traces of glyphosate found in ben & jerry’s icecream leads company to launch an organic range.

credit: Daniel Acker/Getty Images 

The Health Research Institute (HRI) laboratories  recently reported that there were traces of glyphosate found in  13 out of 14 tubs of Ben & Jerry ice cream tested in the EU. The samples came from a range of countries including  the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Glyphosate is one of the most controversial of weedkillers and had been classified by the WHO as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. Although according to the New York Times, similar levels of glyphosate in B&J ice-cream have also been recorded in the US, scientists claim that the amounts found were “very low and not likely to pose a public health problem”. European consumers are becoming less and less tolerant of traces of poison in their food. There have been recent calls for a blanket ban on glyphosate at EU level.

largest field study of its kind shows that pesticide use is killing bees.

We posted last week about a study carried out on bee populations in NNY and the effects that pathogens and parasites are having on bee populations in the region, however it seems as though bee health is the flavour of the month as another, much larger study has just been released which studied the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees and wild bees. While this is not the first study of its kind, and it largely confirms what we already knew, it is more comprehensive than previous lab-based studies  which have indicated that neonicotinoid pesticides cause considerable harm to bee populations and health.

amazing european organization and ahead of the game when it comes to land access!

Our organizations work together to strengthen practical knowledge – on both problems and solutions – in the field of access to land for agroecological farmers. We thereby aim to promote the emergence and consolidation of grassroots initiatives, working towards securing access to land and land stewardship, as well as fostering a broader evolution of national and EU policies and regulations on land use and management.

Project aims:

1- Strengthen practical knowledge to secure good land access

• Identifying relevant national organisations
• Understanding options for land tenure
• Developing specific knowledge and resources about several areas of work

2- Build citizen support for land access
• Building up knowledge and skills of volunteers/ local groups/ the public on European land context
• Engaging with other CSOs, in particular CSAs, farmers’ organisations, rural development organisations and others.

3- Contribute to the evolution of the support system for farmers’

For more information about this amazing website, click HERE!

maps of gmo free zones in europe

Anyone thinking about visiting a GMO free zone in Europe? These MAPS will lead the way.

more on seed solidarity

You may be a loyal enough blog reader to have caught the thread on TTIP TTP and TPP.  These are free trade agreements being written and negotiated on practically intergalactic level.  The stakes are high, especially around agriculture, intellectual property rights, and trade rules– but unlike during the WTO talks which triggered a massive mobilization and anti-globalization movement– so far these agreements have been quite quiet, except when the NSA controversy, exposed by Edward Snowden over US spying on European delegation communications, brought it into the press.