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Scorpions deliver a powerful, paralyzing venom ― a complex cocktail of poisonous peptides that immobilize animal prey on the spot. Some of the toxins in a scorpion's payload damage only insects, which is why a Tel Aviv University researcher is harnessing them to create a safe and ecologically sound pesticide. Prof. Michael Gurevitz of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Plant Sciences has isolated the genetic sequences for important neurotoxins in the scorpion venom. He’s also developed methods to produce and manipulate toxins to restrict their toxicity in certain insects or mammals.

(NaturalNews) German government researchers have concluded that a bestselling Bayer pesticide is responsible for the recent massive die-off of honeybees across the country's Baden-Württemberg region. In response, the government has banned an entire family of pesticides, fueling accusations that pesticides may be responsible for the current worldwide epidemic of honeybee die-offs. Researchers found buildup of the pesticide clothianidin in the tissues of 99 percent of dead bees in Baden-Württemberg state. The German Research Center for Cultivated Plants concluded that nearly 97 percent of honeybee deaths had been caused directly by contact with the insecticide."It can unequivocally be concluded that a...

Melamine in pesticides, human food chain - experts HONG KONG, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Melamine, a chemical that has tainted milk formula and made thousands of Chinese children ill, is used as an agricultural pesticide in China and may have been part of our food chain for a long time, experts said on Tuesday. Chan King-ming, associate professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University, said cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, was very commonly used in China as a pesticide. "It is absorbed into plants as melamine ... of course it is already in our food chain and animal feed," Chan...

China finds pesticide in 'nikuman' exports BEIJING (Kyodo) China said Friday it has found small traces of pesticide in two batches of "nikuman" meat buns bound for Japan. The poisonous chemical found in the food is the same kind discovered in the Chinese-made frozen "gyoza" meat dumplings that poisoned 10 people in Japan late last year and early this year. But a statement from China's quarantine and safety watchdog said the traces of the chemical, methamidophos, found in the buns was small and that the pesticide probably got into the products through ingredients such as vegetables. Japanese police believe the...

Antibiotics in the meat, pesticide used as preservatives, mercury in the drinking water -- Chinese author Zhou Qing says China's food industry is poisoning the country in its greed for profit. If ordinary people knew, there would be a revolution, he adds. Chinese journalist Zhou Qing, a critic of the regime, unearthed political dynamite in his two-year investigation of China's food industry. He interviewed grocers, restaurant owners, farmers and food factory managers for an exposé for which he won a prize as part of the German "Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage" in 2006. His book is a...

(MAYUGE) - If you are a farmer, you may want to think twice about flushing your urine down the toilet. Urine may be a waste product but it also has many uses, and the best part of it is that it comes with no price tag. Farmers in various parts of the country use human urine as fertilizers and to fight crop diseases. The method started in Baitambogwe Village in Mayuge District but has now spread to over 21 districts. Through knowledge sharing via telephone Short Message System commonly known as SMS, farmers in Baitambogwe are propagating the method to...

China's farmers overuse pesticides, skip protective clothing and have at their fingertips an array of banned and counterfeit products, raising another area of concern in the country's fragile food chain. Spraying chemicals on crops improperly or using products that may be fake or banned risks the health of China's hundreds of millions of farmers and could lead to unsafe levels of residues in fruits and vegetables, experts say. "The government has to stop banned or illegal pesticides being available in the market," said Angus Lam, a Greenpeace Campaign Manager for Food and Agriculture based in the southern city of Guangzhou....

CHICAGO - Buying organic milk these days - or organic apples, eggs, or beef - no longer has to mean an extra trip to a Whole Foods supermarket or the local co-op. Organic products now line the shelves at Safeway and Costco. And Wal-Mart - already the nation's largest organic-milk seller - says it wants to sell more organic food. Large companies including Kraft, General Mills, and Kellogg own sizable organic- and natural-food brands. Now, they are developing organic versions of their own products, too. Still, while some organic-food fans welcome its broadening appeal and availability, others worry that the...

Associated Press WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Shoppers browse store displays brimming with succulent tomatoes and plump strawberries, hoping to enjoy one last round of fresh fruit before the Western growing season ends. There is no hint of a dark side to the blaze of red. But strawberries are a painful subject for Guillermo Ruiz. The farmworker believes his headaches, confusion and vision trouble stem from a decade of working in the fields with methyl bromide, a pesticide that protects the berries with stunning efficiency. Cheri Alderman, a teacher whose classroom borders a farm, fears her students could inhale a dangerous whiff...

