Win Against Glyphosate in California

“Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s widely used herbicide Roundup, was added on July 7th to California’s list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer, according to a Reuters report Tuesday. This news comes after the company’s unsuccessful attempt to block the listing in trial court and requests for stay were denied by a state appellate court and California’s Supreme Court.” – Organic Consumers Association

This is a landmark decision in the ongoing battle against Monsanto’s flagship weedkiller. 

It was more than two years ago, in March 2015, that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) said glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic” to humans.

Safer Sunscreen Options Shall Be Imperative this Summer

“It can be tough to keep your sunscreen facts straight when you’re studying bottles of lotions and sprays in the sun-care aisle.” Consumer Reports published a great article about how exactly to decode the labels on sunscreens to ensure you’re getting what you need, when you need it. Also, the Environmental Working Group’s sunscreen database rates the safety and efficacy of sunscreens and other products with SPF—they recommend products which provide “long lasting, broad spectrum protection,” with ingredients that pose fewer health concerns. Find more information from EWG here. Remember, your skin is your largest organ and everything you put on it gets absorbed into your body!

Here’s another interesting article published by Time Magazine which concerns how you can better apply sunscreen this summer in order to avoid types of skin cancer. 

SNAP cuts would be devastating to New York

“In May, the Trump administration released the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget proposal, which included drastic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These proposed cuts would have a devastating effect on millions of low-income New Yorkers who rely on SNAP to put enough food on the table for themselves and their families. Hunger Solutions New York acted quickly to publicly oppose these cuts. Following the release of our media statement, we were featured in a story in the Albany Times Union and on Spectrum News’ Capital Tonight program about the efforts to reject these cuts in New York. ” – Hunger Solutions NY

Arkansas Votes to Ban the Sale and Use of Toxic Weedkiller

“Two weeks ago, in a remarkable move, the State Plant Board of Arkansas voted to ban the sale and use of a weedkiller called dicamba. It took that action after a wave of complaints about dicamba drifting into neighboring fields and damaging other crops, especially soybeans. That ban is still waiting to go into force. It requires approval from a committee of the state legislature, which will meet on Friday.”

Dicamba is not a new weedkiller; it’s been around for 50 years. It’s being used in a new way, though, because the biotech company Monsanto is now selling new soybean and cotton varieties that have been genetically altered to tolerate dicamba.