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.
USDA allows ‘organic’ label for soil-less farming, upsetting movement’s founders
The pioneers of the sustainable farming movement are mourning what they call the downfall of the organic program, following a Wednesday ...
Dicamba herbicide drift damaged 3.6 million acres of soybean crops in 25 states
A weed killer called dicamba has damaged more than 3.6 million acres of soybean crops, or about 4 percent of ...
No signs of resistance to GMO Bt corn in Europe after 16 years of use
The majority of Bt maize production in the European Union (EU) is concentrated in northeast Spain, which is Europe’s only hotspot where ...
Bangladesh releases high-yielding disease-resistant wheat variety to farmers
As wheat farmers in Bangladesh struggle to recover from a 2016 outbreak of a mysterious disease called “wheat blast,” the country’s National ...
Viewpoint: Confirmation bias, conflicts of interest plague ‘science’ behind glyphosate cancer claims
Anti-biotech activists hate the herbicide glyphosate, sold by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup. Those activists won a victory in ...
Gene silencing could control disease, contamination in wheat and other crops
Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen of cereals worldwide, causing seedling, stem base and floral diseases, including Fusarium Head ...
Australia imports over 60 GMO food crops—but farmers can only grow one
Food derived from 60 genetically modified crops can be imported into Australia, but local growers can only grow one GM ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO activist Doug Gurian-Sherman’s Food Evolution review misrepresents Uganda banana research
[Editor's note: Patricia Nanteza is a science communicator at Uganda's National Banana Research Program. The following is excerpted from her letter to ...
Two US Congressional committees ask IARC cancer agency to testify, citing ‘scientific integrity’ concerns
Two influential U.S. Congressmen have asked the World Health Organization’s cancer agency to get ready to testify about its work ...
How one farmer stood up to anti-GMO activists and the Italian state—and won
As chair of the local farmers federation [Giorgio Fidenato, a small-holder farmer growing corn, tomatoes and soybeans in Italy] pushes for ...
Video: How glyphosate herbicide enables no-till, environmentally friendly farming
[Editor's note: Jake Freestone is the manager of an arable and sheep LEAF Demonstration Farm in Tewkesbury, England.] [N]o-till or zero-till, ...
Could we protect bees from neonicotinoid insecticides by planting trees?
[I]t's unlikely farmers will give up or limit pesticide use, so instead, a team of researchers at the University of ...
EU ban of globally used glyphosate would disrupt agricultural and food markets
Some of Europe’s biggest trade partners fear a potential EU ban on glyphosate could hit exports of crops ranging from ...
Viewpoint: IARC glyphosate cancer advisor Christopher Portier’s history of lying about conflicts of interest
In a deposition last month for a court case pending against Monsanto for glyphosate “damages,” [Christopher Portier, the scientist who ...
Disease-resistant GM potatoes that reduce pesticide use ‘worked brilliantly’ in UK field trial
A genetically-modified (GM) potato designed to resist a devastating plant disease has worked “brilliantly” during the first year of field ...
Can any GMO documentary, pro or con, get the issue right?
Both films [Food Evolution and Island Earth] were fun to watch. They both also get a lot of the facts right. But ...
EU votes on 5-year glyphosate extension November 9; France for shorter renewal
The European Commission has proposed extending the license for weed-killer glyphosate by five years after its initial plan for a ...
Glyphosate herbicide ban won’t save anyone from cancer, will harm environment
The widely used weedkiller glyphosate is available in every garden store, but now there are fears it can cause cancer ...
Talking Biotech: Former anti-GMO activist Mark Lynas on how resistance to crop biotechnology hurts small African farms
Mark Lynas, Cornell Alliance for Science: "Moral injustice" of NGOs preventing Africans from adopting GMO crops driven by "green ideology" ...
Video: Why organic and non-GMO labels don’t matter when it comes to eating healthy
[N]on-GMO labels do more than placate people concerned about scientists secretly tinkering with their food. They might persuade people to make ...
Neonicotinoid insecticides may hurt honey bee colony health by reducing genetic diversity
[Editor's note: The following is from a study published in the open-access mega-journal PLOS ONE.] Neonicotinoid insecticides can cause a ...
Illegal spraying of off-label dicamba herbicide main cause of crop damage, BASF says
Illegal spraying of a volatile weedkiller may be the cause of unprecedented damage to crops earlier this year, especially for ...
Glyphosate herbicide may negatively impact beneficial soil bacteria in certain situations, study finds
As farmers battle in their above-ground war on weeds, they may inadvertently create underground casualties – unintentionally attacking the beneficial ...
Viewpoint: Former US journalist Carey Gillam should stay out of Europe’s glyphosate debate
A former agricultural reporter at Reuters, Gillam now presents herself as "the Rachel Carson of the GMO debate." Belgian-based risk ...
EU delays vote on glyphosate herbicide reauthorization; France ‘ready to accept’ 4-year extension
EU countries failed on Wednesday [October 25] to vote on a license extension for weedkiller glyphosate, delaying again a decision on ...
Non-GMO condoms? Label’s proliferation confuses consumers
The National Milk Producers Federation launched a “peel back the label” campaign this summer, aimed squarely at a growing list ...
European Commission seeks 5 to 7 year renewal of glyphosate herbicide—down from 10
The European Commission will seek to extend the license of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide — for between five ...
