Agriculture
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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
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From Mad Cow Disease to Agrochemicals: Time to Put Public Need Ahead of Private Greed by Colin Todhunter
The first part of this article documenting the development of BSE in Britain was written by Rosemary Mason and is taken from her new report. It is fully referenced and cites sources and evidence in support of her claims. Additional reporting for the second part of the article was provided by Colin Todhunter. Continue reading
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From the Green Revolution to GMOs: Toxic Agriculture Is the Problem Not the Solution By Colin Todhunter
Why did the European Food Safety Authority claim that glyphosate was not ecotoxic? This is the question environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason poses in her new 23-page report which can be accessed in full here. Continue reading
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Consumers Comments Requested By ATSDR Regarding Glyphosate Toxicology Contamination In Food, Water & Air Due July 8, 2019
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has gone out of its way, and even ‘fallen all over itself’ in trying to present a somewhat balanced 257-page report regarding the agricultural herbicide glyphosate for the purpose of soliciting consumer public comment by July 8, 2019, the due date. Continue reading
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Global Breaking News on GMOs and Pesticides Editors’ picks
27 June 2019 — Sustainable Pulse Glyphosate Use Will Eventually End, Merkel Says Use of Bayer’s contested weedkiller glyphosate, the subject of more than 10,000 lawsuits in the US over claims it causes cancer, will eventually die out, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the country’s lower house on Wednesday (Jun 26). Source: Reuters Merkel’s view is… 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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Modified – A Film about GMOs and the Corruption of the Food Supply for Profit by Colin Todhunter
Parts of the documentary Modified are spent at the kitchen table. But it’s not really a tale about wonderful recipes or the preparation of food. Ultimately, it’s a story of capitalism, money and power and how our most basic rights are being eroded by unscrupulous commercial interests. Continue reading
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On the future of farming and ecomodernist illusions
12 June 2019 — Climate & Capitalism Some writers imagine that machines can feed the world. They ignore the damage caused by industrial agriculture, and don’t value the work of people who feed most of humanity today. “Industrialized agriculture has meant pretending soil and flora are not living entities that require care and attention. If you… Continue reading