(Beyond Pesticides, December 22, 2025) After a U.S. Court of Appeals Court decision in October that upheld the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “bioengineered” food label language, Beyond Pesticides with people across the country renewed their call for truth in labeling—so that consumers clearly understand when products contain genetically engineered ingredients. The label requirement became law under the National Bioengineered  Food Disclosure Standard in 2016. When USDA proposed the bioengineered label, Beyond Pesticides told the agency in 2017, “Since many consumers may not know or understand the term bioengineering, there should be allowable interchangeable terms for the disclosure standard. These include the terms: genetically engineered, genetically modified organism, and GMO.” Beyond Pesticides issued an action to: “Tell USDA to require full disclosure of genetically engineered ingredients, using terms understandable to consumers.“ At the same time, the court ruled that USDA had failed to properly implement the law in allowing manufactures to provide label ingredient with a reference to the availability of electronic information. After a 2024 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California overturning rules issued under the first Trump administration that, according to the Center for Food Safety (CFS), “practically eliminate oversight of novel GE technology and instead let industry self-regulate,” the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 18, 2025) A study in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health finds peak concentrations of organophosphate pesticide (OP) metabolites in the urine of pregnant mothers 6-12 hours after consuming contaminated fruits and vegetables. “High detection rates were observed for dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP, 96%), dimethylphosphate (DMP, 94%), diethylphosphate (DEP, 89%), and diethylthiophosphate (DETP, 77%) among 431 urine samples taken from 25 pregnant women, over two 24-hr periods, early in pregnancy,” the researchers report. The levels of metabolites within the urine correlate to the consumption of foods treated with organophosphate pesticides, highlighting the importance of adopting an organic diet—particularly for pregnant individuals and their children. “In 2009–2010, 80 pregnant women were recruited from Ottawa, Canada for the Plastics and Personal-care Product use in Pregnancy (P4) Study,” the authors say. “A subset (n = 25) collected multiple spot urines (up to 10 each; total n = 431) over two 24-h periods in early pregnancy—one weekday and weekend day—while logging their food consumption beginning 24 h prior to the first urine void and continuing through the following 24-h urine collection period.” This is the first study looking at the variability of organophosphate metabolites within 24 hours in maternal urine, giving […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 17, 2025) In a 50-plus page opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in October for the plaintiffs on providing general public access to information on genetically engineered products, overturning a 2016 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that permitted the use of a “QR code” or smartphone labeling for food products made with genetically modified organisms. However, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the use of the term “bioengineered” is misleading, given the general public’s understanding of the common usage of “genetically engineered” or genetically modified.” The case was filed by the Center for Food Safety on behalf of a coalition of public interest organizations and grocers, including Natural Grocers, Citizens for GMO Labeling, Label GMOs, Rural Vermont, Good Earth Natural Foods, Puget Consumers Co-Op, and National Organic Coalition. “We’ve fought for decades for GMO labeling, as required by more than 60 other countries, and today’s decision is a crucial culmination of those hard-fought efforts,” says George Kimbrell, legal director at Center for Food Safety and lead counsel in the litigation. He continues: “QR codes alone do not provide meaningful access to all Americans, and USDA now will have to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 11, 2025) In an amicus brief published on December 1, 2025, the Office of the Solicitor General (SG) and the White House are calling on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to grant certiorari on Bayer’s petition to shield chemical companies that fail to warn people about the potential hazards of their pesticide products. The U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer (former Solicitor General of Missouri, home to Bayer-Monsanto’s U.S. headquarters), in siding with the Germany-based, multinational pesticide corporation, calls for SCOTUS to take on the case, which could lead to a prohibition on state-level failure-to-warn claims based on the arguments laid out in the amicus brief. This move sets the stage for SCOTUS to undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for their harmful products, sending Bayer’s stock price to skyrocket 12 percentage points between December 2 and December 3 after the decision was made public. As of May 2025, Bayer has already paid at least 10 billion dollars in jury verdicts and settlements to cancer victims who have attributed their diagnoses to the use of Bayer/Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer products, according to Lawsuit