Monarch caterpillars are vulnerable to neonicotinoid toxicity at concentrations as low as 1 part per billion, writes Jonathan Latham, and that makes them vulnerable to residues from commercial crops - and even more so from horticultural use in plant nurseries!
… in the EU. And an even greater hazard in horticulture Now a new paper in Plos ONE shows … are achieved in the plant nursery and horticulture industry, where plants are …
Antibiotics have saved countless millions of lives since the 1930s, but their power is failing due to their massive use in factory farming, horticulture, aquaculture and industry, says a new report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Antibiotics. We must stop all inessential uses of antibiotics, or face a future where we risk death from minor injuries and routine surgery.
… due to their massive use in factory farming, horticulture, aquaculture and industry, says a … better hygiene and fish vaccination. Use in horticulture Although not used as widely as in …
Not satisfied with seizing Palestinian land and water, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have found a new way to enrich themselves at their neighbors' expense - by stealing their fertile soil and transporting it to their own farms and gardens.
Israelis steal fertile soil from Palestinian farms The Ecologist | 22nd April 2015 News Middle East Land Grabs Water Law kufr_ad-deek.protest.teargas2-cut.jpg Not satisfied with seizing Palestinian …
A year ago today, Europe-wide protests defeated an EU regulation that would have outlawed many seed saving activities, writes Ben Raskin. Now growers are taking matters into their own hands, saving and developing open-pollinated seeds - and campaigning for a seed regulation that supports them, not the monopolist seed corporations.
… around the UK. Ben Raskin is the head of horticulture at the Soil Association . Ben has over 20 years experience in horticulture and his current role involves … of Commercial Manager at the Welsh College of Horticulture, 3 years spent at Daylesford …
Advanced molecular genetic techniques are allowing scientists to breed disease resistance from wild grape varieties into susceptible domestic cultivars used for making wine, writes Andrew Walker. And it's all being done by conventional plant breeding accelerated by the use of DNA markers - with not a GMO in sight!
… winegrapes may be the most backward form of horticulture that exists. The vast majority of …
Scientists, environmental and consumer groups have decried USDA's approval of two 'Arctic' apple varieties, while major food companies and apple growers have no plans to source or grow them - despite their potential to 'generate consumer excitement in the apple category.'
USDA approves world's first GMO apples The Ecologist | 16th February 2015 News Farming USA GMOs Regulation Food apples-cut.jpg Scientists, environmental and consumer groups have decried USDA's …
The 'Kevin Folta affair' has cast the hard light of day into the dubious PR tactics of the GMO industry, writes Claire Robinson - recruiting and paying scientists as secret shills to promulgate a pro-GM message without revealing their funding sources.
Monsanto's scientist shill exposed Claire Robinson GMWatch | 8th September 2015 News GMOs Corporations Media USA monsanto-toxic-seed-twtr.jpg The 'Kevin Folta affair' has cast the hard light of day …
The NYT's expose of Kevin Folta's PR role as a pro-GMO shill in the employ of Monsanto barely scratched the surface of a huge web of corporate money, influence and intrigue that permeates the US's premier universities and scientific institutions, writes Jonathan Latham - from Harvard and Cornell to the AAAS. Why the reticence to name all the names?
… how Kevin Folta , Chair of the Dept. of Horticulture at the University of Florida …
It's time to halt the loss of the nation's front gardens to dreary paving, writes Jenny Jones. Green gardens protect against floods, provide homes for wildlife, keep cities cool in summer, and help us all feel happier. Now, with 7 million gardens already paved over, we must protect those that remain.
Keep our front gardens green! Jenny Jones | 30th June 2015 Comment UK Cities Transport Natural World paved-for-sale-cut.jpg It's time to halt the loss of the nation's front gardens to dreary paving, …
Our bees and wider farmland ecosystems have been seriously harmed by neonicotinoids, writes Dave Goulson. But that's just the start of the damage that modern farming is doing to wildlife in a countryside stripped of wild flowers and drenched by cocktails of pesticides. The problem is not just neonics, but the entire model of industrial agriculture.
