Ellen Page Talks ‘Vanishing of the Bees’ on Bill Maher

For the past several years scientists have been alarmed by the mysterious collapse of bee populations worldwide. Known as “Colony Collapse Disorder”, massive bee die-offs  discovered by beekeepers has resulted in the loss of as much as 30% of the commercial honeybee population in the U.S. since 2006. 99% of all wild bees in the northern hemisphere died in the 1990s.

Last month a leaked EPA memo uncovered proof that the U.S. government approved a pesticide toxic to bees based on “fatally flawed” science and they have no intention of banning it even though it is harming the U.S. bee population. Incredibly, beekeepers and scientists around the world are pointing to Bayer’s clothianidin as a leading factor in colony collapse and 4 European countries have already banned it. Join us in telling the EPA to immediately ban the sale and use of clothianidin until proper tests can be conducted.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/cms/sign/save_the_bees

The Honorable Lisa P. Jackson Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Ariel Rios Building, MC 1101A 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20004

Dear Administrator Jackson:

Clothianidin is a widely used pesticide linked to a severe and dangerous decline in honeybee populations. We are writing to request that you take urgent action to stop the use of this toxic chemical. As we are sure you appreciate, the failure of the agency to provide adequate protection for pollinators creates an emergency with imminent hazards: Food production, public health and the environment are all seriously threatened, and the collapse of the commercial honeybee-keeping industry would result in economic harm of the highest magnitude for U.S. agriculture.

The science shows that clothianidin-contaminated pollen and nectar presents an imminent hazard. Because the hazards to honeybee health are present within registered use parameters, it is clear that label changes and use restrictions will not offer adequate protection. We therefore urge the agency to issue a stop use order immediately. Our nation cannot afford, and the environment cannot tolerate another growing season of clothianindin use.

In addition, because this problem reflects an overuse of the conditional registration program, we urge you to set an immediate moratorium on the use of such registrations until the program is fully evaluated for compliance with its underlying statutory responsibilities. The conditional registration of clothianidin in 2003 with outstanding data critical to its safety assessment represents a failure that could and should have been avoided.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter,

[Your Name]

David Gutierrez
Natural News

Corn plants genetically modified (GM) to produce pesticides in their tissues are contaminating water supplies across the US Midwest, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Science.

The study was conducted on corn engineered to carry a gene from the Bacillus thuriengensis (Bt) bacteria that produces an insecticidal protein, Cry1Ab. The researchers tested 217 Indiana streams for traces of Cry1Ab, and pesticide the chemical in 13 percent of them. Every contaminated stream was within 500 meters (1,600 feet) of a corn field.

In the Midwestern “Corn Belt” states of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, 90 percent of streams and riversare within 500 meters of a corn field. This amounts to 159,000 miles worth of waterways at risk from Bt corn contamination.

Eighty-six percent of the streams tested in the study contained corn cobs, husks, leaves or stalks.

Read Full Article

RELATED ARTICLE:
7 Reasons Food Shortages Will Become a Global Crisis

(NaturalNews) Scientists at British biotechnology giant Oxitec recently developed a genetically-modified (GM) mosquito that, apart from a specific chemical antibiotic, is unable to successfully repopulate. And the company recently released millions of these GM mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands to see what would happen — and they did so without proper approval or announcement — prompting outrage by experts and the public over the unknown consequences of conducting such an irresponsible experiment.

Oxitec released the mosquitoes last year, but only just recently let the public know about it. The company has attempted to justify its decision by claiming its GM mosquitoes may help fight the spread of dengue fever by reducing or eliminating the wild mosquito population. But nobody knows what happens when these GM mosquitoes interact with other animals and humans, or how their altered genes will disrupt the living environment.

Seemingly content with its decision to hide the trial from the public initially, Oxitec had the audacity to announce at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene that its trial was “successful”. But how the company can make such a preposterous statement without knowing the long-term effects of its irreversible decision is mind-boggling.

“Oxitec considers its trial ‘successful’ just days after the experiment has ended,” explained Kathy Jo Wetter, a researcher at the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Cooperation. “[U]nintended impacts on the environment cannot be known, and Oxitec’s unproven technology could make things worse in the long term. There is no possibility of recall if something goes wrong — who takes responsibility in that case?”

Not only are mosquitoes a necessary component of the natural food chain, representing the prey of various creatures like birds and bats, but they are also important pollinators in the same way that bees are. Even though they appear to be a nuisance, without them, the entire food chain could collapse.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.scidev.net/en/news/gm-mo…

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/030449_mosquitos_Cayman_Islands.html#ixzz1auorbJU3

There was recently a big uproar about the FDA’s decision to approve genetically modified salmon for human consumption without the need to do any chemical testing on the salmon first.

