June 18, 2019 – By Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., Independent Science News – The promotion of fake foods seems to have more to do with giving new life to failing GMO agriculture and the Junk Food Industry, and the threat from the rising consciousness that organic, local, fresh food is real food: that which regenerates the planet and our health.

June 17, 2019 – 211 Maine is a new service that will take calls related to the browntail moth. To get to 211, dial 211 (or 1-866-811-5695), text your zip code to 898-211 or email info@211maine.org. First, though, check the FAQ pages at https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/browntail-moth/index.shtml and https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/invasive_threats/browntail_moth_info.htm.

June 17, 2019 – By Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News – High on a wooded hill in Bucksport, Wheaton Mountain Farm has just begun to take shape. Established last year, the homestead now features a herd of dairy goats, a rabbitry, a few ducks and dozens of chickens that lay eggs of all different hues.

June 17, 2019 – By Meg Wilcox, Environmental Health News – As cities and counties across the US restrict or ban pesticides, many are realizing passing a law is but a battlefield victory in a prolonged war.

June 17, 2019 – By Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Monday it will allow states to use a pesticide that is harmful to bees.

June 17, 2019 – By Brigit Katz, Smithsonian – The plump rusty patched bumblebee, Bombus affinis, once buzzed all across the eastern United States, the upper Midwest and parts of Canada. But today, the chunky critter is endangered, its population reduced by nearly 90 percent. In Minnesota, where the rusty patched bumblebee can still be found, officials have hatched a plan to help bolster the species’ population. As Jessica Leigh Hester reports for Atlas Obscura, the state wants to pay residents to turn their lawns into bumblebee havens.

June 16, 2019 – Penobscot Bay Pilot – As part of their natural reproductive cycle, honeybees will swarm. A swarm is when a queen and a good portion of the worker population of bees leave the hive to find a new home. While a honeybee swarm is relatively harmless, it can be a frightening sight to people, according to Knox-Lincoln County Beekeepers, in a news release.

June 15, 2019 – By Julia Bayly, Bangor Daily News – Few things say farming like the sounds of a chugging motor or clanking implements associated with a farm tractor. Tractors come in all shapes, sizes and prices but what’s the right size tractor for your homestead?

June 15, 2019 – By Kelsey Pipe, Vox – How a simple nudge can improve health and nutrition reporting.

June 14, 2019 – By Ruth Bender, The Wall Street Journal – Bayer AG BAYRY -1.76% plans to invest €5 billion ($5.64 billion) on developing new ways to combat weeds over the next decade, as the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant seeks to win back trust in its business in the wake of thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer.