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.
‘Gold standard’ assessing neonicotinoids: Field bee hive studies find pesticides not major source of health issues
Some lab studies but almost no field ones suggest neonicotinoid pesticides are harming bee health. Why is there such a ...
Glyphosate-cancer case appeal: Judge inclined to set aside $250 million of damages, order new trial
Bayer AG won a tentative ruling slashing the lion’s share of a $289 million verdict in the first trial over claims ...
Viewpoint: Roundup is a ‘timid cousin’ of dangerous pesticides, and a blessing to agriculture
The public has found its witch to burn. Glyphosate — or, colloquially, Roundup — is shackled to the stake in ...
Viewpoint: Link between bee death and glyphosate still a ‘far-fetched’ story
Glyphosate is a herbicide, in other words, it is toxic to plants. Its target enzyme is not found in insects ...
Beet production drops, plant diseases threaten comeback following EU’s neonicotinoid ban, farmers say
Two weeks after Acor started the new beet reception campaign at the milling plant in Olmedo (Valladolid), field inspections continue ...
Why organic apple farmers spray their trees with insecticides 32 times on average during each growing season
A lot of people buy organic foods because they believe organic means free from chemicals and pesticides. But the truth ...
Ex-Reuters reporter Carey Gillam: Anti-Monsanto crusader or obsessed anti-GMO activist?
[Carey Gillam] the longtime reporter, who now works for a consumer advocacy group, is pegged by her detractors as an activist at ...
Environmental groups ‘hijack’ bee death narrative to push political agenda, citrus farmer says
As we enter the fall months, it is safe to say the 2017-18 California citrus crop year was a success ...
Controversy emerges over proposed bill blocking local preemption of federal pesticide regulations
In the past three years, Irvine went from treating its parks .... with more than .... 60 gallons of synthetic ...
Why are all Roundup-cancer lawsuits filed in the US?
The unique conditions present in the U.S. led to the filing of more than 8,000 court claims alleging the use ...
Viewpoint: Activists promotion of ‘fog of misinformation’ about GMOs challenges science communicators
Activists spend all day peddling nonsense. If they spent that kind of time on constructive issues…sigh. [A] local radio station ...
Beyond pesticides: Engineered crops that fertilize themselves from air
Plants are surrounded by nitrogen, but it's unusable as found in the atmosphere. Scientists may be able to change that ...
Viewpoint: Experts must ‘shut down’ junk science on social media before it causes real damage
[A] new study by the Pew Research Center found over two out of three Americans (68 percent) now get at least some ...
Conflicting pesticide regulations may fuel needless food safety disputes
Since 1961, the Codex Alimentarius has provided a common set of standards for food safety, ranging from nutrition labeling to ...
Viewpoint: Frankenstein’s legacy is a ‘distrust of science’—and GMOs
The novel ushered in a concept that actively harms the Global South two centuries later ...
Plaintiff’s attorney ‘manipulated’ jury in Roundup-cancer trial, Bayer claims
Calling Monsanto’s efforts to hide the alleged carcinogenicity of its Roundup weed killer “reprehensible,” attorneys for a school groundskeeper dying ...
First ever FDA glyphosate study finds weed killer exposure ‘not concerning for public health’
FDA testing of glyphosate residues in food found no detectable amounts of the herbicide in over half of commodities tested ...
Viewpoint: New glyphosate study suggesting danger to honeybee microbiota is detailed, sophisticated—and wrong
Erick Motta and colleagues at the University of Hawaii just published a paper in PNAS entitled "Glyphosate perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees." ...
Monsanto ‘didn’t fully disclose’ involvement in 2016 glyphosate review, publisher says
Bayer AG’s defense of Roundup weed killer may take a hit after an academic journal [Critical Reviews in Toxicology] said ...
Toxic organic pesticides pose surprising challenge to pro-environment politicians
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released fresh data which re-confirms the toxicity of copper compounds, pesticides that are ...
Trust issues: Scientific credibility suffers when industries sponsor research
Industry plays a central role in scientific research and development. But research shows that when companies fund science, credibility suffers ...
Australia: ‘No grounds’ to ban Roundup, despite glyphosate-cancer controversy
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is aware of the August 2018 decision in the Californian Superior Court ...
Is ‘factory farming’ an accurate description of modern agriculture?
I’ve lived in four states on the East Coast and Gulf, and I’ve never found myself wanting come harvest time ...
Mushroom-based biopesticides could cut environmental damage from synthetic chemicals
.... In the year 2012 — the last time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) published a report on the subject — chemical ...
France’s neonicotinoid ban a ‘dead end’ for farmers who need to fight pests
The ban on the use of neonicotinoids as of September 1, 2018 is leading to agronomic dead ends for many ...
Low yields, high costs stop India from embracing organic agriculture
Nearly 25 years ago, an event held at the American Center Auditorium in Chennai on the topic of the Green Revolution witnessed ...
Video: How the Environmental Working Group manipulated the math on glyphosate safety levels to create ‘Roundup in Cheerios’ scare
The weed killer glyphosate (aka Roundup in patented form) is lauded by farmers as a safe, effective herbicide. However, there ...
