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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Jon Entine podcast: Corruption and secrecy behind IARC’s glyphosate cancer designation?
Glyphosate has been in the headlines for two weeks. Here's a background interview with the GLP's executive director explaining the ...
Glyphosate levels in Californians’ urine increased in last 20 years—no adverse health effects shown
Levels of the herbicide Roundup in human urine have increased dramatically among California residents in the past two decades, a ...
Canada decides not to add further restrictions on dicamba herbicide, as US did
Health Canada will not be further regulating the use of dicamba herbicide sprayed on growing crops, as has happened in ...
Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?
As the total global population continues to rise and economic growth drives a transition towards more resource-intensive diets, a growing ...
Glyphosate-gate: Policy and science implications of IARC’s ‘predetermined’ cancer finding
Where high-stakes issues involve powerful beliefs, financial reward and opportunities for advancement, neither individuals nor agencies can be assumed to ...
Monsanto sues Arkansas Plant Board for restricting dicamba herbicide use
A major agribusiness company sued Arkansas regulators ... for banning its version of an herbicide that's drawn complaints from farmers across several ...
European Parliament votes to ban glyphosate by 2022 in non-binding vote
Ban household use now, agricultural use by end 2022 Risk assessments by the EU Commission must be made public EU ...
Viewpoint: Anti-pesticide activists exploit chemical testing technology to scare public
One religious group forecast an apocalypse a few weeks ago. They used the Bible as their source. More recently, a newer religion ...
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 ...
Activist case that glyphosate herbicide causes cancer mired in scandal
A perfectly useful herbicide could be banned in Europe thanks to a tangled network of lobbyists, lawyers and activists. … ...
Glyphosate, IARC and politics: ‘We need a more honest debate’
Glyphosate is one of the most hotly-debated herbicides of the modern era. Many of the arguments against the popular weed-killer ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
