The fate of Monsanto's flagship herbicide in the European Union (EU) remains unclear. Earlier this week, the standing Committee on Plants, Animals Food and Feed declined to extend authorization for glyphosate sales in the region. The sales license is set to expire at the end of this month.
Earlier this month, France's health and safety agency announced plans to withdraw authorization of herbicides containing both glyphosate and the additive tallowamine. As reported by Reuters, a spokesperson for the agency said:
"It is not possible to guarantee that compositions containing glyphosate and tallowamine do not entail negative effects on human health."
Yesterday, the "Pollinator Protection Act" took a big step forward in the California legislature, moving closer to becoming state law. This is just one of many positive developments for bees in recent weeks.
In a surprise move earlier this week, European officials put a hold on continued use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's flagship herbicide RoundUp. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now well into its seventh year of reviewing the controversial chemical.
The European delay comes in the face of strong opposition to the proposed 15-year re-licensing agreement from Italy, France, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) is planning to introduce a bill that would block state rights to label genetically engineered (GE) foods.
More than 20 years after neonicotinoid pesticides hit the market, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its first assessment of the impacts on honey bees. Looking at one neonic in isolation — Bayer's imidacloprid — the agency acknowledges some harm to bees. But it's still missing the big picture.
This week, federal agencies are accepting input on how the rules governing genetically engineered (GE) crops should be updated. The expansion of GE crops in the last 20 years has brought hundreds of millions of additional pounds of pesticides into U.S. fields, along with the development of herbicide-resistant "superweeds" and other problems for farmers.
How will we feed over 9 billion people by 2050, and who exactly will feed whom?
One thing we do know: business as usual is not the answer.
As we celebrate Labor Day this year, too many of this country's 80 million workers still don't receive fair wages or adequate workplace protections — including workers on farms across the country. But there's a change coming for farmworkers, with stronger workplace protections on the horizon.