If modern farming can't sustain bees, how much longer can it sustain us? Dave Goulson | 11th May 2015 News Farming Ecology UK Toxics bumblebee-clover-cut.jpg Our bees and wider farmland ecosystems …
A new review of the performance of politically fashionable 'voluntary' approaches to environmental protection demonstrates limited effectiveness, writes Donal McCarthy. Laws and regulations play a vital role in protecting nature and the wider environment - for which voluntarism is no substitute.
Voluntary schemes cannot replace environmental regulation Donal McCarthy RSPB | 16th November 2015 Comment Law Regulation Conservation Pollution pollution-cut.jpg A new review of the performance of …
Cuba is a global exemplar of organic, agroecological farming, taking place on broad swathes of land in and around its cities, write Julia Wright & Emily Morris. These farms cover 14% of the country's agricultural land, employ 350,000 people, and produce half the country's fruit and vegetables. But can they survive exposure to US agribusiness?
Cuba's warming relations with the US may undermine its agroecological city farms Julia Wright Emily Morris | 27th June 2015 News Cuba Food Farming Organic Cities USA Politics Trade …
Bullfighting may cause suffering to animals, but that does not mean the EU should ban it or withdraw farm subsidies, writes Robin Irvine. Traditional bull-breeding estates are valuable reservoirs of biodiversity in intensively farmed landscapes, and without the bulls there would be nothing to sustain them.
… You could of course argue that commercial horticulture employs more locals, or that …
Soon UK farmers will begin to spray their fields of wheat, barley, oats and peas with weed killer to make crops easier to harvest, writes Natasha Collins-Daniel. But the chemicals - including glyphosate, a probable carcinogen - can end up in our bread and other food. Let's put a stop to it now!
… in fact, the industry funded Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's advice to …
The US Congress votes this Thursday on the infamous 'DARK Act' that would abolish states' right to label GM foods, writes Katherine Paul. This 'Mother of all Monsanto Protection Acts' would also outlaw state GMO bans and even prevent the FDA from pre-market safety-testing GM ingredients. Send a clear message now to your member of Congress.
… of market opportunities. The Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research Subcommittee …
Radiation can be carried long distances by marine currents, concentrated in sediments, and carried in sea spray 16km or more inland, writes Tim Deere-Jones. So Fukushima poses a hazard to coastal populations and any who eat produce from their farms. So what are the Japanese Government and IAEA doing? Ignoring the problem, and failing to gather data.
Fukushima: Japanese government and IAEA ignore radiation risks to coastal population Tim Deere-Jones | 28th September 2015 News Nuclear Energy Radiation Health Science Oceans Japan …
It's a hard life being an organic farmer, writes Alicia Miller - and specially when it comes to engaging with a bureaucracy that's trying to 'green' our agriculture. Should small scale farmers change their farming practices to fit in with it? Or the other way round?
… runs Troed y Rhiw Organics , an organic horticulture farm in West Wales, with her …
Following scientific confirmation of the severe hazards to health caused by residues of glyphosate weed killers in food, the Soil Association is calling on bakers and retailers to stop 'pre-harvest' spraying on arable crops. The SA's Peter Melchett just sent out this letter - adapt as necessary and send to retailers, bakers, makers of cereals, pasta, biscuits and others.
… for US farmers), with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board warning of "the …
The citizens 'right to know' campaign about GMOs has put the food industry on the defensive, big time, writes Carey Gillam. But that only creates the impression they have something to hide. if GMOs are as great as they claim, they should be only too glad. It's time they switched sides and got with the people they feed.
Food industry must get behind 'right to know' on GMO Carey Gillam | 5th January 2015 Comment GMOs Food Politics USA Corporations label-gmo-cut.jpg The citizens 'right to know' campaign about GMOs has …
The recently published Global Nutrition Report shows almost all countries face high levels of malnutrition and diet-based ill-health, writes Julia Wright. This reveals deep problems with the dominant industrial model of food production, and the need for new agroecological approaches to feeding the world.
… is External Examiner for the MSc Sustainable Horticulture and Food Production at Schumacher …