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.
Why do consumers prefer organic to conventional produce when both use pesticides?
What gets overlooked by [activist] groups are the reports from the USDA itself that show that even organic foods have ...
Did the National Cancer Institute withhold data showing no links between glyphosate and cancer?
The chairman of a congressional committee has asked the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explain why its National ...
Ecomodernist podcast: Food Evolution film about ‘confirmation bias’ in foodie and anti-GMO community
One of the more surprising reactions to the documentary--and disappointing to scientists--came from organic and agroecology supporters who called it ...
Scientists hoping to prevent two crop-eating caterpillar species from combining to form ‘super pest’
Australian-led research could help save the world's farmers more than $6 billion lost every year to its most voracious caterpillars ...
Central bee health threat—Varroa mite parasite—may be manageable using oregano oil
The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is responsible for the death of millions of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies worldwide. Testing ...
Census shows monarch butterfly population not in decline, but scientists challenge findings, blaming milkweed loss
Monarch butterfly populations have taken a nosedive over the last 20 years, according to researchers who monitor the number of ...
Farmers’ ‘double whammy’: Drift damage from dicamba herbicide and then its subsequent ban
An advanced weed-killing chemical has twice come back to haunt Arkansas farmer John Weiss. The herbicide, known as dicamba, has ...
Viewpoint: Greenpeace, environmental activists spread misinformation on honeybees and pesticides
Bloomberg reports some good news: Honeybee hive health has improved and so-called colony collapse disorder (CCD) is less of a problem ...
Epigenetics Around the Web: Should farmers use vinegar, instead of genetically engineered solutions, to protect crops from drought?
A new study being peddled by anti-GMO activists suggests that table vinegar may be equal or superior to advanced breeding ...
Viewpoint: Why the FDA should not be regulating genetically engineered animals (as drugs, no less)
[Editor's note: Henry Miller is founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology. John Cohrssen is former counsel to the White ...
Sustainable wheat: New GMO variety could reduce need for fertilizers, preserve phosphorus
One of the troubles with agriculture is the need for farmers to apply fertilizer. The plants don't soak up all ...
When genetic engineering is the environmentally friendly choice
The newest generation of genetically engineered crops, using CRISPR gene editing, can help farmers fight pests with only minimal changes ...
25 environmental benefits of GMO sugar? Industry launching ‘fresh look’ education campaign
To try to change consumers’ understanding and perception of GMO crops, the nation’s sugar beet industry is preparing a $4 ...
Canada approves 3 Simplot GMO potatoes that resist blight, reduce fungicide use by half
Three types of potatoes genetically engineered by an Idaho company to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine ...
US honey bee population rose 3 percent in last year as colony collapse disorder concerns ease
The number of U.S. honeybees, a critical component to agricultural production, rose in 2017 from a year earlier, and deaths ...
Turkey approves GMO corn, soybeans for animal feed
Turkey’s Biosecurity Council has approved the use of three types of genetically modified soybeans and one type of genetically modified ...
What happens when public realizes organic foods grown using pesticides, more prone to contamination?
Here are some shockers about how the “organic foods” phenomenon is costing you more, making foods less safe and costing ...
Monsanto glyphosate case: Select documents suggest company tried to influence public debate over weed killer
Documents released [August 1, 2017] in a lawsuit against Monsanto raised new questions about the company’s efforts to influence the news media ...
Oyster crackers deception: Dissecting Westminster Bakers’ Non-GMO label scam
[Editor's note: James Cooper holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Ohio State University.] So what does that mean for oyster ...
Viewpoint: Canadian monarch butterfly and bee populations thrive as glyphosate use increases
What happened to the monarchs? The popular story is that genetically modified crops and an evil herbicide called glyphosate (also ...
GMOs are not an either/or debate
On the one hand, GM crops can help us feed poor people in far-flung parts of the world by making ...
Food Evolution interview: Could ‘pro science’ documentary inspire a pro-GMO food movement?
Food Evolution director Scott Hamilton Kennedy talks with the Genetic Literacy Project about the film's funding, and challenges the "ruthless ...
High cost of biotech seeds drives one farmer to switch some acreage to non-GMO
In 2014, [farmer Nathan] Reed fought for financial breath even after skinning inputs one by one...With an eye on cost ...
Viewpoint: How the Monsanto-Bayer merger threatens livelihoods of rural America
[Writer Austin Frerick lives in Winterset, Iowa and is a former economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.] Iowa ...
Food Evolution director Scott Hamilton Kennedy: ‘I wanted to reset the debate’ over food and farming
Oscar-nominated director talks with the Genetic Literacy Project about the reaction his documentary has received, both from GMO critics and ...
House Democrats push for neonicotinoid insecticide ban in next farm bill
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) wants to include a ban on pesticides linked to declining bee health in next year’s farm ...
Chipotle got rid of food with ‘scary-sounding chemicals’—So why are customers getting sick?
[Editor's note: Joseph Perrone is the Chief Science Officer at the Center for Accountability in Science.] [Spring 2017], Chipotle reinforced its ...
