13
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 13, 2026) In a novel, continent-wide study of soil biodiversity throughout Europe published in Nature, researchers find 70% of the sampled sites contain pesticide residues, which “emerged as the second strongest driver of soil biodiversity patterns after soil properties,†particularly in croplands. As soil biodiversity is key for ecosystem functioning, agricultural and land management practices that safeguard biodiversity are imperative. This study, however, highlights how pesticides alter microbial functions, including phosphorus and nitrogen cycling, and suppress beneficial taxa, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterivore nematodes, and adds to a wide body of science that links pesticide residues in soil to adverse effects on biodiversity. In analyzing 373 sites across woodlands, grasslands, and croplands in 26 European countries, and examining the effects of 63 pesticides on soil archaea, bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, arthropods, and key functional gene groups, the data reveals “organism- and function-specific patterns, emphasizing complex and widespread non-target effects on soil biodiversity.†As the authors state, “[T]o our knowledge, ours is the first study to demonstrate the relative importance of pesticides in comparison to soil properties, ecosystem type and climate at a continental scale.†Study Importance As . . .
Posted in Agriculture, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), Beneficials, Biodiversity, boscalid, Carbendazim, diflufenican, Ecosystem Services, European Union, fluopyram, Glyphosate, Pendimethalin, Pesticide Residues, soil health, Soil microbiome by: Beyond Pesticides
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12
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 12, 2026) Editor’s Note. This is a piece about improving risk assessments and a proposal that could offer a more realistic characterization of the harm associated with the complexities of pesticide exposure. Beyond Pesticides notes that risk assessment methodology, unless it is considered in the context of a rigorous alternatives assessment, begins with the mostly false assumption that petrochemical pesticides are needed (or are essential) to achieve cost-effective pest management, agricultural productivity and profitability, and quality of life, when, in fact, this is not the case. Therefore, improved risk calculations—as the article being reviewed here proposes—while important to characterizing the harm and the unknown adverse effects associated with pesticide use, still impose some level of harm deemed by the government to be acceptable. Even worse, the adverse effects of exposure cannot be fully characterized because of uncertainties or a lack of data on harmful endpoints, as is the case currently with endocrine-disrupting pesticides not fully evaluated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), or other regulatory bodies. These pesticides are known to induce cancer, reproductive harm, infertility, biodiversity decline, and other life-threatening, often multigenerational, . . .
Posted in California, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Mixtures, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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11
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 11, 2026) The first U.S. jury trial on the weed killer paraquat against global chemical companies Syngenta Crop Protection, Chevron U.S.A., FMC Corporation, and their predecessors was scuttled last month due to a settlement on the eve of the case being heard in court. Settlements are commonly used by pesticide manufacturers seeking to avoid public disclosure of internal documents on chemical hazards and wrongdoing that could result from a public trial. In Mertens et al. v. Syngenta, Chevron, and FMC, the six plaintiffs suing three corporations allege that exposure to paraquat-based herbicide products contributed to their Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis. While the terms of the settlement have not yet been disclosed, Lawsuit Information Center states that the paraquat class action multidistrict litigation (MDL) includes 8,257 cases as of January 16, 2026. In 2021, multiple cases were settled for more than $187 million. Background on Mertens Complaint In their complaint, the plaintiffs point to five causes of action, including “strict products liability design defect†(Count 1), “strict products liability failure to warn†(Count 2), negligence (Count 3), breach of implied warranty of merchantability (Count 4), and punitive damages (Count 5). Count 1—Strict . . .
