Monsanto buys leading bee research firm after being implicated in bee colony collapse (NaturalNews) Amid all the controversy over genetically-modified (GM) crops and their pesticides and herbicides decimating bee populations all around the world, biotechnology behemoth Monsanto has decided to buy out one of the major international firms devoted to studying and protecting bees. According to a company announcement, Beeologics handed over the reins to Monsanto back on September 28, 2011, which means the gene-manipulating giant will now be able to control the flow of information and products coming from Beeologics for colony collapse disorder (CCD). Since 2007, Beeologics has been studying CCD, as well as Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), for the purpose of coming up with intervention-based ways to mitigate these conditions. Now that Beeologics is owned and controlled by Monsanto, the company is sure to completely avoid dealing with the true causes of CCD and IAPV as they pertain to Monsanto’s crop technologies — GMOs and their chemical counterparts.
Des chevals ou des chevaux? - Le français sans secrets Portail linguistique du Canada www.noslangues.gc.ca Accueil > Articles linguistiques > Des chevals ou des chevaux? Une rumeur selon laquelle la graphie chevals était attestée dans les dictionnaires aurait trotté il y a quelques années… Certaines personnes avaient alors affirmé que la graphie plurielle en -als pour tous les mots en -al avait été acceptée par l'Académie française pendant une courte durée dans les années 1980. D'autres ont avancé que le pluriel chevals provenait des Rectifications de l'orthographe de 1990, alors qu'il n'a jamais été question du pluriel des mots en -al dans la réforme. Enfin, l'origine la plus probable de cette rumeur serait associée à une épreuve de français écrit du ministère de l'Éducation du Québec, lors de laquelle les candidats devaient rédiger une dissertation à partir d'un texte de Michel Garneau intitulé Les petits chevals amoureux. Une chose est certaine : chevaux est la seule graphie attestée comme pluriel de cheval.
What a scientist didn't tell the NY Times on honeybee deaths - Oct. 8, 2010 Jerry Bromenshenk, bee investigatorBy Katherine Eban, contributorOctober 8, 2010: 1:42 PM ET FORTUNE -- Few ecological disasters have been as confounding as the massive and devastating die-off of the world's honeybees. The phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) -- in which disoriented honeybees die far from their hives -- has kept scientists, beekeepers, and regulators desperately seeking the cause. After all, the honeybee, nature's ultimate utility player, pollinates a third of all the food we eat and contributes an estimated $15 billion in annual agriculture revenue to the U.S. economy. The long list of possible suspects has included pests, viruses, fungi, and also pesticides, particularly so-called neonicotinoids, a class of neurotoxins that kills insects by attacking their nervous systems. What the Times article did not explore -- nor did the study disclose -- was the relationship between the study's lead author, Montana bee researcher Dr. Dr. Bayer v. beekeepers Share this
Leaked Document: EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own scientists’ red flags Follow the honey: Smoking bees makes them less mad when you move them, but leaked EPA documents might have the opposite effect. It’s not just the State and Defense departments that are reeling this month from leaked documents. The Environmental Protection Agency now has some explaining to do, too. In place of dodgy dealings with foreign leaders, this case involves the German agrichemical giant Bayer; a pesticide with an unpronounceable name, clothianidin; and an insect species crucial to food production (as well as a food producer itself), the honeybee. And in lieu of a memo leaked to a globetrotting Australian, this one features a document delivered to a long-time Colorado beekeeper. All of that, plus my favorite crop to fixate on: industrial corn, which blankets 88 million acres of farmland nationwide and produces a bounty of protein-rich pollen on which honeybees love to feast. It’s The Agency Who Kicked the Beehive, as written by Jonathan Franzen! Hive talking Wimpy watchdogging
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us on Deadly Junk July 17, 2013 | Like this article? Join our email list: Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email. Bet you can’t read just one page of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, the unapologetically unsugarcoated exposé of the processed food industry’s tricks to spur addiction. But that story is only part of the larger one that Moss has to tell us about the corporate competition for our taste buds and our resulting ever-expanding tummies. Moss opens his chronicle in 1999, at a top-secret meeting of the CEOs of some of the food industry’s largest companies: Nestlé, Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Mars. To be sure, self-interest drove the proposal put forth at this meeting for an industrywide code to tone down advertising, especially to children, and lead a campaign to promote exercise.
What is Really Killing the Bees? With the winter chill on the horizon, it’s easy to forget about the pesticides vs. bees debate that made headlines in the spring. The issue, though, is far from resolved. Now that the dedicated pollinators are hidden away in their hives, cleverly avoiding the incoming cold weather, it may be time to take stock of what the real problem is and how it might be solved. Click HERE for a detailed infographic that describes many the causes bee deaths, which have risen by almost 80% in some parts of Europe. In April this year, a two-year ban on neonicotinoids was passed by the European Union. This was the result of a lengthy argument between bee keepers and grain farmers, and was eventually put in place due to the risk the chemicals pose to bees. The farmers certainly aren’t giving up without a fight, especially in countries where the ban is yet to be imposed. Whilst Senft certainly has a point, supporters of the ban see it as a necessary step for the welfare of bees. Further resources
Open Source Beehives Fights Colony Collapse Disorder Colony collapse disorder threatens the lives of bees just as much as it does our own, since bees play a vital role in pollinating the flowers of the many fruits and vegetables we eat. In order to combat colony collapse disorder, the Open Source Beehives project initiated by Open Tech Forever, Fab Lab Barcelona and Valldaura is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo, offering various ways people can help. The aim of Open Source Beehives is to make beekeeping accessible to everyone; with a minimum contribution of $15 to the project, people will gain access to the Colorado Top Bar and Barcelona Warré hive designs, which can be printed from a CNC machine in wood. Other perks from contributing beyond $15 to the project include receiving organic fair trade honey, beeswax lip balms, symbolic hive adoptions, or a specially engraved beehive.
Alternative Treatment for Chronic Lyme Disease - Dr. Franco, Sunridge Medical EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees The world honey bee population has plunged in recent years, worrying beekeepers and farmers who know how critical bee pollination is for many crops. A number of theories have popped up as to why the North American honey bee population has declined--electromagnetic radiation, malnutrition, and climate change have all been pinpointed. Now a leaked EPA document reveals that the agency allowed the widespread use of a bee-toxic pesticide, despite warnings from EPA scientists. The document, which was leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, shows that the EPA has ignored warnings about the use of clothianidin, a pesticide produced by Bayer that mainly is used to pre-treat corn seeds. The pesticide scooped up $262 million in sales in 2009 by farmers, who also use the substance on canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat, according to Grist. The leaked document (PDF) was put out in response to Bayer's request to approve use of the pesticide on cotton and mustard. Related:
Honey Extractor Got Bee's? I knew this day would come. One day all those bees would make some honey then I would have to make a honey extractor-anator and extract all the honey in the tri-state area. After all what could go wrong? I have been a city bee keeper for two years now and this will be my first harvest. This project went together by solving one problem at a time in sort of a hap hazard way and getting a bit of luck every know and then. The theory behind the extractor is to spin the frames of honey flinging the honey out and leaving the wax intact. I noticed that a frame from my hive fit in a food grade bucket that i had for making beer.