 |
|||
 |
" I heard it |
||
September 19, 2008
· EU awash in fake pesticides; China top source
· FDA said to favor industry over consumers
· Fall’s the time to plan conservation programs
· Honeybee ‘wave’ keeps predators away
· Iceberg lettuce variety bulks up on nutrition
EU awash in fake pesticides; China
(ecpa.eu) – A report released Thursday by the European Crop Protection Association shows that fake pesticides are increasingly present in most European countries. These illegally-traded pesticides are completely untested and commonly contain toxic elements that pose significant threats to farmers, consumers and the environment.
The report: "Counterfeit Pesticides Across Europe: Facts, Consequences and Actions Needed", gives the most extensive expose of the counterfeit problem, its impacts and required solutions. It provides both a macro-EU analysis, as well as country specific information for seventeen countries.
The report's main findings are:
Fake pesticides are present in most countries. Untested, unregulated and unapproved pesticides are present in most, if not all European countries to a greater or lesser degree. 5%-7% of the pesticide market is affected by counterfeiting and illegal trade. In some regional hot spots, 25% or more of products are fakes. There is growing evidence that counterfeits are increasingly produced for and distributed by organised criminal gangs.
Regulatory and political activity is not addressing the problem. Despite more and more regulation related to pesticide use, less and less attention is devoted to enforcement of regulations. Urgent actions are required by policy makers, government enforcement agencies, supranational entities, distribution and supply chains, farmers and the food chain to slow the increase. More efforts are needed focusing on the monitoring and control of plant protection products used and pan European coordination on enforcement activities.
Fake pesticides pose major threats. In addition to the significant health threats to farmers, consumers and the environment, they cause economic and reputation damage to farmers, governments and the food production and delivery chain, diminish public confidence in the regulatory process and deter investment for the future.
The report explains why the fight against fakes is hindered by low recognition by politicians of the extent and complexity of the problem, weak national enforcement, limited European leadership and inadequate judicial frameworks and penalties.
"For the first time, we have a picture of the extent
and impact of fake pesticides across
To illustrate the different aspects of the counterfeit problem, 18 separate case studies are presented in the report. These include:
• cases of illegal repackaging in
• examples of successful
prosecutions in
• examples of farmer's fields
destroyed in
• illegal trade between
• examples of illegal warehouses in
• an example of mass spray of
illegal pesticides on peppers for export in
In one example, fake pesticides were packaged in vegetable cooking oil containers. Boxes containing 5-litre bottles disguised as normal vegetable cooking oil were found prior to distribution. Had consumers used the "oil", serious illness or death would have resulted.
"Pesticide companies are devoting significant efforts to fighting this problem but cannot stand alone. Counterfeiting pesticides is criminal. Enforcement and political solutions are essential to protect the public", said ECPA's Director General Friedhelm Schmider.
To see the report, go to: :
http://www.ecpa.eu/files/ecpa/documentslive/9/17853_Counterfeit%20Pesticides%20across%20Europe%20-%20Facts-Consequences%20and%20Actions%20needed.pdf
The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) represents
the crop protection industry interests at European level. Its members include
all major companies and national associations across
FDA said to favor industry over consumers
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration appears to be giving priority to projects that benefit the pharmaceutical industry rather than helping consumers, a top Democratic lawmaker said on Wednesday.
The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee questioned how the FDA set its priorities given recent controversies over its handling of safety issues, including tracking tainted foods and inspecting drug manufacturers.
A 2007 FDA list of top projects includes plans to offer advice to companies on promoting products, as well as guidance on offering reprints of journal articles to physicians, California Democrat Henry Waxman said in a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.
The agency also planned to change its regulations to protect device makers from lawsuits as long as their products are FDA-approved.
"All appear to prioritize industry desires over consumer protection," Waxman wrote. The initiatives also appear to have bypassed normal regulatory channels so they could be implemented sooner.
The FDA has come under fire in recent years following a string of highly-publicized safety scares, starting with the 2004 withdrawal of Merck & Co Inc's painkiller Vioxx after it was linked to heart problems.
The risk of suicide with antidepressants and other drugs, as well as tainted batches of blood-thinner heparin and bacteria-laced produce such as spinach and hot peppers have also fueled concerns.
