From herepog2 at gmail.com Fri Apr 17 02:22:43 2009 From: herepog2 at gmail.com (pogo here) Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:22:43 -0700 Subject: [Psgc4coop] More Bad News About Plastic Containers Message-ID: More Bad News About Plastic Containers - *By Naomi Lubick Environmental Science and Technology, April 8, 2009 Straight to the Source * New research analyzing mineral water held in bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) raises questions about whether contaminants might leach from PET into the water where they mimic estrogen's effects. In the study reported online in Environmental Science and Pollution Research on March 10 (DOI10.1007/s11356-009-0107-7), ecotoxicologists Martin Wagner and J rg Oehlmann of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University (Germany) report evidence of the bottles' estrogenicity from multiple tests, but they have yet to pinpoint the exact source. Billions of bottles and food containers made of PET are sold every year. The plastic is considered safer than others that contain endocrine-disrupting compounds, such as polyvinyl chloride which is made with phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) and polycarbonate, which has been shown to release BPA into liquids at high temperatures. For the new study, Wagner and Oehlmann used both a yeast-based assay and a reproduction test with the New Zealand mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum to tease out whether traces of chemicals in PET or other compounds mimic estrogen's activity. The researchers tested 20 brands of mineral water sold in either glass or plastic bottles or both. The yeast-based assay of different samples of mineral water showed that more than half the brands of water had "significantly elevated estrogenic activity," the researchers note. On average, the effects seen were similar to those elicited by a dose of about 18 nanograms per liter of 17?-estradiol (a natural estrogen). For all but one brand, mineral water stored in plastic bottles had higher estrogenicity than the same water stored in glass bottles. And multiuse PET bottles meant to be refilled several times showed lower estrogenicity than the bottles meant for one-time use. Click here for the rest of this article. http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17505.cfm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From herepog2 at gmail.com Fri Apr 17 11:41:32 2009 From: herepog2 at gmail.com (pogo here) Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:41:32 -0700 Subject: [Psgc4coop] Monsanto GM-corn harvest fails massively in South Africa Message-ID: South African farmers suffered millions of dollars in lost income when 82,000 hectares of genetically-manipulated corn (maize) failed to produce hardly any seeds.The plants look lush and healthy from the outside. Monsanto has offered compensation. Monsanto blames the failure of the three varieties of corn planted on these farms, in three South African provinces,on alleged 'underfertilisation processes in the laboratory". Some 280 of the 1,000 farmers who planted the three varieties of Monsanto corn this year, have reported extensive seedless corn problems. *Urgent investigation demanded* However environmental activitist Marian Mayet, director of the Africa-centre for biosecurity in Johannesburg, demands an urgent government investigation and an immediate ban on all GM-foods, blaming the crop failure on Monsanto's genetically-manipulated technology. Willem Pelser, journalist of the Afrikaans Sunday paper Rapport, writes from Nelspruit that Monsanto has immediately offered the farmers compensation in three provinces - North West, Free State and Mpumalanga. The damage-estimates are being undertaken right now by the local farmers' cooperative, Grain-SA. Monsanto claims that 'less than 25%' of three different corn varieties were 'insufficiently fertilised in the laboratory'. *80% crop failure* However Mayet says Monsanto was grossly understating the problem.According to her own information, some farms have suffered up to 80% crop failures. The centre is strongly opposed to GM-food and biologically-manipulated technology in general. "Monsanto says they just made a mistake in the laboratory, however we say that biotechnology is a failure.You cannot make a 'mistake' with three different varieties of corn.' *Demands urgent government investigation:* "We have been warning against GM-technology for years, we have been warning Monsanto that there will be problems,' said Mayet. She calls for an urgent government investigation and an immediate ban on all GM-foods in South Africa. Of the 1,000 South African farmers who planted Monsanto's GM-maize this year, 280 suffered extensive crop failure, writes Rapport. Monsanto's local spokeswoman Magda du Toit said the 'company is engaged in establishing the exact extent of the damage on the farms'. She did not want to speculate on the extent of the financial losses suffered right now. Managing director of Monsanto in Africa, Kobus Lindeque, said however that 'less than 25% of the Monsanto-seeded farms are involved in the loss'. He says there will be 'a review of the seed-production methods of the three varieties involved in the failure, and we will made the necessary adjustments.' He denied that the problem was caused in any way by 'bio-technology'. Instead, there had been 'insufficient fertilisation during the seed-production process'. And Grain-SA's Nico Hawkins says they 'are still support GM-technology; 'We will support any technology which will improve production.' see He also they were 'satisfied with Monsanto's handling of the case,' and said Grain-SA was 'closely involved in the claims-adjustment methodology' between the farmers and Monsanto. Farmers told Rapport that Monsanto was 'bending over backwards to try and accommodate them in solving the problem. "It's a very good gesture to immediately offer to compensate the farmers for losses they suffered,' said Kobus van Coller, one of the Free State farmers who discovered that his maize cobs were practically seedless this week. "One can't see from the outside whether a plant is unseeded. One must open up the cob leaves to establish the problem,' he said. The seedless cobs show no sign of disease or any kind of fungus. They just have very few seeds, often none at all. The South African supermarket-chain Woolworths already banned GM-foods from its shelves in 2000. However South African farmers have been producing GM-corn for years: they were among the first countries other than the United States to start using the Monsanto products. The South African government does not require any labelling of GM-foods. Corn is the main staple food for South Africa's 48-million people. The three maize varieties which failed to produce seeds were designed with a built-in resistance to weed-killers, and manipulated to increase yields per hectare, Rapport writes . http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/270101 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thelaw at olypen.com Fri Apr 17 23:06:52 2009 From: thelaw at olypen.com (Larry) Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:06:52 -0700 Subject: [Psgc4coop] Honey bees, a cure? Message-ID: A cure for honey bee colony collapse? 16 Apr 2009 - For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honey bee colony depopulation syndrome. They then went on to treat the infection with complete success. In a study published in Environmental Microbiology Reports from the Society for Applied Microbiology, scientists from Spain analysed two apiaries and found evidence of honey bee colony depopulation syndrome (also known as colony collapse disorder in the USA). They found no evidence of any other cause of the disease (such as the Varroa destructor, IAPV or pesticides), other than infection with Nosema ceranae. The researchers then treated the infected surviving under-populated colonies with the antibiotic drug, flumagillin and demonstrated complete recovery of all infected colonies. The loss of honey bees could have an enormous horticultural and economic impact worldwide. Honeybees are important pollinators of crops, fruit and wild flowers and are indispensable for a sustainable and profitable agriculture as well as for the maintenance of the non-agricultural ecosystem. Honeybees are attacked by numerous pathogens including viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. For most of these diseases, the molecular pathogenesis is poorly understood, hampering the development of new ways to prevent and combat honeybee diseases. So, any progress made in identifying causes and subsequent treatments of honey bee colony collapse is invaluable. There have been other hypothesis for colony collapse in Europe and the USA, but never has this bug been identified as the primary cause in professional apiaries. "Now that we know one strain of parasite that could be responsible, we can look for signs of infection and treat any infected colonies before the infection spreads? said Dr Higes, principle researcher. This finding could help prevent the continual decline in honey bee population which has recently been seen in Europe and the USA. Original publication: Higes,M., Marin-Hernandez, R., Garrido-Bailon, E., Gonzalez-Porto, A., Garcia-Palencia, P., Meana, A., del Nozal., M. J., Mayo, R., Bernal, J.L. Honeybee colony collapse due to Nosema ceranae in professional apiaries."; Environmental Microbiology Reports 2009. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: