BEYOND PESTICIDES

Daily News: Beyond Pesticides Urges Ban of Paraquat Using Same Criteria Used in the Landmark Dacthal Ban “Why Dacthal, and not other very hazardous pesticides?” That is the question as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received accolades for its August 7, 2024, decision to ban the herbicide Dacthal (or DCPA—dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate). Paraquat, for example, poses similar elevated hazards to people and the environment, has no antidote, and has viable alternatives. Therefore, BEYOND PESTICIDES is challenging EPA to apply the same standard that removed Dacthal from the market to the long list of pesticides that are contributing to a health crisis, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency. 1️⃣ Paraquat poses immediate serious harms to people and the environment. 2️⃣ Mitigation measures have not eliminated harm. 3️⃣ The public does not benefit from continued use. >> EPA must apply the standard of the Dacthal decision to paraquat and issue an emergency suspension and prohibit use of existing stocks. https://ow.ly/HI5G50TAbaL #paraquat #dacthal #dacthalstandard #ban #epa #takeaction *** After decades of working with farmworkers and farmers who face the brunt of toxic pesticide exposure, Beyond Pesticides urges the expansion of organic land management principles to move beyond a "product substitution" framework, or pesticide treadmill, that leads to the continuous use of toxic pesticides. ✨ Thank you to members of the public who submitted comments to the National Organic Standards Board in the spirit of continuously improving and strengthening organic! Daily News Blog Post: https://ow.ly/bHuC50TAbaN

Beyond Pesticides Challenges Glyphosate Weed Killer Use To Protect Birds, Recommends Goats *Quoted from a Letter to the Editor by Jay Feldman, executive director of BEYOND PESTICIDES, in The Washington Post: "Dana Milbank deserves serious plaudits for planning to restore a bird habitat in an old hayfield—up to the part where he brought in a drone to spray his farm with the deadly weed killer glyphosate to clear the land of unwanted plants. The expediency of toxic pesticide use is especially unconscionable where are nontoxic alternatives. Instead, and aligned with ecosystem health, an ecologically sensitive tool is available and used for land management nationwide: goat grazing. The goats eat unwanted plants, including invasives, aerate and fertilize the soil, and disperse seeds of desired plant species carried on their backs... Readers should not be led to believe that everyone can use a little glyphosate—whether in the garden, on roadsides, in playing fields or on their farms—without damaging the environment and their own health (beyond the couple of days of burning eyes, like Mr. Milbank reported after getting accidentally sprayed)." The full text of the original Letter to the Editor is available here: https://ow.ly/4aav50TGaoS Feldman, Jay. (2024, October 4). Dying Birds have enough air. They need your land [Letter to the editor]. The Washington Post. https://ow.ly/7SXz50TGap7

Daily News: American Academy of Pediatrics and United Nations Issue Alerts on Antibiotic Resistance Crisis The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a newly revised technical report describing how antibiotic use in animal agriculture contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance in medical use and can adversely affect child health. [The AAP report also discusses the need for U.S. initiatives to curb unnecessary use of antimicrobial agents in agriculture—available online and published in Pediatrics, October issue.] This AAP finding comes just as the United Nations (UN) held its second High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) on September 26 at which global leaders committed “to a clear set of targets and actions, including reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) annually by 10% by 2030.” The release from the UN, “World leaders commit to decisive action on antimicrobial resistance,” states, ”The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), known as the Quadripartite, welcome the declaration. The Quadripartite applauds countries for recognising the need for global, regional and national efforts to address AMR through a One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of people, animals, plants and the wider environment, including ecosystems, are closely linked and interdependent.” Thus, the AAP joins others in urging support for “policies that strengthen oversight of antimicrobial use and require tracking and reporting of antibiotic use and resistance across human, animal, plant and environmental sectors.” >> Tell the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Congress to save antibiotics for important medical uses and eliminate use as pesticides. https://ow.ly/jxh450TFYRJ #antibiotics #resistance #childhealth #pesticides #takeaction Daily News Blog Post: https://ow.ly/9CZ750TFY0o

