While to many it might seem like a great challenge, a home garden can bring green space to your city, fresh organic vegetables to your table, and a great space to your community. Whether it's a large garden or a few plants inside your home, plants bring great benefits to your life – especially when provided with ...
With the rise of the fashion industry and mass retailer brands, producing clothing at a massive scale under the lowest costs has led to the heavy use of chemicals in order to manufacture and preserve clothes. The non-organic cotton industry is the highest user of the herbicide glyphosate, a substance that is ...
Commercial farming focuses on producing large amounts of food, but doesn't take into account that chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers threaten ecosystems, and wildlife, while also damaging the soil and affecting the nutritional value of crops. Organic farming represents not only an alternative but rather ...
What would happen if the entire farming industry turned organic? According to the Organic Trade Association, if every farmer in the U.S. produced organic foods, 500 millions pounds of harmful pesticides could be eliminated per year. Why Should We Change to Organic Farming? Traditional farming involves the use of ...
Have you ever wondered how long it takes to generate soil? Generating only three centimeters of top soil can take over 1,000 years! According to the United Nations, if current rates of soil degradation continue, the world’s top soil could be gone within 60 years. Today we are losing an impressive amount of 30 soccer ...
Have you ever asked yourself how we can manage to feed an entire world with safe and sustainable agriculture? Agriculture has always been the key to humanity’s survival. However, in this time and age, feeding the world in a safe and sustainable manner is becoming an increasingly difficult task - especially given ...
For decades there has been a debate whether organic foods are healthier than conventional foods. But what exactly are the differences between organic and conventional crops and how does an organic diet impact your health? According to a new study by Newcastle University on organic versus conventional crops, organic ...
Did you know that mosquitoes are often referred to as the deadliest animal in the world? It is almost hard to believe that such a small insect can be considered even more deadly than some of the most ferocious animals…but, what exactly makes it so dangerous? The World's Deadliest Animal Mosquitoes are vectors, living ...
If synthetic pesticides are killing bugs… What are they doing to your body? The fact that they have been used for decades has created a completely false sense of security among people. But what if you were told that commonly used pesticides are to blame for hormonal unbalance, food allergies and many more daily health ...
Have you heard about the architecture of life? Biophilic design, an emerging trend in architecture, implies a new way of designing our daily architecture through the inclusion of nature into our urban environment with the aim of reducing stress, enhancing creativity, improving well-being and expediting healing. ...
Over the past year, over 1,400 official complaints have been collected regarding dicamba, with an estimated 2.5 million acres of farmland affected. What is dicamba? Dicamba is a synthetic agrochemical herbicide that has been used for decades in conventional agriculture. Typically, it was used to kill weeds before ...
When we think of the food on your table, we don’t usually think about the vast range of toxic and poisonous chemicals used in nearly all stages of the production process. We think mainly about the taste. This mentality needs to change. We must inform ourselves of the agrochemicals used in conventional agriculture and ...
The Bioscience Resource Project and the Center for Media and Democracy have released 20,000 documents that reveal both industry heavyweights and regulators understood the extraordinary toxicity of many chemical products approved for widespread and commercial use. They even worked together to conceal information from ...
With recent controversy over the quality of organic food, how can you determine what is truly organic and what is not? Recently, there have been large imports of so-called organic corn and soybeans to the US that have been accused of being grown using conventional, dangerous and environmentally irresponsible methods. ...
Senators from New Mexico, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York have introduced a bill calling for the ban of chlorpyrifos, one of the most toxic and highly used synthetic pesticides in the world! Why is this bill such an essential step in the right direction? Chlorpyrifos is available for ...
Beautiful, perfect fruits and vegetables are overrated. The “perfect” produce phenomenon is quickly becoming a global problem. Did you ever stop to think that if you don’t pick the slightly twisted carrot or oval apple that they might simply be thrown away? Nearly the same amount of food eaten in the United States is ...
After the controversial article published by David Wallace-Wells in the New York Magazine in early July, people have questioned the effectiveness of using scare tactics. One of the biggest controversies was the harrowing nature of the report. Is this an effective way to motive action? Or does it simply fatigue and ...
Organic farming has grown dramatically in the past 20 years due to increased consumer demand and a greater awareness that sustainable farming practices improve global health. Over 50 million hectares were producing food organically around the world in 2015. This was a 500% increase since 1999, when only 11 million ...
Without a basic knowledge of how agriculture works, global consumers are separated from understanding the most important and basic information about their survival - how and where their food comes from. Without this understanding, how can consumers be expected to make informed decisions regarding conventional versus ...
Today, the majority of food you eat, if not organic, is produced using synthetic pesticides. In order to produce enough food, famers have used these products indiscriminately, as weeds, molds, and other pests target crops and destroy yields! Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and all other types of synthetic ...