Posted in Disease/Health Effects, Failure to Warn, FMC, Lewy Body Disease (LBD), Oxidative Stress, Paraquat, Parkinson's, Syngenta, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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10
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 10, 2026) Species that are integral to pest management allow for crucial ecosystem services that negate the need for pesticides in agricultural or land management practices. In a study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, researchers from France find pesticide-free fields promote carabid beetles and spiders, generalist arthropod predators that consume slugs, aphids, and mites, that in turn support healthy, organic systems. The study findings highlight the importance of utilizing farming practices that promote biodiversity and foster natural enemy populations as a pest management strategy.  “In this study, we assessed the assemblages of emerging and circulating ground-dwelling carabids and spiders during four months in a continuous mosaic of pesticide-free winter-sown crops under contrasted tillage regimes (minimum vs. conventional tillage) and sown flower strips bordering fields,†the authors describe. They continue: “We detected clear patterns, with high in-field carabid and spider overwintering densities than in adjacent flower strips… Our results also demonstrate the key role of pesticide-free fields under minimum tillage, acting both as a high-quality overwintering site for some dominant carabid species and as a source habitat, as several predator species activity-density responded positively to the increased area of minimum tillage . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Beneficials, Biodiversity, Biological Control, Ecosystem Services, France, Integrated and Organic Pest Management by: Beyond Pesticides
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09
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 9, 2026) Every year during the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, the story of pesticide-intensive practices in the flower industry is told. The hazards of pesticides used in flower production and their resulting residues are well-documented. At the same time, the benefits of flowers to one’s psychological well-being have been studied, with findings that suggest flowers are a positive stimulus for emotional well-being, beyond the beauty that they bring to a home, wedding, office, or hospital room. One scientific study shows that flowers perform a socio-emotional function, while a survey done by the American Society for Horticultural Science finds that, “Consumers consistently reported positive effects of cut flowers on mood, morale, and stress reduction.†People want to share this positivity through the giving of flowers, especially on Valentine’s Day. Despite these benefits, the few studies that have been conducted show elevated pesticide exposure for florists through inhalation and dermal absorption. Beyond Pesticides’ network, recognizing that flowers can be grown with organic practices, is asking EPA and Congress to eliminate pesticide use in flower production and resulting residues, while supporting the transition to organic management practices. Similar to food production, the organization . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, Take Action, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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06
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 6, 2026) The United States, under Donald Trump’s direction, has withdrawn from 66 international organizations, the most important for health being the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. International organizations committed to the application of the best available science and policy development via consultation and consensus serve as a vital check against rampant personal and industry nest-feathering at the expense of global health. The Trump administration has removed this check while expanding his and his associates’ self-dealing and dismissing the critical interactions of crises such as climate change and synthetic chemicals. Although Trump announced this move on inauguration day last year, the completion of the process last week puts the stamp of finality on his total abandonment of public health. This in turn threatens the collapse of WHO—and even the U.N.—altogether, which has wide implications for agriculture, particularly pesticide policies, climate action (and inaction), and infectious disease monitoring, including vaccines and pandemic prevention. [See commentary: On Public and Environmental Health and Worldwide Collaboration.] Other U.N. environmental, health, and agricultural organizations on the list are groups focused on forest degradation, freshwater and oceans, mining, minerals, metals, and sustainable . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Corporations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Glyphosate, Pesticide Regulation, Reflection, Uncategorized, United Nations, World Health Organization by: Beyond Pesticides
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05
Feb
[Update on February 9, 2026: In a press release on Friday, February 6, titled “EPA Implements Strongest Protections in Agency History for Over-the-Top Dicamba Use on Cotton and Soybeans for Next Two Growing Seasons,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to ignore the wide body of science that documents harms from dicamba, as well as the viability of alternative methods, in establishing what the agency is boasting are “the strongest protections in agency history for over-the-top (OTT) dicamba application on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean crops” as a direct response to the “strong advocacy of America’s cotton and soybean farmers.” These so-called “strong protections” are described as a way to ensure farmers can access the tools they “need” while also protecting the environment from dicamba’s harmful drift. In using “gold-standard science and radical transparency,” EPA created new label restrictions for the next two growing seasons that include “cutting the amount of dicamba that can be used annually in half, doubling required safety agents, requiring conservation practices to protect endangered species, and restricting applications during high temperatures when exposure and volatility risks increase.” Relying on unenforceable label restrictions and mitigation measures, however, fails to adequately . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, BASF, Bayer, Cancer, Climate Change, contamination, Dicamba, DNA Damage, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Herbicides, Monsanto, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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04
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 4, 2026) Using data from the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) database launched in 1993 by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, research study results “show greater diabetes risk“ from exposure to organochlorine, organophosphate, and carbamate insecticides, phenoxy and other herbicides, and the fumigant carbon tetrachloride/disulfide exposure. The study, published in Environment International, evaluated nearly 4,000 diabetes cases drawn from AHS follow-up surveys between 1999 and 2021. Results Researchers found evidence of an association between 18 pesticide active ingredients and diabetes. These included two phenoxy herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4,5-TP, and seven organochlorine insecticides (DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, toxaphene, and lindane). While all these organochlorine pesticides are banned for use in the U.S. (with the exception of pharmaceutical uses of lindane), legacy residues of the chemicals and/or their metabolites continue show up in the environment, food, and the human body, and 2,4,5-T and its TCDD dioxin contaminant has multigenerational effects. There was exposure risks among other pesticides were identified as well, including: 3 organophosphate insecticides (diazinon, malathion, and phorate); 2 carbamate insecticides (carbofuran and carbaryl); 3 other herbicides (butylate, metribuzin, and chlorimuron ethyl); and the fumigant carbon . . .
