Vaccines and National Security – Ulnar Gunnar

One can easily see in the emerging information and cyber war that a nation having its own IT infrastructure, its own hardware, and its own versions of social media platforms is quickly becoming a matter of national security. Without control over these assets, a nation must depend on foreign suppliers for their computers, peripheries and software. Already, this dependence has opened …

Suppressing Science For Monsanto? Groups Demand Investigation of USDA – Sarah Lazare

More than 25 farmworker, environmental, and food safety organizations sent an open letter on Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Agriculture demanding that the agency investigate reports that its scientists are facing retaliation and suppression of their research on controversial neonicotinoid insecticides that pose a danger to pollinator and human health. “It is imperative that the USDA maintains scientific integrity and does …

Goodall says animals “suffer” from genetically modified foods – Michaela Meaney

Animals show adverse effects from genetically modified foods, and consumers should take that as a warning, primatologist Jane Goodall said Tuesday at a National Press Club news conference that called to urge stronger government safeguards for genetically modified organisms. “Animals tell us something,” said Goodall. “If the animals have suffered this way, potentially for us, let’s listen to what they’re …

The Glyphosate Saga and “Independent Scientific Advice,” According to Germany, the UK and France

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently classified glyphosate, the active substance of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, as “probably causing cancer in human beings.” Germany is charged by the EU with the safety review of glyphosate: yet three scientists sitting on its scientific panel on pesticides are employees of BASF and Bayer, two major pesticides producers. Meanwhile, the UK has simply privatised …

Wild Bee Decline A Sign of Europe’s ‘Ecological Disaster’: Study

Nearly one in 10 European wild bee species is facing the threat of extinction, according to the first assessment of the continent’s bee populations, published Thursday. As environmentalists have long noted, bees and other pollinators are essential to the world’s food supply, farming system, and environment. However, both in Europe and the U.S., they have been threatened by industrial agriculture practices, insecticides, and …