Though pest species may cause some problems for you as a gardener, they are also a crucial part of the garden ecosystem upon which you, as a gardener, depend. This article argues for letting some pests stay in your organic garden.
New USDA requirements in the Strengthening Organic Enforcement Rule aim to strengthen the integrity of the National Organic Program through both enhanced oversight and enforcement of existing program regulations, and the introduction of new ones to address occurrences of fraud in the organic supply
Paying organic farmers and ranchers a fair price for what they produce. Including them in financial rewards for sequestering atmospheric carbon in soils, plants and trees. Recognizing the value of providing key environmental services – preserving clean water, improving soil fertility, protecting biodiversity, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and rehydrating and reforesting parched landscapes.
Here’s a view on the origins of organic farming and food, fascinating insights into why organic living is so important that still apply today.
A new study from Pesticide Action Network North America identifies how pesticides, from the manufacturing stage to the application stage, are a key contributor to global warming.
Maryland’s largest organic grain grower, Mason’s Heritage Farm tells how they transitioned from conventional grain production to organic regenerative practices, benefitting soil health and the farm’s bottom line
Companies are looking to cash in on consumers’ desires for friendly options by ‘greenwashing’ dangerous products with labels like ‘natural’.
A new eco-scoring system for food products has been developed in France that takes into account pesticide use, climate impact, biodiversity & animal welfare
An order by Mexico’s president calls for the phase-out by 2024 of 2 pillars of American agribusiness.
Shifting away from large-scale farming would build resilience in the face of climate change & other crises. The authors of new research want to show how to make it happen
Every year Americans spend around $1.1 trillion collectively on food. But when you factor in the environmental & health impact that food production, distribution, and consumption have on U.S. society, the cost is tripled.
Just one US state suffers astonishing crop losses because of toxic & drift-prone
Organic Farming Reduces Reliance on pesticides and Promotes Public Heath by Lowering Dietary Risks, according to new scientific study
A key conclusion of this research is that by converting the 1.2% of US cropland growing fruits and vegetables to organic production, the nation’s farmers could dramatically reduce pesticide dietary exposures & risk.
An outline of several non-toxic ways to manage mosquitoes.
“As our climate continues to change, mosquito-borne diseases will be an increasing public health challenge for which we must prepare.”
“As the impact of climate change worsens—longer warm and wet seasons—we must prepare to deal with an increase in mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases that affect people, wildlife and our waterways.”
AG Funder News
There are safer ways to protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes! Don’t let mosquitoes spoil your fun!
“As the impact of climate change worsens—longer warm and wet seasons—we must prepare to deal with an increase in mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases that affect people, wildlife and our waterways.”
AG Funder News
The Rodale Institute announced a great new initiative with Bell & Evans and Cargill to transform 50,000 farm acres to organic.
Organic poultry producer Bell & Evans is hoping to increase the supply of organic grain for feeding its birds through a new partnership with agribusiness giant Cargill and the organic-focused nonprofit Rodale Institute.
Straw el. al. 2021
This study finds that RoundUp formulations with certain inert ingredients kill exposed bumblebees at high rates.
“Pollinators underpin global food production, but they are suffering significant declines across the world.”
Consumer Report
The truth about the toxic pesticides and other chemicals that keep your lawn green, and how to create a healthy oasis without them.
“Shortly after Lydia Chambers had her first child, in 1995, her family moved to a new home in Ohio.”
Regeneration International
Regenerative organic agricultural practices sequester CO2 and store it in the soil and above ground as organic matter with perennial polycultures, agroforestry and reforestation sustaining and increasing both above ground and below ground carbon.
“Hardly anyone had heard of regenerative agriculture before September 2014, when Regeneration International was founded by a small group of international leaders in the organic, agroecology, holistic management, environment, and natural health movements with the goal of changing the global conversation on climate, farming, and land use.”
