emails revealed during the afternoon video testimony of Monsanto’s Dr. William Heydens show that Monsanto ultimately rejected the strategy of bribing legitimate scientists (“We could be pushing $250K or maybe even more”) and concluded that:

“a less expensive/more palatable approach might be to involve experts only for the areas of contention, epidemiology and possibly MOA Mechanism of Action (depending on what comes out of the IARC meeting), and we ghost-write the Exposure Tox & Genotox sections. An option would be to add apparently independent tame Monsanto scientists Greim and Kier or Kirkland to have their names on the publication, but we would be keeping the cost down by us doing the writing and they would just edit and sign their names so to speak. Recall that is how we handled Williams Kroes & Monroe.” 

includes linsto the papers published

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Estimated Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use in the US

Pesticide Use Maps

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Estimated Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use in the US
Pesticide Use Maps

Would that we had something like that in Canada!

filed under Pesticide Use and Sales

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Costco takes stand on insecticides

Costco wants producers of fruits, vegetables and garden plants to stop using neonicotinoids,

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 Costco takes stand on insecticides  Western Producer, 5 July 2018) 

'The grocery store chain, with more than 600 stores in the United States and Canada, said in May that it wants producers of fruits, vegetables and garden plants to stop using neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides commonly known as neonics.'

'Suppliers are encouraged to phase out the use of neonicotinoids and chlorpyrifos (an insecticide),” Costco said on its website.'

“We seek to partner with suppliers who share our commitment to pollinator health and IPM (integrated pest management).”

SNAP comment: good news. I hope it covers all neonics not only imidacloprid which may be banned by Canada. I don't understand how the PMRA can conclude that a systemic pesticide can be systemic only in some uses. It defies logic: '“Certain uses of products containing imidacloprid result in uptake by plants where it then moves into nectar and/or pollen,” said Scott Kirby, director general of environmental assessment with Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency.'
filed under factsheets/ neonicotinoids
Saturday, July 7, 2018

Dynasteam Weed Steamer

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Dynasteam Weed Steamer  availablet Canadan Tire. 

Monday, July 2, 2018

75% of non-organic spinach contaminated with a neurotoxic bug killer that is banned in Europe

US test but a lot of our spinach likely comes from there.

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75% of non-organic spinach contaminated with a neurotoxic bug killer that is banned in Europe (NaturalHealth365)  (USDA most recen tests)

The most common contaminant is permethrin as well as 3 fungicides.  This article also deals with the widespread food contamination with permethrin as well as new research indicating a likely link to ADHD. ( with links)

415  pesticide products containing permethrin are registered in Canada as of 2 July 2018. They include fle and tick sprays for dogs and cats 
Pyrethrins (general name for a number of related chemicals) are also found in insect sprays like 'Raid'. Permethrin may be present in 2 brands of mosquito coils (21 registered Canadian products) indicating active ingredients as 'pyrethrins", which is a mixture. Most other mosquito coils contain another type of pyrethrin called D-CIS,TRANS-ALLETHRIN and 1 contains METOFLUTHRIN (Off). Two products contain the least toxic non-pyrethrin citronella but check the ingredients to ensure they don't also contain allethrin or other pyrethrins. Allethrin seems to be the most commonly registered pyrethrin in Canada. (121 labels)

filed under pyrethrins/heath effects and pesticides in food 
 

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Monsanto Relied on These Partners to Attack Top Cancer Scientists

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Monsanto Relied on These “Partners” to Attack Top Cancer Scientists  (U.S. Right to Know, May 31, 2018 by Stacy Malkan)

filed under Industry Shenanigans

Monday, June 18, 2018

Guide pratique des trucs et conseils en horticulture cologique

French language guide to pesticide alternatives

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Guide pratique des trucs et conseils en horticulture écologique (Equiterre, from Quebec, added in June 2018)
Les conseils qui suivent concernent certains des problèmes les plus courants en horticulture. Contrairement aux pesticides, vous pouvez en faire usage sans modération! Rappelez-vous que la prévention et l’adaptation à l’environnement sont les principaux alliés de la pratique horticole écologique.

