Monsanto A Documentary on GMO a must watch

Monsanto A Documentary on GMO a must watch

Posted by r902179 on YOUTUBE

This documentary shows the power of Monsanto and how they treat farmers, how GMO seeds can destroy our food supply.,not what Monsanto promised from there GMO seed. The world needs to reject the use of GMO food for our own good.

 

EU To Ban Pesticides In Order To Save Bees

EU To Ban Pesticides In Order To Save Bees

The next time you see a bee buzzing around, it’s worthwhile remembering that much of the food we eat depends significantly on pollination these insects provide. But bees and other pollinators are declining globally, particularly in North America and Europe, putting this essential role in doubt.The European Union on Tuesday restricted the use of the insecticide Fipronil, the latest move to protect honey bees after a May ban on three other insecticides.

Image taken from independent.co.uk

In the US, the loss of 30-40% of commercial honeybee colonies since 2006 has been linked to “colony collapse disorder”, a syndrome characterised by disappearing worker bees. Since 2004, losses of honeybee colonies have left North America with fewer managed pollinators than at any time in the last 50 years. In recent winters, bees colony mortality in Europe has averaged about 20% (but up to 53% for some countries).

Without insect pollination, about one-third of the crops we eat would either have to be pollinated by other means, or face considerably lower yields. In all, up to 75% of our crops would suffer some decrease in productivity. Undoubtedly, the most nutritious and interesting crops in our diet (including many key fruits and vegetables), together with some crops used as fodder in meat and dairy production, would be badly affected by a decline in insect pollinators. The most recent estimates value pollination services at €265bn.

And the problem could become even bigger as the world moves progressively towards growing more crops that are dependent on bee (and other insect) pollinators. So why are some policy-makers still trying to delay actions designed to save the farmer’s smartest natural allies?
Europe took a significant step in the right direction  the ban on the insecticide produced by Germany’s BASF was agreed by 23 of the 28 EU states, with only Spain and Romania voting against, EU sources said.

A scientific risk assessment carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in May said seeds treated with pesticides containing Fipronil pose an acute risk to Europe’s honey bee population.

The restrictions, to apply from December 31, will ban the use of Fipronil on maize and sunflower seeds but may allow its use for the treatment of seeds that will only be sown in greenhouses.

Image taken from peaceproject.com

That exception will not apply to leeks, shallots, onions and vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower or broccoli.

BASF criticised the decision, saying the EU executive, the European Commission, would do better to study the real reasons behind the decline in bees rather than limit the use of new technologies in farming.

In May the Commission banned for two years beginning in December three insecticides made by chemicals giants Bayer and Syngenta.

Bayer of Germany and Switzerland’s Syngenta insisted that their products were not to blame for a very sharp decline in the bee population which has stoked fears over future food security, made worse by the unpredictable impact of climate change.

Source : phys.org  , greenpeace.org

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Europeonline-magazine.eu

Reuters.com

Italian minister wants ban on GMOs

Italian farm minister pushes for GM crop ban

SOURCE :farming.co.uk

Italian agriculture minister Nunzia De Girolamo said this week that she will seek a ban on genetically modified crops in Italy. The farming minister said she had the backing of the country’s health and environment ministers.

In April, Italian government officials wrote to the European Commission requesting the EU executive reject the renewal of a controversial genetically modified maize variety – currently Europe’s only GM crop licensed for commercial cultivation.

The variety in question, Monsanto’s MON810 maize, sold as Yieldgard, is mainly grown in Spain, though it has been banned by the governments of France, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Luxembourg and, most recently, Poland.

Image taken from Babes Against Biotech Facebook

Speaking to the Italian press, De Girolamo pointed to the other European states that have implemented popularly supported bans on GM crops, though she acknowledged such a ban would be illegal under European law. At the behest of biotech companies, concerned about the repercussions of such national measures, EU agricultural powerhouse France’s ban on GM crops has been repeatedly challenged in European court.

In contrast to many other European states, Italy’s major farm lobby group, Coldiretti, also supports a ban.  The latest research published by Coldiretti suggests 76 percent of Italians oppose GM technology; this represents a 14 percent rise in opposition to the controversial technology since June 2012.

Coldiretti said on Monday that GM crops are grown on just 0.01 percent of Europe’s cultivated land (which covers an estimated 160 million hectares).

Image taken from Coalition for a GE Free Surrey Facebook

 UK environment minister Owen Paterson last week declared his support for GM crops and the biotech industry, suggesting the crops are widely grown worldwide and that Europe risks “being left behind” by failing to embrace the technology; in reality 90 percent of the controversial crops are grown in just five countries worldwide.

 Furthermore, recent research from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand suggests that the GM crop package adopted by US farmers has actually proven detrimental compared to Europe’s agricultural development. After examining a range of major field crops grown in both Western Europe and North America, the researchers said reliance on GM crops, which account for around 80 percent of commercial seed sales in the US, “are causing it to fall behind Europe in productivity and sustainability”.

The researchers added, “We found that the combination of non-GM seed and management practices used by western Europe is increasing corn yields faster than the use of the GM-led packages chosen by the US. Our research showed rapeseed (canola) yields increasing faster in Europe… decreasing chemical herbicide and even larger declines in insecticide use without sacrificing yield gains, while chemical herbicide use in the US has increased with GM seed.”

Over three-quarters of Italy’s regions have declared themselves GM-free, though they cannot legally back this claim. The intense hostility to GM crops, so palpably felt in Italy, stems in part from the country’s place as Europe’s second largest producer of organic products and home to the Slow Food movement.