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I don't think there's anything that specific in here, but here's something I read in the book anyways.
The chemical that he talks about in his book is Monocrotophos. He says "Monocrotophos is an organophosphate, or OP - a family of potent chemicals derived from phosphorus acids and similar in structure to nerve gases like sarin.....They are highly toxic to vertebrates, especially birds, and monocrotophos is considered among the most virulent of all avian toxins." In the winter of 1996, there was a massive kill of Swainson's Hawks; between fifteen and twenty thousand hawks were killed in just the small area of La Pampa where two scientists worked. "As soon as the 1996 kills were located, word spread across the Internet, generating tremendous grassroots concern. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Argentine government cooperated on training and field surveys; the Argentines were regulating pesticides. The Argentine agricultural agencies cracked down on the use of monocrotophos and
launched an aggressive education campaign aimed at farmers, while U.S. toxicological experts began training their Argentine counterparts in the exacting lab procedures required to monitor pesticides in the environment." Later on,Ciba-Geigy and three other manufacturers agreed to pull monocrotophos off the market in certain areas of the pampas, add warning labels, and help educate the farmers on alternative ways to get control locusts. "Ciba, now known as Novartis, later agreed to entirely phase out proguction and sale of monocrotophos and five other OP pesticides."
Lucas Berrigan
Eastern shore, HRM,
Nova Scotia.
My site:
http://www.geocities.com/interpolerater/
----- Original Message ----
From: Eleanor Lindsay <az678@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 9:06:48 AM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Sunflower seeds
Andy
Dean
wrote:
>
I
received
a
phone
call
this
evening
but
unfortunately
failed
to
get
>
the
name
of
the
caller.
>
He
has
no
access
to
send
messages
to
NatureNS
so
asked
me
to
pass
a
>
message
to
the
group,
and
Elinor
Lindsay
in
particular,
regarding
>
sunflower
seeds.
>
He
quoted
a
book
by
Scott
Weidensaul
titled
'Living
On
The
Wind'
>
...specifically
chapter
8....which
apparently
relates
an
experience
,
>
I
believe
it
was
in
Argentina
.
where
Swainsons
Hawks
died
in
large
>
numbers
when
they
ate
grasshoppers
contaminated
with
either
pesticide
>
or
herbicide
.[
sorry
to
be
so
vague
but
it
was
a
brief
call
]
>
He
suggested
that
sunflower
seed
has
evolved
from
simply
being
>
produced
to
help
birds
survive
the
winters
into
a
major
business
crop,
>
and
this
has
resulted
in
lower
safety
standards,
at
least
in
some
of
>
the
countries
producing
huge
commercial
crops,
and
he
strongly
urged
>
that
we
read
the
item.
>
I
checked
the
Valley
Regional
Library
catalogue
but
drew
a
blank
on
>
that
title.
>
Andy
>
>
Andy
&
Lelia
Dean
>
86
Baden
Powell
Drive
>
Kentville,
NS.
Canada.
B4N
5P5
>
Tel:
[902]
678-6243
>
>
aadean@ns.sympatico.ca
<mailto:aadean@ns.sympatico.ca>
My
thanks
to
Andy
for
passing
this
message
on
and
to
Lukas
for
offering
information
from
his
copy
of
'Living
on
the
Wind';
I
don't
doubt
for
a
moment
that
the
quality
of
sunflower
seeds
has
diminished
as
the
demand
escalates.
My
problem
over
the
past
few
months
(virtual
cessation
of
black
oil
sunflower
seed
consumption,
never
before
encountered
in
over
25
years
of
bird
feeding)
continues
without
change,
leaving
me
concerned.
When
I
put
out
mixed
seeds
the
birds
pick
them
through,
leaving
all
the
sunflower
seeds.
Checking
with
neighbours
in
the
area
yields
mixed
reports,
with
some
feeling
there
has
been
a
reduction
and
others
not
noticing
any
change.
I've
checked
around
some
of
the
main
sunflower
seed
suppliers
in
the
area
and
most
get
them
from
Armstrong,
a
Hagersville
Ontario
distributor
which,
I
am
told,
likely
gets
the
bulk
of
its
seeds
from
out
west.
I've
bought
these
seeds
from
three
different
places
(just
in
case
storage
is
a
source
of
the
problem),
and
I've
emptied
and
washed
out
my
feeders,
all
with
no
appreciable
difference.
I
can't
think
of
anything
else
to
try.
Lucas,
if
any
of
this
relates
to
Chapter
8
that
Andy's
caller
specifically
recommended
I'd
very
much
appreciate
hearing
about
it!
Eleanor
Lindsay
Seabright,
St
Margarets
Bay
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--0-1550541844-1203881712=:61564
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<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt">I don't think there's anything that specific in here, but here's something I read in the book anyways. <br><br>The chemical that he talks about in his book is Monocrotophos. He says "Monocrotophos is an organophosphate, or OP - a family of potent chemicals derived from phosphorus acids and similar in structure to nerve gases like sarin.....They are highly toxic to vertebrates, especially birds, and monocrotophos is considered among the most virulent of all avian toxins." In the winter of 1996, there was a massive kill of Swainson's Hawks; between fifteen and twenty thousand hawks were killed in just the small area of La Pampa where two scientists worked. "As soon as the 1996 kills were located, word spread across the Internet, generating tremendous grassroots concern. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Servise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Argentine government cooperated on training and field surveys; the Argentines were regulating pesticides. The Argentine agricultural agencies cracked down on the use of monocrotophos and launched an aggressive education campaign aimed at farmers, while U.S. toxicological experts began training their Argentine counterparts in the exacting lab procedures required to monitor pesticides in the environment." Later on,Ciba-Geigy and three other manufacturers agreed to pull monocrotophos off the market in certain areas of the pampas, add warning labels, and help educate the farmers on alternative ways to get control locusts. "Ciba, now known as Novartis, later agreed to entirely phase out proguction and sale of monocrotophos and five other OP pesticides."<br><br><br><br>Lucas Berrigan<br>Eastern shore, HRM, <br>Nova Scotia.<div> </div>&l