Environmental groups have the right to sue state agencies for not controlling pesticide pollution, a federal judge in Sacramento ruled Monday. State air quality agencies violated the federal Clean Air Act,which calls for a 20 percent reduction in smog caused by pesticides between 1990 and 2005, the lawsuit says. The required smog reduction hasn't happened in the San Joaquin Valley, where pesticide-induced smog has increased since 1990. "I'm ecstatic that (the judge) saw it our way," said Teresa DeAnda, an activist from Earlimart whose organization joined four others in the suit. They say the state's approach to pesticide smog pollution...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Pollutants carried in runoff from farms affect the water supply of more than 20 million Californians and taint prime fishing grounds across the state, according to a recent report. The pollution is the byproduct of pesticide use, but it doesn't have to be, said Gary Wolff, chief economist at the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, an environmental research group. Wolff, who wrote the institute's "Investing in Clean Agriculture" report, said educating farmers is key to cleaning the state's water. But he acknowledges that education doesn't come cheap, so Wolff's study suggests raising taxes on pesticides to pay for...

I'd like to get some discussion going in advance of the Iraq Survey Group's final report. The topic: the finds of large numbers of drums of substances that field tested as nerve agents, but were later pronounced to be pesticides, at several Iraqi munitions dumps. There is a Frontpage article which was posted here back in April when it was new. I added a post to it's thread, but knowing that many FReepers probably do what I usually do and read the threads index to the Forum rather than the messages index, I though a new thread would be in...

"Environmentalists are wary of the appointee's ties to an industry she would regulate." By Robert Salladay, Times Staff Writer " SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday appointed a former agriculture lobbyist to become California's top pesticide regulator, despite complaints from environmentalists about her ties to an industry she would police. Mary-Ann Warmerdam is expected next month to take over the Department of Pesticide Regulation, a 358-employee office that clashes frequently with the state's farming industry. Currently, she is a lobbyist for Pacific Gas & Electric, but worked for nearly two decades for the California Farm Bureau Federation. Schwarzenegger said...

WASHINGTON - More than one-third of the nation's lakes and nearly one-fourth of its rivers contain fish that may be contaminated with mercury, dioxin, PCB and pesticide pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) says. The EPA released a list of advisories issued by states that monitor lakes and rivers for pollution levels affecting fish caught during recreational and sport fishing but not deep-sea commercial fishing. "It's about trout, not tuna. It's about what you catch on the shore, not what you buy the shelf," Mike Leavitt, the administrator of EPA, said Tuesday. "This is about the health...

Meet Joe Dirt Stuart K. Hayashi In 2001, comedian David Spade came out with a movie titled "The Adventures of Joe Dirt." It now appears that the film was about Joe Conason, the author of "Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth" and an editorialist for the liberal-biased Salon.com. In the person of Brad Pitt, you've already Met Joe Black. Now Meet the Real Joe Dirt. His book purports to expose how right-wingers harness the corporate media to brainwash society. Instead of demonstrating such, however, Joe is too busy flinging his Dirt around. In two...

The Indian government said on Wednesday it was investigating a report by an environment group about pesticides in beverages sold by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, as parliament stopped the sale of Coke and Pepsi drinks on its premises. "It is a very serious matter. I have asked for a comprehensive report," Health Minister Sushma Swaraj told members of the lower house of parliament. The Indian units of Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO - News) and PepsiCo Inc (NYSE:PEP - News) have rejected the report by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, which said soft drinks sold in India had high levels...

NEW DELHI - As tempers rose and bottles continued to be smashed on Friday, the Indian government ordered two state-run laboratories to verify whether US cola giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola are selling pesticide-laced soft drinks in India. The Indian health ministry sent bottles of soft drinks manufactured by the two multinationals to the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore and the Central Food Laboratory in Calcutta. Indian Health Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters: 'Our tests will be done in independent labs and we will take action only after examining the results. The results are expected next week.' How the...

BALD EAGLE STATE FOREST, Pa. - At first glance, the forest around Sand Spring Run looks just as it should, with a lush understory of grasses and ferns shaded by tall maple, oak and hemlock. But a closer look shows that the hemlock trees — a keystone species along streams like this — are under attack from at least two insects with the potential to devastate hemlock stands throughout the Northeast. Usually dark green, the hemlock's needles have faded to a pale, almost yellow color indicative of an infestation of elongate hemlock scale insects. The cottony, white spots indicate the...

Grasshoppers invade U.S. West FRI Jun 13 2003 20:50:27 ET San Francisco (dpa) - Huge swarms of hungry grasshoppers have invaded the western United States, prompting agricultural experts to warn of damage unparalleled in decades. The plague has hit the states of Nevada, Utah and Idaho particularly hard and shows no sign of abating. ``This is bigger then anything we've seen in a long time,'' said expert Mike Cooper, quoted in ``The Idaho Statesman''. Cooper cited records showing the current swarms to be the largest since World War II. Officials in Idaho have posted warning signs near highways warning of...

NBC reporter Dana Lewis reporting live video from newly discovered PLO terrorist training camp that was discovered in Iraq. It has obstacle course, shooting range, pretty much looks like one of the familiar AlQaeda terrorist training camps. Dana Lewis also reports that this camp is close to the infamous pesticide site and that there are some of the same French pesticide drums (not the others suspected of containing the CW "Cocktail" mixture) at the PLO camp along with gas masks and chemical suits. They're not sure what to make of it and the officer in charge was hesitant to say...