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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Turning human ‘biosolids’ into fertilizer raises health concerns
New research suggests [that using sewage as fertilizer, also known as 'biosolids'] could be a problem, as contaminants are now ...
Challenging idea organic fruits, vegetables more nutritious, better for the environment
[Editor’s Note: Emma Beckett is a molecular nutritionist at the University of Newcastle’s School of Medicine and Public Health] Many ...
29 states pass ‘seed-preemption laws’ that block cities and counties from banning GMOs
With little notice, more than two dozen state legislatures have passed “seed-preemption laws” designed to block counties and cities from ...
What’s behind EU’s skepticism of Bayer-Monsanto merger?
[Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto] may not go through. Multiple media outlets have reported that European Union regulators are skeptical of ...
Judge ponders removal of lawyers behind glyphosate class action suit for possible illegal media release of classified documents
A federal judge [heard] arguments [on August 24] at a federal court in San Francisco over whether the lead attorneys ...
Podcast: Global ag biotech snapshot: Is GMO adoption on the decline?
UK researcher Graham Brooke on the rising economic and regulatory costs of crop biortechnology--Is it worth it? ...
Pesticide used on organic farms may cause breathing problems in farmworkers’ children
Elemental sulfur, the most heavily-used pesticide in California, may harm the respiratory health of children living near farms that use ...
How technology can reduce pesticide drift
Though neither the EPA nor various state agencies could provide reliable statistics on the total number of [pesticide] drift incidents, ...
‘GMOs Revealed’: Documentary series delivers familiar arguments from the fringe
Multi-part documentary series will be rolled out over nine days, offering familiar voices from the anti-GMO fringe ...
Crop scientist Kevin Folta on how to engage science deniers and anti-GMO activists
Since the 2016 presidential election, tensions in the political arena have spilled into the science world. Scientists have been notably ...
Pesticide seed treatments may decrease soil health, increase weeds, study finds
Use of seed coated with mixtures of fungicides and insecticides has exploded in recent years to protect most crops from ...
India may be forced to import more food if it doesn’t adopt biotech crops to increase yields
India is not keeping pace with its peers like China in adopting innovative farm technologies, especially biotechnology, a US embassy ...
Infographic: Why single out GMOs—one of many forms of crop modification—for labeling?
[Editor's note: Layla Katiraee is a scientist at Integrated DNA Technologies. She has a PhD in molecular genetics with a ...
Viewpoint: Farmers not trapped into annually buying patented GMO seeds
[There] is one myth that often gets used as a criticism against genetic engineered crops. This myth usually takes the ...
Dicamba fiasco: Are Monsanto’s labels too restrictive and confusing for farmers?
Dicamba, sold under different brand names by BASF and DuPont, can vaporize under certain conditions and the wind can blow ...
Bayer-Monsanto merger faces delay as European regulators hone in on antitrust concerns, impact on farmers
Bayer AG’s takeover of Monsanto Co. faces deeper scrutiny from European antitrust regulators who say they have “serious doubts” about ...
Newly elected government poised to open door to GMOs in Kenya
Food security played a major role during the presidential campaign. The price of unga—our staple food of maize meal—had risen ...
Using Freedom of Information Act to target biotech scientists boomerangs against anti-GMO activists
Teacher Stephan Neidenbach reflects on his experiences using--and being targeted by—Freedom of Information Act requests, the technique commandeered by US ...
Why trace pesticides found on food are not dangerous
There is no link between pesticide residues on food and disease. Period. You will find lots of people claiming the ...
Wine grapes case study: How modern crop management has led to dramatic reductions in pesticide use
[Editor's note: Steve Savage is a plant pathologist who has been working in agricultural technology for over 35 years.] Grapes grown ...
Viewpoint: Democrats’ GMO labeling push is an embarrassment to pro-science progressives
A group of House Democrats, who called the proposed federal GMO labeling standards 'weak' and 'confusing,' are being urged not ...
10 unique GMO products and benefits, and more on the way
[Editor's note: Carol Lynn Curchoe is a scientist, teacher, consultant, advisor, and author.] [GMOs] have been used to benefit human ...
Viewpoint: Netflix promotes anti-GMO films, suppresses legitimate science
Netflix has declined to carry the agriculture documentary called "Food Evolution", for reasons they refused to specify. ... Is the ...
Could we control bee-killing Varroa mites by exploiting their genetic vulnerabilities?
Seemingly indestructible Varroa mites have decimated honeybee populations and are a primary cause of colony collapse disorder, or CCD. Michigan ...
Viewpoint: Netflix movie Okja stokes unwarranted GMO fears, promotes anti-science worldview
The film about a fictitious evil corporation called "Mirando" that genetically engineers dangerous "superpigs" for food encapsulates all of the ...
Viewpoint: Trump administration’s embrace of GMOs lets down American farmers
The [Trump] Administration claims that GMOs should be accepted on scientific grounds. And it says that its motivation for this ...
Why Scotts Miracle-Gro decided to phase out neonicotinoid insecticides
Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. made an unusual move last year when the company announced it would remove a class of insecticides ...