No Till Farmer
If all cropland and pastureland were converted to regenerative ag practices, they could sequester more than 100% of global annual CO2 emissions, according to an important research by the Rodale Institute.
“Late in 2020, the Rodale Institute issued a white paper titled “Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution.””
Lancaster Farming
Landowners are driving organic production as they want to use their land to support certified organic and regenerative organic agriculture. Some landowners understand the environmental impacts that conventional farming can have on the environment and human health, and they do not want to be a part of it any longer.
“Part of that trend is coming from landowners that want to use their asset to support certified organic and regenerative organic agriculture.”
Maryland Matters
For too long, the essential workers in Maryland’s agricultural sector have labored under substandard conditions, lacking the critical workplace protections and benefits afforded workers in other industries.
If you eat, you should care about farm workers.
EE News
A pesticide being used for mosquito control widely throughout Maryland and other states has been found to contain PFAS.
“A pesticide widely used for mosquito control in Maryland and other states contains so-called forever chemicals — including a notorious compound phased out of U.S. production years ago due to health concerns — according to recent test results.”
JDSUPRA
The Biden administration may act on regulatory changes for pesticide industry.
“In his first day in office, President Biden sent a strong signal that changes could be in store for the pesticide industry by issuing a sweeping Executive Order directing a review of a lengthy list of Trump-era regulations, including 48 health and environmental rules.”
A letter to the US EPA urging the agency to go back to EPA’s plan to ban chlorpyrifos.
“The undersigned 101 farmworker, public health, environmental, labor, and faith organizations urge the EPA to immediately revoke all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos and initiate the cancellation process to end all uses of this neurotoxic pesticide.”
Researchers have put hard numbers to unintentional pesticide poisonings and fatalities.
“Last December, four researchers from Germany, Malaysia, and the United States published the results of a systematic review estimating the number of unintentional pesticide poisonings and fatalities globally.”
Xerces Society Buying Bee-Safe Plants helps you find plants free from harmful pesticides and includes tips and questions for the nursery.
“Creating a welcoming home for local pollinators in your home garden or city park habitat is reason enough to choose plants free from harmful pesticide residues.”
Ten different ways farmers can help pollinators on their farms.
“One of the things we have committed ourselves to at our farm is providing a diverse and healthy habitat for what we like to refer to as “beneficial critters.” “
Neonic soil treatment hurts ground-nesting bees, first of its kind study finds, especially for those that pollinate squash and pumpkins.
“A new study shows the behavior and reproduction of ground-nesting bees, like those that pollinate squash and pumpkins, is severely impacted when farmers treat the soil with neonicotinoid insecticide at the time of planting.”
Extensive environmental survey of pesticides and their transformation products reveals potential for hidden toxicity.
“When toxic pesticides break down in the environment, the threat they may pose to aquatic life does not simply disappear—instead, they spawn a deluge of derivatives known as transformation products, which can be just as toxic as their parent molecules.”
Our farmworkers are relied on for our food, but they work under harsh conditions and are at increased risk for severe respiratory disease from pesticide exposure–worsened in the pandemic.
“Exposure to certain work- and environment-related elements may be the cause of some idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) cases, a recent meta-analysis shows.”
A new study points to a stunning loss of topsoil in the Corn Belt from farming practices that have depleted this once-fertile earth. Diminished agricultural productivity & more carbon in the atmosphere, its a catastrophic loss of an irreplaceable resource.
“Geologically speaking, I grew up in a small farm town on the Des Moines lobe, a huge tongue-shaped remnant of glacial activity that reaches south across central Iowa.”
New study by the University of Md and The Organic Center, digs into the specific ways organic farmers can take their climate change fighting power to the next level.
“Organic agriculture’s proven ability to lock carbon away in the soil is a critical tool for combatting climate change.”
Rodale Institute is doing the longest running side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional farming in the world.
“In Eastern Pennsylvania, fields of corn that stretch endlessly towards the horizon are a common sight.”