Information Center. Two previous petitions […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 8, 2025) In response to the Trump administration’s proposed new rules to limit protections for critical habitats under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Beyond Pesticides is calling for public action to “Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) not to adopt regulations that weaken protection of threatened and endangered species.” According  to environmentalists, four new rules will allow an expansion of oil drilling, logging, and mining in critical habitats. A week before Thanksgiving, which honors habitats supporting life, FWS, part of the Department of Interior (DOI), and NMFS, part of the Department of Commerce, announced proposed revisions to the rules implementing ESA that raises serious questions about the future restrictions of the nation’s foundational environmental law. Passed with bipartisan support in 1973, the ESA establishes “a prohibition on ‘take’ of a species, the requirement that all federal agencies ensure that the actions they carry out will not jeopardize the continued existence of a threatened or endangered species, and the drafting and implementation of recovery plans for at risk species,” according to the National Agricultural Law Center. See ESA current regulations.  Secretary of DOI Doug Burgum describes the action: “This administration is restoring the Endangered […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 5, 2025) A study published this month in Environmental Pollution analyzes the role of neonicotinoid insecticide exposure on bird populations, finding a significant negative effect of imidacloprid use on insectivorous bird abundance. In comparing the effects of the insecticide imidacloprid on bird abundance in France before and after the 2018 ban, the researchers show a weak recovery of bird populations after 2018. The persistent nature of imidacloprid, however, as well as the continued use of other petrochemical pesticides that have adverse effects on bird species, continues to impact populations of all types of birds and other wildlife, leading to cascading impacts on biodiversity.    “Our study shows that imidacloprid is a major covariate of the abundance of birds, in addition to other pesticides that are also negatively related to bird populations, and that these effects are not uniform across species,” the authors report. They continue in saying that the relationship between neonicotinoids and bird abundance varied across bird diets, as “the abundance of insectivorous birds was consistently lower under increasing pesticide use, in particular imidacloprid.” Background As shared in the study and on Beyond Pesticides’ Birds page, bird species can be exposed to pesticides directly through ingestion […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 3, 2025) Childhood cancers are on the rise globally; in the U.S. cancer is the second most common cause of death in children between one and 14 years old, and the fourth most common in adolescents. A recent study of Nebraska pesticide use and pediatric cancer incidence by researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences found positive associations between pesticides and overall cancer, brain and central nervous system cancers, and leukemia among children (defined as under age 20). The study’s lead author, Jabeen Taiba, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will discuss the study results on December 4, 2025, at the second session of Beyond Pesticides’ 42nd National Pesticide Forum, The Pesticide Threat to Environmental Health – Advancing Holistic Solutions Aligned with Nature. The first session recordings and materials are available here. The authors’ emphasis on evaluating mixtures, and their innovative technical methods for doing so, highlight the direction environmental health research and regulation must take. Studying pesticides singly is an inadequate approach, according to the authors, because pesticides are not applied individually anymore, but very often in mixtures of herbicides, insecticides, and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 2, 2025) Recently published in Reproductive Toxicology, researchers in Denmark and Iceland investigate the impacts of pesticides on sex hormones, finding that “prenatal exposure to [the insecticide] chlorpyrifos and [weed killer] 2,4-D may affect the reproductive hormones in girls, but not boys, during minipuberty, which may have long-term implications.” Based on their analysis of urinary maternal concentrations of the pesticides and their metabolites and hormone levels in infants, the authors report, “This study examined the association between maternal pesticide exposure and pituitary, gonadal, and adrenal hormones in offspring during infancy.” The sex-specific findings highlight a public health concern with potentially long-lasting transgenerational effects. “We recruited pregnant women from 2010 to 2012 in the Odense Child Cohort, including 489 mother-child pairs,” the authors state. They continue: “Maternal urinary concentrations of the generic pyrethroid metabolite 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), the chlorpyrifos metabolite 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY), and the herbicide 2,4-D were measured at gestational week 28. Serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), Androstenedione (Adione), and Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were assessed in