but pesticides taste soooooooo good

[Guest guest]

World Treaty for Toxics Protections: People all over the world are

preparing for the second annual meeting of the Stockholm Convention,

which will convene the week of May1st in Switzerland. The Stockholm

Convention is an international treaty to identify and ban the worst

chemicals in our environment. The focus is on Persistent Organic

Pollutants (POPs), or poisons that last a long time in our environment

and in our bodies, including some pesticides such as DDT. This year,

other chemicals are being considered for addition to the list,

including the dangerous lindane, used in lice shampoos and as a seed

treatment for grain. PAN program coordinator Kristin Schafer reports as

she gets ready to go to Geneva.

 

Southern United States: The majority of farmers in the Cotton Belt are

now growing Monsanto's genetically engineered Roundup Ready cotton,

which is resistant to glyphosate pesticides. As a result of the heavy

use of glyphosate in the area, varieties of pigweed have developed an

immunity to it. A North Carolina weed scientist warns farmers about

glyphosate resistance at a Texas convention. The Southeast Press

reports.

 

Northeastern United States: A settlement has reportedly been reached

between Long Island Sound lobster-fishers and the last corporate

holdout in a $125 million class-action lawsuit filed against three

chemical companies. Connecticut and New York lobster-fishers filed the

federal lawsuit in 2000, alleging that the pesticides produced by the

companies to spray mosquitoes potentially carrying West Nile virus led

to a massive Long Island Sound lobster die-off in 1999. Read the

Associated Press report.

 

Minneapolis: Brand name chicken products sold in American supermarkets

and fast food restaurants are widely contaminated with arsenic,

according to independent test results released by the Institute for

Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). Testing of 155 samples from

uncooked supermarket chicken products found 55 percent carried

detectable arsenic. Arsenic was more than twice as prevalent in

conventional brands of supermarket chicken as in certified organic and

other " premium " brands. All 90 fast food chicken products tested by

IATP also contained detectable arsenic. Read the IATP report.

 

Nigeria: High incidences of prostate and testes cancers in Nigeria and

studies implicating pesticides in male sterility in the United Kingdom

inspires Nigerian health columnist Kemi Ilori to warn her readers. Her

column is in the popular Nigerian magazine, The Daily Sun.

 

Poland: Poland's upper house of parliament banned trade and plantings

of genetically modified (GMO) seeds, increasing the risk of a conflict

for adopting legislation that breaks EU rules. The bill was pushed

through thanks to the combined forces of the minority-ruling

conservatives and their fringe allies, who want to protect Poland's

image as an environmentally friendly state and fear biotech crops could

contaminate other crops. Read the Reuters story.

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PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and

reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the

mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North

America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to

advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide. We gladly

accept donations for our work and all contributions are tax deductible

in the United States.

Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) 49 Powell St., Suite

500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA Phone: (415) 981-1771 Fax: (415)

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You can bomb the world to pieces

You can't bomb it into peace