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.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Natural pest-control market could hit $10 billion by 2025, as farmers seek new tools to battle pesticide-tolerant bugs
For decades, Adam Baldwin’s family used chemicals with multisyllabic names to keep caterpillars such as earworms and podworms from chomping ...
EPA to decide the future of dicamba, neonicotinoids and other controversial pesticides in 2020
The EPA this year will deliver important decisions to U.S. agriculture, including on chlorpyrifos, glyphosate, the neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, atrazine and ...
Luxembourg outlines plan to ban glyphosate weed killer in January 2021
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is in the process of becoming the first country to ban the use of the ...
Bayer close to settling more than 75,000 glyphosate-cancer lawsuits, mediator says
Bayer AG’s settlement of cancer lawsuits over its Roundup weed-killer may be only weeks away and is likely to cover ...
Does organic mean ‘pesticide free’? 5 things to know about the USDA organic label
Here's what you're actually getting for that 'organic' premium price ...
CRISPR gene editing yields corn resistant to widely used sulfonylurea herbicide, study shows
Researchers from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other institutions reported precise based editing of maize genes using CRISPR-Cas9, leading ...
EU Green Party aims to halve synthetic pesticide use by 2025, phase it out completely in 15 years
The EU’s European Green Deal drafters may have succeeded in dodging some of the most immediately contentious issues in the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Conspiracy theorist’ Zen Honeycutt spins tall tales about GMOs, glyphosate weed killer on CBS Los Angeles
If the media has a question about biomedical science, one would assume that a scientist or doctor would be the ...
EU bans Bayer neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid, citing threat to human reproductive health, bees
The European Commission decided on [Jan. 13] not to renew approval for a pesticide linked to harming bees, effectively banning ...
Bayer attorney says televising upcoming glyphosate-cancer trial could threaten Monsanto employees’ safety
Letting TV cameras into a trial over the safety of Roundup herbicide might put witnesses and employees at Bayer AG’s ...
Monsanto may seek bankruptcy protection without favorable deal in glyphosate litigation settlement talks, Bayer lawyers warn
Bayer AG’s settlement talks over tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer are heating up as ...
EPA poised to approve new Bt-based insecticide Bta ABTS 1857 to help beekeepers battle destructive wax moth pest
EPA is proposing to register a pesticide product containing Bacillus thuringiensis .... to prevent and control wax moths in beehives ...
France’s new pesticide-free zones threaten country’s vineyards, winegrowers say
The idea of so-called pesticide-free zones (or non-treatment zones) has gradually emerged as a solution to protect against the harmful ...
Losing glyphosate herbicides would be ‘major blow’ to sustainable farming, weed scientist argues
Glyphosate, the herbicide that has revolutionized weed control since its introduction in 1974, faces steadily increasing restrictions and in some ...
Courts may suspend additional glyphosate trials as Bayer, plaintiffs negotiate possible settlement
Discussions are underway to postpone one or more highly anticipated Roundup cancer trials set to start in January, including trials ...
Viewpoint: California jury’s decision that Monsanto failed to disclose glyphosate could cause cancer undermines EPA’s oversight of pesticide regulations since evidence suggests it is safe, agency claims
It’s no secret that Monsanto and glyphosate have taken a beating in court over the last couple years. After IARC ...
With Enlist, biotech firm Corteva aims to displace Roundup as top-selling herbicide as Bayer fights glyphosate litigation
Before it was targeted by tens of thousands of plaintiffs in lawsuits, Roundup was the king of the field—the world’s ...
GMO cotton boosted farmer incomes $52 billion over 20 years, study finds
The area planted to biotech cotton in 2018 reached 24.9 million hectares, a 3% increase from 24.1 million hectares in ...
Canadian judge rejects activist bid to immediately ban neonicotinoid pesticide Thiamethoxam
Ottawa-Federal Appeal Court Justice Richard Southcott has dismissed an application by environment groups challenging a 24 month phase out of ...
Agriculture companies accelerate biopesticide development amid consumer pressure for less chemical-intensive farming
Agribusiness is increasingly turning to natural and sustainable alternatives to chemicals as consumers rebuff genetically modified foods and concerns grow ...
Viewpoint: Confused about GMOs and pesticides? Here’s a science-based handbook for combating anti-biotech fallacies
The risk posed by junk science meant to skew our perception of food safety and biotechnology cannot be overstated ...
Viewpoint: Bill banning neonicotinoid insecticides from wildlife refuges based on bad science
The House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources recently approved HR 2854, the 2019 Protect Our Refuges Act, prohibiting the ...
EPA re-approves controversial weed killer atrazine, arguing benefits outweigh potential ecological risks
Atrazine is widely used in agriculture across a range of crops, primarily corn but also sugarcane and sorghum, as well ...
Anti-glyphosate activist Carey Gillam ‘collaborated’ with attorney charged in extortion plot
In a press release, the [Department of Justice] said that one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys, Timothy Litzenburg, who helped ...
Australia glyphosate-cancer class action lawsuit gets underway
The first directions hearing in a class action against chemical giant Monsanto, over claims commonly used herbicide Roundup causes cancer, ...
EU Parliament calls for full ban on sale, production and use of neonicotinoid pesticides to protect bees
The European Parliament has called on the Commission to strengthen its plan to protect Europe’s declining populations of bees and ...
What’s missing from claims that neonicotinoids are killing bees, birds and fish?
Criticism of pesticides is often undeserved -- and sometimes absolutely bizarre ...
