15
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 15, 2024) It is hot. Really hot. A serious response to this climate emergency requires, according to environmental advocates, a dramatic transformation in land management and an end to the use of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers. Beyond the real-world adverse effects of the climate crisisā more intense and frequent fires, floods, hurricanes and hail storms, as well as the harm to health and biodiversityāthe rising insurance premiums imposed by the insurance industry speaks to the need for an urgent systemic response. According to the paper, Pricing of Climate Risk Insurance: Regulation and Cross-Subsidies, āThe unprecedented rise in natural disasters has led to catastrophic losses of more than $600 billion in the United States over the last two decades, roughly twice the losses of the previous 40 years combined.ā While the events associated with climate are more accurately described as āhuman-madeā rather than ānaturalā disasters, a 2023 Washington Post article reports that, āU.S. insurers have paid outĀ $295.8 billionĀ in natural disaster losses from 2020 to 2022, a record for a three-year period.ā This has led to dramatic changes in the cost of insurance coverage and the decision of many carriers to deny coverage. The Washington Post writes, āAt least […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Climate Change, Congress, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
23
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 23, 2024)Ā A study recently published in the journal Nature compared the impact of organic and conventional food production using eight environmental health indicators and found that organic food has a significantly lower environmental impact than conventional food production for six of the eight indicators, including a lower potential for contributing to acidification of the environment, energy use, and biodiversity loss. For the analysis, scientists reviewed 100 different ālife cycle assessmentsā (LCA) of organic and conventionally grown food products from cradle-to-farm gate.Ā Ā Ā LCA is a commonly used methodology to estimate food production system impacts on the environment through resource depletion and pollutant emissions. The resultsāthat organic food production is less impactful on the environmentāadd to the robust body of research that underscores the importance of organic farming to the development of a sustainable global food system while addressing climate change. Beyond Pesticides has long argued that one of the most powerful tools in fighting global warming is organic agriculture, as it sequesters atmospheric carbon, eliminates the use of fossil fuel-based synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, and provides environmental and human health benefits. This study and most of the 100 studies it evaluates, do not recognize that conventional […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Organic Standards Board/National Organic Program, Organic Foods Production Act OFPA, Regenerative, Uncategorized | No Comments »
02
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 2, 2024) There is a nascent capital investment effort in the transition to certified organic agriculture beginning to take hold across the U.S., something advocates say is critically needed to meet the current and escalating existential health threats, biodiversity decline, and climate emergency. Mad Agriculture has received early commitments from the Rockefeller Foundation, Builders Vision, and nearly a dozen other investors to contribute to the $50 million Perennial Fund II (PFII), to advance the growth of āregenerative organicā agriculture. Forbes is reporting that PFIIās primary objective is to jumpstart the organic land transition, given that this slice of U.S. agriculture makes up less than one percent of total farmland in the country relative to the European Unionās nearly 10 percent of total farmland. āWe commend the work of Mad Agriculture in harnessing the spirit of organic agriculture and mobilizing the private sector to invest in farmers who engage in regenerative organic agricultural practices,ā said Max Sano, organic program associate at Beyond Pesticides. In Rockefeller Foundationās press release announcing their early commitment, Mad Capital co-founder Brandon Welch spoke on their vision: āWe are aiming to build a bridge between two distant worlds that need one another to transition […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Corporations, General Mills, Glyphosate, Regenerative, soil health, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Wal-Mart | No Comments »
21
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 21, 2024) Alarming levels of a hazardous pesticide plant growth regulator linked to reproductive and developmental effects, chlormequat, is found in 90% of urine samples in people tested, raising concerns about exposure to a chemical that has never been registered for food use in the U.S. but whose residues are permitted on imported food. Published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology in February 2024 and led by Environmental Working Group toxicologist Alexis Temkin, PhD, a pilot study finds widespread chlormequat exposure to a sampling of people from across the country. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations only permit the use of chlormequat on ornamental plants and not food crops grown in the U.S. As explained in the journal article, āIn April 2018, the U.S. EPA published acceptable food tolerance levels for chlormequat chloride in imported oat, wheat, barley, and some animal products, which permitted the import of chlormequat into the U.S. food supply.ā In 2020, EPA increased the allowable level of chlormequat in food. Then in April 2023, EPA proposed allowing the first-ever U.S. use of chlormequat on barley, oat, triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), and wheat. Existing regulatory standards explain the […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, chemical sensitivity, Chemicals, chlormequat, contamination, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Infertility, multi-generational effects, Pesticide Mixtures, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Regenerative, Reproductive Health, Respiratory Diseases, Respiratory Problems, synergistic effects, Uncategorized | No Comments »
