Pesticides

Big ag groups urge Biden to withdraw Solicitor General recommendation that Supreme Court not review Roundup lawsuit

Solicitor General brief says there is no sound reason for Supreme Court to review litigation In the wake of a brief by the U.S. Solicitor General recommending that the U.S. Supreme Court not review litigation against Monsanto over its weedkiller’s link to cancer, U.S. agriculture groups sent a “blistering letter” to President Biden urging him […]

“Forever chemicals” may be responsible for contaminating 20 million acres of U.S. crops

PFAS substances or “forever chemicals,” compounds that don’t break down naturally, are likely responsible for tainting about 20 million crop acres in the U.S. through sewage sludge—biosolids used for fertilizer. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 9,000 compounds used to make products heat-, water-, or stain-resistant. They have been linked to […]

One in three Americans exposed to 2,4-D pesticide—with children at high risk

A study from George Washington University researchers found one in three people in the U.S., of 14,395 surveyed, showed evidence of exposure to a pesticide linked to cancer and reproductive problems. 2,4-D was developed in the 1940s, gaining popularity as a weedkiller and producer of pristine green lawns. It was also an ingredient in Agent Orange, used […]

The poison in our daily bread: Study finds high levels of weedkiller in common supermarket foods

The results of the most comprehensive glyphosate testing of food products ever conducted in the U.S. were recently released by The Detox Project, in a detailed report that shows the true levels of weedkiller contamination in essential foods sold by some of the top grocery stores in the country. The world’s most used weedkiller, glyphosate, was discovered […]

Synergistic action of pesticide “cocktails” is escalating bee mortality

A meta-analysis of 90 studies found that bees are dying in greater numbers from the overall synergistic effect between multiple anthropogenic stressors—including agrochemicals, nutritional stressors, and/or parasites. Impacts of these stressors individually were already taking a toll on bee populations; but strong evidence of synergy when bees are exposed to multiple agrochemicals at field-realistic levels […]