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: This guide should replace the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of ‘chemical-soaked’ produce
The Toxic Ten are chemicals in your family’s refrigerator and the government does nothing to stop it; it even takes ...
GLP podcast & video: How activism threatens technological innovation; Why mosquitoes only bite some people; Combating RFK Jr.’s scientific misinformation
Activist groups effectively use fear-based PR campaigns to drive pesticides and other important products off the market. What can scientists ...
St. Louis jury hands Bayer seventh straight win in defense of Roundup, concluding weedkiller not responsible for gardener’s lymphoma
A spokesperson for Bayer said that a St. Louis County jury's ruling on May 23 in its favor was consistent ...
Viewpoint: Cure is worse than the alleged disease? Why New York’s proposed ban on neonicotinoid-coated seeds will lead to increased use of harmful pesticides
Farmers feed us and our families. They sustain us, and, as a crop consultant, I have the privilege of assisting ...
Here’s why much-maligned glyphosate and herbicide-resistant crops are critical to sustainable farming
A newly publicized study by researchers with the University of Saskatchewan confirms what many farmers already knew ...
GLP podcast and video: Glyphosate in Goldfish crackers? COVID vaccines are not in our food; Does marijuana cause schizophrenia?
A viral Facebook post recently alleged that Goldfish crackers contain dangerous amounts of the weedkiller glyphosate. Is there any science ...
5 influential activist NGOs spreading crop biotechnology misinformation in Latin America
The United States and Europe are home to some of the most influential anti-biotechnology advocacy groups in the world. They ...
Mexico’s GM corn and glyphosate ban is not just a rejection of science — it’s about a trade pact the country perceives as unfair
In late 2020, Mexico announced its intention to ban genetically modified corn, prompting the United States to threaten a challenge ...
GLP podcast & video: Harmful chemicals in fish? How your genes affect the drugs you take; 3 pesticide myths debunked
Are you getting a potentially toxic dose of chemicals every time you eat fish? A new study has raised this ...
Glyphosate fact check: Micro-traces in food do not constitute a ‘dangerously high amount of weedkiller’
In an April 25 Facebook reel, a man holds a bag of Goldfish crackers and says they "contain a dangerously high ...
Viewpoint: ‘Science does not matter in Europe’ — European Chemicals Agency says weedkiller glyphosate does not cause cancer, but it will be banned nonetheless
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment is unsurprisingly more literate than a San Francisco jury, so they ...
Combining the best of organic farming with limited, targeted use of pesticides – and saving consumers up to 30%
Cost-prohibitive organic food is being disrupted by an increasingly popular type of farming called integrated pest management (IPM) where natural ...
Viewpoint: Here’s the wacky formula used by Environmental Working Group to stoke unwarranted fears about safe chemicals
“Eating one bass is equivalent to drinking PFOS-tainted water for a month.” Those are the words of Scott Faber, senior ...
GLP podcast and video: ChatGPT more empathetic than doctors? How ideology corrupts science; Testing drugs on mini-organs, not animals
Is ChatGPT more empathetic than your doctor? A recent study seems to suggest so. An emerging consensus of scientists is ...
Viewpoint: Social media amplifies misinformation — No, modern pesticides are not the driver of insect declines and no, they are not poisoning us
The aim of the European Seed series on Myths, Fake News, Misinformation and Disinformation is to dive deeper, taking a closer ...
30 years of waiting for an insect-resistant tomato but questions about taste may limit its market
A tenacious plant breeder has developed more than a dozen new lines of naturally pest-resistant tomatoes — foreshadowing a future in ...
Viewpoint fact check: Honeybees aren’t disappearing and GMOs do not cause colony collapse disorder
In 2020 the EU had approximately 19 million honeybee hives, managed by 615,000 beekeepers. These hives altogether produced 275,000 tonnes ...
Viewpoint: Can the International Agency for Research on Cancer be trusted to dispassionately assess potential dangers of aspartame when its key evaluator claims to know the answer in advance?
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a United Nations epidemiology group headquartered in France, could be in ethical ...
Viewpoint: Anti-chemical film polemic “Into the Weeds” is wrong on the facts but a tort lawyer’s dream. Did lawyers and the organic industry fund it?
The organic food industry lobby was in full swing in Brussels with their StopGlyphosateWeek. A collective of NGOs ran an ...
GLP podcast and video: Ice cream cuts obesity risk? Anti-vaccine study retracted; If you’re afraid of chemicals, quit drinking alcohol
Could ice cream reduce your risk of diabetes and obesity? A surprising amount of evidence supports that hypothesis. How do ...
Viewpoint: Without glyphosate, critical wetlands and wildlife could be strangled by invasive plants
Almost two years ago, I wrote an article hoping “we are finally at a place when a few influential scientists with ...
Science-based reasons why Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of ‘pesticide-laden’ fruits and vegetables is dangerously misleading
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet providing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, dietary fiber and other benefits ...
Adult Monarch butterflies not threatened by neonicotinoid insecticides, independent university study finds
Numerous studies have documented the negative effects of neonicotinoids on bees; it remains crucial to examine how neonicotinoids affect other ...
Re-examining 10 science-challenged studies suggesting GMOs are harmful
The blog "10 Scientific Studies Proving GMOs Can Be Harmful To Human Health" is now a fixture on cyberspace. A ...
Does conventional livestock farming use drugs at ‘unnecessarily high levels’, endangering human health, as activist critics claim?
Livestock farming generates some striking external impacts: while production provides 30% of human dietary protein, it occupies 75% of agricultural ...
Long banned in Kenya, insect-resistant genetically-modified cotton brings farmers huge profits
Despite severe drought in much of the country for four years, cotton farmers in Lamu county have had a bounty ...
Bayer CEO ponders breakup as glyphosate litigation continues to depress profits
Incoming Bayer chief executive Bill Anderson says he is keeping an open mind on whether to break up the company ...
