28/April/21

 

It's no secret that industrial animal agriculture is a disaster for the planet. And cows raised for beef are particularly problematic. But within the last couple of decades, many proponents of a movement known as regenerative agriculture (RA) have argued that cattle farming, done differently, could actually fight climate change and repair the environment. As summarised in one article, “It’s not the cow, it’s the how.” RA includes far more than just livestock. It’s a different ethos, one that seeks to respect and mimic natural cycles and processes, and increases rather than decreases soil fertility over time. RA has much to recommend it as an ecologically sound alternative to industrial farming. But some scientific research suggests that it could have negative implications for climate change if applied too widely, writes Dr Doug Gurian-Sherman. GMWatch

 

 

Across France, 26 local Greenpeace groups mobilized in supermarkets to alert citizens of the risk posed by deregulation of new GMOs. In the supermarkets of 25 cities, the activists stuck stickers on shelves to alert customers, placed postcards on shelves to be sent to the President to ask him to guarantee French citizens the right to eat non-GMO foods, and displayed in the aisles banners with the inscription “New GMOs, not on our plates!” Greenpeace France (French language text)

 

 

Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit challenging a decision made by the Trump administration to greenlight the Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine in southeast Idaho. Phosphate from the mine will be used by the multinational chemical company Bayer AG to manufacture glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicides. Glyphosate has been linked to cancer and harm in plants and animals. Center for Biological Diversity

 

 

On 12 April 2021, Colombia's President Ivan Duque signed decree 380 allowing the spraying of glyphosate for the eradication of illicit crops to resume. This policy, which was stopped in 2015 due to its detrimental effect on human rights and the environment, could negatively affect the health and other related rights of hundreds of campesino farming communities and have further environmental impacts in the country. Join Amnesty International in urging the National Narcotics Council to ensure the immediate suspension of aerial spraying with glyphosate. Amnesty International

 

 

France banned pesticides in public spaces in 2017 and has embraced wildflowers, even encouraging citizens to sow seeds in pavement cracks and walls. Urban botanist Sophie Leguil was inspired to bring the same mentality to the UK and launched the More Than Weeds project to help us embrace our urban biodiversity in walls, pavements and tree pits to "rewild" the cities. BBC