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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0393.059 2012-2014 BRENDA J. FORD �,,Y Os.......... 808 323-4277 Council Member n Phone: (808) District 6 - Portion of N. Kona, Fax: (808) 329- 4786 South Kona, Ka`u, & the Greater . •.6; E-Mail: bford @co.hawaii.hi.us Volcano Area �rE ...- HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawaii a West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. r — Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 z' September 26, 2013 13 N — TO: J Yoshimoto, Chairman And Members of the Hawai`i County Council FROM: Brenda J. Ford, Council Member 4,_9 SUBJECT: Testimony from Dr. Rosemary Mason Relating to Bill No. 113 Attached please find testimony being submitted from Dr. Rosemary Mason along with a copy of two articles: (1) Immune Suppression by Neonicotinoid Insecticides at the Root of Global Wildlife Declines; (2) Glyphosate –Destructor of Human Health and Biodiversity; and (3) Human Health and Global Biodiversity Lies in the Hands of the Pesticides Industry. Please refer for numbering, and distribute to all council members for the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit meeting that will reconvene on October 1, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. in the Hilo Council Chambers. BF/la Att. Comm. No. -3g3.59 Ref.To: PIPSMIL Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Ref. Date DC T 0 1 2013 Hawai`i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer On Wednesday, September 25, 2013 10:49 PM, Dr. Rosemary Mason: I am sorry but I am in Denmark at present. I know little about GM, but I know something about the constituents of it. The current GM crops are engineered to be tolerant to a herbicide, usually glyphosate and have neonicotinoid insecticides applied to the seeds (and various fungicicides). I am not a professional scientist, but a retired doctor. For the last 10 years we observed that people in our community in South Wales were getting sicker; this has accelerated in the last year. We established a small nature reserve in 2006 and biodiversity is decreasing. For 3 years I have been challenging Regulatory Authorities around the world about pesticides, particularly the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides and the herbicide glyphosate. There is plenty of evidence that in the UK, the US and Australia the Governments and regulatory agencies are in the hands of the pesticides industry. I attach 3 documents. The first, Immune suppression by neonicotinoid insecticides at the root of wildlife declines. Although it was accepted by the Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology in July 2012, various attempts were made to suppress it, so it was only finally published in March/April 2013. The second one we sent to our MP last September. Human Health and Biodiversity lies in the hands of the Pesticides Industry. This resulted in the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee setting up a Select Committee on Insects and Insecticides. It ran from November through to January 2013 and its recommendations were that the neonicotinoid insecticides should be banned (at the same time, the European Food Safety Authority recommended that those that were applied to crops that were attractive to bees should be banned for 2 years). The Government finally replied to the EAC and said their scientists disagreed! They acknowledged that they would have to abide by the ban, but Syngenta and Bayer are suing the European Union so presumably the UK Government hopes that industry will win their cases. Then I saw Anthony and Stephanie's paper about glyphosate and watched their videos and was convinced that we must have glyphosate in our drinking water. It turned out that I was correct. Most of us with cancers had been exposed to very low doses of glyphosate for about 35 years. Dr. Nancy Swanson then sent me her graphs with the correlations in the US. We have epidemics of type 2 diabetes, obesity and autism throughout the UK. In addition, our Cancer Research UK figures showed identical trends. I have spoken with Prof Pritchard from Bournemouth and his paper in Public Health in April 2013 confirmed that neurological death rates from Parkinson's, MND, demential in 10 major countries had increased in the last 30 years. The papers on environmental damage by glyphosate are on pages 37/38. I hope that this is helpful. I am sure that Stephanie will be much better at answering questions on Skype than I would be.. Kind regards and good luck, Rosemary Mason [Note: Also included was: Immune Suppression by Neonicotinoid Insecticides at the Root of Global Wildlife Declines] REVIEW ., , immunology.: d Tox CO: L t' Immune Suppression by Neonicotinoid Insecticides at the Root of Global Wildlife Declines Rosemary Mason',Henk Tennekes2,Francisco Sanchez-Bayo3, Palle Uhd Jepsen' 'Hunters Hollow,Swansea,UK;'Experimental Toxicology Services(ETS)Nederland BV,The Netherlands; 'Centre for Ecotoxicology,University of Technology Sydney,Australia Abstract Outbreaks of infectious diseases in honey bees,fish,amphibians,bats and birds in the past two decades have coincided with the increasing use of systemic insecticides, notably the neonicotinoids and fipronil.A link between insecticides and such diseases is hypothesised.Firstly,the disease outbreaks started in countries and regions where systemic insecticides were used for the first time, and later they spread to other countries.Secondly,recent evidence of immune suppression in bees and fish caused by neonicotinoids has provided an important clue to understand the sub-lethal impact of these insecticides not only on these organisms,but probably on other wildlife affected by emerging infectious diseases.While this is occurring,environmental authorities in developed countries ignore the calls of apiarists(who are most affected)and do not target neonicotinoids in their regular monitoring schedules.Equally, scientists looking for answers to the problem are unaware of the new threat that systemic insecticides have introduced in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology 2013;1:3-12 Key words systemic insecticides;imidacloprid;infectious diseases;honeybees;bats;birds;fish;frogs;pollinators Introduction In 2001, Belzunces and co-workers' reported an acute (48- hour)lethal dose of imidacloprid of only 40 ng per bee;a dose far In 1991, Bayer CropScience introduced a new type of insecticide smaller than most other insecticides. However, their important into the US; imidacloprid, the first member of a group now discovery was that the lethal dose from chronic exposure to known as the neonicotinoids. Bayer Scientist Abbink' certified imidacloprid was 4000 times less: ingesting 1 pg a day was that: "imidacloprid is the first highly effective insecticide whose enough to kill a bee within 10 days. Moreover, they showed that mode of action has been found to derive from almost complete imidacloprid is degraded into six metabolites,some of which were and virtually irreversible blockage of post-synaptic nicotinic even more toxic than the parent compound. Belzunces realised acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the central nervous system that the very small traces of imidacloprid in the range of lig kg' (CNS) of insects." Imidacloprid differed from conventional (ppb)of pollen constituted a significant risk for bees,particularly spray pesticides in that it could be used as seed dressings or upon chronic exposure in the bee hive. Tennekes4 explained soil treatments. When used as a seed dressing the insecticide Belzunces' findings in 2010 by showing that neonicotinoids can will migrate from the stem to the leaf tips, and eventually into produce effects at any concentration level provided the exposure the flowers and pollen. Any insect that feeds on the crop dies; time in sufficiently long. In a more recent paper,'Tennekes and but bees, bumblebees, hoverflies and butterflies that collect Sanchez-Bayo demonstrated that chemicals that bind irreversibly contaminated pollen or nectar from the crop are also poisoned. to specific receptors (neonicotinoids, genotoxic carcinogens and In 1994 imidacloprid was licensed for use in Europe. In July some metaloids) will produce toxic effects in a time-dependent 1994 beekeepers in France noticed something unexpected.'Over manner, no matter how low the level of exposure. the course of a few days,just after the sunflowers had bloomed, In 2003, in a 108-page document, the Comite Scientifique a substantial number of their hives would collapse,as the worker and Technique commissioned by the French Ministry of bees flew off and never returned,leaving the queen and immature Agriculture' concluded that: "the treatment of sunflowers with workers to die. The French beekeepers soon believed they imidacloprid is a significant risk to bees in several stages of life." knew the reason; a brand-new insecticide called Gaucho® with In 2004, in France, Colin et al. demonstrated that sub-lethal imidacloprid as active ingredient was being applied to sunflowers doses of 6 ppb imidacloprid or 2 ppb fipronil were enough to for the first time. disrupt feeding on bees,' precisely what the manufacturer had advertised for the use of imidacloprid in termite control.'In 2008 Correspondence to:Francisco Sanchez-Bayo,Centre for Ecotoxicology,University Yang et al.confirmed the French scientists'findings of disruption of Technology Sydney,Australia;Email:sanchezbayo @mac.com of foraging.9 Acute exposure to sub-lethal doses of imidacloprid Submitted:26/06/2012;Revised:12/08/2012;Accepted:16/08/2012 (as low as 50 ppb) delayed the return visit of a bee, and the time DOl:10.7178/jeit.1 delay was dose-dependent. www.stmconnect.com/jeit Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology 3 In 2006, deaths and disappearances amongst managed bee genetic sequencing methods to screen microsporidian isolates colonies in the US had reached such epidemic proportions that across the world concluded that this emergent pathogen "had the term `Colony Collapse Disorder' (CCD) came into use most likely jumped species,probably within the last decade." (Fig. 1). In fact high bee losses in the US had begun in 1995, when Varroa mites were first identified by beekeepers as a lethal Bumble bee declines in the US and Europe linked to threat to honeybee colonies."Although treatment for the mites infections was instituted, colony losses had continued to escalate." In January 2012, Steve Ellis, secretary of the US National Honey Massive declines in wild bumble bees in the US and Canada Bee Advisory Board and a beekeeper for 35 years said: "We are were reported in the late 1990s. In Ontario, previously a `hot inching our way towards a critical tipping point."In 2011,he had spot' for bumble bees, Colla and Packer sampled sites for three so many abnormal bee die-offs that he will qualify for disaster consecutive summers(2004-06).19 Out of the 14 species that had relief from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).12 been present in the same areas in 1971-73,three had disappeared In 2010, the Pesticides Industry and the US Environmental completely and five of the remaining 11 were in steep decline.Of Protection Agency (US EPA) recognized that:13 "Many who the species that had been fourth most common in the 1970s(14% are familiar with pesticide risk assessment recognize that the of all samples), they found only one male. In 2008, the Xerces methodology and testing scheme for foliar application products Society for Invertebrate Conservation reported that"at least four (where exposure may be primarily through surface contact) is species of formerly common North American wild species have not adapted to assess potential hazard and risk from systemic experienced catastrophic declines over the past decade - two pesticides". of them may be on the brink of extinction". In a review by the Xerces Society,Robbin Thorp(UC Davis)and colleagues20 stated Suppression of immune response to infection in that three formerly common species of bumble bee: "went from honey bees being widespread and commonly found to rare or absent within a relatively short period of time (about 7-10 years)." They were Belzunces' observations have been recently substantiated by found to be infected with a series of unusual pathogens.In 2008, Pettis et a1.14 They demonstrated increased susceptibility of newly Otterstatter and Thomson2' estimated`spillover'of the pathogen emerged worker bees to the gut pathogen Nosema ceranae following Crithidia bombi from greenhouses where imported bumble bees exposure of honey bee colonies during three brood generations to were being used for pollination in Canada. Many bumble bee imidacloprid dosages of 5 ppb and 20 ppb (which are exposures scientists became convinced that infections in imported bumble below the levels demonstrated to cause effects on longevity or bees were at the heart of the declines in the wild population. By foraging in adult honey bees). The microsporidian pathogen February 2010,the situation was so bad that a broad coalition of Nosema ceranae targets the honeybee midgut and deprives infected 67 scientists (many of them bumble bee experts) sent a letter to bees of nutrients.Thus,they have a much greater chance of dying The Hon Tom Vilsack, Secretary USDA in Washington and the prematurely. Although residues of imidacloprid were found in Administrator of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection bee bread and bees from exposed colonies,and increased in direct Service (APHIS)22 to regulate the movement and health of and expected proportion to the concentrations in the treated commercial bumble bees to safeguard wild, native bumble bee protein patties,newly emerged bees that were subsequently shown pollinators. However, Cameron et al. were unconvinced by this to be more susceptible to Nosema ceranae tested negative for `spillover' theory.23 They showed that those species that had imidacloprid. Therefore, the test bees could only have received declined had significantly higher infection levels of the pathogen pesticide exposure during larval development, and pesticide Nosema bombi and had low genetic diversity compared with exposure to test bees could only have been indirectly from brood those that had not. They concluded that"these observations are food from nurse bees. The evidence from these experiments reminiscent of reports of other introduced fungal pathogens that shows that immune suppression by imidacloprid can occur in the pose widespread threats to some taxa,"including frogs and bats. absence of detectable imidacloprid residues. Mommaerts et al.24 in 2010 demonstrated negative effects Similar laboratory results with imidacloprid had been of sub-lethal doses of imidacloprid on Bombus terrestris worker published by Alaux et al. two years before.15 In 2011, Vidau et foraging behaviour. In 2012, UK researchers confirmed that a1.1s also proved that exposure to sub-lethal doses of fipronil when colonies of B. terrestris were exposed to field-realistic levels and thiacloprid highly increased the mortality of honeybees of imidacloprid, there was a significantly reduced growth rate previously infected by Nosema ceranae.In fact,the manufacturer's and an 85% reduction in new queens when compared with own leaflet states that imidacloprid makes pathogenic soil fungi control colonies.25 10000 times more dangerous to termites.' The microsporidian, Nosema ceranae, was first detected Global amphibian declines in relation to infection in the Asiatic honey bee, Apis cerana in 1994 in China, where imidacloprid had been used for rice production since 1991.Pettis In 1999, two novel pathogens were described in amphibians: the et al. detected N. ceranae infections in US honey bee samples chytrid fungus(Batratrachochytrium dendrobatidisor Bd.)and the collected during the period 1995 to 2007,' significantly earlier ranavirus.26,27 Soon after, two species of once common frogs that than in Europe, where N. ceranae was found in Spain in 2004 had inhabited the thousands of lakes and ponds in California's and France,Germany and Switzerland in 2005.Klee et al.,"using Sierra Nevada were being wiped out by chytridiomycosis,a disease 4 Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology Volume 1 Issue 1 illw r € e amphibian losses. t ,:,444001.!,,,,,,? ,, , . --1/0 The arrival of the chytrid fungus and ranavirus in Europe ' 4 « , `� � " ` " was later than in the US. However, at the Zoological Society of London in 2008,it was predicted that more than half of Europe's � 4; w . ! � amphibians faced extinction by 2050.33 In October 2010, the pl . !, ..4 .e devastation of amphibian populations had hit the UK as well. ` . In Animal Conservation, researchers reported that the rapidly 5 spreading ranavirus"is killing common frogs in the UK in areas �\'',',„,,,,,, where it has never been seen before".34 Joseph Mendelson wrote �', ' recently:35"The reality of amphibian declines and extinctions has ' shifted the ecological baseline in so many ecosystems, that an entire generation of biologists is conducting their research in a framework that has been very recently remodelled." Evidence of deviation from normal pathogen/host relationships Figure 1. a.Dead queen and workers.A typical dead colony from an area dominated by intensive arable crops -wheat,oilseed rape and barley,where Amphibians, particularly tadpoles, are considered to be imidacloprid and clothianidin are used all the time.About 50%of the colonies environmental indicators of indirect ecosystem effects because are lost every winter to what is called'Fall Dwindling'-the bees stop rearing of their unique niche at the boundary of the aquatic-terrestrial larvae in Autumn,and the colony is just too small to survive the winter.b. ecosystems as well as their sensitivity to pollutants.While tadpoles Workers fill the hive cells('honeypots')with nectar.c.Worker bee returning feed on periphyton, adult amphibians are strictly insectivorous to the hive with baskets full of oilseed rape pollen,which may be contaminated animals.They were the first group of vertebrates to be affected by with imidacloprid,as it is commonly used on rape crops. the epidemics of disease caused by uncommon pathogens. In 2011, a global study published in Nature36 noted that amphibian population declines from 1980s far exceeded those caused by the chytrid pathogen Bd.Vredenburg et al.28 described of other vertebrate groups. By the late 1990s emerging pathogens the progress of the infection in a study area that comprised in wildlife had become an increasing cause for alarm.26a7.37.38 three lake basins separated by 20-50 km. Bd. was first detected Dobson and Foufopoulosi7 classified epidemics causing large- in the smallest basin in June 2004 and in the two larger basins scale declines in wildlife species into three types. The first in August 2004 and July 2005 respectively. It took only one involves parasitic organisms that have recently invaded a year to spread to virtually all the frog populations in the small wildlife population where there is high host susceptibility to a basin and 3-5 years in the other two. The authors concluded novel pathogen. The second is an emerging pathogen native to that Bd. was a novel pathogen spreading through naïve host a specific host that is spreading because of an environmental populations. For the decade after they were first reported, these factor such as pollution. The third involved extinctions caused two pathogens, chytrid fungus and ranavirus had between them by"pathogens that have recently invaded a naïve host population caused mass deaths across the US in a wide variety of amphibian that is distressed or immune-compromised because of existing populations. By 2007 they had been detected in six continents.28 environmental conditions." Dobson and Foufopoulos37 referred In 2010, it was reported that there was still "no cure yet for the only to increased ultraviolet radiation and climate change. Hof chytrid fungus which is devastating frog populations."29 Maps of et al. added land-use change,36 and Davidson et al.32 added imidacloprid30 and thiamethoxam31 use from the US Geological pesticides into the equation. A link was suggested between Survey for 2002 show that the densest rates of application of pesticides and frog deformities. Kiesecker,39 possibly unaware imidacloprid and thiamethoxam were in the Central Valley that the use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam running parallel to California's Sierra Nevada (Fig. 2 &Fig. 3). was by now widespread in the US,30'31 found that atrazine Davidson et al.32 reported in 2002 spatial patterns of decline for (herbicide) and malathion (organophosphate insecticide) made four California ranid frogs and matched the declines with the frogs more susceptible to a parasite, a burrowing trematode distribution of agricultural lands (also based on USGS land use worm, which affected tadpoles. Our hypothesis is, as had been maps and key predominant wind directions based on California proved with honey bees,14-16 that exposure to small doses of the Air Resources streamline wind maps). The authors stated that three neonicotinoid insecticides is likely to have occurred and "In California, the transport and deposition of pesticides from may have weakened the amphibian immune systems, such that the agriculturally intensive Central Valley to the adjacent Sierra they became more susceptible to pathogens. Nevada is well documented, and pesticides have been found in the bodies of Sierra frogs". They raised the possibility that Environmental pollution; neonicotinoids have exposure to pesticides might weaken their immune systems slipped through the safety water quality checks increasing their susceptibility to disease. However, since the pesticides they targeted did not include neonicotinoids,they were Imidacloprid is stable in water, not easily biodegradable and unable to pinpoint the exact link between specific chemicals and can accumulate in soil and sediments, where it persists for a few www.stmconnect.com/jeit Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology 5 IMIDACLOPRID-insecticide 2002 estimated annual agricultural use cat 1 ,. y� k, ,? '. s ...,..i.:,.„,.. .. ' , ,,_ 104 , - . na•--rio. Irf:,., ,c,,,,,‘ allit a� , Average annual use of ;4: active ingredient (prounds per aquare mile of agricultural land in county) Crops Total prounds applied Percent national use sorghum 95355 26.36 EJ no estimated use potatoes 59336 16.40 tobacco 43392 11.99 (-10.001 to 0.004 lelluce 35573 9.83 0.005 to 0.015 cotton 18147 5.02 grapes 17093 4.72 rn 0.016 to 0.053 tomatoes 15211 4.20 U 0.054 to 0.202 citrus fruit 13295 3.68 appples 11268 3.11 0?0.203 pecans 10001 2.76 Figure 2. US Geological Survey National Water-Quality(NAWQA) Program.Pesticide National Synthesis Project.Pesticide Use Map.Imidacloprid insecticide. 2002 estimated annual agricultural use. THIAMETHOXAM-insecticide 2002 estimated annual agricultural use tillk 0/4 0104x ,--M-. :: aft r '; 14, \,,,,, ii „4,,,,,_ ,...., Average annual use of active ingredient (prounds per aquare mile of agricultural land in county) Crops Total prounds applied Percent national use cotton 44608 57.55 sorghum 17857 23.04 E] no estimated use potatoes 8065 10.41 0 0.001 to 0.004 tomatoes 1586 2.05 tobacco 1450 1.87 0.005 to 0.014 apples 1386 1.79 pears 1111 1.43 0.015 to 0.04 canlaloups 493 0.64 cucumbers and pickles 405 0.52 0.041 to 0.122 squash 146 0.19 >_0.123 Figure 3. US Geological Survey National Water-Quality(NAWQA)Program.Pesticide National Synthesis Project.Pesticide Use Map.Thiamethoxam insecticide. 2002 estimated annual agricultural use. 6 Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology Volume 1 Issue 1 Table 1. Persistence of neonicotinoid insecticides as expressed by their half-lives(days) in environmental matrices(Source:Footprint Database") Compound Water Water-sediment Soil** Photolysis Hydrolysis* Acetamiprid 34 420 NA 3(2-20) Clothianidin 0.1 14 56 545(13-1386) Dinotefuran 0.2 stable NA 82(50-100) Imidacloprid 0.2 —365 129 191 (104-228) Nitenpyram NA 2.9 NA 8 Thiacloprid stable stable 28 16(9-27) Thiamethoxam 2.7 11.5 40 50(7-72) NA=not available; *median degradation time(DT50)in alkaline media(pH 9); **typical value(range)for aerobic degradation. months (half-life 191 days, Table 1).4° Data on clothianidin, the available data on clothianidin show that the compound is based on laboratory and field studies, are similar and show persistent and mobile, stable to hydrolysis, and has potential to that this compound is more persistent (half-life over 500 days) leach to ground water and be transported via runoff to surface and mobile, stable to hydrolysis, and has potential to leach into water bodies:" According to US EPA ecologists, clothianidin ground water and be transported via runoff to surface water is an acute risk to freshwater invertebrates. Acute lethal toxicity bodies.41 Imidacloprid and clothianidin are highly toxic to aquatic to benthic invertebrates also suggests this conclusion. These invertebrates.40'4' Thiamethoxam is metabolised to clothianidin, organisms are an integral part of the freshwater trophic systems so presumably the chemicals must have many features in common and serve as both decomposers/predators that are important for and are probably additive in their effects. nutrient cycles and a food source for larger predators (e.g. fish). The systemic neonicotinoid insecticides did not feature in Yearly application of neonicotinoids without monitoring surface any of four recent reports on US national studies on the presence or groundwater, in combination with flooding incidents (many of pesticides in ground-water.42-45 However, New York State has of which have occurred in recent years),will increase insecticide not registered clothianidin and has severely restricted the use of runoff and decrease freshwater biodiversity. imidacloprid and thiamethoxam because of contamination of their water sources.46,47 Suppression of immune response to parasitic In Europe,under the current statutory requirements of the EU infections in fish Dangerous Substances Directive and the EU Water Framework, the five neonicotinoid pesticides licensed for use in the UK are While studying Japanese medaka fish in experimental paddy not included in the list of chemical substances that are required fields, Sanchez-Bayo and Goka observed physiological stress in to be monitored, but in the Netherlands a geographically low- juvenile medaka and massive infections of the weaker fish by a lying country,with about 25%of its area below sea level (http:// Trichodina ectoparasite where rice was treated with imidacloprid en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands#cite_note-milrek-8) and (Fig.4), compared with medaka in control rice fields 51 In 1994 50%of its land lying less than one metre above sea level,the Water there was an epidemic of parasitic salmon lice Lepeophtheirus Boards have been measuring imidacloprid levels in surface water salmonis in salmon farms sited on the Atlantic coast of Canada. for more than a decade.4,48 Levels have increased from 2003- However, the first epidemic of L. salmonis involving the wild 2008 and the increases correlated with decreasing abundance of pink salmon(Oncorhynchos gorbuscha)populations on the Pacific flying insects of the order Diptera.48 The Maximum Tolerable coast of British Columbia occurred suddenly in spring 2001.52 Risk (MTR) value, i.e. the environmental concentration of that Louse-induced mortality in wild salmon is often more than substance at which species in an ecosystem are considered by 80%.If the outbreak were to continue, Krkoseck et al.predicted Dutch regulators to be safe from effects caused by the substance, a 99% collapse within four salmon generations.52 It became was exceeded, in some areas by more than five times and this apparent that in areas without salmon farms, the prevalence of was most noticeable in the regions where horticulture and infestation was low whereas there was collapse in the wild salmon agriculture were concentrated.48 Pesticide Fact sheets show that populations in the proximity of farms.53 imidacloprid, clothianidin and fipronil are just as toxic to non- target and beneficial invertebrates as they are to target ones.40,41,49 Infections in bats in the US and Europe The WWF Living Planet Report 2010 found that biodiversity was declining faster in freshwater than in any other biome, In 2006, the same year that beekeepers realised the full including coral reefs and tropical forests.50 Neonicotinoids are implications of the disaster of CCD, White Nose Syndrome also known to be toxic to aquatic invertebrates, and instructions (WNS), a virulent and fatal fungus disease of hibernating bats, for use state that they should not be applied where they can came to the attention of ecologists.54 It was first found in a cave contaminate water. Based on laboratory and field studies, in New York State in the winter of 2005-6 and rapidly spread www.stmconnect.com/jeit Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology 7 to be widespread in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with an ` `" epizootic incidence in bats during the most recent years. Further s development of the situation urgently requires a detailed pan- Europe monitoring scheme." `: Imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and other • N • O neonicotinoids applied to the seed on arable crops are non- selective and are toxic to non-target and beneficial insects as \a wel1.4041 Bats are insectivorous species,so their survival has been compromised since the numbers of insects have been drastically § * reduced.48 Again, our hypothesis is that the thousands of Aot invertebrates consumed in their diet will inevitably have exposed bats to small cumulative doses of these toxins.45a4 In fact the abnormal neurological behaviour55 which is also pathognomonic of bats affected by WNS, is very similar to the disorientation Figure 4. Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) fry infested with the ectoparasite described in CCD honeybees that causes delay in foraging or Cyclochaeta(=Trichodina) domerguei(white circles in insert).Fish reared in eventual abandonment of the hive.7'9 a rice experimental paddy treated with imidacloprid were significantly more infested with these parasites compared to fish reared in non-treated paddies (after Sanchez-Bayo and Goka,2005). Declines due to pathogens in birds in the US and Europe through the north-eastern states. A powdery white nose tip was A mycoplasmal conjunctivitis was first reported in wild house pathognomonic of the disease and when the powder was cultured finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) in February 1994 in suburban a fungus, Geomyces destructans was grown. This pathogen Washington,DC.It was identified as Mycoplasmagallisepticum,a infected the skin and wing membranes of bats and was associated pathogen of poultry that had not previously been associated with with unprecedented numbers of deaths, affecting six different wild songbirds.G1 In the first three years it killed an estimated species of bat. 225 million finches and by 1995 it had spread to the American The mortality in a colony could be up to 95% and it was goldfinch (Carduelis tristis). There was a dramatic spread of reported that 1 million bats had died since 2006. In August disease to house finches in the mid-West and South East. 2010 Frick et al., using a combination of existing field data on Genome evolution in the bacterial pathogen was measured over hibernacula counts,rate of spread of the disease and mathematical 13 years and was found to be extremely rapid.62 Degradation of models,predicted that regional extinction of the little brown bat phage-derived sequences in affected house finches had resulted in the north-eastern US was likely to occur.55 A map showed the in functional loss of bacterial immunity resulting in rapidly rapid extension of WNS,year by year,starting in New York State spreading deadly disease. and spreading throughout the north-eastern and Mid-Atlantic In Europe epidemics caused by a variety of novel pathogens regions and into Ontario and Quebec in Canada. In March in wild birds began in early 2000. Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) 2012, the US Fish &Wildlife Service Biologists estimated that numbers in Europe have been devastated by infections with at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million bats have died from WNS and Trichomonas gallinae, a protozoal organism which invades the they expect the disease to continue to spread.56 Mortality rates at bird's crop and mucosal lining of the beak. Deaths started in many sites in Eastern North America have reached up to 100%. the UK around 2005.63 At the same time, chaffinches (Fringilla The Fish&Wildlife Service is producing monthly maps showing coelebs) appeared in gardens with white, crusty growths on their the relentless progress of the disease.57 Dan Ashe, the Director,58 legs and feet caused by a papilloma virus. The mortality is said said: "Bats provide tremendous value to the US economy as to be about 20%, so the disease kills more slowly than with the natural pest control for American farms and forests every year, Greenfinch Trichomonas infections.G4 In 2005, acute necrotising while playing an essential role in helping to control insects that pneumonitis with Suttonella ornithocola spp.in the Paridae family can spread disease to people." of birds (tits) was first reported by researchers in Inverness and In Europe, in a German-led multicentre study published the Institute of Zoology,London;they found that a gram negative in August 2010, hibernating bats with obvious fungal growth bacterium present in the diseased birds represented a novel were sampled in Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.59 Despite species.65 In 2006 there were further reports of mortality from laboratory confirmation that these bats were colonised by G. this novel bacterium. The first case of avian pox was reported destructans, there was no evidence that they were sick. However, in the UK in 2006, but prior to that it had appeared in Austria, by November 2010, a report from the Czech Republic and Czech Republic, Slovakia and Scandinavia.66 Great Tits (Parus Slovakia said that the numbers of hibernation cave sites in which major)seem to be affected more severely than other species,with the fungus was found were increasing rapidly, from 33 at the warty tumour-like growths around the eyes and beak, which beginning of winter to 76 (out of 98 surveyed) at the end, and sometimes interfered with feeding. According to Ben Sheldon, they said that sickness was starting to occur in some of the bats. Director of the Edward Grey Institute near Oxford where records The majority of these sites had been negative in the 2008/9 had been kept since 1947, the disease was detected for the first survey.60 The authors concluded that "G. destructans was found time in Wytham Woods in 2010.In September 2011,mass deaths 8 Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology Volume 1 Issue 1 of Blackbirds(Turdus merula)were reported in the Rhine-Neckar 35.7 million hectares in North America in 2010, and is expected area of Germany.67 The Bernhard-Noct Institute for Tropical to increase. Most of the maize is coated with neonicotinoid Diseases and the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute examined four birds insecticides.74 and confirmed that it was the tropical Usutu virus from Africa. It was first seen in Austria in 2001, followed by reports from Neonicotinoid insecticides can cause Italy, Hungary and Switzerland. In birds it first causes apathy, immunosuppression in mammals then signs of a central nervous system disorder, with unnatural movements of the head. There is now considerable evidence from basic neuroscience At the same time these diseases in birds originated and spread, research that the neonicotinoids have effects on mammalian the percentage of UK cropland treated with neonicotinoids has neurons as well as on invertebrate ones,and that the effects on the gone from 0.65% in 1994, to 30% in 2010. But the biggest nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are more significant increases have occurred in the last 10 years, from 1 million acres in vertebrates than was initially stated by the pesticide companies. in 2000,to more than 3 million acres in 2010.68 While the acreage 76-78 Studies of the effects of clothianidin and imidacloprid on of this kind of insecticides increases, the decline of more than 30 human neuronal-type a4I32 nAChRs showed that both chemicals species of birds in the UK has been linked to the agricultural had effects on human receptors.79 In view of the current global practices,including pesticides,6'and the Pan-European Common usage figures and their persistence in the environment, several Bird Monitoring Scheme recently reported devastating declines authors suggested that the neonicotinoids could have adverse in farmland bird numbers: overall populations dropped from effects on human health and the developing foetus. In fact, 600 million to 300 million between 1980 and 2009,with Britain gestational exposure in rats to a single large nonlethal dose of being one of the nations worst affected by these losses.70 Note imidacloprid produced significant neurobehavioural deficits that all species affected are insectivorous at least during the time and pathological alterations in their offspring.77 Acetamiprid of nesting and rearing their young.As with amphibians and bats, suppressed the immune system in female Wistar rats80 and currently there is no evidence that any of these infections are clothianidin has evidence of effects on the rat immune system, caused by neonicotinoid insecticides alone. However, based on with juveniles being particularly susceptible 41 Human clinical the timing of their appearance in the wild, we hypothesise here studies in 2010 demonstrated a connection between the nAChRs the obvious connection between all these pathogen outbreaks and the immune system.81 and the use of neonicotinoids. Consequences of the use and abuse of systemic Evidence of persistence of neonicotinoids in the insecticides environment Over the last 20 years or so, the shift in pest management has In March 2009 California's Department of Pesticide Regulation moved away from reactive to prophylactic.Now many fungicides, demanded re-evaluation of other uses of imidacloprid.71 Their pesticides and herbicides are applied to the seeds before sowing. data noted two critical findings.One,high levels of imidacloprid Application of the chemical before pest damage has occurred in leaves and blossoms of treated plants (residues in some plants often involves routine(calendar-based)spraying and pre-emptive measured higher than 4 mg kg') and two, increases in residue treatments.82 levels over time so that significant residues from the previous The phenomena of insect and herbicide resistance have locked season are available to the treated plants. California's DPR issued US farmers into a pesticide treadmill. Target pests and weeds a further notice of demands for re-evaluation.72 In January 2011, are capable of becoming resistant to the repeated use of a single all imidacloprid registrants voluntarily amended their labels insecticide or herbicide such that successively larger doses have to removing their applications to almonds. be applied. Farmers and weed scientists across the heartland and Clothianidin degradation in soil is slow,with half-lives ranging cotton belt are now struggling to devise affordable and effective from 1 to over 2 years (Table 1), and in one case, no dissipation strategies to deal with the resistant weeds emerging in the wake was recorded.73 Persistence in the environment of clothianidin of herbicide-tolerant crops.8i Similar resistance to insecticides has was confirmed by Krupke et al..74 Field studies from Indiana developed in pests as a result of which new insecticides had to be showed widespread clothianidin contamination of bees and the developed.84'85 environment close to maize fields, resulting in multiple routes The neonicotinoids and fipronil appeared to be the ideal of exposure throughout the foraging period. Residues were also candidates for replacement of old generation insecticides; they found in dandelions (Taraxacum spp.) foraged by bees; in dead are very effective in controlling insects,particularly sucking pests bees collected near hive entrances and in pollen collected by such as aphids,and at the same time quite innocuous to fish and bees and stored in the hive. Maize pollen with clothianidin and vertebrates in general.86 Thus, in England in 2010, about one other pesticides were fed by bees to the new queens. The levels third of arable land was treated with neonicotinoid insecticides of clothianidin in bee-collected pollen was 10-fold higher than out of a total cropped acreage of about 9.9 million acres. Some those reported from experiments conducted on canola grown fields had up to four applications of various pesticides.68 In the from clothianidin-treated seed in Canada and submitted by the US in 2010, 88 million acres of maize, 77 million acres of soya manufacturer as a field study for registration, but subsequently and 53 million acres of wheat were treated with neonicotinoid rejected as inadequate by the US EPA.75 Maize planting reached insecticides. However, the neonicotinoids and fipronil are www.stmconnect.com/jeit Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology 9 systemic so they permeate all plant tissues and effectively reach In Regulation (EC) no 1107/2009 of the European the target and non-target insects that feed on the contaminated Parliament91 concerning the placing of plant protection products plants.87 The consequences of this novel mode of insecticidal on the market,Annex II, Criteria for approval, page 43, it states action are that insects die in droves, not only at the time of that a plant protection product should not be persistent in the application, but also weeks later due to chronic toxicity.Among environment.The persistence criterion is fulfilled where the half- sub-lethal effects is a reduction in their immune systems, which life in soil is higher than 120 days. "Assessment of persistency have been demonstrated in bees and fish, thus exposing them to in the environment shall be based on available half-life data the lethal scourge of pathogenic diseases.This paper has reviewed collected under appropriate conditions,which shall be described the evidence to date on the latter account. While there is clear by the applicant." Registration documents confirm that the evidence implicating the role of neonicotinoids in suppressing the neonicotinoid insecticides are persistent in the environment immunity in bees and fish, there is only circumstantial evidence (Table 1) and,according to EC laws, imidacloprid, clothianidin that the new class of insecticides is responsible for most of the and thiamethoxam(which is metabolised to clothianidin)should other pathogen epidemics that are affecting amphibians, bats never have been registered. and insectivorous birds around the world. The appearance of However, it would seem that the Registration Authorities let such epidemics in places where systemic insecticides had been economics prevail when they register pesticides. On page 2, the used in large quantities in previous years is, however, far from Summary of the April 2012 Report by the EFSA Panel on Plant coincidental.At the root of the problem lies a lack of data on the Protection Products and their Residues(PPR)92 states:"The final widespread and insidious contamination of these new chemicals. decision on protection goals needs to be taken by risk managers. On April 17th 2012 the EU Ombudsman88 opened an There is a trade-off between plant protection and the protection investigation into bee mortality and neonicotinoid insecticides of bees. The effects on pollinators need to be weighted against following a complaint from the Austrian Ombudsman Board, increase in crop yields due to better protection of crops against alleging that the European Commission (EC) had failed to pests." This suggests that crucially important pollinators may take into account new scientific evidence arguing in favour have to take second place to economics. of restricting the use of these insecticides as plant protection Sadly,most government departments responsible for ensuring products. According to the Austrian Ombudsman Board, the quality of our waters have failed to acknowledge the threats observations from beekeepers, as well as new scientific evidence, posed by systemic insecticides. Their widespread global use and suggest that certain neonicotinoids have led to increased bee contamination of the environment is unrecognized. As a result, mortality in recent years. The EC asked the European Food researchers concerned about the emerging infectious diseases in Standards Authority(EFSA) Panel on Plant Protection Products the past two decades causing animal declines and local extinctions to give a Scientific Opinion.The EFSA conclusions were that for and the effects on biodiversity,ecosystem and human health,are the research on bees and bumblebees, the concentrations used unaware of the existence of the neonicotinoids. Even scientists by the authors were too high to be "field realistic" and that the who suspected the possibility of chemical pollution are working experiments should be repeated.89 However, the EFSA scientists, on pesticide data (and water quality measurements) that are 20 in their calculations, had failed to take into account evidence of years out of date. Thus they target the wrong pesticides in their pesticide residues in soil and water.71,74 ecotoxicological studies (e.g. organophosphates, endosulfan, Henry et al.9° showed that nonlethal exposure of honey bees atrazine etc. instead of the neonicotinoids). This article is a to thiamethoxam causes high mortality due to homing failure wake-up call to the world authorities, environmental protection at levels that could put a colony at risk of collapse. Simulated agencies and scientists to monitor thoroughly the waters and exposure events on free-ranging foragers labelled with a radio- study the overall implications of systemic insecticides from a new frequency identification tag suggest that homing is impaired perspective; that of human health and global biodiversity. by thiamethoxam intoxication. On 1st June 2012, the French Minister of Agriculture banned thiamethoxam. Contributors Whitehorn et al.25 exposed colonies of the bumble bee Born bus terrestris in the laboratory to field-realistic levels of Rosemary Mason, Henk Tennekes, Francisco Sanchez-Bayo and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, and allowed them to develop Palle Uhd Jepsen researched and wrote the paper. Henk Tennekes naturally under field conditions. Treated colonies had a discovered toxicological proof of the actions of the neonicotinoid significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85%reduction insecticides.Francisco Sanchez-Bayo provided further ecotoxicological in production of new queens compared with control colonies. information. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids, the authors suggested that neonicotinoid insecticides may be having a considerable Conflict of interests negative impact on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world. When exposed to these insecticides, only 15% The authors declared no conflicts of interest. of the mated queens survive the winter to start new colonies.This is already happening around the world. A reduction of 85% in Acknowledgements the production of new queens accounts for the massive declines (and some extinctions) reported in the US and Canada from the We thank G. White for the pictures of honeybees and T. Theobald for late 1990s onwards.19'2°.23 providing valuable information. 10 Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology Volume 1 Issue 1 References destruction,UV-B,and climate-change hypotheses for california amphibian declines. Consery Biol 2002;16(6):1588-1601. 1. Abbink J.The biochemistry of imidacloprid.Pflanzenschutz-Nachrichten Bayer 1991; 33. Symposium held at the Zoological Society of London:20/21 November 2008.Halting 42(2):183-95. the global declines in amphibians.Research&Practice. 2. 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Critical Issue Report:Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States:The First Thirteen Years November Charles Benbrook(2009).http:// 12 Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology Volume 1 Issue 1 HUMAN HEALTH AND GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY LIES The Silent IN THE HANDS OF THE PESTICIDES INDUSTRY Killers Rosemary Mason MB,ChB, !RCA and Palle Uhd Jepsen former Conservation Adviser to the Danish Forest and Nature Agency CONTENTS Introduction and Summary 3 The systemic neonicotinoid insecticides 3 Beneath the radar 3 Human health is deteriorating 4 Loss of biodiversity 4 Genetically modified crops 5 GMO crops cause super-weeds and super-pests 6 Desiccation of crops with glyphosate(or another herbicide)to dry them 6 Glyphosate found in human urine samples with levels 5 to 20 times above legal limit 6 Rejection of advice about GMOs from the Environmental Audit Committee 7 The UK Government's Foresight Future of Food and Farming Report 7 A secret application by the UK and Syngenta for a GM herbicide-tolerant crop 7 Syngenta found guilty in a court case involving deaths of cows in Germany and the US 7 The European Court of Justice has ruled in favour of the industry over GM maize 8 The new science of Epigenetics 8 The scale of the problem of exposure; the public's lack of protection in the UK 9 The role of the UK Chemical Regulation Directorate (CRD) 9 Failure to inform the public of risks 9 The EU Directive(2009/128/EC)on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides 10 CRD budget is paid, in part,by the industry 11 Has Defra forgotten its origins? 12 The Government's Academic Adviser in Agriculture 13 The Role of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides(ACP) 13 It is impossible to avoid exposure 13 UK government scientists again refuse to ban clothianidin and thiamethoxam... 14 ...the same day as Public Interest groups in the US give notice to sue US EPA 14 US EPA knew that clothianidin was toxic to bees,birds and mammals 14 Why are our Protection Agencies not measuring levels in ground and surface water? 