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In the News: Thai Officials Play Down Effects of Oil Spill, What Aerial Shots of Factory Farming Look Like (Hint: It’s Not Pretty), Study Reveals Toxic Nanoparticles Persist in Food

Thai Officials Play Down Effects of Oil Spill

One July 26th, a burst pipeline sent tons of crude oil pouring into the sea near Koh Samet, a Thai resort island. Thai officials played down the environmental impact of what was the country?s third-largest oil spill. An executive of the oil company responsible, PTT, told reporters that ?everything was restored to normal,? a day after the spill. As the once pristine coast filled with a thick black tide of oil, the same executive, Pornthep Butniphant, said the oil would decompose naturally and have ?no effect on the environment.? For the past three weeks, military units have been attempting to decontaminate the bay. A leading marine biologist said it would be years before marine life returned to normal in the worst-affected area. The government?s own pollution control department has issued a report saying that the area is too polluted to swim, with potentially cancer-causing hydrocarbons present in the water that were nearly six times the permissible level. This spill once again highlights the controversy surrounding the construction of more pipelines. Accidents are bound to happen, and when they do, the damage has huge environmental and economic implications.

What Aerial Shots of Factory Farming Look Like

A picture is worth a thousand words; in this case, they speak of the horrors of our current industrial food system. British photographer A waste lagoon at Coronado Feeders, Dalhart, TexasMishka?Henner, did not set out to make an artsy statement about the environmental destruction of feedlots. Originally, he was looking for aerial shots of oil fields when he came across these gruesome photos. ?Massive waste lagoons, which waft up dangerous hydrogen sulfide fumes and can contaminate groundwater with nitrates and antibiotics, first resemble open, infected wounds. Thankfully, Henner is safe from increasingly popular ag-gag laws preventing feedlot photography, since the photos are open-source imagery from satellites. Have a look for yourself by clicking here.

Study Reveals Toxic Nanoparticles Persist in Food

A new study by scientists at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources reveals that there continues to be dangerous nanopesticides in our food. The study focused on silver nanoparticles (nanosilver), a substance that has been linked to environmental harm, bacterial resistance, and not fully understood impacts on human health. As the use of nanotechnology in consumer products such as food, clothing, cosmetics, fertilizers, and pesticides, increases, strong reactions from scientists across the globe have sprung up. As Mengshi Lin, Ph.D, associate professor at the University of Missouri (MU) and co-author of the study states, ?More than 1,000 products on the market are nanotechnology-based products. This is a concern because we do not know the toxicity of the nanoparticles. Our goal is to detect, identify and quantify these nanoparticles in food and food products and study their toxicity as soon as possible.? MU scientists began their testing by immersing several pears in a solution containing nanosilver at 20 nanometers (nm) and 70 nm, effectively mimicking a pesticide application. The team then repeatedly washed and rinsed the pears and observed the presence of nanoparticles on the pear?s skin and pulp. Results showed that both the 20 and 70nm nanosilver particles remained on the pears skin after 4 days, while the 20nm particles were in fact also able to penetrate the pear?s skin and reach the inside of the pear?s pulp. ?The penetration of silver nanoparticles is dangerous to consumers because they have the ability to relocate in the human body after digestion,? Dr. Lin said. ?Therefore, smaller nanoparticles may be more harmful to consumers than larger counterparts.? The only way to avoid nanomaterials in food is to buy organic certified products. Keep this in mind the next time you are the store.

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