Environmental Working Group
‘Ignore the subsidy lobby,’ says EWG in review of farm economy
"There's a lot of doom and gloom in the air about the state of the farm economy," says a report by the Environmental Working Group, and much of it is a campaign for larger crop subsidies. "The farm subsidy lobby has been working overtime to sue what it calls a 'farm crisis' to deflect well-deserved criticism of the fatally flawed federal subsidy program that they're desperate to protect."
Strawberries top EWG’s ‘Dirty Dozen’
If there’s one fruit to be wary of its conventional strawberries, says the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which put the fruit at the top of its annual "Dirty Dozen" ranking.
Buffer strips should be mandatory, says EWG
Landowners should be required to keep a 50-foot-wide buffer strip of permanent vegetation between cropland and waterways, said the Environmental Working Group, which proposed four "basic standards of care" to control agricultural runoff.
House bill expected this week to pre-empt state GMO labels
Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo is expected to file a new version this week of his bill to pre-empt state laws that require labels on food made with genetically modified organisms, according to reports by Agri-Pulse and Politico. The bill would include language allowing the USDA to certify foods to be sold with a non-GMO label. Food companies that use the non-GMO label "would be barred from suggesting 'either expressly or by implication' that their products are safer than biotech versions," says Agri-Pulse.
Widely used herbicide glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic”
The herbicide glyphosate, widely used in U.S. crop production, especially for genetically engineered corn and soybeans, is "probably carcinogenic to humans," says the specialized cancer agency of the UN World Health Organization. The herbicide is known under the brand name RoundUp in the United States. The International Agency for Research on Cancer reviewed glyphosate and four other organophosates on the recommendation of an advisory committee that dozens of pesticides should be examined because...
Bitter battle over listing “added sugars” on food packages
Foodmakers are in "a lobbying frenzy" over the administration's proposal to have the Nutrition Facts label on food packages include how much sugar was added during processing, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Deficit hawks join Flake in pushing for crop insurance reform
A dozen conservative groups and the Environmental Working Group are backing proposals in Congress to eliminate premium subsidies for the Harvest Price Option in crop insurance.
Buffer strips would help Iowa curb nutrient runoff – EWG
If Iowa farmers plant buffer strips alongside waterways, they "could get two-thirds of the way to the state’s goal for reducing phosphorus pollution and one-fifth of the way to the nitrogen pollution target," says a report by the Environmental Working Group.
Vermont GMO labeling contest comes to national stage
Assistant House Majority Leader Kate Webb, a sponsor of Vermont's GMO food labeling law, is scheduled to testify at a House subcommittee hearing on federal regulation of the foods on Wednesday.
Green group names “dirty dozen” food additives
The Environmental Working Group said its newly released report, "EWG's Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives," shows the need for better government oversight of the food system.
EWG releases food scorecard, foodmakers call it misleading
The Environmental Working Group unveiled its Food Scores database that rates 80,000 foods on a scale of 1 to 10 based on nutrition, ingredients and how much processing it received.
EPA approves Dow weedkiller combo of 2,4-D and glyphosate
The EPA cleared the Dow weedkiller Enlist Duo, which contains the herbicides glyphosate and 2,4-D, for use on genetically engineered corn and soybean in six Farm Belt states. "This action provides an additional tool for the agricultural community to manage resistant weeds," it said. EPA will decide later whether to register the weedkiller for use in the rest of the major corn and soybean states. On Sept 17, USDA approved the GE corn and soybean strains created by Dow to tolerate the herbicide.
Soil-savings from GE crops is a myth, says green group
Genetically engineered crops get undue credit for reducing soil losses on cropland, says the Environmental Working Group. In a three-page analysis, EWG says the credit really should go to so-called conservation compliance and the Conservation...
Food and ag industry triples spending on GMO lobbying
The food industry and agribusiness allies that oppose labeling of GMO foods spent $27.5 million in the first half of this year on lobbying that involved labeling, triple the amount they spent last year, says the Environmental Working Group. "The burst of lobbying by food and biotechnology companies was partly designed to muster Congressional support for legislation that would block states from requiring GE labeling on food packages," said EWG, known for its database of farm subsidy recipients.
Gully-washing storms erode Iowa’s topsoil
Some 15 million tons of Iowa's topsoil washed into waterways from Iowa fields in the first half of this year, says the Environmental Working Group in a report that calls for more erosion-prevention work.
A lower ethanol mandate is better, says EWG
In a report titled "Ethanol's Broken Promise," the Environmental Working Group says the scaled-back ethanol mandate proposed by EPA "would lower U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 3 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2e) – as much as taking 580,000 cars off the road for a year." EWG says its figures take into account the effect of bringing more land into crop production.
EWG finds 10 lbs of sugar a year in children’s cereal
Children's cereals contain so much sugar that "someone eating an average serving...would consume more than 10 pounds of sugar a year from that source alone," says the Environmental Working Group in a new report. Two-thirds of the cereals aimed at children contain enough the equivalent of one-third of the recommended daily amount of sugar.
Green group says apple pesticide needs more safety work
The Environmental Working Group asked the government to "launch a new investigation to determine whether the use of diphenylamine, or DPA, is safe for U.S. consumer," said Food Safety News.
Fungicides are leading culprit in new Dirty Dozen report
Four of the five most frequently detected chemicals on fruit and vegetables in the Environmental Working Group's annual Dirty Dozen list are fungicides linked to endocrine disruption and reproductive system damage in humans.