California is the leading producer of strawberries in the U.S. In 2013, more than 2.3 billion pounds of strawberries were harvested annually. Of the 16.3 percent exported, Canada imports the majority of California’s fresh and frozen strawberry produce. So do California’s new pesticide rulings make these treasured sweet berries safe to eat? Unfortunately not. California …
Few food crops illustrate the problems in the global food chain as well as palm oil. Squeezed from the tree’s plum-size bright red fruit, oil palms are remarkably efficient producers of food. Only sugar cane produces more calories of human food per acre. But this globally traded agricultural commodity that is used in 50 percent …
Pregnant moms exposed to a common insecticide used in farming could give birth to children who go on to develop brain damage years later, according to a new study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The chemical in question is chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide that was banned for residential use …
The City of Berkeley, the Environmental Working Group and the Pesticide Action Network along with eight other activist groups, sued the California Department of Food and Agriculture over the agency’s approval of a statewide “pest management” plan that allows pesticide spraying on schools, organic farms and residential yards, including aerial spraying over homes in rural …
A recent California-based study has uncovered a strong link between pesticides and autism. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, MIND Institute examined associations between specific classes of pesticides, including organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates, applied during participants pregnancies. The data revealed pregnant women who live in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides …
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed sodium and sugar levels in 1,074 infant and toddler dinners, snacks, fruits, vegetables, dry cereals, juices and desserts. Not only was the processed food heavily salted and contained too much sugar, it didn’t matter whether the toddler’s meal was organic or otherwise. About …
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) just released a detailed scientific report, revealing the severe impacts of herbicide-resistant genetically engineered (GE) crops on the monarch population, which has plummeted over the past twenty years. The report makes it abundantly clear this iconic species is on the verge of extinction because of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crop …
As residents living on this beautiful blue planet, we are all interconnected and nothing exemplifies this more than our ecosystems. They are humanity’s life support system. These delicate environs depend on pollinators to regenerate finely tuned elements to ensure continuity. Whether mammal, animal or insect, should these pollinators disappear the impact on humanity would be …
The mega-beverage processor, known for its marketing prowess when it comes to redesigning an already known product, to appeal to a lucrative, health-conscious, demographic has entered the dairy market. Coca-Cola partnered with one of the largest dairy farms in the U.S. to launch Fairlife, a lactose-free milk that boasts less sugar, more protein and calcium, …
Here’s an ingredient you won’t find on the food label. GMO Free USA, recently announced that Frito Lay’s SunChips tested positive for glyphosate, a popular weed-killing chemical and the active ingredient in Roundup. Testing also revealed the chips contained genetically engineered or transgenic ingredients. The public advocacy group found that a quantitative test verified by …