Keyword: pesticides

Intentionally Polluting Our Planet: The Pesticide Industry Half a Century after 'Silent Spring'

Picture: Lichi Blog Glenn Ashton - The pesticide industry is the only industry on earth which has, as its primary intention, the dispersal of poisons throughout the environment in order to kill living organisms. Only small amounts of toxins applied actually reach the intended target. The bulk of these chemicals are liberated into our soil, air, water and food, where they can remain active for decades, sometimes for ever. Fifty years ago this month an eloquent book was published which heralded the birth of the modern...

Food Security: A Perfect Storm

Picture: Kate Shayler/Action Aid Glenn Ashton - Food prices are rapidly heading toward new record territory, with far more at play than a simple drought in the US Midwest. There are serious implications, especially for nations with high rates of inequality and poverty. We will almost certainly face a potentially catastrophic, global scale famine in the next couple of decades. The main reason there are now over seven billion people on earth is largely due to the emergence of two separate technologies. Firstly, cheap fossil fuels have...

We Must Break the Vicious Cycle of Obesity, Malnutrition and Poverty

Picture: www.taringa.net Glenn Ashton - South Africa has some of the highest levels of obesity in the world, together with exceptionally high rates of poverty. These two issues are linked in a vicious, attritional cycle. At first glance it appears counter-intuitive to consider that poverty and obesity could be associated. The fact is that poverty is intimately correlated to several non-communicable diseases. Numerous international studies have shown how obesity and its morbid fellow travellers, hypertension and diabetes, stalk...