Pesticidi

The main causes of the disease Parkinson must be traced back to exposure to various types of polluting substances.In particular, some pesticides, industrial solvents such as trichlorethylene and, in general, air pollutants would play a decisive role.This is what one stated, in no uncertain terms editorial published at the beginning of January on Journal of Parkinson's Disease, a highly specialized scientific journal.According to the researchers, “the disease of Parkinson It is the fastest growing brain disorder in the world and exposure to environmental toxicants it is the main cause”.In an attempt to give alternative explanations, the analysis also took into consideration potential external factors other than pollution - such as the improvement of diagnostic skills, the aging of the population and genetics - all however considered unsatisfactory. Based on previous evidence, pesticides in particular would be the environmental pollutants with the clearest relationship to the...

On December 19th the dossier Stop pesticides on your plate, drawn up by Legambiente in collaboration with Alce Nero.Positive data emerge from the new annual report, which confirms the trend of reduction in the use of pesticides already underway in the recent years and bring Italy closer to the use thresholds set by the European Union.The studies were conducted on a sample of 6085 foods from conventional and organic farming, resulting in a very low percentage of irregular foods.These data confirm the leader position that Italy holds in the agri-food sector, thanks to an area of ​​2.3 million hectares of organic cultivation and with a UAA (Used Agricultural Surface) of 18.7%.Among the reassurances, Legambiente warns however that There are still many steps to be taken and, in this regard, makes some suggestions to overcome the critical issues and meet the needs of citizens' health and the well-being of the environment. From the data collected by Legambiente, both the percentag...

Black day for the environment yesterday in Strasbourg, where the less ambitious line on the reduction of plastic packaging was passed and the cut in pesticides by 2030 was rejected.In the first case, although the general objectives of reducing plastic waste have been confirmed by the EU chamber, the prohibition of use for some packaging defined as "non-essential".To Italy's great satisfaction, a series of exemptions on reuse obligations for specific industrial sectors.However, no negotiating position was found for the issue of cutting pesticides by 2030.In fact, the report by the Green MEP, Sarah Wiener, on the European Commission's proposal focusing on the sustainable use of pesticides, which would have represented Parliament's mandate in negotiations with the Member States, was rejected. With 426 yes, 125 no and 74 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted the negotiating mandate on the regulation on packaging and packaging waste resizing in a very significant way the pr...

While the European Commission has just decided to renew the use of glyphosate for another ten years, the sentences that indirectly confirm the dangers of this herbicide are multiplying.Last Friday the synthetic chemical giant Bayer - which acquired the multinational Monsanto - was hit by an important ruling in which three of the thousands of farmers who brought legal action in this sense were in favour.The sentence imposed on the German multinational is exemplary, as it will have to pay compensation for over 1.5 billion dollars growers, who claim to have gotten cancer due to the use of Roundup, a product based on glyphosate.In the United States, the courts are increasingly ordering Bayer to compensate those who have become ill due to exposure to the controversial substance. The farmers who sued the multinational are called James Draeger, Valorie Gunther and Dan Anderson, who were awarded $61.1 million in actual damage and well 500 million dollars each in punitive damages.Specifically,...

Europe will allow the use of glyphosate within the Union for another 10 years.The European Commission established this "on the basis of comprehensive safety assessments conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)" together "with the Member States".While for years there has been discussion on the impact on biodiversity and, above all, on the food risks for consumers produced by glyphosate - classified by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer as potentially carcinogenic in 2015 -, a group of European chemical multinationals with strong commercial interests in the most used herbicide in the world (among which the names of Bayer, Syngenta and Nufarm stand out) had made a request for an extension.And now they will be satisfied.In the press release announcing the decision, the Commission wrote that the use of glyphosate will in any case be subordinated "to some new conditions and restrictions", ma...