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pesticides
The blatant disregard over the use of these substances by regulatory agencies around the world is apparent.
If we care about the quality and security of our food sources — and the species and ecosystems they rely on — the time for neonics is over.
The devastating impacts on soil are increasingly clear to see. And what are these biocides doing to us as humans?
Those monarchs travel thousands of kilometres, many from summer breeding grounds in Canada that once stretched from southern Saskatchewan to the Maritimes. As a child growing up in southwestern Ontario, I collected insects. Monarchs were abundant everywhere. The mass exodus through Point Pelee at summer's end was mesmerizing.
Canada's well-financed medical marijuana LPs boast that they're pioneering the very best industry standards in the world. Now this claim to fame has been besmirched.
Two decades of studies have failed to produce any smoking guns. It's now time that we all accept the scientific consensus -- GM foods are probably as safe to eat as non-GMO. But that doesn't lessen my opposition to genetic modification one bit.
It's not so much the Bayer-Monsanto deal is a move in the wrong direction (which it is), but increasing consolidation is to be expected given the trend in many key sectors toward monopoly capitalism or just plain cartelism, whichever way you choose to look at it.
Urban agriculture won't resolve all food production and distribution problems, but it could help take pressure off rural land while providing other advantages. From balcony, backyard, rooftop, indoor and community gardens to city beehives and chicken coops to larger urban farms and farmers markets, growing and distributing local food in or near cities is a healthy way to help the environment.
A combination of propaganda disseminated by industry front groups and conflicts of interest effectively allow dangerous chemicals and GMOs into the food chain and serve to keep the public in the dark about what is taking place and the impacts on their health. Certain individuals, like journalist Rosemary Mason, are working to shine a light on this.
Anything that enters our bodies through direct contact with our mucosal membranes, inhaled into our lungs or touches our skin for long periods of time has the highest chance of entering our blood stream and influencing our health, for good or bad.
