Agriculture
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A Roundup of News about Glyphosate 13 December 2019
13 December 2019 — The New Dark Age Argentina: Devastating consequences of GMO-based intensive ag on native amphibians https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/19263-argentina-devastating-consequences-of-gmo-based-intensive-ag-on-native-amphibians Why Good Nutrition Will Remain a Distant Dream Unless We Stop the Chemical Onslaught on Our Food from Farm to Plate https://colintodhunter.blogspot.com/2019/12/why-good-nutrition-will-remain-distant.html Continue reading
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Biotech research institute VIB misleads public and regulators in lobby campaign
VIB falsely claims that individual academic supporters for de-regulation of gene editing represent their institutes as a whole Continue reading
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Evidence gap on health benefits of organic diet
New review calls for controlled studies examining effects of equivalent organic and non-organic wholefood diets Continue reading
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Hunger Games: Food Abundance and Twisted Truths
The world already produces enough food to feed 10 billion people but over two billion are experiencing micronutrient deficiencies (of which 821 million were classed as chronically undernourished in 2018). However, supporters of genetic engineering (GE) crops continually push the narrative that GE technology is required if we are to feed the world and properly support farmers. Continue reading
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Lawyers launch $500M class-action lawsuit against Roundup makers
Darryl Singer, the head of commercial and civil litigation at Diamond & Diamond, said the plaintiffs involved in this class-action lawsuit are looking not only for financial compensation, but also what he calls “behaviour modification” so that the same thing doesn’t happen again in the future with other products in Canada. Continue reading
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The battle for the future of food in Africa
Certain policies, strongly promoted by the Gates Foundation, open Africa to the multinational seed companies in the name of modernization, but they undermine climate resilience and food security for Africa’s small-scale farmers. Report: Million Belay, Timothy A. Wise Continue reading
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New GMOs: European civil society demands that the law is implemented
The European Court of Justice ruled last year that new GMOs are still GMOs: But Finland and the Commission are dragging their feet, writes Eric Meunier of Inf’OGM Continue reading
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Impossible Foods wants to sell its Impossible Burgers in Europe
Impossible Foods Inc. has applied to start selling its plant-based GMO-containing burgers in the European Union as it looks to expand outside the US and Asia, according to a report for Bloomberg. Continue reading
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Agrochemical Apocalypse: Interview with Environmental Campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason
The renowned author and whistleblower Evaggelos Vallianatos describes British environmentalist and campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason as a “defender of the natural world and public health.” I first came across her work a few years ago. It was in the form of an open letter she had sent to an official about the devastating environmental and human… Continue reading
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Glyphosate impairs honeybee sensory and cognitive abilities
A new review of the scientific literature (see abstract below) has found that exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in glyphosate herbicides like Roundup, impairs the foraging behaviour of honeybee workers and has adverse effects at different levels within the colony. Continue reading
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GMO Myths and Truths (4th edition) includes new chapter on gene editing
Book explains the threat to food safety and environment posed by gene-edited GMOs Continue reading
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Brexit: Boris Johnson moves to scrap environment safeguards to get deal with Trump
When Boris Johnson used his first three speeches as UK Prime Minister to flag up his desire to “liberate” GMOs as part of Brexit, we warned that this meant his priority was doing a trade deal with Donald Trump at any cost. Johnson, we said, was “simply dancing, puppet-like, to Trump’s tune”. Continue reading
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Resounding “No” to Monsanto’s “Bogus” GM Drought-tolerant Maize
After more than 10 years of battling Monsanto’s “bogus” drought tolerant maize project, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has welcomed the decision by the Minister of Agriculture, Ms Thoko Didiza, upholding the decision by the Executive Council: GMO Act and the appeal board to reject Monsanto’s application for the commercial cultivation of its triple-stacked… Continue reading
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The Bee: “The Most Important Living Being on the Planet”
The Earthwatch Institute concluded in the last debate of the Royal Geographical Society of London, that bees are the most important living being on the planet, however, scientists have also made an announcement: Bees have already entered into extinction risk. Continue reading
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Because ‘A World Without Insects Is Not Worth Living In,’ Germany Announces Plan to Ban Glyphosate
The German government announced Wednesday it had agreed on a plan to phase out the use of glyphosate—the key chemical in the weedkiller Roundup—with a total ban set to begin by the end of 2023. Continue reading
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Boris Johnson, GMOs and Glyphosate by Colin Todhunter
The never-ending push to force GM on the public under the guise of saving humanity is a diversion that leaves intact the root causes of world hunger and undernutrition: neoliberal deregulation and privatisation policies, unfair WTO rules, poverty, land rights issues, World Bank/IMF geopolitical lending strategies and the transformation of food secure regions into food… Continue reading
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Offering Choice but Delivering Tyranny: The Corporate Capture of Agriculture by Colin Todhunter
Many lobbyists talk a lot about critics of genetic engineering technology denying choice to farmers. They say that farmers should have access to a range of tools and technologies to maximise choice and options. At the same time, somewhat ironically, they decry organic agriculture and proven agroecological approaches, presumably because these practices have no need for… Continue reading
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Life Expectancy Falters in the UK Slow Death but Fast Profits for the Agrochemical Sector By Colin Todhunter
A special report in the Observer newspaper in the UK on 23 June 2019 asked the question: Why is life expectancy faltering? The piece noted that for the first time in 100 years, Britons are dying earlier. The UK now has the worst health trends in Western Europe. Continue reading
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Poisoned for Profit: Whether in the UK or India, We Are Not the Agrochemical Industry’s Guinea Pigs
Environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has just written to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Chemicals Regulation Division (HSE) in the UK claiming that the glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup has poisoned her nature reserve in South Wales and is also poisoning people across the UK (she… Continue reading
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Brain-Damaging Pesticide for Use on Foods Kids Eat. It’s Legal
Farmers can keep spraying fruits and vegetables with a pesticide shown to harm a child’s brain even at low levels of exposure, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency said today. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 