FDA won’t allow food to be labeled free of genetic modification: report

By Raw Story‘Extra labeling only confuses the consumer,’ biotech spokesman says

That the Food and Drug Administration is opposed to labeling foods that are genetically modified is no surprise anymore, but a report in theWashington Post indicates the FDA won’t even allow food producers to label their foods as being free of genetic modification.

In reporting that the FDA will likely not require the labeling of genetically modified salmon if it approves the food product for consumption, thePost‘s Lyndsey Layton notes that the federal agency “won’t let conventional food makers trumpet the fact that their products don’t contain genetically modified ingredients.”

The agency warned the dairy industry in 1994 that it could not use “Hormone Free” labeling on milk from cows that are not given engineered hormones, because all milk contains some hormones.

It has sent a flurry of enforcement letters to food makers, including B&G Foods, which was told it could not use the phrase “GMO-free” on its Polaner All Fruit strawberry spread label because GMO refers to genetically modified organisms and strawberries are produce, not organisms.

Read Entire Article

Intel Hub – The FDA is actively working with corporations such as Monsanto to essentially poison the food supply. The FDA is crawling with former Monsanto execs, the same company that brought us the infamous agent orange toxin and who controls the vast majority of the American food supply. We live in a country where our government BANS companies from labeling their products GMO free!

Bloomberg just ran an article that shows that consumer concern over the safety of genetically modified food is not unfounded.

According to the article scientist found that genetically modified corn, which was altered to cause the corn to produce an insecticide, is polluting the waters and streams near the corn fields were it is grown. Bloomberg reports that 85% of the corn grown in the U.S is genetically modified and the insecticides have been found in the waters up to 6 months after the corn was harvested meaning that the toxins produced by the corn enters the environment and stays there.

Apparently, while the scientists are concerned about the impact the toxins produced by the corn will have on the environment there is no concern over the health and safety of humans consuming the toxins either through direct consumption or as it comes up the food chain after the toxic corn is feed to livestock.

Toxin From Biotech Corn Detected in U.S. Streams, Study Finds

ept. 28 (Bloomberg) — An insecticide produced by genetically modified corn was found in streams in the U.S. Midwest, according to research by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.Samples at 217 stream sites in Indiana found the protein Cry1Ab, the toxin expressed by so-called Bt corn, in water at about a quarter of the locations, the Millbrook, New York-based institute said on its website, citing a study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The insecticide enters waterways through runoff and when corn stalks, leaves and plant parts are washed into stream channels, …

…

These corn byproducts may alter the health of freshwater bodies, the institute said, adding that ultimately streams that originate in the Corn Belt drain into the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.

Corn is made to produce the Cry1Ab protein, which is toxic to the European corn borer, by adding a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt….

The study was conducted six months after the corn harvest, indicating that the insecticide can persist in the environment…

…

More than 85 percent of U.S. corn in 2009 was genetically modified to repel pests, resist herbicide exposure or both…

Read the original story.

Grist Magazine gives us more information on the new report which you probably won’t find being discussed from any Corporate news sites.

Field of Screams — Transgenic crops’ built-in pesticide found to be contaminating waterways

One of the main arguments offered in support of the wide use of genetically engineered crops is that they reduce overall pesticide use. This is particularly the case with Monsanto’s “Bt” line of corn, soy, and cotton seeds, which are able to produce their own pesticide, a “natural” toxin from genes of the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis. Ironically, commercial pesticide derived from Bt also happens to be one of the only chemical pesticides approved for use in organic agriculture, because it’s produced through a biological process.Biotechnology companies thus consider Bt seeds some of their most “eco-friendly” products. In theory, farmers don’t have to spray pesticide as much or as often on these crops, and therefore pesticide runoff into waterways is much less of a concern. Well, after years of denial, Monsanto finally admitted recently that superbugs, or pests that have evolved to be able to eat the Bt crops, are a real and growing concern…

…

The fun part? No one has any idea yet of the effects of long-term, low-dose exposure to Bt on fish and wildlife. Perhaps it’s high time somebody did a study on that since, as the researchers dryly observed, the presence of Bt toxin “may be a more common occurrence in watersheds draining maize-growing regions than previously recognized.” Apparently.

So. Not only do genetically engineered crops have worse yields than conventionally bred crops, cost more, lead to pesticide resistance, contaminate other plants with their transgenes, possibly cause allergies and even organ damage, but now we also learn that the plants themselves are possibly poisonous to the environment.

These kinds of genetically engineered seeds keep being touted as the only way we’re going to feed the world. Isn’t it about time we started investing in less toxic alternatives?

