(Beyond Pesticides, May 6, 2026) Adding to the wide body of science highlighting the adverse effects of pesticides on pollinators, as extensively documented in Daily News and What the Science Shows on Biodiversity, a study published in Insects finds threats to Italian honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica) following exposure to insecticides with contrasting toxicity levels. Both the high toxicity and low toxicity compounds impact honey bee gut bacteria and gut microbial composition, showing how even “reduced risk” insecticides can have sublethal effects and jeopardize pollinator health. As the authors point out, “Honey bees depend on a small but highly specialized community of gut bacteria that help them digest food, resist infections, and cope with environmental stress.” Because of this, chemicals that disrupt the honey bee gut microbiome can threaten their survival. In the current study, the researchers analyze two compounds to determine adverse impacts on honey bees’ gut microbiota: emamectin benzoate-lufenuron (EB-LFR), an avermectin insecticide with high toxicity, and RH-5849 (1,2-dibenzoyl-1-tert-butylhydrazine), a non-steroidal ecdysone agonist (mimicking the action of the insect molting hormone) and insect growth regulator with reported lower toxicity. The results reveal that both toxicity levels can harm gut microbial composition, with EB-LFR “associated with observed reductions in […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 30, 2026) On April 27, 2026, advocates—including Beyond Pesticides—from across the political spectrum came together in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to speak out against the chemical industry campaign, led by Bayer/Monsanto, the Trump administration, and Republican lawmakers, to shield chemical manufacturers from liability for failing to warn people who have been harmed by their pesticides. Their multi-pronged strategy targets the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Congress, and state legislatures. The question of the public’s right to sue chemical manufacturers that do not warn of product hazards was heard before the Supreme Court, as Monsanto argued that people who have been diagnosed with cancer after using the weed killer glyphosate should be prohibited from suing the company for failing to warn on the product label. The chemical manufacturer argued in Monsanto v. Durnell that federal registration of a pesticide preempts legal rights afforded to people under state law under U.S. federalism. The chemical industry is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse decades of jurisprudence and shield manufacturers from liability associated with those who are harmed but not warned about pesticide adverse effects like cancer, neurological or immunological conditions, reproductive dysfunction, and other chronic illnesses. Highlighted Quotes […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 24, 2026) In a review of scientific literature documenting pesticide contamination in the atmosphere, international researchers find human and ecosystem exposure even in remote and distant areas. As published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the authors state: “Atmospheric transport of pesticides is a globally significant yet widely underestimated driver of human and ecological exposure, with contamination documented far beyond treated fields. This review provides a novel integrated synthesis, bridging emission pathways, atmospheric transformation processes, monitoring evidence, model limitations, and regulatory gaps to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the fate and impacts of pesticides in the atmosphere.” In analyzing the current knowledge on pesticide emissions, through both drift and volatilization (process where a solid or liquid converts into a gas or vapor), the researchers highlight “the widespread detection of both current-use and banned pesticides in environmental matrices far from their application,” along with the resulting implications for human health and environmental health. As the current risk assessment framework “fails to adequately address the perturbations caused by the atmospheric transport of pesticides,” the urgent need to transition away from chemical-intensive practices grows stronger. Background While this review highlights regulatory gaps in the European Union (EU), the cited scientific […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 23, 2026) “Fully organic growers face fewer agronomic challenges as compared to mixed growers,” according to a recent analysis published in Agricultural Systems by researchers at the University of California. The authors cite a slowing growth rate for organic certification and new organic farms, despite an increase in consumer demand. A 2025 Organic Trade Association (OTA) report shows organic market product sales at $76.6 billion with an annual growth rate of 6.8 percent—double that of the non-organic marketplace (3.4 percent). On the eve of the 2026 National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) spring meeting to review organic standards and update the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, public health and environmental advocates, and members of the broader regenerative organic movement, will gather. The Board convenes twice a year to vote on key issues that are under review and have been subject to public hearings and comments, intended to ensure organic integrity and expansion. Methodology and Results The researchers combined quantitative and qualitative data from a survey and a set of interviews, respectively, with organic farmers in the state of California. For the survey, 426 certified organic farmers in California responded to questions asking “growers to report on […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 20, 2026) Earth Day, this week on Wednesday, April 22, is a day of education and action. Earth Day embodies the power of people in their communities engaging to advance changes in policies and practices that meet the environmental and public health challenges of the day. This year, 2026, may be a turning point in which public outrage about the failure of the current political leadership in Congress and in the Trump administration to address the existential health, biodiversity, and climate crises is deemed politically unacceptable. Animating public concern are elected officials who call the climate crisis a hoax and dismiss the health