crops

Agrotech giant Monsanto is facing another class-action lawsuit, but this time it has nothing to do with glyphosate or any of its other products, but rather labor conditions for some of the company’s migrant workers. [1]
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 2 migrant workers who allege that Monsanto violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Agricultural Workers Protection Act while the workers were employed in fields where the company grows its seed-corn. The class-action is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind.

California will add glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s blockbuster herbicide RoundUp, to its list of chemicals known to cause cancer, effective July 7, 2017. [1]
Monsanto promises to fight the listing, required under state law Proposition 65, calling the decision “unwarranted on the basis of science and the law.”

After hundreds of Arkansas farmers claimed their crops had been harmed by the weed-killer dicamba, which was sprayed on neighboring fields, the Arkansas Plant Board voted June 23, 2017, to impose an unprecedented ban on the herbicide.
David Hundley, who manages grain production for Ozark Mountain Poultry in the town of Bay, said:

Since World War 2, the idea of “better living through chemistry” has remained persistent throughout the world. We have been told that we can’t live without chemicals, and that we would starve without spraying our crops with the chemical-stew we call pesticides. But is this really true? According to a report, we’ve been lied to about the necessities of these chemical concoctions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed a safety rule aimed at ensuring that pesticides (which are linked to human health problems) are safely applied by adult agricultural workers. This, just days after 50 farm workers in California were sickened by pesticide poisoning. [1]

The British government has approved the planting of a new experimental crop of genetically modified “super wheat” despite fears that it could contaminate other crops and despite opposition from about 30 environmental groups. [1]
The GM wheat, engineered to use sunlight more efficiently, will be tested by researchers in Hertfordshire. The crops are touted for boosting yields by as much as 20% to 40% in the greenhouse.
Rothamsted Research’s Head of Plant Biology and Crop Science, Dr. Malcolm Hawkesford, explains:

Chlorpyrifos is a pesticide that has the potential to harm both children and farm workers, but the EPA – the same agency that drew these conclusions – says it will not ban the chemical.
On March 26, 2017, EPA chief Scott Pruitt rejected his agency’s own chemical safety experts who, under Barack Obama, had recommended that chlorpyrifos – one of the nation’s most widely used insecticides – be permanently banned from agricultural use nationwide because of the danger it poses to farm workers. [1]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has quietly scrapped plans to start testing food for glyphosate, the primary component of the Monsanto-made herbicide RoundUp.

Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a list of the 12 types of produce that contain the most pesticides. The group analyzes tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the list. The list was released in the beginning of the year, but it’s important to browse the list multiple times so the information is at your fingertips. [1]

(ANTIMEDIA) Trade organizations in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu are boycotting Coca-Cola and Pepsi amid concerns the two companies are using excessive amounts of water to produce their products.