In French. deals with alternatives to pesticides for lawns, several insects, and a few weeds such as poison ivy (herbe a puces), dandelions (pissenlit) and herbe a poux (ragweed).

filed under alternatives

Sunday, June 17, 2018

CN Annual Vegetation Management Program

using herbicides

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CN Annual Vegetation Management Program

CN is required to clear its rights-of-way from any vegetation that may pose a safety hazard. Part II of the Rules Respecting Track Safety adopted by Transport Canada provide that “vegetation on railway property which is on or immediately adjacent to roadbed must be controlled.” Vegetation on railway right-of-way, if left uncontrolled, can contribute to trackside fires, reductions in visibility at road crossings, damage to integrity of the railway roadbed and impair proper inspection of track infrastructure.

Monday, June 4, 2018

PRESENCE AND LEVELS OF PRIORITY PESTICIDES IN SELECTED CANADIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

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PRESENCE AND LEVELS OF PRIORITY PESTICIDES IN SELECTED CANADIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS. (Water Science and Technology Directorate Environment Canada, March 2011)

This report explains the study design and results, and the state of pesticide use data.

"There is no central registry of pesticide sales or use data in Canada... a national source of sales and use data will become available in the near future. Several Canadian provinces and territories maintain sales and/or use records within their jurisdictions, or they commission regular surveys to determine which active ingredients are being sold and used. In some cases, provincial pesticide legislation requires that this information be collected. Together, these data provide a national patchwork of sales and/or use data." (p.6)" Detailed information on pesticide sales and use is lacking for Saskatchewan. However, some information is available on pesticide use in Saskatchewan in Donald et al. (1999), Donald et al. (2001) and in “protected” documents from the 1990s. In Saskatchewan, commonly used pesticides include glyphosate, 2,4-D, MCPA and bromoxynil. Brimble et al. (2005) reported that Saskatchewan is the greatest user of pesticides in Canada, accounting for an estimated 36% of total Canadian sales." (p. 8)  see also Pesticide Use and Sales - SK It is my understanding that there are no longer Environment Canada researchers working on pesticides in SK, and that the Prairie research is curently done in Alberta. (June 2018)

filed under Water/Canada

Monday, June 4, 2018

Deforestation Found to Cause Malaria to Spread, in the Face of Harmful and Ineffective Mosquito Insecticide Use

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Deforestation Found to Cause Malaria to Spread, in the Face of Harmful and Ineffective Mosquito Insecticide Use (Beyond Pesticides, May 31, 2018)

'Deforestation fragments the forest landscape, creating more forest “edges,” which means more places for mosquitoes to breed. This fragmentation may also help malaria-carrying mosquitoes spread to other areas as adults... Beyond Pesticides advocates the fighting of malaria without poisoning future generations of children in malaria hot spots. We should be advocating for a just world in which we no longer treat poverty and development challenges with poisonous band-aids, but instead, join together to address the root causes of insect-borne disease, because the chemical-dependent alternatives are ultimately deadly for everyone.”'

Monday, June 4, 2018

PRESENCE AND LEVELS OF PRIORITY PESTICIDES IN SELECTED CANADIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

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PRESENCE AND LEVELS OF PRIORITY PESTICIDES IN SELECTED CANADIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS. (Water Science and Technology Directorate Environment Canada, March 2011)

This report explains the study design and results, and the state of pesticide use data.

"There is no central registry of pesticide sales or use data in Canada... a national source of sales and use data will become available in the near future. Several Canadian provinces and territories maintain sales and/or use records within their jurisdictions, or they commission regular surveys to determine which active ingredients are being sold and used. In some cases, provincial pesticide legislation requires that this information be collected. Together, these data provide a national patchwork of sales and/or use data." (p.6)" Detailed information on pesticide sales and use is lacking for Saskatchewan. However, some information is available on pesticide use in Saskatchewan in Donald et al. (1999), Donald et al. (2001) and in “protected” documents from the 1990s. In Saskatchewan, commonly used pesticides include glyphosate, 2,4-D, MCPA and bromoxynil. Brimble et al. (2005) reported that l Saskatchewan is the greatest user of pesticides in Canada, accounting for an estimated 36% of totaCanadian sales." (p. 8)

filed under Water

Monday, June 4, 2018

This common toothpaste ingredient could be wreaking havoc on your gut

Triclosan is everywhere, but its days seem to be numbered.

