Pro-agriculture conservatives seem to be welcoming Trump’s push for deregulation because they felt Obama-era policies on GMOs and school lunch reform were burdensome and ineffective. But regulations (or at least some of them) are why I came to trust the U.S. food system in the first place. I know that scientists at the Department of Agriculture regularly test the pesticide residues on U.S.-grown crops to ensure what we’re eating is safe. I know that companies seeking approval for new genetically modified crops have to test these crops for allergenicity. With the EPA’s various pesticide positions, I could read up on the science on these different chemicals and feel confident that it was making sound decisions.
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Until a couple of weeks ago, that is. On March 29, [2017] the EPA decided to reject a proposed ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that’s been linked to neurodevelopmental delays in children. … This decision, announced by new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, has caused a confusing situation, since it was the agency’s own science that suggested the chemical is not safe.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Pruitt’s Policies Undermine My Faith in Our Food
For more background on the Genetic Literacy Project, read GLP on Wikipedia