Industrial Agriculture: Fragile System Propped up by Myths and Hidden Costs [1]

Industrial agriculture is an economically flawed system that only survives due to two factors: EXTERNALIZED COSTS and MYTH-BASED MARKETING

https://farmactionalliance.org/truthreport/ [2]

BC's War Zones [4]

War In the Forests

A recent article in the Prince George Daily News entitled “Death from the sky in Northern BC” included pictures of a wetland, green and abundant with plants, insects, amphibians, birds and mammals and “the same wetland gripped by a grey death after being sprayed from helicopters with the herbicide glyphosate.”

Those images were from a recent meeting at UNBC entitled “Starving moose, burning forests and contaminated blueberries: a case for broadleaves and a new paradigm in Central British Columbia”. Glyphosate is sprayed on 10,000 to 20,000 hectares of forests yearly resulting in over 1.3 million hectares having been affected since 1980.

Health Costs from Chemical Exposures May Exceed 10% of the Global GDP [7]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 13, 2017 [8]) A recent study finds that environmental exposures contribute to increasing disease burden and corresponding health costs that may exceed 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP). Neurological impairments particularly add significant costs to both individuals and societies. This European study combined cost calculations for exposures to environmental chemicals, including pesticides, air pollution, and endocrine disrupting substances, and suggests that a shift in priority setting for environmental policy is needed.

Link(s):

Article on Beyond Pesticides [9]

Read more about Health Costs from Chemical Exposures May Exceed 10% of the Global GDP [7]

Pesticide Residues Difficult to Wash Off Food [10]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 27, 2017) In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry [11], scientists at University of Massachusetts, Amherst identify a novel approach to reduce toxic pesticide residues on conventional food. The method the authors describe is cumbersome and unlikely to be widely used by consumers ... http://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2017/10/pesticide-residues-dif... [12].

Read more about Pesticide Residues Difficult to Wash Off Food [10]

The ‘Non-GMO’ Label Doesn’t Go Far Enough: Taking Stock of GMOs and Glyphosate [13]

By Dr. Jeremy L. Caradonna, Environmental Studies, University of Victoria

and Dr. Thierry Vrain, Head of Biotechnology at Agriculture Canada’s Summerland Research Station (retired)

The total sale of products with ‘Non-GMO’ labeling is now in the billions, and the growth of this market is certainly to be applauded. However, the Non-GMO label inadvertently shields health-conscious consumers from one of the scarier realities of the modern food system—that glyphosate, which is the main ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, is also being applied to non genetically modified crops.