Archive for the 'Announcements' Category
30
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 30, 2010) Searching for clues to the mysterious disappearance of bees, known as “colony collapse disorder”(CCD), Penn State University researchers have identified widespread pesticide contamination of beehives. The study, “High Levels of Miticides and Agrochemicals in North American Apiaries: Implications for Honey Bee Health,” was published March 19, 2010 in the scientific journal Public Library of Science (PLOS). The study finds 121 different types of pesticides within 887 wax, pollen, bee and hive samples from 23 states. The top 10 most frequently detected pesticides are fluvalinate, coumaphos, chlorpyrifos, chlorothalonil, amitraz, pendamethalin, endosulfan, fenpropathrin, esfenvalerate and atrazine. Miticides are the most common contaminant in the wax and bees, and fungicides are the most common contaminant of pollen. For the full results of the study, including several tables of wax, pollen and bee sample data, download the study from the PLOS website. “The pollen is not in good shape,” Chris Mullin, PhD, lead author of the study, told Discovery News. The authors state that the 98 pesticides and metabolites detected in mixtures up to 214 parts per million (ppm) in bee pollen alone represents a remarkably high level for toxicants in the brood and adult food of this primary […]
Posted in Agriculture, Atrazine, Chemicals, Chlorothalonil, Chlorpyrifos, Coumaphos, Endosulfan, esfenvalerate, fluvalinate, Pendimethalin, Pollinators | 3 Comments »
23
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 23, 2010) On March 22, 2010 the environmental health group Grassroots Environmental Education released a report comparing the relative costs of maintaining a typical high school football field using a chemical-intensive program and a natural (organic) program over a five-year period. The report, prepared for members of the New York State legislature, concludes that the annual cost of maintaining a field using natural products and techniques can be as much as 25% lower than the cost of conventional programs using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. “It can take a few seasons to undo the damage caused by chemical management programs, revitalize the soil biology and let nature do its work,” says the report’s principal author, Charles “Chip” Osborne, a nationally-recognized natural turf expert and Beyond Pesticides board member who serves as a consultant to many New York school districts. “But once we get the soil biology working for us, we can see some dramatic and significant cost reductions fairly quickly.” The emerging science that links exposure to turf pesticides with human health problems, including potential interference with normal brain development in children, has increased the demand for non-chemical turf management solutions for schools, and has spurred lawmakers in […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Lawns/Landscapes | 6 Comments »
10
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 10, 2010) A study investigating the sublethal effects of pyrethroids, bifenthrin and deltamethrin on honeybees finds that the chemicals significantly impair the pollinators’ reproduction. The researchers also point out that the concentration of each pesticide that produced adverse effects in the experiments was at or below those that bees could encounter while pollinating treated crop fields. “Effects of sublethal concentrations of bifenthrin and deltamethrin on fecundity, growth, and development of the honeybee Apis mellifera ligustica” published in the March issue of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, investigated the effects of the two pesticides at sublethal concentrations on fecundity, growth, and development of honeybees were examined with the feeding method for a three-year period (2006-2008). It was shown that both bifenthrin and deltamethrin significantly reduced bee fecundity, decreased the rate at which bees develop to adulthood, and increased their immature periods. Queens in the control group in 2006 laid a little more than 1,200 eggs each day, compared to not quite 900 a day in the bifenthrin group and roughly 600 per day in the deltamethrin group. In general, the hatch rate of pyrethroid-exposed eggs was also significantly depressed. The success rate of hatchlings, that is the share that […]
Posted in Bifenthrin, Deltamethrin, Pollinators | No Comments »
09
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 9, 2010) The 28th National Pesticide Forum, Greening the Community: Green economy, organic environments and healthy people, will feature “green entrepreneurs,” who are making a living while making a difference in the community. This panel is the latest addition to the exciting speaker line-up at Beyond Pesticides’ annual conference, which will be held April 9-10 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Take advantage of the reduced advance registration rate and sign-up online today. The panel will feature founders of Good Nature Organic Lawn Care (organic lawn care), Mustard Seed Market and CafĂ© (organic grocery store and cafĂ©), A Piece of Cleveland (deconstruction company which ”˜recycles’ unwanted materials into furniture and other products), D’Bug Lady Pest Management (least-toxic pest control), Green Clean Inc. (environmentally-friendly cleaning), and Expedite Renewable Energy (helps companies reduce their carbon footprint). The Forum will also feature session on organic gardening and community spaces, lawn pesticide bans, health impacts of pesticides, the health benefits of organic food, green local government efforts and much more. It officially kicks off Friday afternoon with a tour of the Cleveland Botanical Garden and its affiliated community gardens, with sessions officially starting Friday at 5:30pm, and will conclude […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Events, Ohio | No Comments »
