Featured Backgrounders
Below is the complete archive of articles related to this topic, sorted by date.
Democratic lawmakers propose ban on organophosphate and neonicotinoid insecticides
Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) are introducing companion legislation to cancel the registrations of organophosphates and ...
Facing decimated yields, French sugar-beet growers demand access to banned neonicotinoid insecticides
Since April, the beet yellows virus has destroyed a large part of France's sugar beet harvest, including nearly 50% of ...
Preventing spread of parasites, not cutting pesticide use, key to protecting bees
For as long as beekeeping records have been kept, 1,100 years, there have been accounts of colony collapse disorder. Just ...
Sustainable farming advances: Global movement to ban pesticides and GMOs spur next-generation biotech pest controls
Their target remains GMOs—a range of agricultural products made with modern techniques of genetic engineering, from eggplant grown mostly in ...
Organic fungicide copper sulfate endangers humans, animals and insects
Organic farming is not chemical free. Copper sulfate is a popular one. How does it work and how does it ...
EU environmental groups say proposed pesticide rules would ‘water down’ protection for pollinators
EU countries .... expressed their preference for a way of regulating potentially bee-harming pesticides that has been contested by environmental ...
Viewpoint: Mexico’s activist government pushes glyphosate ban that threatens food security and farmer welfare
Biotech giant Bayer is currently in the fight of its life against more than 100,000 lawsuits alleging its flagship weedkiller ...
Viewpoint: Activist opposition to GMOs fueled by an ‘extremist’ vision of nature
We would like to take the opportunity on #Worldenvironmentday to come back to a problem we have been thinking about ...
Podcast: Beepocalypse debunked; Ban CRISPR babies? Anti-science views slow COVID-19 herd immunity
Some experts are calling for a ban on embryo gene editing after a "disaster" experiment resulted in potentially dangerous and ...
Viewpoint: Conservation isn’t enough. We need technology to blunt the impacts of climate change
We need direct, technology-driven intervention for conservation ...
We depend on bees for 1/3 of our food? Pesticides threaten bees? Farmer challenges pollinator myths
.... [W]ithout [bee] pollination efforts, the world would still have plenty of food .... The vegetables we eat don’t require ...
Fighting cancer by boosting the body’s immune system with genetically engineered bacteria
Our immune system can defeat cancer. Immune cells can directly attack cancer cells or produce proteins that don’t let tumors ...
Are we facing an ‘Insect Apocalypse’ caused by ‘intensive, industrial’ farming and agricultural chemicals? The media say yes; Science says ‘no’
The media call it the “Insect Apocalypse”. In the past three years, the phrase has become an accepted truth of ...
Bayer, UK farmers appeal EU neonicotinoid insecticide ban, citing lack of scientific evidence
Lawyers acting on behalf of the [National Farmers Union] are in court battling to overturn a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, ...
With neonicotinoid insecticides banned, wasps might help UK canola growers combat cabbage stem flea beetle
Researchers have determined that the Microctonus brassicae wasp species, and genetically similar parasitic wasps, could be used in controlled conditions ...
Neonicotinoid insecticide ban, poor weather cut EU canola harvest area to 13-year low, USDA finds
Rapeseed production in the European Union (EU27 + UK) for 2020/21 is forecast at 17.0 million metric tons (mmt), 0.2 ...
Bees pollinate 1/3 of our food? Entomologist debunks 6 pervasive pollinator myths
.... [B]ees are ever-increasing in popularity across many sectors including conservation, gardening, fashion, marketing, and public/corporate strategies .... And as ...
Coffee of the future? Lab-made ‘molecular’ version might feed the world’s caffeine habit while sparing the environment
The coronavirus pandemic has led to many shifts in how we eat, but our collective coffee habit remains strong. As ...
Microscopic algae diet could help honeybees fight off deadly pathogens and other threats
A microscopic algae ("microalgae") could provide a complete and sustainably sourced supplemental diet to boost the robustness of managed honey ...
Neonicotinoid insecticide ban leaves UK canola farmers with few tools to stop flea beetle resurgence
The bright yellow rapeseed flowers that adorn the British countryside have largely disappeared after crops this season failed. The flaxen ...
Disease is the greatest threat to bee health. Can we protect them through genetically engineered probiotics?
If you cannot engineer the organism, engineer its microbiome. Since scientists began exploring how to solve problems using synthetic biology, ...
Viewpoint: Bees and pesticides—Europe’s precautionary rules neglect science, hinder sustainable farming
A core element of EU environmental law is the precautionary principle (PP), which theoretically requires regulators to err on the ...
No, we aren’t losing all of our honeybees. And neonicotinoid seed coatings aren’t driving their health problems—here’s why
The meme targeting neonics with the not-all-that vulnerable honeybee as their symbol is a powerful fund-raising tool for activists ...
Viewpoint: There’s no industry conspiracy to corrupt research on bees and neonicotinoid insecticides
There’s a stereotype that industry-funded research is inherently compromised. Perhaps this is true for some specific cases, but for honey ...
Environmental groups say new EPA pesticide approval rules threaten endangered species
The US Environmental Protection Agency is changing how it evaluates the risks of pesticides to endangered species. Rather than rely ...
Global plan to halt extinction criticized for failing to address species humans don’t like
A global plan to halt the loss of nature is "weak" in one key area, say scientists. The new 10-year ...
EU neonic insecticide ban cut UK canola production from 1.8 million acres to 1.3 million annually
In 2012, U.K. farmers seeded about 1.8 million acres of oilseed rape [canola]. But over the last eight years, acreage ...
Viewpoint: It’s time to stop ‘worrying’ whether gene-edited plants and animals are GMOs—and set aside senseless regulations
Finding the best path starts with understanding what gene editing actually is -- and isn't ...