Food companies are stepping up to the plate and funding organic food production research to counter the system that favors conventional agriculture.
“For almost 20 years, Stephen Jones developed wheat varieties for white commodity wheat flour, but he never liked it much.”
President Biden has introduced an ambitious climate plan for the United States. Could regenerative agriculture help us get there?
“President Biden has pledged to spend up to $2 trillion on climate change initiatives.”
Californian broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale farmers fought off a crop pest without using pesticides but rather using fungi.
“California is the nation’s leading grower of crops in the Brassica family, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale, and it isn’t particularly close.”
Unusual partnership launches the U.S. Organic Grain Initiative to transition 50,000 acres of corn and soy to organic to help fill a growing gap in domestic organic animal feed.
“Rodale Institute—one of America’s most renowned organic institutes—announced today it will help transition more than 50,000 acres of farmland to organic production by forming an unlikely alliance with Cargill, the largest privately owned agribusiness company in the country, and chicken producer Bell & Evans.”
Displacement of flora has led to decrease in bird & insect populations
Widespread displacement of native plant communities by non-native plants in U.S. agriculture, agroforestry, and horticulture is a key cause of insect declines, and affecting birds.
Cotton is one of the most important choices we think the least about.
Organic cotton is one of the most important choices we can make for the environment because it supports a healthy ecosystem and prevents the use of toxic synthetic chemicals.
“As populations grow and food demand goes up, agricultural expansion is set to usurp several million square kilometers of wild habitat across the planet by 2050.”
If we don’t change our food systems, according to new research, the fate of almost 20,000 species–birds, amphibians, and mammals–hangs in the balance.
Thank you, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh!
Maryland’s AG joined with four other states to sue Trump’s EPA for weakening farmworker protections from pesticides.
President-elect Joe Biden’s rural platform calls for strengthening anti-monopoly enforcement in agriculture. Some advocates question whether Tom Vilsack is the right Secretary of Agriculture for the job.
Implementing these market reforms would fall largely on the shoulders of Biden’s pick for Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. Many reformers say because of his track record, Vilsack’s selection does not bode well for prioritizing fair markets and agribusiness accountability.
Unfair labor laws just got worse
In the 1930s, agriculture was excluded from federal labor laws in a process now known as agricultural exceptionalism. In 2020, the Trump administration pushed for more H-2A farmworker visas during the pandemic claiming it was necessary to ensure ample food supply. But the administration also proposed a decrease in already low farmworker wages.
Thank you for demanding Gov. Hogan protect workers during this pandemic
Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Jamie Raskin, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, and David Trone in urging Governor Hogan to implement coronavirus workplace protections for Marylanders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian landscape architect, Joshua Zeunert, says the time is now.
Urban food production shouldn’t be limited to what’s being grown privately within four walls. Could community gardens or orchards be filling our public parks, rooftops and town squares?
How Maryland’s migrant crab pickers continue to be picked apart.
Current shocking conditions are faced by migrant women crab pickers on the Eastern Shore.
Across the country, fruit growers blocked testing of seasonal farmworkers and told those who caught the coronavirus to keep it quiet. County and state officials were largely unable to stop them.
At the height of harvest season, growers supplying some of America’s biggest agricultural companies and grocery store chains flouted public health guidelines to limit testing and obscure coronavirus outbreaks, according to thousands of pages of state and local records reviewed by The Washington Post.
Maryland’s governor refuses to do so.
California, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin have introduced mandatory protections for farmworkers during the pandemic, while Maryland hasn’t. Let Maryland’s governor know you want him to follow the lead of these states. View the video: watch here and sign the petition: Sign here.
Here’s how the U.S. government actively discourages it
Cover crops and other regenerative agriculture practices are still pigeonholed as conservation practices, not as good farming practices. But if farmers want crop insurance, they have to play by the rules.
