Current Events 9: Farmers Sue Monsanto and Tobacco Company For Being Forced to Use Deadly Pesticides

A group of farmers in Argentina working for Monsanto and leading cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris were coerced by the companies to use several pesticides and herbicides, including Roundup, on their crops. The local community and their own families suffered from the extensive use of chemicals and experienced major birth defects in children. The tobacco crop the farmers were growing required large amounts of highly potent and toxic pesticides and herbicides that had to frequently be applied. Both of the companies neglected to inform the farmers of the dangers the chemicals posed and how to properly administer and store them. Furthermore, Monsanto and Altria Group, the parent company for Philip Morris, were aware at all times that the farmers didn't possess any safety equipment or knowledge/skills regarding how to properly and safely use the herbicides and pesticides in a manner that would mitigate any harmful exposure. Nor did they educate the farmers about protective measures that could be taken. The companies required the farmers to spray excessive amounts of the chemicals on the tobacco crops, and as a result, many of the farmers' children suffer from diseases, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, heart defects, Down Syndrome, blindness, and other life threatening disorders. Additionally, the improper and unregulated use of the pesticides and herbicides contaminated local water wells and food crops.

http://www.naturalnews.com/035592_Big_Tobacco_Monsanto_birth_defects.html

Current Events 8: Meatless Mondays in California

Early this month of November, Los Angeles' City Council passed a resolution endorsing "meatless Mondays." The goal of the campaign is to decrease meat consumption since case studies have yielded results showing lower risks for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity by curtailing one's consumption of meat. The resolution passed in a unanimous 12-0 vote in council. It is by no means an intensive demand. The City Council is hoping that citizens will comply with it and go vegetarian for one day of the week for health and environmental reasons, which may be especially beneficial to L.A. since, according to the Department of Health Services, more than half of the city's citizen's are obese or overweight. This simple, small change can potentially have great benefits on the residents' lives and the environment, and hopefully, it will be adapted by other cities/states.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/city-council-asks-la-residents-to-go-meatless-on-mondays-.html