In the Gulf of Mexico, an aquatic dead zone has been growing in size for decades and this summer, when the zone spreads to its peak area of the year, will cover 8,198 square miles, an area around the size of the state of New Jersey. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this will be ...
Over the past year, chlorpyrifos, a synthetic chemical, has been popping up consistently in the news. First, with the chemical linked to bee colony collapse disorder. Now, with new research: according to a study from the New Zealand’s University of Otago, bees suffer severe learning and memory impairment after ...
The single most comprehensive and peer-reviewed study to date on neonicotinoid pesticides confirms their harm to both honeybee and wild bee populations around the world. On June 29th, 2017, scientists from the Natural Environment Research Council released their field research spanning 2,000 hectares across Europe and ...
Monsanto’s glyphosate, the active ingredient in the world’s most ubiquitous herbicide, is entwined in one of agriculture’s most controversial battles. On one side, independent and peer-reviewed science compiled by the World Health Organization lists glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. On the other, Monsanto ...
Could the way we talk about climate change affect how people react to it? Absolutely! By explaining concepts using large, hypothetical figures and percentages, people “yawn.” For example, saying that coal use in the United States has dropped by 20% in just two years, people immediately turn off and their eyes glaze ...
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Pollinator Week 2017 began as a reminder to address the mass decline of pollinator populations around the world. Today, it is an international celebration of the valuable services birds, bees, butterflies, bats, and beetles provide to the ecosystem. Unfortunately, declining ...
As consumers become more informed, concern is growing over the way that conventional food is produced. Although synthetic pesticides allowed the global population to grow exponentially and more than double since 1970, the consequences of these toxic chemicals are now becoming a consumer concern. This has not only led ...
Children are one of the most vulnerable age groups in the world. As their bodies, brains, and immune systems are still growing, they are exposed to a multitude of different chemicals and toxins through the air, water, and most importantly, the food they eat. Unfortunately, these toxins cause an abundance of health ...
Organic food sales skyrocketed last year in the United States, jumping to $43 billion, an increase of 8.6% from 2015 and the first time that sales have surpassed the $40 billion mark! With 82.3% of households purchasing organic items, consumers are becoming more informed, more health-conscious, and more sustainably ...
One of the most controversial new food products has finally hit shelves. Have you seen it? Have you eaten it? The new non-browning Arctic apples have been causing discussions, questions, and concerns regarding genetically modified food and whether or not consumers should be able to know what they are eating. The fact ...
Even though 5.6 billion pounds of pesticides are used worldwide every year, less than 1% of reach their intended target. Once sprayed over crops, synthetic pesticides frequently contaminate the surrounding environment, including the water, air, and soil. The social and environmental costs of pesticide use in the ...
Genetically modified (GMO) crops have become commonplace in agriculture throughout the world. Introduced in 1996, genetically modified corn and soy are relatively new technologies and yet they now comprise 54% and 92% of global use of those crops, respectively. Biotech crops reside over 180 million hectares of ...
With rising consumer knowledge and demand, paired with more scientific evidence, big companies are finally getting behind consumer health and safety! Global retailers Walmart and True Value are phasing out the sale of products containing neonicotinoids! What are neonicotinoids? They are a type of synthetic chemical ...
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp, Monsanto’s ubiquitous herbicide, has been linked to many health concerns such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, autism, lowered intelligence, and now rheumatoid arthritis (RA)! RA is an autoimmune disease in which the body begins to attack its own tissues and not only causes ...
The world’s dirtiest crop is one that you put on your body every single day: cotton. Though cotton is only grown on 2.4% of the world’s farmland, over 16% of all pesticides produced are applied to this globally utilized crop, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Even though the use of cotton in clothes has ...
Every year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tests thousands of food products for pesticides and other toxins so that consumers can be informed about general food toxicity. They test food for herbicides, pesticides, and other toxins to ensure that the levels are not surpassing the “maximum residue ...
One of the best things that you can do for the earth is to adopt a more natural, organic lifestyle. When you live naturally, you not only help your body by providing the nutrients that it needs, but you are also helping the earth by choosing practices that are safe for the environment and that allow ecosystems to ...
In conventional farming, the earth is tilled, or turned over with a machine, to loosen the top layer of soil and open it up to oxygen and nutrients that have made their way deeper underground. This has been the accepted farming method for years, but there is evidence that it may not be the most effective. In comes ...
Since 1981, the Rodale Institute has conducted a Farming Systems Trial, where they have studied three different farming systems, side-by-side: A manure-based organic system, a legume-based organic system, and a conventional, synthetic input-based system. This has allowed them to easily compare and determine, over the ...
