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.
Price floor for Bayer shares may not exist as Monsanto glyphosate-cancer litigation costs mount
On June 7th, 2018, Bayer .... consummated its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto, the largest GMO and agricultural chemical distributor ...
Maharashtra state in India contemplates lifting GMO herbicide-tolerant cotton ban amid farmer protests
Demands to lift [the] ban on the use of herbicide-tolerant Bt (HTBT) cotton in the state are growing stronger. Several ...
If US banned neonicotinoid insecticides, pesticide use could increase, posing threat to humans and pollinators, study suggests
New research from Gian Carlo Moschini at the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University and Ed ...
Under shareholder pressure, Bayer hires law firm to initiate ‘radical overhaul’ of glyphosate litigation strategy
Chemicals giant Bayer, under pressure from activist shareholders, said on [June 26] it has hired an external lawyer to advise ...
French rapeseed yields hit 14-year low following drought, neonicotinoid insecticide ban
French farmers are getting so tired of beetles chomping on their rapeseed that some of them may decide to further ...
Viewpoint: Farmers use glyphosate to grow healthy crops, not because ‘Big Ag’ makes them
Until the public sees agriculture and the agricultural landscape for what it is and quits calling a circle a square, ...
Despite threat of arrest, pro-GMO protests in India spread across 11 districts in state of Maharashtra
A ‘pro-GM seed’ movement, which had begun in one district of Maharashtra with farmers defying [a] ban on planting unapproved ...
Viewpoint: Mining phosphate to produce Bayer’s Roundup weed killer could contaminate environment ‘for years to come’
Roundup, the world’s top herbicide, has been mired in controversy in recent months as the jurors in three court cases ...
Podcast: Meet Mary Mangan—the biologist who crashes anti-GMO events and debunks junk science on Twitter
Mangan discusses her unique approach to spreading science literacy ...
Naturally occurring phosphorous in soil could cut synthetic fertilizer pollution, major threat to sustainable farming
Cornell University engineers have taken a step in understanding how iron in the soil may unlock naturally occurring phosphorus bound ...
Female farmers join protests in India demanding access to GMO herbicide-tolerant cotton
After several instances of farmers in Maharashtra sowing unauthorized varieties of genetically modified (GM) cotton to openly defy the moratorium ...
Podcast: More fearful of crop losses than jail, Indian farmers grow illegal GMO Bt eggplant
While Indian farmers have benefited tremendously from growing insect-resistant GMO cotton, the government has outlawed the cultivation of genetically engineered ...
Bt eggplant, Bangladesh’s first GMO crop, controls ‘vicious’ fruit and shoot borer pest, boosts farmer profit sixfold
Eggplant, or brinjal (Solanum melongena), is a popularly consumed vegetable grown throughout Asia that is prone to vicious and sustained ...
Food and farm groups combat activist effort to ban glyphosate from oat production
An effort by the Environmental Working Group seeks to eliminate the use of glyphosate in oat production, but farm and ...
Podcast: Glyphosate-tainted breakfast? Plant geneticist Kevin Folta debunks fear-based CBS Roundup report
Does the network get it right? Not even close, says Folta ...
Bayer asks judge to overturn $2 billion glyphosate-cancer verdict based on ‘inflammatory, fabricated evidence’
Bayer AG has asked a California judge to overrule a $2 billion verdict by jurors who found the company’s glyphosate-based ...
GMO crops could have slowed fall armyworm pest advance across China
A hungry caterpillar that ravages crops is advancing across China and threatening the nation’s vast supply of maize. Scientists are ...
High-yielding wheat boosts chemical use? Study busts popular farming myth
The myth that modern wheat varieties are more heavily reliant on pesticides and fertilizers is debunked by new research published ...
Facing escalating legal costs defending Monsanto’s Roundup, Bayer invests $5.6 billion in alternative herbicide research
Germany's Bayer sought to repair its reputation on [June 14] after damage caused by U.S. litigation over claims its glyphosate ...
‘Children killer’ glyphosate found in Cheerios? Experts dismantle Environmental Working Group’s herbicide food residue study
A few fundamental facts can put this fearmongering claim to rest ...
GMO Bt corn cultivation in EU poses no threat to ‘human, animal health or the environment,’ food safety officials confirm
Following a request from the European Commission, [The European Food Safety Authority] assessed the 2017 post‐market environmental monitoring (PMEM) report ...
Austria considers ban on Bayer’s weed killer Roundup as heated glyphosate-cancer debate continues
Austria is heading toward a likely ban of glyphosate this year after the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) backed the Social ...
Viewpoint: Guardian (UK) ‘Toxic America’ series: Anti-chemical activism masquerades as science journalism
So far, they’ve published no article by or in-depth interview with an actual scientist ...
10% of India’s 12.2 million cotton hectares came from illegal GMO seeds in 2018
A farm group said its members had planted a variety of genetically modified cotton seeds which have not been approved ...
Wheat producers urge EPA to reject activist petition banning pre-harvest glyphosate use on oats
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on a September 2018 petition from several special interest groups to ...
Arkansas must reconsider Monsanto lawsuit challenging dicamba herbicide rules, state Supreme Court says
A lawsuit by Monsanto against the state’s restrictions on the use of dicamba raised valid points and should be reconsidered, ...
EPA moves to streamline process for evaluating pesticide impacts on endangered species
[June 6] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler hosted [a panel of federal regulators] to discuss improving the ...
