20/January/20

 

Many seeds in the US come precoated with neonicotinoids, one of the most common insecticides in the world. The chemicals are at the heart of what many are calling the “insect apocalypse.” They make the landscape toxic to bees, butterflies, birds, and potentially even large mammals. That’s why Europe banned three of the main neonicotinoid insecticides. But in the United States, documents reveal, a sophisticated information war kept them on the market. The Intercept

 

 

Humanity will have given up on planet Earth if world leaders cannot reach an agreement this year to stop the mass extinction of wildlife and destruction of life-supporting ecosystems, the United Nation’s new biodiversity chief has warned. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the acting executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, has implored governments to ensure 2020 is not just another “year of conferences” on the ongoing ecological destruction of the planet, urging countries to take definitive action on deforestation, pollution and the climate crisis. The Guardian

 

 

The American food technology company Impossible Foods has applied to the food safety regulator for approval of its genetically engineered imitation blood ingredient in New Zealand. Impossible Foods, makers of the plant-based meat alternative the Impossible Burger, applied to Foods Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) on December 20 to allow the ingredient, called soy leghemoglobin, which is derived from GM yeast, to be used in New Zealand. Stuff