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.
Despite anti-GMO ‘whispering,’ Bangladesh says ‘science-based information’ will guide its biotech policy
Bt eggplant, or brinjal as it’s known in Bangladesh, is the first genetically engineered food crop to be successfully introduced ...
Viewpoint: There’s no one ‘butterfly-killing bogeyman’ to blame for declining monarch populations
“When you look at the 25-year trend, it seems quite dire,” [Anurag] Agrawal, a Cornell University professor of ecology and ...
Could commercial herbicides made from fungi bridge sustainability gap between organic and conventional agriculture?
Nature is not just out to kill us, it is out to kill itself, in the interest of surviving over ...
Sri Lankan government lifts glyphosate ban to aid tea growers ‘plagued’ by weeds, slumping production
The [Sri Lankan] government has lifted [a two-year] ban on glyphosate for all crops throughout the country. ... The Government ...
Viewpoint: German farmers say neonicotinoid ban throws them back into ‘plant protection stone age,’ forces use of ‘dangerous’ pesticides
With the ban on the three most effective insecticides [Imidacloprid, Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam] for the protection of beet seeds, beet ...
Increasing cases of crop injury could threaten future use of effective herbicide dicamba
Half way through the year, complaints about the weed killer dicamba are increasing. This could mean efforts to stop the ...
Viewpoint: Neonics don’t threaten bees, ban could raise food prices, increase toxic insecticide use
Neonicotinoid insecticides aren’t the problem for bees that activists have made them out to be. In fact, years of monitoring ...
Viewpoint: Organic industry allies ignore expert witness’s hypocrisy in Roundup weed killer trial
Chris Portier, Ph.D., an activist statistician who pushed to get the common herbicide ingredient glyphosate listed as a "hazard" for ...
Sustainable rewards worth the risks? India cracks down on farmers growing unapproved glyphosate-tolerant cotton
A high-level expert panel set up by the Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has found that nearly 15% [of the ...
‘Farmbots’: Precision farming with agricultural robots could boost crop yields, cut chemical use
According to both the Government and farmers, the future of farming is one in which small robots will have a ...
Roundup trial: Monsanto lawyer, expert witness spar over glyphosate-cancer link
On the fourth day of a jury trial over whether Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer caused a Bay Area man’s deadly ...
‘Dirty Dozen’ list of ‘pesticide-poisoned’ fruits, vegetables used to be her bible, but Huffington Post food writer now sees it as more scare than science
It’s that time of year again, when the nonprofit advocacy organization Environmental Working Group publishes its annual list of the ...
Viewpoint: In act of retribution, organic trade group sues Ben & Jerry’s for false advertising
The Organic Consumers Association is up to its old tricks again and has filed a suit against Vermont-based Ben & ...
Despite judge’s finding of ‘weak’ evidence glyphosate causes cancer, Monsanto could face Roundup litigation onslaught
Hundreds of lawsuits alleging Roundup weed killer caused cancer cleared a big hurdle [July 10] when a U.S. judge ruled ...
20 years of biotech crops generated $186.1 billion in economic, ecological and health gains, studies show
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and PG Economics Ltd. released new studies highlighting the continued ...
Viewpoint: The 4 Ps threaten bee health—parasites, poor nutrition, pathogens and pesticides
Experts believe that multiple factors must be at play in the bees’ plight. The main suspects are referred to as ...
Use of illegal, older varieties of dicamba herbicide blamed for causing crop damage across 10 states
For some farmers and weed scientists, puckered leaves on certain crops and other plants have become a familiar summertime sight ...
Blundering through the food label controversy: How one poultry company exploits consumer fears over ‘natural’ and GMOs
I live in a super tiny town, about 1,000 people with no stoplight in the whole county...Therefore, it may sound ...
Monsanto, cancer patient’s lawyers face off on first day of Roundup-glyphosate weed killer trial
Opening statements began in federal court in San Francisco on [July 9] in the trial for the first of thousands ...
Gene-drive off-switch addresses concerns of releasing ‘genocidal’ mosquitoes into nature to control pests and disease
Researchers in the UK have developed the first ‘switchable’ gene drive system, potentially addressing fears that the use of gene ...
GMO, non-GMO or organic? Comprehensive look at ecological costs and benefits of crop production
Labels on food are everywhere — organic, free range, no antibiotics, non-GMO, made with Genetic Engineering, etc. What do these ...
Viewpoint: Popular science news website promotes pesticide conspiracy theory
Two weeks ago, we reported on a bizarre decision by the online news arm of the journal Science: The outlet had reprinted ...
Viewpoint: Scott Pruitt gone from EPA because of ethical transgressions but regulatory reform of ‘rogue agency’ might be his lasting legacy
Scott Pruitt, who lost his job as head of the Environmental Protection Agency last week after a flood of complaints ...
Viewpoint: EU’s new pesticide oversight committee is poised to further politicize glyphosate controversy
Earlier this year, the European Parliament created PEST, a temporary committee on pesticides, to try and draw a line under the controversy ...
Viewpoint: Dicamba pesticide mess already haunting Bayer’s takeover of Monsanto
It’s happening again. In states from Mississippi to Indiana, some US soybean farmers are seeing a troubling sight: Previously healthy plants ...
How did GMO wheat end up in a ditch in Canada? We may never know
It appears the public will never know how Monsanto’s Roundup Ready trait ended up in wheat plants discovered in Alberta ...
Indian state Maharashtra waiting on federal government to ban sale of glyphosate herbicide
After questions were raised in a meeting chaired by union agriculture secretary over the rationale in issuing licences for sale ...