Take Action: Threat to Children’s Health Requires Elimination of Antibiotics as Pesticides A technical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes how the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance in medical use and can adversely affect child health. The report also discusses the need for U.S. initiatives to curb unnecessary use of antimicrobial agents in agriculture. [Use of Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture: Implications for Pediatrics, from the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases and the Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change, is available online and published in Pediatrics, October 2024.] Thus, the AAP joins others in urging support for “policies that strengthen oversight of antimicrobial use and require tracking and reporting of antibiotic use and resistance across human, animal, plant and environmental sectors.” >> Tell the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Congress to save antibiotics for important medical uses and eliminate use as pesticides. https://ow.ly/XaQg50TEFj1

Daily News: Demand for Organic Coffee Surges, Study Finds Its Production Has Lowest Carbon Footprint for Coffee Producers Coffee is a staple of morning routines across the nation. As the demand for coffee remains high, researchers discover that certified organic coffee producers in Peru have a lower carbon footprint than transitional organic coffee farmers. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú Researchers measured each stage of the coffee at five organic and 5 in-transition farms, all members of an organic coffee cooperative, from “cradle to gate,” starting with cultivation and harvesting, and then moving on to wet processing, dry processing, and harboring (referring to exporting from ports). The study notes that "... the average emissions for the production units classified as in transition are equivalent to 1.11 kg CO2e per kilogram of green coffee, while for the organic production units, the average emissions associated with 1 kg of green coffee are equivalent to 0.68 kg CO2e.” A 2024 survey by the International Food Information Council shows that coffee overwhelmingly leads in popularity (54%) and “[t]he majority of Americans (88%) consume caffeine, with 8 in 10 reporting they consume it daily." However, there are only 49 U.S. certified organic coffee farms located in California and Hawai’i, contributing just shy of $1.5 million in sales. Colehour Bondera, Hawai’i-based organic farmer and BEYOND PESTICIDES Board member, reflects on sector growth potential: “Farmers of organic coffee can and should focus on soil and tree health so that inputs are less or not at all required... Small-scale organic coffee production is doable if we all are working together to the same purposes and supporting one another." #organic #coffee #organiccoffee #agriculture #coffeebreak *** As organic land management practices and principles continue to proliferate, advocates continue to stress the importance of third-party certification as an integral part of the integrity of the USDA organic label, overseen by the National Organic Program. ☕ As the National Organic Standards Board fall meeting approaches this October, see our Keeping Organic Strong to learn about priority issues and opportunities to improve organic standards. https://ow.ly/GghB50TElMo Daily News Blog Post: https://ow.ly/uWHJ50TEkH4

Daily News: Children’s Health Threatened by Antimicrobial Use in Agriculture, Pediatric Doctors Say The American Academy of Pediatrics published a technical report in September on antimicrobial resistance, which it calls a global public health threat, identifying the health implications of antibiotic use in animal agriculture and advancing a "One Health" approach via interconnectivity between people and animal health in a shared environment. The authors, doctors of medicine from the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, note the rise in antimicrobial-resistant infections that result in increased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs—not only for adults but for infants and children as well. “Antimicrobial resistance is an organism’s ability to survive exposure to an antimicrobial agent that was previously an effective treatment. Resistance traits can be acquired either through new mutations or through transfer of genetic material between organisms,” the authors report. Antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, can be transmitted “through the food supply, direct contact with animals, environmental pathways, and contact with infected or colonized humans,” they continue. As previously reported by BEYOND PESTICIDES, the increased use of antimicrobial products alarms scientists, public health professionals, farmers, and various other stakeholders concerned with holistic environmental health. While antimicrobial use and the resulting resistance it causes are a threat worldwide, the authors of this report focus on statistics and implications within the United States. #antiobiotics #resistance #horizontalgenetransfer #onehealth #organic *** Prior research on resistance in agriculture has shown that the only true way to eliminate resistance is to stop using the material that was causing resistance to occur in the first place. The solution that protects human health, as well as the health of all organisms and the environment, is organic. 🧫 For more information, please see our Daily News archives on antibiotic resistance: https://ow.ly/R1gF50TCmzo Daily News Blog Post: https://ow.ly/hr8F50TCmzn