25
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 25, 2010) To include more grassroots activists and community members in Greening the Community: Green economy, organic environments and healthy people, Beyond Pesticides announced a new $25 “recession rate.” The conference, Beyond Pesticides’ 28th National Pesticide Forum, will be held April 9-10 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. To take advantage of the reduced registration, register online today. We are also pleased to announce exciting additions to our speaker list including: journalist, author, democracy and environmental activist Harvey Wasserman; ecologist, ecological engineer and 2004 Stockholm Water Prize laureate William Mitsch, PhD; and several others. These speakers join Jeff Moyer, organic farming and gardening expert with the Rodale Institute; Melinda Hemmelgarn, award-winning “Food Sleuth” journalist who encourages people “think beyond their plates”; David Hackenberg, beekeeper who first discovered colony collapse disorder; Canadian organizers who played a key role in the effort that banned cosmetic pesticide use in Ontario in 2009; and, cutting-edge scientists focusing on endocrine disruption, cancer, learning disabilities, and the link between birth defects and season of conception. Harvey Wasserman is a journalist, author, democracy activist and environmental advocate. He is author of a dozen books, including Solartopia! Our Green Powered Earth. Harvey helped […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Justice, Events, Invasive Species, Lawns/Landscapes, Ohio, State/Local, Water | No Comments »
23
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 23, 2010) Latest in the trend of consumer “greenwashing,” Sara Lee Corporation has launched a new marketing strategy for its EarthGrains ® bread, replacing a small proportion of its ingredients with their line of “Eco-Grainâ„¢” wheat. According to their press release, the company describes EarthGrains as “sustainable” because it uses a combination of “satellite imagery to help determine fertilizer requirements in any given area of the field,” reducing chemical fertilizer use by merely 15%. In contrast, as mandated by federal law, organic farmers are required by law to reduce their synthetic fertilizer use by 100%, and also prohibit organic farmers from using toxic pesticides that are commonly applied to conventional wheat fields, including those growing “Eco-Grain.” Sara Lee, which launched the bread marketing campaign February 2, 2010 said Eco-Grain wheat was developed with help from agricultural conglomerate Cargill. According to Sara Lee’s website, 20% of the flour in EarthGrains 100% Natural 24 oz. bread is made from Eco-Grainâ„¢ wheat, therefore, the total reduction in chemical fertilizer use in a loaf of EarthGrains bread is only 3%. Sara Lee even claims in online marketing materials that farming methods used to produce its “100% Natural” bread “have some advantages […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics | 1 Comment »
03
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 3, 2010) Beyond Pesticides has confirmed exciting additions to Greening the Community, the 28th National Pesticide Forum, scheduled for April 9-10 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. The Forum is an important opportunity to discuss the latest information on pesticides and alternatives, meet scientists and community leaders, and network with other activists working to change policies at the local, state and national levels. David Hackenberg, the beekeeper who first discovered a mysterious disappearance of honeybees now known as colony collapse disorder (CCD), is the most recent addition to the program. Mr. Hackenberg believes that pesticides contribute to CCD and that honeybees are a barometer of the environment. Featured in several films and news investigations, he has been front and center in this important fight to protect our pollinators. Read about Mr. Hackenberg and the other Forum speakers in the highlights below. The Forum will begin Friday afternoon with a tour of the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Founded in 1930, Cleveland Botanical Garden, which is now made up of 20 specialty gardens and exotic indoor biomes, has evolved into a community treasure. The Garden’s community involvement extends beyond its 10 acres into city neighborhoods through its Green […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Announcements, Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Events, Ohio | 2 Comments »
01
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 1, 2010) Public health, environmental and organic agriculture advocates are urging the public to submit comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa by the February 16, 2010 deadline, demanding that USDA protect organic food from GE contamination and not approve Monsanto’s GE alfalfa. USDA claims in the EIS that there is no evidence that consumers care about GE contamination of organic alfalfa. But, it is not just alfalfa that is at risk. Since alfalfa is fed to dairy cows and other livestock, organic dairy and meat products could also be affected. Last week, Beyond Pesticides reported that in the ongoing battle to stop the use of GE alfalfa seeds, Monsanto v. Geerston Seed Farms will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The seed is modified to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, sold by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup. In 2006 the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and several other farming and environmental groups, including Beyond Pesticides, filed suit on behalf of Geerston Seed Farms. The suit led to a U.S. District Court ruling that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated […]
