Beekeepers have instinctively known this all along, but a new landmark study has linked insecticide dust to damaged beehives. This is a sad but welcome confirmation of what beekeepers in Minnesota have been trying to tell the world for years now.
The Indian Agricultural Minister has confirmed that royalties to biotech giant Monsanto for its genetically modified cotton seeds will be capped at 49 rupees (73 cents U.S.) per 450-pack, amounting to a 70 percent reduction from current levels. Monsanto is threatening to ‘pull-out’ in response to the cap.
John Purcell, Hawaii Business and Technology Lead for Monsanto, the largest genetically engineered seed-producing company in the country, explains in a video why he chose to work for Monsanto.
When speaking of why he went to work for Monsanto, Purcell also said:
“This is a company that has a vision for change in what agriculture is about…this is really something that matters.”
After being exposed to an insecticide called chlorpyrifos only 20 hours prior, 10 Syngenta (a biotech company) field workers were rushed to the hospital after serious adverse health conditions arose. [1]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Friday a proposal that would ban a pesticide commonly sprayed on citrus fruits, almonds, and other crops.
A federal appeals court has made a swift decision that will not make the CEO of Dow AgroScience happy, though it just might help save our bees.
The Midwestern United States first saw a burgeoning problem with super weeds, caused by GMOs. Now in a study conducted by researchers from the United States Geological Survey who collected samples from 9 sites in Nebraska and Iowa, it was found that neonicotinoids, otherwise known as bee-killing pesticides, were present in varying amounts in every single river and stream.
U.S. investigators are warning that drug-resistant head lice have been found in at least 25 states, and the bugs are expected to spread even further across the nation.
Permethrin, part of the pyrethroid class of insecticides, has been used to fight head lice, mosquitoes, bedbugs, and other insects for years. Researchers say overuse of the drug has caused head lice and other insects to develop genetic mutations that make them completely resistant to permethrin. [1]
The World Health Organization recently pronounced that the insecticide Lindane is directly linked to increased rates of cancer – specifically Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The organization also reports that DDT is ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’
What is interesting about the recent pronouncement is that it took place after lindane was banned by both the U.S. and EU. For some unknown reason, it took the WHO a half a century to come to the conclusion that lindane causes cancer.
As officially reported by The Lancet:
Want to understand how bee-killing neonicotinoids (a class of insecticide) work in less than two minutes, and why you should care that the EPA does nothing to reverse the damage that these pesticides have done to our pollinating insects? Watch this brief video that explains it all.