07
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 7, 2024) As the threats to health, biodiversity, and climate converge in agricultural policy and practices, the question of defining the fundamental changes necessary to reverse these existential crises takes on life-sustaining importance. Despite the existence of an organic community with governing stakeholders (farmers, consumers, conservationists, retailers, processors, inspectors, and scientists) that has evolved over at least seven decades and is codified in the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990, the term āregenerativeā is now increasingly being advanced as a loosely defined alternative to the organic standard and label, which is transparent, defined, certified, enforced, and subject to public input. The publication AgFunderNews (AFN) last month published its updated ā2024 list of agrifood corporates making regenerative agriculture commitments,ā a whoās who of the largest food and agribusiness corporations worldwide. The list includes companies such as ADM, Cargill, Danone, General Mills, Tyson, Unilever, Walmart, and more with commitments to millions of acres in their supply chain practicing āregenerativeā agriculture with target dates ranging from 2024 to 2050. The AFN author reporting on the āregenerativeā trend states, ā[O]ne big challenge is that āregenerative agricultureā still has no set definition. While that still holds true, the bigger observation in […]
Posted in Agriculture, California, Cargill, Climate, General Mills, Regenerative, soil health, TruGreen, Uncategorized, Wal-Mart | No Comments »
16
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 16, 2024)Ā A report released in January, US pesticide regulation is failing the hardest-hit communities. Itās time to fix it, finds āpeople of color and low-income communities in the United States and around the world continue to shoulder the societal burden of harmful pollution.ā More specifically, the authors state that āongoing environmental injustice is the disproportionate impact these communities suffer from pesticides, among the most widespread environmental pollutants.ā The report follows an earlier article by the same lead authors and others (see earlier coverage) on the long history of documented hazards and government failure to protect farmworkers from pesticide use in agriculture. In a piece posted by Beyond Pesticides earlier this week, the serious weaknesses in the worker protection standard for farmworkers are documented. Ā The latest report was led by Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity and Robert Bullard, known as the āFather of Environmental Justiceā and executive director of the Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University in Houston. In addition to these authors, the 2022 review was coauthored by Jeannie Economos of the Farmworker Association of Florida, Iris Figueroa of Farmworker Justice, Jovita […]
Posted in Agriculture, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Farmworkers, Occupational Health, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Pesticide Regulation, Uncategorized | No Comments »
07
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 7, 2024) Sun + Earth Certified (SEC), a West Coast third-party regenerative organic certifier of cannabis products, approved the first certification for an East Coast farm in Brattleboro, Vermont ā Rebel Grown. The expansion of independent certifications amidst the ongoing legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana usage raises questions on the regulation of toxic petrochemical pesticides found in a range of cannabis products. SEC does establish, in its standards, the use of ābiopesticides…[o]nly if the product brand name is approved for use in certified organic farming.ā Additionally, the label goes beyond the stringency of the National Organic Program in its policy on potassium bicarbonate as an approved input. For example, SEC standards dictate that this input should be, ā[f]or pest control as a last resort only… [and] only if the product brand name is approved for use in certified organic farming.ā Rebel Grownā the new farm that acquired the SEC label ā owner reported to Brattleboro Reformer, “Cannabis grown regeneratively, under the sun and in the soil, without toxic chemicals, is not only high quality but also the best for the earth.ā Before delving into the weeds, there is important legal context on current regulations regarding marijuana […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, California, Cannabis, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Poisoning, Regenerative, Uncategorized, Vermont | No Comments »
12
Sep
(Beyond Pesticides, September 11, 2023) A future supported by the natural environment depends on our effective involvement in decisions in our homes, communities, states, and at the federal level to ensure that we are taking the steps necessary to protect against existential threats to health, biodiversity, and climate. The 40th National Forum Series is an important opportunity to hear from those working as scientists, advocates, land managers (from gardens, parks, and play fields to farms), and public decision makers about steps being taken and action needed to prevent catastrophic collapse of the natural systems that sustain life. The goal of the Forumāto enable a collective strategy to address the existential health, biodiversity, and climate threats and chart a path for a livable and sustainable future. We come together to empower effective action. Ā We are honored to begin this year with two international experts in their fields as they discuss steps that can and must be taken in our communities around the globe: Internationally renowned researcher and author David Goulson, PhD, is able to draw together essential scientific research on the elements of nature that we must cherish, support, and enhance if we are to have a future. The data, […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
