Harvesting sugar beets. (Photo courtesy of the USDA)
A new genetically modified crop will be
growing in farm fields next spring. Sugar beet
farmers have been cleared to plant beets that are
resistant to an herbicide known as Roundup. It will
be the first genetically engineered food crop to be
introduced since the 1990s. Mark Brush has more:
Transcript
A new genetically modified crop will be growing in farm fields next spring. Sugar beet
farmers have been cleared to plant beets that are resistant to an herbicide known as
Roundup. It will be the first genetically engineered food crop to be introduced since the
1990s. Mark Brush has more:
A little more than half of the sugar we use comes from sugar beets. Some beet farmers
are excited about the prospect of a genetically modified beet that won’t be killed by the
herbicide Roundup. So an entire field can be sprayed with Roundup – crops and all – to
kill weeds.
Bill Freese is with the environmental group Center for Food Safety. He says the new
engineered sugar beet is just one more crop that will make us more reliant on pesticides:
“Most of the research being done is on more herbicide resistant crops. So where the
biotechnology industry is taking us is to a world where more and more chemicals will be
sprayed.”
The industry has long maintained that Roundup and similar products don’t pollute
waterways the way other pesticides do. But the widespread use of Roundup has led to
more herbicide resistant weeds – that some people call ‘super-weeds.’
The US Environmental Protection Agency plans to begin testing
hundreds of pesticides to see if they disrupt human hormones. Tracy
Samilton reports that environmental groups aren’t satisfied with the
plan. They say the research is too little, too late:
Transcript
The US Environmental Protection Agency plans to begin testing
hundreds of pesticides to see if they disrupt human hormones. Tracy
Samilton reports that environmental groups aren’t satisfied with the
plan. They say the research is too little, too late:
Ten years ago, the EPA was directed by Congress to test pesticides to
see if they interfere with human hormones which control everything from
metabolism to reproduction. Now the EPA says it will take two more
years before it will start studying a short list of 73 pesticides.
The agency will eventually test all 700 or so pesticides on the market.
The Natural Resources Defense Council says the testing could eventually
lead to banning some harmful pesticides. But the environmental group
says the EPA dragged its feet on the study for far too long. And the
NRDC complains the short list includes chemicals already known to
disrupt hormones.
Since bald eagles have reached their highest numbers since World War II, they might be removed from the endangered species list. (Photo courtesy of USFWS)
Bald eagles could be taken off the endangered species list soon.
Rebecca Williams reports bald eagles have reached their highest numbers
since World War II:
Transcript
Bald eagles could be taken off the endangered species list soon.
Rebecca Williams reports bald eagles have reached their highest numbers
since World War II:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says there are just under 10,000
breeding pairs of eagles in the lower 48 states. That’s up from a
record low of just 400 breeding pairs in the 1960s.
For many years, eagles were seen as predators and shot. After World
War II, the pesticide DDT weakened the birds’ eggshells… so they
couldn’t reproduce.
Valerie Fellows is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She says
they’ll decide whether to take the eagles off the endangered species
list by the end of June:
“We can determine at any point if populations start to plummet,
that we can re-list them and add them
to the Endangered Species Act.”
Fellows says bald eagles also have other safety nets. They’re
protected by several federal laws that make it illegal to kill or harm
the birds.
Brownish-orange bumps on the backs of these bees are Varroa jacobson mites, a possible cause of the disappearing bees. (Photo courtesy of the USDA)
Scientists are scrambling to find out why honey bee populations are
collapsing. Lester Graham reports, there are a lot of theories. Some
of them are getting more attention than others:
Transcript
Scientists are scrambling to find out why honey bee populations are
collapsing. Lester Graham reports, there are a lot of theories. Some
of them are getting more attention than others:
Recently, beekeepers have seen entire colonies of worker bees leave and
never come back to the hive. It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder.
Some news reports have suggested wireless phones or cell phone towers
might be throwing off bees’ navigation.
Barry O’Connor is Curator of Insects at the University of Michigan’s
Museum of Zoology. He says so far, that’s just a theory:
“This phenomenon has been seen in a lot of places where there aren’t
cell phone towers. And so it’s not the whole story if it’s even a part
of the story.”
Other theories for the collapse include stress from moving bees around
to pollinate crops, a newer class of nicotine-based pesticides, a
genetically modified corn with a built-in insecticide, or a combination
of environmental problems.
Growers say food production could drop a lot without honeybees to
pollinate crops.