Posted in Announcements, Genetic Engineering, Monsanto, Pesticide Regulation | 5 Comments »
27
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 27, 2009) Major fashion retailer H&M is under fire after media reports said that it has been selling organic cotton clothing tainted with genetically modified (GM) cotton imported from India. Consumer groups and environmental organizations are calling for an investigation into the matter, but the retailer insists there is no reason to believe that organic cotton used in its garments comes from GM seeds. H&M, a major European clothing store chain with scores of stores in the U.S., were named in a report last week in the German edition of the Financial Times, which claims there was major ”˜fraud’ taking place in the organic cotton sector. The Financial Times said that an independent testing laboratory found that organic cotton samples certified as “organic” were contaminated with genetically modified (GM) cotton material. According to the lab results, “30% of the tested samples” of organic cotton fabric contained GM cotton. Growing cotton from GM seeds is prohibited according to organic standards and the third-party certification bodies. This fallout comes at a time when scrutiny of the use of “organic” labels on various consumer goods has elevated. Last week, Organic Consumers Association (OCA), along with certified organic personal care brands, […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Genetic Engineering | 1 Comment »
22
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 22, 2010) Gardeners have long turned to parasitic wasps and other beneficial insects to control unwanted insects, and new genetic research suggests even more ways to harness these species’ potential. Scientists, led by John H. Werren, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of Rochester, and Stephen Richards, Ph.D., at the Genome Sequencing Center at the Baylor College of Medicine, have sequenced the genomes of three parasitoid wasp species, revealing many features that could be useful as a “natural” alternative to pesticides. The study, “Functional and Evolutionary Insights from the Genomes of Three Parasitoid Nasonia Species” was published in the January 15, 2010 issue of the journal Science. Already, many of these parasitoid wasps are hard at work, but because they are so small, most people are unaware of their existence. “Parasitic wasps attack and kill pest insects, but many of them are smaller than the head of a pin, so people don’t even notice them or know of their important role in keeping pest numbers down,” says Dr. Werren. “There are over 600,000 species of these amazing critters, and we owe them a lot. If it weren’t for parasitoids and other natural enemies, we would be […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Genetic Engineering | 2 Comments »
20
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 20, 2010) The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), along with certified organic personal care brands Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Intelligent Nutrients, and Organic Essence, last week filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP), seeking action to stop some personal care manufacturers from, according to the petitioners, mislabeling their products as “organic.” The petitioners are requesting an investigation into what it believes is widespread and blatantly deceptive labeling practices of leading “organic” personal care brands, in violation of USDA NOP regulations. The complaint, filed collectively on behalf of 50 million consumers of organic products, argues that products such as liquid soaps, body washes, facial cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizing lotions, lip balms, make-up and other cosmetic products produced by 12 different corporations have been advertised, labeled and marketed as “organic” or “organics” when, in fact, the petitioners say the products are not “organic” as understood by reasonable consumers. “Unfortunately, the hands-off regulatory approach by the USDA’s National Organic Program during the Bush years failed to protect consumers from deceptive labeling in the personal care marketplace,” said Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association. While the USDA enforces strict standards for the […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Litigation | 2 Comments »
12
