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.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Organic food helps you get pregnant? Media outlets fall for ‘activist science’
[Editor's note: Terence Bradshaw is a research associate at the University of Vermont. He has a PhD in plant & soil science.] ...
Fighting Zika with drones and genetically engineered mosquitoes
At Rutgers University ... engineers are developing “skeetercopters” that can detect and map mosquito-infested sites from the air — and douse ...
Viewpoint: ‘Radical change’ needed to make global food system sustainable
The Green Revolution of the post-World War II era has rightly been hailed as a huge achievement for humankind. Transformation ...
Would switching to organic farming cut greenhouse gas emissions?
A new study, led by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, gives the impression that a large-scale shift to organic farming ...
Quantity vs quality: Burkina Faso’s problems with Monsanto’s insect-resistant GMO Bt cotton
In 2000, farmers in Burkina Faso, Africa’s top cotton grower, were desperate. Their cotton fetched top prices because its high-quality ...
US House science committee warns IARC it ‘may reconsider taxpayer funding’
U.S. congressional committee members warned on Friday [Dec. 8] that Washington’s funding of the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency ...
Organic movement schism? Fight over hydroponics puts $50 billion industry in limbo
The USDA's ruling that crops grown using hydroponics and aquaculture can be labeled organic set off a heated debate over ...
Top 5 most ridiculous types of Non-GMO Project labeled products
The stuff with no G to M It would stand to reason that any Non-GMO Project certified item would have ...
Women in science: Geneticist Pamela Ronald, developer of GMO flood-resistant rice
[T]he breakthrough that finally created rice seeds strong enough to stand up to blight and flood came when Pamela Ronald ...
‘Roundup Facing the Judges’: Documentary promotes glyphosate conspiracy theories, pseudoscience
[Editor's note: Øystein Heggdal is a Norwegian agronomist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and natural resources. He is ...
Viewpoint: EU’s glyphosate herbicide fight reveals limits of Europe-wide governance
Glyphosate, the ubiquitous herbicide, may not really be poison, but it could well be the most politicized substance in Europe. In ...
Neonicotinoid seed treatments ‘best option’ for soil pests, but should be used judiciously, study says
The topic of neonicotinoid seed treatments (NSTs) continues to keep researchers searching for answers. A study from the University of ...
Anti-GMO group March Against Monsanto promotes, profits from anti-vaccine ads
Visit the March Against Monsanto website and you'll see a strange ad peppering the pages, among the usual dubious stories about ...
Should organic farming embrace new plant breeding techniques like CRISPR?
Over the last few years, new tools have rapidly created possibilities in plant breeding. These New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs) ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO scare tactics show need for scientific literacy
Many of the arguments made by organic supporters and GMO critics aren't supported by science. That combination can have harmful ...
French farmers: 3 years too short to develop viable replacement for glyphosate herbicide
President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to rid France of controversial weedkiller glyphosate within three years has left some farmers in the ...
What can other African countries learn from South Africa’s experience with GMO crops?
Despite promotion of GM crops, adoption has been slow across the continent. South Africa began using the technology in the ...
Leaked draft of EU report reveals mixed findings on neonicotinoids and bees
Draft findings from the European Food Safety Authority feed into a long-running, heated and so far inconclusive debate into why Europe’s ...
USDA again probes National Organic Program’s ‘weak’ import controls, putting label’s integrity at risk
The USDA’s National Organic Program completed more complaint reviews and investigations that it received in 2017. It finished work on ...
Viewpoint: 12 ways organic activists mislead consumers
Does the organic food industry use deceptive marketing practices to scare wealthy customers away from conventional agriculture and GMOs? The ...
Viewpoint: Why it’s time to start talking about a glyphosate herbicide replacement
Don’t get me wrong. I fully recognise the current need for Irish tillage and grassland farmers to use the herbicide ...
Activist groups plan to sue Germany, EU over glyphosate herbicide re-approval
Environmentalist groups said on Monday [Dec. 4] that Germany and the European Union had broken the rules when assessing the ...
Glyphosate, Monsanto and Europe: How science and reason almost lost out to hysteria and emotion
The glyphosate saga is a fascinating case study in how easily politics can derail science. In watching the glyphosate issue ...
Viewpoint: Biggest ‘bee apocalypse’ myth? There isn’t one
[D]espite panicked claims of an apocalypse, managed honeybee colonies in the United States have actually been rising since 2008. In fact, as of ...
‘New Girl’ is no farm girl: Zooey Deschanel misinforms on organic food, farming
In Zooey Deschanel’s third “Your Food’s Roots” video, part of a five episode educational series presented by media company Attn:, the ...
Higher prices and uncertain benefits: Are organic foods worth it?
Consumers have been paying a lot to eat organic; foods with the certification sometimes costs twice as much as conventional products. The premium prices may not be ...
GMO sugar beets help farmers reduce herbicide, water and fuel use, improve soil
You could say sugar-beet sugar runs through the blood of Luke Adams. “I grew up a sugar beet farmer,” Adams ...
