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Viewpoint: With Conservative sweep of the ‘Brexit election’, Boris Johnson poised to steer the UK out of ‘outdated’ EU GMO, CRISPR regulations
If the UK replaces the EU's overly cautious biotech rules with a pro-innovation scheme, it could become a true global ...
Farmers may soon use drones to battle herbicide-resistant weeds
Remote sensing provides an alternative to ground-based manual scouting for weeds in agriculture fields. And, while many advances have been ...
Austria’s January 2020 glyphosate ban halted on technical grounds
An Austrian ban on the weedkiller glyphosate, a substance that has long been disputed in Europe and beyond, can’t take ...
Meet ‘Tom’: The weed-spotting robot that could slash blanket herbicide spraying
A National Trust estate farm has brought in a robot called Tom to map its weeds. The robot’s mapping capability ...
France bans 36 glyphosate weed killers, citing products’ potential to damage DNA
French health and environment agency ANSES said on [Dec. 9] it was banning glyphosate-based weedkillers that represent most of the ...
EU votes to ban insecticide chlorpyrifos, citing brain damage risk to children
A majority of EU countries voted to ban chlorpyrifos, an insecticide deemed unsafe for human health by the EU’s food ...
Glyphosate-cancer trials postponed while Bayer, plaintiffs negotiate potential $8-$12 billion settlement
Germany’s Bayer has agreed with plaintiffs to postpone its next two U.S. lawsuits over the alleged cancer-causing effects of its ...
Viewpoint: Pest resistance to GMO crops is a real threat, but no reason to avoid biotechnology
Central to the criticism of genetically modified crops is the fear that weeds and pests may develop resistance .... The ...
Viewpoint: How a small group of scientists and pliable media created a ‘catastrophe narrative’ that hurts bees and farmers
The scientists who glommed onto the “bee-pocalypse” narrative never bothered to go back and correct the record ...
Thailand Industry Minister threatens legal action to block glyphosate ban
Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said on [Dec. 3] he would counter-sue any organizations that bring a threatened lawsuit against him ...
EU may block Austria’s proposed glyphosate weed killer ban
Austria's government appeared to cast doubt [December 2] on whether a total ban on the controversial herbicide glyphosate would be ...
Pesticide makers want EU chlorpyrifos insecticide ban halted for lack of ‘sound evidence’
Agri-chemical manufacturers are putting pressure on the EU to prevent a ban of two disputed pesticides that damage the brain ...
Thailand reverses glyphosate weed killer ban following push back from nation’s farmers
Thailand reversed a decision [Nov. 27] to ban a controversial weedkiller and extended the permitted use of two other pesticides ...
Neonic pesticide thiacloprid has no detectable negative impact on bumblebees, field study shows
In a field study, the researchers Maj Rundlöf, Lund University, and Ola Lundin, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, have ...
Has modern agriculture ‘tainted’ your Thanksgiving dinner?
The Environmental Working Group knows how to grab headlines with ominous claims about America's food supply. In 2018, the Washington, ...
Viewpoint: Federal government doles out millions of dollars to ‘children’s health centers’ that promote junk science
For more than two decades, the federal government has doled out millions of dollars to fund university-based “children’s environmental health ...
Bayer’s Monsanto division pleads guilty to misdemeanor for spraying banned pesticide and storing hazardous waste in Hawaii in 2014, will pay $10.2 million fine
Monsanto pleaded guilty to spraying a banned pesticide on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and agreed to pay $10.2 million ...
Does glyphosate or other common herbicides endanger beneficial earthworms? New study finds ‘low risk’, with Roundup among the safest
Agrochemicals are an important component of agricultural production systems. There are increasing concerns about the effect of agrochemicals on soil ...
Thailand glyphosate ban could boost weed-control costs by $268 million, pesticide trade group says
A trade group representing pesticide firms urged Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha to delay a ban due Dec. 1 on ...
Bill reinstating neonicotinoid pesticide ban on wildlife refuges gains traction in Congress
A bill that would reinstate a regulation banning certain pesticides from wildlife refuges was approved by the House Committee on ...
Bayer faces $500 million Monsanto glyphosate-cancer class action suit in Canada
Toronto-based law firm Diamond & Diamond is spearheading a $500 million class action lawsuit against various Roundup makers, including pharmaceutical ...
Nanotechnology helps farmers battle increasingly pesticide-resistant weeds, insects with fewer chemicals
A University of Toronto graduate school project is now extending the life of widely used crop protection products. Vive Crop ...
Pesticide importers threaten lawsuit to block Thailand’s glyphosate ban, warning of serious economic impacts
Importers of three toxic farm chemicals, which are set to be officially banned from Dec 1, have vowed they will ...
Challenging media narrative about the ‘birds and the bees’—neither faces serious threats from neonicotinoids or other crop chemicals
Discarding this valuable crop protection tool is a questionable strategy ...
Podcast: Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat explains how junk science gets published—and how to spot it in the headlines
Bad research can put people's lives at risk, so addressing problems with peer review is essential ...
Nanosensor detects trace amounts of chemicals, helping farmers cut pesticide, fertilizer use
Good things come in small packages. Sadly, so do bad things. That’s where Iowa State University’s (ISU) Department of Mechanical ...
French Parliament: 2022 glyphosate ban falls off track as widespread weed killer use continues
IS FRANCE’S GLYPHOSATE EXIT PLAN ON TRACK? A French parliament report, published on [Nov. 13], suggests not. President Emmanuel Macron ...