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 12, 2010) Beyond Pesticides, along with Case Western Reserve University Medical School’s Swetland Center for Environmental Health and the local grassroots group Beyond Pesticides Ohio, will be hosting Greening the Community, the 28th National Pesticide Forum, April 9-10, 2010 in Cleveland, OH. This national environmental conference will focus on pesticide-free lawns and community spaces, organic community gardens and farming, cutting edge pesticide science, pesticides in schools, water contamination and more. Register online. Speaker Highlights Ӣ Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Organizers: In 2009, Ontario, Canada banned the use of over 250 pesticide products for cosmetic (lawn care) purposes. Forum participants will hear from Jan Kasperski, CEO of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, and Theresa McClenaghan, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association, who fought to make this vision a reality. Ӣ “Food Sleuth” journalist: Registered dietitian, investigative nutritionist, and award-winning journalist Melinda Hemmelgarn will be addressing the benefits of eating organic and encouraging conference participants “think beyond their plates.” Ӣ Pesticide Researchers: The Forum will feature talks by several renowned pesticide researchers including Paul Winchester, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine who authored the April 2009 study linking birth defects, pesticides and season […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Chemicals, Children/Schools, Disease/Health Effects, Events, Lawns/Landscapes, Ohio, Water | 1 Comment »
08
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 8, 2010) Market forces driven by multinational corporations with increased market share and depressed payments for organic and fair trade coffee is threatening the organic coffee industry in Latin America. This is reversing successful efforts to improve worker and environmental protection in the production of a crop that was introduced to Latin America by Jesuit monks three hundred years ago. According to a recent Time Magazine article coffee has grown to a $70 billion a year industry, making coffee the second most valuable traded commodity after oil. Yet, small growers remain mired in poverty, where working conditions can be miserable; laboring on dangerously steep mountain sides, being exposed to dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and often going hungry for months out of the year. Organic and fair trade certified production provided a socially just response to this reality. A decade ago when coffee prices were at an all time low, many growers switched to organic for the premium price they could receive. A new article in the Christian Science Monitor highlights the unfortunate trend of growers switching back to conventional chemical-intensive methods. The Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education in Costa Rica (CATIE) estimates that […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, McDonald's, Wal-Mart | 1 Comment »
04
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 4, 2010) — A pesticide that could be dangerously toxic to America’s honey bees must be pulled from store shelves as a result of a suit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Xerces Society. In an order issued in December, a federal court in New York invalidated EPA’s approval of the pesticide spirotetramat (manufactured by Bayer CropScience under the trade names Movento and Ultor) and ordered the agency to reevaluate the chemical in compliance with the law. The court’s order goes into effect on January 15, 2010, and makes future sales of Movento illegal in the United States. “This sends EPA and Bayer back to the drawing board to reconsider the potential harm to bees caused by this new pesticide,” said NRDC Senior Attorney Aaron Colangelo. “EPA admitted to approving the pesticide illegally, but argued that its violations of the law should have no consequences. The Court disagreed and ordered the pesticide to be taken off the market until it has been properly evaluated. Bayer should not be permitted to run what amounts to an uncontrolled experiment on bees across the country without full consideration of the consequences.” In June 2008, EPA approved […]
Posted in Pollinators | No Comments »
11
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 11, 2009) The United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen are neglecting the pending food crisis, and organic methods that can both curb climate change and boost food production, Jacques Diouf, director-general of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told Reuters news service. FAO believes that certain farming practices, including organic agriculture, can help sequester carbon and heal degraded lands, thereby boosting food yields. “We would like to see greater conscience of the importance (of agriculture),” Jacques Diouf, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told Reuters in an interview this week at the Copenhagen climate talks. “Historically the discussion centered on the industrial aspects of climate change, be it in terms of factories, transport, but less on the primary sector of agriculture.” FAO believes carbon sequestration, lower-input of fossil fuel dependant resources, and use of renewable energy all present opportunities for organic agriculture to lead the way in reducing energy consumption and mitigating the negative effects of climate change. Organic agriculture incorporates management practices that can help farmers adapt to climate change through strengthening agro-ecosystems, diversifying crop and livestock production, and building farmers’ knowledge base to best prevent and confront changes in climate. FAO […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Climate Change, International | No Comments »
09