infancy.” The results of the analyses show that in girls, higher maternal urinary TCPY and 2,4-D concentrations are significantly […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 1, 2025) A week before Thanksgiving, and the honoring of critical habitats that support life, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced proposed revisions to the rules implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that environmentalists say will severely weaken the nation’s foundational environmental law. Passed with bipartisan support in 1973, as an update to earlier related statutes, the law establishes a prohibition “on ‘take’ of a species, the requirement that all federal agencies ensure that the actions they carry out will not jeopardize the continued existence of a threatened or endangered species, and the drafting and implementation of recovery plans for at risk species,” according to the National Agricultural Law Center.” See ESA current regulations. FWS and NMFS describe their proposals as a strengthening of the rules implementing ESA, explaining that they “remove regulatory barriers that hinder responsible resource development and economic growth, including expanded oil exploration. However, environmentalists explain that the proposals undermine the basic protections provided threatened and endangered species and narrow the definition of critical habitats. ESA grows out of a history of respect for the earth that is captured in the Thanksgiving Address (the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen) […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 18, 2025) A study published in Horticultural Plant Journal provides additional evidence on the viability of organically managed farmland based on tomatoes cultivated through traditional plant breeding and regional variances. The authors of the research find that, “Despite the positive trend of the organic sector’s development in Europe, the number of tomato varieties bred for organic farming is still limited since efforts have been mainly focused on high input conditions.” They continue: “As a result, the existing cultivars may not suit to organic production [ ] as cultivars chosen for conventional [chemical-intensive] systems often respond well to chemical fertilizers to improve crop output, but they might not maximize nutrient uptake in organic systems where minor external inputs are provided.” In this context, the marketplace is not maximizing the potential productivity of organic systems due to the limited availability of seeds and plant material best suited to conditions in sync with local ecosystems. The designed methodology, as well as the findings, show that there are opportunities for public investment to support systems that cultivate agricultural products without reliance on petrochemical-based fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds treated with pesticide products and other genetically modified characteristics. For millennia, humans have worked […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 14, 2025) A literature review in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety finds a sex-specific relationship between pesticide exposure and thyroid cancer, with heightened risks for women. “Thyroid cancer (TC) is one of the most common endocrine malignancies worldwide, yet the association between pesticide exposure and TC has not been systematically summarized,” the authors state. “This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between pesticide exposure and TC, focusing on insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides.” In the U.S., approximately 44,020 new cases and 2,290 deaths are estimated for 2025, according to the American Cancer Society, with thyroid cancer as the ninth most common cancer in women. (See research here.) TC ranks globally as the tenth most common cancer, representing a worldwide threat to both men and women. (See here.) The current study considers scientific literature on thyroid cancer and pesticide exposure by pesticide type to extract data and statistically analyze the link between exposure and risk of TC. The results indicate a positive association between exposure to insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides and thyroid cancer, with the sex-based analysis revealing the risk of TC is higher in females. Study Background and Importance As the researchers write, thyroid cancer “is one of the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 13, 2025) A study in Environmental Science & Technology shows that maternal exposure to organophosphate (OP) and pyrethroid insecticides adversely affects newborn health. Through amino acid and acylcarnitine metabolomics (the study of small molecules known as metabolites) with over 400 mother-infant pairs, this research analyzes metabolic pathways linking pesticide exposure to negative birth outcomes. “To our knowledge, this study is the first to reveal the effect of OP and pyrethroid insecticide exposure on neonatal metabolic signatures, which may elucidate a key role of metabolites in insecticide exposure and birth outcomes,” the authors state. In collecting maternal urine samples in the first and third trimesters, as well as neonatal blood samples after birth, OP and pyrethroid metabolites and metabolomic biomarkers are assessed. Notably, the authors report: “Results indicated that third-trimester maternal urinary levels of 3- phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) and diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP) were negatively associated with birth weight. Specifically, a one-unit increase in their ln-transformed [natural logarithm form] concentrations was associated with a 1.508% decrease in birth weight for 3-PBA and a 1.366% decrease for DEDTP.” Additionally, the analyses show that OP and pyrethroid exposure is associated with “disrupted neonatal amino acids and acylcarnitine profiles, with patterns varying […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 7, 2025) There is little dispute that modern industrial culture has produced a constellation of related chronic conditions contributing powerfully to human disease. In recent decades, attention has begun to focus on the developmental origins of health and disease—prenatal exposures to pesticides, for example, that contribute to diseases in adulthood, such as cardiovascular and metabolic problems, along with the combination, known as cardiometabolic syndrome. Cardiometabolic disorders include obesity, hypertension, cholesterol imbalances, and insulin resistance. The usual suspects blamed for the syndrome are poor diet, physical inactivity, and genetic predisposition. These are all well-established risk factors, but they fail to fully account for the sharp rise in cardiometabolic syndrome globally. Obesity prevalence has doubled and diabetes quadrupled over the last 40 years, according to the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Risk Factor Collaboration. In a study on early life exposure to a pesticide mixture, researchers analyze sex differences in cardiometabolic outcomes from prenatal and early life. The study was conducted by an international team of scientists led by Ana M. Mora, M.D., of the Center for Environmental Research and Community Health at the University of California, Berkeley, using data from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 6, 2025) The report, Designed to Kill: Who Profits from Paraquat, and accompanying interactive storymap, unpacks the supply chain of the infamous herbicide paraquat and underscores the true costs of pesticide products, from manufacturing to use in the fields. This report is part of a larger initiative, the Pesticide Mapping Project—“a collaborative research series that illustrates the health and climate harms of pesticides across their toxic lifecycle: including fossil fuel extraction, manufacturing, international trade, and application on vast areas of U.S. land.” Top Highlights This report highlights, among other notable points, “that every stage of the paraquat supply chain—which spans the globe—emits greenhouse gases and toxic air pollutants.” With SinoChem as the lead producer and player in the paraquat market, the Chinese government-owned pesticide company’s supply chain “includes fossil fuel extraction in Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia, chemical manufacturing in India, Germany, and the United Kingdom, international chemical shipping, and final formulation and distribution in the United States.” Paraquat is not currently manufactured in the U.S., accounting for imports of “between 40 and 156 million pounds of paraquat each year, according to the last eight years of pesticide import records available from the private database.” Despite the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2025) A study published in Environment International evaluates residues of individual and mixtures of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including pesticides, and finds an association between exposure and hyperactive behavior in children. The researchers evaluated urine samples from over 800 preschoolers, identifying and statistically analyzing concentrations of 22 EDCs, and finding that nine of these chemicals are significantly associated with hyperactivity trajectories and EDC mixtures are positively associated with hyperactive behavior, noting the strongest association in girls.  “The current study indicates the adverse health effects of exposure to mixtures of EDCs among preschoolers, and suggests gender specificity in these effects,” the researchers state. They continue, “This highlights the importance of focusing on multi-pollutant exposure in early childhood.”  Study Importance  “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, which has become one of the main factors leading to the burden of disease in children and adolescents worldwide.” The authors continue: “Its core symptoms are high levels of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity during the preschool period. A meta-analysis showed that the overall prevalence of ADHD in children in China over the past 15 years was as high as 6.2%, and has been increasing over recent years.”  