Featured Backgrounders
Below is the complete archive of articles related to this topic, sorted by date.
No, we aren’t losing all of our honeybees. And neonicotinoid seed coatings aren’t driving their health problems—here’s why
The meme targeting neonics with the not-all-that vulnerable honeybee as their symbol is a powerful fund-raising tool for activists ...
Viewpoint: There’s no industry conspiracy to corrupt research on bees and neonicotinoid insecticides
There’s a stereotype that industry-funded research is inherently compromised. Perhaps this is true for some specific cases, but for honey ...
Environmental groups say new EPA pesticide approval rules threaten endangered species
The US Environmental Protection Agency is changing how it evaluates the risks of pesticides to endangered species. Rather than rely ...
Global plan to halt extinction criticized for failing to address species humans don’t like
A global plan to halt the loss of nature is "weak" in one key area, say scientists. The new 10-year ...
EU neonic insecticide ban cut UK canola production from 1.8 million acres to 1.3 million annually
In 2012, U.K. farmers seeded about 1.8 million acres of oilseed rape [canola]. But over the last eight years, acreage ...
Viewpoint: It’s time to stop ‘worrying’ whether gene-edited plants and animals are GMOs—and set aside senseless regulations
Finding the best path starts with understanding what gene editing actually is -- and isn't ...
Bumble Bee Foods launches plant-based seafood venture as consumers ‘pivot away’ from canned tuna
Bumble Bee Foods is hooked on plant-based seafood. The tuna maker announced [March 2] a joint distribution venture with vegan ...
Vegans vs. Meat Eaters: When it comes to nutrition, the ‘what’s better’ debate has gone off the rails
The vegan vs meat eater farce has become a complete circus. The cruel irony is that by confusing ideology at ...
‘Bee-washing’ by advocacy groups and product pushers: We should shift the focus to native bees not honeybees
Amid the worry over the loss of honey bees, a far quieter but just as devastating loss is occurring among ...
Kenya begins pesticide spraying to fight ‘locust swarm of the century,’ but critics abound
As the devastating locust invasion continues to spread in East Africa and a new wave of locusts is gathering, pesticide ...
Viewpoint: Glyphosate causes kidney disease? Debunking anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva’s herbicide junk science
Seeing Vandana Shiva hosted at the University of California made me embarrassed to be a UC parent, alum, and faculty ...
Australia’s stingless bees: Beekeepers’ best defense against deadly varroa mite?
Australia’s native stingless bees could be a key line of defense for the nation’s horticulture industry against the dangerous bee ...
FDA defends CRISPR-edited animal rules likely to block most uses: Is the agency trying to avoid litigation from anti-GMO groups?
"How can the presence of one identifiable variant justify the costs and delays of mandatory FDA oversight?" ...
Technology breeds sustainability on Brazilian family farm
As Brazilian farmer and attorney Henrique Gustavo Fiorese sees it, the future of agriculture depends on technology and sustainability.Though either ...
Video: Impossible Foods hits back at Super Bowl ad alleging plant-based beef contains laxative
The Center for Consumer Freedom ran a Super Bowl commercial alleging that plant-based meat alternatives are not as healthy as ...
Bumblebees disappearing at rates ‘consistent with mass extinction’ as climate changes
When you were young, were you the type of child who would scour open fields looking for bumble bees? Today, ...
Viewpoint: Almond growers driving bees to ‘extinction’? Challenging the latest pollinator decline scare story
The policies of greens are a greater threat to wildlife than high-yield agriculture ...
Farmers cheer EPA rulings on glyphosate, neonicotinoid pesticides, while activists pan them as concessions to industry
In a move heralded by farmers but panned by environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to reapprove ...
Bees may fare better in flower-rich cities than countrysides, research shows
Cities all over the world are expanding. A number of studies have already shown that the conversion of natural areas ...
EPA approves continued use of controversial neonicotinoid insecticides, with added restrictions to protect bees
The EPA announced [Jan 30] it supports the continued use and registration of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides linked to ...
Genetically engineered bacteria could inoculate honeybees against deadly varroa mites, deformed wing virus
Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin report in the journal Science that they have developed a new strategy ...
A Rwandan farmer’s son: Why I advocate for GMO crops in Africa
Being raised in a family where all income came from my mother’s farm is something hard to forget. My mother ...
The Varroa destructor mite is the greatest threat to US honeybees, and why things could get worse.
Researchers are looking at a long-term solution: develop bees that can fend off Varroa themselves ...
EPA to decide the future of dicamba, neonicotinoids and other controversial pesticides in 2020
The EPA this year will deliver important decisions to U.S. agriculture, including on chlorpyrifos, glyphosate, the neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, atrazine and ...
EU bans Bayer neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid, citing threat to human reproductive health, bees
The European Commission decided on [Jan. 13] not to renew approval for a pesticide linked to harming bees, effectively banning ...
EPA poised to approve new Bt-based insecticide Bta ABTS 1857 to help beekeepers battle destructive wax moth pest
EPA is proposing to register a pesticide product containing Bacillus thuringiensis .... to prevent and control wax moths in beehives ...
Viewpoint: ‘Bee-pocalypse’—one of the 2010s biggest overblown moral panics
Human beings are anxious creatures. We worry about things that might kill us. We worry about things that might kill ...
Canadian judge rejects activist bid to immediately ban neonicotinoid pesticide Thiamethoxam
Ottawa-Federal Appeal Court Justice Richard Southcott has dismissed an application by environment groups challenging a 24 month phase out of ...