and environmental threat associated with the weed killer glyphosate (Roundup)—as representative of the deregulation of pesticides associated with cancer and other deadly diseases. The words of the chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee of Health and the Environment, Representative Paul Rogers (D-FL), express in the importance of grassroots action that elevated Earth Day. In a piece in the EPA Journal, Rep. Rogers wrote the following: “Historians of the environmental movement are likely to peg Earth Day 1970 as a key turning point in the American public’s consciousness about environmental problems. I believe […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 16, 2026) A study of organic tomato agroecosystems with managed and wild bees, published in Apidologie, affirms the importance of protecting natural systems to support organisms that contribute to crop productivity. The study finds that the strategy of introducing social bees, even those native to other nearby areas, to enhance pollination in open-field conditions provides no direct benefits to the crops that are better served by wild bees. In evaluating the addition of Melipona quadrifasciata stingless bees, not native to the study site, for assisted pollination of tomato plants cultivated in open organic fields, the researchers note that “the presence of M. quadrifasciata hives did not influence fruit quality, indicating that wild bees primarily drove pollination benefits.” This research, in assessing both wild and managed bees in organic tomato agroecosystems, supports previous scientific literature showing that promoting naturally occurring pollinators is the most sustainable and cost-effective strategy for ensuring pollination services. “This finding underscores the importance of conserving and promoting wild pollinator diversity in organic agroecosystems, as they play a critical role in sustaining pollination services,” the researchers affirm. They also say, “By offering a diverse range of floral shapes, colours, traits, and sizes, non-crop plants support […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 13, 2026) There are numerous provisions—a package of provisions—in the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee Farm Bill, voted out on March 5, that seriously undermine protections of health and the environment from pesticides, according to public health and environmental advocates. In response, Beyond Pesticides and allies are calling on U.S. Representatives and Senators to reject the Farm Bill as passed out of the House Agriculture Committee and, instead, pass a one-year extension of current law to protect health and the environment. The Committee Farm Bill contains provisions that advocates and members of Congress call “poison pills” because any one of them is so far-reaching that they make the entire measure unacceptable. The package of amendments covers critical areas of protection that have been established over decades of Congressional action. While groups have called for major reforms, Beyond Pesticides, in an action recently released,  says, “Existing pesticide law forms the foundation on which improvements should be made, not backsliding to give the chemical industry free rein.” At stake, according to the group, are core safeguards that are seen as critical to the health of farmers, consumers and the environment—judicial review of chemical manufacturers’ failure to warn about pesticide […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 7, 2026) In the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, a study of gestational (during pregnancy) exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid shows epigenetic effects (alterations in genes without altering underlying DNA) within prostate tissues. To analyze the role of gene expression in subsequent generations after initial thiacloprid exposure, the authors exposed pregnant outbred Swiss mice to the insecticide in order to assess the offspring for multiple generations. As a result, the researchers from the Université de Rennes in France state, “Our study revealed that exposure to thiacloprid induces [cell] proliferation and is associated with epigenetic alterations in the sperm of genes important for prostate development.” Increased cell proliferation in the prostate can cause the development of conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), and lead to prostate cancer. The study also finds elevated levels of specific biomarkers within the prostates of both the first and third generations, including phosphorylated histone H3, a marker crucial for cell division. Hox gene expression in both generations was also impacted, which plays a role in prostate development, based on the altered DNA methylation (abnormal changes) in the sperm of the analyzed mice. “In this study, we […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2026) A statement decrying chemical company secrecy was released today by over 200 grassroots, health, farm, farmworker, environmental, and consumer groups, socially responsible corporations, over 340 citizens from 46 states, and international partners. The statement, released before the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow reaches the final deadline for submission of amicus briefs in a case in which Bayer/Monsanto argues, with support of the Trump administration, that it should not be required to disclose on its product labels the potential hazards of its pesticide products. Oral arguments in the case will be heard on April 27, with a decision anticipated in June. Decades of law have upheld the legal argument that chemical companies are liable for their failure to warn users of their pesticides about the harm that they could cause. Bayer/Monsanto is attempting to reverse years of case law and billions of dollars in jury verdicts and future cases in which the company has been held liable for causing cancer but not warning product users. See statement, Stop Chemical Company Secrecy of Pesticide Product Hazards. Chemical Industry State Campaign The chemical industry last year launched a multi-pronged campaign to establish immunity from litigation by those who have […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 24, 2026) Published in Environmental Pollution, study results in the floriculture region of Ecuador find detections of neonicotinoid insecticides (NNI) and the herbicide atrazine in drinking and irrigation water. The biomonitoring data reported in