Posted in Aldrin, Carbamates, Carbaryl, Carbofuran, Chlordane, DDT, Diabetes, Diazinon, Dieldrin, Disease/Health Effects, Fumigants, Fungicides, Heptachlor, Herbicides, Insecticides, Lindane, Malathion, Phorate, toxaphene, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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03
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 3, 2026) In analyzing the direct and indirect effects of pesticides that act simultaneously upon macrozoobenthos communities (invertebrates living in or on sediment) in standing small water bodies (SWBs) in Germany, researchers find high risks to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Published in Hydrobiologia, the experiment finds high risks to invertebrates and highlights how both direct and indirect effects are vital to comprehensive assessments of pesticides. While typically overlooked in regulatory reviews, SWBs are defined as shallow standing or running freshwaters “with a surface area of less than 50 hectares (ha),†such as lakes or ponds, including farm ponds, as well as headwater streams, springs and flushes, and ditches. SWBs are biodiversity hotspots that contribute to numerous ecosystem services and are adversely affected by agricultural land use effects such as pesticide contamination. “Holistic assessments of pesticide effects on invertebrate communities in standing small water bodies have, however, not yet been successful,†the authors note. To address this, the researchers developed an indicator for evaluating pesticide impacts on macrozoobenthos communities, populated with aquatic invertebrates, such as snails, worms, crayfish, and clams, through indirect toxic effects on aquatic plants called INPOND: INdirect Pesticide . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Aquatic Organisms, Beneficials, Biodiversity, Chlorpyrifos, contamination, Ecosystem Services, Germany, pyraclostrobin, tefluthrin, Water by: Beyond Pesticides
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02
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 2 2025) With the Trump administration withdrawing from international organizations that historically advance a shared world view of global sustainability (from health and the environment, to peace and justice), people are calling on the U.S. Congress and state governors to support critical health and environmental programs that link humanity across the globe. Beyond Pesticides is collaborating on an action to: Tell Congress to support and fund international organizations critical to the global health of humans and the biosphere, AND Tell Governors/Lieutenant Governors to join (as well as thank them for joining) the Governors Public Health Alliance and to expand their support for international agencies that protect biodiversity and mitigate the climate crisis (IUCN, IPBES, and IPCC).  Will the U.S. Congress and state government step up to link across national borders when the Trump administration steps back from worldwide existential health and environmental crises? Among the 66 organizations affected by this action are the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These organizations all support global health, and withdrawing from them is . . .
Posted in Biodiversity, International, Take Action, Uncategorized, United Nations, World Health Organization by: Beyond Pesticides
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30
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 30, 2026) In a 2025 study published by the British Ecological Society’s Animal Ecology, researchers’ findings “suggest that beaver engineering created structurally diverse habitats that supported a broader range of bat species.†It is well-established that bats perform important ecosystem services, which help to prevent and manage insect problems in balanced ecosystems. The researchers find: “By modifying both habitat structure and prey abundance, beaver engineering affected bat activity, richness, and feeding activity directly and indirectly. These changes operated across aquatic–terrestrial boundaries, highlighting the cross-ecosystem influence and ecological complexity of ecosystem engineering.†Environmental and public health advocates have long called for nature-based solutions to pest management that provide critical support to at-risk wildlife (like beavers and bats) and reduce costs for agrichemical inputs to farmers due to improved ecosystem services (such as pest suppression and management). In turn, this holistic approach leads to secondary benefits like improved climate resilience and public health protection that are associated with the elimination of petrochemical pesticide use. Background and Methodology The researchers focused their study in eight stream ecosystems in differing contexts across Switzerland, choosing a diversity of habitats, including urban, agricultural, and forested . . .
