Stop This Madness
Stop the Madness
Every 15 years, pesticides come up for review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Last year, 2015, was the year the EPA was supposed to review and either renew, or reject, glyphosate.
We’re still waiting. Meanwhile, glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, was as ubiquitous in the media this week as it is in our environment—and on our food.
As OCA, Friends of the Earth, Moms Across America and other groups planned our May 4 petition delivery (over half a million signatures) to EPA officials in Washington D.C., asking the agency to reject the renewal of glyphosate, the EPA was busy posting—then un-posting—documents the agency will use to justify its final, and presumably Monsanto-friendly, decision. From Politico:
The EPA on Monday [May 2] posted online and then removed an October 2015 final report from its Cancer Assessment Review Committee, which is made up of staff, that concluded glyphosate is "not likely to be carcinogenic to humans."
The move prompted House Committee on Science Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) to fire off a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. In the letter, according to Politico, Smith said that the decision to yank the report "raises questions about the agency's motivation in providing a fair assessment of glyphosate."
Smith wasn’t the only one with questions. The Center for Biological Diversity issued a press release accusing the EPA of using industry-funded studies to refute the World Health Organization’s findings that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen:
“EPA’s determination that glyphosate is non-carcinogenic is disappointing, but not terribly surprising — industry has been manipulating this process for years,” said Nathan Donley, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The analysis done by the World Health Organization is more open and transparent and remains the gold standard.”
US Right to Know (USRTK)’s Carey Gillam outlined the significance of the yanked document as it relates to protecting Monsanto from any legal liability from cancer patients:
Monsanto touted and tweeted the release of the document, which follows the release by EPA of a different memorandum supporting the safety of glyphosate last June. The newest memo gives the company added evidence to defend itself against a mounting stack of lawsuits filed by agricultural workers and others alleging Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide gave them cancer.
In other glyphosate news this week? Quaker Oats faces a class action lawsuit for being “deceptive and misleading” after glyphosate is detected in its oatmeal. Members of the European Parliament call for the European Commission to rethink plans to renew glyphosate in the EU.
And then there was this gem from Mercola.com: “Many Surprising Foods Found to Contain Monsanto's Deadly Poison.” Not to mention our Video of the Week, from ABC News, about glyphosate in your California wine.
The EPA now says it will be the end of 2016 before they issue their final ruling. That's how long we have to stop the madness.
What Is Going on with Glyphosate? EPA’s Odd Handling of Controversial Chemical
TAKE ACTION: Tell the EPA: Don't Re-Up Roundup!
No Frankenbugs!
Nobody likes mosquitoes. Aside from the obvious—that they’re annoying—they also carry a host of diseases, including malaria, yellow fever, dengue, encephalitis, chikungunya, West Nile virus, Lyme disease and now, health officials warn us, the Zika virus.
Over time, tons of toxic chemicals have been deployed in the war against this most unpopular of insects. Now we have a new weapon: genetic engineering.
Oxitec, a British company recently purchased by Intrexon Corp. (NYSE:XON), which also bought the creators of GMO salmon and GMO apples, wants to release millions of experimental GMO mosquitoes for the first time in the U.S., in the Florida Keys.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) says that’s “probably” OK, based on, what else? Studies conducted by the company that created the Frankenbugs (and stands to make a small fortune from them).
Never mind that scientists say the jury is still out on whether or not it’s a smart—or safe—idea to release millions of these genetic nuisances into the environment. Once again, the FDA is quick—maybe too quick—to side with industry over caution and common sense.
TAKE ACTION: Tell the FDA: Don’t Release Frankenbugs in Florida!
Drugs & Dollars
New reports strongly suggest that music legend Prince joined the millions of Americans addicted to opioids, and sadly, became the worst kind of statistic—someone who died from that addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), more than 47,000 people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses, most of those directly or indirectly related to opioids. The problem has reached “epidemic” proportions, says the CDC. Are people just more irresponsible than they used to be? Is society in a downward spiral? Are we bad parents, bad patients, bad people? Or could it be that Big Pharma, which made more than $8 billion selling opioids in 2010 (and sales continue to rise), responsible for so much addiction and death? Writing for OCA, Martha Rosenberg reveals the truth behind the dramatic increase in the use—and misuse—of these powerfully addictive, and often ineffective drugs. |
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Rockin' Morocco
OCA’s Regeneration International project has been an early and staunch supporter and promoter of France’s 4 per 1000: Soils for Food Security and the Climate Initiative.
But like everyone else, we’ve been anxious to learn more about how to take the initiative from theory to practice. And even more critically, how to scale it up, rapidly.
We got our chance when we sent two RI representatives, Ercilia Sahores (Mexico City) and Precious Phiri (Zimbabwe), to a presentation on the 4 per 1000 initiative, organized by the governments of France and Morocco during the Salon International de l’Agriculture du Maroc (SIAM) in Meknes, Morocco.
Ercilia and Precious returned with news that gives us all hope. It appears that more countries are embracing soil carbon sequestration as a climate solution, and that the French Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, has a plan for putting the initiative on the path to success.
Support OCA’s Regeneration International Project
Under the Influence
The next time you think about relaxing with a glass of wine, you may want to pay close attention to where that wine came from.
Moms Across America teamed up with Microbe Inotech Labs in St. Louis, Mo., to test 10 California wines for glyphosate. All 10, from California’s prime growing regions—Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties—tested positive.
“Critics” (Monsanto) questioned the validity of the testing. Then went on to say, hey, even if the wines did test positive, you’d have to drink “8,000 regular size bottles a day” in order to “meet the allowable daily intake” for Monsanto’s glyphosate.
First, let’s be clear. Those “allowable daily intakes” set by U.S. agencies under the influence of Monsanto lobbyists are not only the highest “allowable” limits of any country in the world, they’re also bogus. As one of the scientists in this video says, the science shows that glyphosate, even incredibly low levels, contributes to numerous serious illnesses, including cancer.
Summer School?
Caminos de Agua will host an advanced intensive workshop this summer on biochar and water supply and treatment for developing countries.
The seven-day English-language course will be held at the Vía Orgánica Ranch and Farm School (Vía Orgánica is a project of OCA) just outside San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, from July 25-31 (July 24, August 1st arrival/departure travel days).
The curriculum is based on extensive field experience as well as laboratory research, and will involve conceptual lecture/discussion as well as participatory hands-on sessions.
OCA has promoted biochar research for organic agricultural applications for years. Biochar also has applications for environmentally persistent organic chemical contaminants—such as pesticide runoff, pharmaceutical residues, industrial effluents—and naturally occurring toxins that threaten the safety of drinking water in communities around the world.
Vía Orgánica Ranch Description
More information and how to apply here
Essential Reading for the Week
Why Michael Pollan Swears by Cooking from Scratch
Move over, Organic and Natural Foods. We Live in a Grassfed Era Now.
Quaker Oats Accused of Being 'Deceptive and Misleading' after Glyphosate Detected in Oatmeal
ADM, Bunge Won't Buy Monsanto's New Genetically Modified Soy
Creating Sustainability? Join the Re-Generation!
Surprising Health Benefits of Extreme Hot and Cold Temperatures