People in the U.S. have another reason to stay in the house, as the highly aggressive Giant Asian Hornet has invaded Washington State. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) confirmed the first sightings of the venomous hornets in the United States in December 2019. Giant hornet populations have been decimating beehives, as a few hornets can destroy a beehive in hours. The WSDA has issued an advisory.

Use extreme caution near Asian giant hornets. The stinger of the Asian giant hornet is longer than that of a honeybee and the venom is more toxic than any local bee or wasp. Typical beekeeping protective clothing is not sufficient to protect you from stings. If you find a colony, do not attempt to remove or eradicate it. Report it to WSDA immediately. Anyone who is allergic to bee or wasp stings should never approach an Asian giant hornet.”

WSDA

Recommended: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Giant Asian Hornet stings are extremely painful and cause 30-50 deaths in Japan every year. Hornet venom contains mandaratoxin, a neurotoxin, and stings have caused kidney failure, anaphylactic shock, and multiple organ failure in extreme cases. Those who have been stung by the hornet say it “feels like having a hot nail punched into you.”

These “murder hornets” are 2 inches long, and will be extremely detrimental to honeybee populations in the U.S. Japanese bee populations have developed defense mechanisms to limit damage from Giant Asian Hornets, but it is unlikely honeybees will be able to evolve coping mechanisms in time.

Related: Is Your Honey Actually Honey?

Sources

• Great, Now Invasive ‘Murder Hornets’ Are a Thing to Worry About – Earther
• ‘Murder Hornet’, Invasive Insect From Asia, Spotted in U.S. for the First Time – Interesting Engineering

President Trump’s recent executive order to keep meat and poultry processing plants open during the COVID-19 pandemic might not be enough to keep farmers from culling their herds. Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota, told a CNN reporter, Manu Raju, that farmers will have to kill 60,00 to 70,000 pigs a day due to the lack of processing plants.

I think you are going to see some grocery stores have shortages of pork next week…(if shutdowns continue) you can end up running out of pork completely.”

Collin Peterson, House Agriculture Chairman

While consumers will be dealing with pork shortages, farmers will have to find a way to dispose of the hogs. There are serious environmental and health implications for each of the disposal methods available to farmers, which include burning, burying, and composting.

Recommended: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Burning the pig carcasses creates air pollution. After a 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak in the U.K. necessitated the slaughter of 6.5 million animals, researchers calculated that every burned pig carcass generated around three pounds of particulate matter. Burial is the cheapest option, but the carcasses release liquid that leaches into the water supply. Nitrates are particularly toxic to infants at high levels. Composting is the most eco-friendly method of the three, but it requires resources that farmers may not be able to easily locate. Management of the composting will require a subject expert and enough carbon-rich material like sawdust or leaves.

If the food supply chain breaks down, the dichotomy will be painful. Farmers will continue to produce food, but without a way to process it, consumers will be unable to purchase it.

Sources

• As slaughterhouses close, farmers may have to cull thousands of hogs a day. Those carcasses need to go somewhere—and there are no good options – The Counter
• Trump is keeping meatpacking plants open — but employees are scared to show up for work – Vox

Officials say that COVID-19 weakens faster when exposed to high heat, humidity, and sunlight. The virus does well in indoor and dry conditions. This indicates that it is likely the virus will spread less in the summer, similar to the flu and other respiratory illnesses. It is very likely that after the initial outbreak we will have a “coronavirus season” like “Flu season”. Despite this hope, there have been some warm climate areas that were hit very hard by the coronavirus. On surfaces that are non- porous in dark, low- humidity areas like stainless steel, COVID-19 takes 18 hours to lose its strength by 50%. In high humidity areas, that time is shortened to six hours, and in areas with high humidity and sunlight combined, it becomes two minutes.

Related: Related: Sold Out – How To Get Vitamin C (Recipe/DIY)

Additionally, research has shown that Isopropyl alcohol is more effective as a disinfectant than bleach. A quick google search brought up no headlines reporting this, and in fact, the top article is titled “CNN reported “Bleach and sunlight might kill the coronavirus on a park bench but they can be harmful to the body” But I’m sure this is just a coincidence and has nothing to do with the power of the Clorox company.

Source:

• Sunlight, heat, and humidity weaken coronavirus, U.S. official says -Reuters

In recent weeks, the World Health Organization has received a lot of attention, most recently when President Trump decided to cut funding from WHO in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. The president cut funding while claiming that WHO is mismanaging and covering up the full extent of the coronavirus spread.

Related: Google Removed Natural Health Websites From Search Results – List of Alternative Search Engines

Recently, Wikileaks has posted about the WHO on social media, sharing confidential documents released more than a decade ago. The documents point to the influence that “Big Pharma” has over the WHO.

