Home › PAN Updates<>
in
<>
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS)
A Weekly News Update on Pesticides, Health and Alternatives
See PANUPS archive for complete information.
December 23, 2009
- Monsanto losing its grip?
- Copenhagen Accord leaves ag on hold
- ‘Chronic diseases and chemical exposure’
- Better ways to control bed bugs
- Insecticide use doubles RA & Lupus risk in women
Monsanto losing its grip?
In the face of public scrutiny, lawsuits from competitors, and a Department of Justice investigation, Monsanto appears to be backpedaling on some of its stringent patent protection policies. The New York Times reports that, contrary to expectations of seed industry executives, the company has said they will continue to allow farmers to grow Roundup Ready 1 (RR1) soy even after the patent expires in 2014. The Roundup Ready trait makes crops (such as soy, corn and cotton) resistant to the pesticide glyphosate, which is sold by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup. Monsanto’s own officials estimate the Roundup Ready trait is in nine out of ten soybeans grown in the U.S. Introduced in 1996, it is in seeds grown by Monsanto itself as well as licensed to other companies for use in their proprietary seed lines. Previously, Monsanto had plans to force farmers to switch to its successor product, Roundup Ready 2 Yield (RR2Y), before the Roundup Ready 1 patent expired — by refusing to renew licenses that expired before 2014, and enforcing contract clauses that would require farmers and seed companies to destroy all RR1 inventory before the patent expires. RR2Y will be considerably more expensive than RR1, which is already $40-$45 more per acre than traditional soybean seeds. Monsanto has also said they will allow farmers and seed dealers to obtain the old Roundup Ready seeds without limiting their access to the new technology, and that they won’t prevent farmers from saving seeds from RR1 crops, as they have in the past.
If Monsanto follows through on the statements, the implications could be huge. The Roundup Ready gene for soybeans was one of the first genetically engineered traits to be patented and become commercially available; once Monsanto no longer holds a patent, RR1 genes will essentially “become agricultural biotechnology’s equivalent of a generic drug.” This could save farmers a lot of money, and would finally allow universities to use the gene for research purposes, potentially loosening the chokehold Monsanto has on agricultural GMO research. Pesticide Action Network North America will submit technical comments outlining the ill effects of Monsanto’s corporate control of large portions of the agricultural research agenda this week.
<>
takeACTION Write the DOJ before 12/31 to help make the case against Monsanto | Digg This
Copenhagen Accord leaves ag on hold
Other important ag-related developments at the talks include the founding meeting of the Round Table of Organic Agriculture and Climate Change, and the announcement of a new, international agricultural research initiative. The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases was announced on December 16th under the leadership of the U.S. and New Zealand. The alliance agrees to boost funding among the 20+ participant countries in order to “improve management practices and technologies” to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack concurrently announced increased research funding streams coming out of USDA as well as a Borlaug Fellowship (after Norman Borlaug, the father of the first ‘Green Revolution’) for training scientists from developing countries in U.S. approaches to chemical-intensive agriculture. The fact that both the increased funding and the fellowship on offer from Vilsack were presented as support mechanisms for the new research alliance, indicates much about its likely agenda. If in fact civil society is allowed a voice at the table going forward, Pesticide Action Network will work with partners in advocating insertion of key agroecological findings from the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) into the research alliance’s program.
shareMORE PAN’s Fall Magazine on Climate Change & Agriculture |
‘Chronic diseases and chemical exposure’
Endocrine disruptors are found in everyday things like plastic containers, cosmetics and household cleaning products. Many pesticides — such as atrazine and endosulfan — are potent endocrine disruptors demonstrating health impacts including increased incidences of certain cancers and reproductive harm. The disease incidence numbers and the suffering of countless people speak for themselves: Pesticide Action Network and other environmental health groups have been calling for adoption of a precautionary approach by regulatory agencies and industry to protect everyone from unnecessary exposures to chemicals that appear likely to cause a wide range of health harms. Among those who attended Dr. Landrigan’s talk was New York City chef Rob Endelman. He was moved to write about endocrine disruptors in his popular cooking and healthy eating blog, The Delicious Truth, pointing out that until precaution becomes the regulatory standard, consumers must claim their right to a healthy environment by choosing safer products and buying food that is free of pesticides and other harmful additives. “Don’t we owe it to our kids,” chef Rob concluded, “to become more familiar with these issues?”
shareMORE Video from Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center |
Better ways to control bed bugs
Safer, sustainable solutions including IPM approaches such as use of powerful vacuums, scrupulous washing of linens and chemical-free heat and steam treatments, have proven effective in controlling and eliminating bed bugs. According to Beyond Pesticides, preventative steps (PDF) should be taken to keep bed bugs at bay, including frequent vacuuming, sealing cracks and crevices where bed bugs can hide, and laundering bed linens in hot water. As this issue of PANUPS went to press, Pesticide Action Network had signed on to a letter organized by Beyond Pesticides urging EPA to deny Ohio the exemption to use propoxur for bed bugs. The letter concludes: “Propoxur would pose an unacceptable human health risk if it was allowed to be widely used for indoor applications where humans would be exposed via inhalation and dermal contact with residues. Residents of homeless shelters, multi‐dwelling units, hotels, and college dormitories, [as well as] low‐income and underserved communities, would be disproportionately affected.”
shareMORE Draft letter asking EPA to deny Ohio exemption request |
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
Insecticide use doubles arthritis & lupus risk in women
<>
shareMORE Book: The Autoimmune Epidemic |
Bookmark and share this page:<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>