Urging political action on pesticide use is another way to help stem ‘collapse of nature’
Buying organic food is among the actions people can take to curb the global decline in insects, according to leading scientists. Urging political action to slash pesticide use on conventional farms is another, say environmentalists.
Intensive agriculture and heavy pesticide use are a major cause of plummeting insect populations, according to the first global review, revealed by the Guardian on Monday. The vanishing of insects threatens a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, the review concluded, because of their fundamental importance in the food chain, pollination and soil health.
World hunger is on the rise. Scientists just moved up the deadline for addressing the looming climate crisis. Small independent farms are failing at an alarming rate. According to three recent studies, one big change could go a long way toward addressing all three of these crises.
By transitioning, on a global scale, to organic regenerative agriculture, we could feed more people, sequester more carbon and improve the economic prospects for farmers.
Three crises, one solution—a solution that will require a massive overhaul of food and farming policy, and a paradigm change in consumer behavior.
Can we act in time?
A new groundbreaking study proves soils on organic farms store away appreciably larger amounts of carbons – and for longer periods — than typical agricultural soils.
The important study, directed by The National Soil Project at Northeastern University in collaboration with the Organic Center, provides a new significant proof point that organic agricultural practices build healthy soils and can be part of the solution in the fight on global warming.
Growth in demand for organic food in more traditional channels has only helped the sales of small grocers that focus on organic products.
Consumers want to buy organic food, but often they can’t because it’s too expensive. Perdue Foods, the Salisbury-based chicken giant, aims to break that price barrier with a new organic brand it’s launching at a time when organic food is growing nearly six times as fast as the overall food market.
Soil pollution is a worldwide problem which degrades our soils, poisons the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Every minute of every day the equivalent of 30 football fields of fertile soil is lost, partly due to irresponsible farming practices.
This is having a huge impact on food security, public health, and well-being, as well as our planet. The good news is sustainable farming practices can heal the soil, build soil fertility, and also increase carbon capture in the soil.
The promise of regenerative organic agriculture
The good news is that this is one very significant component of climate change that appears to be well within our grasp.
Some groups want to compete with the organic label and raise the standards for eco-conscious consumers. But others worry that another label could end up sowing market confusion.
The Organic Trade Association has released a survey which that the pandemic and home cooking has driven a boom in the industry.
A recently uncovered 2008 study shows the most widely grown GMO soy was linked to liver, pancreas, and testes damage in mice.
Basic tips for improving garden soil quality to help grow a gorgeous garden filled with fresh food and beautiful blooms.
A garden that appeals to all the senses helps one feel fully immersed in the natural world.
Consumer Report’s ratings to get the health benefits from fruits & vegetables while minimizing your risk from toxic pesticides.
One great thing to come out of this terrible pandemic is that…more and more people are valuing their gardens and making the most of all that they can provide.
A list of the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables that should be bought organically.
Tips by FoodPrint on how to shop for groceries sustainably.
“Meatloaf, roast chicken, chickpea stew: what’s for dinner tonight?”
Two recent peer-reviewed studies provide fresh evidence that we are exposed to pesticides in our daily food, many which are carcinogenic or toxic to our brains and hormone systems and once an organic diet is adopted there is a 61% drop in pesticide levels within our bodies.
A study found 91% of Celestial Seasonings tea tested, had pesticide residues.
“The colder months always inspire us to warm up with a nice cup of tea and a good book near the fire.”
Bravo! European Union for releasing its ambitious strategy for getting hormone-disrupting chemicals–including pesticides–out of food, products & packaging
Mega-corporations like Bayer have a stranglehold on our food system. They are poisoning our planet with toxic pesticides. Now these corporations are developing “gene-silencing pesticides” that pose unique risks to surrounding ecosystems and pollinators.
Some 10,000 chemicals–including pesticides and endocrine disruptors–are allowed to be added to our foods. American Academy of Pediatrics warns that chemical exposures can lower a baby’s IQ.
