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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Are neonicotinoid seed treatments critical for protecting crops—or unnecessary, with potential to harm bees?
Neonicotinoids, the world’s most popular class of insecticides, have been making headlines for the last decade due to concerns that ...
As the EU ponders glyphosate re-authorization, French national radio site examines claims that glyphosate is harmful
Europe is preparing to re-authorize glyphosate for 10 years and as a preamble to this re-authorization, the media war is ...
Viewpoint: Anti-pesticide hysteria brings together conspiracy theorists and science-illiterate people on the left and right
he list of opponents to pesticides is long and diverse: It includes conservative health nuts and very online paleo types, ...
Viewpoint: Why a glyphosate ban would lead to use of ineffective and more toxic alternatives
A complete ban on the use of glyphosate in agriculture in the short term will lead to farmers more frequently ...
GLP podcast/video: The case for weight-loss drugs; It’s immoral to oppose CRISPR animals? Bad science and ‘forever chemicals’
We don't always know why anti-depressants and obesity drugs work, but that shouldn't discourage patients from taking medications that can ...
GLP podcast/video: Did COVID vaccine mandates work? AI spreads glyphosate misinfo; Africa’s ‘Green Revolution’ has failed? No
Did vaccine mandates slow the spread of COVID on college campuses? A new study says yes. AI-generated articles are already ...
Viewpoint: UK’s The Guardian fearmongers over PFAS ‘forever chemicals’
The Guardian's August 17 headline, “Drinking Water of Millions of Americans Contaminated with Forever Chemicals”, was based on newly released ...
Open letter to New York Governor Hochul: ‘The only thing the Birds and Bees Protection Act would protect are seed corn maggots’
Farmers and their allies in New York State are almost unanimous in their opposition to legislation that would sharply limit ...
Viewpoint: Misguided attacks on glyphosate ‘dangers’ ignore how the weedkiller enables sustainable soil systems in prairies and grasslands
Glyphosate is Canada’s top-selling pesticide, mostly used in agriculture as a herbicide and to desiccate crops for harvest. While it ...
Monsanto wins 9th consecutive court case in glyphosate litigation
St. Louis 21st Judicial Court Judge Brian May granted defendant's motion for a directed verdict at the close of plaintiff's evidence in Barbara ...
Reshuffling the deck: How agro-chemical suppliers are repositioning weed-killing products
There is a new king of soybeans on the American farm—for now. ...
Video: Are synthetic pesticides harmful to the environment and human health? Here’s a nuanced review of the science
Starting with the premise that any substance can be poisonous depending on the dose, Josh Gilder, founding partner of Reach ...
‘Industrial’ seed oils are killing you? Here’s the health story behind cooking oils
There’s a new bogeyman in the nutrition world: vegetable oil, especially so-called “industrial seed oils” like canola, corn, and soybean ...
GMOs aren’t increasing food allergies? 10 common misconceptions about genetic modification, debunked
Confused about GMOs? There is no question GMOs (Soy, corn, cotton, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa, papaya, squash, apples, potatoes) are ...
‘It’s now a jungle’: Take a look at what happened after an English seaside town banned glyphosate
Brighton has become the perfect example of how quickly nature reclaims the street if weeds are left unchecked ...
Viewpoint: In debate over ‘dangerous’ chemicals — from aspartame to glyphosate — advocates cash in peddling pseudoscience
What if you were told, on good authority, that drinking a glass of diet Cola is a serious cancer hazard? ...
Insects are disappearing from UK farms. Why, and what can be done?
Insect populations are declining worldwide at a rate of almost 1% per year. This decline is alarming. Insects play a ...
Fertilizers are critical for farming — but they are often environmentally costly. Synthetic biology may offer a solution
Almost everything about synthetic fertilizer sucks. It sucks for the climate, generating 2.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than ...
Another GMO approval: Philippines approves commercial growing of Bt insect resistant cotton
The Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry issued a Biosafety Permit for the Commercial Propagation of Bt cotton (GFM cry1A) developed by the Philippine ...
Viewpoint: ‘California’s plan to choose politics over science on pesticides will dump millions more tons of carbon and threaten food security’
Pesticides undergo a rigorous evaluation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It takes an average of more than 11 ...
Pesticides and Food: It’s not a black or white issue — How do organic pesticides compare to synthetic pesticides?
Many consumers choose to buy higher-priced organic produce because they believe organic foods are not grown using pesticides and therefore ...
Viewpoint: Why hyped ‘dangers of glyphosate’ is not a story in Slovenia
Plant protection products are a perennial bone of contention between environmentalists and farmers ...
Reduce synthetic fertilizers and improve yields? The microbiome revolution comes to agriculture
If manipulated correctly, they can help us cure cancer, understand how we can adapt to rising temperatures, play a role ...
Viewpoint: ‘What would a future without the weed-killer glyphosate look like?’
Glyphosate helped end the reign of the weed once it was approved in 1974. Then, when combined with genetic modification ...
Canadian farmers abandon organic certification because approved ‘natural’ chemicals can’t control devastating grasshoppers
Organic growers may have decisions to make after grasshoppers chomped their way through prairie fields this summer ...
Aspartame panic illustrates how scare-narratives can take root
“Trust is one of the most important metrics that any business and food ingredient makers should be looking at, explained,” ...
Insect-resistant Bt GMO crops have helped cut pesticide use. Now Nature is pushing back
In 2006, a small airplane started buzzing each cotton field in Arizona, a thin, dust-like cloud trailing behind it. The ...
