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.
GMO supporters and critics weigh in on FDA’s biotech education initiative
[Editor's note: Karl Haro von Mogel is a geneticist with a PhD in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from UW-Madison with ...
Glyphosate, other herbicides may contribute to antibiotic resistance, study finds
New Zealand researchers have found the active ingredients in commonly-used weed killers can cause bacteria to be less susceptible to ...
Neonicotinoid insecticide has ‘no adverse effects’ on honeybee colony health, meta-analysis finds
A quantitative weight of evidence (QWoE) methodology was used to assess higher-tier studies on the effects of imidacloprid (IMI) on ...
Viewpoint: FDA should crack down on food safety misinformation
[Editor's note: Val Giddings is a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. The following is part of a letter ...
USDA expects quick approval for genetically engineered virus to combat citrus greening disease in Florida
The Agriculture Department is expected to allow Florida citrus growers to start using a genetically engineered virus to protect trees ...
Ecuador activist group plans nationwide strike to protest country’s loosening of GMO restrictions
Burning soy seeds lit up the city streets of Guayaquil, Ecuador, last May as dozens of farmers, activists and indigenous ...
Would switching to 100% organic farming help the environment? ‘Absolutely not’
Should the world’s farms go 100 percent organic to protect the environment? Absolutely not. One huge problem is that organic ...
Designer fruit is the future: Genetic engineering adds ‘tangible benefits’ for consumers
Consumers have shown a great deal of resistance to GMO food over the years, but the Golden Arctic apple, which ...
Talking Biotech: Soil-worm resistant GMO crops in Africa hindered by politics, public fears
IITA scientists: GMOs could help fend off nematode crop pests in Africa, but educating policymakers and public about the benefits ...
Claims that glyphosate herbicide causes chronic diseases ‘not supported by scientific evidence’
[Editor's note: Robin Mesnage was a coauthor of the retracted study led by anti-GMO activist scientist Gilles-Eric Séralini (GLP profile here) ...
Viewpoint: Organic food fight over hydroponics about money—and that’s how farming should be
Sustainable farming can’t actually be sustainable if farmers can’t make money doing it. So there’s a certain irony in the organic ...
Fungicides may be to blame for US bumblebee declines, study finds
When a Cornell-led team of scientists analyzed two dozen environmental factors to understand bumblebee population declines and range contractions, they ...
Viewpoint: Blame activist social media for Europe’s anti-science crusade against glyphosate
[Editor's note: Richard Hackett is an Agronomist based in North County Dublin, Ireland.] [A]ccess to abundant food has led to complacency ...
What’s a ‘GMO’ food?
[W]hat exactly is a GMO? The initialism stands for "genetically modified organism," but it's a term lacking scientific precision. Moreover, ...
Monsanto, farmers groups sue California claiming glyphosate cancer warning would be ‘false speech’
Monsanto Co and U.S. farm groups sued California on Wednesday [Nov. 15] to stop the state from requiring cancer warnings ...
Disease-resistant GMO bananas could save $12 billion Cavendish global industry
A billion dollar banana industry at risk of a deadly disease could be saved by a scientific breakthrough from a ...
Nanotechnology might help farmers fight climate change, pests and disease–and boost yields
Researchers are exploring the impact of using nanoscale nutrients––including copper––on eggplants and other crops. While early results have shown substantial ...
GMO stigma: The challenge of growing virus-resistant papaya in Hawaii
[Michael] Kamiya is a strong supporter of agricultural technology, which he credits for saving his family’s farm. He has childhood ...
What’s next in the long, heated battle over bees and neonicotinoid insecticides?
[S]tudies showing real-world evidence of harm from pesticides in the field have been mounting — and environmental organizations have demanded ...
Viewpoint: From Non-GMO to gluten-free, ‘fake transparency’ in food labeling offers little but higher prices
At what point does food labeling become less about transparency and more about marketing strategy? A new federal law mandating ...
Trade disruption: Fears grow that EU glyphosate herbicide ban could upend global food markets
A possible glyphosate ban entails the risk of trade disruption to food imports from third countries, in case the EU ...
European farmers: Finding replacement for glyphosate is no easy task
As European politicians move toward blocking the use of glyphosate, farmers there are facing the prospect of using less-effective replacements ...
Monsanto v. Arkansas: Dispute over dicamba herbicide drift damage moves to the courtroom
A fight over one of the most powerful new weapons against hard-to-kill weeds, developed by agricultural giant Monsanto Co., is spilling into the ...
How glyphosate became the world’s most popular weedkiller
Since it was introduced in the United States in 1974 by pesticides and seed maker Monsanto as Roundup, the use ...
Indian farmers growing unapproved herbicide-resistant GMO soybeans, farmers union says
For the first time, illegal cultivation of a genetically modified (GM) food crop — GM Soyabean — which is herbicide ...
Partial ban of dicamba herbicide approved by Arkansas Plant Board
An Arkansas regulatory panel voted Wednesday [Nov. 8] to ban the use of an herbicide for part of next year ...
Neonicotinoid, chlorpyrifos insecticides impact bird migration, study finds
"Studies on the risks of neonicotinoids have often focused on bees that have been experiencing population declines. However, it is ...
