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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‘Uncertain and confused’: Sri Lankan farmers facing government’s ‘misguided’ ban on all synthetic chemicals fear sustainable farming will be unattainable
The [Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers recently] approved President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s proposal to ban the importation of chemical fertilisers. In ...
Another study finds glyphosate herbicide kills tumor cells. Is the much-maligned weedkiller a cancer fighter?
If Roundup or one of its ingredients turns out to be an effective cancer treatment, it would be a stunning ...
Glyphosate can cure cancer? Yes, some research ‘shows’ that — but what does it mean? And what does it say about Roundup doomsday claims?
A demonstration of the fine art of cherrypicking ...
Decades-past DDT exposure shown to ‘haunt’ our bodies for three generations or more
Friends and family often ask Barbara Cohn, an epidemiologist at Oakland's Public Health Institute, why she studies the effects of ...
‘There’s so much misinformation swirling around the internet’: Are pesticides really safe and necessary?
Here are 5 things you may not know about pesticides — from their long backstory to their development and testing ...
Viewpoint: ‘The European Green Deal has been captured by chemophobic activists with no understanding of science’. Here’s how the EU can put sustainability ahead of ideology
After seeing rampant chemophobia and fear-mongering influence the REACH process in the mid-2000s, I set up a satirical blog called ...
Glyphosate does not cause cancer, latest independent European Union study concludes
Despite the allegations of greedy trial lawyers and greedy, ideological activist groups, a massive body of peer-reviewed research has confirmed ...
GLP Podcast: Hollywood’s vaccine-autism nonsense; COVID lab-leak story won’t die; Africa ignores Greenpeace on pesticides
Many Hollywood celebrities have endorsed the bogus link between vaccines to autism. Looking back, it appears their influence has been ...
Viewpoint: ‘Smart pesticide use’ — Here’s a way we can protect crops while preserving beneficial insects
Currently, products are developed and marketed to kill pest insects immediately. This has become the goal of crop treatments, and ...
Farmers warn Mexico’s GM corn ban will raise food prices
Mexico’s farmer associations are teaming up and pushing back through legal battles in opposition to a presidential decree to ban ...
Viewpoint: New York’s ‘Birds and Bees Protection Act’ targeting neonicotinoid pesticides doesn’t protect either and would hurt farmers
[Recently,] the New York legislature began advancing the Birds and Bees Protection Act. If it passes both chambers and is ...
Swiss voters ‘overwhelmingly’ reject activist-proposed synthetic pesticide ban, referendum results show
Voters in Switzerland on [June 12] overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have banned the use of artificial pesticides in ...
Podcast: EU food retailers don’t want CRISPR crops; Glyphosate threatens insects? Gene editing may fight high cholesterol
European food retailers want food made from CRISPR-edited crops labeled "GMO," which could prevent EU farmers from utilizing gene editing ...
Facing mounting number of glyphosate lawsuits, Bayer offers 5-point plan to address future Roundup weedkiller claims
Bayer has announced [May 27] a series of actions it plans to implement following the denial of the motion to ...
Viewpoint: Organic lobbyists show ‘sheer hypocrisy’ opposing UK emergency authorization of neonicotinoid sugar beet seed treatments — while supporting environmental waiver for ‘acutely toxic’ copper sulfate
The Government was right to make provision for a temporary and limited derogation for the use of the neonicotinoid seed ...
Africa cracks down on ravenous locust swarms by ignoring Greenpeace’s anti-pesticide rhetoric
As nations around the world struggle with COVID-19 and related economic lockdowns, African countries are fighting another plague: swarms of ...
Viewpoint: Mexico’s ‘cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face’ glyphosate ban — Why prohibiting one of the safest herbicides in the world will dramatically increase the use of a demonstrably more harmful alternative
It appears that the proposed Mexican government plan to ban all genetically engineered corn and the widely used herbicide glyphosate ...
Viewpoint: Glyphosate is great at killing weeds, but there are concerns its use could imperil the microbiome of some insects — both beneficial and harmful
[A] study, published in the journal Communications Biology, showed that glyphosate inhibits a biochemical pathway in bacteria that was previously ...
‘Flawed process leads to flawed science’: Why the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer claims glyphosate causes cancer
The recent excellent article by Josh Bloom, “NYC Pol Uses Phony Cancer Scare & ‘Children’ to Ban Glyphosate in Parks,” ...
RNA technology brought us effective COVID vaccines. Next up: ‘Precisely targeted, environmentally-friendly’ techniques that dramatically reduce use of problematic chemicals
[RNA-based COVID vaccines let] a vaccine-recipient’s immune system learn to recognise a crucial part of the enemy before the real ...
Bayer says it will reconsider ‘the future of glyphosate-based products in the U.S. residential market’ after a federal judge rejected its $2 billion settlement proposal to resolve pending and future cancer lawsuits
Bayer said on [May 26] it will review the future of its Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers in the U.S ...
Mexican judge upholds 2024 ban of GMO corn and glyphosate, threatening to upend US trade relationship
A Mexican federal judge ruled against a request by the [Mexico] National Farm Council (CNA) to freeze a government plan ...
Roundup regulation revision? Biden EPA asks federal court to allow it to reassess glyphosate, weighing ‘ecological risks and benefits’
The Biden EPA has asked a federal court for a chance to review and possibly revise parts of the agency's ...
‘Devastating repercussions’: Sri Lanka’s plan to ban agrochemicals and go 100% organic could result in famine, expert says
Can Sri Lanka with a population of nearly 22 million and a landmass of 65,000 square kms and a per ...
As Bayer awaits ruling on its $2 billion glyphosate settlement proposal, judge floats idea of adding controversial safety warning label
A U.S. judge suggested on [May 19] that Bayer include a warning label on Roundup as part of a proposed ...
‘Risks are acceptable’: On verge of banning neonicotinoid imidacloprid, Canada reverses course, says bees will not be adversely impacted
Canada’s pesticide regulator said on [May 18] that farmers could keep using the chemical imidacloprid to control crop-destroying insects under ...
Can the Biden Administration challenge Mexico’s decision to ban glyphosate weedkiller and GMO corn?
Mexico may be one of the U.S.’s top agricultural trading partners, but this relationship has plenty of problems. Consider the ...
