Another round-up of online press and research covering the debate on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the name given to an apparent global decline in the pollinating bee population. Comments and link contributions are welcomed – look for the ‘Comments’ link at the base of this post.

Press

Trying to Diagnose the Disappearing Bees (Voice of Sandiego.org)
10 Possible Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (About.com)
Scientists Untangle Multiple Causes of Bee Colony Disorder (Environment News Service)
Habitat loss and disease are bees’ bane, not pesticides (Farmers Weekly Interactive)
Pesticides blamed for killing bees (Telegraph.co.uk)
Global Honey Bee Population Increasing, Despite Local Losses (ecoworldly.com)

Mysterious decline in bee population creates worry (WorldFocusOnline via YouTube)

General reference

Colony collapse disorder (Wikipedia)
Colony collapse disorder – Possible causes and research (Wikipedia)

Research

Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study
(van Engelsdorp et al. plosone.org)
Honeybee colony collapse due to Nosema ceranae in professional apiaries
(Higes et al. Environmental Microbiology Reports, via Wiley InterScience)
Distribution and decline of British bumblebees
(Williams / Natural History Museum UK)

Some articles on pesticides and related topics from the last two weeks. Feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand column.

• Climate map shows human impact (BBC)
• Climate change will devastate Africa, top UK scientist warns (Guardian)
• Low-carbon farms can raise food output, food agency says (STV News)
• Developed countries face threat of soaring prices and food shortages (Guardian)
• Developing Countries Paying More For Food, WFP Executive Director Says (Medical News Today)
• Brussels’ plans to slash CAP budget revealed (Farmers Guardian)
• Scientists urge respect on advice (BBC)
• UF research examines how common pesticide mixes may affect bee die-offs (University of Florida News)
• Pesticides non a serious threat to bees (Farmers Guardian)
• Can Bumble Bees Fill Pollination Void? (Innovations Report)
• 10 herbal teas found to contain pesticides (United Press International)
• Discovery of Pesticide Amitraz in Turkish Pears: EU Member States to Increase Controls on Imports(FlexNews)
• Depression link to processed food (BBC)

Please find below some articles on pesticides and related topics from the last two weeks. Do feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.

• So Much Food. So Much Hunger (The New York Times)
• Leading scientists call for a new approach to food security (Environmental Expert)
• World will need 70 percent more food in 2050: FAO (AFP)
• FSA attacks French organics study (The Ecologist)
• New Computing Tool Could Lead To Better Crops And Pesticides (ScienceDaily)
• Commission to name ‘chief scientific advisor’ (Euractiv)
• Commission says farmers need help to cut carbon (Euractiv)
• Climate change hails new era for agriculture (Farmers Guardian)
• Bee deaths set apiculture congress abuzz (AFP)
• Urban beekeeping in UK helps combat decline (AFP)

The debate around organic has boiled up over the week after the release of the FSA’s study (see our last post below.) Here are some articles published this week on the topic. Do feel free to comment or recommend other news and articles.

Press

• Argument is about capitalism, not food (The Guardian)
• It’s wrong to believe that nature is always best (The Guardian)
• Organic food debate boils over (The Independent)
• BBC snubs organic food as it teaches us how to eat well (The Daily Express)
• Les défenseurs du bio rapellent son role écologique (Le Monde)
• Misleading claims on the credentials of food marketed as organic (The Daily Telegraph)
• Organics sector hits back in nutrition row (Freshinfo)
• Organic food contains toxic natural pesticides (The Times)

Blogs

• UK FSA’s organic study confusing and inconclusive? (The Green Room blog)
• Slate: Organic vs. Conventional? Too Complex… (Organic Nation)
• Organic food has no health or nutrition benefits, FSA study finds (VitalRead)
• Study Finds Organic Foods Not More Nutritous (Pays to Live Green)
• Nature’s Path CEO Responds to Organic Food Study Results (DailyBlender)
• Is There a Change Afoot in How Organics Are Marketed? (GreenBiz)

An independent review published by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) concludes that there are no differences in nutrition content or other health benefits between food produced using organic methods and that grown using scientific agriculture (read the FSA’s new release here). It will come as no surprise to anyone that the report has sparked a heated debate in the press and the blogosphere! Please find below a small selection of press articles and blog posts from across the divide discussing the report. Do feel free to comment or to recommend further articles by clicking on the tab above.

