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04/15/24

U.S. Trails Other Developing Nations on Asbestos, Chemical Safety

After heavy lobbying by the chemical industry, which still uses asbestos diaphragms to produce a third of the nation’s chlorine, it could take up to 12 years before the last chlorine company converts to non-asbestos technology.

04/11/24

EPA Fails to Ban Pesticide Despite ‘Enormous Toll on Rural America’

A federal court twice banned dicamba, a potent, volatile, drift-prone pesticide that has been wreaking havoc on farmers, rural communities and the natural world for seven years. The EPA reapproved the weedkiller after the first court action. Will it do so once again?

04/11/24

Lunchables Found to Contain Relatively High Lead Levels + More

The Defender’s Big Food NewsWatch brings you the latest headlines related to industrial food companies and their products, including ultra-processed foods, food additives, contaminants, GMOs and lab-grown meat and their toxic effects on human health. The views expressed in the excerpts from other news sources do not necessarily reflect the views of The Defender.

04/09/24

From ‘Honey Laundering’ to Fake Caviar: The Seven Types of Food Frauds + More

04/09/24

10 Years of Studies Link Pesticide Exposure and Childhood Cancer

A meta-analysis of 174 studies published in the International Journal of Molecular Science between 2013 and 2023 found that more than 80% showed positive associations between pesticide exposure and heightened risk of childhood cancers.

04/08/24

Study Links Parents’ Exposure to Toxic Chemicals to Increased Risk of Autism, ADHD in Kids

A study published last month in the Journal of Xenobiotics suggests that toxicant exposures, such as heavy metals, organophosphate pesticides and tobacco smoke, probably stimulate epigenetic changes in gene expression.

04/05/24

Asthma, Rhinitis Linked to Household Fungal Contaminants + More

The Defender’s Weekly Science Digest delivers a roundup of the latest research on children’s health, including studies on vaccines, drugs, chemicals, pesticides and lead exposure.

04/03/24

‘Autism Epidemic Is Real and Overvaccination Is Its Cause’: A Conversation With Mark Blaxill

Mark Blaxill, chief financial officer of the Holland Center, a private autism treatment center and father of an autistic adult daughter, joined “The Defender In-Depth” this week to discuss what he called the “coming tsunami” of autism caregiving, as the autistic children of the 1990s onward reach adulthood.

04/03/24

‘Permanent Health Risks’ for Unborn Babies: EPA Warns About Weedkiller Used on Farms, Golf Courses

Citing “serious, permanent, and irreversible health risks” to pregnant women and their developing babies, the EPA on Monday warned that exposure to dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, or DCPA, could lead to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, and impaired motor skills later in life.

04/02/24

Under Pressure From U.S., Mexico Walks Back Deadline for Banning Glyphosate

The move came amid reported heavy lobbying from powerful global agrochemical companies and pressure from U.S. trade officials. In 2019, Thailand backed down from a planned glyphosate ban after pressure from U.S. officials and industry actors.

04/01/24

Amish Farmer in Lancaster County in Legal Battle Over Selling Raw Milk Products + More

04/01/24

EPA Allows Highly Toxic Weedkiller on Food Crops — But Not Golf Courses

Concerns about the safety of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, pushed the EPA in 2021 to ban its use on golf courses — but the EPA still allows the weedkiller to be sprayed on almonds, walnuts, alfalfa and other crops.

03/29/24

Bill Gates, GMO Potatoes and McDonald’s French Fries — What’s the Story?

Fact-checkers swooped in after social media memes claiming Bill Gates owns a farm that produces GMO potatoes for McDonald’s started gaining traction. Some memes got their facts wrong. But the fact is, Gates is rapidly acquiring farmland.

03/29/24

Nearly 1,000 Popular Consumer Products Contain Carcinogenic Estrogens

A January study identified 279 estrogenic compounds commonly found in consumer products that induce mammary tumors in animals, and another 642 chemicals that could increase the risk of breast cancer.

