Baraza

sheryl, washington dc, on 17 Apr 2008

I blogged about this last month and there are links to contact the EPA and members of Congress to protest the possible ban reversal: http://nothoney.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/epa-considers-lifting-ban-on-furadan-pesticide/

Here’s the most recent news-like story I could find: http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=616&ArticleID=40569&TM=55384.71

Here’s the American Bird Conservancy’s page about the ban with lots of info: http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/information/carbofuran.html

s.

Colleen, on 17 Apr 2008

same for coffee. organic means shade grown, which provides a canopy for migrating birds. All the starbucks etc out there is heavily sprayed with an arsenal of chemicals AND it is grown in the open sun, no trees for birds.. Coffee companies that offer 1 or 2 skus in their huge list are giving lip service to the issue. It would be interesting to see what chemicals they use in these big coffee plantations.
more on coffee and shade-grown if interested
http://ethicsandanimals.com/2007/10/19/morning-coffee-and-bird-watching.aspx

Colleen, on 17 Apr 2008

I found this link about furadan and Kenya’s coffee
http://www.coffeehabitat.com/2008/03/coffee-growing-in-kenya.html
“There isn’t much certified organic coffee from Kenya. Although many small farmers can’t afford chemicals and may be passive organic, much of Kenya’s coffee is doused with pesticides [2]. And, given the pooled system, any untreated coffee will be mixed with chemically-grown coffee, and it will be nearly impossible to know what is what. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, this isn’t much of a risk to consumers, but harms the environment and the farmers themselves.

Most estates use pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides (an older but distressing report here). A slide in a presentation by the Coffee Board of Kenya shows the essentials of planting out young coffee trees: top soil, sub soil, manure, and furadan (carbofuran). Yikes! Coffee rust (Hemileia vastarix) is a common problem, and is treated with copper fungicides; copper builds up in soils after years of treatment. This can create toxic levels in other food crops planted with the coffee [3]. Pesticides have also been found in water supplies in coffee-growing communities [4].”

Colleen, on 17 Apr 2008

Thanks Sheryl, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird program is great isn’t it and shows where to buy the bird friendly coffee in cities all over north america. Good to know Americans can get it at Trader Joe’s. I work for an organic food distributor and I wrote the shade-grown, fair trade coffee I drink, Ethical Bean from B.C. who went into detail about why they were bird-friendly without the certification. As the Smithsonian points out, all shade-grown is not created equal, so it’s important to write your organic shade grown coffee and get the details if you’re not getting the Smithsonian certified coffees.. some organic coffee companies don’t want to pay fees to Smithsonian to register their brands but they are adamant that their coffee is bird friendly.

sheryl, washington dc, on 19 Apr 2008

Theresa, the flea and tick “top spot” products that we use on our pets are subcutaneous - they don’t get into their bloodstreams. The containers they come in are household hazardous waste and should not be thrown away in the trash! I put mine in a box to be taken to the landfill on household hazardous waste days.

Cotton, produced conventionally, is full of pesticides. Even organically grown cotton is often treated with non-earth friendly chemicals after its harvested, so you have to choose your organically-grown fabrics carefully.
s.

Theresa Siskind St Petersburg FL, on 20 Apr 2008

Yep, I needed a reminder too about these containers. BTW, Sheryl, nice to have you back!