Despite recommendation from its own scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen to approve chlorpyrifos, a synthetic chemical used in pesticides across the United States that is linked to brain damage in children and sold under the name Losban by Dow Chemical. In November, the EPA released a ...
Global food security is one of the most critical and necessary solutions of our generation. How is the global population going to secure food sources for the added 3 billion people in 2050? It won’t be possible without bees. Native and wild bees are vital for the future of agriculture. Each year, $3 billion of the ...
What if the narrative of organic and conventional food you are being told isn’t the truth? What if its been tampered with, played with, false hypotheses thrust into our everyday media? That’s exactly what has happened. In a recently released report, Spinning Food, by Friends of the Earth, an independent, grassroots ...
Though you may feel as if synthetic pesticides don’t affect you or your community, you’re wrong! Traces of synthetic pesticides can be found everywhere, even in small amounts, and can affect important aspects of human health that are vital to growth and development. By spraying synthetics, we place our own future at ...
According to a new report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, the aggressive promotion of pesticides has led to a violation of human rights - our right to adequate food and our right to health. The report emphasizes that “the right to food obligates States to implement protective measures and food ...
When Monsanto introduced glyphosate in the 1960s, it was considered a miracle chemical. It eliminated weeds without harming the crops, how could it cause any damage? Now, almost 50 years later, mankind is finally realizing the devastating health and environmental impacts this probable carcinogen, according to the ...
With more consumers than ever before realizing the value in organic and natural food, there is more demand for a change in our everyday lives! For instance, instead of purchasing a synthetic garden spray that could potentially harm you, your family, non-target animals such as pollinators, and the environment, you ...
One of the best-kept secrets of the food industry is the sheer amount of chemicals that are sprayed on crops! Why does that affect you, as a consumer? The reason is simple - many of those synthetic chemicals are known or probable carcinogens. These synthetic chemicals are only ever tested in isolation; therefore the ...
If farm workers need to wear protective suits and cover their faces to spray chemicals on the food we eat, why should we believe that the most popular foods we buy are safe to eat? On March 20th, 2015, the World Health Organization labeled glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. There are thousands of synthetic ...
Are you a part of the organic food trend? If you are like the majority of the population, you have at one time or another bought something with an organic label. However, do you know where that organic product is coming from? With a global trend of increasing consumer demand for organic products, companies are ...
“This is not a partisan debate; it’s a human one. Clean air and water and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation.” - Leonardo DiCaprio, United Nations Climate Summit, 2014 With the recent change of power in the United States ...
Are you worried about the fate of the planet? You should be. Why? There is a predicted population increase of 3 billion people in the next 30 years. That is a 40% increase in the population! The world reached its first billion just 200 years ago, and during the 20th century alone, the population increased ...
Earth Overshoot Day, also known as Ecological Debt Day, is the day of the year when humanity’s consumption of resources overtakes the earth’s ability to naturally regenerate those resources. In 2018, this day came earlier than it ever has before: On August 1st we began to rob time and resources from future ...
The first wild bee to be listed as an endangered species, the rusty patched bumblebee, represents the danger that synthetic pesticides pose to our environment and future survival. The United Nations recently released a global assessment stating that 40% of invertebrate pollinator species are in danger of extinction. ...
France is one of the world’s greatest agricultural producers, having exported $68 billion in food products around the world in 2016. With such global reach comes a profound responsibility to lead the way towards a healthy and sustainable agricultural food system. Leading by example, the French government plans to ...
Discovered less than a century ago, antibiotics are essential to the survival of human race, allowing for the treatment of many diseases previously regarded as fatal. They also enable farmers to protect livestock from infection, further strengthening our global food supply. 80% of all antibiotics in the US are ...
Effectiveness & Persistency Neem extracts are effective and non-toxic to pollinators because they do not kill pests immediately, but affect the feeding or life cycle of the insect until it is no longer able to live or reproduce. Environmentally Friendly Neem based pesticides are entirely biodegradable, ...
The corporations that sell the synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural tools currently used are the ones that tell us that genetic engineering is the only way our increasing population will be fed. These corporations have created, manufactured, and sold their harmful products and methods to farmers, and ...
Neem offers an inexpensive and non-toxic alternative to a number of synthetic pesticides because of azadirachtin. Azadirachtin is the wonder compound found in neem with which natural biopesticides and bioherbicides are made. Azadirachtin has been endorsed by the EPA, the USDA, and the EU because of its amazing ...
In this infographic, we see the effect that neem biopesticides have on the environment. One of neem’s main active ingredients, azadirachtin, acts as a natural growth regulator and feeding deterrent to over 500 species of insects.
