The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Government watchdog issues scathing report of Trump EPA abuses to approve dicamba weedkillers

Agency deliberately ignored policy to approve dicamba in 2018 A recent report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) details how senior officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ignored the agency’s policies to approve three dicamba herbicides—FeXapan, XtendiMax, and Engenia—in 2018. The OIG, a federal agency that reviews EPA decisions and policy for abuse […]

Iowa farmer leads class action lawsuit against makers of paraquat herbicide

First glyphosate herbicide was the target of lawsuits over its connection to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer, and now makers of paraquat herbicide are facing lawsuits because the weedkiller is linked to Parkinson’s disease. Doug Holliday, a farmer in Adair County, Iowa, is leading a nationwide class-action lawsuit against the manufacturers of paraquat. On behalf of himself […]

Stonyfield initiative helps win New York City legislation to eliminate toxic pesticides on public property

The country’s leading organic yogurt maker is leading efforts to change America’s parks and playfields into pesticide-free zones. The New York City Council passed legislation on Earth Day to remove pesticides on public lands except those allowed under organic standards. Stonyfield Organic’s #PlayFree initiative aims to convert Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park […]

Court throws out legal challenge to Mexico’s GMO corn ban as U.S. suppliers say they can supply non-GMO corn

A Mexican federal judge recently ruled against a request by the country’s National Farm Council (CNA) to stop a government ban on genetically modified corn and glyphosate herbicide by 2024. Judge Martin Adolfo Santos Perez’s ruling allows the decree issued by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador late last year that outlines the planned bans to […]

Pesticide contamination in soil significantly lower on organic farms in EU

When pesticide residues in soil from organic and conventional farms across the EU were compared in a recent study published in Environmental Pollution, organic farms had up to 90% less residue concentration. Existence of any residues in organic soil is due to either highly persistent chemicals that last beyond organic transition or contamination via pesticide […]