In comparison, according […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2025) The latest research on bats and beavers, ecosystem services, and biodiversity adds to a wide body of science on the importance of a balanced ecosystem. In both the Bulletin of the National Research Centre and Journal of Animal Ecology, the researchers highlight the interconnectedness not only between wildlife species but to broader ecosystem functioning and human health implications. Researchers in the Journal article add to the growing body of science connecting an abundance of bat species in areas with established beaver dams, highlighting how interconnected wildlife is. The reporting on this recent research coincides with Beyond Pesticides’ 42nd National Forum, The Pesticide Threat to Environmental Health: Advancing Holistic Solutions Aligned with Nature, scheduled for today, October 29. As the author of the article in the Bulletin of the National Research Centre, entitled “The complex web between environmental disruption, pesticide use, and human health: lessons from the bat crisis,” states: “The close relationship between environmental balance, biodiversity, and human health has long been a concern of science and public policy. Disruptions in ecosystems often trigger cascading effects that extend far beyond the original ecological imbalance, affecting agricultural practices, food security, and public health.” Bat Declines and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 28, 2025) A California-based population study published in BMC Public Health finds that “7.5 [percent] of all pregnant people in California who gave birth in 2021 lived within 1 km [kilometer] of agricultural fields where OP pesticides [organophosphates] had been used during their pregnancy. . .” Despite a 54 percent decrease in overall use of the neurotoxic insecticide chlorpyrifos in the state between 2016 and 2021, after a statewide ban on the organophosphate insecticide in 2016, researchers found that in one California county, “more than 50 [percent] of pregnant people lived within 1 km of OP pesticide use.” Significant disparities were found in terms of elevated exposure to pesticides, “with Hispanic/Latine, young people, and residents of the predominantly fruit and vegetable growing Central Coast region being most likely to live near OP pesticide applications during pregnancy.” The authors suggest that “regulatory changes to limit use or restrict applications in close proximity to residential areas could have a substantial public health benefit on children’s brain development.” These findings add to the existing scientific literature on perinatal and maternal pesticide exposure associated with adverse long-term health effects for children and mothers. They also serve as a reminder to public […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 23, 2025) A global literature review of pesticide residues in marine seaweed, published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, highlights the widespread presence of pesticides in bioindicator species. As vital coastal primary producers, seaweed acts as a key indicator for regional pesticide contamination patterns. The bioaccumulation within seaweed species also threatens consumers, including humans, as the chemicals can biomagnify as they move through the food web. Pesticide contamination in waterways allows residues to bioaccumulate in seaweed species, presenting risks to public health, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning. In addition to the support seaweeds provide for ecosystems, they provide food sources for a multitude of organisms and are of growing socioeconomic importance. “This systematic review identifies, critically evaluates, and synthesizes recent global literature (2015–2024) on pesticide residues detected in seaweeds to delineate contamination patterns,” the authors share. The findings highlight the harmful impacts of petrochemical pesticides on multiple species. Many aquatic species rely on seaweed as a food source, including fish, sea urchins, crabs, snails, brittle stars, and marine mammals such as manatees and sea turtles. Even bacteria and filter feeders consume seaweed when it is decomposed. Birds and land mammals also consume seaweed, including humans who utilize seaweed in various […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 21, 2025) A study, published in International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, calculates cumulative dietary pesticide exposure and finds a significant positive association between pesticide residues in food and urine when analyzing over 40 produce types. The research uses data for 1,837 individuals from the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and compares them to biomonitoring samples of the participants. According to the researchers, “Here we show that consumption of fruits and vegetables, weighted by pesticide load, is associated with increasing levels of urinary pesticide biomarkers.” They continue, “When excluding potatoes, consumption of fruits and vegetables weighted by pesticide contamination was associated with higher levels of urinary pesticide biomarkers for organophosphate, pyrethroid, and neonicotinoid insecticides.” The NHANES data is derived from a national biomonitoring survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which collects information about consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as urine samples. Background As the study authors explain: “Hundreds of millions of pounds of synthetic pesticide active ingredients are used every year in the United States, and pesticide exposure can occur through food, drinking water, residential proximity to agricultural spraying, household pesticide use, and occupational use. Pesticide […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 7, 2025) Published in Environment International, a study utilizing silicone wristbands provides a snapshot of chemical exposure in over 600 participants across 10 European countries. Using the wristbands as passive and noninvasive samplers, the researchers find that organic farmers’ wristbands contain lower pesticide levels than other groups, offering insight into the benefits of organic and disproportionate risks to farmers using