Trump Administration Lifted Ban On GMOs and Bee-killing Chemicals In Wildlife Refuges
Some of our protected wildlife refugees allow for limited agricultural activities if growing a certain crop in the area would improve the ecosystem. In 2014, under Obama, the National Wildlife Refuge System announced it would phase out GMO seeds and neonicotinoid pesticides (which are linked to declining bee populations) in protected wildlife refuges.
In August, Donald Trump ‘s administration reversed this policy for wildlife refuges. This will affect more than 50 wildlife refuges in the U.S. (out of a total of 560).
Reuters reports that Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Greg Sheehan claims:
“…the move was needed to ensure adequate forage for migratory birds, including ducks and geese – favored and hunted by sportsmen on many of the nation’s refuges. U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose department oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service, has made expansion of hunting on public lands a priority for his agency.”
Mr Sheehan also claims that GMO crops were necessary to “maximise production.”
Study Shows Cell Phone Towers Harmful To Animals, Plants – 5G Will Be Much Worse
Electromagnetic Radiation From Power Lines and Cell Towers Disorientates Birds, Insects, Affects Plant Health
EKLIPSE is a UK based organization that aims to, “…improve the integration of emerging issues into policy development related to or impacting on biodiversity and ecosystem services.” The Telegraph reports that the nonprofit research group analyzed 97 studies and came to the conclusion that radiation from power lines, wi-fi, broadcast transmitters, and cellular towers pose a “credible risk” to wildlife and also degrades plant health. They warn that the upcoming 5G rollout could cause greater harm.
Animals including birds, mammals, insects and many others use the earth’s geomagnetic field as a magnetic compass. The EKLIPSE report showed that the magnetic orientation of birds, insects, spiders, and other animals including mammals can be disrupted by electromagnetic radiation. The report also established that these radiations also have an adverse effect on plant metabolism.
The report stated that “…serious impacts on the environment could not be ruled out.” They are asking for 5G transmitters to be placed away from areas where placement is likely to harm wildlife. The UK charity Buglife, after reviewing the report, is suggesting that 5g transmitters not be placed near LED street lamps, due to the fact that these lights attract insects and would thereby increase their exposure to the radiation.
The authors of the review concluded that there is
…an urgent need to strengthen the scientific basis of the knowledge on EMR and their potential impacts on wildlife.
… In particular, there is a need to base future research on sound, high-quality, replicable experiments so that credible, transparent and easily accessible evidence can inform society and policy-makers to make decisions and frame their policies.”
Matt Shardlow, CEO of Buglife, brought up a very good point:
We apply limits to all types of pollution to protect the habitability of our environment, but as yet, even in Europe, the safe limits of electromagnetic radiation have not been determined, let alone applied.”
This isn’t the first report on potential dangers with Electromagnetic Radiation.
A study from 2010 suggested that this electromagnetic radiation may be accelerating or causing a decline of certain animal and insect populations.
In the mid-1990s the cell phone industry commissioned a comprehensive research group called Wireless Technology Research to study cell phone health concerns. Dr. George Carlo oversaw the research. The commission started to reveal that there were serious health concerns with cell phone usage and then the industry decided to bury the results.
Researchers have been sounding the alarm for years.
The main health concern with electromagnetic radiation emitted by smart meters and other wireless technologies is that EMF and RF cause a breakdown in the communication between cells in the body, interrupting DNA repair and weakening tissue and organ function. These are the findings of Dr. George Carlo, who oversaw a comprehensive research group commissioned by the cell phone industry in the mid-1990s.” – James F. Tracy
Monsanto Lost! Ordered to Pay $289 million in California Roundup Cancer Trial
Today (Friday, August 10th) a California jury found Monsanto liable for causing cancer and ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages. The jury at San Francisco’s Superior Court of California deliberated for three days. The lawsuit was filed by Dewayne Johnson, who alleges that the company’s glyphosate-based weed-killers, including Roundup, are responsible for his cancer.
Johnson’s doctors testified that he is probably not going to live past 2020. Johnson is 46. He worked for a California county school system where he reportedly applied the weed killer up to 30 times per year for pest-control.
This was the first lawsuit to make it to trial that alleges that glyphosate does cause cancer. Monsanto was recently bought by Bayer AG for $65 billion. The German conglomerate faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits in the United States.
The jury awarded Dewayne Johnson $39 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages. Dwayne was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October of 2014, and with a “more aggressive form of the cancer” in March 2015.
Exposure to environmentally relevant doses of a glyphosate-based herbicide during pregnancy has been found not only to impair female fertility in rats…Argentinian researchers tested the glyphosate-based herbicide – one commonly used in Argentina – in pregnant female rats at two doses, which were added to their food. The rats were mated and dosed from the 9th day after conception until their pups were weaned. This first generation of offspring and their offspring in turn (second generation) were followed and monitored for reproductive effects.”
Johnson’s case was filed in 2016. The case was fast-tracked for trial due to the severity of his cancer.
FILE PHOTO: Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson listens as attorney Brent Wisner (out of frame) speaks about his condition during the Monsanto trial in San Francisco, California, U.S., July 09, 2018. Josh Edelson/Pool via Reuters/File Photo
Meat and Dairy Industry On Course To Contribute More Global pollution Than OIL Companies
Within the next few decades, Big Meat and Big Dairy will surpass Big Oil for climate pollution, according to a new study by the non-profits GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The jointly published study quantified emissions from 35 of the world’s largest meat and dairy companies.
The non-profit researches analyzed 35 of the meat and dairy industry’s biggest companies. The researchers warned that meat and dairy companies will overtake oil firms as the world’s biggest polluters. The authors of the study say that factory meat and dairy farms are ‘majorly overlooked climate culprits.
