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.
EU lawmakers: New bee safety rules won’t protect pollinators from neonic pesticides long term
The European Parliament on [October 23] blocked a diluted proposal by the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm on protecting bees from ...
Cotton industry prepares to commercialize FDA-approved GMO seeds to help ‘feed 500 million people’
The cotton industry hopes to launch a new market for a genetically modified cotton plant whose seeds are edible for ...
Viewpoint: ‘There are no long-term GMO safety studies,’ and 9 other biotech myths debunked
Can salt be a GMO? Is it true that no long-term studies have been done on GMOs? There are many ...
‘No evidence’ low-level glyphosate exposure causes kidney damage in children, study shows
The goal of this study was to assess biomarkers of exposure to glyphosate and assess potential associations with renal function ...
California grows 1/3 of US produce—95% of state’s fruits, vegetables below EPA pesticide limits, and none pose a health risk
Once again, tests showed that the vast majority of fresh produce collected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) ...
Thailand bans glyphosate weed killer as Roundup-cancer legal debate rages in US, Europe
Thailand’s government agreed [October 22] to ban the use of three farming chemicals widely regarded as dangerous to human health ...
EU bans neonic insecticide thiacloprid after 2020, citing threats to human reproductive health, bees
EU countries [Ocotber 22] voted not to extend the license of the insecticide thiacloprid when it expires at the end ...
Avoid produce because of pesticides? No ‘sound science’ behind that recommendation, new report says
A new report from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology aims to reduce consumers’ worries by describing how information ...
Viewpoint: Documentary ‘Modified’ peddles falsehoods about GMOs, pesticides and ‘corporate control’ of food
"Modified” is an elaborate lie about genetic engineering ...
Canadian contractor alleges glyphosate caused his cancer in new suit against Bayer
[Cliff] Sissons, a 57-year-old man from Cranbrook, B.C., is trying to stay positive after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He ...
Farm biodiversity helps control pests without chemicals, boosts crop yields, study shows
Ecologists and biologists compared data of about 1,500 agricultural fields around the world, including corn fields in the American plains, ...
California chlorpyrifos insecticide ban will harm alfalfa growers, UC Davis researchers warn
Integrated pest management of alfalfa in California will be “profoundly” impacted by the loss of the pesticide chlorpyrifos next year, ...
Synthesized ‘natural’ insecticide perseanol could cut use of harsher pesticides
First discovered back in the 1990s, perseanol exerts its insecticidal effects by paralyzing the muscular tissues of pests, in the ...
Bayer, BASF must defend against dicamba herbicide drift lawsuit in Missouri state court
Monsanto Co. and BASF Corp. must defend in state court allegations that dicamba herbicides drifted onto a Tennessee tobacco farm, ...
Will glyphosate-cancer legal battle slow plant-based meat industry’s rapid growth?
Farmers around the world have watched with concern as .... claims against glyphosate and its manufacturers first turned up in ...
Video: Naturopathic doctor challenges Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ scare campaign, says don’t fear trace pesticides on food
Today, I want to talk to you about something I recently changed my mind about. This .... might come off ...
Bayer could face over 45,000 glyphosate-cancer cases as settlement talks continue
Bayer expects the number of claims in the United States related to Roundup herbicide to have surged in the third ...
Trials should be settled by ‘scientific evidence, not speculation and emotion’: In unusual twist, California medical groups join appeal of jury verdict finding Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer
Medical professionals in California have stepped into the ongoing courtroom fight over glyphosate ...
Proposed New York chlorpyrifos insecticide ban pits farmers against environmental groups
With California .... agreeing to ban its sale, environmentalists in New York are renewing their call for Gov. Andrew Cuomo ...
Podcast: The ‘what, how and why’ of GMOs, a crash course on genetic engineering
Agricultural scientists Karen Cox of West Virginia University and Dan Lima of Ohio State University offer a crash course on ...
Viewpoint: Legal crusade against Bayer’s Roundup herbicide threatens fish and wildlife
You’ve seen the ads flooding television and social media: “Have you been exposed to weed killer Roundup? If you have ...
Farmers, scientists face off against activists as New Hampshire mulls neonic insecticide ban
Farmers, lawn service scientists and educators supplied stinging criticism [October 8] of legislation that activists are pursuing to ban the ...
Bayer faces first glyphosate-cancer lawsuit in Australia as US plaintiff count tops 13,400
An Australian farmer has launched a legal case against Bayer AG’s agricultural chemicals unit Monsanto after being diagnosed with a ...
Do vaccines contain glyphosate? Anti-GMO claim requires ‘very unlikely scenario’
Many GMO critics believe that vaccines are contaminated with glyphosate. A look at how vaccines are made and how glyphosate ...
Pesticide makers drop challenge to California’s proposed chlorpyrifos insecticide ban
Pesticide manufactures on [September 9] agreed to drop challenges to a proposed California ban on sales of a product linked ...
Rapeseed farmers benefit from honeybees more than pesticides, French study finds
For European rapeseed farmers, honey bees buzzing around fields may outweigh the benefits of using pesticides to fight insect damage, ...
Fear of ‘mighty multinationals’ could spur European glyphosate bans despite evidence, EU food safety official says
The world’s most used herbicide is now more of a political football than a weedkiller. Bernhard Url, the head of ...