The compilation of documents shows the influence of “Big Pharma” on the policymaking decisions of the WHO, the UN body safeguarding public health. These confidential documents were obtained by the drug industry before their public release to WHO member states.”

Big Pharma inside the WHO: confidential analysis of unreleased WHO Expert Working Group draft reports, 8 Dec 2009

“Big Pharma” has a similar influence over Congress in D.C, making up the largest lobbying group in Washington. Large pharmaceutical companies have more lobbyists in Washington D.C than D.C has congressmen and senators. Despite the obvious hold on our government and the World Health Organization, this corruption isn’t highlighted in mainstream media.

Source:

• Wikileaks Highlights The Influence “Big Pharma” Has On The World Health Organization -Collective Evolution

As COVID-19 deaths in the United States finally pass the 1 million mark, another population will see a decline of twice that many. Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc announced that poultry plants in Delaware and Maryland will “depopulate” (humanely kill) 2 million chickens due to a lack of workers at processing plants. Typically depopulation is used when there is an infectious disease outbreak. Allen Harim, the poultry processor planning on depopulating its birds, informed growers of the decision in a letter circulated on Facebook.

Related: Economic Recession Will Likely Kill More Children Than Total Coronavirus Death Toll

When we started noticing the downward trend in attendance, we reduced the number of eggs set and chicks placed. Unfortunately, reduced placements will not make an impact for another six weeks, and with the continued attendance decline, and building bird inventory daily, we are forced to make a very difficult decision.

Starting Friday, April 10, we will begin depopulating flocks in the field. If your flock is chosen, we will reach out to you and provide further details. Growers, whose flocks we depopulate, will be fairly compensated by Allen Harim.

Michele V. Minton, Director of Live Operations

Recommended: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Allen Harim was previously in the news in February when one of their plants was shut down for failing to comply with regulatory sanitary conditions requirements. The plant was closed for four days before it reopened.

The depopulation of healthy birds due to a lack of processing capabilities further supports the full-page ad placed in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by Tyson Foods.

Millions of animals – chickens, pigs, and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities. The food supply chain is breaking…”

John Tyson, CEO of Tyson Foods

The USDA is purchasing 3 billion dollars in produce, dairy, and meat from farmers in attempts to reduce food waste and stabilize the markets. Even with these measures, meat prices will likely rise from 1% to 3% as a result of the pandemic shutdown.

Sources:

• 2 million chickens will be killed in Delaware and Maryland because of lack of employees at processing plants – CNN
• Allen Harim chicken plant reopens, yet ‘sanitary conditions’ that closed it remain unknown – Poultry Producer
• Tyson Foods chairman warns ‘food supply chain is breaking’ as coronavirus forces plant closures – CNBC

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, German company Bayer has shown increases in earnings in its first quarter. Despite a rise in earnings, Bayer is using the current economic downturn to avoid paying for glyphosate damages. In a statement released last Monday Bayer says the mediation process has been significantly slowed down due to the coronavirus.

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

Bayer credits its rise in earnings to those stockpiling drugs due to the pandemic. Despite the rise in earnings, the operating cash flow has decreased from 1 billion euros in the previous year to 189 million due to settlements.

The company will consider a deal only if it is financially reasonable and puts in place a mechanism to resolve potential future claims efficiently. This applies now more than ever,”

Werner Baumann, Cheif Executive

The number of plaintiffs in the U.S blaming glyphosate for cancer has risen 52,500 since its 48,600 in February. Bayer continues to deny claims that Roundup or glyphosate, the active ingredient, causes cancer, citing several independent studies that show it’s safe for human use.

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Source:

• Bayer more stringent in glyphosate settlement talks due to downturn– Reuters

Public Health England is recommending that people take vitamin D supplements in an effort to protect themselves from COVID-19. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is necessary for healthy bones, teeth, and muscles and boosts immune system health. Exposure to sunlight allows your body to manufacture its own vitamin D, and the British government is concerned that the increased time spent indoors during the pandemic and out of the sun will leave people at a greater risk to the virus.

Related: Sold Out – How To Get Vitamin C (Recipe/DIY)

Unfortunately, as the effects of coronavirus continue, many of us are limited in the time we can spend outdoors. Correctly abiding by government rules and staying at home is immensely important and, while many of us have limited access to sunlight, this means we need to take a little extra care to keep our vitamin D levels healthy.”

Sara Stanner, British Nutrition Foundation

There has been no evidence to suggest that vitamin D is effective in treating coronavirus. But low levels of vitamin D have been associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as viral and bacterial infections. Vitamin D deficiency is already an issue for 42% of Americans.

Related: Supplements To Defend Against Coronavirus

Sources:

• Can Vitamin D Lower Your Risk of COVID-19? – Healthline
• Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Associated Risk Factors in the US Population (2011-2012) – NCBI