Did you know Roundup Ready sweet corn is now available?

[DFB]

Ideally thats not how its suppossed to work...first off its not suppossed to increase pesticide usage.
Genecticaly modified technology especially the insect protection like Bt is marketed to decrease dependency on pesticide application.

If you follow up on it farmers are creating new problems for themselves and increase the risk of destroying their own crops thru their unapproved "cropinsurance" saving measures.

Summary:

The increasing reliance of soil-applied insecticides as insurance for Bt control of rootworm may increase the potential for crop damage, depending on the class of insecticides used and the corn herbicides also used on the crop. Certain organophosphate insecticides will create potential damage to corn, if ALS or HPPD-inhibiting herbicides are used.Are you one of those 50 percent of Bt corn growers who will be using a soil insecticide? If so, what is your weed control plan? That is a key question being asked by Aaron Hager, an Illinois weed specialist. He says the use of organophosphate soil insecticides at planting could restrict the option to use some corn herbicides, specifically those that are ALS or HPPD-inhibiting. Both insecticides and herbicides are foreign to a corn plant, which has to metabolize and break down those compounds. But Hager says the ALS and HPPD herbicides are processed by corn in the same way as organophosphates, the plant can be overwhelmed and injury can occur.

If your insecticide is Counter, Thimet, Lorsban, Aztec or Fortress, they will have varying interactions with a wide variety of popular herbicides. Some can be applied jointly without any interaction. However, others will result in unacceptable, temporary, or severe crop injury.

Killing insects and weeds are one thing, but killing your crop is another

http://www.agprofessional.com/news/...rol-could-be-hazardous-to-corn-205768101.html

Dan I agree farming for profit isn't part time work

 

[dave1949]

Concerning chicken manure...when I lived in New England we were deathly afraid of using it in our gardens because the "common knowledge" was that it contained copper residue and that the heavy metal would be bad for the ground and leach into the groundwater. Copper is fed to keep the shells hard enough for shipment. Has something changed in the chicken manure argument?

Apparently there is a connection between chicken manure and copper levels. I was reading about sheep pasturing/feeding and it noted that pastures treated with chicken or hog manure could contribute too much copper for sheep's diet.

I don't know about it leaching into the soil enough to contaminate the groundwater. I guess that would be possible in porous, sandy soils and shallow wells--which were common years ago.

 

[sixdogs]

Apparently there is a connection between chicken manure and copper levels. I was reading about sheep pasturing/feeding and it noted that pastures treated with chicken or hog manure could contribute too much copper for sheep's diet.

I don't know about it leaching into the soil enough to contaminate the groundwater. I guess that would be possible in porous, sandy soils and shallow wells--which were common years ago.

As is common with the whole State 'O Maine and it's sandy silt-loam gravel soil. Copper was a big concern when I lived there 12 years ago.

As well, it was said that 100% of Maine water wells were contaminated with the known carcinogen MTBE from it's addition to gasoline.

 

[dave1949]

As is common with the whole State 'O Maine and it's sandy silt-loam gravel soil. Copper was a big concern when I lived there 12 years ago.

As well, it was said that 100% of Maine water wells were contaminated with the known carcinogen MTBE from it's addition to gasoline.

I know there are wells that are MTBE contaminated, don't know about 100%. I think it would have to be within a mile or so of a gas station that had leaky tanks. Another worry in Maine is naturally occurring arsenic and radon. My 125' drilled well tested out okay, manganese levels were right at the recommended limits. I should probably get a new analysis since it's been 5 years since it was tested.

 

[sixdogs]

When I left the state it was common discussion and I recall public officials saying that 100% of the wells in the state were contaminated with MTBE. It was a hot press item for a while as lots of people tried to ban MTBE. I think the supplier of it was willing to sell to the state but wanted a legal exemption for it so they could not be sued over it's risks. Is MTBE still in use?

 

[DFB]

When I lived in Maine I never drank the well water. I was so close to the coast the water had high sodium levels besides traceable levels of arsenic and strong sulphur odor too.


And the latest greatest consumer health news on the wire today

YAHOO FINANCE

Corn Refiners Acknowledge Ignoring FDA Regulations to Sell Illegal Industrial Sweetener - Yahoo! Finance

A lobbying group representing the manufacturers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has acknowledged that an illegal food additive called HFCS-90 is being sold to food and beverage makers even though the substance has never been tested to be safe or approved for sale by the Food & Drug Administration.