For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
A common group of chemicals used in all kinds of products is being
associated with increased obesity. Lester Graham reports this study
is the latest to link the chemicals to health problems:
Transcript
A common group of chemicals used in all kinds of products is being
associated with increased obesity. Lester Graham reports this study
is the latest to link the chemicals to health problems:
Phthalates are found in cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, lubricants, paints,
pesticides, plastics and more. A Harvard study had linked phthalates
to lower testosterone levels in men and lower sperm counts.
Testosterone also helps keep men lean.
Dr. Richard Stahlhut and his team at the University of Rochester looked
at the data and the Harvard study and took it to the next step:
“If what they found is correct, then what we should find perhaps is
that higher phthalate levels are associated with more abdominal obesity
and insulin resistance.”
And that’s what they found. The authors of the study published online
by Environmental Health Perspectives hypothesize that phthalates
might be directly linked to more belly fat and pre-diabetes in men.
The higher the phthalate level found in a person, the greater the
chance of abdominal obesity.
For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
The government concedes it can’t get rid of a pest that’s been killing
trees. But it has a program that’s slowing its spread. Fred Kight
reports federal and state officials are using a pesticide on the tree-
killing gypsy moth in 10 states:
Transcript
The government concedes it can’t get rid of a pest that’s been killing
trees. But it has a program that’s slowing its spread. Fred Kight
reports federal and state officials are using a pesticide on the tree-
killing gypsy moth in 10 states:
The Slow the Spread Project is run by the US Forest Service and Donna
Leonard is the program manager. She says they focus on hindering the
gypsy moth’s advance into new territory:
“…And for the past five or six years, we’ve been holding spread at
about two to three miles per year, compared to 13 miles per year, which
is the rate it was spreading before we started.”
The tactic employed against the gypsy moth in the spring is aerial
spraying of pesticide, and for the most part they use a naturally
occurring soil bacteria commonly referred to as BTK.
A Sierra Club activist says BTK is far preferable to synthetic
pesticides but it can be a problem because it can kill other bugs, too.
Environmental groups are back in
court to challenge the use of the main pesticide
used in growing cherries and apples. Bob Allen
reports the environmentalists had set aside their
lawsuit while waiting for EPA to issue new rules
for applying the chemical during a phase-out period:
Transcript
Environmental groups are back in
court to challenge the use of the main pesticide
used in growing cherries and apples. Bob Allen
reports the environmentalists had set aside their
lawsuit while waiting for EPA to issue new rules
for applying the chemical during a phase-out period:
Azinphos-Methyl or AZM is a highly toxic chemical that
affects the nervous system. Last November, EPA released
stricter rules for applying it and they gave apple and
cherry growers another six years to phase it out.
Environmental groups say that’s much too long, and they’ve
taken up their suit again.
Shelley Davis is with Farmworker Justice. She says EPA was
supposed to weigh the cost to growers against the health
risks to workers and their families.
“The problem here is that EPA didn’t do that. All it did
was total up the financial benefit to the growers. And
that’s what we said to the court is not a fair deal.”
Regulators say growers need more time to learn to use
alternative pesticides.
Apple and cherry farmers are concerned phasing out an effective pesticide will affect production and leave more pesticide residue. (Photo by Lester
Graham)
Environmentalists are worried about the health of farm workers exposed to AZM.
(Photo by Lester Graham)
The EPA has granted a six-year reprieve for fruit growers to continue to use a highly toxic pesticide. But the decision to eventually phase it out is an uneasy compromise. Environmental health advocates say the delay continues to put farm workers and their families at risk. But growers say they haven’t yet found an effective replacement. Bob Allen reports:
Transcript
The EPA has granted a six-year reprieve for fruit growers to continue to use a
highly toxic pesticide. But the decision to eventually phase it out is an uneasy
compromise. Environmental health advocates say the delay continues to put
farm workers and their families at risk. But growers say they haven’t yet found
an effective replacement. Bob Allen reports:
No one wants Gramma to find a worm when she opens a can of cherries to make
a holiday pie.
According to regulations, inspectors have to make sure cherries coming to market
are worm free. And that puts big pressure on growers when they bring fruit out
of the orchard.
“And you know there’s a zero tolerance for worms. And if they find one worm
they can reject, not just that load, they can reject your whole crop for that
season.”
Francis Otto oversees pesticide spraying for one of the largest cherry orchards
along the west side of Michigan.
For decades those who grow cherries and apples have relied mostly on one
chemical to keep their fruit worm-free. Some call it the hammer. It knocks
down every insect in the orchard for several days. Then it degrades quickly
under sunlight and rain. It’s called azinphos methyl or AZM.
