You’ve probably heard that bee colonies in the US have been collapsing, as the bees abandon their hives or die. This is serious, since bees pollinate (make fertile) the crops we depend on (not to mention bees’own rights). Many causes have been proposed, and perhaps many factors have played a role in this Colony Collapse Disorder. But some good news is reported today by Pesticide Action Network . A federal judge has banned the sale of the herbicide spirotetramat, whch was shown in studies (including some by its own manufacturers) to harm bees.This herbicide has already been banned by France, Germany, and Italy. Even little Slovenia beat us to the punch on this important action.
According to Greenbuzz, a website/newsletter full of information on what businesses are doing to move toward sustainability, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy have agreed to work jointly in support of the dairy industry’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent over the next decade….. The agreement may also help accelerate adoption of methane gas digesters for all sizes of dairy farms, making it easier to connect digesters to electricity grids and help digester operators capture potential carbon offset payments. Additional support from the USDA could include research on how feed mixtures affect methane emissions from cows. Opportunities to reduce so-called enteric emissions have been identified by dairy stakeholders in the Innovation Center’s industrywide plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”
We’ve heard about “gas-belching trucks.” It’s about time we reversed the process! Now if only we could capture human burps….
At last! In a welcome dose of good news, the Environmental Protection Agency has declared that greenhouse gases are a threat to human health and therefore fair game to be regulated. How does this relate to food? Industrialized agriculture produces almost 20% of greenhouse gases, according to a prominent UN report. While environmental regulators work to overcome hysterical resistance from agribusiness and other polluting industries, you can help by buying food that is fresh, local, organic, and in season
In case you needed another reason to embrace organic food, research has found links between exposure to pesticides and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. One study examined over 700 residents of California’s agricultural region the Central Valley, and found that people living within 500 meters of fields sprayed with the fungicide maneb and the herbicide paraquat from 1974-1989 were more likely than comparable people to develop Parkinson’s — 75% more likely. I don’t know about you, but that scares me! And let’s not forget that people most likely to be heavily exposed are the farm workers who produce the food we eat. Pesticides and other poisons are, in my opinion, dangerous double-edged swords. Remember too that not all chemicals poured into our environment have been tested for safety — either alone or in combination. So next time you shop, buying organic food is one way you can help preserve the health of the planet and yourself.