In Waxman's letter, he said a June 15, 2007 e-mail from then FDA Chief Counsel Sheldon Bradshaw showed Bradshaw planned to forward a list of agency priorities to the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"I'll send that list to the Deputy Secretary who, in turn, will send it back to the FDA as his list of priority projects. That will ensure that our projects are moved in a timely fashion," Bradshaw said in one e-mail, according to Waxman.
Bradshaw, a lawyer who now represents the food and drug industry in private practice, said the agency's priorities focused on public health, even if some also were supported by drugmakers.
"It's simply incorrect to assume that an FDA initiative can't be for the promotion of the public health if the industry supports it," he told Reuters.
"Industry had absolutely nothing to with the list," he added.
In his letter, Waxman said Bradshaw and the deputy secretary, Tevi Troy, have ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Before joining HHS,
But Bradshaw said he never represented an FDA-regulated
company prior to joining the agency.
FDA spokeswoman Heidi Rebello said the agency would review Waxman's letter and respond to the congressman.
She added that agency has an ambitious agenda that also includes tackling inspection reform and other safety issues.
"It would be a mistake to think that the thousands of dedicated employees working on FDA issues cannot pursue a wide range of public health priorities concurrently," she said.
HHS representatives had no comment on
Fall’s the time to plan conservation programs
(
Planning for grassed waterways, filter strips, field borders, windbreaks,
and/or no-till planting can start now, said Dave Shelton, agricultural engineer
at UNL's Haskell Agricultural Laboratory near
"With most field scouting for insects, weeds and other pests mostly
finished, harvest is a great time to scout and plan where conservation
practices could be implemented or installed to help reduce soil erosion and
improve water quality," Shelton said. "The combine cab offers an
excellent vantage point to note where channels have developed in the field from
the concentration of runoff water."
Gullies or rills typically develop in the same place each year. Spring tillage
may fill these spots, but they redevelop during the growing season.
"Consider installing grassed waterways in these areas,"
A grassed waterway is a shaped or graded channel that is seeded to grass. The
channel helps reduce erosion because the velocity and energy of flowing water
is reduced by the grass.
Filter strips and riparian forest buffers placed along the edges of streams or
other water bodies can serve as a last line of defense for sediment and other
pollutants that might enter the water.
"These practices are very effective at trapping sediment and enhance the
infiltration of runoff water," he said. "Buffers also improve safety
by keeping equipment away from the edge of the stream and provide excellent
habitat for pheasants, songbirds, and other wildlife."
"They can be designed and planted to provide a straight field edge along a
meandering stream, thus improving farming efficiency," he said.
Grassed field borders can provide a convenient location for unloading combines
into trucks or grain carts, loading planters, or for turning combines,
planters, and other equipment around, he said.
"Controlling field traffic in this manner also can greatly reduce the
likelihood of developing a compaction problem within the field," he said.
Field borders often can be used to eliminate crop rows that would otherwise be
planted up-and-down hill, thus further reducing soil erosion. They also can
provide habitat for wildlife.
Windbreaks, shelterbelts, and living snowfences are
similar practices where rows of trees and shrubs are planted to protect an area
from wind and/or blowing snow.
"Living snowfences typically are established
along roads or lanes to control drifting snow, whereas windbreaks/shelterbelts
are usually planted to protect farmsteads, feedlots, and other structures,"
he said.
Windbreaks also can be effective in reducing heating costs and improving
livestock performance in the winter, and they provide excellent wildlife
habitat.
"All these conservation practices require a commitment of land and the
planting of permanent vegetation (grasses, shrubs, trees),"
"However, no-till planting is a proven conservation practice that often
just requires a change in management and possibly some equipment
adjustments," he said.
The first step in establishing a no-till system is to make sure residue from
the harvested crop is uniformly distributed behind the combine.
The federal Continuous Conservation Reserve Program, the Nebraska Buffer Strip
Program and other programs are available to assist landowners with the
installation and maintenance of many different conservation practices. For more
information, contact a local Natural Resources and Conservation Service,
Natural Resources District or UNL Extension office.
Honeybee ‘wave’ keeps predators away
(DiscoverMagazine.com) – It’s a hard choice, deciding whether ants or bees are Discoblog’s favorite kind of wickedly intelligent insect. But if anything could sway the proceedings one way or the other, it’s this: Bees know how to do the wave.
