Strained economy makes genetically modified corn more palatable

Darkfrog submitted, created time 8 months 2 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

I've been saying it: Things affect each other in ways that we can't always predict. The global economy coupled with new interest in biofuels has made food prices skyrocket. The result? Soft drink companies in Asia are foregoing traditionally grown corn in favor of genetically modified corn.

Less pesticide, less herbicide, less expensive. Genetically modified corn deserves its shot!

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Satellites help ensure efficient use of pesticides

franklin submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.esa.int)

A new service, developed in the framework of an ESA-supported project, is using satellite images to compare agricultural crop sites across Europe in order to ensure the more efficient use of pesticides.

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100 percent of pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta

fiona submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.biologynews.net)

"Human beings are directly responsible for more than 110,000 chemical substances which have been generated since the Industrial Revolution. Every year, we "invent" more than 2,000 new substances, most of them contaminants, which are emitted into the environment and which are consequently present in food, air, soil and water

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Premature births may be linked to seasonal levels of pesticides and nitrates in surface water

fiona submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.eurekalert.org)

"The growing premature birth rate in the United States appears to be strongly associated with increased use of pesticides and nitrates, according to work conducted by Paul Winchester, M.D., of Indiana University School of Medicine. Preterm birth rates peaked when pesticides and nitrates measurements in surface water were highest -- April-July -- and were lowest when nitrates and pesticides were lowest -- August-September. "

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Studies line up on Parkinson's and pesticides link

fiona submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.reuters.com)

"Evidence that pesticides can cause Parkinson's disease is stronger than it has ever been after a meeting of experts who have put together links in animals and people, scientists say."

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