Perpetual Innovation

Category: pesticides

  • Efforts Grow to Take the Sting Out of the Bee Die-Off – WSJ

    Efforts Grow to Take the Sting Out of the Bee Die-Off – WSJ:

    Generally, the topics discussed here aim to look at the sustainability of trends or activities. CCD is worrisome on many levels of sustainability.

    This is an interesting update on the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) of bee hives world wide.

    Look at the ugly research related to the mix of pesticides and fungicides that seem to cause the demise of bee hives. (See prior SustainZine blog on this.)

    It is interesting that the consumer seems largely unaware of this very, very serious problem. To mix he metaphors, bees are the canary in the coal mine of world agriculture. Those things that will kill the bees, may also kill the rest of us over time… assuming that the demise of the world’s pollinators does not wipe out the food supply first.

    There are so very many issues related to mono-cultures. That is the miles and miles of a single crop. Without diversity, massive amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides, etc. are needed. When something does get through the defense barrier they can get out of control quickly. The weevil in the cotton, the greening in the oranges, the pollinators in the almonds. Amphibians like frogs are interesting to watch, they can be totally wiped out based on what is happening with the water, with the land, or both. The death of the piglet litters?

    Golf courses and row crops are a biological wasteland. It takes a lot to keep one croup growing in an area, and all the others out.

    ‘via Blog this’

  • Organic. Foods to buy Organic — The dirty dozen foods

    There’s a lot of discussion about foods that are really and issue to eat that are not organic.

    The idea is that you can eat the cheaper stuff in many cases but definitely spend the money on some of the foods that are really likely to be very unhealthy if you don’t go for the organically grown.
    Look here for the annual list of the dirty and also the green foods by Environmental Working Group’s annual list.

    7 Best Foods to Buy Organic

    • Potatoes
    • Beef
    • Milk
    • Apples
    • Strawberries
    • Kale / Spinach
    • Peaches

    The Dirty Dozen

    “But organic food can cost more, meaning many families are loathe to shell out the extra cash for organic produce on every shopping trip. That’s what makes the Environmental Working Group’s annual list of the dirty dozen foods so useful. The group analyzes Department of Agriculture data about pesticide residue and ranks foods based on how much or little pesticide residue they have. The group has estimated that individuals can reduce their exposure by 80% if they switch to organic when buying these 12 foods.“

    The Dirty Dozen PLUS (14 foods to strongly consider organics)

    Eating Well will tell you that there’s a couple more you should keep your eye on that are dirty(er).

    Note that the USDA has not yet offered a Minimum daily recommendation for pesticides. So, if you want to reduce that wild-card in your diet, avoiding these foods unless they are organic is probably a good idea!.
    But, it’s your body and your diet, so you decide where and how you spend your money and gain your calories/nutrition.  
    Healthy eats to you.