glyphosate

Special agents from EPA's Criminal Investigation Division served federal search warrants on several locations in Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, New Madrid and Stoddard counties in southeastern Missouri, tied to complaints of crop damage from pesticide drift, said the Daily Dunklin Democrat. The EPA is investigating possible misuse of the herbicide dicamba.

The National Institutes of Health has given the International Agency for Research on Cancer more than $1.2 million so far this year, says Chairman Jason Chaffetz of the House Oversight Committee. In a letter to the NIH director, Chaffetz blasts the IARC, part of the World Health Organization, for "controversy, retractions and inconsistencies," using its rulings on glyphosate and red meat as examples.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer started a global debate by rating glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, as "probably carcinogenic to humans" while the EPA says its studies indicate it is "not likely to be carcinogenic to humans at doses relevant to human health." Harvest Public Media says the difference in view is partially explained by the way the agencies chose to evaluate the issue.

The EPA says its scientific advisory committee will meet later this year after it finds additional epidemiologists to serve on the panel during its review of glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world. The panel was scheduled to meet this week to assess the carcinogenic potential, if any, of the herbicide.

With the widespread adoption of genetically engineered crops — accounting for 94 percent of all soybeans and 93 percent of all corn in the U.S. in 2015 — the use of the herbicides rose, although insecticide use in corn declined, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

In Argentina, the use of glyphosate increased 1,000 percent between 1994 and 2010, as soybean farmers fought off resistant weeds, says the BBC. With large amounts of the herbicide still being applied to fields, some experts think that it may be responsible for a surge in health problems among rural residents.

Earlier this year, when France voted to not extend glyphosate’s EU license for 18 months, the decision was personal for President François Hollande, says Politico EU. Hollande essentially had to choose between siding with his best friend in government, Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll, and the mother of his four children, Energy and Environment Minister Ségolène Royal.

In a decision that removed a roadblock to adoption of a new genetically engineered soybean variety, the European Commission approved import of the Monsanto soybean that is resistant to two types of weedkillers, said Reuters. The soybean went on sale in the United States and Canada this year surrounded by questions about whether there was a market for it.

Government agencies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico can't say for sure whether the herbicides they spray on pubic lands to control invasive species are doing more harm than good, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Montana and their Canadian colleagues. The huge amount of herbicides applied by land managers every year—largely glyphosate (the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup)—may in fact prevent native species from germinating.

Under terms of a settlement, the Interior Department will rule by June 30, 2019, whether the monarch butterfly, which has suffered a huge drop in population, deserves protection under the Endangered Species Act, said two environmental groups. The groups say without help, the well-known orange-and-black insect is at risk of extinction.

The executive arm of the EU approved a short-term extension of European use of the weedkiller glyphosate while a safety study is completed. EU members are deadlocked over renewal of the license and without the intervention by the European Commission, the license would have expired today and started a six-month phase-out.

The European Commission, with one member for each of the EU nations, could meet as early as today to decide on a short-term extension of EU approval of use of glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, said Farmers Weekly, based in Britain. An EU appeals committee failed to reach as qualified majority — meaning support by 55 percent of EU members with 65 percent of the population — at the end of last week, with approval for the chemical to expire on Thursday.

EPA chief Gina McCarthy told lawmakers that the agency played no major role in the decision by the WHO's cancer agency to list glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, as probably carcinogenic to humans, said DTN. The House Science Committee has questioned the classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and whether the IARC is skewing EPA's current review of the herbicide.

The European Commission’s plan to temporarily extend the glyphosate sales license was thwarted Monday when France, Germany, and Italy abstained from voting on the proposal, leaving the commission short of the requisite population threshold for approval, reports the Wall Street Journal.