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 9, 2009) A Texas farmer, Basilio Coronado, of Sel-Cor Bean and Pea, Inc., in Brownfield, pleaded guilty to one count of false statements and documents relating to his source of organic commodities. Mr. Coronado admitted he was purchasing and selling large quantities of conventional grain, beans, and peas and falsely claiming they were grown under organic methods in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act. Advocates say that enforcement actions such as this and another to decertify as organic the Promiseland livestock operation last week are critical to ensuring the integrity of the organic label. On November 24, Mr. Coronado, owner of Sel-Cor Bean and Pea Inc. pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings who ordered a pre-sentence investigation with a sentencing date to be set after that report is completed. Mr. Coronado ran and managed the operations of Sel-Cor and was responsible for purchasing and selling organic products and maintaining records related to the purchase and sale of organic products. During an investigation by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) in late June 2008, Mr. Coronado furnished the TDA investigator with several false documents and statements relating to his source of organic commodities. These […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Sel-Cor Bean and Pea Inc | No Comments »
07
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 7, 2009) In an investigation and legal case that dragged on for almost four years, one of the largest organic cattle producers in the United States, Promiseland Livestock, LLC, is suspended from organic commerce, along with its owner and key employees, for four years. The penalty is part of an order issued by administrative law judge Peter Davenport in Washington, DC on November 25, 2009, a multimillion dollar operation with facilities in Missouri and Nebraska, including over 13,000 acres of crop land, and managing 22,000 head of beef and dairy cattle, had been accused of multiple improprieties in formal legal complaints, including not feeding organic grain to cattle, selling fraudulent organic feed and “laundering” conventional cattle as organic. “We are pleased that justice has been served in the Promiseland matter,” said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst for the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute. Scrutiny from Cornucopia, one of the industry’s most aggressive independent watchdogs, was part of the genesis for the comprehensive USDA investigation and subsequent legal proceedings. Promiseland became the focus of Cornucopia’s investigation into giant factory farms, milking thousands of cows that were allegedly operating illegally. Promiseland sold thousands of dairy cows to giant factory […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Missouri, Nebraska, Pesticide Regulation, Promiseland | No Comments »
02
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 2, 2009) Cancer causing pesticides ”¦ endocrine disruptors ”¦ pesticides linked to neurological and immune system problems ”¦ asthma and learning disabilities. Federal legislation, the School Environment Protection Act of 2009, was introduced yesterday in Congress to protect children from toxic pesticides and pest problems with safer alternatives. The sponsors seek to end unnecessary toxic pesticide use in the nation’s schools, replacing it with safe management techniques and products. When children attend school, it is assumed that they are going to a safe environment, free of toxic chemicals that could harm them. New legislation seeks to make this assumption a reality. With the introduction of the School Environment Protection Act of 2009 (SEPA), H.R. 4159, members of Congress and public health, school employee, children’s health and environmental groups are saying that it is time to stop the unnecessary use of dangerous chemicals and assist schools in the adoption of safer strategies to prevent and manage pest problems. U.S. Representative Rush Holt and 14 of his colleagues put the legislation forward with the foundation of more than a decade of state and local school pest management and pesticide use policies and on-the-ground experience from across the country. SEPA […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Children/Schools, National Politics | 8 Comments »
30
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 30, 2009) In an effort to provide a new resource to support efforts to advance safer products in the market place, a collaboration of business, government, nongovernmental organizations, and academic groups have released a new report: “Growing the Green Economy through Green Chemistry and Design for Environment.” The report is designed to be a resource guide to assist states to develop a green chemistry and design for environment framework. It seeks to reduce the use of hazardous substances, finding safer alternatives which will in turn promote environmentally sustainable business practices and economic opportunities. In a policy context, Beyond Pesticides believes that this type of green chemistry framework can identify safer products and should trigger the cancellation of more hazardous products evaluated under risk assessment standards that allow continuing public and environmental exposure despite the identification of hazards and uncertainties associated with chemical mixtures, synergistic effects, and untested health outcomes and ecological effects. Central to this thinking is the need to use information on green chemistry to evaluate the necessity of hazardous products and institute a mechanism to screen out unnecessary hazardous chemical use. At this time, public policy at the federal regulatory level largely ignores the “benefit” […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics | No Comments »
23
