Jim Stegeman & Aleah Graham

GMO Graphs

More ChartsArea devoted to GM crops in North America 2003

Total crop area

(,000 ha)

GM crop area

(,000 ha)

Share of GM

%

USA

Soy 29,807 24,114 81%

Corn 31,998 12,799 40%

Canola 486 410 84%

Canada

Soy 1,047 500 48%

Corn 1,226 710 58%

Canola 4,689 3,190 *** 68%

Total 69,253 41,723 60%

The 12 Fruits and Vegetables with the Most Pesticide ResiduesAccording to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an environmental research group, the twelve most pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables (in order of toxicity) are:

1) Strawberries 2) Bell Peppers 3) Spinach 4) Cherries (from the United States) 5) Peaches 6) Cantaloupe (from ) 7) Celery 8) Apples 9) Apricots 10) Green Beans 11) Grapes (from ) 12) Cucumbers

Other produce items, however, tend to have low amounts of pesticide residues. There’s almost no benefit to buying organic bananas, for example, because any pesticide residue is probably thrown out, along with the peel. Other foods low in pesticides include broccoli, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, asparagus, and blueberries.

Chemicals, Insecticides, and Highly Toxic Organisms

Insecticides Inorganic chemicals Mercury, lead, arsenic, copper sulfate Highly toxic to many organisms, persistent, bio accumulates

Organochlorines DDT, methoxychlor, heptachlor, HCH pentachloraphenol, chlordanc, toxaphene, aldrin, endrin, dieldrin, lindane

Mostly neurotoxins, cheap, persistent, fast acting, easy to apply, broad spectrum, bio-accumulates, biomagnifies

Organophosphates Parathion, melathion, diazinion, dichlorves, phosdrin, disulforon, TEPP, DDVP

More soluble, extremely toxic nerve poisons, fast acting, quickly degrade, toxic to many organisms. Very dangerous to farm workers

Carbamates and Urethanes Carbaryl (Sevin), aldicarb, carbofuran, methomyl, Temik mancozeb

Quickly degraded, do not bio-accumulate, toxic to broad spectrum of organisms, fast acting, very toxic to honey bees

Formamoidines Amitraz, chlordimeform (Fundal and Galecron) Neurotoxins specific for certain stages of insect development, act synergistically with other insecticides

Microbes Baccillus thuringensisBacillus popilliaeViral diseases

Kills caterpillarsKills beetlesAttack of a variety of moths and caterpillars

Plant products and synthetic analogs Nicotine, rotenone, pyrethrum, alletbrin, docamethrin, resmethrin, fenralcrate, permethrin, tetramenthrin

Natural botanical products and synthetic analogs, fast acting, broad insecticide action, low toxicity to mammals, expensive

Fungicides Captan, manch, zench, dinocap, folpet, pentachlorphenol, menthyl bromide, carbon bisulfide, chlorothaionil (Bravo)

Most prevent fungal spore germination and stop plant diseases: among most widely used pesticides in

Fumigants Ethylene dibromide, dibronochloropropane, carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulfide, methyl bromide

Used to kill nomatodes, fungi insects, and other pests in soil, grain, fruits; highly toxic, cause nerve damage, sterility cancer, birth defects

Herbicidesn 2,4 D: 2,4,5T, paraquat, dinoseb, Silvex, linuron Block photosyntyhesis, act as hormones to disrupt plant growth and development, or kill soil microorganisms essential for plant growth

Organic SpoofGrocery Store Wars

Food SafetyFood Safety ‘Government Monitoring in Food

Safety’, stated “foodbourne illnesses are widespread and costly. Millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year can be traced to contaminated food. These illnesses, generally cause temporary disorders to the digestive tract, but can also lead to serious, long-term health consequences.”- The causes of these illnesses are outbreaks of bacterial, chemical, viral, parasitic, or unknown pathogens. It is easy to transmit bacterial pathogens and they can multiply rapidly in food, making it difficult to control

Organic forage crops yield as much or more dry matter as their conventional counterparts with quality sufficient to produce as much milk as the conventional systems.

Even organic grain crops such as corn, soybean, and winter wheat produced 90% as well as their conventionally managed counterparts. That meant organic farming is still better for the environment than conventionally produced food.

Through the words and geographics, geography can map the interrelated factors – both social (policy, culture, and economics) and ecological (climate, soil, water, and vegetation) – that influence our relationship to the earth.

Dates to Know In 1990, organic retail sales reach $1 billion in the United

States. U.S. Congress passes the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, requiring USDA to develop national standards and regulations for organically produced agricultural products.

in June 1999, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) receives $75,230 in Market Access Program funds to help exports of U.S. organic products. USDA begins a voluntary, fee-based ISO-65 program for U.S. state and private organic certifiers.

Government SpendingPublic health and food safety officials say the

data do not identify level of risk, source of contamination, and populations are most at risk in sufficient detail.

Statistics also show a significant number that estimates nearly $5 billion to over $22 billion annually. Cost of medical treatment from this bacterium ranged from $5.6 billion to $9.4 billion in 1993. (18) This is when you have to re-evaluate the kinds of techniques organic farming uses.