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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Podcast: Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat explains how junk science gets published—and how to spot it in the headlines
Bad research can put people's lives at risk, so addressing problems with peer review is essential ...
Nanosensor detects trace amounts of chemicals, helping farmers cut pesticide, fertilizer use
Good things come in small packages. Sadly, so do bad things. That’s where Iowa State University’s (ISU) Department of Mechanical ...
French Parliament: 2022 glyphosate ban falls off track as widespread weed killer use continues
IS FRANCE’S GLYPHOSATE EXIT PLAN ON TRACK? A French parliament report, published on [Nov. 13], suggests not. President Emmanuel Macron ...
EPA wants scientists to share their data: Will it promote government transparency or threaten public health?
"The Trump administration is preparing to significantly limit the scientific and medical research that the government can use to determine ...
Winter honeybee losses cut in half since 2012 as beekeepers battle deadly varroa mite
It looks as though the period of alarmingly high winter mortality in honeybees is over. And a long-term study by ...
Commonly used pesticide 1,3-D has smaller impact on soil microbes than tillage, cover crops or irrigation, study shows
It started with curiosity. How does a fumigant, commonly used for nematode management in potato cropping systems, influence soil microbial ...
Video: ‘What will I eat today’ vs. ‘will I eat today?’ – It’s time to trust African scientists (on access to GMO and gene edited crops)
It is time African governments take action ...
Eat your veggies! California testing confirms organic and conventional produce well below EPA pesticide limits
Once again, evidence that our food supply is safe and incredibly diverse ...
Neonic pesticides offer negligible benefits to farmers? ‘Nonsense,’ says Iowa soybean grower
Most people would say that life is unpredictable. We have our plans and routines, but there’s no way to tell ...
Viewpoint: Common pesticides unsafe at any dose? Here’s what’s wrong with Brazilian researcher’s ‘unsupported’ claims
Going to national media with unpublished sensationalist claims is not without consequences ...
Microbes living in plant roots fight off fungal infection, cutting need for pesticides, study shows
Micro-organisms living inside plant roots team up to boost the plant's growth and tolerance to stress. An international research team ...
Vancouver, Toronto continue to battle invasive weeds with Roundup after Health Canada rejects glyphosate-cancer link
The City of Vancouver uses the controversial Roundup herbicide. More than 42,700 Americans sued its maker, Monsanto-Bayer. They say that ...
Fifth US retailer announces plan to ‘phase out’ neonic pesticides from supply chain
Another food retailer has announced a plan to minimize its use of pesticides in a bid to help protect pollinators, ...
Study claiming neonic pesticides harm wild birds has no relevance to real-world conditions, plant geneticist argues
Capturing wild birds and force-feeding 3-10% of a lethal dose (of anything) is cruel. It’s not surprising birds would become ...
Judge dismisses false advertising lawsuit against Panera over products containing glyphosate residues
A putative class action alleging that Panera LLC’s labeling and marketing of its food products as “clean” or “100% clean” ...
Viewpoint: Anti-pesticide Environmental Working Group spreads chemophobia at taxpayer expense
.... It may sound crazy, but the federal government funds a network of activists that spew tons of needlessly alarming ...
Global consensus finds neonicotinoids not driving honeybee health problems. Why is Europe determined to ban them?
Why is Europe allowing what has been called 'a bizarrely one-sided piece of politicized science' to determine agricultural policy? ...
Bayer says glyphosate-cancer legal settlement should cap future liability, as number of lawsuits surges past 40,000
Already reeling from an avalanche of lawsuits, German agriculture and healthcare giant Bayer AG said on [October 30] the number ...
Glyphosate-cancer lawsuit tally doubles to 42,700, as settlement talks attract more plaintiffs, Bayer says
Germany’s Bayer is now facing 42,700 U.S. plaintiffs blaming its glyphosate-based weedkillers for their cancer, more than twice the tally ...
Environmental Working Group slams joint EPA-PETA effort to end pesticide testing on animals
Leaders from the Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals flanked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler ...
Rat-munching monkeys could protect palm oil, most widely consumed vegetable oil, from rodents
Found as an ingredient in many processed and packaged foods, palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil. Now, ...
Australian farmer: Anti-glyphosate activists resemble ‘climate deniers’ in their assault on mainstream science
The global war on glyphosate has arrived in Australia. Our media has been closely following media coverage of the recent ...
Thailand glyphosate ban threatens over $500 million worth of American crop exports, USDA warns
Thailand’s ban on three chemicals used in farming that its government deemed hazardous could threaten imports of American agricultural products ...
EU lawmakers: New bee safety rules won’t protect pollinators from neonic pesticides long term
The European Parliament on [October 23] blocked a diluted proposal by the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm on protecting bees from ...
Cotton industry prepares to commercialize FDA-approved GMO seeds to help ‘feed 500 million people’
The cotton industry hopes to launch a new market for a genetically modified cotton plant whose seeds are edible for ...
Viewpoint: ‘There are no long-term GMO safety studies,’ and 9 other biotech myths debunked
Can salt be a GMO? Is it true that no long-term studies have been done on GMOs? There are many ...
‘No evidence’ low-level glyphosate exposure causes kidney damage in children, study shows
The goal of this study was to assess biomarkers of exposure to glyphosate and assess potential associations with renal function ...