Press
Organic food is not healthier, says FSA (The Guardian)
Don’t write off organic food (The Daily Telegraph)
Organic food ‘no healthier than conventional’ (The Independent)
Organic has no health benefits (BBC)
Les bénéfices du «bio» en question (Le Figaro)
Il biologico? Fa bene solo a chi lo produce (La Stampa)

Blogs
Organic Versus Conventional Food: UK Report Flawed (Huffington Post)
News Report: Organic food no healthier, but is that all that matters… (Daily Cup of Yoga)
Organic Isn’t Healthier, But People Will Keep Buying (Humblement)
Organic Food Trash? Or Just Trashing Organic Food? (Unbossed)
Organic Versus Conventional Food: UK Report Flawed (Civil Eats)
Will you still shop organic after the publication of the FSA findings? (Ooffoo)
Joanna Blythman: Please Read the Data Appendices About Organic Food Before Conjuring ‘Cancerous Conspiracies’: Part 1 (Holford Watch)
Organic no better says FSA (Grow organic food)

Please find below some recent articles on pesticides and related topics. Do feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.

• The Three A’s of Food Security (Sciencebase blog)
• Differing patterns in food price falls (BBC)
• French village goes organic one day a week (3News)
• EU survey reveals poor state of biodiversity (Euractiv)
• EU farm subsidies ‘inconsistent’ with global food security (Euractiv)
• Sweden introduces climate labelling for food (Euractiv)
• World food prices: Whatever happened to the food crisis? (The Economist)
• Agriculture Demand Outpacing Honeybee Increase, Researchers Say (Bloomberg)
• EFSA publishes report on pesticide residues in food (Food Production Daily)
• Forum on the Future of Agriculture goes on the road… (Blogactiv)

Here are some articles on pesticides and related topics from the last two weeks:

• “Agriculture seen as ‘key’ to fighting climate change” (EurActiv)
• Mercabilbao in Spain starts a pioneer process of cleaning and desensitizing the boxes used to carry fruit and vegetables. “Mercabilbao pone en marcha un tren de lavado pionero en el Estado para envases reutilizables de frutas y hortalizas” (In spanish – Europapress)
• “Italian police seize counterfeit pesticides” (Fruinet)
• “Debate over quality of Italian fresh produce” (International Supermarket News)
• “Agriculture: A necessary complication in the climate negotiation” (Grist)

Please find below a sample of articles on pesticides from English language news sources since the recent vote on the revision of the regulations governing pesticides in the European Parliament (see posts below for details).

• Get with the anti-pesticide programme (The Guardian)
• This pesticide ban is poison (The Guardian)
• EU pesticide ban ‘will force high food prices’ (Irish News)
• Warning that pesticide residues may have long-term impact on health (Irish Times)
• EU pesticide law condemned by chemists (Royal Society of Chemistry)
• Soil Association ‘Rubbish’ Pesticide Claims (Healthy Pages)
• Pesticides blow to farmers (The Scotsman)
• European ban on pesticides is driven by emotion rather than assessment of risk (The Scotsman)
• Balance elusive in EU pesticide debate (BBC)

Moving on to our penultimate interview from the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (see previous posts below), please find below our interview with Roger Waites, editor of AGRA FACTS, a Brussels-based newsletter that closely monitors EU agriculture policy.

Roger talked to us about the continued threat of the food crisis, the future of European farming policy, and agricultural productivity.

You can view a previous interview with Roger, filmed last October at the “Pesticides in Sustainable Agriculture” event.

Some recent articles on pesticides and related topics. Feel free to recommend more articles by selecting “Recommend a page or site” above or access a more comprehensive list of articles by using the Delicious cloud in the right-hand colmumn.

• Agri-food sector to assess its environmental footprint (EurActiv)
• Is Local Food Better? (EurActiv)
• Vote for future of farming in EU (Farmers Guardian)
• Co-op donation creates buzz around British black bees (Guardian)
• Green Revolution Key to food Security in Africa (European Water News)
• Climate change ‘killing coral triangle’ (Telegraph)
• Threat to European biodiversity ‘as serious as climate change’ (The Optimum population trust blog)
• Pesticides: Operator Safety Is Paramount (ScienceDaily)
• Consumers are savvy about organic food (Financial Times)
• EU agricultural research to tackle food security (Euractiv)
• French organic food sales rise 25 pct in 2008 (Reuters)
• Demand for emergency food rises (BBC)