You may comment on the petition at regulations.gov

Your voice in federal decision making

 

[dave1949]

When I left the state it was common discussion and I recall public officials saying that 100% of the wells in the state were contaminated with MTBE. It was a hot press item for a while as lots of people tried to ban MTBE. I think the supplier of it was willing to sell to the state but wanted a legal exemption for it so they could not be sued over it's risks. Is MTBE still in use?

It's not in use since 1/1/07:

Ethanol, Air Quality, Maine DEP
MtBE Ban. Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MtBE) was added to conventional gasoline to enhance combustion and octane levels and to meet the federal Clean Air Act mandate requiring 2% oxygen in Reformulated Gasoline (RFG). The Maine Legislature banned MtBE as a gasoline additive in the state after January 1, 2007. With the MtBE ban in Maine and other states ethanol has been blended with gasoline in place of MtBE.

In 1999, the formulation was reduced from 12% to 2% in Maine:

Research at the Mitchell Center - MtBE in Groundwater: The Maine Experiment
Maine alone there were over 2,000 fuel-storage tank leaks in 1999 (Maine DEP, 2000). Nationally, MtBE has been detected in 3.4% of rural wells and 16.9% of urban wells according to USGS NAWQA.
Maine opted out of reformulated gasoline (RFG) in 1999, reducing MtBE content from 12% v/v to 2% v/v. Maine is the first state to act on MtBE

I think there are contaminated areas where 100% or close to that, of the wells will show levels of MtBE. They probably share a common source of contamination - one of 2000 leaking tanks noted above. The test results below were from wells in the Windham, Maine area.

http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=ucowrconfs_2004
Surprisingly, of the 19 wells consistently tested from 1998 to 2003, at least half of the wells had
detectable concentrations of MtBE (Figure 1). In 1998, 71% of the wells had detectable levels of
MtBE. The number of wells with detectable concentrations decreased to 50% in 1999, increased
to 53% in 2001, and maintained a 53% frequency in 2003.

Here is an article about MBTE in NH. I would assume that anywhere MTBE was used in gasoline, you will find the same pattern of contamination.
Occurrence of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) in Public and Private Wells, Rockingham County, New Hampshire

 

[dave1949]

<snip>

And the latest greatest consumer health news on the wire today

YAHOO FINANCE

Corn Refiners Acknowledge Ignoring FDA Regulations to Sell Illegal Industrial Sweetener - Yahoo! Finance

A lobbying group representing the manufacturers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has acknowledged that an illegal food additive called HFCS-90 is being sold to food and beverage makers even though the substance has never been tested to be safe or approved for sale by the Food & Drug Administration.

You may comment on the petition at regulations.gov

Your voice in federal decision making

I submitted my comment. I did not reference any conspiracy or cover-up.

I don't understand the complacency on these issues. We need to take a page out of the Chinese playbook and execute a few of these clowns after a one day trial.

 

[sixdogs]

Excellent investigative work dave1949. Thank you.

 

[dave1949]

This is tangential to the GM seed issue, but it illustrates that human health impacts are happening without identified causes. It is dangerous to take the safety of unknowns for granted.


Brain diseases affecting more people and starting earlier than ever before

Some excerpts:

Brain Diseases Affecting More People and Starting Earlier Than Ever Before

Of the 10 biggest Western countries the USA had the worst increase in all neurological deaths, men up 66% and women 92% between 1979-2010.

Professor Pritchard said, "These rises in neurological deaths, with the earlier onset of the dementias, are devastating for families and pose a considerable public health problem. It is NOT that we have more old people but rather more old people have more brain disease than ever before, including Alzheimer's.

When asked what he thought caused the increases he replied, "This has to be speculative but it cannot be genetic because the period is too short. Whilst there will be some influence of more elderly people, it does not account for the earlier onset; the differences between countries nor the fact that more women have been affected, as their lives have changed more than men's over the period, all indicates multiple environmental factors. Considering the changes over the last 30 years -- the explosion in electronic devices, rises in background non-ionising radiation- PC's, micro waves, TV's, mobile phones; road and air transport up four-fold increasing background petro-chemical pollution; chemical additives to food etc. There is no one factor rather the likely interaction between all these environmental triggers, reflecting changes in other conditions. For example, whilst cancer deaths are down substantially, cancer incidence continues to rise; levels of asthma are un-precedented; the fall in male sperm counts -- the rise of auto-immune diseases -- all point to life-style and environmental influences.