farmland

Scientists from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), found that the fungicide ziram, like the previously linked pesticides maneb and paraquat, also harms brain cells.

The recent study, published online in the ‘European Journal of Epidemiology,’ not only included the people who lived nearby the farm fields, like the previous study, but also the workplaces near the sprayed fields.

The researchers observed a three-time increase in the risk of PD with exposure to the combination of ziram, maneb, and paraquat near any workplace.

The research conducted by Cranfield University, England, and funded by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), has shown that a change from beef and lamb to veggie-substitutes like tofu affects the environment by adding to the requirement of agricultural land.

One of the study authors, Donal Murphy-Bokern, former farming and science coordinator, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said, “For some people, tofu and other meat substitutes symbolise environmental friendliness but they are not necessarily the badge of merit people claim.”