an earlier journal article in the same region found a total of 23 compounds used as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, their associated metabolites (breakdown products), which include organophosphates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids. (See Daily News here.) Researchers from the University of Iowa, University of California, San Diego State University, and Universidad de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador, determined that 1 in 5 households (20.5%) have detectable levels of one or more neonicotinoids in drinking water samples surrounding floricultural agricultural operations. This builds on previous research underscoring the nontarget pesticidal effects in communities near agricultural operations where the chemicals drift through the air and move into soil and water. Methodology and Results The authors report that, “This study focused on household tap water in proximity to floricultural plantations and in the ESPINA [Secondary Exposures to Pesticides among Children and Adolescents] participants’ homes with a range of NNI and total pesticides in urinary metabolite samples of the children.” They continue: “Participant households in the water study were […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 18, 2026) Researchers in Germany and Brazil investigated the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes in organic and non-organic areas in “bee hotels,” finding that there is a positive correlation between organically managed fields and numerous indicators of improved pollinator health, including an “increase in bee abundance, species richness, and diversity.” This study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, builds on the breadth of existing research in recent years that underscores the adverse public health and biodiversity effects associated with a food system that is drenched in synthetic chemicals, as well as additional evidence of the ecological and economic benefits of organic agriculture. Methodology and Results Research for this study “was conducted at 17 sites in the southern part of Germany, Baden-Württemberg, including eight conventional and nine organic farming systems.” Researchers for this study are based at the Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics at Ulm University in Germany and the Laboratory for Bee Studies at the Federal University of Maranhão in São Luís, Maranhão in Brazil. The authors signed a “declaration of competing interest,” stipulating that “that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 17, 2026) An article in Microorganisms by researchers from the U.S., Israel, and Australia analyzes the adverse health and environmental effects of genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), specifically genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs). As the authors state, the prevalence of genetic engineering has “accelerated the creation and large-scale environmental release” of GMMs, which “present unique, long-term risks to human and environmental health.” One of the authors, André Leu, DSc, spoke at the first session of Beyond Pesticides’ National Forum Series: Forging a Future with Nature in 2023. (See recording here.) This review provides risk scenarios of GMMs, showing the threat to ecological systems, particularly within the soil, and human health. As GMMs are “biologically active, self-replicating entities capable of rapid mutation and global dispersal” they present greater risks, and current regulatory frameworks do not adequately assess their potential harm. Genetically altering microorganisms, the most complex and diverse systems in biology, and creating new gene combinations with unknown implications, “has the potential to disrupt the functions, diversity, interactions, and impacts of microbes and microbiomes,” the researchers note. They continue: “This puts human and environmental health at risk. Worst-case scenarios include the promotion of diseases, risks to species […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 16, 2026) On the brink of the first genetically engineered (GE) wheat to be introduced into the U.S. market, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved it in August, 2024, groups are calling on Congress to instruct USDA to prohibit HB4 wheat and instruct EPA to prohibit the use of glufosinate herbicides on wheat. The herbicide on which the crop is dependent, glufosinate, is a highly toxic herbicide banned in the European Union because of its links to reproductive and developmental harm. The drought- and herbicide-tolerant wheat, known as HB4 GMO wheat, follows a long line of genetically engineered crops that have been allowed to be grown in the U.S., with Roundup ReadyTM (glyphosate-tolerant) soybeans being among the first crops allowed in 1996. While the introduction of this technology promised to reduce pesticide use (herbicides are included under the definition of pesticide), the exact opposite occurred, with the skyrocketing of herbicide use. (See Daily News review of a study by Charles Benbrook, PhD, “Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the U.S.—the first sixteen years.”) The extraordinary increase in herbicide use associated with GE crops has been accompanied by an escalating increase in weed resistance […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 13, 2026) In a press release on March 10, 2026, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) cites independent test data on the herbicide indaziflam with detections of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the “forever chemicals” known for significant toxicity at low level exposure and high persistence. The product, Rejuvra™, is produced by Envu (a former division of Bayer) and “is being sprayed and considered for use across millions of acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service land.” Scientific literature connects indaziflam and PFAS with adverse effects to human, soil, and biodiversity health, raising serious concerns about their wide use in agriculture and general land management of lawns, parks, playing fields, ornamentals, fence lines, rights-of-way, rangeland, open space, and Christmas trees. Background As a pre-emergent weed killer used to kill annual grasses and unwanted broadleaf plants, the fluoroalkyltriazine herbicide is broadly labeled for use in residential areas, commercial ornamental and sod production, forestry, and mostly orchard crops. While indaziflam is considered a “selective” herbicide, it actually kills and prevents germination of a wide range of broad-leaved plants and grasses and comes close to being a soil sterilant.  