Internal government emails reveal Monsanto owner Bayer AG and industry lobbyist CropLife America have been working closely with US officials to pressure Mexico into abandoning its intended ban on glyphosate, a pesticide linked to cancer that is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killers. The climate crisis, with unprecedented temperature shifts, storms, and wildfires, and the devastating decline in biodiversity are escalating as a result of uncontrolled and unnecessary reliance on toxic chemicals. These existential crises that threaten life, to be successfully thwarted, require a meaningful holistic strategy that commits our nation to ending our fossil fuel-based economy and use of petroleum-based materials that release harmful levels of carbon and noxious gases (including greenhouse gases/GHG) into the environment. A new scientific paper examining the potential health impacts of Roundup herbicides found links between exposure to the weed-killing chemical glyphosate and an increase in a type of amino acid known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Being many decades down the path of chemical-intensive agriculture, growers and other land managers (and all the industries that influence them) have come largely to ignore the efficacy of healthy, functioning natural systems to maintain ecological equilibrium, i.e., not letting anyone pest or disease proliferate. Recent research points to an example of such ecosystem efficacy. A study, by researchers in California and China, sought to evaluate whether increased population densities of fungi might be suppressing nematode populations in California production fields frequently planted with the cole crops (such as brussels sprouts and broccoli) they favor. The research finds that a diverse population of fungi in soils is highly likely to be effectively killing nematodes that threaten such crops. Former NFL offensive lineman, Jason Brown, walked away from football in 2012 to start First Fruits Farm in North Carolina. He moved his family from a mansion to an old farmhouse and he gave up material wealth to go into a hard industry he knew very little about. But he ultimately found happiness growing food. Since his first harvest in 2014, his farm has given away hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to those in need.
From NFL Stardom to Family Farming
Former NFL offensive lineman walked away from football in 2012 to start First Fruits Farm in North Carolina. He moved his family from a mansion to an old farmhouse and he gave up material wealth to go into a hard industry he knew very little about. But he ultimately found happiness growing food. Since his first harvest in 2014, his farm has given away hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to those in need.
https://modernfarmer.com/2021/02/from-nfl-stardom-to-family-farming/
Shift to Organic Farming, Not Carbon Trading, Is Critical to Thwart the Climate Crisis and Biodiversity Collapse
The climate crisis, with unprecedented temperature shifts, storms, and wildfires, and the devastating decline in biodiversity are escalating as a result of uncontrolled and unnecessary reliance on toxic chemicals. These existential crises that threaten life, to be successfully thwarted, require a meaningful holistic strategy that commits our nation to ending our fossil fuel-based economy and use of petroleum-based materials that release harmful levels of carbon and noxious gases (including greenhouse gases/GHG) into the environment. The proposals now in Congress and the administration require close attention and scrutiny if we are to meet the urgency of the moment.
https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2021/02/a-national-shift-to-organic-farming-not-carbon-trading-is-critical-to-thwart-the-climate-crisis-and-biodiversity-collapse/
Another Roundup study finds links to potential human health problems
A new scientific paper examining the potential health impacts of Roundup herbicides found links between exposure to the weed killing chemical glyphosate and an increase in a type of amino acid known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The researchers made their determinations after exposing pregnant rats and their newborn pups to glyphosate and Roundup through drinking water. They said they looked specifically at the effects of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) on urinary metabolites and interactions with the gut microbiome in the animals.
https://usrtk.org/pesticides/another-roundup-study-finds-links-to-potential-human-health-problems/
Revealed: Monsanto owner and US officials pressured Mexico to drop glyphosate ban
Internal government emails reveal Monsanto owner Bayer AG and industry lobbyist CropLife America have been working closely with US officials to pressure Mexico into abandoning its intended ban on glyphosate, a pesticide linked to cancer that is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkillers.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/16/revealed-monsanto-mexico-us-glyphosate-ban
Eliminating Pesticides Increases Crop Yields, Debunking Myth of Pesticide Benefits
Being many decades down the path of chemical-intensive agriculture, growers and other land managers (and all the industries that influence them) have come largely to ignore the efficacy of healthy, functioning natural systems to maintain ecological equilibrium, i.e., not letting any one pest or disease proliferate. Recent research points to an example of such ecosystem efficacy. The study, by researchers in California and China, sought to evaluate whether increased population densities of fungi might be suppressing nematode populations in California production fields frequently planted with the cole crops (such as brussels sprouts and broccoli) they favor. The research finds that a diverse population of fungi in soils is highly likely to be effectively killing nematodes that threaten such crops.
https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2021/02/eliminating-pesticides-increases-crops-yields-debunking-myth-of-pesticide-benefits/