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This common toothpaste ingredient could be wreaking havoc on your gut (Popular Science,  Neel V. Patel, May 31, 2018)

Triclosan is a registered pesticide in Canada and the US.and likely everywhere. Problems have been identified with triclosan since at least 2011. It builds up in the body and the environment. Canada was to declare triclosan toxic to the environment in 2012. In spite of this, it is still in toothpaste, soap and many other products. Another illustration that our regulatory system is truly designed to allow products to remain on the market as long as possible in spite of the evidence of harm.

filed in antibacterials

Monday, June 4, 2018

Research Shows Greenspace and Biodiversity Protect Kids from Asthma

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Research Shows Greenspace and Biodiversity Protect Kids from Asthma  (Beyond Pesticides, May 17, 2018)  

Of concern are the pesticides used in green spaces. Includes links to  Beyond Pesticides’ brochure, Asthma, Children, and Pesticides and El Asma, los Niños y los Pesticidas: Lo que usted debe saber para proteger a su familia, and Children and Pesticides Don’t Mix.

filed under  respiratory

Monday, June 4, 2018

Connecticut State Legislature Bans Residential Mosquito Misters

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Connecticut State Legislature Bans Residential Mosquito Misters (Beyond Pesticides, May 23, 2018) 

" Many health advocates have expressed concern that these products, able to spray toxic pesticides on a timer at regular intervals, pose a significant risk to pets and children who can be directly in the path of a mister’s spray. The chemicals employed in these machines are often synthetic pyrethroids, which have been linked to a range of human health effects, from early puberty in boys, to behavioral disorders, learning problems, ADHD, and certain cancers. Neighbors who do not want to be exposed to these chemicals are also put at risk from pesticide drift." 

SNAP Comment: There are many kinds of  pyrethrins coming under various names. A quick PMRA label search done on 4 June 2018 indicates 368 pyrethrin products registered in Canada for domestic use (i.e. by consumers) At least 2 of those pyrethrin products  (# 29683 and 28972) are registered for misters. A complete search would have to be made for each registered pyrethroid to understand the extent of the problem in Canada. 

filed under Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Neonicotinoids may alter estrogen production in humans

An INRS team publishes the first-ever in vitro study demonstrating the potential effects of these pesticides on human health

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Neonicotinoids may alter estrogen production in humans (INRS,April 26, 2018,/ by Stéphanie Thibault)   

An INRS team publishes the first-ever in vitro study demonstrating the potential effects of these pesticides on human health in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. 

The results of the study show an increase in aromatase expression and a unique change in the pattern in which aromatase was expressed, which is similar to that observed in the development of certain breast cancers.

Filed under neonicotinoids and cancer/Links between individal chemicals...

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Glyphosate Monograph

seems like the mot up to date compendium of information.

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Glyphosate Monograph (PAN, 2016) seems like the mot up to date compendium of information.

filed under glyphosate

Friday, May 4, 2018

Indicator of the Risk of Water Contamination by Pesticides

the level of risk increased on 50% of agricultural land, primarily due to an increase in the area treated with pesticides and to unusually wet weather in the Maritimes and the Prairies in 2010.

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Pesticides Indicator  (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Date modified:   2016-07-11) with interactive maps and legend. A lot of high risk land in Saskatchewan.

The Pesticides Indicator (official name: Indicator of the Risk of Water Contamination by Pesticides) evaluates the relative risk of water contamination by pesticides across agricultural areas in Canada. It can be used to assess pesticide inputs to cropland and the amount of pesticide transported to surface and ground water. This indicator has tracked pesticide risk associated with Canadian agricultural activities from 1981 to 2011.

Overall state and trend

Pesticide risk has been increasing on agricultural lands in Canada, although the majority of agricultural land is still considered to be at low or very low risk. From 1981 to 2011, the level of risk increased on 50% of agricultural land, primarily due to an increase in the area treated with pesticides and to unusually wet weather in the Maritimes and the Prairies in 2010.