15 The EC denied our claim that the registration of clothianidin was illegal 16 Natural Environment Research Council closed the Wildlife Research Stations in 2006 16 Biological Records Centre—A major casualty of Governmental reorganisations 17 NERC response to our letter about systemic neonicotinoid insecticides 18 Defra/Fera Healthy Bees Plan Project Management Board 19 Pollinator Initiative; a study of the effect of industrial chemicals on bee brains 19 Beekeepers in the UK have increased overwintering hive losses 20 The UK Government is committed to GMO Technology 20 Why is the Government not funding non-GM varieties of blight-resistant potatoes? 22 Super-weeds increase the pesticide use 22 The controversial BBC Countryfile programme 23 Government rejects the recommendation of the Environmental Audit Committee on GMOs 24 European Commission in control of Rapporteur Member States 25 Why are the European authorities determined to get GM crops into Europe? 25 What is the rolcpf the Commissioner of Health and Consumers' Directorate? 25 The Austrian Ombudsman Board challenges the European Commission about bees 26 EFSA has recently given positive opinions on old herbicides at the request of industry 26 Another GM,herbicide-tolerant seed in the pipeline 27 Scientists complain that the EC has ignored independent scientific advice about Roundup® 27 RMS (DAR) studies on glyphosate found teratogenicity in mammals 28 1 Lawyer Dr Graciela Gomez has had small victories against glyphosate on behalf rural 28 communities in Argentina Monsanto convicted in Brazil for false advertising claims 28 Danish farmers report side effects with GM Soya fed to pigs 29 Desiccation of crops with glyphosate(or another herbicide)to dry them 29 Lack of ecological knowledge in industry and governments 30 The devastation of commercial beekeeping in the United States 31 US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)also in denial about clothianidin 31 Behind the scenes of the US EPA 32 The significance of the Workshop on Pesticide Risk Assessment for Pollinators 32 What is the ICPBR? 32 USDA and others funded a study on Golden Rice in Chinese Children in 2008 33 The effects of GM crops on humans in Latin America 33 Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing 35 Retinoic Acid Signaling Super-weeds result in an increase in pesticides used 36 How does Monsanto manage to suppress the problems with their GMOs? 36 The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal held in Bangalore, 03-06/12/2011 37 Major battles to come in the US in November over agrochemical industry power 38 California gets tough on Environmental Standards 39 New York State never registered clothianidin 40 Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority(APVMA) 40 APVMA is also in the hands of the Pesticides Industry 40 Queensland will monitor, but New South Wales lacks government funding 41 CSIRO is manufacturing GMO wheat 42 Japan 42 One of the first countries to identify threats of neonicotinoids to humans 43 IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides and human health 43 Ireland 43 Illegal GM maize found in Ireland 43 Legal challenge to Irish EPA over GM potato trial 44 Clothianidin neonicotinoid insecticide approved in 2008 44 Massive declines(with some extinction)in farmland birds in Ireland 44 Appendix 1 45 Effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors Appendix 2 48 Independent research on glyphosate Appendix 3 51 Extracts from the Report from the 1St National Meeting of Physicians in the Crop-sprayed Towns Appendix 4 52 Independent research on Bt toxins Appendix 5 53 Research on Epigenetics; Gene changes caused by environmental exposure 2 Introduction and Summary This document provides evidence that,unwittingly or otherwise,a long-term strategy has existed with the aim of putting the pesticides industry in charge of human health and biodiversity. In 2008,under the Editorship of Eric Chivian MD and Aaron Bernstein MD (from the Center for Human Health and the Global Environment,Harvard Medical School) the book Sustaining Life. How human health depends on biodiversity was published by Oxford University Press. It won the award for best biology book of 2008. Sadly, it was already too late. Over the last 20 years or so, a series of new agrochemical compounds have been authorised by Regulatory Authorities around the world. Two in particular,the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides and genetically-engineered crops have caused gross contamination of the environment. These agrochemicals are the silent destroyers of human health and global biodiversity. GM crops are now being authorised at such a rate around the world that they cannot possibly have been adequately tested for their long-term effects. Independent scientists who have warned of the hazards of these chemicals have been completely ignored by governments. Those who reported inconvenient truths have lost their jobs, or had their departments closed down, or been publically vilified by the scientific community. The systemic neonicotinoid insecticides Dr Henk Tennekes, an independent Dutch toxicologist, first warned of the dangers of the systemic neonicotinoids in his book: The systemic neonicotinoid insecticides:A disaster in the making. Dr Tennekes says that his book: "catalogues a tragedy of monumental proportions regarding the loss of invertebrates and subsequent losses of the insect feeding (invertebrate-dependent) bird populations in all environments in the Netherlands. The disappearance can be related to agriculture in general, and to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid in particular, which is a major contaminant of Dutch surface water since 2004."The relationship exists because of crucial (and catastrophic)disadvantages of the neonicotinoid insecticides: the damage to the central nervous system of insects is irreversible and cumulative. Tennekes showed that there is no safe level of exposure, and even minute quantities can have devastating effects in the long term. They leach into groundwater and contaminate surface water and persist in soil and water, chronically exposing aquatic and terrestrial organisms to these insecticides. "So, what, in effect, is happening is that these insecticides are creating a toxic landscape, in which many beneficial organisms are killed off. "Tennekes and Sanchez-Bayo in a more recent paper demonstrated that chemicals that bind irreversibly to specific receptors(neonicotinoids, genotoxic carcinogens and some metalloids)will produce toxic effects in a time-dependent manner, no matter how low the level of exposure. Beneath the radar We describe how and why these agrochemicals that have come to dominate world markets have managed to escape notice. They have been `beneath the radar'. Environment Agencies were not measuring levels in surface or ground water. They did not appear on the European Water Frame Directive's list of dangerous chemicals that required to be monitored. They did not feature in the 2009 US Geological Survey(USGS)National Water-Quality Assessment • Program(NAWQA)Report:Pesticide Trends in Corn Belt Streams and Rivers (1996-2006). They were absent from the 2008 US study of pesticides in ground-water. The authors of the studies said: "The results of this study are encouraging for the future state of the nation's ground-water quality with respect to pesticides...Despite sustained use of many popular pesticides and the introduction of new ones, results did not indicate increasing detection rates or concentrations in shallow drinking water resources over the 10 years studied. " 3 That was simply because they were only measuring the older pesticides that had been phased out. These had been replaced by the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, which were absent from the pesticide lists. Human health is deteriorating In 2010: "The usually cautious US President's Cancer Panel has reported that synthetic chemicals can cause grievous harm and that the number of cancers for which they are responsible had been grossly underestimated. The Standing Committee of European Doctors, including the BMA, added.- "Chemical Pollution represents a serious threat to children, and to Man's survival."In March 2009, the charity Brain Tumour UK reported that 40,000 brain tumour patients each year were missing from the official statistics. In May/June 2010 issue of Oncology News,Dr Colin Watts, a neurosurgeon from Cambridge, wrote a Report"Brain Cancer:An Unrecognised Clinical Problem."The Office of National Statistics figures for the UK showed that the number of children dying from brain tumour in 2007 was 33%higher than in 2001; in contrast, child deaths from leukaemia were 39%lower than in 2001. In fact, brain tumours have(in the UK and Canada at least)replaced leukaemia as the commonest cause of childhood death. In July 2010 Gwynne Lyons and Professor Andrew Watterson published the CHEM Trust Report:A review of the role pesticides play in some cancers: children,farmers and pesticide users at risk? In it,pesticide exposure of pregnant women is linked to childhood cancer. In the last 35 years; the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has more than doubled; testicular cancer has doubled; breast cancer in women has increased by two thirds and in men has quadrupled;prostate cancer has tripled. It has been left to charities to undertake these studies but, as we noted above, the pesticide monitoring and information is 20 years out of date. In fact few doctors are even aware that the neonicotinoid insecticides exist. Attempts have been made to inform the British Medical Association. There are many studies that suggest long-term side effects in humans and it is not just from exposure of the foetus in early pregnancy. Here are three. [For others see Appendix 1]. Baldi,I. et al.Neurobehavioral effects of long-term exposure to pesticides: results from the 4-year follow-up of the PHYTONER Study. Occup. Environ. Med 68: 108-115 (2011). The first study to provide prospective data on farmer workers in the Bordeaux area of France (1997-98 and 2001-03) suggested long-term cognitive effects of chronic exposure to pesticides and raised the issue of evolution towards dementia. Landrigan,P.J, Benbrook, C.M. Symposium on Opportunities and Initiatives to Pesticides. AAAS, 2006 Annual Meeting:In the US,prenatal and childhood exposure to pesticides have emerged as a significant risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, including learning disabilities, dyslexia, mental retardation, attention deficit disorder and autism, which are now affecting 5-10%of 4 million children. An IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides was established in 2011 and on 02/09/2012 the Task Force met in Tokyo. Two of the presentations involved humans: `Systemic Pesticides as a Causal Factor of Developmental Brain Disorders(ADHD, autism etc.)' and `The Human Health Effect of Neonicotinoid Insecticides.' As Mary Ann Ogasawara, Organiser of the meeting observed last week: "Many people wouldn't bat an eye for honeybees but if they find that it affects humans, it will be the wakeup call. " Loss of biodiversity By the late 1990s, emerging pathogens in wildlife had become an increasing cause for alarm; global populations of amphibians,honeybees,bats and birds had been wiped out by disease. Many scientists had written in increasingly desperate tones about these threats to animal, plant and ecosystem health that were destroying biodiversity. Articles in the journal Nature in 4 the last six months have appeared with such titles as: `Biodiversity loss and the impact on humanity'and `Emerging fungal threats to animal,plant and ecosystem health'. Authors of the latter made an appeal to scientists urgently to find: "the elusive magic bullet". A paper in the first issue of the new Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology (Sept/Oct 2012) suggests an alternative explanation to factors such as climate change, or increases in ultraviolet radiation,both of which have been proposed scientists. `Immune suppression by neonicotinoid insecticides at the root of global wildlife declines'. Abstract: `Outbreaks of infectious diseases in honey bees,fish, amphibians, bats and birds in the past two decades have coincided with the increasing use of systemic insecticides, notably the neonicotinoids and fipronil.A link between insecticides and such diseases is hypothesised. Firstly, the disease outbreaks started in countries and regions where systemic insecticides were used for the first time, and later they spread to other countries. Secondly, recent evidence of immune suppression in bees and fish caused by neonicotinoids has provided an important clue to understand the sub-lethal impact of these insecticides not only on these organisms, but probably on other wildlife affected by infectious diseases. While this is occurring, environmental authorities in developed countries ignore the calls of apiarists (who are most affected) and do not target neonicotinoids in their regular monitoring schedules. Equally, scientists looking for answers to the problem are unaware of the new threat that systemic insecticides have introduced into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.' Genetically modified crops January 2012. Frederique Baudouin reported:New indication of health risks on GE maize. Independent researchers in France criigen(a),unicaen.fr and Germany info(a),testbiotech.org have recently called into question the safety of Insecticidal Bt toxins, such as those produced in genetically-engineered plants; for example GE maize MON810 can significantly impact the viability of human cells. The effects were observed with relatively high concentrations of toxin, nevertheless there is a cause for concern. According to companies like Monsanto,the toxins are supposed to be active only against particular insects and should have no effects on mammals and humans at all. These kinds of investigation are not a requirement for risk assessment in Europe. Another finding of these researchers concerns a herbicide formulation sold under the brand name Roundup®. Massive amounts of this herbicide are sprayed on GE soybean crops and residues can be found in food and feed. According to the new publication, even extremely low dosages of Roundup® (glyphosate formulation)can damage human cells. These findings are in accordance with several other investigations highlighting unexpected health risk associated with glyphosate preparations. "We were very much surprised by our findings. Up until now it was thought almost impossible for Bt proteins to be toxic to human cells. Now further investigations have to be conducted to find out how these toxins impact the cell and if combinatorial effects with other compounds in the food and feed chain have to be taken into account", says Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini from the University of Caen. "In conclusion, these experiments show that the risks of Bt toxins and Roundup®have been underestimated" [see Appendices 2 & 4]. Aris, A., Leblanc, S. Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated with genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.Reproductive Toxicology(2011), 31: 528-33. This study found Bt toxin in 80%of women and their unborn children tested in Canada. Long-term toxicology and health risk assessments on Bt in GM crops had not been done. [Opinion from an Obstetrics expert: "this paper shows that this GM protein can survive extensive food processing to enter the diet. It can then survive human digestion to enter the blood of the person eating it and then cross the placenta to enter the fetus."]. 5 On 22/06/2012 European Food Safety Authority(EFSA)for the first time gave a positive opinion on the cultivation of GE soy in the EU. The applicant,US company Monsanto,wants to sell its seeds for herbicide-tolerant Roundup®Ready(RR)to European farmers. Currently RR soy can be imported,but not grown. On 09/08/2012 Monsanto was given final market authorisation by the European Commission for GE soybeans with stacked genes. However a new legal dossier challenging the EC has been prepared on behalf of Testbiotech. www.testbiotech.org GMO crops cause super-weeds and super-pests necessitating application of larger doses of the same pesticide, or re-registration of older ones Monsanto's GM herbicide-tolerant crops have been associated with a massive increase in pesticide use,primarily due to super-weeds. The EU Regulatory bodies are in denial about super-weeds, yet the evidence from the US is clear. Supporters of GM technology and Monsanto claim that GE crops will reduce the amount of pesticides used and increase the yield in order to feed the world. However, since 1996, the year in which GE crops were first planted in US and Latin America independent analyses have shown that both of these claims are false. The residues of these toxic chemicals appear in humans from food and via animal feed. Farmers have reported side effects with feeding animals GM soya. In the previous 2 years, a Danish Pig Farmer had experienced piglet diarrhoea and 35 sows had died of stomach problems. In the previous 9 months he had had 13 malformed,but live-born,piglets. It was only when we read about the practice of desiccation of crops did we realise that the glyphosate could be accumulating in animals from more than one source of feed. This ties in with serious diseases in entire herds of animals in northern Germany, in which glyphosate has repeatedly detected in urine, faeces, milk and animal feed [see below under glyphosate]. Desiccation of crops with glyphosate(or another herbicide)to dry them We studied the work of the Reasoned Opinion Group of EFSA which grants `modification' (i.e. increases) of maximum residue limits(MRLs)in foods at the request of the pesticides industry: "in order to accommodate intended uses"or"to accommodate for the international trade."Here we encountered the practice of`desiccation'. By this method, herbicides are sprayed shortly before harvest, directly on the crops to be harvested, in order to dry them. In January 2012, Monsanto Europe asked EFSA to set the import tolerance for glyphosate in lentils: "in order to accommodate the authorised desiccation use of glyphosate in lentils in the US and Canada"from 0.1 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg(i.e. 100 times). EFSA had granted similarly elevated MRLs for glyphosate on wheat and GM soya. Monsanto's publication in 2010: `The agronomic benefits of glyphosate in Europe: Review of the benefits of glyphosate' would appear to explain why the EU Commission has delayed the re-evaluation of glyphosate until 2015 (instead of 2012,when it should have been due). Glyphosate found in human urine samples with levels 5 to 20 times above legal limit This report in January 2012 from the Ithaka Journal (Viticulture ecology climate-farming) used figures from an unnamed German University. When testing for glyphosate contamination in an urban population, a German University found significant contamination in all urine samples with 5 to 20 times above the legal limit for drinking water. If residues are appearing in urban populations, it suggests that glyphosate residues from multiple routes of exposure, including desiccation,are entering the food chain of animals and humans.In search for the causes of serious diseases of entire herds of animals in Northern Germany, especially cattle, glyphosate has repeatedly been detected in the urine,faeces, milk and feed of the animals. Even more alarmingly, glyphosate was detected in the urine of the farmers. This accords with the Danish report of side effects in pigs fed GM soya [see page 29]. 6 Rejection of advice about GMOs from the Environmental Audit Committee The UK Government's Foresight Future of Food and Farming Report wants GMOs. This week,the UK Government has completely rejected the advice of the 11th Report of Session 2010-12 of the Environmental Audit Committee(30/04/2012)that the Government should not license the commercial use of GM crops in the UK nor promote its use overseas. The Government, in its rejection of the advice, claims that it: "takes a science-led approach, and the protection of human health and the environment are our overriding priorities". This is the voice of a pesticides industry in control. For a number of years,the UK Government has been totally committed to the development of GMO crops in partnership with industry. It appointed two scientists with Monsanto connections into key posts in the UK. Syngenta has powerful influences and industry scientists sit on several Government Committees because Syngenta supports pollinator research. Foresight Future of Food and Farming Report from the Government Office for Science. Lead Scientist Prof Charles Godfray(NERC) and Hope Professor of Entomology at Oxford. Page 88: "Wheat is the most internationally-traded food crop and the single largest food import in low-income countries. A public-private partnership between Syngenta and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center(CIMMYT)will focus on the development and advancement of technology in wheat through joint research and development in the areas of native and GM traits,hybrid wheat and the combination of seeds and crop protection to accelerate plant yield performance. The partnership will leverage both Syngenta's genetic marker technology, advanced genetic traits platform and wheat-breeding for the high-income countries, as well as CIMMYT's access to wheat genetic diversity, global partnership network, and wheat-breeding programme targeted to the low-income countries." A secret application by the UK and Syngenta for a GM herbicide-tolerant crop. On the EFSA website,we discovered that: "The UK Competent Authority and Syngenta had applied for placing on the market of a GM, herbicide tolerant(glyphosate) maize GA21 for food and feed uses, import,processing and cultivation. " It was adopted by EFSA on 16/12/2011. Although EFSA had said that there were no effects of human or animal health or the environment, in the body of the document, they admitted to the problems of reduction in farmland biodiversity, selection of weed communities and selection of glyphosate resistant weeds and destruction of food webs and the ecological functions they provide.Nevertheless, the EFSA approved it,but covered itself by saying: "The magnitude of these potential adverse environmental effects will depend on a series offactors including the specific herbicide and cultivation management applied at farm level, the crop rotation...etc. and recommends "case-specific monitoring". Syngenta found guilty in a court case involving deaths of cows in Germany and the US Is the Government aware that Syngenta Germany was criminally charged with denying knowledge that its GM Bt 176 corn killed livestock? The German Head of Syngenta was charged for withholding knowledge from the judge, of a US feeding study which had resulted in four cows dying in 2 days. Gloecker, the German farmer took part in authorised field tests between 1997 and 2002. By 2000 his cows were fed exclusively on Bt 176 corn and began to be sick. Syngenta refused to admit that its GM corn was the cause and the civil lawsuit was dismissed. Gloecker has finally obtained justice. Syngenta was held liable for the destruction of the farmer's 65 cows. The fact that no long-term monitoring of GMOs is done before they 7 are authorised by the EC makes it easy for the industry to deny responsibility. The farmer has to prove it in court against the lawyers of a powerful industry. The European Court of Justice has ruled in favour of the industry over GM maize September 2012: In a dispute between the Italian Ministry of Agriculture (who refused to allow cultivation of GM maize) and a biotechnology company,the EU Court of Justice last week ruled in favour of the Industry. (The GM maize had previously been approved by the EU, so no individual country could opt out). The Court ruled: "that a member state cannot prohibit in a general manner the cultivation on their territory of such GMOs pending the adoption of coexistence measures, citing legislation that made the use and marketing of GMOs under the jurisdiction of the EU, which approved the use of GM maize in 1997." The Court of Justice had previously ruled against the French Minister of Agriculture and in favour of Monsanto over France's attempted ban of GMO MON810. The new science of Epigenetics Humans are bearing the brunt of these ever increasing amounts of genotoxic chemicals to which they are being exposed. It is likely that levels in the environment will increase exponentially.as the agrochemical companies' battle to cope with resistant weeds and pests by spraying on more and more pesticides. Whilst plants and invertebrates can develop resistance in a relatively short time, humans cannot. This chemical contamination of the environment has spawned the relatively new science of epigenetics. The Faroes Statement: Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure to Chemicals in Our Environment 2007, warned that: `Chemical exposures during prenatal and early postnatal life can bring about important effects on gene expression, which may predispose to disease during adolescence and adult life...Some environmental chemicals can alter gene expression by DNA methylation and chromatin remodelling. These epigenetic changes can cause lasting functional changes in specific organs and tissues and increased susceptibility to disease that may even affect successive generations.' Dr Don M. Huber, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology, Purdue University,US, speaking about GMO crops and glyphosate, said: "Future historians may well look back upon our time and write, not about how many pounds of pesticide we did or didn't apply, but by how willing we are to sacrifice our children and future generations for this massive genetic engineering experiment that is based on flawed science and failed promises just to benefit the bottom line of a commercial enterprise. " RAM PUJ 18/09/2012 8 The scale of the problem of exposure and the public's lack of protection This document analyses and constructs the evidence for our conclusion that the agrochemical industry is in control of human health and global biodiversity. The Environmental Protection Agencies around the world have repeatedly told the public (and us)that there is no evidence that the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides are harmful to bees,provided that they are used correctly. The role of the UK Chemical Regulation Directorate (CRD) The CRD response(24/12/2010)on behalf of The Right Hon James Paice MP,Minister of Agriculture to our letter(03/12/2010) stated: "that the neonicotinoids are primarily used as commercial and horticultural pesticides and that the Directorate routinely restricts the ways in which products can be used(e.g. specking dose rates, timing and place of application) to ensure protection of human health and the environment. In an open letter to the CRD on 06/01/2011, we pointed out there were four different products on unrestricted sale to the public for use at home. Bayer Garden Products included Provado®Ultimate Bugkiller Concentrate(thiacloprid), Provado® Lawn Grub Killer(imidacloprid),Ultimate Bugkiller Ready to Use(thiacloprid)and Provado®Vine Weevil Killer(thiacloprid). We raised several questions, but received no answers(after our complaint to the Defra Chief Scientist we finally had one in July 2011,but by that time the CRD must have forgotten what the questions were). If it is so important that they are applied correctly, who instructs the public on their use on garden plants, on lawns, in greenhouses, on golf courses, on sports fields, on amenity grasslands, on pets, and horticulturalists who apply it to plants and bulbs and some composts that are sold to our nurseries(but without being obliged to label that they are so treated)? Many people believe that if one unit of pesticide is good,two units will be twice as good. The Radio 4 Gardener's Question Time panel sometimes mentions pesticides but fails to emphasise the dangers. Only Monty Don stood up to the BBC by refusing to recommend chemicals. In Kew Gardens if one tries to find a bird or an insect it becomes apparent(and by admission of staff)that there is widespread use on trees and in greenhouses. The pesticides industry cooperates with agricultural colleges on research, so they able to influence farmers, horticulturalists and gardeners from the beginning of their careers. Knowledge learned as a student usually remains for the rest of one's life. Glyphosate (Roundup®)was marketed as harmless, and assumed to be so by the public, but independent studies have shown that it is toxic to humans in relatively small doses, and residues in food are increasing(vide infra). Failure by the authorities to inform the public of risks We have regularly found the Bayer Provado®range in garden stores and hardware shops,but have failed to find an informed amateur gardener who knows what the active ingredient is in a particular product. Even we,who knew what we were looking for, often found it difficult. On the Royal Horticultural Society website, members are told that it is safe to use pesticides, provided that the instructions are strictly followed. Are the public aware that every time they use lawn grub killer,they are killing most of the other non-target beneficial insects in their lawn, or weakening those such as earthworms so that they are vulnerable to predators?Do they know that it kills off the microbes that aerate and break down the soil, or those that are responsible for leaf litter decomposition?Are they aware that each time they use them in the garden,neonicotinoid residues persist and hence build up?The systemic neonicotinoids have been known to persist in the environment for some years now. Only if people are informed can they consider the risks, e.g. of multiple exposures in pregnancy and to young children. When a gardener uses pesticides,residues from lawns can be carried into the house on shoes. 9 A study by Kross et al. (1996) from the University of Iowa in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine on 618 golf superintendents and their workers who managed turf on golf courses in the US, showed that they died of cancer, sometimes of unusual types, more often than the general public. In 2008, the EU had announced its intention to ban the use of pesticides on golf courses,but such was the outcry from the powerful golf lobby that golf courses were made an exception. There were triumphant messages on their websites. Perhaps they would not have been quite so elated had they been aware that they were possibly exposing those of their staff who managed the turf to an increased risk of cancer. The EU Directive(2009/128/EC) on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and the UK Consultation and Government Decisions,published December 2010 The Consultation Summary was prepared by the Chemical Regulation Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive on behalf of Defra. It was published in a pdf file on the Defra website on 15/12/2010. The following statement was issued: "As UK pesticides safety standards are already amongst the highest in Europe, only minor changes are necessary to meet the new requirements and no compelling evidence was provided in the responses to justify further extending existing regulations and voluntary controls". We wrote to CRD on 06/01/2011: "We have examined your response document closely and have discovered that, instead of strengthening the legislation, the responses of the UK government and the CRD have considerably weakened it. In the case of aerial spraying, you have opted for derogation. We also observe that whilst the general background is given,the specific points made in the EU Directive seem to have been omitted. We have thus presented the EU's specific points immediately before, so that it is possible to compare those with the Government responses. Article 9 Aerial Spraying. EU Directive Advice:Aerial spraying of pesticides has the potential to cause significant adverse impacts on human health and the environment, in particular from spray drift. Therefore aerial spraying should generally be prohibited with derogations possible where it represents clear advantages in terms of reduced impacts on human health and the environment in comparison with other spraying methods, or where there are no viable alternatives,provided that the best available technology to reduce drift is used. Government Response: We do not consider that responsible application of pesticides by aerial spraying poses an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, and consequently we will use the derogation. We believe that the existing legislation control regime provides a basis for meeting the Directive and this will be adapted to ensure the continuation of properly regulated aerial applications through a consent-based approach. [NB Defra was as good as its word; there was no prohibition. On 03/07/2012 their website announced new information about how aerial spraying of pesticides would be undertaken. "Further information will be added as procedures are developed. "] Article 10 Protection of water EU Directive Advice: The aquatic environment is especially sensitive to pesticides.It is very necessary for particular attention to be paid to avoiding pollution of surface water and groundwater by taking appropriate measures such as the establishment of buffer and safeguard zones, or planting hedges along surface water to reduce exposure of water bodies to spray drift, drain flow and run-off. The dimensions of buffer zones should depend in particular pesticide properties, as well as agricultural characteristics of the areas concerned. Government Response: Current statutory and voluntary controls related to pesticides and the protection of water, iffollowed, afford a high degree of protection to water courses and cover specific measures detailed in the Directive. The Government will primarily seek to work with the pesticides industry to enhance voluntary measures. 10 Our comment: Protection of the aquatic environment is absolutely critical in the case of the Neonicotinoids, the undesirable properties of which the Dutch and US researchers have confirmed; their solubility that allows them to leach into surface water,the persistence of residues in aquatic environments,their acute risk to freshwater and benthic invertebrates. Article 11 Use of pesticides in specific areas EU Directive Advice: Use of pesticides can be particularly dangerous in very sensitive areas such as Natura 2000 sites protected in accordance with Directives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC. In other places such as public parks and garden, sports and recreation grounds, school grounds and children's play grounds, and in the close vicinity of healthcare facilities, the risks from exposure to pesticides is high.In these areas, the use of pesticides should be minimised or prohibited. When pesticides are used, appropriate risk management measures should be established and low-risk pesticides as well as biological control measures should be considered in the first place. Government Response: We do not consider it necessary to prohibit the use of pesticides in public spaces or conservation areas or to impose new statutory controls on pesticide use in these areas. We believe that the UK can meet its obligations under the Directive through existing statutory and voluntary controls and develop additional voluntary measures. Plant Protection Products Regulation(PPP) (EC)No 1107/2009) The consultation sought views on whether and how two specific provisions in the PPP Regulation should be implemented in the UK. Article 31 which include an optional provision that could allow future product authorisations to include obligation to provide advance notice to any neighbours who could be exposed to the spray drift and who have requested to be informed. Article 67 concerns the keeping of records of pesticides, by both manufacturers and sellers. These are to be made available to a `competent party',from which a third party may obtain it on request. The British Medical Association with regard to Article 31, wanted advance notification, so that vulnerable patients, such as those suffering from respiratory problems,may be alerted in advance of spraying. Government Response: We do not believe that it is appropriate to introduce a statutory requirement for operators to give advanced notice of planned spray operations to members of the public living adjacent to sprayed land. We will continue to encourage farmers and spray operators to develop good relations with their neighbours. We found another subject on which we could find no government comment; research programmes. EU Directive Advice:Research programmes aimed at determining the impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment, including studies on high-risk groups, should be promoted. Our Comment: Large amounts of pesticides are reputed to be sprayed on US golf courses each year to remove any invertebrate that dares to spoil the greens. Presumably as the holder of the records of applications of pesticides on golf courses in the UK, the Chemical Regulation Directorate would be in an ideal position to conduct such a study themselves. This is particularly relevant to Dr Tennekes' observations that these chemicals are similar in their structure to known carcinogens. Unfortunately, the public has no direct access to records so any study must be undertaken from your records, and perhaps those of Defra. CRD budget is paid,in part,by the industry. Is it a safety agency or a service agency? Instead of employing independent scientists, it is presumably easier and cheaper for the UK Government to allow industry to pay a proportion of the Chemical Regulation Directorate's costs(about 60%). It is understandable therefore that the loyalty of the Defra/Fera staff lies 11 with the industry that pays them, rather than the protection of Human Health and the Environment. (Defra told us that the exact amount each year is based on a formula enshrined in the recent European Legislation on Plant Protection Products. It depends on work done). Extracts from the CRD Annual Report 2008/2009 "This has been a very busy year in the approvals group. Applications for product approvals were 9%over business estimates with a total of 1,767 applications received and 1,622 applications completed this year, 96%of which were completed within published targets. Importantly 100%of fast track'applications identified by industry as high priority to their business needs were completed within published targets. Achieving this demanding target despite the increase in applications has required diligent application and commitment of evaluating staff and their managers and represents a significant achievement. We continue to support growers and we have completed the first stage of the conversion exercise for the `Long Term Arrangements for Extension of Use'on non-edible crops. Of the 401 uses requested by growers, the 131 products containing active substances that have already been fully reviewed in the EU review programme, and included on Annex I of Council Directive 91/414/EEC have been completed. The remaining product/uses identified by growers will be automatically included in the on-going re- registration process minimising the impact on industry. We also assisted in the evaluation of new products by helping companies work towards the completion of appropriate dossiers through the provision of detailed advice. This advice has covered both chemical pesticides and biopesticides that we continue to support under our biopesticides scheme. We submitted completed evaluation reports for 5 new active substances where the UK was the EU Rapporteur Member State and issued 3 UK provisional authorisations in advance of Annex I inclusion. In addition we completed 8 'partial dossier'submissions. Has Defra forgotten its origins? In 2001,under Tony Blair's government,the Department of the Environment was merged with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries(in England)to become `Defra' the Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs,with obvious conflicting interests. Farming has won and the Environment has been wiped out. Defra appears to have appointed an army of website writers who, like Araneus quadratus, spin their webs only at night. Their aim is to disseminate good news and bury bad. They are reassuring the public that the Government doing a good job on its behalf. They are seriously committed to biodiversity. Just to make us think that the public know that it is essential to their decision- making process, they throw in a few questionnaires. The content of each page seems to change every few days, even the About Defra one. The amount of information is both overwhelming and confusing. Prominent is Defra's `Myth Busting' section, to cast ridicule on criticism in the media. January 2011. US Study on neonicotinoids. The myth: The Independent claimed that the findings of an unpublished US Scientific Report suggested neonicotinoid pesticides could be killing bee colonies all over the world. February 2011.Bob Watson and the neonicotinoids. The myth: The Independent claimed that Defra's Chief Scientific Adviser had ordered a review of the evidence used to justify the safety of neonicotinoids to bees. Update February 2011 from Fera:Neonicotinoids and honey bee: "A recent US memo and various articles published in the UK media, on the risks of neonicotinoids,provide NO NEW EVIDENCE (sic) on this issue."May 2012 The myth: There have been recent reports that Defra is proposing to cull buzzards or is about to implement a new policy to control their numbers. The truth:Defra is absolutely not proposing to cull buzzards or any other raptors. We work on the basis of sound evidence. 12 [Editor's note: this was half-truth: the project was planned(but rapidly abandoned in view of the public outcry) for six estates in Northumberland; but it would be Natural England,not Defra who would, under the law,be able to issue licences]. The UK National Ecosystem Assessment was published by Defra in June 2011. Page 8 of the Synthesis was entitled: "Changes in the past 60 years."Defra managed to rewrite the whole post-war history of the destruction of the countryside by industrial farming,without any mention of pesticides or herbicides. The Government's Academic Adviser in Agriculture Sean Rickard,a well-known economist from Cranfield University, wrote the present government's agricultural manifesto. He was an academic adviser to the government. His Report, The Value of Crop Protection (Dec 2010, commissioned by the Crop Protection Association)examines the economic benefits of Plant Protection Products(PPPs)to the food supply. His message was apocalyptic and it was widely reported in the press in similar terms. Sean Rickard warned that if the EU banned pesticides, food costs could soar up to 40%in the UK and could add£70 billion to the country's food bill. He had written a similar report in October 2008 What Price Protection? In his presentation of this to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture(appg-agscience.org.uk)on 28/10/2008, Sean Rickard issued a warning to the members of the group that the EU could ban up to 85%of pesticides. It has to be assumed that his report was influential in preventing any such ban being put on them in the EU.However, on page 34 of The Value of Crop Protection, in the section"The Contribution of Research and Development", he appears to condemn the use of neonicotinoid insecticides. In the middle section of the page he says that PPPs should "meet modern safety and environmental standards" in not affecting non-target organisms and without persisting in the environment. Had the industry kept him in the dark? The role of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) The Advisory Committee of Pesticides(ACP) is an independent committee. Its terms of reference are that it: should give Ministers advice...and under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985... "to protect the health of human beings, creatures and plants... to safeguard the environment... with a view to making information about pesticides available to the public. On 08/03/2012 Defra announced a proposal that the ACP should be abolished and reconstituted as a new expert scientific committee. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution(created under Royal Warrant in 1970)had been abolished in April 2011. Why has this government disbanded all the public watchdogs? It is impossible to avoid exposure, either as a beekeeper,or during early pregnancy Neonicotinoid insecticides are so ubiquitous that beekeepers don't know how to avoid exposing their bees to them(there is no mitigation for systemic pesticides) because there is no difference between plants from pesticide-coated oil seed rape and uncoated(although the paucity of insects might suggest a difference). In The Butterfly Isles,by Patrick Barkham (2010),on page 68 he wrote the following, apparently unconnected(to the author, at least) observations. It was a hot day in late April 2009 and the author was admiring the field of yellow oilseed rape in full bloom. Further down the page, he says: "it was 25 minutes before I saw any insects". No insects?On a hot day in late April?In our time, that would have been unimaginable. Just from that small incident, one can see how people's baselines only relate to how it was in their own childhood,until suddenly a time of plenty turns into a collapse. 13 Just as the beekeeper cannot protect his bees,how can the pregnant patient avoid exposure of her foetus to invertebrate-killing pesticides when the size of the foetal brain is no more than that of an insect? A member of the British Beekeepers Association(BBKA)who had lost some hives recently suggested that farmers sowing seeds with systemic pesticides should report the location to Defra, who could map the area on a GPS(the same way as some police authorities can alert communities to the location of crimes in their area). This idea was rejected by Defra and the then Defra Minister Richard Benyon. UK government scientists again refuse to ban clothianidin and thiamethoxam... On 07/09/2012, it was reported that UK Government Scientists had decided that nerve agent pesticides, clothianidin and thiamethoxam: "should not be banned despite four independent studies strongly linking them to sharp declines in bees around the world." The reports were reviewed by the Chemical Regulation Directorate and the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP), the independent statutory body that advises ministers. Following the line taken by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA),both bodies said that more research was needed. http://ind.pn/Or3MLN ...the same day as Public Interest Groups in the US gave notice to sue the US EPA about these very chemicals endangering threatened wildlife... http://bit.ly./OgpPCc The same day, we received notification from our US colleagues that Environmental and Public Interest Groups were ready to take legal action against the US Environmental Protection Agency(US EPA) over its approval of pesticides which endanger wildlife. These were the very same pesticides that the European Commission(EC), EFSA and UK Scientists claimed"needed more research." The 60 Day Notice of Intent to Sue follows a previous legal petition filed by several environmental organizations and many beekeepers, which demanded that EPA immediately suspend use of the pesticide clothianidin,which poses a grave threat to pollinators. The EPA refused to issue an immediate suspension of clothianidin,but did agree to open a public comment docket to review additional points raised in the legal petition. In the legal petition in March 2012 Pesticide Action Network North America had presented the EPA with a State of Science document about the Systemic Insecticides. http://www.panna_org!sites/defaultifiles/CFS%20Petition%20App%20B Science.pdf US EPA has known that clothianidin was toxic to bees, birds and mammals since 2003 The communication continued: "In the nine years since the US EPA conditionally registered clothianidin for use on corn and canola (oilseed rape), the agency has admitted to both the hazards of the insecticide and the need for compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The EPA fact sheet on clothianidin reads as follows: "Clothianidin is expected to present acute and/or chronic toxicity risk to endangered/threatened birds and mammals via possible ingestion of treated corn and canola seeds. Endangered/threatened non-target insects may be impacted via residue-laden pollen and nectar. "The potential use sites cover the entire U.S.because corn is grown in almost all U.S. states. The agency has also admitted that thiamethoxam poses similar toxic threats to the same range of species. "Despite US EPA's recognition of the acute and chronic toxic risks which these chemicals pose to endangered species of birds, mammals and insects,from nearly a decade ago, the agency has continued to ignore concerns surrounding the effects on these critical species. Over the past twelve years, US EPA has approved a total of 86 pesticide products containing clothianidin and thiamethoxam, allowing the use of these insecticides on more than 30 food-crops, as well 14 as for gardening, turf-grass and building-applications." [They are used for termite control in the US]. This memo summarizes the Environmental Fate and Effects Division's(EFED) screening- level Environmental Risk Assessment for Clothianidin in 2005; for use on Potatoes and Grapes as a spray treatment and as a Seed Treatment for Sorghum and Cotton. "Clothianidin is highly toxic to honey bees on an acute contact basis. It has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other non-target pollinators, through the translocation of clothianidin residues in nectar and pollen. In honey bees, the effects of this toxic chronic exposure may include lethal and/or sub-lethal effects in the larvae and reproductive effects in the queen... this systemic insecticide is persistent and mobile, stable to hydrolysis, and has potential to leach to ground water, as well as runoff to surface waters." Why are our Protection Agencies not measuring levels in ground and surface water? For nearly 2 years we have written numerous letters to politicians, civil servants, members of the CRD,the ACP, the European Commission and the US EPA to inform them about the hazards of the neonicotinoid insecticides, their persistence in the environment and the fact that they were not being measured in surface and ground water. Later,we sent them our hypothesis that their use was related to global wildlife declines. When/if we had a response, the replies only addressed honeybees: "there is no evidence that they are harmful to honey bees, if correctly used" The few who replied to our hypothesis rejected it.No one mentioned water contamination. European Union Committee 33rd Report: On 25/04/2012 a meeting was held in the EU. 