03/28/24

Kids Especially at Risk: 3 of 4 Athletes Test Positive for PFAS After Playing on Artificial Turf

According to the EPA, PFAS exposure is particularly concerning for young children, who are more susceptible due to their developing bodies and at risk for higher levels of exposure than adults. PFAS, which continue to accumulate in the human body, pose long-term health risks.

03/27/24

RFK Jr.’s VP Pick Vows to Tackle Chronic Disease Epidemic

Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly announced running mate, on Tuesday said she plans to tackle America’s chronic disease epidemic by assembling the world’s best technologists and scientists to analyze health records databases, and by ridding science and medicine of corporate bias.

03/26/24

Austin Frerick Takes On Most Powerful Families in the Food System + More

03/26/24

Appeals Court Paves Way for Company to Keep Making Plastic Containers That Leach Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the EPA exceeded its statutory authority when it ordered a Texas-based company to stop manufacturing or processing PFAS through its fluorination process for plastic food and consumer product containers.

03/22/24

Phthalates Linked to Increase ADHD in Autistic Kids + More

The Defender’s Weekly Science Digest delivers a roundup of the latest research on children’s health, including studies on vaccines, drugs, chemicals, pesticides and lead exposure.

03/20/24

Kellogg’s Froot Loops Made With ‘Harmful Additives’ Despite Vow to Remove Dyes: Shareholder + More

03/19/24

‘Clear Scientific Evidence’ of Harms from GMO Corn, Glyphosate, Mexico Tells U.S.

Mexico issued a 189-page rebuttal to U.S. claims that Mexico’s limits on genetically engineered corn and glyphosate violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, citing more than 140 scientific studies supporting concerns about health problems, especially in kids, related to consuming GMO corn and glyphosate residues.

03/15/24

10 Years Later, Kids Exposed to Lead in Flint, Michigan, Still Behind in Math, Reading + More

The Defender’s Weekly Science Digest delivers a roundup of the latest research on children’s health, including studies on vaccines, drugs, chemicals, pesticides and lead exposure.

03/15/24

GMO or Non-GMO? Companies Battle It Out Over Purple Tomato

The company that commercialized the genetically modified purple “anti-cancer” tomato has targeted a non-GMO heirloom seed company over alleged patent infringement.

03/14/24

Experts Break Down ‘Healthy’ Food Labels — Some Are Just Marketing Ploys + More

03/14/24

Maine’s Organic Farmers Get $65 Million to Clean Up PFAS as ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination Devastates Farmers Nationwide

With PFAS contamination forcing organic farmers to halt operations and destroy products, Maine is supporting its agricultural community by establishing a $65 million relief fund, offering a glimmer of hope and a potential blueprint for other states as the far-reaching impacts of the “forever chemical” crisis on U.S. farms come to light.

03/13/24

EPA Admits Chlorpyrifos Damages Kids’ Brains, But Efforts to Ban the Insecticide Fall Short

In August 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revoked all tolerances for the insecticide chlorpyrifos, effectively banning its use on food. But in November 2023 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit overturned the ban, allowing its use on food crops unless states rule otherwise.

03/12/24

How Raw Milk Went From Whole Foods Staple to Conservative Signal + More

03/08/24

Dengue Vaccine Trial: More Vaccinated Kids Died Than Unvaccinated + More

The Defender’s Weekly Science Digest delivers a roundup of the latest research on children’s health, including studies on vaccines, drugs, chemicals, pesticides and lead exposure.

03/07/24

‘Especially Dangerous’ to Children, Pregnant Women: Thousands of Chemicals Linked to Rising Rates of Cancer, Infertility and Obesity

New evidence suggests that endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in consumer products, food, water and soil are behind the global rise in reproductive disorders, cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, neurological conditions, reduced immune function and chronic inflammation.

03/06/24

Booze or Big Ag: What’s Behind Iowa’s Cancer Crisis?

A new report blaming Iowa’s alarming cancer rates on alcohol consumption drew from experts who argue that the state’s “unrivaled” use of pesticides, fertilizers and animal manure in its massive agricultural industry is the more likely culprit.