07/April/20

 

The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced that soybean farmers in 25 states are now able to spray a pesticide that the agency has determined is likely to cause cancer and drift hundreds of feet from where it is applied. The move was widely praised by farmers, who view the weedkiller as a new tool in the battle with “superweeds” that have developed resistance to as many as six different weedkillers, including glyphosate. The herbicide, isoxaflutole, will be able to be sprayed on soybeans that have been genetically engineered to withstand it. However, the agency sidestepped the usual public input process for the decision. Investigate Midwest; read an article on this pesticide by Ray Seidler, former senior scientist with the US EPA, here

 

 

A new study shows that GM Bt crop insecticidal toxins have harmful effects on caddisfly larvae in conditions reflecting realistic environmental exposures. Caddisflies are ecologically useful organisms because they break down dead plant and animal material. The findings highlight the misleading nature of a claim by pro-GMO lobbyist Mark Lynas that GM Bt crops do not harm non-target organisms. GMWatch