The plan to release over 750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021 and 2022 has final approval from local authorities, despite objections from many local residents and environmental groups.

The proposal had already won state and federal approval.”With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment.

Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final permission needed. What could possibly go wrong? We don’t know, because EPA unlawfully refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further review of the risks, the experiment can proceed.

Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety

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This pilot project is designed to see if genetically engineered mosquitos are a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control the Aedes aegypti, also known as the yellow fever mosquito. This species carries several deadly diseases including Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

The GM mosquito has been named OX5034. It has been altered to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage before they can bite and spread disease.

These mosquitos are also approved to be released in Harris County, Texas according to Oxitec, the U.S.-owned, British-based company that developed the GMO.

Do you think these GM mosquitoes are a better choice than spraying pesticides? Or is there a better alternative?

The Food and Drug Administration approved biotechnology company AquaBounty’s application to make and sell genetically engineered salmon in 2015, and now a federal judge is on the verge of ordering the government agency to take another look. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria is presiding over a case filed by the Center for Food Safety against the salmon’s approval, and he expressed concerns on Tuesday that the FDA’s approval of the salmon could inspire AquaBounty to expand their AquaAdvantage salmon program without fully considering the ecological impacts of it.

I’m not saying it opens the floodgates or sets the standards, but perhaps it pushes us in a direction and future agency action will likely be informed by this agency action…Shouldn’t the FDA in this case have considered the fact that this was the first such facility and future decisions would be building on this facility?”

Judge Vince Chhabria

The AquaAdvantage salmon is the first genetically engineered food animal that the FDA has approved for raising and selling. The fish is a genetic mix of an ocean pout and Pacific Chinook salmon, a combination that leads to higher growth hormone in the blood. The company plans to breed the salmon at a hatchery on Prince Edward Island in Canada before moving the eggs to their facility in Indiana.

When the agency completed their assessment of the salmon, they listed the salmon as having “no significant impact,” and Department of Justice attorney Marissa Piropato said that…

AquaBounty has no guarantee that the FDA is going to accept whatever comes down the pike…”

Marissa Piropato

Environmental groups have a different take on the approval and current impact status of the modified salmon that echoed Judge Chhabria sentiments. The treatment and regulation of the AquaBounty salmon sets the precedent for the future of gentically engineered food animals.

Whatever they do here is going to inform the approval for those other applications and is going to inform what the FDA does for all GE animals going forward…If the analysis they are doing here is inadequate that means it’s never going to be enough. It’s not going to get better.”

Earthjustice attorney Brettny Hardy

A new study published in Environmental Science and Technology found microplastics in 100% of the seafood tested. Researchers acquired 10 oysters, 10 farmed tiger prawns, 10 wild squids, 10 sardines, and five wild blue crabs. All of the samples tested positive for at least trace levels of plastics, with varying amounts of plastic in each type of seafood. Sardines had the highest levels of plastic.

The study found that in an average serving of seafood, a person could consume approximately 0.7mg of plastic when eating oysters or squid, and up to 30mg of plastic in an average serving of sardines. A grain of rice weighs 30mg, on average.

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“From the edible marine species tested, sardines had the highest plastic content, which was a surprising result,” Riberio told the University of Queensland. “Another interesting aspect was the diversity of microplastic types found among species, with polyethylene predominant in fish and polyvinyl chloride the only plastic detected in oysters.”

Seafood Study Finds Plastic in 100% of Samples

Polyethylene, the most popular plastic in the world, was the most common plastic found in the samples. Plastics commonly end up in the ocean where they breakdown into tiny pieces called microplastics. Microplastics are absorbed by plankton and eaten by other marine life and are carried through the food chain. Microplastics are in everything, from the food we eat to the rainwater.

Mexico has joined the growing list of 21 countries that have banned or restricted glyphosate. Mexico’s Environment Ministry is known as the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). They announced that glyphosate-based herbicides must be phased out by 2024 for the protection of human health and the environment.

In the United States, Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide. EWG says more than 250 million tons are used on American farmland each year.

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Given the scientific evidence of glyphosate toxicity, demonstrating the impacts on human health and the environment, the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) has taken important steps to gradually reduce the use of this chemical until it achieves a total ban in 2024.

Sustainable Pulse translated and published

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Glyphosate is one of the most toxic, widely used weed-killers today. Glyphosate has been linked to changes in the gut microbiome, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and hormone disruption. While the International Agency for Research on Cancer has labeled glyphosate a probable carcinogen, the EPA maintains that it does not pose a threat to public health.

