Earlier this year, scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences tested nine pesticides previously untested for their anti-androgenic effects. Androgens are male-characteristic hormones, and anti-androgenic substances keep the body from producing or using these hormones. The study, done in conjunction with the Centre for Toxicology at the School of London, was initiated because "ev ...

In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was supposed to release its annual findings for the tests it does on pesticide use in fruits and vegetables. Four months later, those findings have still not been released. The Environmental Working Group, which publishes its annual EWG Shopper's Guide to Pesticides, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all of USDA’s recent communications with pro ...

Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers have committed suicide in the last ten years. Contemporary, westernized farming practices require poor farmers to take out loans for expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and to dig wells for the additional water necessary. When the wells dry up and crops fail, many farmers have taken their lives out of desperation. (Perhaps not coincidentally, a study conduc ...

In a blatant public relations move, Monsanto Fund, the "philanthropic" arm of Monsanto, has begun a campaign to help fund rural public schools. "Education is the cornerstone of any successful community, yet school districts nationwide are facing tough budget choices," says Monsanto Fund president Deborah Patterson in a video on the program's website. True. And Monsanto appears to be taking full advantage, s ...

In 2007, Indiana researchers reported in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery that high levels of atrazine were linked to the state's equally high number of birth defects, particularly gastroschisis. The research used data from the Centers for Disease Control and the Indiana State Department of Health. Gastroschisis is a birth defect in which the infant is born with some or all of its intestines protruding thro ...

By Donna Morin Miller Twenty-three-year old Sarah Carter, of New Zealand, was enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime kind of holiday with two girlfriends. Tragically, she never made it back home. All three young women were guests in a Chiang Mai hotel in Thailand. They awoke the morning after their stay with sore stomachs and soon began to vomit. The symptoms became so bad they were hospitalized later in the day. Sa ...

Trying to follow in the footsteps of the states of Connecticut and New York, which have enacted legislation to eliminate pesticides from schoolgrounds, legislators in Maine are trying to pass LD 837, "An Act to Protect Children's Health and Promote Safe Schools and Day Care Centers by Limiting the Use of Pesticides." The bill did not gain committee support, but can still be brought to the open floor of the ...

Although organophosphates, like malthion, have been banned for residential use by the EPA since 2001, they are still very present in conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables, and are often used to control pests in public places. They work by irreversibly blocking an enzyme that's critical to nerve function, and can be absorbed through the lungs, skin, or through food consumption. IATP's Wallinga comments ...

Studies show correlation between babies born in spring and higher rates of autism, birth defects. Children conceived in March more likely to have autism, researchers say May 9, 2011 | Christina Jewett CALIFORNIA WATCH Researchers from UC Davis determined that California babies conceived in March had a significantly higher rate of autism, perhaps adding to a body of research that links spring and summer pest ...

This quote from Andy Igrejas, director of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition, caught our attention on-line yesterday: "We can now add the well-researched and trusted voice of the nation's pediatricians to those calling for reform of the U.S. chemical law. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that a new law must prioritize children's health by protecting children and their familie ...