Humans are to blame for the current pace of climate change, so, it falls to us to do something about it. Thankfully, there’s something very simple you can do every day to make a difference:
By making small changes to your diet, you can significantly decrease your impact on our climate.
Of all the meaningless terms in the food labeling world—and there are a lot—”natural” might be one of the worst. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) recently sued Hormel, the company behind brands like Applegate and Dinty Moore, for misleading customers with its “natural” label.
Organic farming promotes natural resistance to common food-borne human pathogens, according to a study that evaluates the benefit of soil organisms. By protecting valuable species of dung beetles and soil bacteria, organic farming systems naturally act to clean up and decompose potentially pathogen-bearing animal feces.
The Impossible Burger, a new “plant-based burger” marketed by Impossible Foods, is now appearing on diners’ plates in selected California restaurants. The appearance of these GMO burgers signals a new wave of genetically engineered foods created by gene editing – a technique that natural health experts say is insufficiently tested. Now, many consumers – blissfully unaware of the “burger’s” GMO origins – are already chowing down on the Impossible Burger.
Choosing organic when you’re shopping for beef at the supermarket may be a good way to boost the nutrition in your meals, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
U.S. shoppers are still paying more for organic food, but the price premium is falling as organic options multiply.
Last year, organic food and beverages cost an average of 24 cents more per unit than conventional food, or about 7.5 percent more, according to Nielsen. That was down from a 27 cent, or 9 percent, premium in 2014.
Despite strong scientific evidence of its harm to people and the environment, Monsanto continued to keep Glyphosate on the market for years.
Lawyers representing a woman suffering from cancer are facing off against Monsanto and its German owner Bayer AG in a California courtroom in what is set as the 4th trial over allegations Monsanto’s toxic Roundup pesticides cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Pesticide breakdown products are just as pervasive as their parent compounds in urban streams in the US, says the U.S. Geological Survey. Recent findings spotlight long-term impacts of pesticides on health and the environment.
“Parents must protect kids from harmful ‘forever’ chemicals | READER COMMENTARY”
Dr. Ichniowski, Md Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, alerts us in this Baltimore Sun opinion piece about the life-long dangers from exposure to PFAS forever chemicals (especially for children) and his concern about our exposure to Permanone 30-30 during mosquito season.
A new study finds over 100 chemicals present in U.S. pregnant women’s blood and umbilical cord samples, igniting concerns over prenatal exposure to chemicals widely used in consumer and industrial products.
Study shows pregnant women living within 2.5 miles of agricultural pesticide applications have an increased risk that their child will develop central nervous system tumors.
Farmers in Germany will have to gradually reduce their use of glyphosate and stop using it completely from 2024 in order to preserve clean habitats for insects, under draft legislation passed by the country’s cabinet on Wednesday
The kitchen is often the hub of the home — and one of the biggest sources of exposure to phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), agents that essentially hijack hormones in the body’s endocrine system.
The popular Seresto flea and tick collars have been linked to roughly 1,700 pet deaths and the EPA has issued no warning regarding such.
Falling sperm counts and changes to sexual development caused by exposure to endocrine disrupting substances, including some pesticides are threatening human survival, a leading epidemiologist has warned.
Internal government emails reveal Monsanto/Bayer AG and CropLife America have been working closely with US officials to pressure Mexico into abandoning its intended ban on glyphosate and so far, it’s not working.
New research examining the potential health impacts of this cancer-causing pesticide found links between exposure and an increase in a type of amino acid known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
In their new book, epidemiologist Shanna Swan looks at the impact of environmental chemicals and the changes they’re causing on human sexuality and reproductive systems.
Glyphosate exposed laboratory rats could be used as biomarkers for determining propensity in subsequent generations for prostate and kidney diseases, obesity, and incurring multiple diseases at once as a result of glyphosate exposure.
This Op-ed is by Lorne Garrettson and is advocating for Montgomery County, MD to stop using glyphosate in its parks.
“Amid a pandemic, protecting people’s health has become a value and priority.”