Posted in Aquatic Organisms, Bats, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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29
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 29, 2026) A study of ecotoxicity risk from neonicotinoid insecticides, published in Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, finds that chemicals in this class of pesticides, particularly dinotefuron, increase the body temperature of Apis mellifera (European honey bee) and subsequently accelerate the translocation (movement) of contaminants into hives by the honey bees. The research indicates that neonicotinoids affect acetylcholine receptors in the nervous system, leading to an “elevation in octopamine titer [neurotransmitter/hormone] and subsequent increase in the body temperature of honeybees,†the authors report. They continue: “Furthermore, we observed a considerable upregulation [of] the expression of a flight gene flightin in honeybees. This gene accelerates the homing behavior of honeybees and facilitates the rapid and frequent transport of neonicotinoid pesticide-contaminated nectar to the hive.†In describing their results, the researchers state: “For the first time, we propose that neonicotinoid pesticides accelerate the homing ability of honeybees by affecting their body temperature, which leads to more neonicotinoid pesticides entering the hive and explains the prevalence of neonicotinoids and at higher concentrations in terms of their effects on the honeybee body temperature that enhances homing.†This accelerated movement of neonicotinoid pesticides into honey bee . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Beneficials, Biodiversity, contamination, dinotefuron, Insecticides, neonicotinoids, Nervous System Effects, Pollinators, Pyriproxyfen, Thiamethoxam, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. by: Beyond Pesticides
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28
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 28, 2026) A study published last year in Science of The Total Environment reports widespread pesticide contamination collected from beehive monitoring across the European Union (EU). “This study has produced the first EU-wide distribution map of terrestrial pesticide contamination and demonstrates widespread pesticide contamination of EU environments,†the authors write. The study, led by a cohort of citizen-scientists, documents pesticide drift across the European continent. The results found that 188 of the 429 targeted pesticide compounds were detected in noninvasive, in-hive passive samplers (APIStrips) across 27 EU countries between May and August of 2023. This finding emerges at a time when public health and environmental advocates raise concerns about the European Union’s backtracking on commitments to reduce pesticide use by 2030, although the European Commission announced in July 2025 that “the use and risk of chemical pesticides has decreased by 58% by 2023 [from the 2015-2017 reference period], while the use of more hazardous pesticides fell by 27% over the same period.†Results The study results reveal that no landscape is safe from pesticide exposure, despite the European Union having better regulations in place than most other countries/regions. The researchers . . .
Posted in acetamiprid, Azoxystrobin, boscalid, Carbendazim, Chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, difenoconazole, European Union, Fipronil, fludioxonil, fluopyram, fluxapyroxad, Imidacloprid, Metolachlor, Pendimethalin, Permethrin, Persistence, Pesticide Drift, Pollinators, pyraclostrobin, Pyriproxyfen, tebuconazole, thiabendazole, thiacloprid, trifloxystrobin, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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27
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 27, 2026) A three-part study published in Molecular Neurodegeneration draws a connection between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the organophosphate chlorpyrifos. “Since chlorpyrifos (CPF) exposure has been implicated as a risk factor for PD, we investigated its association to incident PD and if this association is biologically plausible using human, rodent, and zebrafish (ZF) studies,†the researchers state. Together, the three experiments “strongly implicate exposure to CPF as a risk factor for developing PD,†as the authors find that exposure, even at very low concentrations, causes selective toxicity to dopaminergic neurons that are critical for functions of movement, cognition, emotion, and more. The results reveal that in humans, long-term residential exposure is associated with more than a 2.5-fold increased risk of developing PD, while exposure in mice causes “motor impairment, dopaminergic neuron loss, microglial activation, and an increase in pathological α-synuclein (α-syn) [proteins primarily found in the brain].†The researchers continue, “Using ZF, we found that CPF-induced dopaminergic neuron loss was at least partially due to autophagy dysfunction and synuclein accumulation, as knocking down LC3 [a protein chain] recapitulated the dopaminergic neuron loss.†These three studies highlight the association of CPF . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Aquatic Organisms, behavioral and cognitive effects, Brain Effects, California, Chlorpyrifos, fish, Insecticides, organophosphate, Parkinson's by: Beyond Pesticides
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26
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 26, 2026) As a mounting number of scientific studies link pesticides to adverse health and environmental effects not evaluated under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) pesticide registration program, members of Congress are planning to introduce legislation that elevates the organic solution. To this end, Beyond Pesticides and allies are calling on U.S. Representatives and Senators to become a cosponsor of the Opportunities in Organic Act, which is expected to be reintroduced in early 2026 by U.S. Senator Peter Welch and U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta. In its Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database, Beyond Pesticides critiques studies associating pesticides with serious adverse effects ignored by the regulatory process, including multigenerational effects, chronic low-dose exposure and aging, impacts on fertility dysfunction, synergistic effects associated with mixtures, and endocrine disrupting effects, among others. At the same time, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the environmental, health, climate, and economic benefits of organic agriculture. With the weakening of pesticide regulation, the organic alternative has become especially important, according to health and environmental advocates. However, the organic growth needed to reverse the looming health and environmental crises will not be achieved without a societal investment in organic transition, they say. Although consumption of organic food continues to grow in the U.S., domestic . . .