Read Entire Aticle

Moreover, while the scientists who performed this research seem “shocked” to have found the toxins in the water and persisting in the environment for months I some times wonder what decision making process these scientists and the FDA uses to come to decisions. For example a study published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology clearly showed that the insecticides penetrated the soil through the root system and persisted in the environment. Common sense would tell you once it enters the soil of course the runoff from rain will carry it into lakes and streams.

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Abstract

The insecticidal toxin encoded by the cry1Ab gene from Bacillus thuringiensis was released in root exudates from transgenic Bt corn during 40 days of growth in soil amended to 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12% (v/v) with montmorillonite or kaolinite in a plant growth room and from plants grown to maturity in the field. The presence of the toxin in rhizosphere soil was determined by immunological and larvicidal assays. No toxin was detected in any soils from isogenic non-Bt corn or without plants. Persistence of the toxin was apparently the result of its binding on surface-active particles in the soils, which reduced the biodegradation of the toxin. The release of the toxin could enhance the control of insect pests or constitute a hazard to nontarget organisms, including the microbiota of soil, and increase the selection of toxin-resistant target insects.

Saxena, D. and Stotzky, G. (2000), Insecticidal toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis is released from roots of transgenic Bt corn in vitro and in situ. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 33: 35–39. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2000.tb00724.x Volume 33, Issue 1,pages 35–39, July 2000

Read Entire Study

All247News has printed a piece warning of the dangers of Montosa’s GMO corn.

GMO Corn May Turn Your Tummy Into a Poison Production Factory

August 22nd, 2010.
Michael Danielson

The biotechnology industries are quite proud of their pest-resistant, genetically modified (GMO) corn and other crops. When you hear the term ‘pest-resistant’, you might not think, at first, of what that truly means — that the modified plants are creating their own pesticide inside their cells. In short, the plants kill the bugs that eat them, so the bugs learn not to eat them. Of course, that means that humans who consume the pest-resistant GMO corn are consuming pesticide with every bite, but it’s pesticide from inside the corn, so you can’t wash it off. Biotech companies claim that the toxin that their GMO plants create isn’t dangerous to humans, but many studies show otherwise.

Mice fed the toxin suddenly became allergic to many compounds that previously didn’t bother them. Farm workers have had reactions to the genetically modified toxin, and the Federal Court of Canada has recognized that “People with compromised immune systems or pre-existing allergies may be particularly susceptible to the effects of [this toxin].”

When the same toxin that GMO plants create within their cells was sprayed over areas of Washington State, six people went to the emergency room and hundreds more reported flu-like or allergy-like symptoms — all provably related to the spray. Then ponder the fact that, inside the plant, the toxin is more than three thousand times as concentrated as it is in the natural commercial sprays, and you can start to grasp the danger.

That’s not even half of the danger associated with the pest-resistant corn, however. The toxin is consumed when the corn is eaten, but it’s also present in the pollen, which can be inhaled by anyone working near the corn field. One Filipino village was mysteriously stricken with a disease in which the entire village suffered headaches, vomiting, chest and stomach pain, fever, and more — for exactly the duration of time that a nearby GMO corn field was blooming. The sickness recurred every year that the same variety of corn was planted in that field, and vanished when the corn was replaced with a different breed. When the same breed of corn was planted near four other villages in the area, the same symptoms swept the villages, again only during pollination season.

(Reuters) – An Italian court has imposed a 25,000 euro ($33,670) fine on a farmer for illegally growing genetically modified maize and ordered him to destroy the crop, but the farmer said on Tuesday he would appeal the decision.

Italy has banned cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops pending approval of rules on co-existence of GM and traditional crops. Public opinion in the country is strongly opposed to GM organisms, which are seen as less healthy.

A judge in the town of Pordenone issued the ruling after a scientific confirmation that Monsanto’s MON 810 maize had been cultivated on a plot of land in the north-eastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and had contaminated some nearby fields, although within accepted levels in the European Union.

The decision, announced both by supporters of GM crops and by fierce opponents at Italy’s Greenpeace, comes as a Europe-wide debate on GM cultivation heats up.

Many of the European Union’s largest governments reiterated on Monday their opposition to proposals to let EU states decide for themselves whether to grow or ban GM Crops.

Giorgio Fidenato, chairman of pro-GMO association Agricoltori Federati who planted the GM maize to speed up approval of GM crop cultivation in Italy, said he would fight the decision and prove he had done nothing wrong.

“I have planted maize on my property and, therefore, my actions were fully legitimate and legal,” Fidenato said in an audio interview available on the web site of pro-GM movement Movimento Liberatorio (www.movimentoliberatorio.it)

“The true legal battle starts now,” Fidenato said, adding that his lawyers have 15 days to appeal the ruling.