A first-of-its kind study aims to tease out the link between exposure to toxic chemicals (including pesticides) and cancer in children in the places they live, learn & play.
The EPA confirms: PFAS (‘forever chemicals’) are found in pesticide products.
“As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) extensive efforts to address PFAS, the agency is making new information available about EPA testing showing PFAS contamination from fluorinated containers.”
The EPA is at a crossroads given how widely banned pesticides have been embraced across the US and in this Op-ed such widespread use is discussed and critiqued.
A USGS study of groundwater that feeds public drinking water supply finds pesticides in 41% of supply wells.
His EPA likely to examine how people and wildlife are exposed to chemicals and how they are harmed by them. The more scenarios the EPA examines, the greater chance more uses of chemicals could be restricted or banned.
Common fungicide causes decreases in human body’s ability to defend itself against illnesses such as COVID, and promoted disease permanency.
Toxic ‘forever chemical’ PFAS found in Sumethrin, used on millions of acres when spraying for mosquitoes. Sumethrin is in the same class of pesticides as the pesticide permethrin, applied by Dept. of Agriculture in communities signed up for its mosquito control program and used by private companies here in Maryland. To be determined: whether permethrin also contains PFAS.
Scientists report that pesticide poisonings on farms around the world have risen dramatically in 30 years. Based on an evaluation of poisoning data from countries all over the world, the researchers conclude that there are about 385 million cases of acute poisonings each year.
Maryland cites and counties take heed: Philly parks are going organic with a ban on synthetic weedkillers.
Some of World’s Most Dangerous Pesticides OK’d Despite Incomplete Assessments, Evidence of Far-ranging Harms to People, Protected Wildlife
Some 150 agricultural pesticides the UN World Health Organization considers hazardous to human health are used in the USA.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft biological evaluation last week finding that glyphosate is likely to injure or kill 93% of the plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Exposure to glyphosate, the main ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, could adversely affect the microbes in our gut, which could lead to poor health.
Climbing ropes, guitar strings, and hand sanitizer are among the newly reported uses for the toxic “forever” chemicals.
Finding Comes Two Months After Agency Reapproved Herbicide for 15 Year
Some 150 agricultural pesticides the UN World Health Organization considers hazardous to human health are used in the USA.
The move could enable years of continued use of the poison pesticide.
Use of harmful chemicals is higher in poorer nations, according to data analysed by Unearthed
A new study has found that a German toxicology lab committed fraud in a series of regulatory tests that led to the European Union’s controversial re-approval of this cancer-causing pesticide for use in Europe.
Details the pesticide industry’s vast strategy to influence academics, beekeepers and regulators – and to divert attention away from harm caused by pesticides.
Victory: Chlorpyrifos, linked to intellectual disabilities in children, will be phased out in 2021
In addition to fragrances and chemicals used in the bleaching process, the risk of pesticide exposure may be the biggest reason to switch to organic tampons.
Consuming meat raised in intensive factory farms impacts on our health and the environment. This website gives you the how, what, and why.
Workers should be able to earn a paycheck without putting their lives or their health and well-being on the line. Yet every day, an estimated 137 U.S. workers succumb to diseases caused by on-the-job exposure to toxic chemicals and other hazardous substances, and hundreds of thousands more suffer from nonfatal illnesses. In fact, more people die annually from toxic exposures at work than from car crashes, firearms, or opioids.
Toxicologist Linda Birnbaum, who directs the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), has called for “an overall reduction in the use of agricultural pesticides” due to multiple concerns for human health, stating that “existing US regulations have not kept pace with scientific advances showing that widely used chemicals cause serious health problems at levels previously assumed to be safe.
Those who frequently eat organic foods lowered their overall risk of developing cancer, a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine finds. Specifically, those who primarily eat organic foods were more likely to ward off non-Hodgkin lymphoma and postmenopausal breast cancer compared to those who rarely or never ate organic foods.