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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With GMO insect-resistant sugarcane approval, Brazilian farmers poised to reap benefits of biotech pipeline
With the approval of Brazil's fourth genetically-engineered crop--insect-resistant sugarcane--Brazil is emerging as the most genetically innovative developing country ...
Opinion: Why the National Organic Program’s funding should be eliminated, not just cut
[Editor's note: Henry Miller is a physician and molecular biologist, and a Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He ...
Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming ‘natural’ label misleads due to parts per million glyphosate herbicide
A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit against General Mills over the company's use of "natural" to describe the ...
Monsanto’s hidden influence? Glyphosate’s future in hands of EPA and the courts
Roundup has revolutionized farming. Now, human health and Bayer’s $66 billion deal for Monsanto depend on an honest appraisal of ...
EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner: Glyphosate safe but herbicide’s reapproval unsure
The European Union will only extend its approval for the herbicide glyphosate if there is sufficient support from the bloc's ...
China approves import of Syngenta, Monsanto GMO corn but leaves four crop varieties in hiatus
China has approved two more genetically modified (GMO) crops for import, the Ministry of Agriculture said, the second such move ...
Viewpoint: Organic industry faces credibility crisis as USDA investigates ‘phony’ imports
Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, the grocer that brought pricey organic food to the masses, comes during a time of ...
Video: Plant defenses turn caterpillar pests into cannibals
If you’re a hungry caterpillar and you’ve got a choice between eating a plant or another caterpillar, which do you ...
New York organic farm group opposes release of genetically engineered moths to rescue brassica crops
A local farming association is criticizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture for issuing a permit for the world’s first open-air ...
Ray of life: Did sunlight kickstart Earth’s biological transformation?
A new study suggests that the iron-and-sulfur clusters at the heart of many life-critical enzymes could have been floating around ...
How Berkeley-led academics conspired with anti-GMO groups to attack Food Evolution movie
Emails show the Pesticide Action Network, Center for Food Safety, and Friends of the Earth helped write and promote a ...
How ‘pollinator entrepreneurs’ helped stave off ‘beepocalypse’
[Editor's note: Shawn Regan is a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana.] Despite ...
Organic water? Asarasi exploits loophole to get USDA-certified label on bottles
Much like asparagus water and water sommeliers, organic water is giving us pause. Though the concept isn’t new, it’s surprising to see it making ...
Add Tennessee to list of states restricting dicamba herbicide after drift complaints
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture, facing some 70 suspected dicamba-drift complaints largely in western Tennessee, has issued new rules on ...
Monoculture: Do intensive farming and GMOs really threaten biodiversity?
Many critics claim GMOs increase the practice of monoculture cropping, but is this accurate? Does intensive farming damage our land ...
Sen. Pat Roberts: ‘Uncertainty and dysfunction have overtaken’ USDA organic program
The far-reaching difficulty that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has in determining whether imported “organic” food meets standards or is ...
Garbage? Study challenges claim that Americans waste $165 billion of food each year
Say you’re a journalist, and you’ve been assigned a story about food waste. You’re on a deadline, and you need ...
Scientists skeptical EU neonicotinoid ban would help bees
As the EU prepares to rule on extending a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, a large-scale study opened the door for industry to argue ...
Lesson from debate over Food Evolution movie? ‘Doesn’t make sense to judge GMOs as a monolithic entity’
[Marion] Nestle told The Outline that her comments in the film were taken “out of context” because its narrow focus on the ...
Protectionism? Italian farmers ‘demonize’ Canadian products made from wheat grown using glyphosate
They came from up and down Italy, setting up their protest headquarters just a few dozen cobblestone steps from the ...
Irish professor: Don’t listen to ‘lunatic fringe’ myths that foods cause—or cure—cancer
Most cancers are caused by bad luck and genetic factors, with little evidence to link specific foods to the disease, ...
USDA approves first release of GE diamondback moths, in New York cabbage fields
A proposal to release genetically engineered diamondback moths in cabbage fields in upstate New York has received a green light ...
Lead author of controversial bee study: ‘Don’t give up on neonics’ although they may have ‘subtle’, mitigable effects
[Editor's note: Ben Woodcock is an ecological entomologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in the UK. He is the ...
Glyphosate herbicide may alter ecosystem by increasing tadpole population
[A] common herbicide has turned out to be a boon for tadpoles making them more toxic to predators, researchers said.... Common ...
Swedish court: Coop grocery chain ‘misled’ consumers by claiming organic food safer, healthier
The makers of the viral 2015 “Organic Effect” video, which claimed that switching to an all organic diet can eliminate ...
Talking Biotech: Benefits and unanticipated consequences of neonicotinoid insecticide use
Penn State entomologist John Tooker: Neonic coated seeds are not a silver bullet for pest control in all situations ...
Missouri temporarily halts sale, use of dicamba due to drift complaints
The Missouri Department of Agriculture halted the sale or use of any products containing the Monsanto-made herbicide Dicamba.... In a ...
