A new study published in PLOS One shows that scientists are learning more about the mass bee die-off around the world. Scientists have been puzzled about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has destroyed 10 million beehives in the past six years. According to this new study, it seems that fungicides in combination, which were thought … Read more
Last week the EPA let Monsanto raise the allowable concentrations of glyphosate on food crops, animal feed, and edible oils. The new regulation lets farmers use more of the chemical, which is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. Under the new regulation, forage and hay teff can contain up to 100 ppm (100,000 ppb) … Read more
The Colony Collapse Disorder among bees, an alarming development in the food world, has raised concerns about the future of our food supply. Since 1990, more than 25% of the managed honey bee population has disappeared. Without bee pollination, we would lose at least 30% of the world’s food crops. Beekeepers first noticed this issue … Read more
A new study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology has found that pesticides reconstituted with contaminated water could be a source of norovirus in the food chain. Farmers use well water, lake water, and river water to produce fruits and vegetables. That water is used to dilute pesticides, which are applied to fields … Read more
Consumers Union, an arm of Consumer Reports, has called on the EPA to ban arsenic-containing pesticides. A National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council (NAS/NRC) meeting being held today “will be the start of a process that could delay government action for at least three years on the risks of arsenic,” according to the press release. … Read more
Neurologists at UCLA have uncovered a link between pesticides and the development of Parkinson’s disease. So far, three chemicals – paraquat, maneb and ziram – have been linked to increases in the disease among farmworkers and those who live and work near fields where they are applied. The disease occurs at high rates among farmers … Read more
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has released a study examining pesticide residues in coffee, fruit juice, and tea. The study is part of the Agency’s routine testing of various food products, and was intended to generate baseline surveillance data. The government monitors food “as sold”, not “as consumed”, so brewed coffee and tea were not … Read more
A new study conducted at Stanford Center for Health Policy and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine questions whether organically-grown foods are safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced foods. This systemic review, which extracts data from English-language studies, says no. Seventeen studies in human beings and 223 studies of nutrient and contaminant levels in foods … Read more
Apples, peaches, nectarine and grapes are on “The Dirty Dozen” list of produce with high levels of pesticide residue, while cabbage, corn and sweet potatoes make the “Clean Fifteen” list with low levels, according to the eighth annual Shoppers Guide To Pesticides In Produce, published today by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). “Our shopper’s guide … Read more
Tokyo-based Arysta LifeScience Inc. has pulled methyl iodide, a fumigant for strawberries and other crops, from the U.S. market. There has been a furious debate over this chemical among consumer advocates and scientists. Methyl iodide is a fumigant pesticide called a “pre-plant biocide”, used to control soil-borne pathogens and weed seeds in strawberry fields. It … Read more