'An indispensable resource:EU Freshwater Policy'. The Chairman of the UK Environment Agency,members of Defra, CEH, and the Defra Minister were present at this meeting. All had been alerted to imidacloprid levels increasing in Dutch surface water and levels being inversely related to insect numbers. Dr Henk Tennekes had also shown that there were declines in insect-dependent birds throughout Holland, Germany, France and the UK. According to the EC regulations on water quality: `Priority substances are those identified as presenting a significant risk to or via the aquatic environment within the EU These are listed in Annex X to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Some substances are identified as priority hazardous substances, because they have "ubiquitous,persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic"properties. Bio-accumulation is the progressive increase in the amount of a substance in an organism or part of an organism which occurs because the rate of intake exceeds the organism's ability to remove the substance from the body'. This is the EU definition of a priority substance that should be monitored. The chemical and ecological profiles are matched, very accurately,by the neonicotinoid insecticides. The dangerous substances that are being monitored include DDT, chlorpyrifos, aldrin and dieldrin;the majority of these should be obsolete. The insecticides whose sales now dominate the global market are absent from the list http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-dangeroub/pdf/com 2011 876.pdf LD50 Toxicity index Pesticide utilisation (ng/honeybee) relative to DDT DDT Dinocide insecticide 27 000 1 Amitraz Apivar insecticide/acaricide 12 000 2 Coumaphos Perizin insecticide/acaricide 3 000 9 Tau-fluvalinate Apistan insecticide/acaricide 2 000 13.5 Methiocarb Mesurol insecticide 230 117 15 Carbofuran Curater insecticide 160 169 A-cyhalothrin Karate insecticide 38 711 Deltamithrine Decis insecticide 10 .2 700 Thiamethoxam Cruise insecticide 5 Fipronil Regent insecticide 4.2 Clothianidine Poncho insecticide 4.0 Imidacloprid Gaucho insecticide 3.7 Toxicity of insecticides to honeybees,compared to DDT.Median lethal dose(LD50)for honeybees is given in nanogram per honeybee.The final column expresses the toxicity relative to DDT(Source:Bonmatin,2009). http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific committees/environmental risks/members committee/in dex en.htm The Health and Consumers Scientific Committee has three remits; on consumer safety,on health and environmental risk and on emerging and newly identified risk. Have they had nothing to say on the matter? European Commission denied our claim that the registration of clothianidin was illegal One of our complaints to the European Ombudsman(1089/2012/BEH)was that clothianidin had been registered illegally, since its half-life in a range of soils was an average of 545 days with a maximum of 1386 days(Source: Footprint Database). According to the Directive on Plant Protection Products(EC) 1107/2009; Annex II,page 43,persistence in the soil, approval should not be given if the half-life in soil is greater than 120 days(`based on half- life data collected under appropriate conditions,which shall be described by the applicant'). http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/clothianidin.pdf is the US EPA conditional registration document for clothianidin issued to the applicant in 2003. Michael Fliih,replied on behalf of Commissioner John Dalli, "The allegation as regards the illegality of the registration of clothianidin is strongly rejected. The assessment of clothianidin, carried out by a Rapporteur Member State (RMS) and peer reviewed by experts from all Member States concluded that safe uses of this substance exist." Unfortunately, EFSA has charge of all these RMS documents; it is unlikely we will be able to obtain them because RMS permission is required and we understand that they are classified as `commercially sensitive' documents. Natural Environment Research Council closed the Wildlife Research Stations in 2006 In December 2005,NERC,in response to a budget deficit, announced a Consultation Plan to restructure CEH and reduce nine of their research sites to only four, which would be moved into Universities. This plan included the closure of three important, internationally-renowned Wildlife Research Stations at Monks Wood in Cambridgeshire,Banchory,near Aberdeen and the new laboratory at Winfrith(Dorset). The budget cuts would include the loss of 200 scientific staff,many of whom were experienced field scientists. Some of the scientific programmes would be impossible to continue. There was a massive outcry from the scientific, environmental and biological communities. English Nature,the Government's own statutory advisory body warned against the closure. In a leaked letter to Tony Blair,the junior Rural Affairs Minister said that closure of four eco-laboratories involved in Climate Change research: "does not make sense either scientifically or economically". The so-called `Public Consultation' by NERC elicited 1,327 `stakeholder' responses to the proposal, of which 99%questioned the wisdom and expense of the closure. In a debate forced in the House of Lords, the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State with responsibility for Science and Innovation at the Department of Trade and Industry(DTI)defended the closures. He claimed that the Government believed that "decisions about its scientific programme should be taken by NERC's independent Council."In fact,NERC was funded by the DTI and 16 appointments to its Council were made by the Secretary of State for the DTI. At that time, of the eighteen members of the NERC Council, most were based in physics and the physical sciences and eleven were University Professors or held senior University posts. There was one businessman, one business consultant, one administrator and (at that time) a single biologist(a botanist). The then Under-secretary of State praised NERC for"grasping the nettle". He said that NERC had seen a fall in contract research in recent years and the Wildlife Stations were not making enough money from getting private research contracts. "In today's multidisciplinary world, basic research increasingly should be done in a multi- disciplinary environment like universities". Despite all this opposition, on 08/03/2006 the Council of NERC confirmed the plans to restructure CEH. In a letter to the staff dated 13th March Professor Alan Thorpe said: "CEH will remain a science-driven, not a site-based organisation. "He anticipated that the cost of restructuring would be about£43 million over 4 years,but it would lower CEH operating costs by over£7 million per year. He said that the Council greatly regretted the impact on CEH staff, and made some concessions. Up to 40 of the 200 posts at risk could be saved. The letter from NERC seemed to be in accord with those who had said that it was an expensive cost-cutting exercise. Some academic scientists consider protection of the natural world to be "soft science"and therefore expendable when money is tight. But wildlife does not live in a laboratory. Monks Wood had proved that pesticides were killing peregrine falcons and that their residues were accumulating in the food chain (was that part of the reason?) Staff had shown that global warming had advanced spring events by about three weeks. Banchory was in the process of investigating the dramatic and sudden seabird breeding failure in Orkney, Shetland and the Northern Scottish Isles. Winfrith, set in the Dorset countryside with a huge diversity of plants and insects,was the laboratory from which ground-breaking studies of the rates of decline in British birds,butterflies and wild flowers were being made and they had brought the Large Blue butterfly back from extinction. The Government had signed up to a global agreement to halt biodiversity losses by 2010, yet in a mere three months they had swept away Britain's ecological research base and squandered their experienced field scientists. [Coincidentally, NERC,who had been funding Dundee College of Life Sciences since 2000 for their Crops for the Future Project, in 2006 increased their budget by 50%.] The End of Nature For conservationists in England, there was one final blow to come. In October 2006 English Nature became Natural England. Thus, over a period of 15 years, despite having signed up to all the UN Biodiversity commitments, a Conservative and a Labour government between them had finally managed to erase from their statutory environmental bodies any mention of unpalatable terms such as"ecology","wildlife", "conservancy"and"nature". From henceforth they would be able legitimately to include recreational facilities. In fact the Chairman of Natural England is an industrial farmer. Biological Records Centre—A major casualty of Governmental reorganisations. The Biological Records Centre (BRC)was set up in 1964 and had developed from the Atlas of British Flora project. Biological recording has become the cornerstone of the monitoring of biodiversity. Studies of changes in species' distribution and density provide keys to understanding the mechanisms of global warming, monitoring species' decline and habitat loss. It is a fundamental tool in measuring the health of the planet.Ultimately, for us as a species, it is the `canary in the cage'. The BRC was originally based at the Nature Conservancy's newly-opened Monks Wood Experimental Station near Huntington. From 1973 onwards it became the Cinderella of every administrative reorganisation. Declines in funding were succeeded by a series of temporary contracts. For many years the future of the BRC was uncertain. Fortunately, climate change and biodiversity became increasingly 17 important issues. Information technology was advancing fast, improving data management and increasing the ability to data share. The National Biodiversity Network was born, initially as an informal alliance in 1997, then as a Trust in 2000. It is a collaborative partnership between more than 30 UK wildlife organisations; they share biological information and make it available via an innovative website known as the NBN Gateway. In a period of 40 years the Biological Records Centre had gone from data recording on record cards and punched cards to sharing National and International Computer Databases via the Internet. NERC response to our letter about systemic neonicotinoid insecticides and the fact that imidacloprid had been contaminating surface waters in Holland since 2003. On 17/02/2011, Prof Thorpe, the then CEO of NERC explained its role. "By definition, we are a funder of research, not a Government regulatory body, and therefore our responsibility is to provide evidence that decision makers would use to design policy and implement it". He added: "we are very excited about the recent launch of our new£10m Pollinator Initiative". Except that only one project involved investigating the effect of sub-lethal exposure of industrial chemicals on the learning capacity and performance of bees; no mention of pesticides. (Dr Peter Campbell of Syngenta had given£1 million in 2009 to fund Warwick University and Rothampsted Research: "to help to improve honeybee health", so he was a member of the Peer Review Panel for selecting the Pollinator projects). In addition, Syngenta had pioneered Operation Bumblebee in the UK and in 2010 announced expansion of programmes across Europe; up to€1 million over 5 years. Programmes included: "What Operation Bumblebee can do for your golf course" in conjunction with STRI, a leading Sports Turf Consultancy that runs training courses for turf managers for golf, football, rugby, cricket etc. Included in their armamentarium of treatments (and presumably recommended by them)was MeritTurf(imidacloprid,Bayer). As an example of other projects funded by NERC,Professor Thorpe outlined the Environmental Change Network that monitored sites across the UK to"specifically identify and quantify ecological responses to changes in our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems"... "Obtaining these long-term datasets... is vital if we are to identify anthropogenic environmental change..." He appeared not to recognise the fact that the neurotoxic insecticides were accumulating in freshwater ecosystems and causing invertebrate declines,with a consequent effect on insect- dependent birds in Holland, Germany, France and the UK. These contaminants should have been of vital concern to NERC as a"provider of evidence that decision makers would use". The neonicotinoids were producing the anthropogenic environmental changes the Network was trying to identify, and causing massive biodiversity losses. NERC is funding other aquatic monitoring projects. In 2012 NERC proudly announced its GloboLakes project; the first satellite-based global lake surveillance system,to monitor how lakes and reservoirs are being affected by environmental change. The project leader,Dr. Andrew Tyler from Stirling, said: "There are approximately 304 million lakes worldwide which are important for biodiversity and provide many ecological goods and services vital to human survival, such as the supply of fresh water,food and energy. Previous research has already shown how the ecological structure and function of lakes can be damaged by external changes such as the influx of certain nutrients, increased sediment load and climate change. Frequently the changes lead to algal blooms that can deplete oxygen concentrations and produce toxins that are harmful to human health (no mention of pesticides, a taboo subject in scientific circles). How can one measure pesticide levels in aquatic systems, or 18 biodiversity declines, from space?A satellite is even more remote from the environment than population biologists making mathematical models on a computer instead of in the field. This is the most recent example of an aquatic project funded by NERC. A team of 12 British scientists and engineers will embark on an ambitious 6-week drilling project through 3 km of Antarctic ice "to search for microbial life forms." In a letter to The Independent on 10/09/2012: `Let Antarctic be', the writer said: "Another pristine environment is to be invaded by humans for their own benefit...Apparently polluting the seas, land and air is not enough for us...in fact in am pretty sure we'll end up doing damage, as we always do."The neonicotinoids insecticides are lethal to invertebrates,which is what a microbe is. These chemicals have sub-lethal effects. Tennekes showed that the neonicotinoids can produce effects at any concentration level provided the exposure time was sufficiently long. He and Sanchez-Bayo demonstrated that chemicals that bind irreversibly to specific receptors will produce toxic effects in a time-dependent manner, no matter how low the level of exposure. No-one has any idea what concentrations there are in the seas of the world after more than 20 years of intensive global use of these remarkably persistent and toxic neurochemicals. Instead of`unlocking the hidden secrets of the past of Lake Ellsworth ', this vastly expensive project which might have supported a dozen Wildlife Research Stations could end up contaminating the lake and killing any living organisms. Defra/Fera Healthy Bees Plan Project Management Board working with the Science and Evidence Advisory Group(SEAG) (The work of the SEAG included ensuring that honey bee health policy underpinned by sound science,translation of scientific developments into practical beekeeping to advance knowledge and skills and identify gaps in evidence base.) The former had 10 meetings between 23/07/2009 and 10/03/2011. The latter had five meetings between 12/02/2010 and 10/03/2011. Neither of these Defra/Fera Committees mentioned neonicotinoid pesticides as a possible cause of bee declines,only the Varroa mite and how medicines for it could be expedited. In fact,the Chief Bee Researcher at Fera,Dr. Helen Thompson, denied the existence of Colony Collapse Disorder on Channel 4 on 04/04/2011. However,the most recent Fera data on overwintering bee losses has only reached as far 2008. Pollinator Initiative; a study of the effect of industrial chemicals on bee brains There was only one project(out of nine)funded by the £10 million Pollinator Initiative that was to study the effects of`industrial chemicals'on the learning capacity and performance of bees. Dr Chris Connolly, a neuroscientist(human)from Dundee, decided to investigate pesticides. This change of target angered one committee member of the Scottish Beekeepers' Association(SBA), who was the Beekeeping Forum Administrator of the organisation which had agreed to supply three colonies of Scottish bees for Dr Connolly's research. He resigned from the Committee. In addition to studying the brains of bees, Chris Connolly, in partnership with the SBA,would carry out a three year survey of the impact of chemicals on colony performance in Scotland. Although the project is 3 months behind time(his bees were "rustled" from a secure area of Dundee University)preliminary results from the first year have just been published in the Journal of the SBA. He said"In summary, the presence of oil seed rape (OSR) correlated with a 2-fold increase in over-wintering failure in Scotland 2011- 2012. This finding supports the hypothesis that neonicotinoid-treated OSR may be contributing to the honey bee decline in the UK." There was an east/west divide,with a clear increase in bee losses in the East(intensive agriculture). In fact Dr Connolly,being an honest scientist, excluded results from one beekeeper whose bees were in the non-OSR group who 19 had no losses from 70 hives. Had he included it, the increase in over-wintering losses would have been 3-fold in the East of Scotland. Beekeepers in the UK have overwintering hive losses Graham White is a beekeeper and former Director of the Edinburgh Environment Centre which he founded and directed from 1980-2002. There he provided environmental education, nature conservation projects and outdoor education for all of the city's 200 schools and hundreds more community groups. He also created the John Muir Award for conservation effort-and they have just put their 120,000th person through the Award scheme since its inception in 1997. He created the first Urban Wildlife Group in Scotland and has produced many books including The Scottish Environmental Handbook and The Nature of Scotland and a collection of John Muir's writings. Since 2006 he has not harvested a single pound of honey, despite the fact that he now has ten hives rather than six; the reason is that his apiary stands in the centre of many square miles of arable crops -oilseed rape mainly-that have been treated with neonicotinoids. He says: "The result is that, like most British bee-keepers, I have lost from 30-50%of my hives every winter since 2005 -whereas from 1995 to 2005 I rarely, if ever, lost a single hive in winter."This year(2011-2012)his overwintering losses were close to 80%. %w Dead queens and workers. This is a photograph - ° of a dead colony taken on December 11th 2010 ' i;'' by beekeeper Graham White,who lives in the .-1 .. eastern half of Scotland. He has kept bees since A. 1994.He says it is a typical dead colony from an area dominated by intensive arable crops,oilseed `°'�� N � * rape,wheat and barley,where first imidacloprid, e ' " . ' and now clothianidin, is used. He said "It is P • l clear from the photos that there was plenty of ,�� sealed honey and pollen within easy reach of the - �a bees. The reason they died was not from of ,. I starvation; there were simply not enough bees to 'F , :. . x; generate sufficient heat to keep the colony alive. '� !° This phenomenon is what beekeepers in the US " , had termed in 2006 'Fall Dwindling'-when a ,,r ' colony that appears to have been fine during the is ,,'. . - summer, suddenly weakens and dies-largely +�;� because it stopped rearing brood in the Fall and , as such did not have sufficient 'winter bees'to ilcarry it through the winter." g p The UK Government is committed to GMO Technology The Foresight Future of Food and Farming Report From the Government Office for Science; lead scientist Prof Charles Godfray(NERC),Hope Professor of Entomology at Oxford. (See page 88) "Wheat is the most internationally-traded food crop and the single largest food import in low-income countries. A public private partnership between Syngenta and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center(CIMMYT) will focus on the development and 20 advancement of technology in wheat through joint research and development in the areas of native and GM traits, hybrid wheat and the combination of seeds and crop protection to accelerate plant yield performance. The partnership will leverage both Syngenta's genetic marker technology, advanced genetic traits platform and wheat-breeding for the high-income countries, as well as CIMMYT's access to wheat genetic diversity, global partnership network, and wheat-breeding programme targeted to the low-income countries. " The UK government is totally committed to the development of GMO crops in partnership with industry. It has appointed two scientists with Monsanto connections into key posts in the UK and Syngenta has powerful influences on(and membership of)many of the Government Committees as a result of its funding of pollinator research in Europe. Professor Maurice Moloney became Director and Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research on 15th April 2010. According to BBSRC: "Before moving to Calgary, Professor Moloney led the Cell Biology group at Calgene Inc. in Davis, California, developing the world's first transgenic oilseeds, which resulted in Round Up Ready®Canola and other novel crops. He was previously a Royal Society European Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Professor Moloney is currently Chief Scientific Officer of SemBioSys Genetics Inc, based in Calgary, Canada. He founded the company in 1994 and has maintained this role alongside a successful academic career at the University of Calgary, where he serves as NSERC/Dow AgroSciences Industrial Research Professor of Plant Biotechnology." Prof Moloney was considered in Canada by his colleagues in genetics to be reckless with the environment. His company SemBioSys focused on producing pharmaceuticals in the oil crops canola(rapeseed)and safflower. One Canadian geneticist said: "Currently safflower- grown human insulin has been open field tested in the state of Washington in a sagebrush wild area of the state which is the habitat for a number of threatened wild species that can be poisoned by ingesting insulin"... "In Canada and the United States open field tests of crop biopharmaceuticals are undertaken with little or no respect for the environmental consequences of the open field releases." An item that appeared in Plant Science News, 16/10/2011 said: "Leading plant researchers' call for science-based GM regulation." "Why then is Europe regulating one part of the solution- GM(genetically modified) crops-as if they are a hazard?Forty one leading Swedish plant scientists have issued an important statement, expressing dismay, bewilderment and anger that legislation of GM crops in the EU is not based on science, ignores recent evidence, blocks opportunities to increase agricultural sustainability, and sustains the dominance of multinationals. We undersigned British plant scientists endorse the assessment by our Swedish colleagues of the politics and science of GM crops.Irrational and unwarranted obstacles that obstruct the deployment of this useful technology retard innovations that will increase yields and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. Irresponsible and perhaps well-meaning pressure groups,purporting to protect the environment, are preventing delivery of agrichemical-free solutions to crop pests and diseases. We call on these groups to cease and desist from blocking genetic solutions to crop problems, and on Europe to adopt science-based GM regulations. " Signed: Jonathan Jones, Giles Oldroyd,Dale Sanders,Maurice Moloney, Sophien Kamoun, Tina Barsby, Wayne Powell. Amongst the signatories was Prof Jonathan Jones [In a statement to the Observer(18/07/2010),Prof Jones insisted: "It is not true to suggest I have attempted to hide my role as co-founder and science advisory board member of Mendel Biotechnology, which has contracts with Monsanto, Bayer and BP. The information that I am co-founder... of Mendel has been in the public domain on the Mendel website for at least 10 21 years."] Prof Jones wasn't the only one who failed to declare his"multinational" connections. Prof Maurice Moloney, current Director of Rothamsted Research,was the other(See above). This week(mid-Sept 2012)Prof Jones announced the completion of the Crop Trial of GM- blight-resistant potatoes. The interviewer on Farming Today asked: "Are there not plenty of non-GM potatoes that are resistant to blight?" Why is the Government not funding non-GM varieties of blight-resistant potatoes? This morning we received an appeal to help raise funds for the UK's Sarvari Research Trust. This will assist this not-for-profit research trust continue its development of non-GM blight resistant potatoes. https://www.buzzbnk.ora/ProjectDetails.aspx?projectId=84 "The UK's John Innes Centre has received GBP1.7 million in public funding to develop GM blight resistant potatoes. By contrast, Sarvari have received absolutely nothing for its breeding work. This is typical of how innovative and successful non-GM breeding is so often starved of resources, while large amounts of money are wasted on far less successful GM projects for which there is no market!Although the Sarvari Research Trust has about 35 varieties in the pipeline that show promise against blight, they lack the income to develop them to the point of getting them on the National List. National Listing is a legal requirement before new varieties can enter the market. That's the reason for the crowd sourcing. So please do what the UK Government is determined not to do -help Sarvari to demonstrate that the GM versions on which the Government has lavished public money are completely unnecessary." Pete Riley of GM Freeze tells us, "So far Sarvari has five varieties with very good resistance to the current strains of blight in the UK which are all prefixed with Sarpo (Mira, Axona, Shona, Una and Gwen). In the worst year in living memory for late blight, my three Sarpo varieties on my allotment-Mira, Axone and Shona -have come through and are still putting on leaf growth." Super-weeds increase the pesticide use The EU Regulatory bodies are in denial about super-weeds arising from GM herbicide- tolerant crops,yet the evidence from the US is clear. GM scientists and Monsanto also claim that GE crops will reduce the amount of pesticides used and increase the yield in order to feed the world. So far,both of these claims have proved to be untrue. Critical Issue Report: Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years November 2009. Charles Benbrook http://www.organic-center.org/science.pest.php?action=view&report id=159#10 In the US the farmers are trapped into a herbicide treadmill. Extracts from preface: "The dramatic increase in the volume of herbicides applied swamps the decrease in insecticide use attributable to GE corn and cotton, making the overall chemical footprint of today's GE crops decidedly negative. The primary cause of the increase is the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds. Weed control is now widely acknowledged as a serious management problem within GE cropping systems. Farmers and weed scientists across the heartland and cotton belt are now struggling to devise affordable and effective strategies to deal with the resistant weeds emerging in the wake of herbicide-tolerant crops. Herbicides and insecticides are potent environmental toxins. The USDA has been essentially silent on the impacts of GE crops on pesticide use for almost a decade. The vast majority of Glyphosate Resistant weed populations have emerged in Roundup Ready cropping systems. 22 ' e Arke Northern Indiana. Giant Ragweed(3 m)resistant to glyphosate. Farm workers have to weed it by hand.This is one of nine different weeds that commonly occur. GM scientists in the UK, including some Fellows of the Royal Society(FRS),make the same claims as Monsanto. According to the Sense About Science website, of the 114 signatories to the Open letter asking the government to support GM research to The Right Honourable Tony Blair HM Government,on 30/10/2003, 28 were FRS. In 2009 this registered Charity, Sense About Science,published a document to educate the general public called"Making sense of GM".Eight of the 28 main authors were members of the John Innes Centre. Three were FRS and another two Fellows' contributions were acknowledged. The author of the introduction was Prof Jonathan Jones FRS (The Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre). Once again Prof Jones failed to declare his close links with Monsanto. The controversial BBC Countryfile programme. On 15/07/2012 the BBC programme `Countryfile' presented an in-depth investigation of GM crops(presumably in an attempt to change the public's mind about their attitude to GM crops and GM research). It was inaccurate,lacked impartiality and failed to declare conflicts of interest of some of the people interviewed. When interviewed by the Countryfile journalist,the Chief Scientific Officer to the UK Government said there were legitimate concerns about GM 10-12 years ago: "because they were untested and not properly screened for human health. Individual companies were arguably the beneficiaries, not the world". He said: "That has completely changed!" My complaint to the BBC elicited a long reply. It began: "It is important to point out that the two-part film was specifically talking about the `new wave'or `new generation'of GM produce as exemplified by the work that is being carried out at the John Innes centre. This was stated in the introduction to both parts and re-iterated during the films themselves. This meant that we did not include a detailed appraisal of the original wave of GM crops which were brought in 10-15 years ago. However we did refer to this original wave in the film. In his interview the Chief Scientific Officer stated clearly that this original batch was 23 not properly screened for human health or environmental effects—and that the beneficiaries were companies, something we reinforced in the script. In that case,why has the Government appointed people with connections to Monsanto,Dow etc. to key posts in the UK, if it wasn't to benefit these corporations? The `new wave of GMs' are unlikely to be ready for many years, whereas Monsanto and Syngenta are hammering at the doors of Europe in order to have their herbicide-tolerant GM crops authorised. In fact, they have already broken down the door. On 22/06/2012, EFSA gave a positive opinion for the cultivation of Monsanto's Roundup®Ready Soya and the EC authorised it on 09/08/2012. Monsanto only tests GM crops for 90 days,because there is no requirement specified in EU law. But we had no answer to the question: who commissioned the ComRes opinion poll?This occurred 10 days after the programme in which the journalist had said that 60%of the public in the UK were worried about GM ingredients in food and 71%thought it was important that retailers had policies not allowing GM ingredients. On 25/07/2012, BBC Radio 4 Today Programme announced that a new poll had shown that "Most Britons are in favour of GM crops."It was on the front page of The Independent,with a Report page 6,from the Political Editor. Inside it said: "Dramatic change as two-thirds now support GM crop testing". ComRes is a leading market research agency,undertaking polls for many corporations including the BBC and HM Government. The wording of the question asked was both loaded and leading. Question: Experiments to develop genetically-modified crops should be encouraged by the government so that farmers can reduce the amount of pesticides they use. Results: Agree 64%; Disagree 27%; Don't know 9%. As we have already stated, the current GM crops on the market in the US actually increase the amount of pesticides farmers use. The reply from Audience Complaints Unit pretended that it was something I had heard on Radio 4, so avoided the question. Some of the public were outraged by the BBC's pro-GM treatment of the subject. Another poll was put on the Countryfile website, this time to an unloaded question: Should GM crop trials be allowed to go ahead?The response from the public was vigorous. So far 7721 votes have been cast, of which 79%say NO. That is why it is so important to find out by whom it was commissioned. Government rejects the recommendation of the Environmental Audit Committee on GMOs http://www.publications.parliament.uk`pa/cm201213/croselect/cmenvaud/567/56704.htm The Environmental Audit Committee recommendation: Unless and until there is both clear public and political acceptance of GM, it is proven to be both beneficial to the environment and to producers, and evidence that demand for these products is based on understanding by consumers and transparent product labelling,the Government should not license its commercial use in the UK nor promote its use overseas. The Government must ensure that the public and Parliament is well informed on this issue. It should establish an independent body to research, evaluate and report on the potential impacts on the environment of GM crops, and their impacts on farming and on the global food system. An initial focus of such research should be on the scope for, and risks of, the co- existence of GM crops with conventional and organic farming regime(n)s. (Paragraph 28) 24 The Government Response: The Government recognises that GM technology could deliver benefits providing it is used responsibly, in particular as one of a range of tools to address the longer term challenges of global food security, climate change and the need for more sustainable agricultural production. The Government therefore supports farmers having access to developments in new technology, including GM, and being able to choose whether or not to adopt them. The Government takes a science-led approach to GM, and the protection of human health and the environment are our overriding priorities.We will only agree to the planting of GM crops, the release of other types of GM organism or the marketing of GM food or feed products if a robust risk assessment that has taken full account of the scientific evidence indicates that it is safe. As far as licensing GM crops is concerned, decisions on the marketing of GM products, including seeds for cultivation are taken at European Union(EU)level. Two types of GM seed have received EU authorisation and have been grown in certain Member States. However,they are not being sold in the UK because they are not relevant or suitable for our conditions. GM crops are not expected to be grown here commercially for some years at least,but in principle the Government is open to this possibility,providing it is undertaken safely and responsibly. European Commission controls the Rapporteur Member States Why are the European authorities determined to get GM crops into Europe? Commissioner Dalli,Prof Anne Glover, the new CEO of the EC,the EC, EFSA and European Court of Justice have been quite clear about their aims; to get Monsanto and Syngenta's GM crops approved in Europe. The trials at Rothamsted Research and the Gates' donation to the John Innes Centre are just smokescreens,but even so they will contaminate conventional crops in the UK with GM material. As the US farmer said on this video: http://vimeo.com.%18994807 "buffer zones are a joke". The crops trials are smokescreens devised by the agrochemical industry with help from the UK government. However, the recently appointed CEO to the European Commission Prof Anne Glover gave an interview to EurActiv: "There is no substantiated case of any adverse impact on human health, animal health or environmental health, so that's pretty robust evidence, and I would be confident in saying that there is no more risk in eating GMO food than eating conventionally farmed food," She said: "the precautionary principle no longer applies as a result. " "The evidence with which I work is independent; the evidence with which I work does not change according to political philosophy. And that should give people a lot of confidence. "Glover said that discomfort around the subject of GM crops in the 1980s and 1990s was: "a generation ago, we've moved on and the challenges are completely different". She said that the precautionary principle was appropriate when applied properly, but added: "We should not ... somehow tie our hands behind our back in such a way that we will be so precautionary that we will wait for everyone else to use our knowledge before we use it. " What is the role of the Commissioner of Health and Consumers' Directorate? From December 2010,we sent a number of letters to all of the Commissioners about neonicotinoid insecticides and water contamination. But only John Dalli (usually, Michael Fliih on his behalf)has replied. Does his department divert all the correspondence addressed to Dacian Cialos and Janos Potocnik?Commissioner Cialos(Agriculture)expressed doubts about GM crops at the Oxford Farming Conference in 2011. Commissioner Potocnik controls the Water-Frame Directorate. Is it possible that they have both been side-lined? In June 2012, Commissioner Dalli was interviewed by Rose O'Donovan,Editor of AGRA FACTS& AGRA FOCUS. She confronted him about the credibility of EFSA. He replied: "What happened recently in the revolving door were very unfortunate, it was very frustrating 25 for us because it is something we do not tolerate at all". When questioned about why the Commission was pushing GM Agriculture,he talked about: `science-based decisions'; `always seek scientific advice'; `insisting on independence for authorisations'; `we have worked very hard with EFSA to improve procedures in selection'; `we have taken severe steps'...However,when she challenged him on what he had said on his appointment about taking additional independent reviews,he stalled. That appeared to be a step too far. The Austrian Ombudsman Board challenges the European Commission about bees With regard to honeybees and neonicotinoids, the Austrian Ombudsman has complained that the European Commission (EC)has not taken into account the new research on bees. The EC had to reply by 30/06/2012. EFSA published a Report: Scientific Opinion on the science behind the development of a risk assessment of Plant Protection Products on bees (Apis mellifera,Bombus spp. and solitary bees)EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues(PPR)European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), Parma, Italy dated April 2012. An annexe about the new research was published 01/06/2012. EFSA cannot be taken seriously as a scientific organisation when it has no knowledge of the baseline levels in soil, surface and ground-water with such a persistent chemical (half-life in soil up to 1386 days). We know that the toxins have been found in wild flowers foraged by bees. In addition, what genuine scientific document would have the following paragraph? The final decision on protection goals needs to be taken by risk managers. There is a trade- off between plant protection and the protection of bees. The effects on pollinators need to be weighted against increase in crop yields due to better protection of crops against pests. Presumably this was precisely why the US EPA Registration Division had over-ruled the scientific evidence in the case of clothianidin registration in 2003. Big money, economics and politics take priority over human health and biodiversity. EFSA has recently given positive opinions on old herbicides at the request of industry This was planned in anticipation of GM technology coming to Europe, in order to increase the strategies for the inevitable development of herbicide(glyphosate)resistance in plants. (Pests can also develop resistance to insecticides too). The introduction of GMO herbicide- tolerant crops in the US in 1996 resulted in an increase of 383 million pounds of herbicide use in the first 13 years. This is as a result of the emergence of glyphosate-resistant(GR) weeds. The first GR weed population confirmed in the U.S. in 1998 was rigid ryegrass, (within 2 years) infesting several thousand acres in California almond orchards. Less than a decade later, GR biotypes of nine species are now found in the US and infest millions of acres of cropland in at least 22 States. Particularly troublesome are Pigweed, Horseweed and Giant Ragweed whose infestations can sometimes cause cropland to be abandoned. Each year more pesticides, or different or older ones, including paraquat,have to be applied. In 2005, the US EPA evaluated for re-registration 2,4-D, an old herbicide and a component of Agent Orange. The US EPA determined that 2,4-D was eligible for re-registration but required certain changes to uses on the label to mitigate risk. Weed scientists say that US farmers are locked in a `pesticide treadmill.' Economics for US farmers: (written in 2009). "The economic picture dramatically darkens for farmers combating resistant weeds under average soybean yields(36 bushels) and market prices($6.50 per bushel). Such average conditions would generate about$234 in gross income per acre. The estimated $80 increase in 2010 costs per acre of HT soybeans would then account for one-third of gross income per acre, and total cash operating costs would 26 exceed$200 per acre, leaving just$34 to cover land, labor,management, debt, and all other fixed costs. Such a scenario leaves little or no room for profit at the farm level." Similar figures were quoted from rural communities in Argentina. In 1996 they were spraying <2 litres/hectare of glyphosate; by 2010 glyphosate use had increased to 10 litres/hectare. EFSA `positive opinion' for new/old pesticides 2,4-D: (one half of the infamous Agent Orange, used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War). Its effects on human health are uncertain,but veterans exposed to this chemical had increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The US EPA has suggested it has endocrine disruption potential in mammals. In the US,Dow has applied for a GMO corn that is tolerant to 2,4-D and glyphosate. 2,4-D was re-registered in the EU in 2002 and Greece is in the process of revising the existing MRLs in crops and in meat; many have been recommended for use (EFSA journal November 2011). Quizalofop: a new herbicide, had its MRLs increased for use on sunflowers and cotton. EFSA Journal(Reasoned opinion October 2011). Little is known about it. Dicamba: Syngenta Crop Protection asked for Dicamba(spray)to be approved as a herbicide on maize and pasture (Positive opinion,EFSA Journal December 2010). Glufosinate: This is an old herbicide that was banned in several European Countries. Independent research shows that it is teratogenic in mice and rats and affects the glutamate receptors in the brains of immature or foetal rats. It is a suspected carcinogen which doubled the incidence of birth defects in children of pest applicators. In the EU it was included in Annex 1 on 1/10/2007 and Bayer CropScience submitted an updated doc in September 2009 which was evaluated in Sweden. Despite risks to non-target arthropods and small herbivorous mammals and a high long-term risk for mammals,EFSA gave a positive opinion(March 2012). Monsanto quotes its use as an alternative crop desiccant to glyphosate: `Review of the uses of glyphosate in Europe(Feb 2010).' Another GM,herbicide-tolerant seed in the pipeline In addition to Monsanto having been given authorisation by the EC (09/08/2012)for GE soybeans with stacked genes, Syngenta has made an application for its own GMO seeds. On request from the Competent Authority of the UK for an application(EFSA-GMO-UK-2008) submitted by Syngenta Seeds for placing on the market of genetically modified herbicide- tolerant maize GA21 for food and feed uses, import,processing and cultivation. EFSA gave a positive opinion in December 2011. EFSA had said in the Abstract that there were no effects on human or animal health or to the environment, but in the main body of the document,they admitted to the problems of: "reduction in farmland biodiversity;selection of weed communities;selection of glyphosate-resistant weeds and destruction of food webs and the ecological functions they provide". Nevertheless, EFSA still approved it,but covered itself by saying: "The magnitude of these potential adverse environmental effects will depend on a series of factors including the specific herbicide and cultivation management applied at farm level, the crop rotation...etc. and recommends: "case-specific monitoring". The Head of Chemicals and Nanotechnologies at Defra had previously informed me that there were no applications from the UK for glyphosate-tolerant crops. When I challenged him about this,he said that it was nothing to do with Defra. Scientists complain that the EC has ignored independent scientific advice about Roundup®(for individual papers see Appendix 2) Papers showing the toxicity of glyphosate/(Roundup®)have come from Carrasco's Unit in Argentina, Antoniuo and colleagues in London, Seralini and colleagues at Criigen, Caen, France, Then and colleagues at Testbiotech, Germany and Belles team at Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique(CNRS)Roscoff. 27 In addition to these scientific papers,there is one in which glyphosate was measured in the urine of humans living in urban environments in Germany. Brandli,D,Reinacher, S. Herbicides found in human urine. Ithaka Journal 1/2012: 270-272. Abstract: Glyphosate is the main active substance used in most commercial herbicides. It poisons not only plants, but also animals and humans. When testing for glyphosate contamination in an urban population, a German University found significant contamination in all urine samples with 5 to 20 times above the legal limit for drinking water Dr Graciela Gomez, the Argentinian lawyer, came to petition the European Commission on behalf of farmers in the Argentinian Crop Sprayed towns because of the birth defects, cancers,reproductive problems and laboratory evidence of genotoxicity from use of GMO Roundup®-ready Soy. But Commissioner Dalli refused to listen to her petition. He said that the Rapporteur Member State(Germany) did not find enough evidence to ban its use. RMS (DAR) studies on glyphosate found teratogenicity in mammals Several malformations were found in rabbits and rats according to the industry's own teratogenicity studies submitted for the 2002 EU approval of the active ingredient glyphosate. The original industry studies are claimed to be commercially confidential. However, the said industry data were compiled from the 1998 draft assessment report (DAR)by the German government, since Germany has been the RMS for glyphosate and will remain in this role for the next review of glyphosate in 2015. Malformations include extra ribs, distortions affecting thoracic ribs,heart malformations,kidney agenesia,unossified sternebrae, reduced ossification of cranial centers and sacrocaudal vertebral arches, and also skeletal variations and major visceral malformations,which were unspecified in the DAR Lawyer Dr Graciela Gomez has had small victories against glyphosate on behalf rural communities in Argentina On 21/08/2012,judgement was announced in a court case in Argentina against GM soy producers and glyphosate. Sofica Gatica,who initiated her complaints in 2001,had two children with birth defects(one of whom died at birth without kidneys)and she made the first health survey in the neighbourhood of Ituzaingo,near Cordoba. "Five hours after the initial time of the announcement, the verdict was in: one farmer was absolved due to lack of evidence, but the other farmer and the aviator were found guilty and sentenced to three years of jail. Well, actually, conditional jail. This means they can very much get out of doing any time, although they will be obliged to do social work." "Reactions were a mix of indignation and hope, highlighting the ruling sets precedent since it was confirmed there was offense. Though considering the fact that the Argentine Agriculture Minister was congratulating Monsanto for a new transgenic soy seed this afternoon as judges were deliberating, I'm inclined to the first feeling." Monsanto also convicted in Brazil for false advertising claims "In Brazil, Monsanto has been convicted by a court for false advertising claims that GM soy and the herbicide glyphosate, as used in the 'no-till with herbicides'model of cultivation, are beneficial to the environment. This is not the first time Monsanto has been convicted by a court for false advertising over claims that its glyphosate-based herbicides are safe and environmentally friendly. Court rulings against Monsanto's misleading advertising of glyphosate herbicides as safe for human health and the environment date back to the 1990s": http://bit.ly./OL9icp "In spite of these rulings,politicians in the EU and elsewhere continue to approve glyphosate-sprayed soybeans for import-and recently the European Food Safety Authority, 28 EFSA, issued a positive opinion on a Monsanto glyphosate-tolerant soy for cultivation." http://www.testbiotech.de/en/node/675 "The Brazilian word used to describe Monsanto's advertising in the article is "propaganda" and the word appears to mean much the same in Brazil as it does in English-speaking countries!" Danish farmers report side effects with GM Soya fed to pigs A Danish farming newspaper Effektivt Landbrug(Effective Agriculture)devoted a sizeable part of its 13/04/2012 edition to the discoveries by pig farmer lb Borup Pedersen that GM soy has a damaging effect both on his animals and on his farming profitability. In the previous 2 years,the farm had experienced piglet diarrhoea and 35 sows had died of stomach problems. In the previous 9 months he had had 13 malformed,but live-born,piglets. Another colleague had experienced similar problems. In April 2011 Mr Pedersen changed to GM-free soya, without telling his stockman. Within days the stockman noticed that the piglet diarrhoea had stopped. The Danish Centre for Pig Research is beginning a trial later this year on pigs fed with GM Soya versus pigs fed with non-GMO soya. However, it is possible that Pedersen's pigs could be exposed to additional glyphosate from other sources, arising from a new farming practice,that of desiccation prior to harvest. Monsanto requested an increase in MRLs by EFSA, which was granted. Desiccation has crept in,unobserved by the public. mss-,ate A deformed piglet; Siamese twins , Photograph by kind permission of lb Borup Pedersen. Desiccation of crops with glyphosate(or another herbicide)to dry them It was only when we studied the work of the Reasoned Opinion Group of EFSA which grants `modification' (i.e. increases)of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in foods at the request of the pesticides industry "in order to accommodate intended uses"or"to accommodate for the international trade"that we first encountered the practice of`desiccation'. By this method, herbicides are sprayed shortly before harvest directly on the crops to be harvested, in order to dry them. In January 2012,Monsanto Europe asked EFSA to set the import tolerance for glyphosate in lentils "in order to accommodate the authorised desiccation use of glyphosate in lentils in the US and Canada"from 0.1 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg(i.e. 100 times). EFSA had granted similarly elevated MRLs for glyphosate on wheat and GM soya. Monsanto's publication in 2010: `The agronomic benefits of glyphosate in Europe; Review of the benefits of glyphosate per market use would appear to explain why the EU Commission has delayed the re-evaluation of glyphosate until 2015 (instead of 2012,when it should have been due). Chapter 7: Harvest management/crop desiccation in combinable crops. Chapter 8: Crop desiccation in grain maize and sunflower. 