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The Consequences of Agrochemicals on the Oceans

The oceans feed more than 500 million people and provide jobs for 350 million people.

At least 500 dead zones have now been reported near coasts, up from under 50 in 1950. A recent example is the red tide on the southwestern coast of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, which has killed thousands of animals and significantly disrupted the biodiversity of the area. The red tide is a normal seasonal occurrence in southwestern Florida, however, this year’s tide has astoundingly lasted since November 2017. Areas affected are known as “hypoxic areas” or “dead zones”. The cause of such hypoxic (lacking oxygen) conditions is usually eutrophication, an increase in chemical nutrients in the water, leading to excessive blooms of algae that deplete underwater oxygen levels. …

The Ozone Layer: Another Reason to Invest in Ethical Businesses

16 September – International Day for the Conservation of the Ozone Layer
United Nations

The ozone layer plays a key function in protecting humans from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. The ozone layer has suffered damage through the years due to a group of manufactured chemicals, containing chlorine and/or bromine. These chemicals are called “ozone-depleting substances” (ODS). Ozone layer depletion increases the amount of UV irradiation that reach the Earth’s surface; this can increase the risk of  skin cancer, particularly at higher latitudes, and affect the development of plants and marine ecosystems. ODS are stable, non-toxic and environmentally safe in the lower atmosphere, which is why they became so popular in the first place.

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How Consumer Pressure could Spell the End of Toxic Pesticides

In August 2018, Monsanto, the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology company, was sued by a groundskeeper in the US who claimed to have developed cancer after years of using Roundup, a popular weed killer made by Monsanto. A judge ruled in his favor and ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages. Glyphosate, a herbicide and a key ingredient in Monsanto’s weed killer, has been linked to cancer by California State researchers and the World Health Organization (WHO). This case could become a landmark in the future of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and proof of how in the age of social media and consumer power, companies will be forced to adhere to a higher standard of safe and sustainable products such as biopesticides.

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Brazil’s Major Contenders and What it Means for the Future of Agriculture

The upcoming Brazilian election is a significant moment, as an election is for any country. The challenge during election years is always to rise above the political circus and the media noise, and to extrapolate how the outcome of any election affects your interests. In this case, how the potential outcomes of the Brazilian elections will affect the agriculture industry.

Representing everything attractive and challenging about long-term higher returns likely to come from emerging markets, the country with the 8th largest global GDP has experienced significant growth in the agricultural sector. Expected to become the world’s largest foods exporter by 2020, the agriculture and agribusiness sectors have been the biggest contributor to the economic recovery of Brazil, now representing 23.5% of GDP, the highest level in 17 years.

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Neem Set to Benefit From Global Cannabis Growth

Primal believes that a key factor for the future of the cannabis industry will be sustainable crop care. The toll of commercial agriculture on the world is already significant, and the addition of another major crop such as cannabis treated with traditional synthetic and chemical inputs could lead to damaging repercussions for both human health and the planet. As a cash crop, growers rely on synthetics and chemicals in order to guarantee the growth of their plants. Furthermore, synthetic pesticides on cannabis can be transferred into cannabis smoke at a rate as high as 70%, allowing chemicals to directly enter the bloodstream without undergoing first-pass metabolism by the digestive systems.

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CLIMATE CHANGE AS IT HAPPENS

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Our Latest Video from Brazil

At the forefront of sustainable and regenerative agriculture, Primal’s agronomists are enabled by the most innovative technologies and resources at the forefront of the new Green Revolution. The combination of natural crop care solutions alongside the latest advances in AgTech allow us to nurture our neem and coconut trees in the most sustainable way possible, and to manage our project from both a productivity and environmental perspective.

Our Chairman and CEO Anthony J. Archer invites you to take a look at our newest project update video and witness the progress made across our plantations, from the planting of new neem saplings to the growth of our adolescent neem trees.

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Our Fate is Tied to the Ocean

The importance of our oceans can’t be overstated; they cover 71% of the world’s surface, contain 97% of the earth’s water and account for 99% of living space on the planet. Oceans provide us with food, transportation, energy, biodiversity and ensure climate regulation and many other aspects that modern society has taken for granted for several years. Most information about the ocean’s key role in safeguarding our planet’s health has only recently surfaced, 95% percent of the ocean is still unexplored and in terms of understanding our planet and evolving as a society that does not exploit, but nurtures the oceans, there’s still a long road ahead of us.

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Agriculture and Technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

With the world’s population expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, farmers will need to produce more food to feed the world over the next 35 years than in the last 2000 years! According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), a quarter of all food, measured by calorie content, is wasted from “farm to fork”, and 8% of this loss occurs in the upstream value chain. As the primary source of food, agriculture contributes significantly to arable land depletion and environmental degradation as a result of the prolific use of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemical inputs. The International Food Policy Research Institute indicates that 5 to 10 million hectares of cropland are lost annually due to severe degradation, and that crop yields are continually decreasing over a much larger area.

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ViTA: 2018 SPC Breakthrough Innovator of the Year

Primal is proud to announce that our neem powered beauty and personal care brand, ViTA, has been awarded the 2018 Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s (SPC) Innovator of the Year Award for Breakthrough Process. The SPC is a membership-based collaborative that believes in the power of major industry to make packaging more sustainable and strives to create packaging that is not only good for people but also for the environment.

“For years, society has taken the importance and interconnected nature of the ecosystems of our planet for granted. The plastic epidemic that currently plagues our oceans is just one example of the unsustainability of current business and consumption models.…

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