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.
GLP Spaces on X: Refuting MAHA’s anti-pesticide mythology
There's a little-known fact the MAHA coalition would prefer to keep quiet: pesticides are essential to protect public health and ...
Measles outbreak: Republicans more likely than Democrats to believe vaccines more dangerous than the disease itself
As the U.S. grapples with rising measles cases across multiple states and the highest number of cases since 2019, about ...
Kennedy vs. Kennedy: The FDA remains silent on Ractopamine, America’s most controversial pork additive
For over a decade, a group of food safety, environmental, and animal welfare nonprofits has petitioned the US Food and ...
Viewpoint: Glyphosate’s often overlooked role in sustainable farming
What IF glyphosate didn’t exist? The best answer to that question comes from Aimpoint Research. The food / ag wargame ...
Kraft, Pepsico and Tyson move to remove synthetic food dyes
Major food company Kraft Heinz said it will remove all chemical, artificial dyes from its food products following Health Secretary ...
Meet Elsa: FDA embraces controversial AI bot to help evaluate drugs, medical devices and chemicals in food
FDA leaders say artificial intelligence has the potential to “radically increase efficiency” when analysing the vast volumes of data—often more ...
Viewpoint: ‘We need to fend off the sophistry and mendacity of anti-innovation, anti-biotechnology, chemophobic activists’
The adage “Follow the science” when formulating public policy has much to recommend it, but it’s not as straightforward as ...
Viewpoint: mRNA-based vaccines for humans and livestock are under attack, with HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. leading the charge. Their rejectionism is dangerous
The rapid development of safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV2 demonstrated the agility and efficacy of mRNA vaccines. The knowledge ...
Viewpoint: Challenging food myths: What would it be like if we continue to demonize modern, high tech agriculture?
The current wave of food anxiety stems, in large part, from a misunderstanding of hazard versus risk. A substance can ...
Processed human sewage waste is sometimes used as cheap fertilizers. It’s potentially dangerous
About 3.5 million tonnes of sludge – the solid waste produced from human sewage at treatment plants - is put ...
MAHA proposed state-level restrictions on food additives gaining traction on the granola left and MAHA right
In a first-of-its-kind effort, the Texas legislature has passed a bill to require warning labels on foods such as Mountain ...
The never-ending GMO debate: Pros and cons
According to the Genetic Literacy Project, “The most recent data from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) ...
Viewpoint: Toxic chemicals in tampons? Unpacking the latest environmental activist group hysteria claim
The chatter about chemicals in tampons isn’t exactly a new thing; it’s more like a rerun of a series that ...
GLP spaces on X: Ice cream sales boost drowning risk? Confusing correlation and causation yields strange – and often harmful – results
Ice cream sales and drownings increase significantly during summer. Although these two outcomes are closely connected, they probably occur in ...
Viewpoint: The health and environmental impacts of glyphosate
A federal reckoning over glyphosate is imminent as the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement gains a foothold with Secretary ...
Chemicals in food packaging is an increasing health threat
A research study, published in the Nature Medicine journal, explores the health impacts of exposure to synthetic chemicals in food. The scientists identify ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why farmers use pesticides like atrazine and glyphosate—and why they are safe
Corn growers need access to all types of pesticides. [Glyphosate was] developed more than 50 years ago to control a ...
Global food production has increased 390 percent since 1960. Here’s how farmers have done it
The use of modern seed genetics (which includes genetically modified (GM) crops, chemical and fertilizer use) greatly contributes to improved ...
Viewpoint: Are you a ‘culinary criminal’ for eating a hot dog?
Nothing says spring as much as cherry blossoms or opening day in Major League Baseball. For many fans, attending a ...
MAHA is anti-corporate and chemophobic; Farming in the U.S. is the opposite. What will give?
Efforts to secure statutory immunity from liability for personal injuries caused by pesticides have converged with massive increases in federal ...
GLP podcast: Marijuana legalization—smart policy or risk to public health?
With a growing number of US states legalizing marijuana use, scientists and policymakers are once again engaged in a pitched ...
Viewpoint: Challenging the FDA to closely regulate unreviewed chemicals in our food
Although a comprehensive fix to the “Generally Recognized” standard will require legislation from Congress, there are significant steps the FDA ...
When European politicians and ‘experts’ debate the future of farming, they listen to everyone but farmers
Georges Clemenceau once said war was too important to be left to the generals. Today, in Brussels, agriculture is too ...
Trump administration’s schizophrenic farm policy
Independent and organic farmers say chaos created by the Trump administration’s cuts has hurt their businesses, even as the US health secretary, Robert F ...
GLP spaces on X: Bioweapons on the farm? Bad agriculture policy could be as harmful as bioterrorism
Earlier this month, two Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling Fusarium graminearum, a toxic fungus that infects important food crops, ...
Viewpoint: ‘I’m a mom and a farmer. Here’s why it’s safe to use pesticides
In addition to the title of mom, I also have the title of farmer, giving me firsthand experiences and understanding ...
Viewpoint: Autism epidemic? RFK, Jr. has grifted off of this lie for decades
If you saw the recent HHS Press Briefing by RFK Jr., you’re likely as horrified as I am. RFK Jr ...
