Avaaz, a global network that opts for the planet and for the poor, is trying to "build a buzz" around the world's disappearing bee populations. Their new petition campaign aims at a particular group of pesticides used in the U.S. Strong independent evidence suggests that neonicotinoid pesticides disrupt the central nervous systems of bees, causing their inability to navigate back to the hive, and quite possibly explains the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the sudden and alarming disappearance of U.S. bees which began around 2005-6.
Here is a six and a half minute video about the EPA awareness of serious flaws in the study supporting the use of this pesticide clothianidin, yet its conditional approval has allowed its use since 2003.
The video includes other helpful sources of information, as do the citations on the avaaz petition site. One of the sources, an article in Business Insider magazine from October 12, 2010 notes the connection between Bayer (German company exporting large amounts of the suspicious pesticides to the US), and a key bee researcher, regarding another Bayer neonicotinoid called Imidacloprid.
The USDA estimates bees' value at $15 billion, extending to about 130 crops. We need the bees, and they need us! Not just for the fabulous sweetness of honey, but even more importantly for our entire food supply. Take action today.
Bemoaning misguided city folk who don't care where their food comes from, Uncle Dale says they should take stock in Monsanto, DuPont, or Mosaic (formerly Cargill), whose aim is to feed a growing world population.
I love my uncle and I gotta agree with his assertion that too many people do not have regard for where their food comes from, but this particular misguided city person is hyper-aware that knowing where it comes from is a most desirable goal. Truth be told, knowing Monsanto et al. have their fingers in it, gives me absolutely no sense of security. Hey! I could make money on stocks from a company that is polluting the carefully developed rice strains in India, China, or Missouri, with genetically modified experiments? Count me out. Whether these types of products are healthy or not, aren't we awake enough to recognize time-and-time-again that the interests of multinational corporations are primarily in generating profits for their shareholders? Naturally they would not favor an accident happening--eek the lawsuits--so of course they would do research and make an effort to keep any negative effects on the down low. The hairs on the backs of our necks have cause to rise in instinctual caution.
About testing the GM food for safety, Monsanto (on their website) poo-poo's any reason for that, There is no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM foods in humans. So long as the introduced protein is determined safe, food from GM crops determined to be substantially equivalent is not expected to pose any health risks. Further, it is impossible to design a long-term safety test in humans, which would require, for example, intake of large amounts of a particular GM product over a very large portion of the human life span. There is simply no practical way to learn anything via human studies of whole foods. This is why no existing food--conventional or GM--or food ingredient/additive has been subjected to this type of testing.
This is the same company which explains on their own website how damages caused to soldiers exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam (manufactured by Monsanto and other chemical companies) wasn't their responsibility, because they were just giving the U.S. government what they asked for. So if the U.S. government finds GM food to be unhealthy for the environment, would their response be to reject it? Wouldn't matter, because it's the fault of the farmers who had to have it to keep up with the trend of ridiculously high yields, despite potential of danger to health of children and other living things. Monsanto?..shoot, they're just giving us what we "want". This is the same company who declares their product, Roundup, to be safe, despite studies indicating genetic damage, endocrine disruption, environmental damage,... (See scientific journal references from this Wikipedia article, including the journal Toxicology, Chemical Research in Toxicology, Contemporary Endocrinology, and Environmental Health Perspectives, among others). Where does your food come from? Is it trucked at great expense across thousands of miles of land and sea? Does its growth disrupt local crops and previously balanced ecosystems in other communities? Has the technology creating the corn, rice, or soy product you use been tested for consumption safety? Are the chickens, cows, and pigs that bring you dining pleasure genuine living creatures, or miniature toxic companies? The price is more extensive than what shows up on the scanner at the supermarket. But could it lead to talking produce?...
While you're surfing the internet, have a look at this article by April Davila about going "Nonsanto" for a month.
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