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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Talking Biotech: Uganda farmer-scientist on benefits of GMO disease resistant bananas
Kevin Folta in Uganda interviews scientists and farmers about bananas resistant to crop disease and the likelihood of commercialization ...
IARC bombshell: WHO cancer agency ‘edited out’ draft findings glyphosate non-carcinogenic
The World Health Organization's cancer agency dismissed and edited findings from a draft of its review of the weedkiller glyphosate ...
‘Ecological Armageddon’? Three-quarters of flying insects in Germany vanished in 25 years, study claims
The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study.... Insects ...
Bayer to allow public access to pesticide safety information
[Editor's note: Adrian Percy is the Global Head of Research and Development for Crop Science, a Division of Bayer.] After ...
Why ChemChina’s Syngenta takeover doesn’t mean China will quickly embrace GMO crops
The head of one of China’s biggest chemicals companies has played down expectations the country will become more open to ...
Understanding honeybee deaths: Close to 100% of Massachusetts’ hives infected by viruses
The honey bee population is on the decline, and bee experts want to know why, so the State Department of ...
Will EPA’s new restrictions on dicamba herbicide quell drift problems?
On the back of drift complaints, the filing of class-action lawsuits and, most recently, new EPA requirements for dicamba-tolerant crops, Monsanto continues to ...
John Deere acquires precision ag technology that could reduce pesticide use by 90 percent
Tractor giant John Deere just spent $305 million to acquire a startup that makes robots capable of identifying unwanted plants, ...
Insects can build resistance to Bt crops in as little as five years, study shows
While organic farmers have used Bt proteins in sprays successfully for more than half a century, some scientists feared that ...
French grain farmers’ union opposes glyphosate ban, calling herbicide ‘essential’
With France set to vote against EU glyphosate re-registration this month, a group of French farmers have said they will ...
Genetic engineering and gene silencing could fight deadly crop mycotoxins—if not blocked by activists
Aflatoxins are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses annually. Farmers have struggled to control the troublesome ...
Viewpoint: Do neonic traces found in world honey pose problems to bees or humans?
The last taste of honey you enjoyed likely came from bees exposed to neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used class ...
Reinstatement of pesticide glyphosate use in Bermuda stirs protestors’ concerns
Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works [on the island of Bermuda] announced that his ministry would be granted ...
Viewpoint: Christopher Portier—well-paid activist scientist at center of the ban-glyphosate movement
Christopher Portier, special adviser to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, is bringing down the reputation ...
Talking Biotech: How Africa can move beyond subsistence farming
World Food Program's Bret Rierson: Inexpensive storage options could dramatically help developing world farmers manage, store and sell surplus crops, ...
Viewpoint: Should US be subsidizing organic farming when label seems increasingly meaningless?
Congress is considering tripling the budget for the USDA's organics program. Should we be asking for more answers from regulators ...
Monsanto, other seed developers invest in gene editing in hopes of sidestepping GMO fears
Seed developers including Monsanto Co. and DowDuPont Inc. have invested in gene-editing technology, which enables scientists to make precise changes ...
Viewpoint: Many fears around ‘processed foods’ not based on science
[Most] of us don’t have a clear understanding of what “processed food” means. Many foods we like to think of ...
Viewpoint: EU’s glyphosate reauthorization should depend on science, not precaution
[Editor’s note: Pieter Cleppe is the head of the Brussels office of Open Europe, a non-partisan and independent policy think ...
10 truths about GMOs, organics and modern farming
As the debate over GMOs has gone viral, city-dwellers often position themselves as experts on farming. But there's often a ...
More evidence parasitic Varroa destructor mite poses most serious threat to bee health
[Editor’s note: Karen Rennich is the Project Manager for Bee Informed Partnership and APHIS National Survey, working out of University ...
Monsanto settles GM cotton royalties dispute with Indian seed firms
Three leading Indian cotton seed makers have settled an intellectual property dispute with Monsanto Co over its genetically modified (GM) ...
Viewpoint: Dannon’s transition to non-GMO has hurt image as sales decline
[Editor’s note: Michelle Miller is the Farm Babe, is an Iowa-based farmer, public speaker and writer, who lives and works ...
Glyphosate herbicide negatively affects soil-friendly bacteria, study shows
Cornell researchers found negative consequences of the weed-killing herbicide glyphosate on pseudomonas, a soil-friendly bacteria [read the full study here] ...
Viewpoint: Self-interest, rather than ignorance, key driver in GMO and climate change rejectionism
GMO opponents and climate change deniers often share a common characteristic -- their actions and decisions are driven by the ...
Disease-resistant GMO tomato that could eliminate need for copper pesticides blocked by public fears
Field trials have shown that a disease-resistant GMO tomato variety eliminates the need for copper pesticides that pollute soil and ...
Viewpoint: Climate change, pesticides endanger monarch butterfly populations
The life cycle of the monarch hinges on the availability of milkweed, but the prevalence of the herbicide Roundup has ...