chemical-intensive methods. The results further reveal prevalent environmental pesticide mixtures, in addition to highlighting exposure to current-use pesticides (CUPs) and legacy (banned) pesticides that occurs through multiple exposure routes to workers, residents, and consumers. “Our study offers a comprehensive analysis of non-dietary pesticide exposure patterns among various populations across the EU [European Union], underscoring its widespread prevalence and identifying significant occupational and residential predictors,” the authors explain. As pesticide exposure occurs through both dietary and nondietary routes, such as through dermal (skin) contact and inhalation of contaminated air, there “is a growing need for aggregated [total; combined] exposure estimates across occupationally and nonoccupationally exposed populations.” The study includes testing for 193 pesticides, both legacy pesticides and CUPs, captured in silicone wristbands worn by farmers, residents living close to treated fields (neighbors), and the general population (consumers) in […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 1, 2025) A novel study in Scientific Reports combines computational analyses with toxicological data to identify pathways affected by exposure to the weed killer glyphosate. The analyses identify glyphosate targets that correlate with kidney injury and kidney cancer, revealing pathways with significant glyphosate-induced alterations, including the dysregulation of nitrogen metabolism that leads to ammonia accumulation and oxidative stress, both of which contribute to renal (kidney) damage and carcinogenesis (development of cancer). “This study provides a comprehensive investigation into the molecular mechanisms by which glyphosate may contribute to kidney injury and kidney cancer, employing an array of bioinformatics tools for target prediction, toxicity assessment, pathway enrichment analysis, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation,” the researchers state. The results of the analyses and simulations highlight the molecular mechanisms underlying glyphosate’s nephrotoxic (damaging to kidneys) and carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effects. Study Importance and Background Glyphosate, known as a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide, has been used for agricultural and nonagricultural purposes for decades and is the most extensively used herbicide worldwide. This widespread use is largely due to its application to genetically engineered, glyphosate-tolerant crops. Both glyphosate and its main metabolite (breakdown product), aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), are detected in water, soil, and food, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 24, 2025) A novel study of chronic toxicity of the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam to honey bees (Apis mellifera), published in Insects, finds sublethal effects that threaten the survival of bee larvae and the health of bee colonies. “We evaluated the effects of thiamethoxam on the entire larval development cycle of reproductive bees and conducted a comparative analysis, demonstrating that thiamethoxam significantly alters ecdysone [a hormone that controls molting in insects] and juvenile hormone titers [hormones for insect growth] in both queen and drone larvae, impairing metamorphosis and reproductive development,” the authors state. Risk assessments and scientific literature focus primarily on honey bee workers, rarely including how pesticides can impact queen and drone bees that are necessary for stable colonies. In focusing on this data gap, the researchers reveal that the survival rate of bee larvae decreases gradually with increasing doses of thiamethoxam, adding to the wide body of science on pesticide-related threats to honey bee health. (See Beyond Pesticides’ What the Science Shows on Biodiversity page for more information, as well as Daily News coverage on risk assessments here, here, and here.) Honey bees provide crucial ecosystem services as pollinating insects and play a vital role in […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 16, 2025) As reported in the Daily News on August 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it “will hold a public webinar [today], September 16, 2025, at 2:00 PM ET to provide information on the ecological runoff/erosion and spray drift mitigation measures that can be used to protect endangered species from pesticides.” This follows closely behind an earlier announcement of a newly released Pesticide App for Label Mitigations (PALM) mobile tool to assist in implementing these mitigation measures. Despite boasting that the PALM tool is a “one-stop shop” for farmers to use EPA’s mitigation menu, which the agency claims helps to protect nontarget species, environmental critics say that self-directed mitigation without a rigorous reporting and enforcement apparatus fails to meet the level of protection that is necessary under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As Beyond Pesticides has often reported, mitigation measures are not enforced through recordkeeping, inspections, and certification, and require no accountability from farmers and pesticide applicators. At the same time, EPA assumes compliance with mitigation measures as the basis for meeting statutory standards of reasonable risk from harmful chemicals, despite documented health and environmental harm. As a Daily News article earlier this […]