On Mon, 19 Aug 2019 22:47:37 -0400, Home Guy wrote:


"Making farmers great again not just in Brazil but also in the
US could be an uphill battle, as the unintended consequences
of deregulating pesticides have led to a global bee apocalypse."

That's ok. I'm sure Antifa and the leftists will get right on it.

Right Shadow?

I prefer the term center-left, but WTF, call it what you want.
Antifa? If you mean Amerikan, I'll take that as an insult, but if it's
"Anti-Fascist", of course I am. Who isn't, apart from Nazis and
Trumpets?

Funny you should worry about our country's downfall. Our
neighbor was complaining the other day that her entire orchard died
because the neighbor used some strong herbicide that used to be
illegal. It even killed her 100 year old Jaboticaba trees. She had
20 head of cattle, but organized crime drove in one day, put her
livestock on a truck and drove off. All wearing hoods, military gear
and military rifles. Militia RuLeZ. They left the pasture, though, so
I suppose she can eat that. Police too scared to even investigate.

All kinds of animals like inambus, codornas and perdizes,
which used to be abundant, have disappeared. They feed on insects, no
insects, they die. And wild ducks and pigeons are dying by the
millions due to seeds treated with DDT and Aldrin.

The only consolation I have is that the country that planned
the COUP that caused all the destruction imports our carcinogenic
products. Eye for an eye and all that. Oh sht, I'm becoming a bible
thumper.
Thanks for the article. Our press didn't even mention it.
Got anything else I can post in soc.culture.brazil ?
TIA
[]'s

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Half A Billion Bees Drop Dead In Brazil Amid Jump In Pesticide Use

Mon, 08/19/2019 - 21:35

Bee apocalypse has unfolded in four of Brazil's southern states in 1Q19.
More than half a billion bees died earlier this year, in a short period,
experts are suggesting that pesticides are likely to be blamed, reported
Bloomberg.

Around half a billion bees dropped dead in 4 of Brazil's southern
states in the first few months of this year. Samples showed most of the
dead had been poisoned with Fipronil, a insecticide proscribed in the
EU, classified as a possible human carcinogen by the U.S. EPA (thread)
- Bruce Douglas (@bruceecurb) August 19, 2019

Most of the dead bees had traces of Fipronil, an insecticide classified
by the European Union and the US Environmental Protection Agency as a
human carcinogen.

Since President Jair Bolsonaro took control in January, the Ministry of
Agriculture has approved sales of a record 290 pesticides, up 27% YoY
for the same period. There's also a bill sitting in Congress that would
dramatically decrease pesticide standards.

Brazilian companies such as Cropchem and Ouro Fino, as well as major
international firms including Syngenta, Monsanto, BASF and Sumitomo,
have recently won new pesticide registrations.

Data from the United Nations discovered Brazil's pesticide use jumped
770% from 1990 to 2016.

Brazil's health watchdog Anvisa recently published a food-safety report
which found 20% of samples contained pesticide residues above government
accepted levels.

Why have more than 500,000,000 bees dropped dead in Brazil so far
this year? pic.twitter.com/CKWMt4JABI
- Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) August 19, 2019

Bloomberg noted that Anvisa's test didn't even include glyphosate, one
of Brazil's best-selling pesticide, which is outlawed in at least a
dozen countries around the world.

"The death of all these bees is a sign that we're being poisoned,"
said Carlos Alberto Bastos, president of the Apiculturist Association of
Brazil's Federal District.

At least 18% of Brazil's economy is agriculture. And it makes sense why
President Bolsonaro is relaxing pesticide rules; he's trying to spark an
economic boom by deregulating chemical standards for farmers.

"This is your government," Bolsonaro told legislators from the
agriculture caucus, and his administration has even allowed farmers this
year to use whatever pesticides they want.

Greenpeace said 40% of Brazil's pesticides are "highly or extreme highly
toxic," and 32% of them aren't allowed in the European Union.

Marina Lacorte, a coordinator at Greenpeace Brazil, told Bloomberg that
new approvals for pesticides are being rushed through without proper
examination from experts.

"There isn't another explanation for it, other than politics," she
said.

Making farmers great again was a campaign commitment for Bolsonaro. He
even told farmers that he was going to ease pesticide restrictions.

Andreza Martinez, manager for regulation at Sindiveg, a group
representing pesticide producers, told Bloomberg about half of the new
approvals are ingredients, not final products. This is due to insects
developing resistance to legacy formulas.

"It brings more tools to farmers, but that doesn't mean an increase
in the use of products in the field," she said.

The increased, and sometimes untested chemicals, however, alarms
toxicologists. "The higher the number of products, the lower our chances
of safety, because you can't control them all," said Silvia Cazenave, a
professor of toxicology at the Catholic Pontifical University of
Campinas.

It's not just the bees who are being poisoned -- it's also humans, the
health ministry said. More than 15,000 cases of agricultural pesticide
were seen in 2018, a likely underreported figure.

President Trump has also been approving new pesticides that are
dangerous to bees.

A new report showed US beekeepers lost 40% of their colonies in the past
year, raising fresh concerns that pesticides are poisoning farmlands.

Making farmers great again not just in Brazil but also in the US could
be an uphill battle, as the unintended consequences of deregulating
pesticides have led to a global bee apocalypse.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...-pesticide-use
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012