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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Viewpoint: Should you be concerned when you read that a chemical in your food has been linked to cancer? Here’s an epidemiologist’s checklist to detect over-hyped scares
During the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, epidemiology ha assumed an outsized role in the public consciousness. It was pervasive ...
Viewpoint: Disinformation on alleged dangers of chemical residues on fruits and vegetables is not only bad science, it causes consumers to avoid produce
Peer reviewed research and Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) surveys among consumers and registered dietitians all show the negative impact of misinformation about pesticide ...
Viewpoint: Debunking organic food myths again… and again
Over and over, the term ‘organic’ is used as an umbrella for a variety of qualitative features in food. There ...
Viewpoint: Iowa farmer explains support for state bill to restrict suits against manufacturers of glyphosate and other pesticides that follow federal guidelines
I was proud to join my Iowa Senate colleagues in passing Senate File 2412 this legislative session. As a farmer, I know ...
Forty European health insurers press EU to regulate phase out of agricultural chemicals by midcentury
Forty health insurance mutuals from France, Belgium and Poland have jointly called on the EU not to abandon the goal of ...
Viewpoint: Center for Skeptical Inquiry rakes American Academy of Pediatrics for evidence-free claims that GMOs and glyphosate pose health hazards
The respected journal Pediatrics, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, published a Clinical Report (12/3/23) strongly implying that parents should ...
Viewpoint: Environmental Working Group up to its old trick of misrepresenting science to scare us about chemical traces in its attack on oat products containing micro-levels of chlormequat
So, here we go. Something else to worry about. At least according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit ...
Iowa Senate bill insulating pesticide manufacturers from suits over disputed safety labels moves to House
Pesticide manufacturers would be protected from lawsuits stemming from their products' labeling under a bill advancing through the Iowa Legislature ...
Impact of Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’: ‘Consumers shy away from purchasing any produce – organic or conventional’
A legacy of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is that they are the original food bullies. Yes, they began their ...
Bayer announces its Roundup alternative formulated without glyphosate should be ready for sale by 2028
The pharmaceutical and agrochemical company Bayer is making progress in the development of an alternative to the controversial weed killer glyphosate ...
Mexico indefinitely suspends 2024 glyphosate ban, saying it would ‘compromise agricultural productivity’
The Mexican Ministry of Economy, in collaboration with other agencies of the federal government, announced the postponement of the application ...
Iowa legislatures join three other states considering ban on pesticide manufacturer lawsuits for alleged health issues if chemical labels are EPA approved
As cancer rates rise in Iowa, the Iowa Senate is considering a bill that would prevent people from suing manufacturers ...
Viewpoint: Food Network experts blast organic-funded ‘Dirty Dozen’ list for misleading consumers about trace pesticides on crops
Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases its list of the Dirty Dozen, a group of 12 fruits and vegetables ...
Viewpoint: Will European farmer protests drag the EU into the 21st century on biotechnology and AI in agriculture?
Among all the demands that European farmers are making (claims of an economic nature, which have to do with imports, ...
Viewpoint: ‘Flashy junk science tort lawyer ads’ that claim glyphosate causes cancer warp public’s view about weedkiller dangers
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates the nation’s tort system cost the U.S. economy $443 billion in 2020, a sum equivalent ...
Green activist setbacks — Internal divisions and zero-compromise approach to biotechnology highlights recent campaign failures by European environmental activists
2023 marked a tumultuous year for European environmental activists, witnessing significant setbacks in their long-standing campaigns against pesticides and genetically ...
Viewpoint: The Europe’s anti-pesticide fearmongering continues to cripple African food security hopes
As farmers protest across Europe, blockading cities, smashing through police barricades, and dumping manure, European politicians are falling over themselves ...
Viewpoint: The Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list is a danger to public health put out by an organic industry funded activist group
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an anti-science activist organization ...
Viewpoint: ‘Heavy’ pesticide exposure linked to cardiovascular disease? Flawed study raises ‘troubling’ questions about public health research
What do the results really show? ...
‘Science proves GM corn and the herbicide glyphosate are harmful to human health and native crop varieties’: US claims Mexico ignores ‘decades’ worth of evidence demonstrating their safety
In a written submission to a panel of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Mexico, the top buyer of U.S. corn, argued ...
‘Texas Two-Step’ — Bayer weighs new Roundup suit strategy as costs of cancer litigation mount
Bayer AG is weighing whether to use a controversial legal maneuver known as the Texas Two-Step bankruptcy to try to resolve ...
Viewpoint: Proposed Vermont bill follows New York in banning neonic pesticides — a move that lacks evidence and will hurt farmers
A new bill in the Vermont House would ban the use of certain insecticides by the state’s agricultural sector. Bill ...
Viewpoint: Court rulings and science are increasingly at odds when it comes to evaluating crop chemicals
In early February, dicamba once again found itself on the wrong side of the law. A federal court in Arizona vacated EPA’s ...
Roundup weedkiller cancer trials now trending Bayer’s way
Bayer on March 5 said it won a trial in a lawsuit brought by a retired postal service worker in ...
GLP podcast: AAP refuses to print rebuttal to anti-GMO study; Billion-dollar anti-pesticide ‘money grab’; Ultra-processed food won’t make you obese?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a spurious attack on GM crops and pesticides, then reneged on its commitment ...
AI poised to develop new agricultural practices to curtail plant pests and disease
In keeping with the age-old saying: ‘prevention is better than a cure’ more sustainable approaches should await the farmers of ...
Viewpoint: BPA and phthalate hysteria — Venturing out of its knowledge zone, ‘Consumer Reports’ launches anti-chemical tirade on plastic food packaging
If you want advice on which coffee maker or space heater to buy, Consumer Reports (CR) is where you go ...