Since the chemical is subject to drift […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 6, 2026) The Farm Bill—the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, H.R. 7567—reported out of the Agriculture Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday strips environmental and public health protections from pesticides, reversing over 90 years of environmental laws adopted by Congress to protect farmers, consumers, and the environment that stretch back to the first Farm Bill in 1933. The Committee rejected the Protect Our Health Amendment, sponsored by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), which would have ensured that the final bill maintain three core safeguards in current law: (i) Judicial review of chemical manufacturers‘ failure to warn about pesticide hazards; (ii) Democratic right of local governments in coordination with states to protect residents from pesticide use; and, (iii) Local site-specific action to ensure protection—the safety of air, water, and land from pesticides under numerous environmental statutes. All Republicans and one Democrat (Rep. Adam Gray, D-CA) on the Committee blocked the Pingree amendment. The Agriculture Committee bill adversely affects a wide range of social and conservation issues, including the protection of family farms, food security, environmental and public health, local and state authority, and judicial review, according to a cross-section of groups representing these interests. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 2, 2026) In advance of deliberations on the Farm Bill tomorrow, March 3, in the Agriculture Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, opposition to the GOP-proposed legislation has been widely expressed by farm, environmental, consumer, and social justice organizations. The bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, H.R. 7567, is a dramatic departure from previous Farm Bills going back to the first one in 1933, which began a process of integrated policy to address family farmers’ sustainability, land conservation, energy, climate, and food security. Discarding the traditional bipartisan process used to draft the Farm Bill, the Republican leadership has instead proposed a measure that has garnered across-the-board disapproval, except from those representing the vested interests of chemical companies and agribusiness. In order to uphold fundamental protections from pesticides for farmers, consumers, and the environment, a campaign has emerged to urge U.S. Representatives to support Rep. Pingree’s Protect Our Health Amendment (removes Sections 10205-10207), move to strike Sections 10201-10204 and 102011, and support the No Immunity for Glyphosate Act provisions. Without a comprehensive overhaul, this campaign is urging a vote against the Farm Bill. Central to the GOP Farm Bill, released by the chair of the U.S. House Agriculture […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 23, 2026) Amid polarization in the U.S. Congress, key legal protections from pesticides will be revoked with passage of the GOP Farm Bill being debated March 3 in the House Agriculture Committee, despite a growing body of science that shows farmers, consumers, and the environment are facing escalating health and safety threats. In this context, grassroots efforts are underway asking Congressional representative to advocate for the removal of Farm Bill, Title X, Subtitle C, Part 1, which contains attacks on foundational protections from pesticides for farmers, consumers, and the environment—and vote against the Farm Bill if those provisions are not removed. As provisions in the GOP Farm Bill (Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, H.R. 7567) that slash protections from pesticides go to a vote in the Agriculture Committee, health and environmental advocates are calling for committee members to remove the weakening section—Section X, Subtitle C, Part 1, on “Regulatory Reform.” At a time when documented adverse effects from pesticide exposure are skyrocketing and sustainable practices have become widely available, the bill is being characterized as a wish-list for the chemical industry. Recent studies demonstrating connections between prenatal and postnatal exposure to pesticides and severe consequences […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 20, 2026) As pesticides’ adverse effects on human and ecosystem health stack up in the scientific literature, health and environmental groups are focused on striking an entire section of the Republican Farm Bill that will eliminate protections, which have been written into law for generations. The section is Section X, Subtitle C, Part 1 on “Regulatory Reform.” Threatened are policies intended to protect against the diseases and illnesses touching families and communities, including brain and nervous system disorders, birth abnormalities, cancer, developmental and learning disorders, immune and endocrine disruption, reproductive dysfunction, among others. Wildlife, including mammals, bees and other pollinators, fish and other aquatic organisms, birds, and the biota within soil, are adversely affected with reproductive, neurological, endocrine-disruptive, and developmental anomalies, and cancers. (See Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database.) With the urgent threat of a markup of the legislation scheduled to begin on March 3, attention shifted to a newly released Executive Order (EO) that could provide blanket legal protection for the manufacturer of the weed killer glyphosate, Bayer/Monsanto. By activating the Defense Production Act of 1950 and its immunity from lawsuits provision for glyphosate manufacturers, the administration could mandate production of glyphosate as a “national security” concern and provide […]

(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 fields in the surroundings.” Background […]

(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 tetrachloride/disulfide. The median age of […]

(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 zones. An area was selected with an active […]

(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 hives heightens the toxicity risks to honey […]

(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 found: “There was no sample site where […]