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 23, 2009) Two powerful lobby groups in the food industry, the Grocery Manufacturers of America and the Organic Trade Association, recently intervened as friends of the court in a federal consumer class-action lawsuit accusing the nation’s largest supplier of private-label organic milk of consumer fraud. In what has been described as “the largest scandal in the history of the organic industry” USDA investigators, in 2007, found that Aurora Dairy had willfully violated federal organic standards. However, industry lobbyists are now concerned that convicting Aurora will set a dangerous legal precedent. Aurora bottles private-label organic milk for Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Safeway and many other grocery chains. In August 2007, Bush administration officials were widely criticized for overruling career staff at the USDA and instead of decertifying Aurora as staff had recommended, banning it from organic commerce, the corporate dairy was allowed to continue in business under a one-year probation. Now agribusiness lobbyists are concerned that citizens prevailing in court, alleging fraud, will set a precedent necessitating large corporations to incur added expenses to more carefully check the sources and credibility of their organic suppliers. “Due diligence by food manufacturers and retailers is the heart and soul of what […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Aurora | No Comments »
20
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 20, 2009) Three companies in Washington, Oregon and Idaho are the target of enforcement actions for their failure to follow federal pesticide laws, according to orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The fines range from $1,280 to $28,080, and are characterized by safety advocates as a mere slap on the wrist for violations that the EPA says pose public safety hazards. J.R. Simplot Company of Boise, Idaho; Agricare of Amity, Ore.; and Northwest Agricultural Products of Pasco, Wash. violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) at their respective facilities, according to the EPA. Numerous other violations of FIFRA this past year have led to EPA fines or lawsuits, including several in the state of Washington last spring. In October, EPA fined Samsung for violating the federal pesticide law when it publicized that its keyboards, produced with nanosilver, were antimicrobial and inhibited germs and bacteria without registering its products. EPA also filed suit against VF Corporation for the sale and distribution of unregistered pesticides through its retail company, The North Face. “Companies that produce pesticides but fail to register their facilities or submit required reports are not only operating illegally, but also pose a […]
Posted in Idaho, Oregon, Pesticide Regulation, Washington | No Comments »
13
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 13, 2009) The Ohio Department of Agriculture is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow an unregistered use of the neurotoxic and cancer causing insecticide propoxur in homes to fight bedbugs in what state officials are describing as an ”˜emergency’ situation. The chemical, o-isopropoxyphenyl methylcarbamate, is in the carbamate family and classified as a probable human carcinogen (Group B2) by EPA, and listed as a known human carcinogen by the state of California. Though EPA allows emergency exemptions for unregistered pesticide uses in agriculture and for public health reasons under a controversial waiver program (Section 18, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 40 CFR Part 166), it rarely issues such an exemption for an indoor pesticide use. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati are all experiencing a surge of bed bug infestations. According to Richard Pollack, a Harvard University public health entomologist, this is probably due to the fact that bedbugs are becoming resistant to many pesticide products that are used today. The use of broad spectrum insecticides, which kill common household insects such as cockroaches, ants and other insects including bed bugs, has resulted in insect resistance to these chemicals. Many of the chemicals used against […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Bedbugs, Ohio, Pesticide Regulation, Propoxur | 1 Comment »
04
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 4, 2009) Environmental and farm groups are asking the Senate to reject the Obama Administration pick for chief agriculture trade representative because of positions that he has taken in support of genetically modified organisms as a spokesman for the agrichemical industry, his attack of the European Union (EU) moratorium on genetically engineered crops as lacking “sound science,” and his organization’s outright opposition to organic agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to advance organic gardening. Groups are calling for the rejection of the nomination of Islam Siddiqui, PhD, vice president for science and regulatory affairs at CropLife America, to be the chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Dr. Siddiqui’s confirmation is scheduled for today in the Senate Finance Committee. The National Organic Coalition (NOC) sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance intending “to bring to the committee’s attention serious concerns and questions” surrounding the nomination of Dr. Siddiqui, including positions that promoted hazardous and unnecessary chemical dependency, as well as his advocacy of genetically modified organisms. NOC states in its letter that, “We have no reason to believe that, at this time, [Dr. Siddiqui’s] history of positions makes […]
Posted in Announcements, Pesticide Regulation | No Comments »