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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Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense botches the science on mRNA vaccines. No, they don’t cause cancer
Last month, researchers published an important study about how mRNA COVID-19 vaccines affect our immune system. The findings are fascinating and highlight ...
Viewpoint: Activist-critics of GMO crops claim falsely that biotechnology increases chemical use in farming
When the anti-GMO movement gets tired of chanting “Monsanto” like a magic spell, it grabs academic buzzwords to sound respectable ...
‘Viewpoint: ‘Going full RFK, Jr’.—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton promotes conspiracy theories about dental hygiene and breakfast cereal
[Ken] Paxton, the Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate ... idea of a good government cause is to sue ...
Viewpoint: Sustainable intensification—Debunking activist claims that high-yield agriculture leads to industrial monocultures
“Nature organisations have an uneasy relationship with modern agriculture. I think many of them would ideally like to free up ...
GLP spaces on X: Pesticides cause Parkinson’s? Another scandalous chemical claim misses the mark
Like so many other chemical scare stories, the claim that pesticides cause Parkinson’s disease (PD) has circulated online for years, ...
RFK, Jr.’s FDA banning prescription cavity-preventing fluoride supplements used mostly by low income children
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has begun the process to eliminate fluoride drops and tablets prescribed to children to ...
GLP podcast: It’s time to end the bipartisan war on science and medicine
Today's science disinformation ecosystem is sustained by a truly strange coalition of MAGA conservatives and liberal “wellness warriors” who have ...
‘It’s harder to get off antidepressants than heroin’: RFK. Jr.’s exaggerates but SSRI’s are not risk free
The medical community has reacted with alarm to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s claim that his family members have had ...
Cracking cancer’s code: How science is weaponizing our immune system to target aggressive brain tumors
When Senator John McCain was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017, it brought sudden national attention to a cancer few had ...
How will U.S. tariffs impact the global agriculture industry?
The global market suffered a significant shock when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the country would levy tariffs on ...
With malaria ravaging East Africa at a rising rate, European and U.S. backed anti-vaxxers target lifesaving vaccines
In early April, at the national launch of Uganda's malaria vaccine, 31-year-old Caroline Akot cradled her 9-month-old child, who had ...
“Total crackpot” and “talks to trees”: Trump picks ‘functional medicine’ advocate for Surgeon General
President Trump’s selection of Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford-educated wellness specialist and book author, as his next surgeon general [has] ...
Viewpoint: Aborted fetus debris in malaria vaccines? RFK, Jr.’s latest fabrication
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a bizarre new “explanation” for the deadly measles outbreak sweeping western Texas. According to public health experts, the ...
Are biological chemicals a promising possible alternative to some crop chemicals?
[A]s consumers grow increasingly concerned about the environmental and health impacts from the chemicals, there’s a pivot toward what the ...
Weedkiller wars: What happens if Bayer abandons the herbicide glyphosate?
Are glyphosate's days numbered? It's the world's most popular weedkiller by far. Since its introduction in the 1970s, glyphosate has ...
Climate-ready canola: USDA clears two Cibus pest resistant gene-edited seed oil crop for growing
For Cibus, regulatory clarity isn’t just a box to check—it’s a turning point. The San Diego–based agricultural technology company with ...
GLP podcast: Harmless snake venom, deadly water? The paradox of “toxic” chemicals with Dr. Kevin Folta
An untreated rattlesnake bite can kill you, yet drinking the same dose of venom is generally harmless, courtesy of the ...
Florida becomes 2nd state to ban fluoride in drinking water with 4 other states mulling legislation
Florida has become the latest state to restrict fluoride additives in public drinking water, after Governor Ron DeSantis signed the ...
Viewpoint: Scientist defends the safety of glyphosate—and explains why that matters
Glyphosate is not risk-free — no chemical is. But compared to alternatives (even “natural” ones), it remains one of the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Forever chemical’ hustle—The ‘dark money’—environmental group—tort lawyer alliance that is scaring the public about PFAS chemicals and filling activist coffers
The mainstream media is being inundated with articles about “forever chemicals” invading our bodies and the environment. It is meant ...
RFK, Jr.’s MAHA ‘chronic disease epidemic’ tsunami sweeps across America
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement, which focuses on ending what President Donald Trump's health secretary calls the “chronic disease epidemic,” ...
Viewpoint: ‘Pesticide soaked’—Activists target sustainable ‘no till’ farming, but science disagrees
A Washington D.C.-based environmental group published a lengthy report [April 29, 2025] criticizing no-till systems across the U.S. for their ...
Viewpoint: Is drinking water harmful? Activist paper demonstrates how science can be twisted to open the door to tort claims
The drinking water treatment process is designed to remove harmful pathogens that are prevalent in nature, but a new study ...
GLP spaces on X: Sugar ‘addiction’—sound science or public health mythology?
Can't say no to sugary soda? Does that pint of ice cream demand you eat every last spoonful of its ...
What are the barriers limiting organic food consumption globally
Current dietary practices significantly contribute to environmental degradation, with organic food consumption emerging as a viable alternative for promoting sustainability ...
Viewpoint: ‘It could sicken millions and kill many’—Massive anti-vaccine disinformation activists intensify their propaganda campaign
A long-running nationwide brainwashing campaign, conducted in plain sight, now comes to its deadly culmination. The predictable consequence—reviving a preventable childhood disease ...
What would be the consequences if the weedkiller glyphosate is restricted or banned? Here’s a case study for Missouri
Glyphosate is an essential herbicide for Missouri’s agriculture, playing a vital role in helping farmers effectively control weeds and boost ...
