Hardline US stance ignores non-GM corn opportunity for American farmers
By Ken Roseboro and Timothy A. Wise
United States commodity organizations have cheered on the US government as it tries to get Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn declared in violation of our trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, arguing that it cuts farmers’ export markets and sales revenues. But what if Mexico’s modest restrictions could instead turn out to benefit US farmers who shift to premium non-GM corn markets as international corn prices fall?
Postcard from California: After plastic bag ban backfires, lawmakers seek a fix
By Bill Walker
Ten years ago, Californians threw away an estimated 157,000 tons of plastic bags, about 8 pounds for each person in the state. To stem the tide of polyethylene piling up in landfills, polluting parks and beaches, and imperiling wildlife, that year California enacted the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic grocery bags.
Texas farmers, watchdog group demand EPA act on PFAS in farm fertilizer
By Shannon Kelleher
In the wake of fresh evidence that US farms are being poisoned by PFAS-laden fertilizers, a watchdog group and two Texas farm families said Thursday they plan to sue regulators to try to force protective actions.
Citing “toxic mountains,” conservation groups file notice of intent to sue EPA
By Johnathan Hettinger
US regulators are failing to address toxic “open-air dumps” that in some cases tower many hundreds of feet tall and hundreds of acres wide, according to a group of conservation and public health advocates who have filed a notice of intent to sue the government to force protective action.
Dead livestock and poisoned water — Texas farmers sue over PFAS contamination
By Shannon Kelleher
Two Texas farm families have seen their health decline, their pets and livestock sickened and killed, their water poisoned and and their property values wiped out due to high levels of chemical contamination linked to a company marketing treated sewage sludge as a fertilizer and soil conditioner, according to a lawsuit filed by the families.
Alarming levels of weed killer found in study of pregnant women
By Johnathan Hettinger and Carey Gillam
Pregnant women in a key US farm state are showing increasing amounts of a toxic weed killer in their urine, a rise that comes alongside climbing use of the chemicals in agriculture, according to a new study published Friday.
EPA is illegally concealing data about PFAS in millions of plastic containers, lawsuit alleges
By Shannon Kelleher
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is breaking the law by concealing health and safety data about a class of toxic chemicals called PFAS found in millions of plastic containers, two environmental advocacy groups allege.
Plastics industry engaged in 50 years of fraud over recycling, report alleges
By Dana Drugmand
Plastics makers and petrochemical industry players have engaged in a decades-long fraud aimed at deceiving the public about plastic recycling, according to a new report that spotlights freshly uncovered industry communications and internal documents.
EPA says dicamba will be sprayed this summer despite court ban
By Johnathan Hettinger
Despite a recent federal court ruling banning three agricultural weed killing products, U.S. regulators said this week that they will continue to allow farmers to spray the pesticides this summer.
Another pesticide problem on your plate
By Carey Gillam
Highlighting a fresh health concern for US consumers, a new study has found that a farm chemical linked to reproductive problems is increasingly showing up in the urine of people across the United States.