29 According to Monsanto,benefits include;more reliable harvesting; reduced losses and drying costs; higher price for earlier quality harvest; earlier planting of the next crop. Aerial application has been recommended (and is approved in Hungary). The desirable degree of drying of the grain is achieved; at the same time it controls the weeds in preparation for the next crop. Syngenta recommends herbicide spray on potatoes just before harvest to improve the strength of the shells. "Use of a foliar desiccant spray usually means a 2 spray programme. The first spray takes the leaves off and the second then targets the stem."It is highly likely that animals are getting glyphosate not only from the soya feed,but also Roundup®residues on wheat and barley used in feed, and on barley straw used as bedding. Lack of ecological knowledge in industry and governments The lack of understanding of ecology and of environmental issues by industry scientists and their advisers has been lamentable and totally irresponsible. Since 1990, successive UK governments and Civil Servants have gradually eliminated all bodies with any environmental independence or expertise. In 2006, the then Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for with responsibility for Science and Innovation at the Department of Trade and Industry,together with Government Ministers and Civil Servants, closed many of the Wildlife Research Stations. The money was transferred into the universities to be used for"hard science, not soft science." The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC), a statutory independent body,had been the thorn in the flesh of politicians both in England and Scotland. Undoubtedly Derek Ratcliffe,their Chief Scientist, was their most outspoken and troublesome Civil Servant. Within days of his retirement in 1989,Margaret Thatcher's then Environment Minister set about dismembering the NCC. Major errors as a result of ignorance of ecology In 2001, in response to claims in a pesticide fact sheet,Bayer experts from different scientific fields issued a `position paper'on imidacloprid: "The use of imidacloprid in agriculture does not entail unacceptable harmful effects for the environment as the substance will disappear under all circumstances from the compartments soil, water and air."... "Although the substance is stable in sterile water in the dark, it decomposes readily under the influence of light. Biotic processes under the influence of microbes present in natural water and its sediments present another mechanism for the elimination of imidacloprid " No-one told the Bayer experts that microbes are invertebrates. They will be poisoned just as readily as the target organisms,non-target invertebrates(other pollinators)and the organisms that break down the soil, with disastrous effects on aquatic systems. Most ecologists know that if you keep applying a pesticide or herbicide to the same pests and crops(or make a GMO seed herbicide-tolerant)you will soon have super-weeds or super- pests. Gradually they will develop a resistance. There are many instances of this. Wang in 2008 showed that Nilaparvata lugens(the brown planthopper, a pest on rice) was able to develop 1,424-fold resistance to imidacloprid in the laboratory after the insect was selected with imidacloprid for 26 generations. Gao et al. 2012 reported similar problems with western flower thrips: "insecticide resistance continues to be one of the most important issues facing agricultural production."In Australia, at the Australian Cotton Conference in August 2012, it was reported that the native heliothis moth,whose larvae wreak havoc on cotton, have shown a"prodigious ability to acquire resistance to everything that is thrown at them."Monsanto's GM trait on corn, the toxic gene of the pesticidal bacteria Bt, is beginning to lose its effectiveness. So, Bt-resistant western rootworms are now plaguing Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. This year's severe drought has made the problem worse. Bruce Potter, an entomologist, said at a workshop in Minnesota: "In fields with a rootworm problem, the bug 30 damages the cornstalk's ability to absorb water just when it is needed most. With the roots weakened, the plants can also he vulnerable to wind." The devastation of commercial beekeeping in the United States In 2006, deaths and disappearances amongst managed bee colonies in the US had reached such epidemic proportions that the term `Colony Collapse Disorder' (CCD)came into use. In fact high bee losses in the US had begun in 1995,when Varroa mites were first identified by beekeepers as a lethal threat to honeybee colonies. Although treatment for the mites was instituted, colony losses had continued to escalate. In January 2012, Steve Ellis, secretary of the US National Honey Bee Advisory Board and a beekeeper for 35 years said: "We are inching our way towards a critical tipping point."In 2011,he had so many abnormal bee die- offs that he will qualify for disaster relief from the US Department of Agriculture(USDA). Tom Theobald is founder member of Boulder County Beekeepers,Niwot,Colorado: www.bouldercountybeekeepers.org but this year he will have to give up commercial beekeeping because he cannot keep up with overwintering bee losses. Tom became concerned that clothianidin sown on corn in 2007 on which his bees were feeding could be a possible cause of a break in the Fall (autumn)brood cycle he was seeing. In early 2008 he began examining the facts surrounding its approval,which he described in Bee Culture Magazine in July 2010. He was appalled. www.bcba2.bouldercountybeekeepers.org/wp- content/uploads/201.0/07/PesticideBlowOut.pdf Whilst Colony Collapse Disorder(CCD)in honey bees in the US was recognised in 2006, Tom knew that honey bee losses had started in 1995,with the sudden appearance of infections in honey bees with the Varroa mite. The first of the neonicotinoid insecticides, Imidacloprid, developed by Bayer,had been given conditional registration in the US in 1991 and in the UK in 1994. This led him to obtain documents for Clothianidin from the US EPA. These showed that conditional registration had been granted to Bayer by the US EPA Registration Division in 2003, despite knowing that the EPA scientists had shown that it was highly toxic to honey bees on an acute contact basis, and it had the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as non-target pollinators. They knew it was persistent in soil and had the potential to leach into ground water and surface water. Since this discovery,he has campaigned tirelessly,but so far,unsuccessfully, for their suspension by the US EPA. Recently he persuaded Dan Rather, the veteran investigative journalist to do a programme on the US Environmental Protection Agency and Neonicotinoid Pesticides. http://vimeo.com/29419200 US Environmental Protection Agency,like the EC,is in denial about clothianidin We had correspondence with Ms Claire Gesalman, of the Communications Services Branch. On 22/03/2011 we sent the evidence about Dutch surface water and invertebrate declines to the US EPA, again with supporting evidence. Ms Gesalman wrote on 15/04/2011: "With regard to potential effects on non-target invertebrates and surface water contamination, EPA is not aware at this time of any data demonstrating an imminent hazard from clothianidin If you are aware of reliable data that demonstrate an imminent hazard as defined by federal pesticide law,please forward to me the author's name,publication name (peer-reviewed publications are preferred). We replied on 22/04/2011. "Dear Ms Gesalman, You do not need science to see what is happening to the environment. Just stand in the middle of a field of oil-seed rape. Where are all the insects? Twenty years ago if you drove 200 miles in the UK you would have to stop to clean insects from your windscreen and headlights. In June 2004, 40,000 drivers found, using a device attached to 31 their number plates, there was just 1 insect per 5 miles. Probably, 7 years later, there are even fewer. Perhaps nobody cares much for insects?But there are other sinister events that signify that the environment is acutely sick; catastrophic(but little publicised) declines in a wide variety of species in the US(and later in Europe); honey bees,frogs, bats, bumblebees and birds. " Behind the scenes of the US EPA In January 2011, on the US EPA Home Page, one of Administrator Lisa Jackson's mission statements was: "We have greater opportunity to protect human health and the environment than before". Yet, on 13/12/2010 her Office of Pesticide Programs had run a workshop: Streamlining the Risk Assessment Process. Robert Schulz had designed an electronic programme(e-Builder Dossier)to facilitate the registration of pesticides by the applicants. According to slide 18,the prime benefits were "reduced cost to the EPA",and"quicker processing". There was no mention of human health or the environment on any one of the 67 power point slides. On examining the SETAC website it became apparent that the relationship between US SETAC,the EPA OPP and the pesticides industry was unhealthily close. One Ralph.G.Stahl of USA DuPont heads the most important of the three work groups on SETAC's Ecological Risk Assessment branch,the EcoValuation group. The significance of the Workshop on Pesticide Risk Assessment for Pollinators With reference to the Executive Summary of the Workshop on Pesticide Risk Assessment for Pollinators January 15-21, 2011, SETAC, Pellston, Florida Authors: David Fischer from Bayer Crop Science and Thomas Moriarty from the US EPA Office of Pesticide Programs and Team Leader,US EPA Bee Unit set up on 22 June 2009. http://www.setac.org/sites/defaultifiles/executivesummarypollinators_20sep2011.pdf This summary proves that the pesticides industry and all of the environmental protection agencies were aware of the following, which up until then, they had consistently denied: a) That the systemic neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees. b)That the tests and protocols that had allowed registration of the systemic pesticides were not adapted to assess potential hazard and risk from this type of pesticide. c)Despite knowing all this,the Protection Agencies have allowed the pesticides industry to keep neonicotinoids on the market. d)That many of the projects suggested for the future have already been done by independent scientists(See page 39 under Research and Recommendations). The crucial admission on Page 12 "Many who are familiar with pesticide risk assessment recognize that the methodology and testing scheme for foliar application products (where exposure may be primarily through surface contact) is not adapted to assess potential hazard and risk from systemic pesticides". What is the ICPBR? The majority of invited "world experts"to the SETAC Pollinator from Europe were members of the International Commission for Plant-Bee Relationships. The ICPBR appears to be self- appointed body. This International Commission was founded in 1950,by Anna Maurizio (Switzerland), during a Botanical Congress in Stockholm. It was named the International Commission for Bee Botany(I.C.B.B.). In 1985,the Commission was renewed and its name changed to The International Commission for Plant-Bee Relationships(I.C.P.B.R.). On closer examination it is clear that it represents the voices of the Pesticides Industry and the Crop Production Industry. At the 10`h International Symposium of the ICPBR Bee Protection Group(2008), in his foreword, the Chairman,Dr Peter G Kevan(University of Guelph, Canada) said that `for three decades it has provided an important forum for representatives 32 from industry, national and international regulatory agencies, government and academic research bodies....divergent interests of crop production, etc. " "Natural ecosystems"was the last to be mentioned. It was"sponsored by the pesticides industry". Many of the research presentations were headed by scientists from the industry. One paper: The Proposal of the ICPBR Bee Brood Group for testing and assessing potential side effects from the use of plant protection products on honey bee brood featured Roland Becker(BASF) Christian Maus (Bayer CS), Jens Pretorius(JKI), Ingo Tornier(Eurofins GAB). Authors of other papers included Mike Coulson(Syngenta)Mark Miles(Dow)Ed Pilling(Syngenta) and Dick Rogers(now working for Bayer CropScience US). At the SETAC meeting,the UK was represented by Mark Clook(Chemical Regulation Directorate)and Helen Thompson(Food & Environment Research Agency, Fera). Helen Thompson had worked closely with three scientists from Bayer, Syngenta and Dow on the ICPBR Bee Protection Group(she became the Group's Secretary, now Chairman Nov 2011). The same three had also helped with the UK Defra Research SID5A(2007-2009) Systemic Pesticide Risk Assessment,which, incidentally,only got as far as protocols for Tier 1 tests. The conclusions of the ICPBR working group presenting at the Bucharest meeting in 2008 were that protocols for the second and higher tier(Tunnel Tests and Field Tests) were still to be developed. So,members of the ICPBR must have known for at least 3 years that the science underpinning protocols for risk assessment for systemic pesticides was inadequate. The ICPBR have 17 members on their three bee working groups. Seven are from the pesticides industry, some of whom service two groups. This may explain why the CRD, Fera, Defra and the AFSSA(French equivalent of Fera)have repeatedly advised UK and European Ministers and informed us,the public,that there was no evidence that the neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to honey bees. What is the significance of the name change of the ICPBR? In 2011 the name "was amended to The International Commission for Plant-Pollinator Relationships (I.C.P.P.R.) which is better fitted to the objectives of the Commission." Perhaps the Commission is looking towards a time when honeybees have been completely exterminated? There is evidence that scientists have already developed an almond tree that doesn't require pollination and they are working to produce a genetically-engineered bee. If this doesn't work, farmers will have to resort to hand-pollination, a task which the Chinese are already undertaking. USDA and others funded a study on Golden Rice in Chinese Children in 2008 According to the China Daily on 12/09/2012 "China's top health authority has ordered an investigation into an allegation that genetically modified golden rice was tested on Chinese schoolchildren in Hunan province in 2008 as part of a Sino-US research project. The environmental group Greenpeace broke the news of the controversial test in late August 2012, saying that the joint research involved feeding golden rice, which is genetically modified to be rich in beta-carotene, to 24 children. It cited a paper published in the August edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The paper claimed that golden rice is effective in providing vitamin A to children. It said the partners in the study are the Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Tufts University in the US, the China CDC. A cartoon appeared on the website of the Chinese State news agency; it depicted a scientist wearing a tie emblazoned with the American flag, staring through a microscope while dropping unnaturally colored kernels of rice into a Chinese child's mouth. It ran with a story headlined: "More shameful than the experiment are the lies." The effects of GM crops on humans in Latin America Monsanto's Mission Statement for its projects in Latin America(website) 33 "Monsanto is committed to helping improve lives—especially the lives offarmers in small rural communities around the world."Pablo Vaquero,Monsanto Latin America South corporate affairs director, said: "Today, we are helping to change the lives of many individuals in remote and forgotten communities where opportunities are scarce. We are convinced that by helping with training and education, as a company, we are able to add value to people and their communities." Projects have been implemented in 14 provinces in Argentina(Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba, La Pampa, San Luis, Santiago del Estero,Entre Rios, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones, Salta,Tucuman,Jujuy and Chaco)and one in the Republic of Paraguay. Many farmers and people know about Monsanto Company because of the Roundup Ready trait, which is a trait that gives in-plant tolerance to Roundup® agricultural herbicides. The trait was introduced to the market in 1996 and brought a whole new element to farmers. In 1996, farmers could now plant soybeans, spray the soybeans with Roundup®, and poof-the weeds were gone and the soybeans were still as healthy as they were before they sprayed the field. The remote communities from the above towns would not agree,but the claims have been suppressed by Monsanto, local officials and the Argentine Government Report from the 1St National Meeting of Physicians in the Crop-sprayed Towns, Faculty of Medical Sciences,National University of Cordoba, Argentina August 27th& 28th 2010. 1NGLES-Report-from-the-1 st-National-Meeting-Of-Physicians-In-The Crop-Sprayed- Towns.pdf[extracts in Appendix 2] A brief analysis of 10 years plus of mainly GE corn and Roundup Ready Soya in agricultural towns of Argentina Chaco Province RR Soya 1997-2008 100,000 ha 700,000 ha Congenital Birth Defects/10,000 15/10,000 82/10,000 live births Summary of medical problems In the whole area there were increases of cancers,birth defects, reproductive and endocrine disorders. All children's birth defects involving neurosurgical operations(neural tube defects) were treated in one hospital therefore they had complete statistics. Those coming from heavily sprayed areas had a rate of birth defects 70 times greater than those in non-sprayed areas. There were also neurological developmental problems in children less than 1 year of age compared with non-sprayed. Genetic tests showed DNA and genetic damage in those exposed to pesticides, compared with non-exposed. Comparison:heavily sprayed(La Leonesa),with the moderately sprayed(Las Palmas)with the `not much' sprayed(Puerto Bermejo)towns. The incidence of childhood cancers was three times greater in La Leonesa. Increased use of pesticides The introduction of transgenic biotechnology in 1996 accelerated the use of pesticides. 1996: 98 million liters. 2000: 145 million liters. 2009: 292 million liters. 2010: over 300 million liters of herbicides, insecticides, acaricides, defoliants and other poisonous substances. Glyphosate: 1996: 2 liters/ha. 2009-2010: 10-20 liters/ha, for herbicide-resistant weeds. 34 A baby with a neural tube defect; this is a meningo-myelocoele.More extensive defects can occur. Hospital de Posadas,Misiones, Argentina.Photograph by kind permission of Dr Graciela Gomez. The research of Prof Andres Carrasco, an embryologist from Buenos Aires,has shown that glyphosate the herbicide used on genetically modified soy and rice in Argentina, causes birth defects in animal embryos at levels far below those frequently used in agricultural spraying. However, when he went to give a talk in August 2010 to residents and community activists in La Leonesa(the most heavily sprayed and worst affected of the towns)about his research,he was attacked by a violent mob. Three people were seriously injured and Carrasco and a colleague had to shut themselves in their car for 2 hours. Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling Alejandra Paganelli, Victoria Gnazzo, Helena Acosta, Silvia L. Lopez, and Andre's E. Carrasco*Laboratorio de Embriologi'a Molecular, CONICET-UBA, Facultad de Medicina, UniVersidad de Buenos Aires,Paraguay 2155, 3°piso (1121), Ciudad Auto'noma de Buenos Aires,Argentina. portal.fagro.edu.uy/phocadownload/taller.../anexo%201%20martinez.pdf Clinical Approaches.In Argentina, the extension of soil devoted to transgenic soy reached 19 million hectares. Two hundred million liters of glyphosate-based herbicide is used for a production of 50 million tons of soy beans per year(96, 97). The intensive and extensive agricultural models based on the GMO technological package are currently applied without critical evaluation, rigorous regulations, and adequate information about the impact of sublethal doses on human health and the environment, leading to a conflicting situation.In this work, we focused on sublethal doses of GBH to arrive at the thresholds for teratogenic phenotypes instead of lethality.In the last 10 years, several countries in Latin America have initiated studies about the environmental consequences of the use of herbicides and pesticides. In Paraguay, an epidemiological study in the offspring of women exposed during pregnancy to herbicides showed 52 cases of malformations (3), which strikingly resemble the wide spectrum phenotypes resulting from a dysfunctional RA or Shh signaling pathway. In Argentina, an increase in the incidence of congenital malformations began to be reported in the last few years(Dr. Hugo Lucero, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Chaco;personal communication). In Co'rdoba, several cases of malformations together with repeated spontaneous abortions were detected in the village ofItuzaingo, which is surrounded by GMO-based agriculture. These findings were concentrated in families living a few meters from where the herbicides are regularly sprayed.All of this information is extremely worrying because the risk of environmentally-induced disruptions in human development is 35 (DOHaD) concept provides significant insight into new strategies for research and disease prevention and is sufficiently robust and repeatable across species, including humans, to require a policy and public health response. This White Paper therefore concludes that, as early development(in utero and during the first years of postnatal life) is particularly sensitive to developmental disruption by nutritional factors or environmental chemical exposures, with potentially adverse consequences for health later in life, both research and disease prevention strategies should focus more on these vulnerable life stages. 55 An IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides was established in 2011 and on 02/09/2012 the Task Force met in Tokyo. Two of the presentations involved humans: `Systemic Pesticides as a Causal Factor of Developmental Brain Disorders(ADHD, autism etc.)' and `The Human Health Effect of Neonicotinoid Insecticides.' As Mary Ann Ogasawara,the organiser of the meeting observed last week: "Many people wouldn't bat an eye for honeybees but if they find that it affects humans, it will be the wakeup call." The study of Epigenetics has emphasised that gene changes are more and more frequently being caused by environmental exposure. The Faroes Statement: Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure to Chemicals in Our Environment 2007 Extracts: The developing embryo and foetus are extraordinarily susceptible to perturbation of the intrauterine environment. Chemical exposures during prenatal and early postnatal life can bring about important effects on gene expression, which may predispose to disease during adolescence and adult life. Some environmental chemicals can alter gene expression by DNA methylation and chromatin remodelling. These epigenetic changes can cause lasting functional changes in specific organs and tissues and increased susceptibility to disease that may even affect successive generations. The immune system also undergoes crucial developmental maturation both before and after birth. New evidence suggests that a number of persistent and non persistent environmental pollutants may alter the development of the immune system. Three aspects of children's health are important in conjunction with developmental toxicity risks. First, the mother's chemical body burden will be shared with her foetus or neonate, and the child may, in some instances, be exposed to larger doses relative to the body weight. Second, susceptibility to a wide range of adverse effects is increased during development, from preconception through adolescence, depending on the organ system. Third, developmental exposures to environmental chemicals can lead to life-long functional deficits and disease. Risk assessment of environmental chemicals needs to take into account the susceptibility of early development and the long-term implications of adverse programming in a variety of organ systems. Although test protocols exist to assess reproductive toxicity, neurodevelopmental toxicity and immune toxicity, such tests are not routinely used, and the potential for such effects is, therefore, not necessarily considered in decisions on safety levels of environmental exposures. Barouki,R., Gluckman,P.D., Grandjean,P., Hanson,M., Heindel,J. J. Developmental origins of non-communicable disease: Implications for research and public health.Environmental Health 2012, 11:42. Abstract: This White Paper highlights the developmental period as a plastic phase, which allows the organism to adapt to changes in the environment to maintain or improve reproductive capability in part through sustained health. Plasticity is more prominent prenatally and during early postnatal life, i.e., during the time of cell differentiation and specific tissue formation. These developmental periods are highly sensitive to environmental factors, such as nutrients, environmental chemicals, drugs, infections and other stressors. Nutrient and toxicant effects share many of the same characteristics and reflect two sides of the same coin. In both cases, alterations in physiological functions can be induced and may lead to the development of non-communicable conditions. Many of the major diseases—and dysfunctions—that have increased substantially in prevalence over the last 40 years seem to be related in part to developmental factors associated with either nutritional imbalance or exposures to environmental chemicals. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 54 unintended effects in genetically modified(GM)plants. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that, depending on the insertion event, a particular transgene can have large effects on the entire phenotype of a plant and that these effects can sometimes be reversed when plants are moved from the glasshouse to the field. However, it remains unclear which mechanisms underlie these effects and how they may affect concepts in molecular plant breeding and plant evolutionary ecology. Appendix 5 Research on Epigenetics. Gene changes caused by environmental exposure Humans cannot escape these genotoxic chemicals. They will keep increasing. Whilst plants and invertebrates can develop resistance in a short time,humans cannot. In 2000, the European Environment Agency published a document: "Late lessons from early warnings. The precautionary principle" "The growing innovative powers of science seem to be outstripping its ability to predict the consequences of its applications, whilst the scale of human interventions in nature increases the chances that any hazardous impacts may be serious and global. It is therefore important to take stock of past experiences, and learn how we can adapt to these changing circumstances,particularly in relation to the provision of information and the identification of early warnings. It concerns the gathering of information on the hazards of human economic activities and its use in taking action to protect both the environment and the health of the species and ecosystems that are dependent on it, and then living with the consequences. " In 2011 a report from Canada showed the presence of GMO toxins in women and children. Aris A, Leblanc S. Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated with genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Reproductive Toxicology(2011), 31: 528-33. This study found Bt toxin in 80%of women and their unborn children tested in Canada. Long-term toxicology and health risk assessments on Bt in GM crops had not been done. In 2011, the European Environment Agency(David Gee)presented a paper at the Children and Environmental Health Conference in Paris. Towards Realism and Precautions in Protecting Children's Health; He said: Much harm from chemicals today will only impact on tomorrow's children. He quoted Prof Carl Cranor's study: "Legally Poisoned: how the law puts us at risk from Toxicants",Harvard, 2010: "Current post market laws in the US provide less protection from commercial chemicals than pre-1960s laws did from pharmaceuticals" 30-100 k commercial chemicals with little or no pre-market testing. 287 toxics in cord blood samples. 212 toxics in>90%US citizens. Rather than being "caused" by single genes, heart disease, autism, schizophrenia or intelligence represent a network perturbation generated by small, almost imperceptible, changes in lots of genes. Environments alter gene expression & imprinting. Landrigan, P.J,Benbrook, C.M. Symposium on Opportunities and Initiatives to Pesticides. AAAS,2006 Annual Meeting:In the US,prenatal and childhood exposure to pesticides have emerged as a significant risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, including learning disabilities, dyslexia, mental retardation, attention deficit disorder and autism, which are now affecting 5-10%of 4 million children. 53 Agricultural practices in this zone include, mainly, transgenic corn and soy crops. By frequency, the most widely used pesticides are: Glyphosate, Cypermethrin, 2.4D, Endosulfan, Atrazine and Chlorpyrifos, which are applied from October to March with an average of 18 times (with a range between 6 and 42 times) of spraying cycles per season. Their results, as well as Simoniello's in Santa Fe, showed important differences in genotoxicity rates between exposed individuals,fumigators or not, and the members of the control group who do not live in a fumigated area. The evident genetic lesions in those groups exposed to pesticides were of a remarkably higher statistical significance, which reinforces the causal link with the exposition, and also shows a similarity with the animal testing carried out by the same group of scientists. Appendix 4 Independent research on Bt toxins Modified Bt toxins are not inert on non-target human cells,but in combination with other pesticides may have side effects on humans. Mesnage R., Clair E., Gress S., Then C., Szekacs A., Seralini G.-E., 2012, Cytotoxicity on human cells of CrylAb and CrylAc Bt insecticidal toxins alone or with a glyphosate-based herbicide. Journal of Applied Toxicology DOI: 10.1002/jat.2712 (2012) Abstract: The study of combined effects of pesticides represents a challenge for toxicology. In the case of the new growing generation of genetically modified(GM)plants with stacked traits, glyphosate-based herbicides (like Roundup) residues are present in the Roundup- tolerant edible plants (especially corns) and mixed with modified Bt insecticidal toxins that are produced by the GM plants themselves. The potential side effects of these combined pesticides on human cells are investigated in this work. Here we have tested for the very first time CrylAb and CrylAc Bt toxins (10ppb to 100 ppm) on the human embryonic kidney cell line 293, as well as their combined actions with Roundup, within 24 h, on three biomarkers of cell death: measurements of mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase, adenylate kinase release by membrane alterations and caspase 3/7 inductions. Cry 1Ab caused cell death from 100 ppm. For CrylAc, under such conditions, no effects were detected. The Roundup tested alone from 1 to 20 000 ppm is necrotic and apoptotic from 50 ppm,far below agricultural dilutions (50%lethal concentration 57.5 ppm). The only measured significant combined effect was that Cry 144b and CrylAc reduced caspases 3/7 activations induced by Roundup; this could delay the activation of apoptosis. There was the same tendency for the other markers. In these results, we argue that modified Bt toxins are not inert on nontarget human cells, and that they can present combined side-effects with other residues of pesticides specific to GM plants. Aris, A., Leblanc, S. Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated with genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.Reproductive Toxicology(2011), 31: 528-33. This study found Bt toxin in 80%of women and their unborn children tested in Canada. Long-term toxicology and health risk assessments on Bt in GM crops had not been done. http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0011405 Zeller, S. L., O. Kalinina,et al. (2010). "Transgene x environment interactions in genetically modified wheat."PLoS ONE 5(7): el1405. Background: The introduction of transgenes into plants may cause unintended phenotypic effects which could have an impact on the plant itself and the environment. Little is published in the scientific literature about the interrelation of environmental factors and possible 52 Appendix 3 Extracts from the Report from the 1st National Meeting of Physicians in the Crop-sprayed Towns, Faculty of Medical Sciences,National University of Cordoba, Argentina August 27th &28th 2010. INGLES-Report-from-the-1 st-National-Meeting-Of-Physicians-In-The Crop-Sprayed- Towns.pdf In addition, when child cancer incidence was analyzed in the town most aggressively affected by agrochemicals (La Leonesa), and then compared to nearby towns moderately fumigated(Las Palmas), and not much fumigated(Puerto Bermejo), results strengthen the connection with higher levels of exposure to pesticides, as shown in graph No. 3 because incidence was three times greater in La Leonesa. It is important to highlight that there are few official epidemiological reports; according to what physicians themselves say, the only data they have was gathered by observation, as generally Public Health bodies have avoided checking alarming notes coming from healthcare professionals as well as people's complaints. Province of Chaco's report is almost the only report created interjurisdictionally by a public area. Other relevant testimonial was brought by Dr. Hugo Gomez Demaio, a Pediatric Surgeon specialized in Neurosurgery in Cleveland(USA). He is the Head of the Pediatrics Unit at Hospital de Posadas, Misiones, the only public hospital in the province with pediatric surgery service. All children needing this service are referred to this hospital. The Latin American Center for Congenital Birth defects Records (ECLAM, Centro Latinoamericano de Registro de Malformaciones Congenitas) reports that the Province of Misiones has a 0.1/1000 live birth rate with neural tube defects; but Dr. Demaio has recorded in his hospital a 7.2/1000 rate (70 times more), which increases yearly. His team geolocated the origin of these families with severe and invalidating deficits and all families come from highly fumigated areas. Apart from that, it is likely that there are neurological development problems and psychological problems not being assessed. This suspicion grows in light of research performed in Colonia Alicia (Misiones) by Demaio's team. There, a neurocognitive development test was analyzed,yielding bad results in the population of children under 1 exposed to agrochemicals, compared to children in Hospital de Posadas who do not come from fumigated areas. (This healthcare team in Misiones suggests the iceberg model ranging from genome modification and learning disorders as the tip of the iceberg, to teratogenesis, carcinogenesis and toxicity below the water level). UNL (Universidad Nacional del Litoral, National University of the Littoral):Dr. Maria Fernanda Simoniello, along with the team from the Toxicology, Pharmacology, and Legal Biochemistry Chairs of the Faculty of Biochemistry and Biology from the National University of the Littoral(Santa Fe), have studied the biomarkers of cellular reaction on people directly exposed to pesticides (fumigators), or indirectly exposed(non fumigators living near crops), and have published many papers on the subject. In this Meeting, she presented two investigations carried out with workers from the fruit and vegetable growing areas in Santa Fe, where the most widely used pesticides were Chlorpyrifos, Cypermethrin and Glyphosate; the first investigation was done between January and March 2007, and the second one several years later. Among other biomarkers, they use the Comet assay (a Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis assay), a very useful tool to investigate DNA damage and its possible correlation with repair mechanisms. By using human lymphocyte, in vivo as well as in vitro, it proved to be the technique of choice to monitor damages in genetic material in a population exposed to low levels of chemical agents. The results showed that both groups exposed to pesticides (occupational and residential) had a genetic damage rate statistically higher than the control group (not exposed to pesticides); an statistically significant difference also present in the genetic damage repair analysis. 51 Brand li,D,Reinacher, S. Herbicides found in human urine.Ithaka Journal 1/2012: 270-272. Abstract: Glyphosate is the main active substance used in most commercial herbicides. It poisons not only plants, but also animals and humans. When testing for glyphosate contamination in an urban population, a German University found significant contamination in all urine samples with 5 to 20 times above the legal limit for drinking water. Marc, J.,Belle, R. Formulated Glyphosate Activates the DNA-Response Checkpoint of the Cell Cycle Leading to the Prevention of G2/M Transition 2004, Toxicological Sciences: 82, (2)436-442. Robert Belle's team at Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Roscoff, found that Formulated glyphosate, (Roundup®),activates what is called the checkpoint. Each cell has two checkpoints that are activated only when there are problems in cell division. "This may reflect interference of the product at the DNA level,potentially leading to genetic instability which is recognized as one the main forces driving the onset and progression of carcinogenesis. Gasniera, C. et al, Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006. Extracts: "We exposed human liver HepG2 cells, a well-known model to study xenobiotic toxicity, to four different formulations and to glyphosate, which is usually tested alone in chronic in vivo regulatory studies. We measured cytotoxicity with three assays (Alamar Blue®, MTT, ToxiLight®),plus genotoxicity(comet assay), anti-estrogenic (on ER= ER_) and anti-androgenic effects (on AR) using gene reporter tests. We also checked androgen to estrogen conversion by aromatase activity and mRNA. All parameters were disrupted at sub- agricultural doses with all formulations within 24 h. Aromatase transcription and activity was disrupted from 10 ppm. Cytotoxic effects started at 10ppm with Alamar Blue assay(the most sensitive), and DNA damages at 5 ppm.A real cell impact of glyphosate-based herbicides residues in food,feed or in the environment has thus to be considered, and their classifications as carcinogens/mutagens/reprotoxics is discussed. " A new book chapter by Prof Andres Carrasco and colleagues in Argentina and Paraguay reviews the scientific literature on the health effects of the pesticides used in large amounts on GM soy and other GM crops: Advances in Molecular Toxicology, Vol. 6, published by Elsevier: ISSN 1872-0854 http://www.amazon.com/Advances-Molecular-Toxicology-Volume-6/'dp/0444593896 Abstract:In South America, the incorporation of genetically modified organisms(GMO) engineered to be resistant to pesticides changed the agricultural model into one dependent on the massive use of agrochemicals. Different pesticides are used in response to the demands of the global consuming market to control weeds, herbivorous arthropods, and crop diseases. Here, we review their effects on humans and animal models, in terms of genotoxicity, teratogenicity, and cell damage. We also stress the importance of biomarkers for medical surveillance of populations at risk and propose the use of biosensors as sensitive resources to detect undesirable effects of new molecules and environmental pollutants. The compatibility of glyphosate, the most intensively used herbicide associated to GMO crops, with an integrated pest management for soybean crops, is also discussed. 50 Antoniou, M. et al. Roundup and birth defects. Is the public being kept in the dark?(June 2011)Earth Open Source. Extracts: "The European Commission has previously ignored or dismissed many other findings from the independent scientific literature showing that Roundup and glyphosate cause endocrine disruption, damage to DNA, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and cancer, as well as birth defects. Many of these effects are found at very low doses, comparable to levels of pesticide residues found in food and the environment. "... "This issue is of particular concern now that Monsanto and other producers of genetically modified seed are trying to get their glyphosate-tolerant crops approved for cultivation in Europe. If the EU Commission gives its approval, this will lead to a massive increase in the amount of glyphosate sprayed in the fields of EU member states, as has already happened in North and South America. Consequently,people's exposure to glyphosate will increase. " All these concerns could be addressed by an objective review of Roundup and glyphosate in line with the more stringent new EU pesticide regulation due to come into force in June 2011. Just such a review was due to take place in 2012. However, shortly after the Commission was notified of the latest research showing that glyphosate and Roundup cause birth defects, it quietly passed a directive delaying the review of glyphosate and 38 other dangerous pesticides until 2015. Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini and colleagues at CRIIGEN in Caen had already questioned the adequacy of Monsanto's testing both for glyphosate and GM crops. Seralini, G-E. et al. Genetically modified crops safety assessments: present limits and possible improvements Environmental Sciences Europe 2011, 23:10 doi:10.1186/2190-4715- 23-10. The 90-day-long tests are insufficient to evaluate chronic toxicity, and the signs highlighted in the kidneys and livers could be the onset of chronic diseases. However, no minimal length for the tests is yet obligatory for any of the GMOs cultivated on a large scale, and this is socially unacceptable in terms of consumer health protection. We are suggesting that the studies should be improved and prolonged, as well as being made compulsory, and that the sexual hormones should be assessed too, and moreover, reproductive and multigenerational studies ought to be conducted too. Clair,E.,Mesnage,R., Travert, C., Seralini, G-E. A glyphosate-based herbicide induces necrosis and apoptosis in mature rat testicular cells in vitro, and testosterone decrease at lower levels._Toxicology in Vitro 26(2)269-279 (2012). Abstract: The major herbicide used worldwide, Roundup, is a glyphosate-based pesticide with adjuvants. Glyphosate, its active ingredient in plants and its main metabolite (AMPA) are among the first contaminants of surface waters. Roundup is being used increasingly in particular on genetically modified plants grown for food and feed that contain its residues. Here we tested glyphosate and its formulation on mature rat fresh testicular cells from 1 to 10000 ppm, thus from the range in some human urine and in environment to agricultural levels. We show that from 1 to 48 h of Roundup exposure Leydig cells are damaged. Within 24-48 h this formulation is also toxic on the other cells, mainly by necrosis, by contrast to glyphosate alone which is essentially toxic on Sertoli cells. Later, it also induces apoptosis at higher doses in germ cells and in Sertoli/germ cells co-cultures. At lower non-toxic concentrations of Roundup and glyphosate (1 ppm), the main endocrine disruption is a testosterone decrease by 35%. The pesticide has thus an endocrine impact at very low environmental doses, but only a high contamination appears to provoke an acute rat testicular toxicity. This does not anticipate the chronic toxicity which is insufficiently tested, and only with glyphosate in regulatory tests. 49 systems, with particular vulnerability of the dopamine system. Prenatal nicotine-induced deficits reflective of altered dopaminergic processing appear later in life as these circuits undergo postnatal maturation, with children of mothers who smoked exhibiting increased incidence ofADHD and substance abuse during childhood and adolescence. Early postnatal nicotine exposure in rodents, or third trimester exposure in humans, appears to preferentially interfere with cortical development, with human newborns and children exhibiting long- lasting defects in auditory cognitive processing. Finally, exposure to nicotine during adolescence may preferentially interfere with limbic circuitry,producing enhanced vulnerability to nicotine addiction, increased impulsivity, and mood disorders. Nicotine has dynamic effects on the developing brain, and continued exploration of the developmental patterns of nAChR expression and the impact of nicotine exposure is needed. Completing the characterization of the regional ontogeny of nAChRs, differentiating the effects of nicotine through activation versus desensitization, and better understanding the acute and long-term effects of nicotine at each age will allow better predictive power in the clinical setting and novel therapeutic approaches to nicotine-induced pathologies. Appendix 2 Independent research on glyphosate Paganelli, A. Gnazzo,V., Acosta, H., Lo'pez, S. L.,Carrasco, A. E. Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling. Chem. Res. Toxic. 