Posted June 2, 2021
Since the early 1900s, tillage has been a conflicting debate. The term tillage is defined as the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking. Read more.
Get Informed on Issues Related to Chemicals
Make a Clean Break from Toxic Household Cleaners
Posted June 2, 2021
Cleaning has always had a squeaky-clean reputation. Many popular household cleaners promise to remove dirt, dust and germs to improve your home and your health. But there’s a dirty little secret hiding in popular household cleaners. Those wipes, sprays, cleansers, powders and liquids may be leaving behind much more than a lemony scent. They could also be exposing you to toxic chemicals that can harm your health and the environment. Read more.
Bayer to Rethink Roundup in US Residential Market after Judge Nixes $2 Billion Settlement
Posted June 2, 2021
Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said on Wednesday it will review the future of its Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers in the U.S. residential market after a judge rejected a $2 billion plan to settle future claims alleging the herbicide causes cancer. The company also said it will reassess its efforts to settle around 30,000 ongoing claims by Roundup users who are alleging they have become sick from the product. Read more.
Why is the Co-Founder of a Monsanto “Industry Partner” Advising the USDA Secretary?
Posted June 2, 2021
Citizens pay Anastasia Bodnar’s salary to inform Secretary Tom Vilsack on public interest policy, yet she advocates for industry, once tweeting vinegar is more toxic than the pesticide glyphosate. Read more.
U.S. Appeals Court Upholds $25 Million Roundup Verdict in Blow to Bayer
Posted May 21, 2021
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a $25 million judgment and trial verdict finding Bayer’s Roundup caused a California resident’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma, dealing a blow to the chemical company’s hopes of limiting its legal risk over the weed-killer. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected Bayer’s argument that lawsuits like Edwin Hardeman’s never should go to trial because federal pesticide laws barred allegations that the company failed to warn of Roundup’s cancer risks. Read more.
Give Bees A Chance: Go Organic!
Posted May 21, 2021
What began with the collapse of bee colonies has become a full-on insect apocalypse that scientists say is “tearing apart the tapestry of life”, devastating bird populations, impacting human health and threatening the future of foods that rely on pollinators. The U.S. agricultural landscape is now 48 times more toxic to bees than it was 25 years ago and crop yields for apples, cherries and blueberries are already being reduced by a lack of pollinators. Why? Because of Bayer’s business model: genetically modified seeds soaked in bee-killing neonic insecticides. Read more.
Radioactive Waste is a Damaging Agrochemical Byproduct
Posted May 21, 2021
The fact that there are serious issues with the food supply is no longer a secret. There is evidence that toxicity levels in the food supply are rising, and that conventional agriculture has become a leading cause of environmental pollution and destruction. Yet, for change to happen, more people will need to vote with their pocketbook, seeking organically and regeneratively grown produce and pasture-raised, locally sourced meat. Read more.
Another loss for Bayer over Roundup cancer claims as court shoots down preemption argument
Posted May 21, 2021
In a blow to Monsanto owner Bayer AG’s bid to block continued liability over Roundup cancer litigation, a federal appeals court shot down the company’s argument that federal regulatory backing of the company’s herbicides preempts claims made by cancer patient Edwin Hardeman. Read more.
Mark Bittman’s Warning: The True Costs of Our Cheap Food and the American Diet
Posted May 21, 2021
The global, industrialized food system faces increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, given its voracious appetite for land is linked to mass deforestation, water pollution and a sizable chunk of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Read more.
Weedkillers are Accelerating the Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Posted May 14, 2021
New research (see item 2 below) shows that application of three herbicides commonly used on GM herbicide-tolerant crops — glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba — increase the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in soil microbiomes. The mechanism is that soil bacteria, like plants, are becoming resistant to weedkillers — and the bugs that are most resistant were found to carry a genetic mutation that also makes them resistant to antibiotics. Read more.