But Greenpeace activists said cultivation of GM maize in the Pordenone province had breached a law, which could carry a punishment of up to three years in jail or a fine of up to 51,700 euros.

“Finally, legality is brought back to Friuli,” said Greenpeace anti-GMO activist Federica Ferrario.

Italy’s regional agriculture chiefs, who were expected to meet on Thursday to give their opinions on a draft of co-existence rules, have postponed the meeting, and the new date is yet to be announced.

($1=.7426 Euro)

(Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova and Massimiliano Di Giorgio, editing by Jane Baird)

“The Biggest GM Crop Scandal in Germany to Date”

A genetically modified strain of maize classified as NK603 — one that is explicitly banned in the European Union — has been unleashed in Germany. The crop has been unwittingly planted on nearly 7,500 acres so far, and is continuing to spread. The source of the contamination has not yet been determined, but it is believed that it could cost farmers millions of euros to eradicate the tenacious GMO crop.

The contamination has spread across 7 different states in Germany, contaminating fields unbeknown to the farmers tilling the land. Such affected farmers will have no choice but to plow their fields prematurely. Greenpeace operations in Europe helped uncover the GMO’s spread. The BBC reports:

In the affected fields, up to 0.1% of the crop is contaminated with NK603 – equivalent to 100 contaminated plants per hectare, Greenpeace says.”Fields will have to be ploughed up before the maize blooms – it is still possible to halt the uncontrolled spread [of the GM variety],” Stefanie Becker, spokeswoman for Lower Saxony’s Environment Ministry, told the BBC.

This news breaks right at a moment when the European Commission is recommending that the EU relax its strict rules on genetically modified foods like those pushed by Monsanto. This new development could potentially impact such plans. Agricultural expert Alexander Hissting said as much to the BBC: “This is the biggest GM crop scandal in Germany to date.”

The GMO strain of maize [CORN] is not dangerous to human health, but it could corrupt non-GMO strains through cross-pollination if not swiftly dealt with.

Source: TreeHugger.com

Flouride -a known toxin-  is currently in toothpaste

A report from TIME.com lists among other household Items – Flouride- as an “Environmental Toxin”. The article starts out, saying:

Chemicals in plastics and other products seem harmless, but mounting evidence links them to health problems — and Washington lacks the power to protect us

Of course, activists and scientists have for years been aware of Flouride’s toxicity, but propaganda and Big Pharma have sought to keep these facts from the general public by showing flouride in a favorable light through the controlled media.

The article went on to say that “Government studies support current fluoride levels in tap water, but studies on long-term exposure and cancers are ongoing”.

What It Is: A form of the basic element fluorine

Found In: Toothpaste, tap water

Health Hazards: Neurotoxic and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed; the American Dental Association advises that children under 2 not use fluoride toothpaste

What You Should Know: Government studies support current fluoride levels in tap water, but studies on long-term exposure and cancers are ongoing

So, What are the lethal levels for humans?

As of April 7, 1997, the United States FDA (Food & Drug Administration) required that all fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S. carry the following poison warning:

WARNING: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately.

Potentially fatal dose = 5 mg of fluoride per kg of bodyweight.

Ingestion of fluoride can produce gastrointestinal discomfort at doses at least 15 to 20 times lower (0.2–0.3 mg/kg) than lethal doses. [7][8] A 2-year-old, for example, may experience gastrointestinal distress upon ingesting sufficient amounts of flavored toothpaste. Between 1989 and 1994, over 628 people—mostly children—were treated after ingesting too much fluoride from their toothpaste. Gastrointestinal symptoms appear to be the most common problem reported. [9]

In 1986 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for fluoride at a concentration of 4 milligrams per litre (mg/L), which is the legal limit of natural fluoride allowed in the water. In 2006, a 12-person committee of the US National Research Council (NRC) reviewed the health risks associated with fluoride consumption[12] and unanimously concluded that the maximum contaminant level of 4 mg/L should be lowered. The EPA has yet to act on the NRC’s recommendation.[13][14] The limit was previously 1.4 – 2.4 mg/L, but it was raised to 4 mg/L in 1985.[15]
Wikipedia

Excessive flouride consumption in studies has been shown to be the culprit in the following;

• A weakening of bones, leading to an increase in hip and wrist fracture
• Adverse effects on the kidneys
• possible liver damage
• Chromosomal damage and interference with DNA repair
• a correlation between increased fluoride and low IQ
• suppressive effects on the thyroid
• While it is refreshing to see the truth about flouride being published in the mainstream media, it is disappointing to see, that when most people are told about the devastating effects of flouride in our drinking water, toothpaste, and other household items – they ignore the facts, or even categorize these facts as just another “Conspiracy theory”.

Source: SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!