10.1021/tx1001749 (2010). Abstract: The broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate is widely used in agriculture worldwide. There has been ongoing controversy regarding the possible adverse effects of glyphosate on the environment and on human health. Reports of neural defects and craniofacial malformations from regions where glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are used led us to undertake an embryological approach to explore the effects of low doses of glyphosate in development.Xenopus laeVis embryos were incubated with 1/5000 dilutions of a commercial GBH. The treated embryos were highly abnormal with marked alterations in cephalic and neural crest development and shortening of the anterior posterior(A-P) axis. Alterations on neural crest markers were later correlated with deformities in the cranial cartilages at tadpole stages. Embryos injected with pure glyphosate showed very similar phenotypes. Moreover, GBH produced similar effects in chicken embryos, showing a gradual loss of rhombomere domains, reduction of the optic vesicles, and microcephaly. This suggests that glyphosate itself was responsible for the phenotypes observed, rather than a surfactant or other component of the commercial formulation. A reporter gene assay revealed that GBH treatment increased endogenous retinoic acid(RA) activity in Xenopus embryos and cotreatment with a RA antagonist rescued the teratogenic effects of the GBH. Therefore, we conclude that the phenotypes produced by GBH are mainly a consequence of the increase of endogenous retinoid activity. This is consistent with the decrease of Sonic hedgehog(Shh) signaling from the embryonic dorsal midline, with the inhibition of otx2 expression and with the disruption of cephalic neural crest development. The direct effect of glyphosate on early mechanisms of morphogenesis in vertebrate embryos opens concerns about the clinical findings from human offspring in populations exposed to GBH in agricultural fields. The broad-spectrum glyphosate based herbicides (GBHs) are widely used in agricultural practice,particularly in association with genetically modified organisms (GMO) engineered to be glyphosate resistant such as soy crops. Considering the wide use of GBH/GMO in agriculture, studies of the possible impacts of GBH on environmental and human health are timely and important. portal.fagro.edu.uy/phocadownload/taller.../anexo%201%20martinez.pdf 48 connection was proved between the nicotinic acetylcholine anti-inflammatory receptors in the central nervous system, via the vagus nerve, to the innate immune system. This system protects humans against infection and tissue injury. Baldi,I. et al. Neurobehavioral effects of long-term exposure to pesticides: results from the 4-year follow-up of the PHYTONER Study. Occup. Environ. Med 68: 108-115 (2011). The first study to provide prospective data on farmer workers in the Bordeaux area of France (1997-98 and 2001-03)suggested long-term cognitive effects of chronic exposure to pesticides and raised the issue of evolution towards dementia. Dwyer, J. B.,McQuown, S. C., Leslie, F.M. The Dynamic Effects of Nicotine on the Developing Brain.Pharmacol Ther. 2009 May; 122(2): 125-139. doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2009.02.003 Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) regulate critical aspects of brain maturation during the prenatal, early postnatal, and adolescent periods. During these developmental windows, nAChRs are often transiently up-regulated or change subunit composition in those neural structures that are undergoing major phases of differentiation and synaptogenesis, and are sensitive to environmental stimuli. Nicotine exposure, most often via tobacco smoke, but increasingly via nicotine replacement therapy, has been shown to have unique effects on the developing human brain. Consistent with a dynamic developmental role for acetylcholine, exogenous nicotine produces effects that are unique to the period of exposure and that impact the developing structures regulated by acetylcholine at that time. Here we present a review of the evidence, available from both the clinical literature and preclinical animal models, which suggests that the diverse effects of nicotine exposure are best evaluated in the context of regional and temporal expression patterns of nAChRs during sensitive maturational periods, and disruption of the normal developmental influences of acetylcholine. We present evidence that nicotine interferes with catecholamine and brainstem autonomic nuclei development during the prenatal period of the rodent (equivalent to first and second trimester of the human), alters the neocortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum during the early postnatal period (third trimester of the human), and influences limbic system and late monoamine maturation during adolescence. Conclusion: nAChRs are present in the brain from the earliest phases of neural development through childhood and adolescence, and into adulthood. However, their patterns of expression are regionally and temporally heterogeneous and, in many cases, unique to the developmental period. The multitude of nAChR subunits, and the resulting range of pharmacological and physiological properties of the nAChR, allows the cholinergic system immense flexibility to regulate many aspects of brain development. The transient increases in nAChR expression within a given brain structure often coincide with the most crucial phases of its development. Thus, nAChRs critically regulate catecholamine and autonomic development in the prenatal period(see Figure 1), cortical, hippocampal, and cerebellar development during the early postnatal period(see Figure 2), and limbic and postnatal catecholamine development during the adolescent period(see Figure 3). This exquisite regulation of nAChR expression during development predicts that exogenous nicotine exposure may produce a diverse array offunctional consequences that depend critically on the timing of exposure. This prediction has been supported not only by studies in laboratory animals, but also by clinical observations. Prenatal nicotine exposure produces autonomic deficits, which may underlie the increased incidence of SIDS seen in the human literature. Nicotine exposure during this time also appears to alter developing catecholamine 47 severe effects are likely to be observed at higher dose levels. In addition, the reproductive system may be more sensitive to exposure of clothianidin even earlier in development Abou-Donia,M.B. et al. Imidacloprid induces neurobehavioral deficits and increases expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in the motor cortex and hippocampus in offspring rats following in utero exposure.J. Toxicol. Environ. Health A. 2008; 71 (2) 119-130. Gestational exposure to a single large, non-lethal, dose of imidacloprid produces significant neurobehavioral deficits an and increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in several brain regions of the offspring on postnatal day 30, corresponding to human early adolescent age. These changes may have long-term adverse effects in the offspring. Li, P., Ann,J., Akk, G. Activation and Modulation of Human a4132 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors by the Neonicotinoids Clothianidin and Imidacloprid. J. Neuroscience Research DOI:10.1002/jnr.22644(2011). Since the clinical manifestations of neonicotinoid poisoning clearly involved the nicotinic receptors, studies of the effects of clothianidin and imidacloprid on human neuronal-type a4J32 nAChRs were undertaken. Both chemicals had effects on human receptors, but imidacloprid more so than clothianidin. Mondal, S., Ghosh,R.C.,Mate, M.S.,Karmakar, D.P. Effects of Acetamiprid on Immune System in Female Wistar Rats.Proc. Zool. Soc. 62(2), 109-117 (2009). A subacute toxicity study of acetamiprid was undertaken in 72 female wistar rats in four groups (18 each). Three different concentrations of acetamiprid(25, 100 and 200 mg/kg of body weight) were administered orally to rats. The results indicated that acetamiprid suppressed both CMI and antibody forming ability of lymphocytes. Calderon-Segura, M.E. et al. Evaluation of Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Effects in Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes Exposed in Vitro to Neonicotinoid Insecticides Journal of Toxicology Volume 2012,Article ID 612647, doi:10.1155/2012/612647 Abstract: Calypso (thiacloprid), Poncho (clothianidin), Gaucho (imidacloprid), and Jade (imidacloprid) are commercial neonicotinoid insecticides, a new class of agrochemicals in Mexico. However, genotoxic and cytotoxic studies have not been performed. In the present study, human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were exposed in vitro to different concentrations of the four insecticides. The genotoxic and cytotoxic effects were evaluated using the alkaline comet and trypan blue dye exclusion assays. DNA damage was evaluated using two genotoxicity parameters: tail length and comet frequency. Exposure to 9.5 X 10-6 to 5.7 X 10-5M Jade; 2.8 X10-4 to 1.7 X10-3 M Gaucho; 0.6 X10-1 to 1.4 X10-'M Calypso; 1.2 X10-1 to 9.5 X10-1M Poncho for 2 h induced a significant increase DNA damage with a concentration-dependent relationship.Jade was the most genotoxic of the four insecticides studied. Cytotoxicity was observed in cells exposed to 18 X 10-3 MJade, 2.0 X 10-3 M Gaucho, 2.0 X 10-1 M Calypso, 1.07M Poncho, and cell death occurred at 30 X 10-1 M Jade, 3.3 X 10-3 M Gaucho, 2.8 X 10-3 M Calypso, and 1.42M Poncho. This study provides the first report of genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in peripheral blood lymphocytes following in vitro exposure to commercial neonicotinoid insecticides. Cai,B.,Deitch,E.A.,Ulloa, L.Novel insights for systemic inflammation in sepsis and haemorrhage.Mediators of Inflammation 2010 ID 642462 (2010). Human clinical studies in 2010 demonstrated a connection between the nAChRs and the immune system. In the process of trying to treat severe inflammatory responses in sepsis and haemorrhage (which are a major cause of death in patients in Critical Care), a specific anatomical and physiological 46 Appendix 1 Effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, Tomizawa,M, Lee,D.L., Casida, J.E. Neonicotinoid insecticides: Molecular Features Conferring Selectivity for Insect versus Mammalian Nicotinic Receptors.J. Agric. Food Chem. 48(12), 6016-6024(2000). These authors showed that neonicotinoids acted on mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as well, but considered that the selective nature of its binding(i.e. less affinity than in insects) made it safe for human exposure. Tennekes, H.A. The significance of the Druckrey-Kupfmuller equation for risk assessment— The toxicity of neonicotinoid insecticides to arthropods is reinforced by exposure time. Toxicology 276, 1-4(2010). Tennekes was the first to prove that neonicotinoids can produce effects at any concentration level,provided the exposure time is sufficiently long. Tennekes,H.A., Sanchez-Bayo, F. Time-Dependent Toxicity of Neonicotinoids and Other Toxicants: Implications for a New Approach to Risk Assessment.J. Environment. Analytic. Toxicol. S4:001. doi:10.4172/2161-0525.S4-001 (2011). Tennekes and Sanchez-Bayo demonstrated that chemicals that bind irreversibly to specific receptors (neonicotinoids, genotoxic carcinogens and some metals) will produce toxic effects in a time-dependent manner, no matter how low the level of exposure. Duzguner,V., Edogaan, S. Acute oxidant and inflammatory effects of imidacloprid on the mammalian central nervous system and liver in rats. Pest. Biochem. Physiol. 97, 13-18 (2010).Imidacloprid has acute oxidant and inflammatory effects on the mammalian CNS and liver. Kimura-Kuroda J., Hayashi, M., Kawano,H.Nicotine-like effects of neonicotinoids on rat cerebellar neurons.Neuroscience Research, 71, suppl, (2011). [This is a study to determine to what extent the neonicotinoids imidacloprid and acetamiprid affected the nAChRs of rat cerebellar neurons and to compare their effects with nicotine by using in vitro excitatory Ca- influx assay. Although nicotine excited rather higher proportions of neurons and produced a higher peak of Ca-influx compared with the two neonicotinoids, both had higher binding to the neurons and were significantly inhibited with nAChR antagonists.The authors suggested that the neonicotinoids could have adverse effects on human health, especially in the developing foetus.] Bal,R. et al. Insecticide imidacloprid induces morphological and DNA damage through oxidative toxicity on the reproductive organs of developing male rats. Cell. Biochem. Funct. (2012)DOI: 10.1002/cbf.2826. The weights of the epididymis, vesicula seminalis, epididymal sperm concentration, body weight gain, testosterone and reduced glutathione values were lower in the imidacloprid-treated groups than that in the controls. All treated groups had increased lipid peroxidation,fatty acid concentrations and higher rates of abnormal sperm. Apoptosis and fragmentation of seminal DNA were higher in rats treated at the two higher doses of imidacloprid. These results show that imidacloprid has a negative effect on sperm and testis of rats. Bal, R. et al. Effects of clothianidin exposure on sperm quality, testicular apoptosis and fatty acid composition in developing male rats. Cell. Biol. Toxicol. DOI 10.1007/s10565-012- 9215-0.It is concluded that low doses of clothianidin exposure during critical stages of sexual maturation had moderate detrimental effects on reproductive organ system and more 45 large legal costs. Although the convention was said to have been ratified earlier this year by the Irish government,Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said he had no jurisdiction to make such an order because the Aarhus Convention had yet to be put into Irish law. Allegedly,he has refused to take the case. Clothianidin neonicotinoid insecticide approved in 2008 Bayer's Redigo Deter seed treatment was licensed in Ireland(with clothianidin) for winter barley,wheat, oats, durum wheat,rye and triticale in April 2008. In addition,there are various sprays of fungicides, aphicides and insecticides you can spray throughout the year. There is a caveat at the end of the instructions: "if you develop resistant diseases, Redigo Deter is unlikely to give you satisfaction!" Massive declines (with some extinction) in farmland birds in Ireland Ireland has revealed that farmland bird populations in Ireland and across Europe are at their lowest levels since 1980. A new survey by researchers at University College Cork, in association with BirdWatch Ireland,has found that there are less than 200 pairs of breeding Curlew. Previously common farmland birds such as the Corncrake, Curlew and Yellowhammer are now perilously close to extinction in Ireland,according to a four-year (2007-2011)study of the island's bird populations. The Corncrake has seen its breeding population plummet by more than 80 per cent in the past 20 years alone. One farmland bird which has already become extinct is the Corn Bunting. "Everything points to a decline which is truly catastrophic,"said Anita Donaghy,who led a survey of Curlew numbers this spring. "We could hardly believe the results we were getting." The breeding Curlew population in the whole of Ireland has declined by 96%in 20 years. In the last Breeding Atlas, 1988-1991,the Irish population as a whole was estimated at around 5,000 pairs. Niall Hatch said: "It also points to the fact that something is going wrong in the environment. When you see declines in big breeding numbers, something is going wrong in the whole eco- system."Joe Barry: 'Pesticides also harm beneficial insects and the birds that feed on them' In Al Gore's acceptance speech on 11/12/2007, when he received the Nobel Prize for his work on Climate Change,he said: Make no mistake, the next generation will ask us one of two questions. Either they will ask: "What were you thinking; why didn't you act?" Or they will ask instead: "How did you find the moral courage to rise and successfully resolve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?" Unlike climate change,we suspect that this environmental chemical crisis, at least in some countries, is irreversible and insoluble. Dr Graciela Gomez(lawyer and campaigner for the rights of rural communities in Argentina) has this quotation at the bottom of her website: "Quien sabe que se comete un crimen y no lo denuncia es un COMPLICE(Jose Marti)." Translated: "Whosoever knows that a crime was committed and denounces it not is an ACCOMPLICE". Rosemary Mason Palle Uhd Jepsen 18/09/2012 44 against insects are well established, their precise effects on mammalian nAChRs remain to be elucidated. Because of the importance of nAChRs for mammalian brain function, especially brain development, detailed investigation of the neonicotinoids is needed to protect the health of human children. We aimed to determine the effects of neonicotinoids on the nAChRs of developing mammalian neurons and compare their effects with nicotine, a neurotoxin of brain development. Methodology/principal findings: Primary cultures of cerebellar neurons from neonatal rats allow for examinations of the developmental neurotoxicity of chemicals because the various stages of neurodevelopment- including proliferation, migration, differentiation, and morphological and functional maturation-can be observed in vitro. Using these cultures, an excitatory Ca(2+)-influx assay was employed as an indicator of neural physiological activity. Significant excitatory Ca(2+) influxes were evoked by ACE, IMI, and nicotine at concentrations greater than 1,uM in small neurons in cerebellar cultures that expressed the mRNA of the a3, a4, and a7 nAChR subunits. The firing patterns,proportion of excited neurons, and peak excitatory Ca(2+) influxes induced by ACE and IMI showed differences from those induced by nicotine. However, ACE and IMI had greater effects on mammalian neurons than those previously reported in binding assay studies. Furthermore, the effects of the neonicotinoids were significantly inhibited by the nAChR antagonists mecamylamine, a-bungarotoxin, and dihydro/3-erythroidine. Conclusions/significance: This study is the first to show that acetamiprid and imidacloprid, and nicotine exert similar excitatory effects on mammalian nAChRs at concentrations greater than I,uM. Therefore, the neonicotinoids may adversely affect human health, especially the developing brain. An IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides and human health An IUCN Task Force was established in 2011 and on 02/09/2012, the Task Force met in Tokyo. Two of the presentations involved humans: Systemic Pesticides as a Causal Factor of Developmental Brain Disorders(ADHD, autism etc)and The Human Health Effect of Neonicotinoid Insecticides. As Mary Ann Ogasawara, the Organiser of the meeting said to me last week: "Many people wouldn't bat an eye for honeybees but if they find that it affects humans, it will be the wakeup call. " Ireland Illegal GM maize found in Ireland This was reported on 23/07/2010. The fish Government had been accidentally growing GM maize on four of its own field trial sites, despite its own policy to ban field trials and commercial cultivation of GM crops in the Republic. The blunder was particularly embarrassing because the GM maize was an illegal variety that was not allowed for cultivation anywhere in the EU. The EPA says that Pioneer provided a"certificate of analysis" claiming the maize was GM-free. But random tests by DAFF found that 3 out of every 1,000 plants were contaminated by the illegal GM maize variety. GM-free Ireland spokesperson Michael O'Callaghan said"The Pioneer Company has provided false GM-free certificates for its GM seeds on at least two previous occasions. Legal challenge to Irish EPA over GM potato trial In July 2012,the EPA had given permission for a GM blight-resistant potato crop to be tested in County Carlow. A group opposed to this sought approval from the High Court to take a case on the basis of the Aarhus Convention. Article 9 of the Convention requires that people have the ability to challenge critical environmental decisions,without facing the threat of 43 few Australian companies that have developed market access in the United States, in Europe and in Japan, the world's major marketplaces. Yes, we do find that it is often the best strategy to get into bed with these companies. "—Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1992. CSIRO is manufacturing GMO wheat Press Release 11/09/2012:Expert scientists warn that genetically modified wheat may cause Glycogen Storage Disease IV, resulting in an enlarged liver, cirrhosis of the liver, and failure to thrive. Children born with this disease usually die at about the age of 5.Australia is on track to be the first country in the world to grow GM wheat commercially, and to test this in human feeding trials. Today in Melbourne molecular biologist and risk assessment researcher Professor Jack Heinemann of the University of Canterbury, NZ, and Associate Professor Judy Carman, a biochemist at Flinders University, will release expert scientific opinions on the safety of CSIRO's GM wheat. These opinions have been reviewed by Dr Michael Antoniou, reader in molecular genetics at King's College, London. Professor Heinemann's expert opinion outlining how CSIRO's GM wheat silencing technology could transfer to humans is believed to be a world-first, and has been reviewed by scientists in Australia, the UK and Austria. Australia is on track to be the first country in the world to allow the commercial growing of GM wheat. It is not yet grown anywhere else, nor is there any market worldwide that wants GM wheat. Current GM food crops, like canola and corn, are experiencing fierce resistance across the globe, and there is growing anger in the USA, the birthplace of GM food technology. Australia has been selected to lead the push for the acceptance of GM wheat and CSIRO is currently conducting field trials of GM wheat in WA, NSW, and the ACT. CSIRO says human feeding trials are planned. It is feared these may already be underway. Professor Heinemann has studied the similarity in the DNA sequencing of the wheat branching enzyme which makes starch in wheat, and the human branching enzyme which produces glycogen. CSIRO's GM technology deliberately suppresses the wheat branching enzyme in GM wheat so there is less starch and the wheat has a lower glycaemic index. Professor Heinemann says there is strong evidence that siRNA, a type of dsRNA —which is a form of ribonucleic acid, like DNA—when produced in wheat will transfer to humans through food. "There is strong evidence that siRNAs produced in the wheat will remain in a form that can transmit to humans even when the wheat has been cooked or processed for use in food. Japan One of the first countries to identify threats of neonicotinoids to humans In Japan in 2004, as a result of species losses, a Butterfly Conservation Trust was founded. In 2011 the Trust reported that 15%of species were endangered and grassland butterflies were the most threatened. Japan Endocrine-disruptor Preventive Action (JEPA)wrote: The Threat of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Honeybees, Ecosystems, and Humans in 2010. In 2011 and 2012,Japanese researchers published papers showing neurotoxicity(at various stages of development)to cerebellar neurons in neonatal rats similar to that produced by nicotine. Kimura-Kuroda, J.,Komuta,Y., Kuroda,Y., Hayashi, M., Kawano, H. Nicotine-like effects of the neonicotinoid insecticides acetamiprid and imidacloprid on cerebellar neurons from neonatal rats.PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e32432. Epub 2012 Feb 29. Background: Acetamiprid(ACE) and imidacloprid(IMI) belong to a new, widely used class of pesticide, the neonicotinoids. With similar chemical structures to nicotine, neonicotinoids also share agonist activity at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Although their toxicities 42 stable to hydrolysis, and has a potential to leach into ground water, as well as runoff to surface waters.]. On 23/10/2011, we sent information that linked the floods and neonicotinoid contamination of the water to wildlife declines to a series of Australian Ministers; The Premier of Queensland,the Environment and Agriculture Ministers, and later to Senator Joe Ludwig. In common with all the other Protection Agencies and politicians we had previously written to, Senator Ludwig ignored our points about water contamination and spoke only of Colony Collapse Disorder. "Honey bees in the northern hemisphere that suffer from various pest problems that could result in CCD...However, neonicotinoids are widely used in Australia without experiencing colony collapse disorder". This phrase sounds remarkably similar to that of Bayer CropScience, who responded to the UK Sunday Times' article Bee colonies are diminishing...on 13/11/2011. Bayer said: "Australian Bees are the healthiest in the world". Not according to beekeepers. They claim there is no evidence that the APVMA did field tests for bees under Australian weather conditions. In fact it appears that they were never consulted. Since the registration document said it was very highly toxic to bees, this seems to be a serious omission. In February 2009, Australian bee exporters had lucrative businesses. They were flying large packages of honey bees to the US to help with the Californian almond harvest. According to Dr Denis Anderson, who was in charge of biosecurity in CSIRO, Australia had no Colony Collapse Disorder and no Varroa mite at that time. By 2010 beekeepers were losing hives; by 2011 they had CCD. According to one beekeeper, agriculture has gone from using only small amounts of neonicotinoid insecticides to the current 85%on crops, in less than 12 years. He said that beekeepers in the past loved to put their hives on canola(oil seed rape); now there have been so many disasters with disappearing or dying bees, that many have taken their hives as far away as possible. One beekeeper said "the last couple of years we have stayed away from canola and we've had the best bees for years". http:!/www.sumitomo-chem.com.au/sites/default/files/'pdf/labels/shield label.pdf Queensland will monitor, but New South Wales lacks government funding. The narrator of a film about the Great Barrier Reef in early 2012 commented on its deterioration possibly being due to pesticides applied to the sugar cane plantations on Australia's north eastern coast. A Reuters' correspondent wrote on 02/06/2012 that Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef was under imminent threat.UNESCO will review next year whether it should have its World Heritage status withdrawn.UNESCO said: "Key pressures on the reef include coastal development,ports and liquefied natural gas facilities, extreme weather, grounding of ships and poor water quality."As usual, there was not a word about pesticides. However, an ecotoxicologist colleague attended a conference in Brisbane July 2012. He said that: "Queenslanders are taking monitoring of pesticides seriously". "Although they haven't targeted the neonicotinoids in their programs until now, they are going to do it from now onwards". The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation(CSIRO) is promoted as Australia's pre-eminent public scientific research body. "Although ostensibly 'publicly funded'CSIRO has in reality, been encouraged to get 30%of its fundingfrom 3' business, with the CSIRO top management encouraging its staff to go to 40%". According to John Stocker, CSIRO's former chief executive: "Working with the transnationals makes a lot of sense, in the context of market access. There are very CSIRO 41 February. They were aware that if they had to do residue studies, they would jeopardise the other nut trees and orchard crops,which would also have high residues. New York State never registered clothianidin The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was demanding monitoring by Bayer,because it is protective of the aquifers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. It did not register clothianidin and severely restricted the use of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. In 2003,they wrote to Bayer CropScience, expressing concern about levels of imidacloprid found in clusters of private wells down gradient of farms(one contained 6 ppb imidacloprid), at a golf course monitoring well and at monitoring wells near trees that had been treated with imidacloprid injection. http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/insect-mite/fenitrothion- methylpara/imidacloprid/imidac let 1 003.html http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/insect-mite/fenitrothion- methylpara/imidacloprid/imidac reg 1 004.html Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is in the hands of the Pesticides Industry In 2011, Australia(New South Wales and Queensland)had disastrous floods. The Darling River area had suffered prolonged drought followed by heavy rain and flooding. On 11/03/2011 Bourke Township experienced a massive fish kill. An eye witness said: "It was phenomenal;you couldn't see the water, there were carp gasping for breath and crayfish crawling onto the bank. " Counting the dead fish passing Bourke Weir at 100/sec. Geoff Wise estimated 8 million per day and the event continued for 5 days; 40 million dead fish was said to be an underestimate. It was described as a `Black Water'event and attributed to lack of oxygen from organic material being washed down the river following flooding of a plain. But beekeepers suspected otherwise: "why were the crayfish trying to escape the water if it was only due to lack of oxygen?" Agricultural land borders 2,500 km of the Darling River. Cotton is grown in the area; more than 95%was seed-treated GMO and 96%was imidacloprid treated. Two further ecological disasters have occurred down the Queensland Coast after the floods in December 2010 and January 2011. In July 2011 it was reported that "the northern coast of Queensland has become littered with sick and dying turtles and dugongs (sea cows)."It was attributed to run-off of nutrients into the ocean`potentially killing the sea grass that both turtles and dugongs feed on." On 19/09/2011 in Gladstone Harbour,many sick fish were discovered;barramundi and bream were found with sores, skin rashes and infected eyes. Capricorn Conservation Council suspected industrial pollution, so fishing was prohibited. According to beekeeping sources, Gladstone and the entire Queensland Coast above it are the biggest areas for sugar cane in Australia and clothianidin (Sumitomo Shield Systemic insecticide)has been granted registration for use on these very low-lying sugar cane farms. The agrochemical industry is irresponsible, advising farmers to apply neonicotinoid pesticides to seeds, or to spray in the vicinity of water. http://www.apvma.gov.au/publicationstgazette/2007/1 1/gazette 2007-11-06.pdf There are clear warnings on the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA)website for clothianidin. "This product is highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates. Do not discharge effluent containing this product into lakes, streams,ponds, estuaries, oceans, or other waters. Do not apply directly to water or to areas where surface water is present or to intertidal areas below the mean high-water mark". In fact,the conditional registration document for clothianidin in 2003 in the US EPA stated that it was: `persistent and mobile, 40 "ST. LOUIS (AP)—Shareholders of Monsanto Co. on Tuesday 24th January 2012 voted down a proposed study of how the company's genetically engineered crops, or GMOs,may pose financial and legal risks to the seed giant. Harrington Investments CEO John Harrington,who had put up the vote, said in a statement that he is concerned about the possible environmental and economic impacts of Monsanto's engineered crops. St. Louis- based Monsanto had recommended shareholders defeat the proposal. The company said an additional report on that topic would "be redundant and provide no meaningful additional information"because Monsanto has already studied the issue extensively. Monsanto management also stated that: "Farmers should have the freedom to choose which production method is best suited for their needs, whether organic, non-GM conventional or biotechnology traits. All of these systems can and do work effectively side by side..." Shares of Monsanto rose 22 cents to close at$80.11, near its 52-week high of$81.43. California's Right-to-Know ballot initiative (Prop 37)is the food fight to make labelling mandatory. This is a link to California's Secretary of State. On this page she has posted the money that the big corporations have thrown in the ring to stop it happening http://cal- access.sos.ca.tov/Campaieu/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1344135&session=2011&view=late 1 http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob339.htm "As we have emphasized repeatedly, the November 6th Right-to-Know Ballot Initiative in California(Proposition 37) is the Food Fight of Our Lives. The popular Initiative, supported by the overwhelming majority of Californians, calls for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods and an end to the unethical practice,unfortunately common even in the alternative food sector, of marketing or labeling GMO-tainted food as"natural."Big Food understands quite well that once Proposition 37 passes in California it will likely become the law of the land in all 50 states and Canada. This is why Monsanto's powerful ally,the Grocery Manufacturers Association, has characterized Prop 37 as the"most serious threat"to agricultural biotechnology in history. So far over 621 organizations and businesses - including retail grocery stores, consumer, farmer, organic, natural health, environmental, farmworker, and labor groups and retail stores-have endorsed the California Initiative." As a candidate,Barack Obama promised to label genetically engineered food; it is likely that Romney, as a Republican and a close friend of Monsanto, will not. California gets tough in its environmental standards. In March 2009 California's Department of Pesticide Regulation demanded re-evaluation of other uses of imidacloprid. California reevaluates 282 Neonics - ca2009-02.pdf Their data noted two critical findings. One,high levels of imidacloprid in leaves and blossoms of treated plants(residues in some plants measured higher than 4 ppm)and two, increases in residue levels over time so that significant residues from the previous season are available to the treated plants. California's DPR issued a further notice of demands for re- evaluation. The document shows that the US EPA knew about this on 17/12/2008. Calif i)PR Recall Status of California Pesticides ca2011-10.pdf In January 2011, imidacloprid registrants voluntarily amended their labels removing their applications to almonds. Pesticide manufacturer Bayer has asked California regulators to limit the use of one of their most profitable products, imidacloprid. Rather than undergo the public scrutiny and cost involved in a state-mandated re-evaluation of the pesticide's impact on bees, emerging reports say the company has requested imidacloprid be restricted from use on almond crops, which honey bees are trucked in from around the country to pollinate each 39 in the GM research field. Working scientists including Vivian Moses, Bruce Chassy,Adrian Dubock, Val Giddings, Alan McHughen, Henry Miller, and David Tribe have been prominent in these attacks, and even the supposedly respectable journal Nature Biotechnology was involved in the infamous `dummy proof set-up'of Irtha Ermakova (for which it had to apologise when GM-Free Cymru blew the story wide open). " The Corporations suppress information,prevent understanding and divide communities. Individuals administering a beekeeping are employed to ridicule,bully, or write confusing information to counter attack comments by beekeepers. Bayer,Monsanto and Syngenta have formed partnerships with conservation organisations, or funded wildlife projects, as a guarantee that the organisation will remain silent. The"revolving door"practice of placing agrochemical representatives in high government decision-making positions and then slipping back to their corporate posts is common. While these agrochemical representatives are in high government positions they change or enact policies that are serve their corporate interests("former Monsanto Vice-President Michael R. Taylor's appointment by the Obama administration to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 7th 2009 sparked immediate debate and even outrage among many food and agriculture researchers, NGOs and activists."). Major battles to come in the US in November over agrochemical industry power l:ittp://www.gmeducation.org/homepage-top-story/p 149615-the-monsanto-protection- act.html "The Monsanto Protection Act"as it has been christened by GM opponents, is being introduced into the 2013 Agriculture Appropriations Bill by Republican Congressman Jack Kingston. If passed by the US Congress, the changes would outlaw any review of GM crop impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), or any other environmental law.No agency other than USDA—already fat with biotech industry insiders -would be allowed to provide analysis. Courts will be powerless against GM An end to GM regulation in the US. The other big legal change, sponsored by house agriculture committee chair,Republican congressman Frank Lucas, is hidden in the 2012 Farm Bill. This hands big advantages to the biotech industry by changing the Plant Protection Act(PPA)to limit the time and scope of future GM crop environmental assessments. As well as reducing evaluations,the measure requires the USDA to complete its environmental review in a year and a half-or else the GM crop is automatically approved. It also restricts the review's scope and forbids spending money on any broader environmental analysis of GM effects. The time limits proposed by Mr Lucas make speed the official policy of the USDA, and are aimed at silencing opposition to the biotech industry. Dave Murphy, executive director of"Food Democracy Now!"believes that the pro-biotech language hidden in the bill: "will take the US regulatory scheme on GMs from farce to corporate fascism in one fell swoop". More importantly,the courts will not be able to require more thorough environmental reviews,opening the door further to the wholesale introduction of new GM crops into the US food supply, farms, and the environment. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has close relationships with Monsanto; in fact he was once employed by them. This is not well known. Presumably,the Republicans have no idea that the passage of these bills will in fact destroy their children's health and the environment. Has Monsanto told them this?Perhaps Monsanto is not aware, since this proposal at the shareholders meeting in January 2012 was rejected. 38 million on lobbying--more than any other agricultural company or trade group--and so far has contributed more than $1 70,000 to political campaigns in the 2011-2012 election cycle, the third highest in the agricultural sector. " The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal held in Bangalore,December 3rd to 6th 2011. The six multinational agrochemical companies stood accused of grossly violating human rights by promoting reliance on the sale and use of pesticides known to undermine internationally recognised rights to health, livelihood and life. We submit a link to the evidence considered in the judgments against six Trans-National Corporations(TNCs) at the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal (PPT)held in Bangalore and the final verdict of the nine judges(which was broadcast live on the internet). http://www.agricorporateaccountabilitv.netlen/pagepptil 67 Pages 35-37 contain a synoptic list of the cases which were submitted to the PPT and pages 38-40 the Programme of Sessions. After hearing evidence from witnesses over three days, the nine judges in the Tribunal concluded that the TNCs are responsible for gross,widespread and systematic violations of the right to health and life, loss of biodiversity, degradation of ecosystems, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as of civil and political rights, and women and children's rights_ Witness statements to the PPT testify to other techniques used to suppress information In the U.S., many agricultural farms have been contaminated with genetically-engineered crops, and have lost significant access to traditional seeds.Yet, instead of recognizing that they have violated the farmers' rights to reject GE crops, Monsanto has even sued these farmers for alleged"seed piracy."Monsanto has taken these farmers to court for alleged intellectual property rights infringement, and forced them to pay the company millions of dollars. Farmer witness David Runyon testified that: Monsanto attorney had said: "taking money from a farmer is like taking candy from a baby."The TNCs have influenced the focus and outcome of the research by donating research grants to Universities or funding research that is corporate owned, especially when universities are vulnerable due to privatisation. As Dr Quijano said, "Most toxicologists are in the employ of TNCs or TNC influenced institutions. Most scientific journals controlled or influenced by Big Corporations. UN bodies dealing with chemicals are highly influenced by big business or governments protecting big business." Agrochemical TNCs have used the threats of and actual legal suits and counter suits to silence critics and tie activists for years in litigation. Syngenta has harassed and attempted to discredit Dr Tyrone Hayes,the scientist who exposed the negative impacts of Syngenta's pesticide, Atrazine. Dr. Hayes said, "Syngenta asked me to manipulate data, hide data or purchase my data. I refused." Scientists like Tyrone Hayes who speak the truth, lose their funding and are isolated from the rest of the scientific community. Open letter from GM-free Cymru on 26/01/2011 about suppression: "For more than a decade now, scientists working in the GM field have mounted vicious personal attacks (sometimes politically rather than scientifically motivated) upon serious scientists who have had the temerity to discover `uncomfortable things about GM crops and foods'. This trend started with the vitriolic treatment meted out(with the Royal Society in the vanguard) on Arpad Pusztai and Stanley Ewen a decade ago, and continued with the crucifixion of Ignacio Chapela and David Quist, Angelika Hilbeck, Mae-wan Ho, Judy Carman, Gilles-Eric Seralini,Andres Carrasco, Manuela Malatesta, Christian Velot, Irina Ermakova and many others. There has been a real and even accelerating conspiracy to silence "dissident voices" 37 highest during the critical period of gestation (2 to 8 weeks) (98). Moreover, the mature human placenta has been shown to be permeable to glyphosate. After 2.5 h of perfusion, 15% of administered glyphosate is transferred to the fetal compartment(99). A new book chapter by Prof Andres Carrasco and colleagues in Argentina and Paraguay reviews the scientific literature on the health effects of the pesticides used in large amounts on GM soy and other GM crops: Advances in Molecular Toxicology, Vol. 6,published by Elsevier: ISSN 1872-0854 http:/;www.amazon.com/Advances-.Molecular-T'oxi.cology-Volume-6/dp/0444593896 Abstract:In South America, the incorporation of genetically modified organisms (GMO) engineered to be resistant to pesticides changed the agricultural model into one dependent on the massive use of agrochemicals. Different pesticides are used in response to the demands of the global consuming market to control weeds, herbivorous arthropods, and crop diseases. Here, we review their effects on humans and animal models, in terms ofgenotoxicity, teratogenicity, and cell damage. We also stress the importance of biomarkers for medical surveillance of populations at risk and propose the use of biosensors as sensitive resources to detect undesirable effects of new molecules and environmental pollutants. The compatibility of glyphosate, the most intensively used herbicide associated to GMO crops, with an integrated pest management for soybean crops, is also discussed. Super-weeds result in an increase in pesticide use The EU Regulatory bodies are in denial about super-weeds arising from GM herbicide- tolerant crops,yet the evidence from the US is clear. GM scientists and Monsanto also claim that GE crops will reduce the amount of pesticides used and increase the yield in order to feed the world. So far,both of these claims have proved to be untrue. Critical Issue Report: Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years November 2009. Charles Benbrook h.ttp://www.organic-center.org/science.pest.php?action=view&report id-159#1.0 In the US the farmers are trapped into a herbicide treadmill. Extracts from preface: "The dramatic increase in the volume of herbicides applied swamps the decrease in insecticide use attributable to GE corn and cotton, making the overall chemical footprint of today's GE crops decidedly negative. The primary cause of the increase is the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds. Weed control is now widely acknowledged as a serious management problem within GE cropping systems. Farmers and weed scientists across the heartland and cotton belt are now struggling to devise affordable and effective strategies to deal with the resistant weeds emerging in the wake of herbicide-tolerant crops. Herbicides and insecticides are potent environmental toxins. The USDA has been essentially silent on the impacts of GE crops on pesticide use for almost a decade. The vast majority of Glyphosate Resistant weed populations have emerged in Roundup Ready cropping systems. How does Monsanto manage to suppress the problems with GMOs? http://www.huffingtonpost.cem/elliott-negin/monsantos-great-expectati b 1267494.htrl Director of News and Commentary at the Union of Concerned Scientists wrote on 10/02/2012 about Monsanto's Great Expectations. "Given the unvarnished facts, how has Monsanto been able to convince anyone that it is, according to its latest PR effort, "improving agriculture and improving lives"?In large part, by spending tens of millions of dollars annually on advertising, lobbying and campaign contributions. Last year, Monsanto spent$100 million on the ad campaign, down slightly from the $120 million it spent in 2010, according to Securities and Exchange Commission figures. The company also spent$6.37 36 c. ' ` ~ ^ ' GLYPHOSATE : DESTRUCTOR OF HUMAN HEALTH AND BIODIVERSITY Another Silent Killer An increase in the incidence of Type 2 diabetes,obesity and autism has been reported in Scotland.Similar increases have been seen globally.The herbicide Compiled by Rosemary glyphosate was introduced in 1974 and its use is accelerating.The manufacturers Mason MB ChB FRCA claim it to be safe, but none of the Regulatory Agencies are monitoring glyphosate with information from a levels in groundwater. By courtesy of independent researchers around the world we global network of present evidence that glyphosate interferes with many metabolic processes in plants, independent scientists, animals and humans, and glyphosate residues have been found in all three toxicologists, Glyphosate is an endocrine-disruptor(as are many herbicides)it damages DNA and it beekeepers, is a driver of mutations that lead to cancer.We present graphs from the US which environmentalists, correlate glyphosate application and the percentage of GE soy and corn crops to the ` Governments, Industry incidence and prevalence of various diseases in those on a Western diet.The and Regulators Pearson's correlation coefficients are very strong and highly significant for obesity, diabetes,autism,thyroid cancer,liver cancer,deaths from Parkinson's,Senile Dementia and Alzheimer's,inflammatory bowel disease and acute kidney failure, We present Cancer Research UK graphs of upward trends in cancer incidences between 1975 and 2009,which are in line with the US graphs. Other consequences are gastrointestinal disorders,heart disease,depression, infertility,birth defect s and other cancers.The data for the amount of non-agricultural use of glyphosate in the UK appear to be confidential. Parts of South Wales, in former mining areas,Japanese knotweed and Himalayan Balsam abound.The local Council does not hold glyphosate records. Instead it contracts out to a commercial organisation to supply industry approved vegetation management techniques.A quote from the contractor:"The glyphosate we use called round up has a hazard free label."The level of glyphosate ariverdrainingfromareasof]apaneseknotvveedwasl90partspert/i||inn(ppt)and local tap water was 30 ppt. These were of the order of concentrations found in a study in 2013 which showed that breast cancer cell proliferation is accelerated by glyphosate in extremely low concentrations: "potential biological levels ot part per trillion(ppt)to part per billion(ppb)." Summary Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide, is destroying human and animal health as a result of disruption of gut bacteria.Two key problems caused by glyphosate in the diet are nutritional deficiencies, especially minerals and essential amino-acids, and systemic toxicity. We present graphs from the US which correlate glyphosate application and the percentage of GE soy and corn crops to the incidence and prevalence of various diseases in those on a Western diet. The Pearson's correlation coefficients are very strong and highly significant for obesity, diabetes, autism,thyroid cancer, liver cancer, deaths from Parkinson's, Senile Dementia and Alzheimer's, inflammatory bowel disease and acute kidney failure. We present Cancer Research UK graphs of upward trends in cancer incidences between 1975 and 2009, which are in line with the US graphs. Other consequences are gastrointestinal disorders,heart disease, depression, infertility,birth defects and other cancers. The data for the amount of non-agricultural use of glyphosate in the UK appear to be confidential. Parts of South Wales, in former mining areas, invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed and Himalayan Balsam abound. The local Council does not hold annual records of glyphosate application to these invasive weeds. It has a contract with a commercial organisation to supply industry-approved vegetation management techniques. A quote from the contractor: "The glyphosate we use called round up has a hazard free label". Monsanto Corporation has been repeatedly convicted in Law Courts around the world for not telling the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer,Roundup®. In 2010, in a document on glyphosate use in Europe,Monsanto continues to promote the myth. It is described as"environmentally benign"..."has an excellent safety profile to operators, the public and the environment"... "uses to benefit mankind and the environment. " The level of glyphosate in one Welsh river draining from areas of Japanese knotweed spraying was 190 parts per trillion(ppt) and local tap water was 30 ppt. These were of the order of concentrations found in a study in 2013 which showed that breast cancer cell proliferation is accelerated by glyphosate in extremely low concentrations: "The present study used pure glyphosate substance at log intervals from 10-12 to 10-6 M. These concentrations are in a crucial range which correlated to the potential biological levels at part per trillion (ppt) to part per billion (ppb) which have been reported in epidemiological studies. " In the UK the incidence of breast cancer almost doubled between 1975 and 2010. Glyphosate sales in Europe are increasing because industry is continually finding new uses. It is recommended throughout the crop cycle, including as a drying agent 7-10 days before harvest. This leaves glyphosate residues on crops which enter the food chain of animals and humans. On non-agricultural land it is sprayed"around structures on farms, amenity and industrial areas and on railways."In urban areas it is sprayed on vegetation on streets, pavements and major highways. Japanese Knotweed, Bracken and Rhododendron and are amongst many invasive weeds for which Roundup® is promoted. It is "approved for weed control in forestry and aquatic areas". In the US its use has increased dramatically on GE crops because of super-weeds. Massive amounts of GM soya is being imported into Europe for animal feed and some foods, and Regulators have been allowing the industry to increase the Maximum Residue Limits for glyphosate in food and feed in imports. Independent scientists have measured glyphosate in soil,air and rainwater.During flooding events,run-off is particularly high after urban use. The effects of pesticides are manifest at water catchment areas. However, levels of glyphosate and the neonicotinoid insecticides are not monitored in surface water, groundwater or drinking water by the US Geological Survey 1 National Water Quality Assessment Program,under the European Water Frame Directive, or by the UK Environment Agency. Regulators and Industry have only tested the `active' ingredient glyphosate. The commercial formulations contain an untested adjuvant which is toxic to human cells. The work of independent scientists has been rejected or suppressed by Industry, Regulators or Rapporteur Member States. Industry data are hidden on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. When scientists have exposed the dangers of GMOs many have been vilified or have lost their jobs. Glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA)residues were found in soy bean plants, leaves and grains; higher levels were found when glyphosate was sprayed several times during the crop year. In 2013, glyphosate and AMPA residues were found in the urine of more than one third of urban dwellers in 18 countries in Europe. Glyphosate must be in our food and/or drinking water. Regulators have increased the Maximum Residue Levels in food and feedstuffs of glyphosate,neonicotinoid insecticides and many other pesticides. GMO crops were approved by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA) after 90-day feeding studies on rats by Monsanto. Seralini's team at CRIIGEN argued that 90 days was too short to evaluate chronic toxicity of glyphosate and GM crops. His team did a 2-year study and found Roundup®-tolerant maize and Roundup®provoked chronic hormone and sex dependent pathologies. Female mortality was 2-3 times increased mostly due to large mammary tumours and disabled pituitary. Males had liver congestions,necrosis, severe kidney nephropathies and large palpable tumours. Tumours started to occur in male rats at 4 months, one month beyond the time for which GMs were tested. When the paper was published in October 2012, industry and GMO scientists cried`fraud!"However, EFSA has eventually agreed on 2-year feeding studies for new GMOs. Here is a 12-minute YouTube made by Seralini's team over the 2-year period of testing in rats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njd0RugGjAg&feature=player embedded Evidence was published in 2013 (a combined study from Australia and the US)that pigs fed a GM diet had abnormal organs, compared with those on a non-GM diet. GM-fed females had on average a 25%heavier uterus than non-GM-fed females and the level of severe inflammation in stomachs was markedly higher in pigs fed on the GM diet. This confirmed the experiences of some farmers that mortality was higher in sows on GM feed compared with non-GM. Sows had digestive problems, some died and the piglets had diarrhea. Reproductive problems were manifested by abortions, deformities in new born pigs and smaller litters. They required more antibiotics. Studies of the effects on pathogens in farm animals showed that glyphosate destroys beneficial bacteria and allows harmful ones, such as salmonella and clostridium, to flourish. This could account for outbreaks of food poisoning in humans that continue to occur. In the search for the causes of serious diseases of entire herds of animals in northern Germany, especially cattle, glyphosate has repeatedly been detected in the urine, faeces, milk and feed of the animals. Glyphosate causes environmental damage to earthworms, songbirds, small mammals and bees. Glyphosate, an endocrine-disrupting herbicide,and the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, cause immune suppression in insects and mammals. Both are highly toxic to aquatic organisms, amphibians,bees and fish. 2 US Kid's Health Report October 20121. A Generation in Jeopardy: How pesticides are undermining our children's health&intelligence p 26 "Our current system of industrial agriculture and pest control relies on chemical inputs sold by a handful of corporations. These multinational corporations wield tremendous control over the system,from setting research agendas to financing, crop selection and inputs throughout the production and distribution chain. Not surprisingly, these same corporations also hold significant sway in the policy arena, investing millions of dollars every year to influence voters, lawmakers and regulators at both the state and federal level to protect the market for pesticides. The result is agriculture,food and pest control systems that serve the interests of these corporations well. It does not, however, serve farmers, who have lost day- to-day control of their operations and are putting themselves and their families in harm's way. Farmworker interests are not served, as workers are continuously exposed to chemicals known to harm human health.And the health of children across the country is compromised by exposure to pesticides used to control pests in agriculture and where they live, learn and play. In short, the system is broken". The above statement from Pesticides Action Network North America applies equally well to the UK. The British Government played its part in suppressing the dangers of GM Crops. In 1998 Prime Minister Tony Blair received a phone call from the White House. A Senior GM Scientist Dr Arpad Pusztai working in Scotland had shown that rats fed GM potato had sustained immune damage. Dr Pusztai's Department at the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland was closed down, Dr Pusztai was suspended,he was silenced and he was banned from working on GMO. Likewise, in 2012, the Science Media Centre did its best to discredit Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini when his 2-year feeding study in rats showed tumours, liver and kidney damage. The Science Media Centre and the Department of Health played down the advice of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for pregnant patients to avoid exposure to pesticides, some of the most toxic of which are marketed for home and garden use. GM Roundup®Ready crops are lethal to human health and the environment,yet the Defra, Science and Environment Ministers are trying to force them on an unwilling public. As well as working closely with the Agrochemical Corporations,the British Government's Strategy for UK Life Sciences2 is dependent on funding from the Pharmaceutical Corporations and the Pesticides Industry. Syngenta's parent company is AstraZeneca. Syngenta and AstraZeneca are represented on the UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Foods, Consumer Products and the Environment. The founder of Syngenta is the Chairman of Cancer Research UK(CRUK). CRUK is giving money(£450 million/year)to the Government's Strategy for UK Life Sciences and AstraZeneca is providing 22 compounds to academic research to develop medicines. AstraZeneca manufactures six different anti-cancer drugs mainly aimed at breast and prostate cancer. The Corporation has links in Asia, including Hospitals in China, Japan,Korea, and collaborators in Russia. AstraZeneca's Oncology Website3 has the following prediction: "Cancer claims over 7 million lives every year and the number continues to rise. Deaths are estimated to reach 12 million by 2030. 