Generally speaking, the increases in risk observed in between 2006 and 2011 were caused by an increase in the area treated with pesticides; in Eastern Canada and the Maritimes, this can be attributed to shifts from pasture and forage production to annual cropping systems, and in the Prairies to ongoing shifts from conventional tillage to reduced tillage and no-till systems, which require greater herbicide use for weed control. Between 2006 and 2011, there was a marked increase in the use of fungicides in the Prairies (from 3.7% to 7.5% of the land area) which can be attributed to wetter-than-usual weather in 2010, as well the shift to reduced tillage systems, both of which increase the risk of fungal diseases such as fusarium blight. Another factor that may have contributed to the increase in pesticide use per unit cropland in recent years is the expansion of land devoted to glyphosate-tolerant canola, soybeans and corn and the mass of glyphosate herbicide applied in these systems.

...Pesticide residues have been detected in surface and ground water in monitoring studies conducted in various regions of Canada, raising concerns for potential adverse effects on wildlife as well as on drinking water quality.

SNAP Comment: I just became aware of this document so am adding it to the web site. 1.The assessment is based on "the percentage of agricultural land area treated with pesticides for all Census years". However, this likely does not take into consideration use by power companies, railroads, and use in forestry, and likely not the use in urban areas. Therefore the quantity of treated acres seems to strictly refer to agriculture and the problem may be worse than estimated. 2. Considering that pesticide residues have been detected in surface and ground water in monitoring studies conducted in various regions of Canada including the Prairies, I am not sure it is an acceptable risk. 3. With widespread flooding of the 2010-16 years in Saskatchewan, there has obviously been a lot of pesticides entering water from flooded land. 

filed under Water on the new Canada page

Monday, February 26, 2018

California Court Ruling Ends Decades of State Pesticide Spraying

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California Court Ruling Ends Decades of State Pesticide Spraying (EcoWatch)

"The judge has told the state that harmful pesticides simply can't be sprayed indiscriminately, without robust consideration of impacts on people, animals and water," said Bill Allayaud, California director of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group. "The ruling also affirms that Californians have the right to know about pesticides being sprayed around them and the ability to challenge spraying that endangers public health and natural resources."

filed under Legislation/Regulatory/ USA

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Facility planned for GTH would burn chemically-soaked railway ties to produce electricity.

Neighbours concerned about possible environmental effects, says RM of Sherwood

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Facility planned for GTH would burn chemically-soaked railway ties to produce electricity. Neighbours concerned about possible environmental effects, says RM of Sherwood (CBC Investigates)

Creosote is a registered pesticide used in treating wood in Canada. It is toxic and cancer-causing. Proper disposal of treated wood is a huge can of worms around the world as we keep producing more and there is no safe way of re-using, recycling or disposing.

Any kind of smoke is already known to be cancer-causing. When it is laced with additional cancer-causing chemicals, it is even more unacceptable. and upwind from a center of population? even more unacceptable. I don't know if anyone has used the term incinerator for this project, but most recent incinerator projects have been vehemently opposed because of the pollution they cause.

filed under and more info under treated wood  

also see Creosote on wikipedia

Saturday, January 20, 2018

The Organic Food and Farming Movement Calls for the Regulation of New Genetic Engineering Techniques as GMOs

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The Organic Food and Farming Movement Calls for the Regulation of New Genetic Engineering Techniques as GMOs

The current absence of regulation for these new technologies in many parts of the world means that genetically modified plants and animals can be released in the environment with no risk assessment and no information for breeders, farmers and consumers. The organic movement calls on regulators to ensure transparency and traceability, and to safeguard producers’ and consumers’ freedom not to use untested genetic engineering techniques.”

filed under gmos/general

Saturday, January 20, 2018

New German Government Would Ban Glyphosate Herbicides in Shock to Monsanto-Bayer Merger

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New German Government Would Ban Glyphosate Herbicides in Shock to Monsanto-Bayer Merger  (12 January 2018)

In a shock announcement Friday, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) have agreed on a blueprint for formal grand coalition negotiations, which includes a complete ban on glyphosate herbicides. Details of the suggested ban are yet to be announced.

filed under legislation/Europe