Thank you 700 times, and pesticide Tweets…
Posted by Gavin on March 02, 2010 in Global issues
If you didn’t know it already, we use Twitter, and we now have more than 700 followers - for this we would like to say a big thank you to all.
If you don’t use Twitter, you might not be aware of how useful it can be as a resource for information and good ideas. Here’s a collection of pesticide information from tweets from us, and tweets we’ve re-tweeted from the past few days. Enjoy!
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Via @cropprotection
News of the EU’s ‘REAL Fake’ competition to raise awareness of the dangers and problems associated with counterfeit and fake products - recognised as a great opportunity for EU agricultural schools to explore counterfeit pesticide issues.
Read more: http://bit.ly/an1svn
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Via @pdjmoo
Germany: New sensing technology from bats and insects helps farmers reduce fertilizer and pesticide use - impressive.
Read more: http://ow.ly/1bQ0D
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Via @ThePhoenixSun
An article exploring the health implications of pesticide drift, and the problems of regulating drift.
Read more: http://bit.ly/9xFbmx
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Via @pesticideinfo
Food organisations form working groups to tackle impact of pesticides legislation - a response to the UK consultation for the Sustainable Use Directive.
Read more: http://bit.ly/9F4Zqk
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Via @pesticideinfo
Food Scare Over Toxic Cowpeas Spreads in China - reporting on the detection of harmful chemical residues on Chinese produce.
Read more: http://bit.ly/cZUcmO
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Via @TheAngryindian & @GMWatch
Is WWF the only international green group to be picketed by its peers? An article describing critism of WWF for their involvement in spy production in Latin America.
Read more: http://bit.ly/c2wXPF
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Via @cropprotection
Pesticide red tape may prove ‘a blight on potato sector’. UK concern over the potential impact of new pesticide legislation on potato yeilds.
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Via @pesticideinfo
Colony Collapse Disorder: the real crisis ahead, ‘agricultural collapse disorder…’. A view that bee Colony Collapse Disorder is infact casued by the nature of bee farming.
Read more: http://bit.ly/bzGcJg
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Via @canadaguy
Children in Latin American countries found exposed to DDT - a legacy of anit-malaria pesticide use.
Read more: http://www.enn.com/health/article/41028
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Via @pesticideinfo
Tomatoes that taste like Holland, farming with scorpions, & at least one goodreason why you should not taste pesticides. Actually the previous post on this blog - when you’re done here, why not have a read.
Read more: http://bit.ly/aDuR1Y
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Via @HealthandEnv
NGO facing legal challenge after apparently discovering unacceptable pesticide levels in wine.
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Via @scgardeningnews
Cultural controls are best, but if you must spray, use less toxic insecticides. Some basic advice on home and garden pesticide use.
Read more: http://bit.ly/LpNYO
Some of our followers…
RSS
Comments(0)Follow the debate on the FSA organic report
Posted by Phil on August 07, 2009 in Environment, Food & health, Global issues
The debate around organic has boiled up over the week after the release of the FSA’s study (see our last post below.) Here are some articles published this week on the topic. Do feel free to comment or recommend other news and articles.
Press
- Argument is about capitalism, not food (The Guardian)
- It’s wrong to believe that nature is always best (The Guardian)
- Organic food debate boils over (The Independent)
- BBC snubs organic food as it teaches us how to eat well (The Daily Express)
- Les défenseurs du bio rapellent son role écologique (Le Monde)
- Misleading claims on the credentials of food marketed as organic (The Daily Telegraph)
- Organics sector hits back in nutrition row (Freshinfo)
- Organic food contains toxic natural pesticides (The Times)
Blogs
- UK FSA’s organic study confusing and inconclusive? (The Green Room blog)
- Slate: Organic vs. Conventional? Too Complex… (Organic Nation)
- Organic food has no health or nutrition benefits, FSA study finds (VitalRead)
- Study Finds Organic Foods Not More Nutritous (Pays to Live Green)
- Nature’s Path CEO Responds to Organic Food Study Results (DailyBlender)
- Is There a Change Afoot in How Organics Are Marketed? (GreenBiz)
UK Food Standards Agency: organic not healthier. Reactions from the press and blogosphere.
Posted by Phil on August 03, 2009 in Food & health
An independent review published by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) concludes that there are no differences in nutrition content or other health benefits between food produced using organic methods and that grown using scientific agriculture (read the FSA’s new release here). It will come as no surprise to anyone that the report has sparked a heated debate in the press and the blogosphere! Please find below a small selection of press articles and blog posts from across the divide discussing the report. Do feel free to comment or to recommend further articles by clicking on the tab above.