1 http://www.panna.org/publication/generation-in-jeopardy 2 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment data/file/32457/11-1429-strategy- for-uk-life-sciences.pdf 3 http://www.astrazeneca.co.uk/medicines/oncology 3 Contents Part 1 Medical Agencies in Scotland highlight epidemics of obesity, 8 diabetes and autism Samsel and Seneff have reviewed independent evidence against glyphosate 8 Glyphosate residues are increasingly found in humans and animals 8 Incidence of diabetes, obesity and autism in the US plotted against%GE corn and soy 9 crops planted together with glyphosate applied to corn and soy Part 2 Evidence from industry of massive increases in glyphosate use in 11 Europe, the US and Latin America Glyphosate is now used to dry crops before harvest as well as for weed control 11 Monsanto's recommendations for the use of Roundup® in UK towns and cities 11 In the US, Benton County's 3-year control of river weeds. Is it linked to birth defects? 12 Since the introduction of GM seeds in 1996 the amount of glyphosate used on crops in 12 the US has increased almost 10-fold; 27 million pounds to 250 million pounds in 2009 Monsanto found guilty in courts around the world for false claims about Roundup® 13 Monsanto's Mission Statement for its projects in Latin America(2012 website) 14 The same rural communities in which glyphosate was regularly sprayed on Roundup® 14 Ready Soya had increased incidence of birth defects, miscarriages, infertility, cancers, DNA damage,neurological development problems in children and allergies Prof Andres Carrasco and his team in Buenos Aires showed that glyphosate caused 14 malformations in amphibian and chicken embryos, confirming the effects on humans Evidence of in vitro genotoxicity of glyphosate metabolite in humans 15 Lawyer Dr Graciela Gomez gained small victories on behalf of the rural communities 15 In 2013 birth defects are still occurring in rural Argentina 16 In 2012 Bayer expanded its domestic market to increase home usage of glyphosate and 16 neonicotinoid insecticides Bayer's description of how imidacloprid kills termite colonies 16 Shift in pest management on crops worldwide 17 Multiple pesticides found in pollen collected by bees 2013 17 We asked Lord Smith Chairman of the UK Environment Agency to measure glyphosate 17 and the neonicotinoid insecticides in ground water According to Dr Kennedy, the GCMS scan cannot measure glyphosate 18 Why is the herbicide glyphosate not monitored in ground or drinking water in the US? 18 California set limits(1997) for glyphosate in drinking water 18 The United States Geological Survey(USGS)established a National Water Quality 18 Assessment Program(NAWQA)for measuring pesticides in groundwater in 1991 The USGS Pesticide National Synthesis Data of pesticides measured in water was 19 published. It did not include glyphosate or the neonicotinoid insecticides Estimation of Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use US 1992-2009 19 All pesticide problems are manifest at water catchment areas 20 Measurement of glyphosate in watersheds 20 Glyphosate is in the air and comes down in rainfall, as well as being in the rivers 21 Pesticides in surface drinking-water supplies of the northern Great Plains 21 In storms, glyphosate from urban drainage systems contributes 60%of the load 22 Data confirm that glyphosate is capable of reaching groundwater 22 Part 3 Pesticide Regulatory Agencies 22 Why did the EU authorise glyphosate? 22 Independent scientists pointed this out and, in the light of the embryo research from 22 4 Argentina where families in rural communities exposed to GM soya and glyphosate had children with birth defects, asked for new risk assessments Agencies and Industry have only tested the `active' ingredient glyphosate. The 23 commercial formulations contain an untested adjuvant which is toxic to human cells Why did EFSA Reasoned Opinion Group grant 100-fold increase in Maximum Residue 23 Limits(MRLs)of glyphosate in foods? Complaint on 16/05/2012 to the European Commission about increase of MRLs 23 The Industry hosted a secret meeting on 26/06/2012 to get GM into the UK 23 Further evidence of glyphosate residues in humans 24 Glyphosate and AMPA residues in soy bean plants, leaves and grains 24 GMO food and animal feeds with glyphosate residues are coming into Europe 24 Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals(EDC)—2012 24 Were there too many cooks?Or was it reluctance amongst scientists to point fingers? 25 Glyphosate -the missing endocrine-disruptor 27 Part 4 Other Independent Research on glyphosate and glyphosate- 27 based herbicides, including Roundup® Independent scientists have shown that glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor 27 Glyphosate is associated with most of the diseases and conditions associated with a 27 Western diet Birth defects in frog& chicken embryos and in humans 27 European Commission is challenged about its continued registration of Roundup® 28 Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini and colleagues at CRIIGEN in Caen had already questioned the 28 adequacy of Monsanto's testing both for glyphosate and GM crops Seralini's 2-year feeding study provoked chronic hormone and sex dependent 28 pathologies in rats; males developed tumours at 4 months and females at 7 months Acute kidney injury in the UK(See Graph 7 for US) 31 EFSA's new assessment of GM crops 31 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma& Hairy Cell Leukemia 31 Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors 31 Effects on male reproduction 32 What is causing the steep rise in prostate cancer in men in Great Britain? 33 Effects on pathogens in farm animals: evidence that glyphosate destroys beneficial 33 bacteria and allows harmful ones, such as salmonella, and clostridium,to flourish Evidence of GMO harm in pig study 34 Confirmation of`changeover' studies 34 A Russian study found that feeding hamsters GMO soy resulted in complete sterility 35 after two or three generations. Associations with neurodegenerative disorders in humans 35 Environmental damage: Effects on earthworms, songbirds, small mammals and bees 37 Genotoxic effects of glyphosate in fish and amphibians 37 Glyphosate causes immune suppression in fish 37 The use of pesticides around the world has produced biological deserts 38 A major pollution incident on the River Kennet, a chalk stream in the UK 38 Why are the organophosphates chlorpyrifos and dimethoate still being registered? 38 Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos has effects on neurodevelopment aged 3 and aged 7 39 Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure to Chemicals in Our Environment 40 These statements are dismissed out of hand by the Pesticides Industry 40 Relationships between Syngenta,AstraZeneca and Defra/Fera 40 Syngenta commissioned a paper from Dr Helen Thompson Fera Chief Bee Scientist 41 Why is Government determined to get GM crops into Britain? 41 5 Prof Jonathan Jones believes glyphosate to be harmless to mammals 42 Why is the pesticides industry investing so much money in human health? 43 Signatures of mutational processes in human cancer: Genetic map of cancer mutations 43 Pesticides are the obvious choice, since they are ubiquitous and designed to kill 43 Cancer Research UK: Chairman founder of Syngenta 21/08/2013 Death rates from 44 malignant melanoma in men higher than in women. Sunburn can damage DNA. Evidence that pesticides can damage DNA 44 Glyphosate and the additives in Roundup® are toxic to human cells 45 US National Cancer Institute Agricultural Health Study 46 All pesticide exposure is now associated with cancer risk, not just farmers 47 Thyroid cancer rates are increasing in Scotland 47 US Annual percentage changes for cancer of the thyroid between 1975 and 2010 48 World Health Cancer Statistic 2008 Cancer mortality and morbidity 49 Part 5 Have we reached a point of no return? 50 Only One Chance: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development 50 Can a collapse of global civilisation be avoided? 50 Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT) Corporate Account Verdict 51 Postscript on chemical weapons and pesticides 52 Questions and Answers for the UK and US Governments 52 Graphs and Figures Graphs 1 US data for corn and soy crops and glyphosate applied plotted against the 9 number of new cases of diabetes(adjusted) diagnosed annually Graph 2 US data for corn and soy crops and glyphosate applied plotted against%of 10 U.S. population who are obese (BMI 30.0-99.8). Graph 3 Graph 3 Number of children with autism plotted against glyphosate use on corn 10 and soy Graph 4 Glyphosate and Super-weeds: Corn, Soy and Cotton. 12 Graph 5 Persons with liver and bile duct cancer plotted against glyphosate applied to 29 corn and soy and%GE corn& soy planted in the US Graph 6 Cancer Research UK(CRUK) Liver Cancer: European Age-Standardised 30 Incidence Rates,male and females, Great Britain, 1975-2009 Graph 7 Number of Hospitalizations in the US for Acute Kidney Injury(a sudden, 30 temporary, and sometimes fatal loss of kidney function)plotted against glyphosate applied to corn & soy Graph 8 Cancer Research UK Breast Cancer(C50), European Age-Standardised 32 Incidence Rates, Females, Great Britain, 1975-2010 Graph 9 CRUK incidence figures for Prostate Cancer 1975-2010. European Age 33 standardised incidence rates per 100,000 Population,males, Great Britain Graph 10 Adjusted Death Rate from Parkinson's disease plotted against glyphosate 36 applied to corn and soy and % GE corn & soy planted in the US Graph 11 Deaths per 100,000 from Senile Dementia. plotted against glyphosate 36 applications on corn& soy Graph 12 CRUK statistics for Malignant Melanoma: Age standardised incidence rates 44 per 100,000 Population by sex, Great Britain. Graph 13 Incidence of thyroid cancer related to glyphosate applied to corn & soy crops 47 and %GE soy& corn crops in the US Graph 14 CRUK statistics: Thyroid cancer(C73), European Age-Standardised Incidence 48 Rates, Great Britain, 1975-2008 Fig 1 Amount of Conventional Pesticide Active Ingredient Used in the United States 19 6 Fig 2(Supplementary Figure 87) Summary of the contributions of the signatures of 49 mutational processes operative in thyroid cancer. From Alexandrov, L.B. et al. - x - This document has been compiled by Rosemary Mason MB ChB FRCA with information from a global network of independent scientists,toxicologists,beekeepers, environmentalists, as well as the UK,US and Australian Governments,the Pesticides Industry and Regulators. With grateful thanks to Anthony Samsel,Dr Stephanie Seneff and Dr Nancy Swanson; however,the responsibility for the contents of this paper lies with the author. 02/09/2013 7 Part 1 Medical Agencies in Scotland highlight epidemics of obesity, diabetes and autism in 2013 • Ms Judson, Scottish Director of Diabetes UK,was quoted as saying: "Since 2006 the incidence of diabetes had increased by 25.6%and the consequences of diabetes such as blindness and the need for amputation were also increasing in younger age groups." She said people as young as 13 have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes4. • A similar warning about obesity had come from Dr Andrew Fraser representing the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 10th March 20135. • On June 12/13th 2013, an autism conference was held in Edinburgh6. Dr Martha Herbert, an expert on autism from Harvard Medical School, was an invited speaker. Dr Herbert believes the culprit is an environmental toxin in autistic children that interferes with nutrient absorption. "We need to get them built up again, getting the gut micro-flora sorted out". The US has had an even more dramatic (and earlier) rate of increase than in Scotland(261%for boys and 385%for girls between 1997 and 2008)'. Samsel and Seneff have reviewed independent evidence against glyphosate In a Review, Samsel& Seneff argue that Glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, is associated with most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, including gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. It is claimed by industry supporters that: "Glyphosate is not poisonous to mammals- it inhibits EPSP (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3 phosphate) synthase an enzyme that mammals lack because we obtain aromatic amino acids in our diet". However,we can only absorb nutrients by courtesy of the bacteria in our gut. Glyphosate disrupts our gut bacteria,without which we could not live. It is a strong chelator of essential minerals, such as cobalt, zinc, manganese,calcium,molybdenum and sulphate. In addition it kills off beneficial gut bacteria and allows toxic bacteria such as Clostridium difficile to flourish8. Two key problems caused by glyphosate in the diet are nutritional deficiencies, especially minerals and essential amino- acids, and systemic toxicity. Glyphosate residues are increasingly found in humans and animals Samsel & Seneff's paper has some complicated metabolic concepts, so we have provided links to 3 videos. In the first Dr Stephanie Seneff is interviewed by Jeffrey M. Smith, the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and bestselling author of Genetic Roulette and Seeds of Deception. The whole interview takes about an hour,but it has been also split up into shorter sections in which obesity, diabetes and autism are discussed 4 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article3799473.ece 5 http://www.scotsman.cam/news/health/doctors-warn-obesity-is-lifestyle-choice-for-scots-1-2828840 6 http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/autism-unlocking-a-generation-1-2944710 787222060-CDC-Autism-Study-Ma rch-2012.pdf 8 http:J/www.nationofchange.org/new-study-finds-roundup-could-be-linked-severe-health-issues-1367071482 8 separately9. The second interview, conducted by Zen Honeycutt'0 for Moms Across America, is in two parts. In Part 1 Anthony Samsel explains the implications of children eating GM foods with glyphosate residues: for example, impaired learning abilities, decreased IQ, autism, allergies and asthma. In Part 211 he explains the mechanisms of action of glyphosate in the causation of different diseases. There are 160 crops/fruit/vegetables containing glyphosate residues. Gut bacteria form a protective layer over our cell walls; glyphosate disruption causes a leaky gut resulting in inflammatory bowel diseases. Disrupted aromatase impairs immune function. Glyphosate allows toxins through the blood-brain barrier. It disrupts the Cytochrome P450 enzymes in the liver and kidney which provides the mechanism for detoxification of environmental toxins. Incidence of diabetes, obesity and autism in the US plotted against % GE corn and soy crops planted along with glyphosate applied to corn and soy The following graphs for the United States are reproduced by kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson from Genetically Modified Organisms and the Deterioration of Health in the United States12 (see original doc for references, raw data and statistics). The incidence of the three diseases has been plotted against the%of GE corn and soy and the glyphosate applied. Number of New Cases of Diabetes Diagnosed Annually(incidence) •Numbera new cases(ad- plotted against percent of GE corn&soy crops planted lust —Glyphosate applied to along with glyphosate applied on corn&soy in U.S. Corn&say Pearson's coefficients for glyphosate&incidence %GE soy&corn crops R=0.9643.for%GE crops and incidence R=0.9759 1400- _...... ........_ ____. .......... ____. ._..._.......100 90 1200, ........... ................ _._.._... .................. ....; 80 2 rt 1000 70 0 800 _..... _ 60 50 E 0 600 • _._ ____. _.... 40 o 15 Z 5 400 1- .. .. .. .. 3i0 E 200 _ 20 0 �M1ca�' '. 0 • _ -1■ _ 0 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 Year Graph 1 US data for%GE corn and soy crops planted and glyphosate applied plotted against the number of new cases of diabetes(adjusted)diagnosed annually. Crop and glyphosate data from the United States Department of Agriculture;diabetes data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control(CDC). 9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h AHLDXF5aw&feature=player embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r1HhdYCUVw diabetes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4GFyiewHQ obesity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4GFyjewHQ autism 10 http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/glyphosate and autism asthma coed diabetes and more 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVintXhDrx8 12 http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/GMO-health.pdf 9 The incidence of Type 2 diabetes, obesity13 and autism14 has undergone similar increases in England and Wales15. According to Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the total area of crops treated with glyphosate in the UK16 is 1,835,306 ha. However, we have no idea how much is used for the domestic or commercial markets, for forestry, amenity or aquatic areas or to keep towns and cities clear of invasive weeds. ❑Median people Obesity in U.S. Population(percent) obese —ns of Con,&soy plotted against amount of glyphosate applied to corn&soy crops ,.—glyphosate an corn& R=0.9698,p Er 9.76e-07 5oy along with percent GE can&soy crops planted in U.S. R=0.9843,p<=1.25e-06 100 s0 — e0 co ci 70 o BO o 50 D Q .0 • 40 ``—' r'„3 d '.,.30 Q 20 o to 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 Year Graph 2 US data for%GE corn and soy crops planted and glyphosate applied to corn&soy plotted against%of U.S.population who are obese(BMI 30.0-99.8). Crop and glyphosate data from the USDA;obesity data from U.S. CDC.By kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson. Number of children(6-21yrs)with autism served by IDEA ❑6w/autism —GlyphosaLE apphed to plotted against glyphosate use on corn&soy Corn&Soy 400000 90 R=0.9886. — 350000 p Er 6.646e-09 on E 300000 ° w E °6 sn a 250000 E uJ so p 200000 _ _. o 40 .0... d 0 • ° 150000 a°o 30 CC i..j ` d.... rn 100000 O E — L o 50000 ........ _ __ _. __ _ _.. ... to a o � 1 0 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 Year 13 http://news.sky.com/story/1127385/obesity-warning-for-british-children 14 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9160322/Number-of-children-with-autism-soars-by-more-than-50-per- cent-in-five-yea rs.html 15 http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/tackling-epidemic-diabetes-wales-4715622 16 http://pusstats.csl.gov.uk/ 10 Graph 3 Number of children with autism plotted against glyphosate use on GE corn and soy.Autism data were obtained from the U.S.Department of Education,which keeps track of school age children receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA).This plot is shown using data from USDE for the number of autistic children receiving services. By kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson. In 1970, the incidence of autism in the US was 1:10,000. In 2007 it was 1:150. In 2009 it was 1:100. In 2013 it is 1:50 and by 2025 it will be 1:2, i.e. 50%. Part 2 Evidence from industry of massive increases in glyphosate use in Europe, the US and Latin America Glyphosate is now used to dry crops before harvest as well as for weed control Pre-harvest application of glyphosate to wheat and barley in the UK was suggested as early as 1980,but its routine use as a drying agent 7-10 days before harvest began in 2006. Monsanto's document: The agronomic benefits of glyphosate in Europe [2010117 Page 3: "Since its discovery in the early 1970's the unique herbicidal active ingredient glyphosate `has become the world's most widely used herbicide because it is efficacious, economical and environmentally benign.' These properties have enabled a plethora of uses which continue to expand to this day providing excellent weed control both in agricultural and non-crop uses to benefit mankind and the environment. Glyphosate has an"excellent safety profile to operators, the public and the environment". The document outlined at least 16 use areas(p3) from vegetation control on land throughout agricultural production, on GM Roundup®Ready Crops and on non-agricultural land"around structures on farms, amenity and industrial areas and on railways"(p 4). In 2004 it was used on 13%wheat area. By 2006 it became used more routinely for weed control or pre-harvest treatment(at least 40%cereal and 80%oilseed rape,p 21). This increases glyphosate residues in animal and human food. Monsanto's recommendations for the use of Roundup®in UK towns and cities Streets and pavements18, Japanese knotweed19,Bracken °,Rhododendron21 are amongst many weeds for which Roundup®is promoted. "It is approved for weed control in amenity, industrial,forestry and aquatic areas". "Roundup Pro Biactive and ProBiactive 450 can be used at any time of the year as long as weeds are green and actively growing". Monsanto advises re-spraying if die-back is not observed at 6 weeks. However,repeated spraying of weeds with Roundupe results in `super-weeds' since weeds become resistant.NEW RULES 2012: Streets and pavements9. "From 2012 new rules from the regulator, Chemical Regulations Directorate (CRD)prohibits blanket spraying of any herbicide on non porous hard surfaces. Targeted treatment of weeds must be undertaken on roads,pavements, concrete and paved areas and drains must not be oversprayed. " Did the CRD find toxic levels of glyphosate in water? 17 http://www.monsanto.com/products/Documents/glyphosate-background- materials/Agronomic%20benefits%20of%20glyphosate%20in%20Europe.pdf 18 http://www.monsanto- ag.co.uk/content.output/165/165/Roundup/Ame n ity/Streets%20and%20Pavements.mspx 19 http://www.monsanto- ag.co.uk/content.output/170/170/Roundup/Difficult%20Weeds/Japanese%20Knotweed.mspx 20 http://www.monsanto-ag.co.uk/content.output/171/171/Roundup/Difficult%20Weeds/Bracken.mspx 21 http://www.monsanto- ag.co.uk/content.output/174/174/Roundup/Difficult%20Weeds/R hododendron.mspx 11 In the US, Benton County's 3-year control of river weeds; is it linked to birth defects? Washington State has a Noxious Weed Control Board and glyphosate is the main herbicide recommended for noxious weed eradication. Benton County Herbicide treatment started in the Yakima River in 2010 and continued for 3 years without monitoring glyphosate levels in water22. Three Washington Counties(Yakima, Benton and Franklin) sharing the same irrigation water for agriculture,reported a high number of pregnancies resulting in a fatal birth defect,anencephaly23. The cause was a mystery to state health officials24. Since the introduction of GM seeds in 1996 the amount of glyphosate used on crops in the US has increased almost 10-fold; 27 million pounds to 250 million pounds in 200925 Industry and lobbyists claim that GM crops reduce the amount of pesticides and that `super- weeds' are a myth. The photograph and Graph 4 below and prove them to be wrong. Northern Indiana. Giant Ragweed(3 m)resistant to glyphosate. Farm workers have to weed it by hand. This is one of nine different weeds that commonly occur. �9typhosate Glyphosate and Super-weeds -+-Super-weeds Corn, Soy&Cotton r„ 100000 __.... _..._. ____ ____. ____. __.. _70 0) 90000 80 i'8. 80000 ____. _.__ __. _...... ......... VS )0))_ 70000 ___.. ..._.... ____. ____. _.... ......... ___.._. ..50 R+ rt. 80000 40 Q Q Q 50000 ___.. _._.... .. _._.. _..... ......_ ___ (.9 30 40000 L T 30000 20 'Q 20000 j RU 10 10000 .._.._. ................. ...._.. ____. ._....... _._._. _._....... C C> 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 1990 1992 1994 1998 1998 2000 2002 2004 2008 2008 2010 Year 22http://agr.wa.gov/pla ntsinsects/weeds/npdespermits/docs/IPM FreshwaterEmergentNoxiousQua ra ntineListe dWeeds.pdf 23 http://farmwars.info/?p=11137 24 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/washington-state-health-officials-stumped-high-rate- birth/story?id=19687592 25 http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=GLYPHOSATE&hilo=L 12 Graph 4 Glyphosate and Super-weeds: Glyphosate applied to Corn, Soy and Cotton crops in the U.S. and the number of confirmed glyphosate-resistant weeds. Glyphosate data from USDA; super-weed data from Charles Benbrook. By kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson. Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the US—the first sixteen years26. Charles Benbrook showed that: "Herbicide-resistant crop technology has led to a 239 million kilogram (527 million pound) increase in herbicide use in the United States between 1996 and 2011"... "The spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds in herbicide-resistant weed management systems has brought about substantial increases in the number and volume of herbicides applied. If new genetically engineered forms of corn and soybeans tolerant of 2,4- D are approved, the volume of 2,4-D sprayed could drive herbicide usage upward by another approximate 50%. Monsanto found guilty in courts around the world for false claims about Roundup® Glyphosate is not environmentally benign. Monsanto Corporation has been repeatedly convicted in Law Courts around the world for not telling the truth about the safety of its best- selling weed-killer, Roundup®. Despite being found guilty every time Monsanto continues to promote the myth. • 1996 The Attorney General of the State of New York, Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau, Environmental Protection Bureau. False advertising by Monsanto regarding the safety of Roundup®herbicide(glyphosate)27. • 2001 French environmental groups had brought the case on the basis that glyphosate, Roundup®'s main ingredient, is classed as"dangerous for the environment"by the European Union. France's highest court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as "biodegradable" and claimed it"left the soil clean." • 2004 Brazil. "To affirm in advertising that transgenic soy seeds were beneficial to the environment, has cost to the multinational Monsanto American Agrochemicals fined $250,000 by the Federal Regional Court of Brazil. Monsanto used misleading advertising to promote the soybeans, in year 2004, encouraging consumption of GM seeds when even they were prohibited in Brazil. And they not only encouraged their consumption, but also claimed that these seeds were highly beneficial to the environment. This consideration took into account to the Court of Justice headquartered in the Porto Alegre City"28. • 2007/2008 "In the latest ruling, France's Supreme Court upheld two earlier convictions against Monsanto by the Lyon criminal court in 2007, and the Lyon court of appeal in 2008, the AFP news agency reports." • "In Brazil, Monsanto has been convicted by a court for false advertising claims that GM soy and the herbicide glyphosate, as used in the 'no-till with herbicides'model of cultivation, are beneficial to the environment. This is not the first time Monsanto has been convicted by a court for false advertising over claims that its glyphosate-based herbicides are safe and environmentally friendly. Court rulings against Monsanto's misleading advertising of glyphosate herbicides as safe for human health and the environment date back to the 1990s"29. 26 http://www.enveurope.com/content/24/1/24 27 http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Monsanto-v-AGNYnov96.htm 28 http://cimalatinamerica.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/brazil-brazilian-court-convicts-monsanto.html 29 http://bit.ly/OZ9icp 13 Monsanto's Mission Statement for its projects in Latin America (2012 website) "Monsanto is committed to helping improve lives—especially the lives offarmers in small rural communities around the world."Pablo Vaquero, Monsanto Latin America South corporate affairs director, said: "Today, we are helping to change the lives of many individuals in remote and forgotten communities where opportunities are scarce. We are convinced that by helping with training and education, as a company, we are able to add value to people and their communities." `Projects have been implemented in 14 provinces in Argentina (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba, La Pampa, San Luis, Santiago del Estero, Entre Rios, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones, Salta, Tucuman, Jujuy and Chaco) and one in the Republic of Paraguay. Many farmers and people know about Monsanto Company because of the Roundup®Ready trait, which is a trait that gives in plant tolerance to Roundup®agricultural herbicides. The trait was introduced to the market in 1996 and brought a whole new element to farmers. In 1996, farmers could now plant soybeans, spray the soybeans with Roundup®, and poof- the weeds were gone and the soybeans were still as healthy as they were before they sprayed the field'. The same rural communities in which glyphosate was regularly sprayed on Roundup® Ready Soya had increased incidence of birth defects, miscarriages,infertility, cancers, DNA damage,neurological development problems in children and allergies3° "For nearly 10 years, the residents of rural and periurban areas, where agricultural activities are carried out based on the current model of agro-industrial production, have been demanding to the political authorities, the courts of justice, and also protesting before the general public, because they feel that the health of their communities is being environmentally affected, mainly through sprayings of agrochemicals used for different types of agricultural crops, but also for the handling and storage of these chemicals in populated areas, the waste disposal, as well as the collection of grains soaked with chemicals within the towns. The towns specified in the Monsanto Latin America website above: "are only some of the places where the increased number of cancer cases, birth defects, reproductive and endocrine disorders, have been suffered and detected ever since systematic pesticide spraying has become commonplace"... In these towns GM corn and Roundup®Ready Soy required increasing amounts of glyphosate to be sprayed because of glyphosate-resistant weeds. • In 1996, the sprayings started at less than 2 liters/hectare • By 2010 some areas are sprayed with 10 liters/hectare, and almost 20 liters/hectare in other areas(five to 10 times the amount of glyphosate over 14 years). Prof Andres Carrasco and his team in Buenos Aires showed that glyphosate caused malformations in amphibian and chicken embryos,confirming the effects on humans Paganelli,A. et al. Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling Chem. Res. Toxicol., 2010, 23 (10), 1586-1595 DOI: 10.1021/tx 100174931 Reports of neural defects and craniofacial malformations from regions where glyphosate- based herbicides (GBH) are used led them to undertake an embryological approach to explore the effects of low doses of glyphosate in development. Treated embryos were highly abnormal with marked alterations in cephalic and neural crest development and shortening 30 I NG LES-Report-from-the-1st-Nationa I-Meeting-Of-Physicians-I n-The-Crop-Sprayed- Towns.pdf:Faculty of Medical Sciences,National University of Cordoba,Argentina,August 27th&28th 2010 31 http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx1001749 14 of the anterior posterior(A-P) axis. It was shown that the effects were due to the glyphosate itself rather than the additive. Evidence of in vitro genotoxicity of glyphosate metabolite in humans Maras F et al. Genotoxicity of AMPA, the environmental metabolite of glyphosate,assessed by the Comet assay and cytogenetic tests.Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2009 72 (3):834-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2008.09.01932. AMPA was found to be genotoxic in all tests. Lawyer Dr Graciela Gomez gained small victories on behalf of the rural communities On 21/08/2012,judgement was announced in a court case in Argentina against GM soy producers and glyphosate. Sofica Gatica,who initiated her complaints in 2001,had two children with birth defects(one of whom died at birth without kidneys) and she made the first health survey in the neighbourhood of Ituzaingo,near Cordoba. "Five hours after the initial time of the announcement, the verdict was in: one farmer was absolved due to lack of evidence, but the other farmer and the aviator were found guilty. Well, actually, conditional jail. This means they can very much get out of doing any time, although they will be obliged to do social work." The Argentine government continues to allow GM Soya to be grown. A baby with a neural tube defect;this is a meningo- myelocoele.More extensive defects can occur.Hospital de Posadas,Misiones, Argentina.Photograph by kind permission of Dr Graciela Gomez. Julieta,who died aged 7 months from multiple abnormalities in 2010 Bandera Santiago del Estero Photograph by kind permission of Dr Graciela Gomez 32 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19013644 15 In 2013 birth defects are still occurring in rural Argentina Dr Medardo Vasquez is a neonatal specialist at the Children's Hospital in Cordoba. "I see new-born infants, many of who are malformed. I have to tell parents that their children are dying because of these agricultural methods. In some areas in Argentina the primary cause of death for children less than one year old are malformations."Fritz Kreiss: News Report Sunday 17 March 201333. Fabian Tomasi aeroaplicador (aerial pesticide applicator) Entre Rios Argentina. Photograph by kind permission ` ' of Dr Graciela Gomez. In 2012 Bayer expanded its domestic market in 2012 to promote home usage of neonicotinoid insecticides and a concentrated form of glyphosate34 "Last season Bayer Garden introduced new packaging designed to create a family'feel across its products. The aim was to make sure gardeners would know the product they were about to purchase was manufactured by a company they already knew and trusted through favourite products, including Provado Ultimate Bug Killer, Bio Slug&Snail Killer and Super Strength Glvphosate. The company also returned to the television, running a high profile advertising campaign that focused on its unique Simple Soluble Sachets. (Adjuvant: Ethoxylated hydrogenated tallow alkylamines). Bayer's description of how imidacloprid kills termite colonies by immune suppression35 • Imidacloprid binds to the nicotinergic acetylcholine receptors,which leads to paralysis and eventual death. • When termites stop grooming the naturally-occurring fungi in the soil kill the termites. Premise® 200sc makes fungi 10,000 times more dangerous to termites. Nature assists Premise® in giving unsurpassed control. • In Denmark imidacloprid preparations are sold in Garden Centres for killing ants. • For termites and ants, substitute the word `honeybees'. That is why Varroa destructor and other pathogens weaken bees; by suppressing the immune system36 • Glyphosate37 also suppresses the immune system. It acts synergistically with parasites to reduce fish survival at environmentally relevant concentrations. • Atrazine38 also causes immune suppression in amphibians at levels below the US EPA threshold for drinking water. 33 http://www.nationofchange.org/argentina-s-bad-seeds-1363532747 34 http://www.gardenforum.co.uk/tradeforum/peoplenews/?artid=2382 35 http://www.research.bayer.com/en/20/-termites.pdfx 36 http://www.stmconnect.com/toc/ieit/2013v1n1/page3-12.pdf 37 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/i.1365-2664.2010.01791.x/full 38 http:11www.pnas.org/content/99/15/9900.full 16 Shift in pest management on crops worldwide Over the last 20 years, a shift in pest management worldwide has taken place without anyone realizing. The industry has moved away from reactive to prophylactic. Now many fungicides, pesticides and herbicides are applied to the seeds before sowing. Application of the chemical before pest damage has occurred often involves routine, calendar-based spraying and pre- emptive treatments39. It is like humans taking permanent antibiotics. Multiple pesticides found in pollen collected by bees in the US Pettis JS, Lichtenberg EM, Andree M, Stitzinger J, Rose R, et al. Crop Pollination Exposes Honey Bees to Pesticides Which Alters Their Susceptibility to the Gut Pathogen Nosema ceranae.PLoS ONE 2013, 8(7): e7018240. The project was funded by the US Department of Agriculture and the National Honey Board. "We collected pollen from bee hives in seven major crops to determine 1) what types of pesticides bees are exposed to when rented for pollination of various crops and 2) how field- relevant pesticide blends affect bees'susceptibility to the gut parasite Nosema ceranae. Our samples represent pollen collected by foragers for use by the colony, and do not necessarily indicate foragers'roles as pollinators. In blueberry, cranberry, cucumber,pumpkin and watermelon bees collected pollen almost exclusively from weeds and wildflowers during our sampling. Thus more attention must be paid to how honey bees are exposed to pesticides outside of the field in which they are placed. We detected 35 different pesticides in the sampled pollen, and found high fungicide loads. Our results highlight a need for research on sub-lethal effects of fungicides and other chemicals that bees placed in an agricultural setting are exposed to". Two herbicides were measured,but not glyphosate. Carfentrazone-ethyl: estimated use in 2009, 0.09 million pounds; pendimethalin: estimated use in 2009, 14 million pounds;glyphosate: estimated use in 2009, 250 million pounds and increasing dramatically. We asked Lord Smith Chairman of the UK Environment Agency to measure glyphosate and the neonicotinoid insecticides in ground water41 We sent him evidence that: • Contamination of groundwater is destroying human health • Environment Agency's own data was used in a British Geological Survey Report 201242. On page 35: "Glyphosate is now the most widely used herbicide in the world, with dramatic increases in agricultural use since the introduction of(GM) glyphosate resistant crops. Microbial degradation produces aminomethyl phosphonic acid(AMPA) (Kolpin et al., 2000) and it has been anticipated that AMPA may be problematic. The high water solubility of both the parent and the metabolite has meant that their analysis has been difficult... ...Similarly for parent compounds which have non-agricultural applications, there will be routes to groundwater which would not be identified, such as routes which do not pass through the soil zone. Kolpin (2006) showed AMPA to be detected in wastewater- impacted surface waters about four times as frequently as the parent." • We pointed out that the BGS Report was unpublished. 39 http://ento.psu.edu/publications/are-neonicotinoids-killing-bees 40 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0070182 41 Personal communications from 09/04/2013 to 13/05/2013 42 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/14557/1/OR11013.pdf 17 • • A study in a German University of glyphosate residues in an urban population found significant contamination in all urine samples with 5 to 20 times above the legal limit for drinking water. They authors concluded it must be coming from food43 • Syngenta and Monsanto had initiated a new practice; desiccation of crops with glyphosate(or another herbicide)to dry them. This has resulted in glyphosate residues on crops, which then enter the food chain of animals and humans. According to Dr Kennedy,the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry(GCMS) scan cannot measure glyphosate Dr Jo Kennedy replied on Lord Smith's behalf on 1st May 2013. With regard to glyphosate, she replied: "The GCMS scan is not able to measure glyphosate, and glyphosate is not part of the routine suite of substances monitored for nationally across our network. The main reason for this is that glyphosate analysis is relatively costly and it was felt that the additional costs of analysis could not be justified. If local glyphosate problems have been identified in groundwater the Environment Agency can carry out operational monitoring at a local level." Why is the herbicide glyphosate not monitored in ground or drinking water in the US? In the US in 2009 total sales of glyphosate were estimated to be 250 millions of pounds of active ingredient44. Glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA are not monitored in groundwater, but atrazine and 2, 4-D are. The usage of glyphosate was 3.6 times greater than atrazine(70 million pounds)45 and 4 times greater than 2, 4-D, the less toxic half of Agent Orange (62 million pounds)46. Sometimes cheaper forms of 2,4-D are contaminated with dioxins. California set limits (1997)for glyphosate in drinking water47 Summary: A Public Health Goal(PHG)of 1,000 ppb is developed for glyphosate in drinking water. California's and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Maximum Contaminant Levels(MCLs) are 700 ppb based on systemic toxicity(renal tubular dilation)in a three generation rat reproduction study with an NOAEL of 10 mg/kg-day. "There are only a few published health effects studies on glyphosate in the past few years. The majority of the available studies on glvphosate were conducted by the Monsanto Company for the registration of glyphosate as a pesticide". The United States Geological Survey (USGS) established a National Water Quality Assessment Program(NAWQA)for measuring pesticides in groundwater in 1991.It did not include glyphosate or the neonicotinoid insecticides In 2008, a 10-year study(1993-2003) of pesticides in ground-water and drinking water48 was published. In a press statement the author said: "Despite sustained use of many popular pesticides and the introduction of new ones, results did not indicate increasing detection rates or concentrations in shallow drinking water resources over the 10 years studied" In 43 Brandli,D.,Reinacher,S.Herbicides found in human urine.lthaka Journal 1/2012:270-272. http://www.itha ka-journa I.net/druckversionen/e052012-herbicides-urine.pdf 44 http://water.usgs.gov/nawga/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=GLYPHOSATE&hilo=L 45 http://water.usgs.gov/nawga/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=ATRAZINE&hilo=L 46 http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=24D&hilo=L 47 http://oehha.ca.gov/water/phg/pdf/glypho c.pdf 48 Bexfield,Laura M.(2008)Decadal-scale changes of pesticides in ground water of the United States, 1993- 2003:Journal of Environmental Quality 37:S226-S239 18 2009 Trends in pesticides concentrations in corn-belt streams49 was published. The authors made a similar statement in their press release: "The declines in pesticide concentrations closely followed the declines in their annual applications, indicating that reduced pesticide use is an effective and reliable strategy for reducing pesticides contamination in streams." The USGS Pesticide National Synthesis Data 5°of pesticides measured in water was published. It did not include glyphosate or the neonicotinoid insecticides In 2013 a further Report was published51. This was an update on: "a previously published water-quality dataset of 44 commonly used pesticides and 8 pesticide degradates suitable for national assessment of trends in pesticide concentrations in streams of the United States". Samples analysed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory by the GCMS analytical method were the most extensive in time and space and, consequently, were selected for trend analysis". The UK Environment Agency had claimed that the GCMS cannot measure glyphosate. Is that why the USGS is not measuring them? We had raised the absence of water data on neonicotinoid insecticides with Robert R Gilliom [Chief,Pesticide National Synthesis] in April 201152. GMOs have neonicotinoid insecticides applied to the seed and are genetically modified to be Roundup®Ready(or other herbicide- tolerant). Glyphosate is the most used herbicide in the US and its use is increasing. Estimation of Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use US 1992-200953 600 500 — DAgricutture - -0 Dlndustry/Commercial/Government o 400 — ■Home &Garden 0 a 'E 300 — C 200 - 100 0 Herbicides/Insecticides! Fungicides Nematicides Other Plant Growth Miticides I Fumigants Conventional Regulators Pesticide Type Fig 1 Amount of Conventional Pesticide Active Ingredient Used in the United States By Pesticide Type and Market Sector,2007 Estimates US EPA In the Foreward to this document,William H. Werkheiser USGS Associate Director for Water stated:"The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is committed to providing the Nation with 43 Sullivan,D.J.,Vecchia,A.V.,Lorenz,D.L.,Gilliom,R.J.,and Martin,J.D.