(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. EPA proposing temporary pesticide-free zones for honeybees

Reuters — U.S. environmental regulators on Thursday proposed a rule that would create temporary pesticide-free zones to protect commercial honeybees, which are critical to food production and have been dying off at alarming rates. The restrictions are aimed at protecting bees from “pesticides that are acutely toxic” to them, and would cover foliar applications when […] Read more

(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

U.S. regulators may recommend testing food for glyphosate residues

Reuters — U.S. regulators may start testing food products for residues of the world’s most widely used herbicide, the Environmental Protection Agency told Reuters on Friday, as public concern rises over possible links to disease. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, has come under intense scrutiny since a research unit of the World Health […] Read more


(HuskyEnergy.com)

U.S. EPA strikes deal on biofuel blending targets with oil groups

Washington | Reuters –– Oil refiners who have complained that U.S. federal regulators missed deadlines to issue rules on blending renewable fuels into the nation’s supply of gasoline and diesel fuel are set to get long-awaited targets from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Under a deal the EPA announced Friday with two oil industry groups […] Read more

U.S. EPA to require weed-resistance restrictions on glyphosate

Reuters — U.S. regulators will put new restrictions on the world’s most widely used herbicide to help address the rapid expansion of weeds resistant to the chemical, Reuters has learned. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed it will require a weed resistance management plan for glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s immensely popular Roundup […] Read more


(Allen Putney photo, WHC.UNESCO.org)

Environmental group sues U.S. EPA over monarch butterfly levels

Reuters — An environmental group sued the U.S. government on Friday, accusing regulators of discounting dangers a widely used herbicide is alleged to pose to the declining monarch butterfly population. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in U.S. District Court in New York. The suit claimed […] Read more



(Monsanto.com)

USDA approves Monsanto’s new GMO soybeans, cotton

Reuters — Monsanto Co. received final U.S. approval on Thursday for herbicide-tolerant crops to be used with a new herbicide the company says will fight problematic weed resistance on farm fields, but critics say will only worsen the problems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said the genetically modified […] Read more

U.S. EPA approves Dow’s Enlist Duo herbicide for GM soy, corn

Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave final approval on Wednesday to a new herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences, ordering a series of restrictions to address potential environmental and health hazards. The EPA said it was applying “first-time-ever restrictions” on its approval of the herbicide, Enlist Duo, which is designed to be used with […] Read more