PLANET IN PERIL

New England Journal of Medicine The science and the risk assessment supporting the Enlist Duo decision are flawed. The science consisted solely of toxicologic studies commissioned by the herbicide manufacturers in the 1980s and 1990s and never published.  Story here. RELATED: " A Canadian Senior Citizen's Open Letter to the Minister of Agriculture "

Dear Minister Ritz, I am a senior citizen (a scientist & a retired Professor from the University of Toronto). I am writing to you concerning your statements last April at an international conference in Saskatchewan (“Feeding the Global Middle Class”), regarding GMOs. You were quoted as saying (in the Western Producer): “Industry slow to defend GMOs”. A  ground sprayer at work in Manitoba. PinP photo. Actually, in my opinion, and in the opinion of tens-of-thousands of independent scientists globally: GMOs should be banned (& not DEFENDED!). The reason is simple: GMOs were “created” through a massive fraud in the United States about 25 years ago, then “exported” globally by a transnational cartel, and have never been tested adequately for safety in the food-chain.

The water tower in my home town is  barely  visible in smoke said to have  spread all the way  from Washington State, about 2,000 kilometres away!  PinP photo. RELATED: " Only “Heroic Efforts” Will Spare Earth’s Mighty Boreal Forest From the Worst Ravages of Climate Change - Experts."

Common Dreams Forced by freedom of information request, officials release documents scrubbed of all content and names. Story here. RELATED: "Free Trade: Path to Prosperity - or Back Road to Corporatism?"

Manitoba Co-Operator Monsanto's MON810 is only GM crop grown in EU. Story here.

CBC News Winnipeg zoo's tag and release program for monarch butterflies now in fifth year. Story here.

bilaterals.org Since winning a majority in 2011, perhaps the most significant and irreversible decision by the Harper government was its lopsided investment deal with China. Story here. RELATED: " Free Trade: Path to Prosperity - or Back Road to Corporatism?"

MB Co-Operator The centre will focus on building community resilience. Story here.

Common Dreams. Countering the idea that she peddles 'dangerous ideas,' the author and activist replied: 'Are they? I think they are safe...I think Tony Abbott has the real dangerous ideas. Story here.

NATIONAL OBSERVER Human beings have evolved into unsustainable "super predators" that kill adult fish and animals at many times the rate of natural hunters, says an extensive study published Thursday. DETAILS HERE.

Sum    Of + Us The bee-harming pesticides we've been fighting for years are worse than we imagined. Research suggests that neonicotinoids aren't just decimating bee colonies -- they're hurting birds too. Please sign! The Purple Martin - an insectivorous species  considered particularly vulnerable.  PinP  photo.   RELATED:   "New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too. Is modern agriculture's toxic hold on nature becoming a death grip?"