It’s easy to whip out the fly spray, but our fondness for pesticides can bring knock-on effects such as increased resistance, and harming beneficial insects in and around our homes.
US agriculture is dominated by large farms that rely on chemical inputs. In contrast, regenerative farming makes land and water healthier by mimicking nature instead of trying to control it.
Farmers should use biopesticides - naturally occurring substances that kill pests such as the fall armyworm - instead of using pesticides, which are often highly toxic.
Thousands of people are suing Monsanto, claiming that its Roundup herbicide gave them cancer. A California judge has reduced the first damage award but let the verdict against Monsanto stand.
The participants who chose more organically grown foods over 4.5 years had slightly lower rates of cancer. But it doesn’t necessarily mean one thing caused the other.
For several billion people mosquitoes are more than a nuisance – they transmit deadly diseases. Now genetic modification may prove the most effective defense against the mosquito, preventing disease.
A jury concluded on Aug. 10 that exposure to the herbicide Roundup caused Dewayne Johnson’s cancer and ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages. Thousands more claims are pending.
Hundreds of lawsuits against Monsanto contend that its popular Roundup weed killer gave users cancer. But proving this kind of connection is challenging in both science and law.
Oomycete spores hack into plants to get what they need, causing agricultural disease. Can researchers figure out how to close plants’ security loopholes and create more resilient crops?
Conservatives have long tried to attack regulators such as the EPA with “weaponized transparency”. Coupled with the inflation of uncertainty, the intent is to make regulations impossible.
US farmers are planting more and more acres with seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides. An ecologist explains why this approach is overkill and may be doing more harm than good.