Glyphosate also poses an environmental threat. Studies have shown that glyphosate could pose a threat to the honey bee population, damaging their specialized bacteria in their gut. The damages caused to the bees have also shown to make the bees more susceptible to harmful pathogens, and affect their migration patterns.

This is likely just the tip of the iceberg. The effects of glyphosate on the environment and surrounding ecosystems are largely unknown, as not enough research has been conducted.

A new study has shown that going organic can reduce the levels of glyphosate, in both children and adults, by more than 70% after 5 days of eating organic.

It’s egregious that our government is allowing pesticide corporations to profit off of poisoning us when we know that organic farming works. These are chemicals that do not need to be in our bodies,” Klein said. “An entire system is invested in continuing pesticide intensive agriculture, while our farmers are fighting for pennies to do the research they need to support them to expand organic farming.

– Organic diets quickly reduce the amount of glyphosate in people’s bodies

Out of a total of 158 urine samples, 94% and 97% of samples tested positive for Glyphosate and AMPA, respectively. Children were shown to have nearly 5 times more glyphosate in their bodies than adults.

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

While glyphosate levels dropped radically after days on an all-organic diet, glyphosate can remain in the body through bone and bone marrow.

Additionally, the family’s organic diets were all varied and were essentially just organic versions of what they already ate. Imagine what their glyphosate levels would have looked like had they seen an increase in organic vegetable consumption, and were actively trying to detoxify from glyphosate.

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Glyphosate can still be found in organic food. There is glyphosate everywhere, in yards, school grounds, and parks all over the world. It’s unavoidable. If you’re concerned about your exposure to glyphosate, you should be living a lifestyle that promotes detoxification on a regular basis. We start off every day with a big salad, with lots of diversity, and drink lots of cranberry lemonade

One of the largest contributors to the declining bee population in recent years has been linked to neonicotinoids, an insecticide not unlike nicotine. At this point, it is well known that bees are absolutely critical to our survival, as they are responsible for pollinating upwards of 70% of the crops that make up 90% of our diet.

In addition to the damage done to the bee population, a new study in Nature Sustainability has shown that neonicotinoids are also causing a drop in the bird population.

While bird populations have been steadily dropping anyway — the authors note that the bird population in the United States has dropped by an estimated 29 percent since 1970 — the researchers were able to separate out the general drop in bird biodiversity from the specific drop that appeared to be due to neonicotinoid spraying. 

The pesticide that caused bee colonies to collapse is killing birds now

Neonicotinoids are used at a much lower rate than non-neonicotinoids, but they are radically more toxic to the environment. Birds are able to ingest neonicotinoids when they eat crop seeds or insects, and there is a correlation between the consumption of the pesticide and a decline in bird populations.

The study found that a 100kg increase in neonicotinoid use per county resulted in a 2.2% decrease in grassland bird population, and a 1.4% decrease in non-grassland bird population as well as a 1.6% decrease in insectivorous bird population and 1.5% decrease in non-insectivorous birds. The effects of these pesticides become larger over time as there are fewer and fewer birds able to mate and reproduce.

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As further evidence, scientists also found a positive correlation between a decrease in neonicotinoid usage and the bird population.

After ingesting the pesticide, birds lost weight and waited longer to migrate. Neonicotinoids have also had a negative effect on the reproduction of both birds and bees.

As I’m sure you can imagine, any chemical that is toxic to birds and bees, and other insect life, is also toxic to humans.

A new study done by UNICEF and Pure Earth shows that 1 in 3 children have dangerous levels of lead in their bloodstream. In the study, 800 million children had lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter, or more, in their bloodstream.

Lead pollution can cause mental and physical damage and can impair development of the nervous system, the brain, and many vital organs. The longer lead is undetected in the bloodstream, the more dangerous it becomes.

The unequivocal conclusion of this research is that children around the world are being poisoned by lead on a massive and previously unrecognized scale.

Nearly one in three children have dangerous amounts of lead in bloodstream: study

The CDC, as well as the WHO, have cited inadequate battery recycling as well as open-air smelters as large contributors to lead pollution. The study, in addition to the disposal of lead batteries, pointed to peeling paint with lead in it, electronic waste dumps laced with lead, and food contamination from lead glazed pottery.

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Lead batteries are likely one of the biggest contributors, nearly 85% of all lead used going into battery production. Europe and the U.S recycle more than 95% of their batteries. Unfortunately, developing countries don’t always have the funds or facilities to properly recycle batteries.

If you’re looking for a way to detox from toxins such as lead, check out this article on how to detox cheap and easy without fasting.