A study published today in PLoS One suggests that giant honeybees have a kind of collective intelligence that allows them to fend off attacking hornets—a valuable skill, because the bees live in open nests. A team led by Gerald Kastberger of the University of Graz in Austria watched video of 450 examples of “shimmering”—a group of bees flipping their abdomens up and down to create a dazzling visual effect, something like fans doing the wave at a stadium. The bees use this technique at other times, like when one is leaving the nest, but the researchers say they mobilize shimmering en masse when they see a hornet.
Kastberger says hundreds of bees can get going in less than a second when a bee-hunting hornet comes around. And the shimmering seems to be an effective deterrent—the hornets usually change course. The researchers suggest that the shimmering waves probably confuse the attacker, and make it unable to fixate upon its intended target. But, they say, the fact that so many bees get in on the act when only a few would do suggests an additional benefit to shimmering: protecting the hive.
Shimmering isn’t the only clever defensive tactic the giant honeybees use to defend their exposed nests. They also mobilize quickly to launch vicious stinging attacks against birds and other predators. Against wasps they turn to “heat-balling,” swarming over the attacker and then heating parts of their body up beyond 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills the wasp or hornet.
While not an act of aggression like heat-balling, shimmering, Kastberger says, is a way for bees to issues a warning: “We know you’re there; buzz off.”
Iceberg lettuce variety bulks up on nutrition
(fosters.com) You'd never know it by taking a head count at
the supermarket, but iceberg lettuce is losing favor with consumers looking for
more flavor and nutrition from their salad greens. Iceberg has been
contemptuously called the "polyester of all the lettuce types," and
critics claim it has about as much dietary value as sticking a blade of grass
between your teeth.
"Iceberg is 95 to 96 percent water, although it brings a little fiber and
folic acid to the table," said David Still, a plant science professor at
For the past half-dozen years, Still has been trying
to develop an iceberg variety that is easier to grow, has a longer shelf life
after harvest and packs more nutritional value. So far he has managed to cross
iceberg lettuce with some butter lettuces, boosting its levels of antioxidants
and vitamins A, C, E and K.
"We don't think it (hybridization) will change the iceberg's taste that
much but it is one of the things we're watching," Still said. "We're
aware that iceberg's mild taste has been popular." It will be at least a
couple of years before a more wholesome iceberg variety is ready to market, he
said. There was a time when iceberg was the most celebrated of lettuces, said
George Ball, chairman and chief executive officer of W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the
"The whole thing about iceberg is the crunch," Ball said.
"Americans love that crunch in a sandwich. But in the '60s and '70s, the
trend started moving toward leaf lettuces. Romaine in Caesar
salads, for instance. It was getting harder to find an iceberg being
served in restaurants."
The fragility of leaf lettuces — that they don't take well to freezing, drying
or canning, and wilt quickly after being cut from the garden — made them
something of a localized market item before the iceberg came along, Ball said.
The convergence of iceberg lettuce and boxcar icing — heaping green heads
resembling icebergs upon arrival — meant salads could be served fresh anywhere
in the nation at any time of year.
"It shipped easily," Ball said. "You can't hurt it." Then came the fall from favor, or flavor. In 2006, the
nation's growers harvested 175,600 acres of iceberg lettuce, mostly in
Yet Americans continue eating more iceberg lettuce than any other variety,
about 22 pounds per person per year in 2005, the USDA said. Romaine ran a
distant second, about 8 pounds per capita. Iceberg also is popular with weight
watchers since it's virtually fat and cholesterol free. A medium-size head
contains only about 70 calories. So until the healthier varieties come along,
here are some simple ways to give iceberg lettuce a nutritious lift:
— Mix it with greener greens that contain heavier concentrations of calcium,
vitamins and proteins. Try spinach, arugula, chicory and endive.
— Wrap the outer leaves around slices of meat and cheese, making a
carbohydrate-neutral substitute for sliced breads.
— Sweeten salads with fruits. Fresh strawberries and
pineapple chunks are flavorful candidates in the summer.
If nothing else, remember that variety is as important as quantity in the human
diet.
"No single fruit or vegetable provides all the nutrients you need to be
healthy," a Harvard School of Public Health fact sheet says. "The key
lies in the variety of different vegetables and fruits that you eat."
End Transmission