According to the report, the five largest meat and dairy corporations—JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America, and Fonterra—are already responsible for more annual greenhouse gas emissions than ExxonMobil, Shell, or BP.
They also found that businesses did a poor job reporting their emissions and targets, and many failed to report emissions entirely or excluded supply chain figures, which amount to 80 to 90 percent of total emissions.
Watch the video below to see how the meat industry could actually help reduce climate change.
FDA Loophole That Allows Farmers To Administer Antibiotics Indefinitely
Antibiotics benefit farmers by speeding up the time it takes livestock to be ready for slaughter. Cows and chickens and other livestock grow faster with antibiotic use than they would otherwise. For cattle, the time from birth to slaughter can be cut in half. But antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria like e.coli can be pathogenic to humans and even deadly. Farm water runoff and animal waste are damaging our ecosystems in a myriad of ways. Consequently, in 2017 the FDA was compelled to act.
The C.D.C. states that 23,000 Americans die each year due to antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and they estimate that more than 400,000 United States residents become ill with infections caused by antibiotic-resistant food-borne bacteria every year. They believe that one in five of these antibiotic-resistant infections may be caused by pathogens from food and animals.
In 2017, the Food and Drug Administration enacted rules that prohibited antibiotics from being used for growth promotion in livestock. Previously these antibiotics could be purchased over the counter but the new rules require a prescription from a veterinarian.
Despite the ban, it’s widely believed that ranchers still use antibiotics to speed growth. The F.D.A. rules have a glaring loophole: farmers can use antibiotics for disease prevention.
You don’t even need a sick animal in the herd to use antibiotics in the feed and water as long as the justification is ‘disease prevention’ not ‘growth promotion,’ ” Avinash Kar, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council
Our health depends on our gut’s ecosystem. Antibiotics, vaccinations, glyphosate, and GMOs are known to disrupt the bacteria in our gut. If you eat meat, we recommend careful consideration regarding who your buy meat from.
Surprising Truths About Legalizing Cannabis (video)
In 2012, Colorado legalized cannabis and kickstarted a multibillion-dollar industry with every product imaginable — brownies, gummy bears, granola bars, even lube! But to say that we’ve “legalized cannabis” is mistaken — we’ve commercialized THC. In this fascinating talk, expert Ben Cort examines the impacts of this growing new industry on everything from policing & arrest rates to LGBTQ issues. Sober since 1996, Ben Cort has seen the devastation that substance abuse can bring first hand as well as the joy that is recovery. He spent the last 10 years inside nonprofit drug treatment and education programs like Phoenix Multisport, Stout Street Foundation, and The University of Colorado Hospital. He is the author of Weed, INC., a professional speaker, and a frequent guest in the media. Ben is a husband, father of three, and an avid sportsman. He enjoys fly fishing, hunting, mountaineering, and bike racing.
Takeaways:
CBD is where most of the medical benefits are, but we prefer the psychoactive THC
The cannabis we use is not “natural,” it’s far too high in THC
Beware of the chemical being used to grow the plants
Rich white people are controlling the market
Denver’s pot business caters mostly to low-income, minority neighborhoods
Marijuana-related youth arrest rates have increased among minorities
New Study Shows Glyphosate Does Cause Tumors and Birth Defects, and More
Exposure to relatively small amounts of a glyphosate-based herbicide has been found to impair fertility in rats and cause birth defects including retardation and malformation in second generation offspring, according to a new study from Argentina.
Argentinian researchers added glyphosate to the rat’s food. They administered the herbicide in two doses. The lower dose was 2 mg per kg of body weight daily, which is supposed to be safe to ingest on a daily basis over a lifetime.
A reference dose (RfD), or estimate of daily exposure that would not cause adverse effects throughout a lifetime, of 2 mg/kg/day has been proposed for glyphosate, based on the developmental toxicity studies described above.” – EPA
The higher dose of glyphosate was 200 mg per kg of body weight daily. Industry reports claim that up to 100mg per kg daily have no adverse effects. At the studied dosages, the rats in either category should not have come under any harm. But as GM Watch reports,
Exposure to environmentally relevant doses of a glyphosate-based herbicide during pregnancy has been found not only to impair female fertility in rats…Argentinian researchers tested the glyphosate-based herbicide – one commonly used in Argentina – in pregnant female rats at two doses, which were added to their food. The rats were mated and dosed from the 9th day after conception until their pups were weaned. This first generation of offspring and their offspring in turn (second generation) were followed and monitored for reproductive effects.”
Glyphosate-based herbicides did seem to damage the embryo or cause abnormal maternal or nursing behaviors. It did not alter weight gain for the first generation offspring. All glyphosate-exposed first generation female rats were impregnated, but they had fewer “implantation sites of fertilized eggs,” compared with the non-glyphosate-fed control rats. The subsequent generation of offspring from both the low-dose and the higher-dose glyphosate exposed groups had delayed growth and abnormally small fetuses.
But that’s not all.
Malformations occurred within the higher-dose population in the second generation of offspring, including conjoined fetuses and abnormally developed limbs.
F2 offspring from both GBH groups showed delayed growth, evidenced by lower fetal weight and length, associated with a higher incidence of small for gestational age fetuses. In addition, higher placental weight and placental index were found in F2 offspring from GBH-HD dams. Surprisingly, structural congenital anomalies (conjoined fetuses and abnormally developed limbs) were detected in the F2 offspring from GBH-HD group. In conclusion, perinatal exposure to low doses of a GBH impaired female reproductive performance and induced fetal growth retardation and structural congenital anomalies in F2 offspring.” – Study: Perinatal exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide impairs female reproductive outcomes and induces second-generation adverse effects in Wistar rats
