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Traces of Pesticides Discovered in 75 Per Cent of the World’s Honey
TRACES OF PESTICIDES DISCOVERED IN 75 PER CENT OF THE WORLD’S HONEY
Residue from potentially harmful pesticides has been discovered in 75 per cent of honey sampled from around the world, according to a study conducted by Swiss scientists that was published in the journal Science in October 2017.
The researchers sampled 198 different honeys sourced from every continent, excluding Antarctica, testing for the presence of five unique neonicotinoid pesticides that are frequently applied to crops. These insecticides are so efficient that by 2008, they accounted for one quarter of the global insecticide market – and that rate continues to increase.
According to the study, these neonicotinoids are absorbed by plants and transported to all organs – including flowers, resulting in contaminated pollen. Increasing evidence suggests that large-scale use may lead to significant environmental impacts, leading scientists to start investigating the chemical’s impact on landscapes around the world.
“Despite increasing research efforts to understand the patterns of neonicotinoid uses and their effects on living organisms, we lack a global view of the worldwide distribution of neonicotinoid contamination in the environment to evaluate the risk,” the study states.
To help determine the potential risk of current contamination levels, citizen scientists from around the world sent individual samples of locally produced honey to the researchers’ laboratory in Switzerland. According to the study, the residue level of pesticides found in honey provides a measure of possible contamination in the surrounding landscape.
“Many of our samples were from very remote regions,” said Professor Edward Mitchell with the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, who co-authored the study. “We also aimed to (include) isolated oceanic islands, and places in central parts of continents far away from industrial areas.”
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The Cost of Food Insecurity
THE COST OF FOOD INSECURITY
In many developing countries, undernutrition is a recognized – and well documented – crisis. However, with increasing urbanization, another health concern is beginning to emerge as people choose to consume foods of convenience rather than exert the effort it takes to grow their own produce.
While nutritious foods are still readily available in rural areas, the industrial urban systems involved with food processing and supply means these healthy foods are being replaced by cheaper alternatives. High in carbohydrates and sugars, these are often very energy-dense but lack the nutritional value of traditional foods.
Studies have revealed that income is a major factor when it comes to nutrition. Since lower-calorie foods that contain higher amounts of nutrients (including fresh produce) is generally quite expensive, populations who earn less money turn to the less healthy options, which are usually more affordable. A good example of this is whole wheat bread, which costs anywhere from 10 to 60 percent more than nutritionally-lacking white bread.
“Access to good, healthy food is what the urban poor need for a more productive and longer life,” said Jonathon Crush with the African Food Security Urban Network (Afsun), noting that there is a need for government interventions to provide increased access to more nutritious foods.
However, with the option of purchasing low-cost produce, fewer people will recognize the benefits of growing their own food. And while they may be able to acquire fruits and vegetables for a smaller financial investment, the cost to their health remains a concern. When you’re not growing your food yourself, you’re blind to the methods of production.
“Low prices at the grocery store give us a false sense that our food comes cheap,” the paper continues. “The higher yields of industrial agriculture have come at great cost to the environment and the social fabric – costs that are not involved in the price of our food.”
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“Free” Fertilizer is Saving Rural Farmers
“FREE” FERTILIZER IS SAVING RURAL FARMERS
Revitalizing dead soil can be done in just one planting season, thanks to Shivansh farming. Rural farmers can use whatever materials are available to them to restore their livelihoods – lowering their costs and increasing their yields.
The majority of the world’s poorest farmers use a nitrogen fertilizer called urea. The chemical was initially produced to serve industrial agriculture, but many small-scale farmers were swayed by the fertilizer’s promise of increased productivity. However, the fertilizer begins to wreak havoc once absorbed into the soil, destroying the precarious balance of microorganisms the soil needs to provide plants with enough vitamins and minerals. The ecosystem is destroyed.
As a result, crops are left vulnerable to disease, produce lower yields, are less nutritious, and even require more water. This kicks off a chain reaction that leads to farmers using more fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides in an attempt to remedy these issues. Producers begin investing more money in chemicals, and have to start purchasing seeds to replant their failing crops – resulting in farmers earning only a 2 percent profit, intensifying their food insecurity and ongoing poverty.
Shivansh fertilizer can allow farmers to break this cycle and reduce their dependence on the chemicals that are doing more harm than good. To create their own free fertilizer, farmers need only gather whatever they have lying around – fresh grass, dried plant materials, animal manure, or crop residues – and incorporate an easy layering technique to create a shoulder-high mound.
The rest is all up to nature. After 18 days, the pile has reduced down to a nutrient-rich fertilizer, full of the microorganisms that soil needs to grow healthy crops. This powerful fertilizer can bring damaged soil back to life within the very first planting season – meaning it has the capacity to completely revolutionize the farming industry for impoverished producers worldwide.
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Minimalism: The Value of Living With Less
MINIMALISM: THE VALUE OF LIVING WITH LESS
While part of this growing trend toward minimalism can be attributed to the ongoing global economic recession, many people are prompted to downsize due to ecological and environmental concerns. For even more, this yearning for simplicity is about cultivating an appreciation for a life with less “stuff.”
On average, Australian households annually spend more than $1,226 on things that will never be used – and individually, each of us produces more than half a ton of waste each year. Not only is this unhealthy on a personal level, but it’s damaging our environment – leading more young people to search for ways to consume less.
Renting or buying smaller homes, using renewable energy sources, eating seasonally and cooking at home, and choosing to take public transportation or car-sharing networks instead of purchasing a personal vehicle are some of the ways people are starting to shift to a more sustainable, minimalist lifestyle.
“I always packed as lightly as possible, and found it exhilarating to get by with just a small carry-on bag,” said Francine Jay, an author and blogger who has been living minimally for more than a decade. “I thought, wow, if it feels this great to travel lightly, how amazing would it be to live this way? I wanted to have that same feeling of freedom in my everyday life, so I decided to get rid of all my excess possessions and live with just the essentials. I wanted to spend my time and energy on experiences, rather than things.”
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Degraded Land Impacts the Metabolism of Local Bees
DEGRADED LAND IMPACTS THE METABOLISM OF LOCAL BEES
According to a study conducted by Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Curtin University, and the University of Western Australia, when human impact leaves bees with a lack of food, they don’t make an effort to forage further from home – instead, they start to depend on food sources stored inside the hive.
Bees were numbered and distributed among six hives north of Perth, at the Gnangara Mound. Three hives were located in healthy woodlands with plenty of available food, and the other three hives were only 5km away, in a section of degraded land that had been ravaged by fire. Don Bradshaw, a professor with UWA’s School of Biological Sciences, said the study measured the metabolic rate of the bees to determine how human-initiated change to the environment, like the clearing of large sections of land, would impact the insect’s survival.
The results of the study revealed that the bees from the desolate landscape showed a 30 per cent decrease in metabolism, as well as a 60 per cent lower intake of nectar. These findings were the opposite of what Bradshaw said he had anticipated, which was that the bees in degraded areas would have a faster metabolism – as a result of having to travel further to find food.
“Rather than travel in search of food in degraded areas, the bees foraged less and depended on stored resources inside the hive,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw’s method for determining the metabolic rate of the 76 numbered bees used for the study was initially developed for a study on honey possums.
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