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July 09, 2009
Celebrities
ditch underwear to protest Bayer's dirty pesticide
 Coordinated
protests against Bayer's deadly pesticide endosulfan took place July 7 in 16 countries. Sponsored
by Pants to
Poverty, an organic and fairtrade underwear company, several high
profile UK celebrities, together with people around the world, exchanged their
conventional undies for a free pair of organic underwear, and signaled
their commitment to cotton production without the use of endosulfan. Pants
to Poverty will deliver the surrendered underwear directly to Bayer, one of
the global manufacturers of the chemical. Endosulfan is a highly
hazardous insecticide linked to reproductive defects and cancer. Banned in
more than 60 countries around the world, endosulfan is still used in the
U.S. on tomatoes,
cotton and other crops. U.S. EPA is currently considering a petition from
Pesticide Action Network and groups around the country to cancel its use,
along with calls for the same from tens of thousands of concerned
individuals. Meanwhile, Taiwanese consumers and scientists have expressed
outrage at their government's March 2009 decision to allow endosulfan
residues on apples and other imported fruits, after a complete ban on the
pesticide had been in place. In February, before the change, two batches of
apples from the U.S. were refused entry to Taiwan because they failed pesticide tests. In March, six batches were stopped,
including two that showed endosulfan levels between 0.02 and 0.04 ppm, said
Sun Li-chun, professor at the agricultural economics department of
National
Taiwan University and a member of the Consumers Foundation.
shareMORE Guardian UK coverage of the global campaign |  Digg This
Chemical
industry urges CA governor to ignore science
According
to inside sources, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being
pressured by corporate interests to fast-track registration of a new
pesticide, despite serious concerns from the state's own scientists at the
Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). At issue is the new fumigant
pesticide methyl iodide. Highly toxic, and not yet approved for use in
California, this chemical has been given a comprehensive review by DPR, and
the agency's registration decision is pending advice from a panel of
scientists convened specifically to review this chemical. "Methyl
iodide is so toxic that scientists working with it in the laboratory take
extreme precautions when handling it, using a ventilation hood, gloves, and
special equipment for transferring it so it does not escape to the
air," notes Dr. Susan Kegley, a chemist and consulting scientist for
Pesticide Action Network. "This degree of protection is not possible
in an agricultural setting where the pesticide would be applied at rates of
175 pounds per acre in the open air. Buffer zones of 400 feet for a 40-acre
fumigation would still result in a dose of methyl iodide to neighbors that
is 375 times higher than DPR believes is acceptable. For workers, the
numbers are much worse, with exposures estimated at 3,000 times higher than
DPR's acceptable dose for some tasks." Methyl iodide's
manufacturer, Arysta, withdrew its New
York application for registration after state
officials raised concerns about groundwater contamination and potential
exposure for workers, bystanders and nearby residents, especially children,
pregnant women and the elderly. Industry is asking
California 's governor to order DPR to
register the fumigant. Californians can take
action: Tell the Governor to keep methyl iodide of
California 's
strawberry fields. shareMORE Radio interview with Dr. Susan Kegley | Digg This
African
scientists call for sustainable green revolution
 As the Group of Eight Countries (G8) gather this week in Italy
to discuss development and aid for Africa, among other topics, several
African scientists and farmers are calling for increased investment in
organic agriculture and agroecological solutions for hunger and poverty. At
issue is whether aid will favor community-based agroecological development
or corporate technological fixes such as genetically modified seeds,
synthetic fertilizers and hazardous pesticides. National Organic
Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) executive director, Moses
Kiggundu Muwanga, said, "The call for chemical fertilizers does
not make sense: they emit greenhouse gasses, both through their production
and their composition of mainly nitrous oxide, and so they contribute to
climate change. Besides, the cost of synthetic fertilizer is too expensive
for most subsistence farmers." Mubita Malumo, the vice chairperson of
Organic Producers and Processors of Zambia (OPAZ) said that
Africa should instead build on its strengths -- its
land, local resources, indigenous plant varieties, indigenous knowledge,
biologically diverse smallholder farms and limited use of agrochemicals. Pesticide Action Network and the U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis
is urging the G8 to focus on sustainable agriculture practices as a
solution to the global food crisis. New approaches to the food crisis
should be based on the findings of the International Assessment of
Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
report, a landmark study sponsored by the United Nations and the World
Bank. The IAASTD
emphasizes the need for agroecological methods instead of
chemical-intensive production and biotechnology.
shareMORE Feed the Hungry or
Fuel Hunger? | Digg This
Michigan lindane law
stalled in state senate
Legislation
that passed with strong support in Michigan 's
House of Representatives earlier this year would severely restrict the use of
the pesticide lindane in pharmaceutical products in the state. The bill,
which is similar to a law passed in California in 2002, has now been sidelined in the state senate by Majority Leader Mike
Bishop, according to an article in the Michigan Messenger. "The majority leader has
the choice between siding with the pharmaceutical industry or siding with
children," Mike Shriberg, policy director at the
Ecology Center told the Messenger.
Lindane is formulated in the
U.S. by Illinois-based Morton
Grove Pharmaceuticals, whose contract lobby firm has lobbied hard against
the proposed legislation. Lindane has been banned in more than 50
countries, and was recently
added to the list of chemicals targeted for a global phaseout under the
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. shareMORE Ban Lindane Now! campaign
page| Digg This
EPA sued
over pesticides in polar bears
 On July 8, the Center for Biological Diversity gave the required
60-day notice to U.S. EPA "of its intent to file suit against
the agency for failing to consider impacts to the polar bear and its Arctic
habitat from toxic contamination resulting from pesticide use in the
United States ."
Persistent pesticides such as endosulfan travel thousands of miles to the
polar regions and bioaccumulate in the food web, poisoning animals as well
as people. "The poisoning of the Arctic is a silent crisis that
threatens not just the polar bear, but the entire Arctic ecosystem, as well
as the people and communities that live within it," said Rebecca Noblin
in a press release from the Center's Anchorage office. "Because the polar bear sits at the top of the food pyramid,
if we do what is necessary to protect the bear from pesticides, we will
also be protecting the Arctic ecosystem and the people that depend upon
it."
shareMORE Urge
EPA to ban endosulfan | Digg This
Healthy
living begins in the womb
A
June 30 USA Today article summarized
recent research that increasingly links adult diseases with what happens
when babies are still in the womb. A growing body of scientific research
suggests the best time to fight adult diseases may be before babies are
even born, according to Peter Gluckman of the University of Auckland in
New Zealand .
During the crucial window of opportunity before birth and during infancy,
environmental cues help program a person's DNA, says Alexander Jones of
Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and the University College of London Institute for Child Health. Many
things, including chemical contaminants, can cause changes. Hugh Taylor
from the Yale University School of Medicine and other scientists are
concerned that hormone-disrupting chemicals, such as those used in some
pesticides, could cause disease in later life. Margaret Reeves, Pesticide
Action Network senior scientist, agrees: "Even extremely low doses of
pesticides, particularly during fetal development, infancy and childhood,
are linked to cancers, birth defects, developmental delays and Parkinson's
Disease." shareMORE How much
pesticide is too much? | Digg This |
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