(2009)Trends in pesticide concentrations in corn-belt streams,1996-2006:U.S.Geological Survey. s°Martin JD.Sources and preparation of data for assessing trends in concentrations of pesticides in streams of the United States,1992-2006.U.S.Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-55062. 31 http://pubs.usgs.gov./ds/655/Martin,JD,Eberle M,Nakagaki N.Sources and Preparation of Data for Assessing Trends in Concentrations of Pesticides in Streams of the United States,1992-2010.Data Series 655. 52 Personal communication. 33 http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5009/ 19 reliable scientific information...Information on the Nation's water resources is critical to ensuring long-term availability of water that is safe for drinking and recreation and is suitable for industry, irrigation, and fish and wildlife." The map for glyphosate shows that the agricultural usage went from less than 20 million pounds in 1992 to 250 million pounds in 2009.54 This excluded the use in the following sectors:home/garden/industry/commercial/government/market. In 2007 the non-agricultural sector accounted for more than 20%of the total amount of pesticides used.55 Is it a coincidence that pesticides whose sales dominate global markets are not being monitored in ground, surface or drinking water by any Environmental Protection Agency anywhere?They are not being measured in Europe56 or in the US57 or by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority(APVMA). Why are all these killers of weeds being used?What has happened to farming? All pesticide problems are manifest at water catchment areas The American Bird Conservancy(ABC)commissioned world-renowned environmental toxicologist Dr Pierre Mineau and Cynthia Palmer an environmental lawyer and Pesticides Program Manager for ABC to conduct research on the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on birds. The Report:Neonicotinoids and Birds: The Impact of the Nation's Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds58 was published in March 2013. Dr Mineau,the UK Environment Agency and the European Water Frame Directive are in unanimous agreement about the approaches to pesticide assessment: "Many of the problems facing our water environments are best understood and tackled at a catchment level. " Page 8 of ABC: "This suggests that we should be looking at possible links between neonicotinoid insecticides(or any other pesticide) and birds, not on a farm scale, but in the context of whole watersheds and regions. Impacts from the neonicotinoids may very well be further afield than the arable area on which they are used, and many of those impacts may be mediated through the aquatic environment. " Mineau and Palmer have called for a ban on the use of the neonicotinoid insecticides as seed treatments and for the suspension of all applications pending an independent review of the products'effects on birds,terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife. "It is astonishing that EPA would allow a pesticide to be used in hundreds of products without ever requiring the registrant to develop the tools needed to diagnose poisoned wildlife. It would be relatively simple to create a binding assay for the neural receptor which is affected by this class of insecticides," said Dr Mineau. Page 64 of ABC: "It is clear that we are witnessing contamination of the aquatic environment at levels that will affect aquatic food chains. This has a clear potential to affect consumers of those aquatic resources, be they birds,fish or amphibians. " Measurement of glyphosate in watersheds Coupe et al. studied glyphosate and its major degradation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA) levels in four agricultural basins59. Three were in the Midwest US where the 54 http://water.usgs.gov/nawga/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=GLYPHOSATE&hilo=L 55 http://epa.gov/pesticides/pestsales/07pestsales/usage2007 2.htm 56 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-dangersub/pdf/com 2011 876.pdf 57 http://pubs.usgs.gov./ds/655/ 58 http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/toxins/Neonic FINAL.pdf 59 Coupe,R.H.et al.Fate and transport of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid in surface waters of agricultural basins.Pest Manag Sci 2012;68:16-30.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21128261 20 intensity of use was greatest because of GM corn, soybeans and cotton, and one was from the vineyards of Eastern France. Paul Capel USGS chemist and an author of the study said that, despite the 8-fold increase in use of glyphosate between 1992 and 2007, details of the fate of the chemicals on a watershed scale were lacking60. "In these studies, Glyphosate was frequently detected in surface waters, rain and air in areas where it is heavily used in the basin. The consistent occurrence of glyphosate in streams and air indicates its transport from its point of use into the broader environment. The degradation product of glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA), which has a longer environmental lifetime, was also frequently detected in streams and rain". They concluded that: "The watersheds most at risk for the offsite transport of glyphosate are those with high application rates, rainfall that results in overland runoff and a flow route that does not include transport through the soil... "In Mississippi and Eastern France, where the use is almost continuous, glyphosate and AMPA were detected in almost every sample... " Glyphosate is in the air and comes down in rainfall, as well as being in the rivers Two-thirds to 100%of air and rainfall samples tested in Mississippi and Iowa in 2007-2008 contained glyphosate61. "This is the first report on the ambient levels of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the United States, and its major degradation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA), in air and rain. The concentrations of glyphosate ranged from <0.01 to 9.1 ng/m3 and from <0.1 to 2.5,ug/L in air and rain samples, respectively. " Pesticides in surface drinking-water supplies of the northern Great Plains62 Human health anomalies have been associated with pesticide exposure(including impaired cognitive abilities in children, an increased incidence of human birth malformations and cryptorchidism in male children). Of two insecticides and 27 herbicides that were detected in reservoir water, consistent detection of a subset of 7 herbicides suggested that atmospheric deposition, either directly or in rain, was the principal pathway from fields to the reservoirs. Highest concentrations and numbers of herbicides in drinking water were associated with a 133-mm rainfall over 15 days towards the end of the spring herbicide application. Drinking water contained 3-15 herbicides. In storms, glyphosate from urban drainage systems contributes 60% of the load63 Contributions of agricultural and urban uses to the glyphosate contamination of surface water were studied in a small catchment area in Switzerland(25 km2). "The concentrations at peak discharge during storm events were elevated throughout the year with maximum concentrations of 4.15 pg Extrapolations from agricultural loss rates and from concentrations found in the urban drainage system showed that more than half of the load during selected rain events originates from urban areas. The inputs from the effluent of the 60 http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2909#.Uh a EuNIxY8 61 Feng-chih Chang,Matt F.Simcik,Paul D.Capel Occurrence and fate of the herbicide glyphosate and its degradate aminomethylphosphonic acid in the atmosphere Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 30,(3), 548-555,March 2011 http://www.sciencedirect.cam/science/article/pii/S0045653513008837 62 http://www.ncbi.nErn.nih.gov/pubmed/17687445 63 Hanke I,Wittmer I,Bischofberger S,Stamm C and Singer H,Relevance of urban glyphosate use for surface water quality.Chemosphere 81:422-429(2010). http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a rticle/pii/S0045653510007411 21 wastewater treatment plant, the overflow of the combined sewer system and of the separate sewer system summed up to 60%of the total load". This confirms the study by Coupe et al. that the watersheds most at risk for the offsite transport of glyphosate are: `flow routes that do not include transport through soil'. That suggests that urban populations are more at risk from run-off from roads and from spraying of noxious weeds in, or close to, streams. Data confirm that glyphosate is capable of reaching groundwater Sanchis, J. et al. Determination of glyphosate in groundwater samples using an ultrasensitive immunoassay and confirmation by on-line solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.Anal Bioanal Chem. 2012 402 (7):2335-45. doi: 10.1007/s00216-011-5541-y.64 "This is one of the few works related to the analysis of glyphosate in real groundwater samples and the presented data confirm that, although it has low mobility in soils, glyphosate is capable of reaching groundwater. " Part 3 Pesticide Regulatory Agencies Why did the EU authorise Glyphosate? The Rapporteur Member State (RMS)for glyphosate is Germany. It was discovered that Draft Assessment Report(DAR) studies had found teratogenicity in mammals. Several malformations were found in rabbits and rats according to the industry's own teratogenicity studies submitted for the 2002 EU approval of the active ingredient glyphosate. The original industry studies are claimed to be commercially confidential. However,the said industry data were compiled from the 1998 Draft Assessment Report by the German Government. (Germany will remain in this role for the next review of glyphosate in 2015.)Malformations include extra ribs, distortions affecting thoracic ribs,heart malformations, kidney agenesia, unossified sternebrae,reduced ossification of cranial centers and sacrocaudal vertebral arches, and also skeletal variations and major visceral malformations,which were unspecified in the DAR. Independent scientists pointed this out and,in the light of the embryo research from Argentina where families in rural communities exposed to GM soya and glyphosate had children with birth defects, asked for new risk assessments65 The publication of a study in 2010, showing that a glyphosate herbicide formulation and glyphosate alone caused malformations in the embryos ofXenopus laevis and chickens through disruption of the retinoic acid signalling pathway, caused scientific and regulatory controversy. Debate centred on the effects of the production and consumption of genetically modified Roundup Ready®soy, which is engineered to tolerate applications of glyphosate herbicide. The study, along with others indicating teratogenic and reproductive effects from glyphosate herbicide exposure, was rebutted by the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, BVL, as well as in industry-sponsored papers. These rebuttals relied partly on unpublished industry-sponsored studies commissioned for regulatory purposes, which, it was claimed, showed that glyphosate is not a teratogen or reproductive toxin. However, examination of the German authorities'draft assessment report on the industry studies, which underlies glyphosate's EU authorisation, revealed further evidence of 64 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22101424 65 Antoniou,M.et al.Teratogenic Effects of Glyphosate-Based Herbicides:Divergence of Regulatory Decisions from Scientific Evidence J Environ Anal Toxicol 2012,S:4 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2161-0525.54-006 22 glyphosate's teratogenicity. Many of the malformations found were of the type defined in the scientific literature as associated with retinoic acid teratogenesis. Nevertheless, the German and EU authorities minimized these findings in their assessment and set a potentially unsafe acceptable daily intake (ADI) level for glyphosate. This paper reviews the evidence on the teratogenicity and reproductive toxicity of glyphosate herbicides and concludes that a new and transparent risk assessment needs to be conducted. The new risk assessment must take into account all the data on the toxicity ofglyphosate and its commercial formulations, including data generated by independent scientists and published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, as well as the industry-sponsored studies." Agencies and Industry have only tested the `active' ingredient glyphosate. The commercial formulations contain an untested adjuvant which is toxic to human cells66 The health and environmental agencies and pesticide companies assess the long-term effects on mammals of glyphosate alone, and not the full formulation. But the commercial formulations of these pesticides as they are sold and used contain added ingredients (adjuvants). These are often classified confidential and described as `inerts'. However, they help to stabilize the chemical compound glyphosate and help it to penetrate plants, in the manner of corrosive detergents. The formulated herbicides(including Roundup®)can affect all living cells, especially human cells. This danger is overlooked because glyphosate and Roundup® are treated as the same by industry and regulators on long-term studies. The authors studied nine formulations and demonstrated that all formulations are more toxic than glyphosate alone. Among them,POE-15 appears to be the most toxic principle against human cells, even if others are not excluded. Why did EFSA Reasoned Opinion Group grant 100-fold increase in Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) of glyphosate in foods? Monsanto Europe asked the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA)to raise the import tolerance for glyphosate in lentils "in order to accommodate the authorised desiccation use of glyphosate in lentils in the US and Canada"from 0.1 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg(i.e. 100 times). This was approved on 13th January 201267. A Joint FAO/WHO meeting on Pesticide Residues in 1994 had granted elevated Maximum Residue Limits(MRLs)for glyphosate on soya(from 5 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg)and soya bean fodder(from 20 mg/kg to 200 mg/kg)68. Complaint on 16/05/2012 to the European Commission about increase of MRLs Michael Fliih replied on behalf of the European Commission69 on 6th July 2012. "As regards the toxicity ofglyphosate and the maximum residue levels established in EU legislation, we refer again to our strict approval system in the EU. EU-MRLs are established based on a thorough assessment carried out by Member States and subsequently set by EFSA and are set at levels that ensure consumer safety based on the worst-case dietary habits across the EU". The Industry hosted a secret meeting on 26/06/2012 to get GM into the UK70 66 Ethoxylated adjuvants of glyphosate-based herbicides are active principles of human cell toxicity.Toxicology 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2012.09.006 67 http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/search/doc/2550.pdf 68 http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agphome/documents/Pests Pesticides/JMPR/Evaluation94/glyphos. pdf 69 Personal communication. 70 http://tinyurl.com/9ibce4g, http://tinyurl.com/8ahylza,http://tinyurl.com/92rrajn 23 Monsanto, Syngenta,Bayer and BASF and their industry body, the Agricultural Biotechnology Council(ABC)are setting the agenda for UK agricultural research with a view to bringing GM crops into the UK and exporting them overseas. Two Ministers and two MPs met with scientists from Defra,the John Innes Centre,Rothamsted Research and the National Farmers Union. They had a round table discussion including how to overcome the negative public opinion that currently prevents the UK achieving these outcomes and a strategy to attain them. Further evidence of glyphosate residues in humans Urine tests were performed in 182 volunteers from cities in 18 countries in Europe to measure glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA, a metabolite of glyphosate). On average, 44%and 36 %of the urine samples analysed were found to contain quantifiable levels of glyphosate and AMPA respectively71. Glyphosate and AMPA residues in soy bean plants,leaves and grains Arregui,M.C. et al. Monitoring glyphosate residues in transgenic glyphosate-resistant soybean.Pest Manag. Sci. 2004 Feb; 60 (2):163-672. The objective of this work was to monitor glyphosate and AMPA residues in soybean plants and grains in field crops in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. Five sites were monitored in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Individual soybean plants were sampled from emergence to harvest, dried and ground. Analysis consisted in residue extraction with organic solvents and buffers, agitation, centrifugation, clean-up and HPLC with UV detection. In soybean leaves and stems, glyphosate residues ranged from 1.9 to 4.4 mg kg-1 and from 0.1 to 1.8 mg kg 1 in grains. Higher concentrations were detected when glyphosate was sprayed several times during the crop cycle, and when treatments approached the flowering stage. AMPA residues were also detected in leaves and in grains, indicating metabolism of the herbicide. GMO food and animal feeds with glyphosate residues are coming into Europe The industry and lobbyists claim that GM reduces the amount of pesticides that need to be sprayed during the year. The photograph on page 12 shows that weeds become resistant to glyphosate, so more and more has to be applied. This paper shows that GM fails to increase maize yields in mid-West US but increases the use of herbicides. Between 1996 and 2011, overall herbicide use on GMOs in the US increased by 239 million kilograms73. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC)—2012 An assessment of the State of Science of Endocrine Disruptors was prepared for the United Nations Environment Program and the World Health Organization by a group of approximately 50 experts74. The authors outlined evidence of 1)a high incidence,and increasing trends, of many endocrine-related disorders in humans; 2)observations of endocrine-related effects in wildlife populations; 3)identification of chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties linked to disease outcomes in laboratory studies. Endocrine-related disorders in humans are manifest by: • Increases in low semen quality in young men(up to 40%) • Incidence of genital malformations has increased over time 71 http://www.foeeurope.org/weed-killer-glyphosate-found-human-urine-across-Europe-130613 72 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7797819 73 Heinemann JA et al.Sustainability and innovation in staple crop production in the US Midwest.International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability,2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2013.806408 74 http://unep.org/pdf/9789241505031 eng.pdf 24 • Adverse pregnancy outcomes and birth defects has increased in many countries • Neurobehavioural disorders related to thyroid dysfunction has increased • Endocrine-related cancers(breast, endometrial, ovary,prostate,testicular and thyroid cancers)have been increasing over the past 40-50 years • Earlier onset of breast development in young girls which leads to breast cancer • The prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is increasing. The WHO estimates that 1.5 billion adults worldwide are overweight or obese and that the number with type 2 diabetes increased from 153 million to 347 million between 1980 and 2008 The conclusion was: "It is essential to evaluate associations between EDC exposures and health outcomes by further developing methods for which proof of concept is currently under development."An Editorial in the Lancet75 concluded: "there is currently no widely agreed system for assessing the strength of associations between exposure to chemicals (including EDCs) and adverse health outcomes." Were there too many cooks? Or was it reluctance amongst scientists to point fingers? The herbicide atrazine was considered. It was banned in Europe in 2004,but is still widely used throughout the world. In 2009 it was the second most commonly applied herbicide in the US. Recommendations should have been made for it to be banned on multiple counts. • On p 169: `these data indicate that atrazine has convincing effects on the immune system, and further investigation is warranted. ' • On p 196,the extent of atrazine's current use in the USA is highlighted • Hayes et al have written extensively about atrazine as an endocrine-disruptor in amphibians76'77 and it has been cited as a possible contributor to the massive global declines in amphibian populations78. • Birth defects in humans. Atrazine has been associated with a major anomaly in babies, gastroschisis. Gastroschisis is a congenital defect in the abdominal wall, through which the abdominal contents freely protrude. A case-controlled study of agricultural-related chemical exposure concluded: "Maternal exposure to surface water atrazine is associated with fetal gastroschisis,particularly in spring conceptions"79 . • In the UK in Northfleet in Kent, nine babies within 12 years(from 1999-2012)had been born in the same street with gastroschisis80. "Southern Water acknowledged that atrazine had been found in 2008, but said tap water came from a variety of sources and any pollutant would be heavily diluted". An update on the Water Frame Directive on groundwater status in the UK had been presented to Defra's Pesticides Forum in 75 Endocrine-disrupting chemicals:how much of a health threat? 76 Hayes,T.B.et al. Hermaphroditic,demasculinized frogs after exposure to the herbicide atrazine at low ecologically relevant doses.PNAS 2002 99(8)5476-5480 77 Hayes,T.B et al.Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs(Xenopus laevis)PNAS 2010, 107(10): 4612-4617 doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909519107 78 Hayes TB,Falso P,Gallipeau S,Stice M The cause of global amphibian declines:a developmental endocrinologist's perspective.Journal of Experimental Biology, 2010,213(6):921-933. 79 Waller SA,Paul K,Peterson SE,et al.Agricultural-related chemical exposures,season of conception,and risk of gastroschisis in Washington State.Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010,202:241.e1-6. 8°http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2142106/One-street-Nine-babies-born-horrific-rare-deformity- And-troubling-question--mothers-poisoned-weedkiller.htm I 25 200881. It showed that atrazine and/or its two breakdown products were found at more than 25% of monitoring sites and were present in quantities in excess of 0.1µg/l. An investigation into the cases was carried out by the Kent Public Health Department. The Report,published on 05/03/201282,did not find evidence of higher rates of gastroschisis than could be considered normal in the Waterdales Road area. Syngenta said: "There is no proven link between atrazine and these defects. Atrazine does not cause developmental abnormalities. " However, an unpublished Report on Emerging contaminants in groundwater 2011 was compiled from Environment Agency Data by the British Geological Survey and the Natural Environment Research Counci1.83 Appendix 2,p 93 Summary of non-licences pesticides, atrazine was found at 1039 monitoring sites in the UK(maximum concentration: 13.04 .tg/l: EU legal limit<0.1 µg/l)• • Atrazine-Induced Aromatase Expression Is SF-1 Dependent: Implications for Reproductive Cancers in Humans84. • In 2009, atrazine was the second most commonly applied herbicide in the US (70 million pounds)85. Glyphosate is the commonest herbicide in the US and is widely applied throughout the world. • "In the US in 2012, in a settlement between plaintiffs and the manufacturer of the endocrine disrupting herbicide atrazine, Syngenta will pay$105 million to settle a nearly 8-year-old lawsuit and could help reimburse community water systems (CWS) in 45 states that have had to filter the toxic chemical from its drinking water. It will provide financial recoveries for costs that have been borne for decades by more than 1,887 CWSs that provide drinking water more than one in six Americans across at least 45 states86. On October 23, 2012, Judge Phil Gilbert in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois approved the $105 million nationwide atrazine settlement.After an extensive notification effort that included two first-class letters, an email and direct phone contact, 1,085 class members filed claims seeking a portion of the $105 million settlement fund. These class members will receive payments based on evidence of (1) the levels of atrazine in the water; (2) how often atrazine had been found in the water; (3) how long ago atrazine had been found in the water; and(4) the population served. Generally, the more water processed by a system or the frequency of high concentrations of atrazine, the more money they received. The following map shows the location of each water system receiving funds and the magnitude of their recoveay87. 81 Jo Kennedy Pesticides_Forum_Oct_2008_WFD.pdf 82 Investigation into gastro"'cases final amended.pdf 83 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/14557/1/0R11013.pdf 84 WuQiang Fan et al.Atrazine-Induced Aromatase Expression Is SF-1 Dependent: Implications for Endocrine Disruption in Wildlife and Reproductive Cancers in Humans Environ Health Perspect.2007 May;115(5):720-727.doi: 10.1289/ehp,9758 85 http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=ATRAZINE&hilo=L 86 http://www.atrazinesettlement.com/utility/GetFile/c3e918bf-742a-41fa-8af6-0637bcf0b253 87 http://www.atrazinesettlement.com/ 26 Glyphosate-the missing endocrine-disruptor Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world. It was introduced in 1974. Industry claims it to be safe. Is that why it wasn't even considered by experts in the State of Science as a candidate for the increasing burden of diseases of those on a Western diet? Part 4 Other Independent Research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup® Independent scientists have shown that glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor Gasnier, C. et al, Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.00688. "All parameters were disrupted at sub-agricultural doses with all formulations within 24h. These effects were more dependent on the formulation than on the glyphosate concentration. First, we observed a human cell endocrine disruption from 0.5 ppm on the androgen receptor in MDA-MB453-kb2 cells for the most active formulation (R400), then from 2 ppm the transcriptional activities on both estrogen receptors were also inhibited on HepG2. Aromatase transcription and activity were disrupted from 10 ppm. Cytotoxic effects started at 10 ppm with Alamar Blue assay(the most sensitive), and DNA damages at 5 ppm. A real cell impact of glyphosate-based herbicides residues in food,feed or in the environment has thus to be considered, and their classifications as carcinogens/mutagens/reprotoxics is discussed. Glyphosate is associated with most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet89. "Here, we show how interference with Cytochrome P450(CYP) enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport. Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the'textbook'example of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins." There is a link to Stephanie Seneff being interviewed by Jeffrey Smith90 Birth defects in frog& chicken embryos and in humans91 Genetically-Engineered Corn and Roundup®-Ready Soya were introduced into the rural towns of Argentina and Paraguay in 1996. The devastation of human and animal health and biodiversity is described in this chapter: "In South America, the incorporation of genetically modified organisms (GMO) engineered to be resistant to pesticides changed the agricultural 88 http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pubmed/19539684 89 Samsel,A.,Seneff,S.Glyphosate's Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome:Pathways to Modern Diseases.Entropy 2013,15,1-x manuscripts;doi:10.3390/ e140x000x http://www.nationofchange.org/new-study-finds-roundup-could-be-linked-severe-health-issues- 1367071482 90 Stephanie Seneff:video interview with Jeffrey Smith: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h AHLDXF5aw&feature=player embedded 91 Lopez,S.L.et a/GMO Pesticides Used in South American GMO-Based Agriculture:A Review of Their Effects on Humans and Animal Models.In Advances in Molecular Toxicology,Vol.6,201 published by Elsevier:ISSN 1872-0854 27 model into one dependent on the massive use of agrochemicals. Different pesticides are used in response to the demands of the global consuming market to control weeds, herbivorous arthropods, and crop diseases. Here, we review their effects on humans and animal models, in terms of genotoxicity, teratogenicity, and cell damage. We also stress the importance of biomarkers for medical surveillance of populations at risk. European Commission is challenged about its continued registration of Roundup®92 "The European Commission has previously ignored or dismissed many other findings from the independent scientific literature showing that Roundup®and glyphosate cause endocrine disruption, damage to DNA, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and cancer, as well as birth defects. Many of these effects are found at very low doses, comparable to levels of pesticide residues found in food and the environment. "... "This issue is of particular concern now that Monsanto and other producers of genetically modified seed are trying to get their glyphosate-tolerant crops approved for cultivation in Europe. If the EU Commission gives its approval, this will lead to a massive increase in the amount of glyphosate sprayed in the fields of EU member states, as has already happened in North and South America. Consequently,people's exposure to glyphosate will increase. " The review of glyphosate was due to take place in 2012. Soon after the Commission was notified of the latest research showing that glyphosate and Roundup® caused birth defects, it quietly passed a directive delaying the review of glyphosate and 38 other dangerous pesticides until 2015. Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini and colleagues at CRIIGEN in Caen had already questioned the adequacy of Monsanto's testing both for glyphosate and GM crops93 "The 90-day-long tests are insufficient to evaluate chronic toxicity, and the signs highlighted in the kidneys and livers could be the onset of chronic diseases. However, no minimal length for the tests is yet obligatory for any of the GMOs cultivated on a large scale, and this is socially unacceptable in terms of consumer health protection. We are suggesting that the studies should be improved and prolonged, as well as being made compulsory, and that the sexual hormones should be assessed too, and moreover, reproductive and multigenerational studies ought to be conducted too." Seralini's 2-year feeding study provoked chronic hormone and sex dependent pathologies in rats; males developed tumours at 4 months and females at 7 months Seralini, G-E et al. Long term toxicity of a Roundup®herbicide and a Roundup®-tolerant genetically modified maize.Food Chem Toxicol. November 2012, 50: 4221-423194 "The health effects of a Roundup®-tolerant genetically modified maize (from 11%in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup®, and Roundup®alone (from 0.1 ppb in water), were studied 2 years in rats. In females, all treated groups died 2-3 times more than controls, and more rapidly. This difference was visible in 3 male groups fed GMOs. All results were hormone and sex dependent, and the pathological profiles were comparable. Females developed large mammary tumors almost always more often than and before controls, the pituitary was the second most disabled organ; the sex hormonal balance was modified by 92 Antoniou M,Habib M,Howard CV,et al.Roundup and birth defects:Is the public being kept in the dark? Earth Open Source.June 2011.http://bit.ly/IP2FWH 93 Seralini,G-E.et al.Genetically modified crops safety assessments:present limits and possible improvements Environmental Sciences Europe 2011,23:10 doi:10.1186/2190-4715-23-10. 94 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/i•fct.2012.08.005 28 GMO and Roundup®treatments. In treated males, liver congestions and necrosis were 2.5- 5.5 times higher. This pathology was confirmed by optic and transmission electron microscopy. Marked and severe kidney nephropathies were also generally 1.3-2.3 greater. Males presented 4 times more large palpable tumors (kidney) than controls which occurred up to 600 days earlier. Biochemistry data confirmed very significant kidney chronic deficiencies;for all treatments and both sexes, 76%of the altered parameters were kidney related. These results can be explained by the non-linear endocrine-disrupting effects of Roundup®, but also by the overexpression of the transgene in the GMO and its metabolic consequences." Highlights: • A Roundup®-tolerant maize and Roundup®provoked chronic hormone and sex dependent pathologies. • Female mortality was 2-3 times increased mostly due to large mammary tumours and disabled pituitary. • Males had liver congestions,necrosis, severe kidney nephropathies and large palpable tumours. • This may be due to an endocrine disruption linked to Roundup® and a new metabolism due to the transgene. • GMOs and formulated pesticides must be evaluated by long term studies to measure toxic effects. Watch the 12 minute You Tube video explaining the whole 2-year experiment by Seralini's team in the CRIIGEN laboratory95. E Persons with liver cancer Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer Incidence (adiusted) —Giyphosate applied to plotted against glyphosate applied to corn&soy com soy along with percent of GE corn&soy planted in U.S. —%GE corn&soy crops Pearson correlation coefficients for glyphosate and incidence: R=0.9556,p<=9.78e-5 _....... ........ ........... ................ .............. .... ......................_.90 42 ao a O e ........ .._..... ......................... ......... ............. ... q 8., so c' ............. ............_. ___..... ................_ 50 i ` CY o Ts u W a CF � C � 615 , 10 L 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 Year Graph 5 Persons with liver and bile duct cancer plotted against glyphosate applied to corn and soy and %GE corn&soy planted in the US By kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson. Data from USDA and US CDC 95 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nid0RugGjAg&feature=player embedded 29 l 8le 44.Fernale Per €s 8 e> ca a 0 r 4 2 0 _ y :... 1975 1977 tE+„e 1,4=;;r 1983 A985,1987 two 1001,1093 1999 A991 1 1 2(9)3 E ,"fit <t?Ma 1976 1978 1; u 1982 1984 1988 1908 1990 19992 1994 1998 1998 2000 2002 204 1. 2 . Year of Diagnosis Graph 6 Cancer Research UK(CRUK)Liver Cancer:European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, male and females,Great Britain, 1975-200996 ■Number ofHospitaliza_ Number of Hospitalizations for Acute Kidney Injury lions --Glyphosate applied to plotted against glyphosate applied to corn&soy(in 1000 tons) Corn&Soy 25000 00 20000 0 eio eiq 15000 0 50 To N � . 40 a 10000 a> fl+ 30 O 37 2 5000 .......... ....__. /,... - .___. 20 10 f3 0 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 Year Graph 7 Number of Hospitalizations in the US for Acute Kidney Injury(a sudden,temporary,and sometimes fatal loss of kidney function)plotted against glyphosate applied to corn&soy.Data from USDA and US CDC 96 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/ca ncerstatsjtypes/liver/incidence/#trends 30 Acute kidney injury(AM) (See Graph 7 for US increases since 1990) A new guideline report issued on Wednesday(28/08/2013) from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) says AKI(a sudden loss of kidney function) costs the NHS between£434m and£620m a year—more than it spends on breast, lung and skin cancer combined97. Between 262,000 and 1 million people admitted to hospital as an emergency in a year will have AKI, of which just under a quarter will die. Dr Mark Thomas, chair of the new guideline development group and nephrologist at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said: "AKI has been something of a Cinderella condition in the past both within healthcare and in the public perception,yet it kills more people than any of the common cancers."He said AKI "is clearly one of the major patient safety issues for the NHS. It affects the vulnerable and leads to thousands of unnecessary deaths because of failings in care." Professor Donal O'Donoghue, the government's national clinical director for kidney care from 2007 to earlier this year,has said 32 people die needlessly every day from AKI. He said AKI represented a "human tragedy". EFSA's new assessment of GM crops98 The European Food Safety Authority(EFSA)has finally issued new guidelines for two-year whole food feeding studies to assess the risk of long-term toxicity and carcinogenicity from GM foods. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma &Hairy Cell Leukemia Two Swedish studies suggested that herbicides,particularly glyphosate,were associated with the above conditions. Lennart Hardell,Mikael Eriksson,Marie Nordstrom: Exposure to pesticides as risk factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia: pooled analysis of two Swedish case- control studies.LeukLymphoma. 2002 May; 43(5):1043-999 Increased risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)following exposure to certain pesticides has previously been reported. Among herbicides, significant associations were found for glvphosate (OR 3.04, CI 95%1.08-8.52) and 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxyacetic acid(MCPA) (OR 2.62, CI 95%1.40-4.88). For several categories of pesticides the highest risk was found for exposure during the latest decades before diagnosis Eriksson M, Hardell L,Carlberg M, Akerman M. Pesticide exposure as risk factor for non- Hodgkin lymphoma including histopathological subgroup analysis10°.Int J.Cancer. 2008, 123:1657-1663. In this category the dominating agent was glyphosate, which was reported by 29 cases and 18 controls,which produced OR(Odds Ratio)2.02 (95%CI 1.10-3.71) Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors Thongprakaisang S, Thiantanawat A,Rangkadilok N, Suriyo T, Satayavivad J. Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors.Food Chem Toxicol. 2013, 59C: 129-136. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2013.05.057'01 The study found that breast cancer cell proliferation is accelerated by glyphosate in extremely low concentrations. "The present study used pure glyphosate substance at log intervals from 97.http://www.thegua rdia n.com/societv/2013/a ug/28/kid nev-ca re-lives-nice 98 http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3347.htm 99 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12148884 100 http://onlinelibrarv.wilev.com/doi/10.1002/iic.23589/full ioi http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23756170 31 10-12 to 10-6 M. These concentrations are in a crucial range which correlated to the potential biological levels at part per trillion (ppt) to part per billion (ppb) which have been reported in epidemiological studies." 150 120 0 90 0 a a1 OC 30 0 ag15.1977 1979:4981 19r£l'1.'.1 1987 1 1991 1993 18% 1897 188 2C*1 24.433 2t745 24Yr 2349 1975 13.79 19454: 19432 1984 1984, 1988 1994 1992 1994 1696 1999 2 2' /2 2%4 2+X 4,04e 2410 Year of Diagnosis Graph 8 Cancer Research UK Breast Cancer(C50),European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, Females,Great Britain, 1975-2010102 Effects on male reproduction Clair,E.,Mesnage,R., Travert, C., Seralini, G-E. A glyphosate-based herbicide induces necrosis and apoptosis in mature rat testicular cells in vitro, and testosterone decrease at lower levels. Toxicology in Vitro 26 (2)269-279 2012.103 de Liz Oliveira Cavalli VL et al. Roundup®Disrupted Male Reproductive Functions By Triggering Calcium-Mediated Cell Death In Rat Testis And Sertoli Cellsl°a Yousef, M.I. et al. Toxic effects of carbofuran and glyphosate on semen characteristics in rabbits.JEnviron Sci Health B. 1995 Jul; 30(4):513-34105 The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of chronic treatment with two sublethal doses of Carbofuran (carbamate insecticide) and Glyphosate (organophosphorus herbicide) on body weight and semen characteristics in mature male New Zealand white rabbits. Pesticide treatment resulted in a decline in body weight, libido, ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, semen initial fructose and semen osmolality. This was accompanied with increases in the abnormal and dead sperm and semen methylene blue reduction time. The hazardous effect of these pesticides on semen quality continued during the recovery period, and was dose-dependent. These effects on sperm quality may be due to the direct cytotoxic effects of these pesticides on spermatogenesis and/or indirectly via hypothalami- pituitary-testis axis which control the reproductive efficiency. 102 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/breast/incidence/#trends 103 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22200534 104 http://www.sciencedirect.cam/science/article/pii/S0891584913003262 los http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7797819 32 What is causing the steep rise in prostate cancer in men in Great Britain? 1'20 90 °o P o 60 30 . 0 1675:1977 1979 1991 146,1. 1981 1987 194 1961 1993:1966 1897 1999'.2001 281.9 2085 2007.2009 1979 1978 1990 1992 1984 1981 1998 1990 1992 1994 1896 1896 2000 2632 2420 2081 29838 2010 Year of Diagnosis Graph 9 CRUK incidence figures for Prostate Cancer 1975-2010.European Age standardised incidence rates per 100,000 Population,males,Great Britaini°6 Hsing, A.V., Chokkalingam,A.P. Prostate cancer epidemiology Frontiers in Bioscience 2006, 11: 1388-1413107. In examining the epidemiology of prostate cancer,the authors presented evidence for further areas of promising research: defects in DNA repair pathway, the role of inflammation markers and biological pathways related to dietary factors. Effects on pathogens in farm animals: evidence that glyphosate destroys beneficial bacteria and allows harmful ones,such as salmonella, and clostridium,to flourish Clair,E. et al. Effects of Roundup®and Glyphosate on Three Food Microorganisms: Geotrichum candidum,Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. Curr Microbiol. Epub 2012 Feb 24.108 Shehata,A.A. et al. The Effect of Glyphosate on Potential Pathogens and Beneficial Members of Poultry Microbiota In Vitro. Current Microbiology 2013, 66 (4): 350-3581°9 Kruger,M. et al. Glyphosate suppresses the antagonistic effect of Enterococcus spy. on Clostridium botulinum.Anaerobe 2013, Feb 611°. In the search for the causes of serious diseases of entire herds of animals in northern Germany, especially cattle, glyphosate has repeatedly been detected in the urine,faeces, milk and feed of the animals1l 1. Even more alarming, glyphosate was detected in the urine of the farmers. This could explain why the incidence of food poisoning is not decreasing in humans. 106 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/prostate/incidence/uk-prostate-cancer- incidence-statistics#trends 107 http://dceg.cancer.gov/files/hsing1113882006.pdf 108 http://link.springer.cam/article/10.1007/x00284-012-0098-3 109 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00284-012-0277-2 110 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23396248/?i=4&from=/15071029/related 111 http://www.ithaka-journal.net/druckversionen/e052012-herbicides-urine.pdf 33 Evidence of GMO harm in pig study112 Judy A. Carman,Howard R. Vlieger, Larry J. Ver Steeg et al.A long-term toxicology study on pigs fed a combined genetically modified(GM) soy and GM maize diet.Journal of Organic Systems 2013 8(1)38-54. This was a combined study between the US and Australia. GM-fed females had on average a 25%heavier uterus than non-GM-fed females, a possible indicator of disease that requires further investigation. Also,the level of severe inflammation in stomachs was markedly higher in pigs fed on the GM diet. The research results were striking and statistically significant. Lead researcher Dr Judy Carman, adjunct associate professor at Flinders University, Adelaide,Australia, said: "Our findings are noteworthy for several reasons. • First,we found these results in real on-farm conditions,not in a laboratory,but with the added benefit of strict scientific controls that are not normally present on farms. • Second,we used pigs. Pigs with these health problems end up in our food supply. We eat them. • Third,pigs have a similar digestive system to people, so we need to investigate if people are also getting digestive problems from eating GM crops. • Fourth,we found these adverse effects when we fed the animals a mixture of crops containing three GM genes and the GM proteins that these genes produce.Yet no food regulator anywhere in the world requires a safety assessment for the possible toxic effects of mixtures. Regulators simply assume that they can't happen". "Our results provide clear evidence that regulators need to safety assess GM crops containing mixtures of GM genes, regardless of whether those genes occur in the one GM plant or in a mixture of GM plants eaten in the same meal, even if regulators have already assessed GM plants containing single GM genes in the mixture." Confirmation of`changeover' studies The new study lends scientific credibility to anecdotal evidence from farmers and veterinarians,who have for some years reported reproductive and digestive problems in pigs fed on a diet containing GM soy and corn. Iowa-based farmer and crop and livestock advisor Howard Vlieger,one of the coordinators of the study, said: "For as long as GM crops have been in the feed supply, we have seen increasing digestive and reproductive problems in animals. Now it is scientifically documented. In my experience,farmers have found increased production costs and escalating antibiotic use when feeding GM crops. In some operations, the livestock death loss is high, and there are unexplained problems including spontaneous abortions, deformities of new-born animals, and an overall listlessness and lack of contentment in the animals. " A Danish farming newspaper Effektivt Landbrug devoted a sizeable part of its 13`h April 2012 edition to the discoveries by pig farmer lb Borup Pedersen that GM soy has a damaging effect both on his animals and on his farming profitability.In the previous 2 years, the farm had experienced piglet diarrhoea and 35 sows had died of stomach problems. In the previous 9 months he had had 13 malformed, but live-born,piglets. 112 http://www.organic-systems.org/journal/81/8106.pdf 34 Photograph by kind permission of Ib Borup Pedersen A deformed piglet; Siamese twins Another colleague had had similar experiences. In April 2011 Mr Pedersen changed to GM- free soya, without telling his stockman. Within days the stockman noticed that the piglet diarrhoea had stopped. A Russian study found that feeding hamsters GMO soy resulted in complete sterility after two or three generations. A joint study was carried out by the National Association for Gene Security and the Institute of Ecological and Evolutional Problems. One group of hamsters acted as a control; one was fed non-GM soya, one was fed with some GMO and the fourth one with an increased amount of GMO. "When they selected new pairs from their cubs, their growth rate was slower and reached their sexual maturity slowly. We failed to get cubs from these pairs, which were fed with GM foodstuffs. It was proved that these pairs lost their ability to give birth to their cubs. "Dr. Alexei Surov said113 Associations with neurodegenerative disorders in humans Ya-xing Gui et al. Glyphosate induced cell death through apoptotic and autophagic mechanisms.Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2012, 34(3): 344-349114 Herbicides have been recognized as the main environmental factor associated with human neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies indicated that the exposure to glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, is possibly linked to Parkinsonism, however the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We investigated the neurotoxic effects of glyphosate in differentiated PC12 cells and discovered that it inhibited viability of differentiated PC12 cells in dose-and time-dependent manners. Furthermore, the results showed that glyphosate induced cell death via autophagy pathways in addition to activating apoptotic pathways. Interestingly, deactivation of Beclin-1 gene attenuated both apoptosis and autophagy in glyphosate treated differentiated PC12 cells, suggesting that Beclin-1 gene is involved in the crosstalk between the two mechanisms. 113 http://voiceofrussia.com/2010/04/16/6524765.html/ 114 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08920362 http://www.activistpost.comJ2012/04/roundup-herbicide-finked-to-pa rkinsons.htm 35 Adjusted Death Rate Deaths from Parkinson's disease 0 °°glyphosate applied plotted against glyphosate use on corn &soy 46 GE corn and soy R=0.860, p <= 3.1e-06 and percent GE corn & soy planted , R=0.937, p <= 9.87e-06 a a 3,5 100 a 90 o 80 • 2,6 F 1 I 70 c o 1 o ` 6Q o �v 50 I 15i, L5 - .. !40 Z. • r 30 I s � 20 a a) 0.5 10 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 Year Graph 10 Adjusted Death Rate from Parkinson's disease. Data from USDA and CDC.By kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson Deaths from Senile Dementia ❑Deaths per 100.000 —glyphosate applica- plotted against glyphosate applications on corn&soy lions(1,000 tons) R=0.9908,p c= 6.31e-09 90 35.. - ..80 > 30 o 70 0 o ® 25 60 E o °in © 20 : .. 50 = = o ct o 15 _ 40 c, °o cr, o _ 30 �� 10 0 cC i i 20 2 5 __ _ � I ' i ,.10 cn 0 0 00DII.�( O U - r.__ 1 1 . 0 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 YY ear Graph 11 Deaths per 100,000 from Senile Dementia plotted against glyphosate applications on corn and soy. Data from USDA and CDC.By kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson 36 Environmental damage: Effects on earthworms, songbirds, small mammals and bees Springett, J.A, Gray R.A.J. Effect of repeated low doses of biocides on the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa in laboratory culture. Soil Biol. Biochem. 1992,24(12): 1739-1744. Repeated applications of glyphosate significantly affected the growth and survival of earthworms. Santillo DJ,Brown PW, Leslie DM. Response of songbirds to glyphosate-induced habitat changes on clearcuts. J Wildlife Manage. 