Press
Organic food is not healthier, says FSA (The Guardian)
Don’t write off organic food (The Daily Telegraph)
Organic food ‘no healthier than conventional’ (The Independent)
Organic has no health benefits (BBC)
Les bénéfices du «bio» en question (Le Figaro)
Il biologico? Fa bene solo a chi lo produce (La Stampa)
Blogs
Organic Versus Conventional Food: UK Report Flawed (Huffington Post)
News Report: Organic food no healthier, but is that all that matters… (Daily Cup of Yoga)
Organic Isn’t Healthier, But People Will Keep Buying (Humblement)
Organic Food Trash? Or Just Trashing Organic Food? (Unbossed)
Organic Versus Conventional Food: UK Report Flawed (Civil Eats)
Will you still shop organic after the publication of the FSA findings? (Ooffoo)
Joanna Blythman: Please Read the Data Appendices About Organic Food Before Conjuring ‘Cancerous Conspiracies’: Part 1 (Holford Watch)
Organic no better says FSA (Grow organic food)
Recent articles on pesticides and related topics
Posted by Phil on July 27, 2009 in Environment, European Regulation, Farming, Food & health, Global issues
Please find below some recent articles on pesticides and related topics. Do feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.
- The Three A’s of Food Security (Sciencebase blog)
- Differing patterns in food price falls (BBC)
- French village goes organic one day a week (3News)
- EU survey reveals poor state of biodiversity (Euractiv)
- EU farm subsidies ‘inconsistent’ with global food security (Euractiv)
- Sweden introduces climate labelling for food (Euractiv)
- World food prices: Whatever happened to the food crisis? (The Economist)
- Agriculture Demand Outpacing Honeybee Increase, Researchers Say (Bloomberg)
- EFSA publishes report on pesticide residues in food (Food Production Daily)
- Forum on the Future of Agriculture goes on the road… (Blogactiv)
Recent press on pesticides
Posted by Helen Dunnett on January 03, 2009 in Environment, Farming, Food & health, Global issues
Some recent articles on pesticides and related topics. Feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.
- Agri-food sector to assess its environmental footprint (EurActiv)
- Is Local Food Better? (EurActiv)
- Vote for future of farming in EU (Farmers Guardian)
- Co-op donation creates buzz around British black bees (Guardian)
- Green Revolution Key to food Security in Africa (European Water News)
- Climate change ‘killing coral triangle’ (Telegraph)
- Threat to European biodiversity ‘as serious as climate change’ (The Optimum population trust blog)
- Pesticides: Operator Safety Is Paramount (ScienceDaily)
- Consumers are savvy about organic food (Financial Times)
- EU agricultural research to tackle food security (Euractiv)
- French organic food sales rise 25 pct in 2008 (Reuters)
- Demand for emergency food rises (BBC)
Some posts on pesticides from around the blogosphere
Posted by Helen Dunnett on October 29, 2008 in Environment, European Regulation, Farming, Food & health
For those readers who don’t regularly check out the posts by other bloggers that prop up in our Netvibes Universe, here’s a sample from the last month or so that might be of interest.
Rob Edwards writes about alleged reports of record levels of pesticide contamination in European food.
Nogger’s blog reports on the Eurocare study on alleged price increases that might come about if the revision of Directive 91/414 is passed (see our post on this same topic).
The European Journal has a post about the scientists’ petition against the revision of 91/414 due to the effect it could have on fighting malaria in some developing countries.
Beyond Pesticides reports on PAN’s claims that record levels of pesticide residues have been found in food in Europe.
In her blog, Jane King of Farmers Weekly also reports on alleged price increases if 91/414 is passed.
MCS America contains a post entitled Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides used in Europe.
Campagnes et Environnement also post on the potential price increases reported in the EuroCare study (in French).
Alimentazione Made in Italy report on the threat to “Made in Italy” agricultural products, refering to hazel nuts in particular, from imports from Turkey if 91/414 is passed (in Italian).
Loss of pesticides threatens EU food production
Posted by Helen Dunnett on May 16, 2008 in European Regulation, Food & health
Blogger, Wyn Grant, posted an interesting entry today on his blog Good Agricultural Practice. He is following the EU legislation reform on pesticides and is on the stakeholders’ committee involved in the implementation strategy of the Pesticides Safety Directorate in the UK. He’s fully aware of the dangers of pesticides, saying: “Pesticides are toxic and they need stringent regulation, which they receive. However, there has to be a balance in terms of food security, the availability of fruit and vegetables in particular at affordable prices and the desirability of a healthy and balanced diet. New detection methods can pick up miniscule residues which pose no threat to health. Indeed, where there are problems, they tend to be with produce imported from outside the EU.”
I recommend you read his complete article as it’s a balanced view on the risks and benefits of crop protection in Europe.