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Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS)
A Weekly News Update on Pesticides, Health and Alternatives
See PANUPS archive for complete information.
March 19, 2009
- White House readies organic vegetable garden
- Integrated solutions needed for water, climate and food crises
- Methyl bromide maker Chemtura in Chapter 11
- Bill seeks ban on bisphenol A in food containers
- Global lindane ban campaign seeks stories
- EPA releases database on environmental chemicals
White House readies organic vegetable garden
The New York Times reports that “on Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden in World War II.” Produce from the organic garden will be used for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, but Ms. Obama says the most important role of the 1,100 square foot plot will be the education of children about healthful, locally-grown fruits and vegetables: “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.” The garden will feature 55 varieties of vegetables grown from organic seedlings in White House greenhouses, cultivated in raised-bed plots fertilized with White House compost, crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, lime and green sand. A grassroots campaign for such a garden, sparked by Michael Pollan’s October 2008 New York Times column (“Farmer In Chief”), gained steam after November’s election.
shareMORE – PAN Magazine Bringing Back the Backyard Garden | Digg This
Integrated solutions needed for water, climate and food crises
In a new report, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) argues the convergence of multiple crises — climate, food and water — requires a global shift from the industrial model of agriculture to more sustainable practices. Integrated Solutions to the Water, Agriculture and Climate Crises (PDF) traces the role of industrial agriculture in contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, water use and pollution, and global hunger. The paper outlines the effects industrial agriculture has had on driving irrigated agriculture, massive water infrastructure projects and water withdrawals. “We can no longer afford to tackle these crises separately,” said IATP’s Shiney Varghese. “We must take a comprehensive approach that supports sustainable practices in agriculture that are good for people and the planet, protect our water resources and provide enough food for everyone.” In addition to pointing out key opportunities for change in the coming year, the report offers a series of recommendations to governments: an international rights-based approach that ensures water availability for ecosystems and people; support for agro-ecological practices including investments in the climate change-mitigating potential of agriculture; harmonization of policy approaches to water, agriculture and climate; recognition of women’s involvement in farming, food production and water management; and inclusion of small-scale farmers in reforming policy. These recommendations are consistent with findings of the recently published UN International Assessment of Agriculture (IAASTD), to which both IATP and Pesticide Action Network North America contributed as lead authors.
shareMORE – PAN’s IAASTD page |
Methyl bromide maker Chemtura in Chapter 11
shareMORE – PAN’s Fumigants Campaign |
Bill seeks ban on bisphenol A in food containers
A day after Sunoco, the gas and chemical company, sent word to investors that it was now refusing to sell bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, to companies for use in food and water containers for children younger than three, leaders from the House and Senate introduced legislation to establish a federal ban on bisphenol A in all food and beverage containers, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Tests of ten packaged products conducted for the Journal Sentinel last year found toxic levels of the chemical in all of them, including those marked “microwave safe.” Specific health effects associated with high levels of BPA include genital defects, behavioral changes, and abnormal development of mammary glands, identical to those observed in women at higher risk for breast cancer. The Journal Sentinel reviewed 258 scientific studies of BPA and found that an overwhelming majority of the studies demonstrated that the chemical was harmful — causing breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts, miscarriage, and other reproductive failures in laboratory animals.
shareMORE – WebMD: Baby bottle makers ditch BPA |
Global lindane ban campaign seeks stories
shareMORE – Learn more and submit your story |
EPA releases database on environmental chemicals
The U.S. EPA has announced the availability of a new database that collects information on more than 500,000 synthetic chemicals from over 200 public sources. The Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR) database is designed to consolidate hundreds of data sources in a single place in order to allow greater public access than was previously available. According to the EPA press release, sources of information include: EPA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, various state databases, Health and Environment Canada, the European Union, the World Health Organization, and other international and non-governmental organizations, private companies and universities.
shareMORE – PAN Pesticide Info Database |
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