1989, 53: 64-71. The authors investigated the use of glyphosate on intensively managed pine forests in Maine. Follow up for 1-3 years found a reduction in the complexity of vegetation and a reduction in the number of bird species. Santillo DJ et al. Responses of small mammals and habitat to glyphosate application on clearcut.J Wildlife Manage. 1989, 53 (1): 164-172. The authors investigated the use of glyphosate on intensively managed pine forests in Maine. At 1-3 years there fewer small mammals; insectivores and herbivores were reduced because they were dependent on insect and plant communities which had been destroyed by glyphosate. Foulk, K.E.; Reeves, C. Identifying the role of glyphosate-containing herbicides on honeybee mortality rates and colony collapse disorder 15. The results of this study indicate that the mortality rate of bees that were fed glyphosate- supplemented diets, both pure glyphosate and Roundup QuikPro® were significantly greater than that of hives without glyphosate supplemented diets (p < 0.001). Genotoxic effects of glyphosate in fish and amphibians de Castilhos, G.N, Cestari, M.M. Genotoxic effects of the herbicide Roundup(®)in the fish Corydoras paleatus (Jenyns 1842)after short-term, environmentally low concentration exposure.Environ Monit Assess. 2013, 185 (4):3201-7. doi: 10.1007/s10661-012-2783-x116 "We conclude that for the low concentration used in this research, the herbicide shows potential genotoxic effects. Future research will be important in evaluating the effects of this substance, whose presence in the environment is ever-increasing". Relyea,R.A. The lethal impacts of Roundup®and predatory stress on six species of North American tadpoles.Arch. Environ.Contam. Toxicol. 2005, 48: 351-357117. "The decline in amphibians across the globe has sparked a search for the causes, and recent evidence suggests a connection with pesticides. "Relyea found that the survival in tadpoles was greatly reduced with glyphosate at lower doses than in previous studies and that any additional predatory stress made Roundup®twice as lethal. Glyphosate causes immune suppression in fish Kelly, D.W. et al. Synergistic effects of glyphosate formulation and parasite infection on fish malformations and survival. Journal of Applied Ecology 2010,47: 498-504118. This is the first study to show that parasites and glyphosate can act synergistically on aquatic vertebrates at environmentally relevant concentrations, and that glyphosate might increase the risk of disease in fish. Our results have important implications when identifying risks to aquatic communities and suggest that threshold levels of glyphosate currently set by regulatory authorities do not adequately protect freshwater systems. 115 http://kl2science.missouristate.edu/Junior Academy/MJAS%20Docs/State%202009;Papers%202009 /HS ENV/Foulk Kayla HS.pdf 116 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10661-012-2783-x 117 http://train ing.fws.gov/EC/Resources/pesticides/Aquatic%20Effects/Relyea2005.pdf 118 http://onlinelibrary.wilev.com/doi/10.1111/i.1365-2664.2010.01791.x/pdf 37 The use of pesticides around the world has produced biological deserts Here is a description of a 600 acre farm in Ohio with GMO corn on which Craig Childs19 spent a long weekend and found virtually nothing. "I listened and heard nothing, no bird, no click of insect. There were no bees. The air, the ground, seemed vacant...It felt like another planet entirely,"he said, a world denuded. Robert Krulwich's blog commented on Craig Child's description120: "Yet, 100 years ago, these same fields, these prairies, were home to 300 species of plants, 60 mammals, 300 birds, hundreds and hundreds of insects. This soil was the richest, the loamiest in the state.And now, in these patches, there is almost literally nothing but one kind of living thing. We've erased everything else. There's something strange about a farm that intentionally creates a biological desert to produce food for one species: us. It's efficient,yes. But it's so efficient that the ants are missing, the bees are missing, and even the birds stay away. Something's not right here. Our cornfields are too quiet."In the UK in 2012, on a warm August evening, in a garden surrounded by arable crops,no moths came to the candles121. There was not a single insect. Few people have noticed, or care much about their loss. But flying insects are the visible manifestation of a massive iceberg of trillions of invertebrates working away unseen in soil and water. The neonicotinoid insecticides attack the nervous system receptors of all invertebrates. These are the small things that run the world. Destroy these and you ultimately destroy life itself,at least as a planet fit for humans. A major pollution incident on the River Kennet, a chalk stream in the UK George Monbiot wrote an article on August 5th 2013: "Neonicotinoids are the new DDT killing the natural world."In it he exposed the Government's cooperation with the Pesticides Industry. "UK is collaborating in peddling the corporate line that neonicotinoid pesticides are safe to use."122 He was enraged by a pollution incident that had destroyed 15 miles of pristine chalk stream. The pollution incident, which was discovered on 1st July 2013, was with chlorpyrifos an organophosphate, one of a group of pesticides that had, in theory,been banned in 1982123. By 1 lth July it had wiped out insect and fresh water shrimp populations in the River Kennet that are food for fish,birds and amphibians. The river was beginning to stink124. An Environment Agency spokesman described chlorpyrifos as "a common agricultural pesticide."A former MP said it should be banned. Why are the organophosphates chlorpyrifos and dimethoate still being registered? Two organophosphates are still being authorised in the UK. In 2009, the total agricultural area treated with chlorpyrifos was 277,593 ha and in 2010 dimethoate 48,264 ha125. Defra had always denied a link between organophosphate used as sheep dip in the 1980s and 119 Craig Childs Apocalyptic Planet 120 http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/11/29/166156242/cornstalks-everywhere-but-nothing-else-not- even-a-bee 121 Personal observations 122 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2013/aug/05/neonicotinoids-ddt-pesticides- nature 123 http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2013/kennet-pollution-hunt-for-culprit 124 http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/towns/marlboroughheadlines/10541095.Effects of pollution on River Kennet beginning to come clear/ 129 http://pusstats.csl.gov.uk/. 38 neurological problems in farmers. However, a new independent study contradicted the Defra findings. Mackenzie Ross, S.J. et al. Neurobehavioural problems following low level exposure to organophosphatepesticides: A systematic&meta-analytic review. Clinical Reviews in Toxicology; 20121 6. These findings have implications for working practice for farm-workers and for other occupational groups exposed to organophosphates such as Aviation Workers and Gulf War Veterans. Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos has effects on neurodevelopment aged 3 and aged 7 In the US is has been proved in several prospective studies that pre-natal exposure to chlorpyrifos causes neurodevelopmental problems.It has long been associated with delayed neurocognitive development and most recently with decrements in working memory at age 7. Rauh,V. A. et al. Impact of Prenatal Chlorpyrifos Exposure on Neurodevelopment in the First 3 Years of Life Among Inner-City Children Pediatrics 2006, 118 (6)el845-e1859 http://doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-033 8127. Rauh,V et al. Seven-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide.Environ Health Perspect. 2011, 119:1196- 1201 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003160128. We report evidence of deficits in Working Memory Index and Full-Scale IQ as a function of prenatal CPF exposure at 7 years of age. These findings are important in light of continued widespread use of CPF in agricultural settings and possible longer-term educational implications of early cognitive deficits. Lovasi GS et al. Chlorpyrifos exposure and urban residential environment characteristics as determinants of early childhood neurodevelopment Am.I Public Health. 2011, 101 (1): 63-70. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.168419129 Horton, M.K. et al. Does the home environment and the sex of the child modify the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos on child working memory?Neurotoxicology and Teratology 34, (5)2012, 534-54113° Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure to Chemicals in Our Environment Epigenetics is the study of gene changes caused by environmental exposure to chemicals in the environment. The Faroes Statement 2007131: "The periods of embryonic,foetal and infant development are remarkably susceptible to environmental hazards. Toxic exposures to chemical pollutants during these windows of increased susceptibility can cause disease and disability in infants, children and across the entire span of human life". The Policy Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics about Pesticide Exposure in Children from the COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH132 "This statement presents the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics on pesticides. Pesticides are a collective term for chemicals intended to kill unwanted insects,plants, molds, and rodents. Children encounter pesticides daily and have unique susceptibilities to their potential toxicity. Acute poisoning risks are clear, and understanding of chronic health implications from both acute and chronic exposure are emerging. Epidemiologic evidence demonstrates associations between early life exposure to pesticides and pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems." 126 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23163581 127 http://www.ipminstitute.org/Fed Agency Resources/rauh chlorpyrifos pediatrics.pdf 128 http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1003160/ 129 http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2009.168419?journalCode=ajph 130 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/i.ntt.2012.07.004 131 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18226057 132 httP://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/6/e1757 39 In addition, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has issued advice to the pregnant patient about avoiding exposure to pesticides133 These statements are dismissed out of hand by the Pesticides Industry Carol J. Burns et al. Pesticide Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: Review of the Epidemiologic and Animal Studies.Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B: Critical Reviews 2013, 16:3-4, 127-283, DOI: 10.1080/10937404.2013.783383134 After 158 pages of Tables,Abbreviations and Statistical Analyses: "In conclusion, epidemiologic evidence for causality between exposure to specific pesticides during critical periods of brain development and neurobehavioral outcomes is not compelling." The Review was funded by the Crop Protection Association. Carol Burns is employed by Dow. The remainder: "are or have previously been employed by Exponent, Inc., a research and scientific consultant firm with clients from industry(including crop protection) and government". • Dow is a manufacturer of chlorpyrifos(see above)which has been linked to neurodevelopmental problems. • Dow was also the first manufacturer of the herbicide 2,4-D in 1947. In 1986 it was associated with a six-fold increase of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma(NHL) among farmers exposed to herbicides more than 20 days per year. This was found to be consistent with the six-fold excess risk associated with exposure to either phenoxyacetic acids or chlorophenols in a Swedish study' S. There are many weed killer products sold in the UK that contain 2,4-D and dicamba. They can be purchased on-line for amenity turf and pitch turf for professional use. It is the third most commonly used herbicide in the US136. In Australia(July 2013)cheap generic 2,4-D is being imported that has been found to contain high levels of dioxins, but APVMA does not monitor for dioxins137. In the 1970s and 1980s,men were employed by the Agriculture Protection Board to spray noxious weeds. In Kimberley alone 320 men died and now their partners and children are getting sick.Nigel Sinclair's father and uncle died, and now he, at 31,has terminal cancer. Relationships between Syngenta,AstraZeneca and Defra/Fera In 1997,Dr Peter Campbell went straight from being the Head of Ecotoxicology Branch at the Pesticides Safety Directorate in York into the post of Head of Ecological Sciences at Syngenta138. In 2009 Syngenta and BBSRC gave£1 million to fund Warwick University and Rothamsted Research "to help to improve honeybee health"139. (Rothamsted had lost funding for its Bee Unit in 2006). Syngenta funded scientific assistants at Exeter University in 2012. Syngenta pioneered Operation Bumblebee in the UK and in 2010 announced expansion of 133 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists :May 2013 Chemical Exposures in Pregnancy.pdf 134 http://dx.d0i.org/10.1080/10937404.2013.783383 135 Hoar,S.K.et al.Agricultural Herbicide Use and Risk of Lymphoma and Soft-Tissue Sarcoma.JAMA 1986;256:1141-1147 http://occupationalcancer.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Hoar-1986-Agricultural- herbicide-use-and-risk-of-lymphoma-a nd-STS.pdf 136 http://water.usgs.gov/nawga/pnsp/usage/maps/show map.php?year=2009&map=24D&hilo=L 137 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-22/four-corners-dangerous-dioxins/4833848 138 http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/peter-campbell/4/283/6ba 139 http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/newsjarchive/2009/091001-pr-lmillion-award-honeybee-deciine.aspx 40 programmes across Europe; up to€1 million over 5 years140 Programmes included "What Operation Bumblebee can do for your golf course?" Syngenta had representatives on the Advisory Committee on Pesticides(ACP),the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Foods, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), on the Panel to choose the Pollinator Initiative Projects and on the Government's Foresight Future of Farming Report141 Syngenta's parent company AstraZeneca had two representatives on COT. Defra's Pesticides Forum Annual Report 2011 concluded: "The work of the UK Pesticides Forum in 2011 confirms that the use of pesticides is not adversely impacting on the health of UK citizens or the environment. This is testimony to the effectiveness of both statutory and voluntary controls. " Syngenta commissioned a paper from Dr Helen Thompson,Fera Chief Bee Scientist An assessment of key evidence about Neonicotinoids and bees March 2013142 The UK voted against the EU ban on neonicotinoids because it was waiting for `new research on bumblebees to be completed by Fera'. Effects of neonicotinoid seed treatments on bumble bee colonies under field conditions was published by Dr Helen Thompson et al. Fera,York'43. A letter from Defra Minister Owen Paterson to Syngenta(April 2013)was released to the Observer under freedom of information rules.He told the chemicals company Syngenta that he was 'extremely disappointed'by the European Commission's proposed ban. He said that 'the UK has been very active'in opposing it and 'our efforts will continue and intensib;in the coming days On June 4 2013,EFSA rejected the study by Thompson et al. 2013 as weak. It said it"does not change the conclusions of the risk assessment"of January 2013145 Dr Helen Thompson left Fera to join Syngenta146 on 1 September 2013. Why is the Government determined to get GM crops into Britain? Syngenta applied to EFSA GMO Panel for GM Roundup®-tolerant maize147: "The UK Competent Authority and Syngenta applied for placing on the market of a GM, herbicide tolerant(glyphosate) maize GA21 for food and feed uses, import,processing and cultivation."It was adopted by the Panel on GMO on 16 December 2011. The GMO Panel claimed that there were no effects on human or animal health or the environment. However, in the main document,the Panel admitted to the problems of reduction in farmland biodiversity, selection of weed communities and selection of glyphosate-resistant weeds and 140 http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/archive/2009/091001-pr-lmillion-award-honeybee-decline.aspx 141 http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/foresight/docs/food-and-farming/11-546-future-of-food-and-farming- report.pdf 142 http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13937-neonicotinoid-bees-20130326.pdf 143 http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk/scienceResea rch/scienceCapabilities/chemicalsEnvironment/documents/report PS2371Mar13.pdf 144 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2013/apr/29/environment-secretary-letter-syngenta- insecticide-ban. 145 http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3242.htm 146 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/26/government-bee-scientist-pesticide-firm 14' http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2480.htm 41 destruction of food webs and the ecological functions they provide. Nevertheless, it was approved by the Panel,which covered itself by saying"The magnitude of these potential adverse environmental effects will depend on a series offactors including the specific herbicide and cultivation management applied at farm level, the crop rotation...etc. and recommended"case-specific monitoring".However,the Chairman of the Panel, who had been involved in every case of risk assessment of GE crops since the start of EFSA, did not declare his conflict of interest. Monsanto and the Competent Authority of the Netherlands applied to EFSA GMO Panel for herbicide-tolerant GM soybean. It was adopted June 2012148. "If subjected to appropriate management measures, the cultivation of soybean 40-3-2 is unlikely to have environmental effects any more adverse than those associated with conventional soybean cultivation". Prof Maurice Moloney was appointed Director and Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research on 15/04/2010149. "Previously, he was the head of the Cell Biology Group at Calgene Inc., where he developed the first transgenic oilseed plants using Canola as the model. This resulted in a landmark patent in plant biotechnology and eventually became the basis of Round Up®Ready and Liberty Link® Canola, which now commands 85%of the Canola acreage in Canada, a market of more than $100 MM per annum." Prof Jonathan Jones150 was Head of the Sainsbury Laboratory between 1994 and 1997. He then returned to the post in 2003. In 1997 he left to start two companies:Mendel Biotechnology(MBT)to carry out genomics experiments and Norfolk Plant Sciences Ltd to combine health-promoting traits and disease-resistance traits in potatoes and tomatoes. Monsanto is an investor and collaborator in MBT and in the 2008 Annual Report, Monsanto's Vice President Stephen Padgette is listed as on the Advisory Board. Prof Jones admitted in The Observer in 2010 that MBT had contracts with Monsanto,Bayer and BP, but that"he had never tried to hide them". In Plant Science News, 16/10/2011: "Leading plant researchers' call for science-based GM regulation", both he and Prof Maurice Moloney, Director of Rothamsted Research, forgot to declare their"multinational"connections. Prof Jonathan Jones believes glyphosate to be harmless to mammals January 2012 I had emailed Prof Jones about Monsanto's GM corn not being sold in France. Dear Rosemary Glyphosate is not poisonous to mammals-it inhibits EPSP synthase, an enzyme that mammals lack because we obtain aromatic amino acids in our diet. Roundup the herbicide contains surfactants- basically soaps- the consumption of which is ill advised. Roundup is considerably less damaging to the environment than the herbicides it replaced, such as those made by American Cyanamid(now bankrupt). France has elected to reject the judgement of the European Court that it has no right to block planting of an approved insect resistant maize variety containing MON810. Fortunately Spain and Portugal have not been so stupid and their farmers plant 100k hectares of GM maize which requires less insecticides to control corn borer. If the cost of deregulation of useful and benign GM traits were lower, there would be more competition for the MNCs from small companies and the public sector. Regards Jonathan" 148 http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsaiournal/pub/2753.htm 149 http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/PersonDetails-Who=1086.html '°°http://www.tsl.ac.uk/profile/Jonathan-jones.asp 42 Why is the pesticides industry investing so much money in human health? Syngenta's parent company is AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca manufactures six different anti- cancer drugs mainly aimed at breast and prostate cancer. The Corporation has links in Asia, including Hospitals in China, Japan,Korea, and collaborators in Russia. AstraZeneca's Oncology Website151 has the following portentous prediction: "Cancer claims over 7 million lives every year and the number continues to rise. Deaths are estimated to reach 12 million by 2030." Michael Pragnell MA MBA was the founder of Syngenta and CEO of Syngenta AG based in Switzerland(from its public listing in 2000 to the end of 2007). He was appointed a Trustee of Cancer Research UK(CRUK)in March 2010 and Chairman in November 2010. CRUK is donating money(£450 million/year)to the Government's Strategy for UK Life Sciences'52 and AstraZeneca is providing 22 compounds to academic research to develop medicines. Signatures of mutational processes in human cancer: Genetic map of cancer mutations A study of mutations from 7,042 cancers by the Sanger Institute revealed that 21 distinct mutational signatures that alone,or in combination, drive 30 different types of cancer153 Mutations of DNA may be due to "chemicals in the environment or faults that arise during aging.""The work has shed light on how the body's natural defences might inadvertently drive a range of cancers. When cells are infected by viruses, they can switch on genes that produce a family of enzymes. These enzymes destroy viruses by mutating their DNA, but the onslaught may cause collateral damage." "It's speculation, but it may be that in killing the virus, many mutations are scattered in the genome of the cell itself, and that cell can then go on to become a cancer," said Prof Mike Stratton. "The findings are expected to drive research into the causes of mutations behind each cancer. One way to do this is to expose human cells to suspected carcinogens in the environment to see if they produce similar patterns of mutations"154 Pesticides are the obvious choice, since they are ubiquitous and are designed to kill But few scientists dare to mention them for fear of being vilified by industry, losing their jobs, or threats of withdrawal of funding from their Universities. Prof Nic Jones, Chief Scientist at Cancer Research UK(whose Chairman is Michael Pragnell of Syngenta)was silent on the subject of pesticides. He could only suggest smoking and overexposure to UV rays as possible causes of faults in DNA that can lead to cancer155 CRUK website on Pesticides and Cancer denies links to pesticides: "For now, the evidence is not strong enough to give us any clear answers. But for individual pesticides, the evidence was either too weak to come to a conclusion, or only strong enough to suggest a "possible" effect. The scientific evidence on pesticides and cancer is still uncertain and more research is needed in this area 151 http://www.astrazeneca.co.uk/medicines/oncology 152 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment data/file/32457/11-1429-strategy- for-uk-life-sciences.pdf 153 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12477.html 154 http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/14/genetic-map-cancer-mutation-disease 155 http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/14/genetic-map-cancer-mutation-disease 156 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/healthyliving/ca ncercontroversies/pesticides/ 43 Many independent scientists over the years have been subjected to outrageous treatment when they have suggested inconvenient truths about GMO science157. Cancer Research UK: Chairman,founder of Syngenta: 21/08/2013 Death rates from malignant melanoma in men higher than in women. Sunburn can damage DNA "Death rates from malignant melanoma—the most serious type of skin cancer—are 70 per cent higher in men than women, despite similar numbers being diagnosed with the disease each year—according to the latest figures from Cancer Research UK, today(Wednesday). Each year in the UK, 3.4 men per 100,000 compared with 2.0 women die from malignant melanoma. But incidence rates are similar with 17.2 men per 100,000 diagnosed compared with 17.3 women. This means that, of the 6,200 men who develop melanoma each year, 1,300 die from the disease, while 900 of the 6,600 women who develop it die. And the gap is predicted to widen in the future, with death rates from malignant melanoma on the increase in men but remaining stable for women. Since the early 70s, death rates in men have increased by 185 per cent compared to a rise of only 55 per cent in women. The key risk factors for melanoma include excessive exposure to UV from sunlight or sunbeds,pale skin colour and a high number of moles, and a family or personal history of the disease. Sunburn is a clear sign that the DNA in your skin cells has been damaged and, over time, this can lead to skin cancer". ""'Ikli � a1 ""Persons 20 fib , ci fit % g 19M 1977 1979 1981 1983 1955 1987 1989 1995 15993 1 1997 1999'2081 2033 2005 2007 2009 1976 1978 1980 1962 1964 1986 1988 1990 1992 1904 199e 1998 2000 2002 2004 201)6 2908 2014E Year of Diagnosis Graph 12 Malignant Melanoma: Age standardised incidence rates per 100,000 Population by sex, Great Britain.Prepared by Cancer Research UK158 Evidence that pesticides can damage DNA There is plenty of independent science that demonstrates that pesticides can damage DNA 157 http://www.gmfreecymru.org.uk/open letters/Open Ietter26Jan2011.html The GM science community is its own worst enemy.Open Letter to Sir Paul Nurse,President of the Royal Society. 158 http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/fags/# 44 Simoniello,M.F. et al. DNA damage in workers occupationally exposed to pesticide mixtures.JAppl Toxicol. 2008,28 (8): 957-65. doi: 10.1002/jat.1361159 "Pesticides are used in agriculture to protect crops but represent at the same time a potential risk to farmers and environment. The aim of this work is the evaluation of 54 subjects occupationally exposed to pesticides and 30 subjects as a control group using the quantification of DNA damage level by means of the alkaline Comet assay and the evaluation of repair processes. Damage index Comet assay(DICA) and damage index repair assay (DIRA) were studied in 27 pesticide applicator workers, 27 non pesticide applicators and controls. Our results show that both exposed groups revealed significant increase in DICA when compared with controls (P < 0.0001), as well as in DIRA (P < 0.0001). However, the spraying group exhibited a marginally significant difference in DICA (P = 0.05) when years of exposure are considered and a significant difference (P < 0.05) when the personal protective equipment used by individuals was taken as a comparison factor. The influence of confounding factors on the genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to pesticides was investigated and no significant differences were observed considering age, gender, smoking and alcohol consumption in relation to DICA and DIRA. Since DNA damage is an important step in events leading from carcinogen exposure to cancer disease, our study highlights the potential health risk associated with agrochemical exposure in developing countries with vast cultivated areas, such as Argentina". Danieli Benedetti et al. Genetic damage in soybean workers exposed to pesticides: Evaluation with the comet and buccal micronucleus cytome assays.Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis 2013, 752 (1-2): 28-33160 "Soybean cultivation is widespread in the State of Rio Grande do Sul(RS, Brazil), especially in the city of Espumoso. Soybean workers in this region are increasingly exposed to a wide combination of chemical agents present in formulations of fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. In the present study, the comet assay in peripheral leukocytes and the buccal micronucleus(MN) cytome assay(BMCyt) in exfoliated buccal cells were used to assess the effects of exposures to pesticides in soybean farm workers from Espumoso. A total of 127 individuals, 81 exposed and 46 non-exposed controls were evaluated. Comet assay and BMCyt(micronuclei and nuclear buds) data revealed DNA damage in soybean workers. Cell death was also observed(condensed chromatin, karyorhectic, and karyolitic cells). Inhibition of non-specific choline esterase (BchE) was not observed in the workers. The trace element contents of buccal samples were analyzed by Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE). Higher concentrations of Mg,Al, Si, P, S, and Cl were observed in cells from workers. No associations with use of personal protective equipment, gender, or mode of application of pesticides were observed. Our findings indicate the advisability of monitoring genetic toxicity in soybean farm workers exposed to pesticides". Glyphosate and the additives in Roundup®are toxic to human cells Marc,J., Mulner-Lorillon, 0., Belle,R. Glyphosate-based pesticides affect cell cycle regulation161.Biol Cell. 2004, 96(3): 245-9 Cell-cycle dysregulation is a hallmark of tumor cells and human cancers. Failure in the cell-cycle checkpoints leads to genomic instability and subsequent development of cancers from the initial affected cell.All the tested products, 159 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18636400 160 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/5138357181300003X 161 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15182708 45 Amega, Cargly, Cosmic, and Roundup Biovert induced cell cycle dysfunction. The threshold concentration for induction of cell cycle dysfunction was evaluated for each product and suggests high risk by inhalation for people in the vicinity of the pesticide handling sprayed at 500 to 4000 times higher dose than the cell-cycle adverse concentration. Marc, J.,Belle, R. Formulated Glyphosate Activates the DNA-Response Checkpoint of the Cell Cycle Leading to the Prevention of G2/M Transition Toxicological Sciences 2004, 82 (2): 436 442.162 "At a concentration that efficiently impeded the cell cycle,formulated glyphosate inhibited the synthesis of DNA occurring in S phase of the cell cycle. The extent of the inhibition of DNA synthesis by formulated glyphosate was correlated with the effect on the cell cycle." Koller,V.J. et al. Cytotoxic and DNA-damaging properties of glyphosate and Roundup in human-derived buccal epithelial cells163.Arch. Toxicol. 2012, 86 (5): 805-13 doi: 10.1007/s00204-012-0804-8 "Recent findings indicate that glyphosate exposure may cause DNA damage and cancer in humans. Since we found genotoxic effects after short exposure to concentrations that correspond to a 450 fold dilution of spraying used in agriculture, our findings indicate that inhalation may cause DNA damage in exposed individuals". Sophie Richard, Safa Moslemi,Herbert Sipahutar,Nora Benachour,Gilles-Eric Seralini. Differential Effects of Glyphosate and Roundup on Human Placental Cells and Aromatase Environ Health Perspect. 2005, 113 (6): 716-720164 Here we show that glyphosate is toxic to human placental JEG3 cells within 18 hr with concentrations lower than those found with agricultural use, and this effect increases with concentration and time or in the presence of Roundup adjuvants. Surprisingly, Roundup is always more toxic than its active ingredient. We tested the effects of glyphosate and Roundup at lower nontoxic concentrations on aromatase, the enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesis. The glyphosate-based herbicide disrupts aromatase activity and mRNA levels and interacts with the active site of the purified enzyme, but the effects of glyphosate are facilitated by the Roundup formulation in microsomes or in cell culture. Martini, C.N. et al. A commercial formulation of glyphosate inhibits proliferation and differentiation to adipocytes and induces apoptosis in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. Toxicol In Vitro. 2012, 26(6): 1007-13. doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2012.04.017165.According to our results, a glyphosate-based herbicide inhibits proliferation and differentiation in this mammalian cell line and induces apoptosis suggesting GF-mediated cellular damage. Thus, GF is a potential risk factor for human health and the environment. US National Cancer Institute Agricultural Health Study166 A prospective study of agricultural workers. The AHS cohort includes 90,000 men and women who live in Iowa or North Carolina who were recruited between 1993 and 1997. What are some of the cancer trends among farmers?For example,farming communities have higher rates of leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and soft tissue sarcoma, as well as cancers of the skin, lip, stomach, brain, and prostate". Scientific studies have suggested that pesticide exposure may increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. 162 http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/82/2/436.full.pdf 163 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22331240 164 10.1289/ehp.7728 165 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22546541 166 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/ahs 46 • All pesticide exposure is now associated with cancer risk, not just farmers Alavanja,M.C.R.,Ross, M.K.,Bonner,M.R. Increased Cancer Burden Among Pesticide Applicators and Others Due to Pesticide Exposure. CA Cancer J Clin 2013 63 (2): 120- 142167. "There is substantial evidence that the pesticides used in agricultural, commercial, and home and garden applications are associated with excess cancer risk...Rather than wait for human carcinogens to be identified, several European countries, including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and others, have initiated pesticide use reduction policies that have resulted in substantially diminished pesticide use overall"...but not the British Government, nor that of the United States. In both countries the Industry has persuaded governments that they should adopt chemically-based systems of Agriculture `in order to feed the world'. These are chemicals of mass destruction, to which all humans are now exposed in the home and farm environment, in groundwater and drinking water. Thyroid cancer rates are increasing in Scotland "In 1986, there were 1.8 cases of thyroid cancer per 100,000 Population. But since then, the rate has risen sharply to 3.1 -which translates into hundreds of extra tumours being discovered. There were a record 202 cases in Scotland in 2007'168. Reynolds,R.M. et al. Changing trends in incidence and mortality of thyroid cancer in Scotland Clinical Endocrinology 2005, 62: 156-62169 Thyroid cancer was three times more common in females than in males and was more common in older than younger age groups. Between 1960 and 2000, the annual EASR of thyroid cancer increased from 1.76 to 3.54 per 100,000 for females (P < 0.001) and from 0.83 to 1.25 per 100,000 in males (P < 0.001). The overall thyroid cancer increase between 1975 and 2000 was primarily caused by an increase in papillary thyroid cancer,particularly over the most recent decade. UM&F Incidence(adjusted) Thyroid Cancer Incidence Rate —Glyphosate applied to Corn &Soy •-8s GE soy&corn crops plotted against amount of glyphosate applied to U.S.corn&soy crops along with the percentage of genetically engineered corn&soy crops Pearson correlation coefficients for glyphosate&both male and female incidence R=0.9876.p<=7.851e-09 10 =...._....... 90 8 0 0 8 70 7.........................................._.__......_......................................._.._..._..._..._.................._..............................._.....__. .-a _.......... to 60 m m F 50 n 5 li °- 92 ev 30 3 lr :111 u I.. 1 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Year 167 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21170/full 168 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health/campaigners-demand-probe-into-rise-in-Scots-1101255 169 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15670190 47 Graph 13 Incidence of thyroid cancer(adjusted)related to glyphosate applied to corn&soy crops and %GE soy&corn crops in the US. Data from USDA and CDC. Graph reproduced by kind permission of Dr Nancy Swanson. US Annual percentage changes for cancer of the thyroid between 1975 and 2010170 Sex Period Trend Female 1975-1981 -1.6 1981-1996 +2.5* 1996-2010 +6.6* Male 1975-1980 -4.6 1980-1997 +1.8* 1997-2010 +5.5* Statistically significant* s 4 r, 0 94. a to 1975 1977 €979 1981:1>=.3 1965 1937 1989'1991 1903 1895 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1993 1992 1994 1998€998 2080 2002 2004 2006 2009 Year of Diagnosis Graph 14 CRUK statistics: Thyroid cancer(C73),European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates,Great Britain, 1975-200817' Strong correlation was shown between cancer of the thyroid and glyphosate use on GE corn and soy crops, and that thyroid cancer affects women more than men. Many scientific studies have shown links between thyroid disruption and neurological diseases. "Thyroid hormones are critical for development of the fetal and neonatal brain, as well as for many other aspects of pregnancy and fetal growth. Hypothyroidism in either the mother or fetus frequently results in fetal disease; in humans, this includes a high incidence of mental retardation.... numerous studies with rats, sheep and humans have reinforced this concept..."172 According to de Cock et al173, "Perinatal exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals appears to be associated with the occurrence of ASD[autism spectrum disorder]as well as ADHD 170 http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/thyro.html 171 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/thyroid/incidence/ 172 http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/thyroid/thyroid preg.html 173 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22458970 48 [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder]. Disruption of thyroid hormone function... may offer an explanation for the observed relations...." MacSweeney et al. reported,"that the mothers of 104 schizophrenic patients had: (1) a significantly higher incidence of thyroid disease than a carefully matched control group; (2)significantly more abortions, still-births and greater infant mortality. The findings and possible relevance of thyroid disease to schizophrenia are discussed17a a Thyroid Cancer figure 587 Signature 2 �4y th (1) et Signature S o C it ::082t 603')f M b 'AMA' h g 52% ri 0 76% 0 50 100 150 200 250 Number of samples in which the signature is operative Fig 2: Summary of the contributions of the signatures of mutational processes operative in thyroid cancer175 Supplementary Figure 87 from Alexandrov,L.B.et al. World Health Cancer Statistic 2008 Cancer mortality and morbidity "Cancer is a leading cause of death and accounted for 7.6 million deaths (around 13%of all deaths) in 2008176. Lung, breast, colorectal, stomach, and prostate cancers cause the majority of cancer deaths. Important risk factors for cancer include tobacco use, unhealthy diet,physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol.* The WHO Regions for Europe and the Americas had the highest incidence of all types of cancer combined for both sexes. High income countries had approximately ten times the rate 174 http://journa Is.ca mbridge.org/action/displayAbstract;isessionid=3F7D8DD133AA9E1021A46FA46E03F054.jour na is?fromPage=on I ine&a id=4985600 175 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nature12477-s1.pdf 176 http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/mortality morbidity/cancer text/en/ 49 of prostate cancer incidence of the lower middle income countries. For breast cancer, incidence rates rose rapidly with level of country income. High income countries had more than three times the rate of low income countries. Similarly, colorectal cancer incidence rates also rose by level of country income. High income countries had considerably higher colorectal cancer incidence rates than any other income group. This was nearly five times higher than the rate in low income countries" *There is no mention of pesticides. Is the WHO is protecting the pesticides industry too? Part 5 Have we reached a point of no return? Only One Chance: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development177 Prof Philippe Grandjean,Professor of Environmental Health,Harvard University and University of Southern Denmark. "Today, one out of every six children suffers from some form of neurodevelopmental abnormality. The causes are mostly unknown. Some environmental chemicals are known to cause brain damage and many more are suspected of it, but few have been tested for such effects. The brain's development is uniquely sensitive to toxic chemicals, and even small deficits may negatively impact our academic achievements, economic success, risk of delinquency, and quality of life. Chemicals such as lead, mercury,polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), arsenic, and certain solvents and pesticides pose an insidious threat to the development of the next generation's brains"178 Prof Philippe Grandjean's new book gives a courageous account of how, over the years, industrial chemicals have damaged children's brains and how each industry has fought to protect its products. The Pesticides Industry is no different. But this time we have a major disaster. Can a collapse of global civilisation be avoided? Professor Paul Erhlich has written about this in increasing urgent terms. Ehrlich PR, Ehrlich AH. Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided?Proc R Soc B 2013, 280: 20122845179. Ehrlich PR The MAHB,the Culture Gap, and Some Really Inconvenient Truths.PLoS Biol 2010, 8(4): e1000330. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.100033018° Here are some pertinent phrases from these papers: • There have been increasing signs of great toxic peril for humanity and its life-support systems, with a growing threat from the release of hormone-disrupting chemicals that could even be shifting the human sex ratio and reducing sperm counts • destroying fables such as `growth can continue forever if it's in service industries', or `technological innovation will save us' • reduction of the worship of free'markets • Unfortunately, awareness among scientists that humanity is in deep trouble has not been accompanied by popular awareness and pressure to counter the political and economic influences implicated in the current crisis • Without significant pressure from the public demanding action, we fear there is little chance of changing course fast enough to forestall disaster 17 Only one chance:How environmental pollution impairs brain development—and how to protect the brains of the next generation"Oxford University Press 178 www.chemicalbraindrain.info 179 http://dx.doi.org110.1098/rspb.2012.2845 180 http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000330 50 • This will require developing mechanisms to force big corporations (including those in big agriculture and big pharma) to bear social responsibilities like the real individuals whose rights they legally want to assume Permanent People's Tribunal(PPT) Corporate Account Verdict's' The PPT Session was held in Bangalore, India between December 3 and 6, 2011. In accordance with the program(Attachment 2),witnesses, technical witnesses and survivors made oral presentation of specific cases and submitted supporting documents. As established in its Statute, the Tribunal notified the legal representatives of the transnational corporations headquartered in Germany(Bayer and BASF), Switzerland(Syngenta)and the United States (Monsanto,DuPont,Dow Chemical Company). FINDINGS The Tribunal makes the following declaration of responsibility for the six indicted TNCs and three Governments in particular and further also declares the responsibilities of all States, international organizations,UN Specialist Agencies, all other institutions of global governance. CONCERNING THE INDICTED SIX CORPORATIONS (BASF, BAYER, DOW CHEMICAL, DUPONT, MONSANTO, SYNGENTA) • The Tribunal finds on all evidence presented before it,the six TNCs prima facie responsible for gross, widespread and systematic violations of the right to health and life, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as of civil and political rights, and women and children's rights. • The Tribunal further finds that their systematic acts of corporate governance have caused avoidable catastrophic risks, increasing the prospects of extinction of biodiversity, including species whose continued existence is necessary for reproduction of human life. Annex 1 Synoptic list of the cases which have more specifically been submitted to the PPT Defendants: Monsanto, Dow, Dupont(USA), Bayer, BASF(Germany), Syngenta (Switzerland)Pages 33-37 consist of 40 cases brought against the Corporations. 181 Corporate account verdict.pdf http://www.internazionaleleliobasso.it/?lang=en 51 Postscript on chemical weapons and pesticides Questions and Answers for the British and American Governments • Q: Who `wields tremendous control' over the British and American Governments182? • A: The Agrochemical Corporations. • Q: With regards to pesticide regulations, who controls human health and biodiversity? • A: The Agrochemical Corporations. • Q: Who has manufactured the chemical weapons used in Syria and Vietnam? • A: The Agrochemical Corporations. The factories in Germany that made chemical weapons during the war were turned into factories to make pesticides. • Q: What is the difference between chemical weapons and pesticides? • A: For some pesticides the mode of action is identical. • Q: What chemical did John Kerry reveal was used in Syria? • A: Sarin; a potent organophosphate compound which kills by inhibiting anticholinesterase • Q: What is chlorpyrifos? • A: Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide, is also an inhibitor of anticholinesterase. This is an enzyme vital to the nervous systems of animals and humans. Symptoms of acute chlorpyrifos poisoning in adults include headache, nausea, dizziness,muscle twitching,weakness, increased sweating and salivation, and occur when cholinesterase activity has been reduced by about 50%. Unconsciousness, convulsions, and death can result with sufficient exposure. • Q: If it poisons insects,what does it do to the human fetal brain when it is the same size as that of an insect brain? • A: "Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphorus insecticide, has long been associated with delayed neuroco3, nitive development and most recently with decrements in working memory at age 7"18 . "We report evidence of deficits in Working Memory Index and Full-Scale IQ as a function of prenatal CPF exposure at 7 years of age. These findings are important in light of continued widespread use of CPF in agricultural settings and possible longer-term educational implications of early cognitive deficits"184. • Q: In that case is there any difference between chemical weapons and pesticides? • A: Chemical weapons kill fast: the effects are obvious for anyone to see. The effect of pesticides on humans and the environment is extremely subtle. Pesticides are silent destroyers:by the time the patterns are obvious, it is too late. People are being used as guinea pigs. • Statement: John Kerry, in justification of the bombing of Syria by the US on 30/08/2013: "History will jud,Qe us harshly if we turn a blind eye to use of weapons of mass destruction". • Q: Has John Kerry forgotten the Vietnam War, after which he gave evidence to Congress about US War Crimes? 182 http://www.panna.org/publication/generation-in-jeopardy 183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2012.07.004 184 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003160 52 • A:In the course of 10 years, American forces sprayed nearly 20 million gallons of the chemical(a dioxin,Agent Orange) in Vietnam, Laos and parts of Cambodia in an effort to deprive guerrilla fighters of cover by destroying plants and trees where they could find refuge Among the illnesses contracted by people exposed to the dioxin are non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, several varieties of cancer, type 2 diabetes, soft tissue sarcoma, birth defects in children, spina bifida and reproductive abnormalities, to name a few. The U.S. government, however, has dismissed these figures as unreliable and inflated. Earlier this month(July 2013)the Association for Victims of Agent Orange in Ho Chi Minh City has filed its fourth lawsuit against Monsanto&Dow,the American chemical companies that produced Agent Orange. • South Korea's highest court on Friday upheld a ruling, ordering two U.S. Agent Orange makers to compensate 39 Vietnam War veterans in one of the country's most prominent lawsuits186. • The Supreme Court(SC) recognised the epidemiological correlation between the toxic defoliant and skin diseases for the first time, saying the 39 victims should receive a total of 466 million won ($415,000)from Dow Chemical and Monsanto. U.S.forces widely sprayed Agent Orange, which contained the lethal chemical dioxin, in Vietnam during the conflict to deprive enemy guerrillas of forest cover and destroy food crops. Veterans in South Korea estimate the number of Korean victims of the chemicals at about 150,000.Many insisted they were suffering from various ailments associated with exposure to the powerful herbicide. Vietnam says millions of its people have died or suffered from direct or second-generation disabilities as a result of the use of Agent Orange. • Washington has never accepted responsibility for the Vietnamese government's claim. iss http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401378/Agent-Orange-Vietnamese-children-suffering-effects- herbicide-sprayed-US-Army-40-yea rs-ago.html 186 http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/dow-monsanto-ordered-to-pay-agent-orange- victims/a rticle4913976.ece 53