Glyphosate, the highly controversial weed-killing chemical found in the popular Roundup herbicide, is harming honeybee populations around the world, a new study shows.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin say glyphosate is making honeybees more susceptible to infection and death.
The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Unlimited wildfires, doctor's orders and the rise of the super snake + this day in history w/the Chicano Moratorium and our song of the day by Brett Dennen on your Morning Monarchy for August 29, 2018.
Just a little over a week after an Environmental Working Group (EWG) report showed that potentially unsafe levels of glyphosate had been discovered in oat products, including Cheerios, General Mills (the maker of Cheerios) has been slapped with a lawsuit. The company has decided to remove the phrase “Made with 100% Natural Whole Grain Oats” from the labels of its Nature Valley granola bars.
Residents gathered in Stuart, Florida, in August to protest the use of Roundup in their community and demand a ban on the herbicide. [1]
In addition to concerns that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer, a much more immediate issue brought about the rally: fears that the chemical contributes to toxic algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie River.
Protestor Jackie Trancynger said:
The 2 largest independent seed sellers in the United States, Beck’s Hybrids and Stine Seed, are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban farmers from spraying dicamba herbicide during upcoming summers.
Spraying would be limited to the springtime, before crops are planted, preventing farmers from using the weedkiller on Monsanto-made soybeans genetically engineered to withstand dicamba.
Watching the Ken Burns-Lynn Novick 18-hour series, “The Vietnam War,” is an emotional experience. Whether you served in the U.S. military during the war or marched in the streets to end it, you cannot remain untouched by this documentary. The battle scenes are powerful, the stories of U.S. veterans and Vietnamese soldiers who fought on both sides of the war compelling.
About 90% of all lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking. Smoking kills 7 million people a year, speeds aging, destroys the heart and cardiovascular system, and leads to asthma and COPD. But cigarettes don’t just wreak havoc on the human body; they also wreak havoc on the environment through deforestation, pollution, and littering. [1] [2]
The FDA has resumed testing food for glyphosate residues, as questions about the safety of the RoundUp chemical continue to grow.
In 2016, the FDA launched what it refers to as a “special assignment” to analyze certain foods for glyphosate residues. The move was sparked by the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s criticism of the agency for failing to include glyphosate in annual testing programs which analyzes foods ‘less-used’ chemicals in food.
On July 7, 2017, officials in Arkansas and Missouri enacted a temporary ban on dicamba, the herbicide blamed for vaporizing and damaging crops which have not been genetically engineered to withstand the weedkiller. The Arkansas Plant Board had voted June 23, 2017 to temporarily ban the spraying of dicamba on any crops except pasture land for 120 days. [1]
The newest ban, set to start July 11, 2017, extends the 120-day moratorium.
As of July 7, 2017, glyphosate, a chemical found in Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide, has officially been listed as a carcinogen in California under the state’s Proposition 65 law. [1]
Under the law, RoundUp, the most widely-used herbicide in the world, must carry a warning about its potential to cause cancer in humans. It is the first time that any governmental authority has created such legislation based on glyphosate’s possible carcinogenicity.
