pesticides

The United States Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, recently met with high-ups at Monsanto and other companies to discuss agricultural ‘advances’ for 2016. But was this really a ‘forum,’ or a way for Vilsack to promote Monsanto? And why were Monsanto insiders ever appointed to protect the safety of our food?
Vilsack’s meeting sounds more like a master conflicts of interest group get-together for the biotech and industrial agricultural model, especially when you consider who was leading the discussion:

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted recently to phase out the use of plastic microbeads in soaps, body washes, and other personal care products starting in 2017.
The Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 was approved following House approval last week and is now headed to President Barack Obama’s desk.

A new study links a pesticide (organochlorine pesticides) used by farmers (until it was banned for commercial sale in the U.S. in 1988) to the development of Parkinson’s disease in people who were exposed to it.

Dicamba herbicide was registered with the EPA in 1967. It contains 2,4-D, MCPP, and MCPA, all toxic chemicals that were marketed to kill specific, targeted weeds and nuisance pests on farms across America. But a new study from Penn State University has found that Dicamba herbicides drift to adjacent farms and fields, causing significant damage to non-targeted plant and pollinating insects.

The California Supreme Court ruled recently that under California law, consumers have a right to file lawsuits alleging food products are falsely labeled “organic.”
The ruling overturned a lower court decision that banned such lawsuits on the basis that they were outdated and not permitted by federal law.

The California Supreme Court ruled recently that under California law, consumers have a right to file lawsuits alleging food products are falsely labeled “organic.”
The ruling overturned a lower court decision that banned such lawsuits on the basis that they were outdated and not permitted by federal law.

Actor Mark Ruffalo got the chance to do something that many of us could only dream of doing when he told off the CEO of Monsanto, Hugh Grant, in the Green Room at CBS while Ruffalo was waiting to do a segment about his new movie, “Spotlight.”
Ruffalo writes at EcoWatch.com that it was an uncomfortable move for him, but a necessary one, as “we must call out the people who are doing horrible things when they do them.”

Actor Mark Ruffalo got the chance to do something that many of us could only dream of doing when he told off the CEO of Monsanto, Hugh Grant, in the Green Room at CBS while Ruffalo was waiting to do a segment about his new movie, “Spotlight.”
Ruffalo writes at EcoWatch.com that it was an uncomfortable move for him, but a necessary one, as “we must call out the people who are doing horrible things when they do them.”

Early exposure to agricultural pesticides may harm children’s lungs – even more than secondhand smoke – researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, are saying.
The study links organophosphate pesticide metabolites in the urine of 279 children aged 6 months to 5 years living in Salinas Valley with decreased lung function. The area is a hub for lettuce, grapes, orchids and many more crops.

If you’ve been waiting to finally see Monsanto – one of the most hated companies in the world – to pay for its ecocide, knowing harm of human life, and devastation of our pollinators, then you won’t have to wait much longer. Several activist groups joined by food and farming experts are suing Monsanto for their crimes against humanity. [1]