After about 20 years of RoundUp use and 15 years of widespread planting of Monsanto's RoundUp-Ready GE crops, the efficacy of this herbicide is declining. Farmers are facing "superweeds" that can no longer be tamed by glyphosate, RoundUp's active ingredient. So now what?

Unfortunately, a new generation of crops engineered to resist mixtures of herbicide are waiting in the wings. As you've heard from my colleague Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, these new GE crops are completely the wrong response to this self-inflicted crisis. Meanwhile, researchers are raising new questions about the health and environmental effects of glyphosate itself.

Last Tuesday, I spent the evening in Bemidji, Minnesota with the Toxic Taters Coalition. Under the lofty wood ceilings of the Rail River Folk School, a group of local residents gathered, seated in a semi-circle of old cinema seats, listening attentively to stories from potato country.

The gathering in Bemidji was the third event in the Toxic Taters Coalition’s statewide speaking tour with the goal of building support for safer potato fields across the state. By raising the profile of pesticide contamination from conventional potato production, Toxic Taters is turning up the heat on fast-food giant McDonald's and one of its primary potato suppliers, R.D. Offutt Company (RDO).

The pipeline of new genetically engineered (GE) crop technologies is full to bursting. Many of the GE seeds queued up for approval are engineered for use with hazardous herbicide mixes intended to overcome the "superweed" crisis — a direct result of widespread adoption of Monsanto's RoundUp Ready crops.

On June 30th, EPA will close the public comment period on the "new use" of the herbicide 2,4-D being proposed by Dow AgroSciences to accompany their latest GE seeds. The new products — going by the name "Enlist" — would combine 2,4-D and glyphosate, and would be used with corn and soy seeds that have been engineered to tolerate to this chemical cocktail. Please join us in urging EPA to say no.

Bee-harming pesticides in our lavender and daisies? In the same week that an international body of scientists released a comprehensive global assessment of the harms of pesticides to bees, a new report shows that these very same pesticides are found in many of our backyard plants — at levels of concern — that are meant to support pollinators.

The report shows that 51% of garden plant samples purchased at top garden retailers (Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart) in 18 cities in the United States and Canada contain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides — a key driver of declining bee populations. Concerning levels of the pesticides were found in places like California’s San Francisco Bay Area and in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. In some cases, multiple neonics were found in the same plant, in the leaves, stalks or flowers.

On Monday, researchers from UC Davis released new data linking prenatal pesticide exposure to increased risk of autism. This latest study adds to an increasingly powerful case for reducing use of these harmful chemicals that are undermining the potential of the next generation.

Researchers found that mothers who live within a mile of fields where toxic pesticides are applied have a 60% higher chance of having kids with autism. The link is strongest for the insecticide chlorpyrifos — and as a mom, this has me worried. More than a million pounds of this chemical are used every year in California, and while both state officials and EPA are taking another look at chlorpyrifos harms, the process is painfully slow. That's why we're now asking Congress to step up and help protect our kids.