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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From nuclear energy to chemicals to vaccines to GMO crops and food, conspiracy theories and disinformation are as rampant on the political left as the far right
The great majority of conspiracy theories and disinformation spread about environmental and health topics are popularly attributed to the conservative/right side of the political spectrum. But ...
Viewpoint: In RFK, Jr.’s Brave New World of food and health, Zen Honeycutt and and other ‘zealots and gurus’ roam freely
In an NPR article on Moms Across America’s Zen Honeycutt, covered in The Firebreak, the anti-vax activist stated she had given her co-conspirator, ...
Viewpoint: ‘Sending science backward’—MAGA fuels a culture war against life-saving mRNA vaccines
US health agency leadership and policymakers seem intent on undermining trust in mRNA, the technology that saved millions of lives ...
Viewpoint: Basil, clove, hand creams and perfumes contain killer chemicals? Here’s why the European hazard agency IARC is considered a running joke in the science community
While aspartame’s classification as a possible carcinogen grabbed headlines, the classification of another ubiquitous chemical slid silently beneath the diet ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr. finally conceded that the measles vaccine is ‘the most effective way to prevent its spread’—MAHA anti-vaccine activists are calling him a turncoat
For vaccine opponents, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment as secretary of health and human services represented something close to nirvana ...
Viewpoint: ‘We need to protect ag’ — ‘Meritless’ threats to ban safe pesticides and chemicals could surge US food costs by $10 billion
Along with volatile market conditions and erratic weather, Florida’s farmers now face growing legal assaults brought on by activist lawyers ...
Viewpoint: Trump says he’s targeting health care fraud. He’s pardoned or commuted sentences of 68 people convicted of interfering in fraud investigations
Five years ago, the CEO of one of the largest pain clinic companies in the Southeast was sentenced to more than ...
Viewpoint: ‘This is Hollywood science, not real science’ — RFK, Jr.’s ‘plan’ to let avian flu ‘run through the flock’ courts a catastrophic, global pandemic
In two recent interviews on Fox News, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed concerns about H5N1 avian influenza in the U.S., raising alarm among ...
Bayer petitions Supreme Court to block lawsuits targeting Roundup and set aside verdicts because EPA has determined it is safe as used
Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said on [April 4, 2025] it was again petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to sharply limit legal claims that ...
Viewpoint: NPR and hypocrisy on science: It defends Girl Scout cookies under attack from the MAGA right after years of promoting crackpot chemophobia
If NPR’s latest defense of Girl Scout cookies doesn’t leave you scratching your head, you might need to check your ...
Trump’s first tariff trade war cost U.S. farmers $27 billion. This round is shaping up as far worse, with food prices poised to rise as a result
If history is any indicator, farmers are sure to pay for Trump's trade war. During the first Trump administration, retaliatory ...
Viewpoint: ‘People will die’—The dramatic fallout from indiscriminate cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Thousands of federal employees at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were notified early Tuesday morning that they were subject ...
Viewpoint: Flouride bans make no scientific sense. A person would need to consume 357 liters a day of fluoridated water to risk adverse effects
It is exhausting when prominent “science personalities” spread harmful misinformation that erodes literacy and public health. Unfortunately, fluoride, which has ...
Viewpoint: Trump is MIA in his response to bird flu. Here’s what the administration needs to do, and fast
First, vaccinating poultry is critical to preventing flock outbreaks and must be a cornerstone of the nation’s avian influenza prevention ...
Tariff chaos threatens to ignite agricultural trade war with China that could roil US farmers and send food prices soaring
China ... is the third-largest importer of American farm goods, behind Mexico and Canada. ... [It's] retaliatory tariffs, which are supposed ...
Greening cows: How farmers can accelerate the transition to more sustainable milk production
This past summer, we read about Danish farmers paying a carbon tax on their cows and pigs. Starting in 2030, ...
Challenging fears and misconceptions about crop biotechnology is a challenge in an era of disinformation
My friend Kevin Folta, professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida, recently tweeted: ...
Viewpoint: Here’s a backgrounder on the anti-vaccine quack RFK, Jr. has drafted to prove vaccines cause autism
The longer President Donald Trump and his lackeys, particularly his Secretary of Health and Human Services, longtime antivax activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., ...
Urine could be a key source for developing sustainable fertilizers
The reuse of human urine would allow for the production of sustainable fertilizers for urban agriculture, with significant environmental benefits ...
GLP podcast with Cam and Liza: Stigmatizing autism—the anti-vaccine movement’s hysteria devalues the lives of the vulnerable and the marginalized
For nearly three decades, the anti-vaccine movement has perpetuated a dangerous, science-free narrative linking vaccines to autism. Not only has ...
Anti-RFK, Jr. rumblings are surging on Wall Street—He is ‘undermining the trusted leadership of healthcare in this country’:
Two top Wall Street analysts are calling on the White House to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the U.S ...
Global support for vaccines for poor countries and thousands of other global health initiatives poised for extinction as Trump escalates random cuts
The Trump administration intends to terminate the United States’ financial support for Gavi, the organization that has helped purchase critical ...
Viewpoint: ‘We’re trapped in an increasingly dangerous supplement hell online, all thanks to politicians. And it’s probably going to get worse’
The nutritional and dietary supplement industry has exploded in recent years, fueled partly by social media influencers and branded content ...
Robot lasers may open the door to near chemical-free agriculture
The LaserWeeder G2 doesn't just remove weeds; it obliterates them. Using optimal thermal energy, the laser explodes cell walls at ...
Farmers advocate for protective legislation guaranteeing their ability to use crop chemicals deemed safe by federal oversight agencies
In many state legislatures, such as Missouri and North Dakota, there are bills being discussed to make the state pesticide ...
Organic industry lobbies to replace organic seal on foods with GMO-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, and pesticide related claims
To better engage younger consumers, further maximize the impact of the organic seal and drive sales, [Matthew] Dillon urges industry ...
16.4 million ads: Tort law firm suits targeting cutting edge technologies like genetically modified crops and chemicals surged more than 260% in the last 8 years with glyphosate at the top of the list
In 2024, a staggering $164 million was spent on more than 725,000 legal services advertisements in Los Angeles alone. This ...
