Pollinators And Power

Today I am talking with Carey Gillam, author and an investigative journalist for 25 years both with Reuters and The Guardian. She is also the researcher director for US Right to Know, the most effective non-profit research organization exposing how corporate funding of Public agricultural Universities like UC Davis and Uni of Florida corrupt the research about the danger of agro chemicals. Her research of industrial agricultural practices and the chemicals it requires has taken her throughout rural America. She has spent time with row crop farmers, ranchers, vegetable growers and orchard operators from the Dakotas to Texas, and from California to the Southeast. She has been welcomed inside the high-tech laboratories, greenhouses and corporate offices of some of the largest U.S. agribusinesses. And she has spent countless hours interviewing key U.S. regulators, academics, lawmakers, and scientists. With years of this behind-the-scenes reporting, Gillam has developed deep insight into the risks and rewards of the modern-day food system, and hopes to share that knowledge with others who care about the food they eat and feed to their families. Carey has just finished her second book, The Monsanto Papers; Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption and One Mans Search for Justice. To Quote a Barnes and Noble review, “With enough money and influence, could a company endanger its customers, hide evidence, manipulate regulators, and get away with it all—for decades?”

Henk Tennekes, Author of The Systemic Pesticides, A disaster in the Making was a Dutch Toxicologist who researched neonicotinoids, the most used agro chemicals on the planet. Henk wrote his book when he saw that these poisons would break the food chain at it's most critical link, the insect/invertebrate life system of the planet. Bayer and Academia at Wageningen University (EU equivalent to UC Davis University), who portray themselves as leaders in pollinator health, both blacklisted him and worked to destroy his career. They put a shot across the bow to those who would blow the whistle and expose the cozy relationship of Honeybee Academia and the chemical industry. Henk’s accent was difficult to understand, so I asked Tom Theobald, friend of Henk and activist beekeeper from Colorado, to stand in and read as Henk from the transcript. If you'd like the original interview of Henk please email me for a copy. Marc Pieterse, a Dutch admirer of Henk's work, took the time to translate Henk's interview into a transcript. Thank you Marc and Tom for all your help. And thank you Henk for seeing the future and warning us, even if you paid dearly for it.

Amigo Bob Cantisano who passed away December 26, 2020, was and remains a mountain of influence on the Organic Farming world, both in California and worldwide. He was one of the founders of the organic movement in the early 70's and made his life’s work about chemical free soil and farming. See the LA Times Obituary to get the full history of this remarkable man. The loss of Amigo is huge. I'm so glad he gave me the time he did and as we touched on very difficult topics for this podcast. This interview with Amigo was about Robert Van De Bosch who was killed for writing 'The Pesticide Conspiracy' in 1978 by the ‘Pesticide Mafia’ as he coined them. This is relevant information for today because Van was a highly respected and influential entomologist who'd had enough of the games University of California was playing with agriculture in allowing the pesticide industry carte blanche in our food system. To understand where we are, we have to look at the past. Van paid the price for speaking out and his pivotal book stands alone as a siren call to the dangers of allowing chemical interests to control our food and farming.

Graham White of the UK was an incredibly intelligent and outspoken soldier for pollinators and nature. He was the most well-researched, well read and well rounded honeybee advocate who knew everything about the chemical industry's control of our food system.

Jeff Anderson, owner of California Minnesota Honey Farms is a long time migratory beekeeper with thousands of hives and a front line activist fighting the powerful pesticide interests in our regulatory agencies, the EPA, USDA, BIP and powerful Ag Public Universities.

Sainath Suryanarayanan is the co-author of 'Vanishing Bees' by Rutgers University Press, Vanishing Bees is a clear eyed and rock solid assessment of how public agriculture universities, many entomology departs and beekeeper leaders work hand in glove to protect pesticide industry interests in our agriculture.

Tome Theobald, plaintiff in the recent settlement by EPA and Center For Food Safety discusses why the settlement was not a victory for bees and pollinators, but instead a big win for Bayer and the EPA.

Interview with Tom Theobald by Terry Oxford

Jenny Cullinan lives in the Cape in South Africa, the richest and most diverse floral kingdom in the world.  Six years ago, she and her partner, Karin Sternberg gave up their jobs and started UJUBEE, their wild bee research team.

Terry Oxford Interviews Stacy Malkan of US Right to Know

Interview with Professor Dave Goulson by Terry Oxford