Chemical Controversies
Pesticides are substances that prevent, destroy, repel, or reduce the severity of pests. Pests are living things that occur where they are not wanted or that cause damage to humans, crops, or animals. Pests can be insects, rodents, unwanted plants, bacteria, viruses, or different types of fungus. Pesticides can vary in how toxic they are to humans and the environment. Some are persistent in the environment, animals, and birds, lasting for years; others break down soon after they are released. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants licenses, or registrations, to pesticides that it has found do not pose unreasonable risks to human health and the environment; it has registered at least 865 pesticides, which are used in thousands of pesticide products.
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Dicamba on trial: Bayer tells federal judges banning drift-prone herbicide would ’cause chaos’ for farmers
As U.S. soybean and cotton farmers work to get their 2020 crops planted, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ...
Viewpoint: How precautionary public health policy turned coronavirus into a ‘global train wreck’
Worldwide coronavirus response was a failure in risk management ...
Gene-drive technology may combat notorious Fusarium fungus that decimates global wheat yields
The Fusarium fungus is the bane of every wheat farmer’s existence. Causing wheat scab—also known as head blight—it decimates harvests ...
Capitalizing on corona: Conspiracy theorists blame COVID-19 on glyphosate, GMOs and the ‘New World Order’
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EPA likely to re-approve controversial dicamba weedkillers in 2020, despite widespread crop damage
Herbicide applicators have the weight of dicamba’s future weighing heavily on their shoulders this year. EPA’s conditional registration lasts through ...
Video: 30% bigger crop yields; 60% less pesticide use—The massive impact of GMO Bt insect-resistant eggplant in Bangladesh
Since entering the market in 2014, Bt brinjal [eggplant] has helped smallholder farmers in Bangladesh achieve higher yields, a 60 ...
Buy organic, local and non-GMO? 9 popular practices that aren’t so eco-friendly after all
We all care about the environment, at least a tiny bit. Many of us recycle all we can and own ...
Lawsuit alleging EPA illegally re-approved dicamba could prevent farmers from spraying controversial weedkiller
In 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved Monsanto’s dicamba-based herbicide under a conditional two-year registration. The agency determined dicamba, ...
Can a novel ‘genetic’ pesticide knock out citrus greening disease before it devastates US orange groves?
[Citrus greening] disease has already decimated citrus groves in the other major citrus-producing states of Florida, California and Texas. According ...
After three lost glyphosate-cancer trials, Bayer investors fear litigation ‘avalanche’ will further harm company’s reputation
Two influential shareholder advisory groups are split on whether investors should support Bayer AG’s management at its upcoming annual meeting, ...
Viruses that ‘turn off’ plant genes could help farmers battle herbicide-resistant weeds
A team of scientists from Rothamsted Research have successfully adapted genetic techniques developed for crop improvement to be used in ...
Viewpoint: Glyphosate caused the COVID-19 pandemic? Debunking the latest coronavirus conspiracy
When I saw that Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a ... professor at MIT, wrote an article entitled Connecting the Dots: Glyphosate ...
Drones, big data and AI help China’s farmers weather the coronavirus pandemic
The Covid-19 or coronavirus outbreak has led to an economical standstill worldwide. Agriculture is no exception. China’s agricultural industry is ...
Without steady supply of pesticides, Africa faces food security ‘disaster’ caused by resurgent locust swarms
The locust is considered the most deadly migratory parasite and a single swarm covering a square kilometer can be made ...
Genetically engineered biofuels might be able to compete with gasoline ‘within reach’
Berkeley Laboratory scientists designed simulations to determine how much biofuel is needed for the whole bioproduct extraction process to be ...
Woman charged for allegedly selling illegal pesticides on eBay she claimed would kill coronavirus
A Georgia woman made her initial appearance on federal charges of illegally importing and selling an unregistered pesticide, Toamit Virus ...
With consumers still fearful of synthetic chemicals, biotech firms spend billions on biopesticide development
Major players like Bayer and start-up companies are spending billions to identify fungi, bacteria and organic compounds in plants that ...
CRISPR could yield herbicide-resistant, non-GMO soybeans to help combat stubborn weeds
It is often said that a soybean’s maximum yield potential is when it is still in the bag .... [E]verything ...
Pesticide-spraying drones accelerate sustainable farming as governments relax regulations
Move over dogs – drones are a farmer’s new best friend! In just a few years there’s been a huge ...
Viewpoint: Contradictory evidence exposes critical flaws in International Agency for Research on Cancer glyphosate assessment
This commentary does not concern itself with the need for, or the value of glyphosate as an agrochemical: rather it ...
Podcast: The misused meta-analysis—How statistical trickery yields impressive but bogus study results
A meta-analysis allows researchers to compile data from many smaller studies and, hopefully, find more conclusive answers to critical public ...
Viewpoint: Africa’s battle against locust swarms exposes folly of fearing pesticides and GMOs
Europeans are panic-buying in the supermarkets around the continent .... The retailers are being overrun, but the only real shortage ...
This health writer used to fear the ‘Dirty Dozen.’ Here’s why she quit worrying about pesticides on food
I have a confession: My shopping and eating habits have been influenced by the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists ...
95.5% of Europe’s produce below legal pesticide limits, posing little risk to consumers, food safety officials say
EFSA has published its annual report on pesticide residues found in food in the European Union. The report is based ...
Viewpoint: Bees and pesticides—Europe’s precautionary rules neglect science, hinder sustainable farming
A core element of EU environmental law is the precautionary principle (PP), which theoretically requires regulators to err on the ...
Glyphosate and other pesticides pose little threat to soil health, many studies show
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Clones, enzymes, stem cells and more: Learn these scientific terms to better understand biotech news
Quite often, you hear about advances in biotechnology in the news .... [Y]ou might feel as if the science and ...