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pesticide Regulation, Take Action, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
3 Comments
23
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 23, 2026) A fish called a lake skygazer (Culter dabryi) shows accelerated aging when exposed to chronic low doses of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, according to a powerful study by researchers from several Chinese institutions, as well as Carleton University in Canada and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The study, in Science, finds that chronic low-dose exposures resulting in the accumulation of sublethal effects over time cause deterioration of molecular, cellular, and organ functions that reduce lifespan and fertility. In the study, the fish showed reduced survival in a “dose- and physiological age-dependent manner,†while acute high doses did not have these effects, the authors write. Because the mechanisms researchers focused on are conserved throughout vertebrates, “even low doses of pesticide may pose long-term risks to longevity†in thousands of species, including humans. The regulation of pesticides is based on laboratory animals’ exposure to acute high doses of a chemical–generally measured as the dose that kills half the test animals within 96 hours of exposure. Thus, the assumption that guides the calibration of “safe†or allowable levels of exposure is that lower doses, even if chronic, pose no threat. The current . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Chlorpyrifos, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fish, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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22
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 22, 2026) Published in Environmental Research, a review of experimental studies by George Mason University researchers regarding reproductive toxicity of neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) in rodents finds that all studies “demonstrated negative impacts on male reproductive endpoints in association with neonic exposure, including reduced sperm count, reduced sperm motility, and altered sperm morphology.†These studies highlight how neonics, designed to target insect nervous systems, can affect mammalian systems, representing risks to human health. Criteria for inclusion in the review was restricted to endocrine and/or reproductive outcomes in male rats and mice, leading the authors to analyze 21 studies published between 2005 and 2025. “This narrative review employed a systematic approach and determined that neonics exhibit reproductive toxicity in male rats and mice, particularly impairing testicular function and sperm quality at high exposure levels,†the researchers report. They continue, “Despite species-specific differences, the conserved nature [core mechanism] of reproductive processes across mammals supports the relevance of these findings to human health.†Study Background Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides that share a common mode of action that affects the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. There . . .
Posted in acetamiprid, Agriculture, Clothianidin, contamination, Imidacloprid, Infertility, Insecticides, men's health, neonicotinoids, Oxidative Stress, Pesticide Residues, Reproductive Health, thiacloprid by: Beyond Pesticides
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21
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 21, 2026) The data in the annual U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pesticide residue report, released earlier this month, continues to show a pattern of pesticide residues in the majority of food tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Health advocates say low-level pesticide residues in the food supply within legal limits raise serious hazard concerns, while USDA, in its Pesticide Data Program–Annual Summary, Calendar Year 2024, points to controversial residue standards as a measure of safety. The USDA report finds that over 57 percent of tested commodities contain at least one pesticide and that less than one percent of detected residues violate the legal limit set as a tolerance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Residues allowed under tolerances establish allowable pesticide use patterns in agriculture that, beyond dietary risks, result in exposure to farmworkers, farmers, waterways, wildlife, and the broad ecosystem in which they are used. (See Eating with a Conscience for a list of pesticides allowed in food production by commodity.) With respect to the preponderance of evidence on adverse health and ecological effects of cumulative exposure to toxic agrichemicals, including pesticides, Beyond Pesticides has called . . .