Daily News: Literature Review Finds Elevated Spontaneous Abortions Linked to Maternal Pesticide Exposure A trio of researchers links a heightened risk of spontaneous abortion (SAB) with pesticide exposure in a recently-published literature review and meta analysis. Taibah University | Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University | Beni-Suef University SAB, also known as spontaneous miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, is defined as the loss of pregnancy occurring prior to 20 weeks of gestation, which can be attributed to many factors, including exposure to pesticides. Analyzing 18 peer-reviewed studies totaling 439,097 participants—predominantly conducted in the U.S. and Italy—the findings reveal, according to the authors, “a significant 41% increase in SAB risk among pregnant women exposed to pesticides compared to pregnant women without exposure to pesticides.” Organophosphate pesticides were identified as the most used type of chemical reported. Myriad health effects correlate to exposure to pesticide products, with certain individuals at a disproportionate risk during windows of vulnerability. Removing exposure to these harmful contaminants—by adopting organic land management practices and products—would mitigate negative birth outcomes for expectant mothers and protect all populations in transitioning towards a livable future without the use of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers. 🔍 Please see BEYOND PESTICIDES' Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database for access to epidemiologic and laboratory studies based on real-world exposure scenarios that link public health effects to pesticides: https://ow.ly/kQ0h50TBiEN Daily News Blog Post: https://ow.ly/Nfos50TBiEM

BEYOND PESTICIDES' Executive Director Jay Feldman, as featured in Diana Kruzman's in-depth article in Grist, calls "the rise in mosquito-borne illnesses 'a concern that must be taken seriously,' particularly as climate change increases pressure on governments to protect vulnerable people. 'But like other decisions to use toxic chemicals over broad swathes of the population, those decisions have to be made with transparency,' Feldman said. 'And that’s where I think we have failed the public... Until we start thinking systematically about these problems, we’re going to be chasing our tail on chemical after chemical, disease after disease, insect after insect, as we see escalating pressure on society to find the silver bullet that doesn’t exist.'" #mosquito #EEE #WestNile #prevention #timeforachange #organic https://lnkd.in/eqH7FZDN

Daily News: Recent Census Shows 24 Percent Jump in Organic Sales; Integrity Issues before Organic Board—NOSB Public Comment Period Closes Today at 11:59 PM EDT! Farming is a notoriously risky enterprise, and organic farming presents its challenges along with its multiple benefits. Generally, organic has made great strides over the last several years and is strongly supported by American consumers, findings in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census. Even late this year, there is the prospect of several more important changes that will improve the organic certification process and some issues that will take more policy changes to resolve in the future—read today's Daily News for more! *** As a part of this process to ensure the integrity of the USDA organic label and the permitted production practices, BEYOND PESTICIDES urges the public to submit comments by TODAY (the last day for the comment period) on issues currently before the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). 🖱️ See two sets of comments on key issues that can be submitted with the click of a mouse! ⤵️ ➡️ Click here on issues related to the use of plastic, nonorganic ingredients in processed food, and seeds and plant starts: https://ow.ly/VLRS50Tzu1X ➡️ Click here on inert ingredients, contaminants in compost, and drugs in livestock production: https://ow.ly/kBwH50Tzu1Z #NOSB #organic #duetoday #comments #keeporganicstrong Daily News Blog Post: https://ow.ly/xnct50Tzu1U

Take Action—Ban Paraquat with the Same Criteria EPA Used for Landmark Dacthal Ban While the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received accolades for its decision to ban the herbicide Dacthal (or DCPA—dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate), it also left people asking, “Why Dacthal and not other very hazardous pesticides?” Paraquat, for example, poses similar elevated hazards to people and the environment, has no antidote, and has viable alternatives. Therefore, we need to challenge EPA to apply the same standard that removed Dacthal from the market to the long list of pesticides that are contributing to a health crisis, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency. In the case of Dacthal, EPA used the “imminent hazard” clause of the federal pesticide law to immediately suspend the chemical's use. At the same time, the agency is exercising its authority to prohibit the continued use of Dacthal's existing stocks, a power that EPA rarely uses. Additionally, the agency, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that there were alternatives to Dacthal. 📣 EPA must apply the standard of the Dacthal decision to paraquat and issue an emergency suspension and prohibit use of existing stocks. https://ow.ly/lAvn50TxOQG 📝 More background on the Dacthal decision and history of pesticide law that supports the immediate cancellation of paraquat is available on our page, with an extended analysis for those who wish to delve deep into the issue.