A generation ago workers were directly exposed when they mixed the chemical.
But things have improved since then.
Francis Otto fingers a safer pre-measured packet of AZM.
“It’s called a water soluble packet inside of an overwrap so I can pick this bag up
of azinphos and this plastic bag that it’s actually in dissolves in the water. And so
workers are not exposed to the actual materials.”
That kind of protection is not enough to satisfy groups that sued the EPA on
behalf of farm workers and their families.
Shelly Davis is an attorney with Farmworker Justice. She thinks AZM is just too
toxic to use at all and it ought to be phased-out right away.
“It’s so toxic that if you make the slightest error people are going to get hurt.
>From moderate senses of nausea, vomiting, weakness to convulsions or death.”
There’s no record of anyone dying from AZM. And incidents of serious
poisoning are fairly rare.
But Shelly Davis is mainly worried about effects from low-level exposure to
workers over a long time.
Studies show workers bring pesticides home on their shoes and clothing. It’s in
the dust in their houses where children play.
In Oregon, migrant workers exposed to AZM showed slower reaction times on
tests of how quickly their brains respond than those who don’t work in the
orchards.
“This is a ticking time bomb. Because when children get exposed it gets to the
effect that it can affect their intellectual functioning over time.”
But health researchers are careful to point out there’s no direct link established
between AZM exposure and learning deficits.
As a precaution, they recommend reducing children’s exposure as much as
possible.
EPA is cutting in half the amount of AZM that can be sprayed over the next six
years until it’s phased out. And workers will have to wait 14 days to re-enter a
sprayed orchard instead of 48 hours.
Mark Whalon runs the pesticide alternative lab at Michigan State University.
He’s experimenting with less toxic materials. He says they have to be sprayed
more often and much closer to harvest than AZM to be effective.
Whalon also has spent 25 years developing ways for growers to keep insects in
check other than using chemicals.
“And now we’re going to have to start over again with these new reduced
compounds because they have a whole different set of impacts that we’ve got to
learn all over again.”
Whalon says EPA doesn’t have good data on what the long-term health effects
might be from exposure to the alternative pesticides.
But Shelly Davis with Farmworker Justice says she’d prefer the unknown effects
from much less toxic materials than the sure danger of AZM.
Either way, Francis Otto at Cherry Bay Orchards says something’s got to give.
The alternative pesticides he’s tried are way more expensive but not as effective
as AZM.
Yet he’s still expected to deliver apples and cherries to the buying public free of
insect damage for the same price.
Environmental advocates are calling for tighter controls on the farm pesticide methyl bromide, after finding out there’s more of the chemical sitting around in places such as railroad tank cars. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
Environmental advocates are calling for tighter controls on the farm pesticide methyl bromide, after finding out there’s more of the chemical sitting around in places such as railroad tank cars. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Under an international agreement made during the 1980’s, the US is supposed to be phasing out use of methyl bromide. The chemical is linked to potential health risks and destruction of the ozone layer.
But it was recently learned that the size of the US stockpile of methyl bromide is larger than previously revealed. Now the Bush Administration has promised the US would try to cut production of methyl bromide while reducing the stockpile.
David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council says it’s now up to the EPA to live up to that promise in upcoming regulations.
“The EPA needs to cut that production allowance, because the stockpiles are there to meet the needs.”
The EPA says it’s trying to keep a “strategic reserve” of methyl bromide, while a lot of money is being spent on developing alternative pesticides.
Over the next six years, the Environmental Protection Agency is phasing out the remaining uses of an insecticide used on foods. Lester Graham reports, some environmentalists say it should be banned immediately:
Transcript
Over the next six years, the Environmental Protection Agency is phasing out the remaining uses of an insecticide used on foods. Lester Graham reports, some environmentalists say it should be banned immediately:
The insecticide azinphos-methyl, or AZM, is still used on some vegetables, nuts, and fruits. The chemical can cause short term harm to farm workers and their families who live near orchards. Over-exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, and in severe cases convulsions, coma, and death. Low-level long-term exposure can cause memory loss and other affects on the brain.
Shelley Davis is with the group Farmworker Justice.
“There are plenty of adequate, safer alternatives for pest control on the market already. Growers do not need to use AZM. This is the time the EPA should show leadership and should say ‘Let’s switch to safer alternatives.'”
The insecticide won’t be completely phased out until late in 2012. Apples, blueberries, parsley, cherries and pears will be the last foods still treated with AZM.
For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
Harvesting sugar beets. (Photo courtesy of the USDA)
