Pesticide News

Study finds 300% increase in weedkiller levels in pregnant women in the Midwest

A new study has found that the average level of the controversial herbicide dicamba in the urine of pregnant women has increased 300% since 2017, the year widespread planting of dicamba-tolerant GMO crops began. Chuck Benbrook, executive director of the Heartland Health Research Alliance, which conducted the research, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “We knew […]

New report finds global pesticide use has increased by a “staggering” 80% since 1990

A new Pesticide Atlas report found global pesticide use up 80% since 1990 along with an estimated 11,000 human fatalities and poisoning of 385 million people each year. There has also been a 30% decline in field birds and grassland butterfly populations with one in ten of Europe’s bees threatened with extinction. “The evidence is […]

The next Farm Bill can only be “climate-smart” if it reduces agricultural reliance on pesticides, says diverse coalition

Fifty organizations recently sent a public letter to the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, calling for a transformative 2023 Farm Bill. They urged the legislators to incentivize reductions in pesticide use, include provisions to protect farmworker health, and increase funding and research for organic and regenerative farming, representing fenceline communities, […]

Investors demand $2.5 billion from Bayer over Monsanto acquisition

Close to 320 of the company’s investors have filed a possible class action lawsuit against Bayer, asking for about $2.5 billion in damages. The suit, filed in Cologne, Germany, claims the shareholders were deceived about the economic liability regarding consumer U.S. lawsuits against the owner of Monsanto’s Roundup over harm caused by the weedkiller. Bayer […]

Germany’s new government reaffirms ban on glyphosate, sets ambitious organic farming goal

The new German coalition government has committed to former leader Angela Merkel’s plan to ban glyphosate-based herbicides from the end of 2023. An added goal is to “significantly reduce” emissions including methane and ammonia from agriculture, in the direction of climate-neutral farming. Germany-based Bayer protested the glyphosate ban, insisting on the chemical’s safety. The three-way […]