Posted in Acephate, Agriculture, Chemical Mixtures, cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, Methomyl, Myclobutanil, Permethrin, Pesticide Mixtures, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) by: Beyond Pesticides
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20
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 20, 2026) With Monday’s celebration and affirmation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy, the question of adequate protection of the people and communities at greatest risk from toxic chemical production, transportation, use, and disposal looms large. This is especially true with the current diminished federal regulatory authority and Bayer/Monsanto’s U.S. Supreme Court challenge of chemical manufacturers’ responsibility to warn users of their products of hazards like cancer. Actions Being Taken In response to the chemical industry campaign to deny people the right to sue under longstanding failure to warn law, groups are calling for public support of U.S Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) bill, Pesticide Injury Accountability Act(S. 2324) seeks to uphold this right to sue. The groups are calling on the public to “Tell your U.S. Senator to co-sponsor S. 2324, the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act.†This bill will amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA) to create a federal right of action for anyone who is harmed by a toxic pesticide. In an additional action in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyond Pesticides is calling on the public to “Tell members of Congress to ensure that with the termination of . . .
Posted in Bayer, Cancer, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Failure to Warn, Glyphosate, Litigation, Monsanto, Preemption, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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17
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 17, 2026) The public’s right to sue chemical manufacturers that do not warn of product hazards will be up for review by the U.S. Supreme Court later this year, the justices decided Friday. Bayer/Monsanto is challenging billions of dollars in jury verdicts, which affirm longstanding jurisprudence that holds manufacturers responsible for disclosing hazards even when not required to do so by regulatory authorities. In the case being challenged, Durnell, John L. v. Monsanto, the injured party successfully argued that a chemical manufacturer has a duty to warn of potential hazards on their product label even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require the warning. The failure-to-warn in the Durnell case resulted in a jury verdict of $1.2 billion, and the total number of jury verdicts and settlements on similar cases may amount to over $10 billion in liability if the Supreme Court upholds the lower courts and hundreds of thousands of other plaintiffs with the same claim. The cases involve exposure to the weed killer glyphosate (RoundupTM, which is the most widely used herbicide in the U.S. and worldwide, has been classified as posing a possible risk . . .
Posted in Bayer, Cancer, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Failure to Warn, Glyphosate, Litigation, Monsanto, Preemption, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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16
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 16-19, 2026) This year marks 40 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first federally observed in 1986, three years after President Reagan initially signed the bill into law in 1983, to honor the civil rights leader. In 1994, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became a National Day of Service, calling for action and encouraging Americans to volunteer and serve their communities with Dr. King’s message of justice and equality in mind. Now more than ever, in the face of the administration’s action to dismantle or deregulate programs to address disproportionate harms to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities across various federal agencies, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words resonate: “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.†In the spirit of Dr. King’s fight for racial equality and human rights, this day offers a chance for reflection and the opportunity to participate both locally and more broadly in actions that support and protect disproportionately impacted communities. In celebration of Dr. King, consider reading his “I Have a Dream Speech†or listening . . .
Posted in Children, Environmental Justice, Farmworkers, Holidays, Indigenous People, Occupational Health, Pesticide Drift, Reflection, Take Action by: Beyond Pesticides
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15
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 15, 2026) “Birds and bats consumed over 87 rice pest species in West African lowland rice fields,†according to a recent study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. The authors continue, “Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining and managing a diverse community of bats and birds for network resilience.†In this context, the research distinguishes the “predator-prey†as established through the ecological balance of diverse organisms in nature from a “predator-pest†orientation that views some organisms as unwanted and targets for control and more subject to human manipulation.  The authors describe the predator-pest network as a means to quantify the “ecosystem services†impact, with the researchers noting that they “investigated the role of predator and prey species in the predator–prey network and compared those roles with that of the predator–pest network, to further explore their potential as pest suppressors.†Communities across the United States and globally are looking for opportunities to transition to alternative pest management strategies given decades-long increasing reliance on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which contribute significantly to looming existential crises of biodiversity collapse, public health decline, and planetary instability of ecosystems, climate, and geopolitics. As . . .
Posted in Agriculture, Bats, Biodiversity, Birds, Integrated and Organic Pest Management, International, Pests, Uncategorized by: Beyond Pesticides
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