A recent investigation by the environmental organization Greenpeace uncovered unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers which show that their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels. Senior scientists are now calling for the companies to stop hiding the results of their tests. [1]
It took years of begging and pleading, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally agreed in February to start testing for glyphosate in food. The agency announced just a few days ago that U.S. honey samples tested positive for the chemical, which is an ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. [1]
Many cities around the world are afflicted with air pollution, leading to an early death for as many as 200,000 people each yeah in the U.S. alone. Now, there’s even more of a reason to be concerned. According to a recent study, toxic nanoparticles have been found in “abundance” in human brain tissue.
A development in East Chicago, Indiana has been confirmed to have toxic lead levels up to 30 times what is considered safe. This is especially devastating for the families who live there, as high lead levels are known to decrease children’s IQs as well as contribute to further developmental issues that may affect them for the rest of their lives. [1]
McDonald’s has been in the news a lot this month, thanks to big changes the fast-food company is making to several of its menu offerings.
The company began making these changes more than a year ago, when it replaced margarine with real butter in its Egg McMuffins, and added kale and spinach to the iceberg lettuce in its salads. (Those kale salads wound up being higher in calories than McDonald’s famous Big Macs, though.) [1]
Soybean fields in parts of Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee are plagued by “superweeds” that have become resistant to glyphosate, the main ingredient in biotech company’s Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide. Farmers are now dousing the plants with illegal chemicals to try and kill the rogue weeds.
Taiwan has recalled Quaker Oats after a random inspection by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected glyphosate in amounts exceeding the nation’s legal limits in 10 out of 36 products.
It has been a rough month for Quaker Oats. The company has been under intense public scrutiny since trace amounts of glyphosate, the toxic ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, was detected in its products. A class action was filed in early May over the discovery by consumers who allege Quaker Oats’ “100% natural” label constitutes false advertising.
On Tuesday, the House overwhelmingly approved new chemical safety rules intended to overhaul a law created 40 years ago governing toxic chemicals. The measure will for the first time subject some 64,000 chemicals to regulation.
The bill, which was passed 403 to 12, is expected to be passed by the Senate as soon as this week, and signed into law by President Obama.
A strange birth defect is on the rise in the United States, and scientists are at a loss to explain it.
Gastroschisis is a birth defect that causes a baby’s intestines to protrude outside of his/her body, through a hole in the abdominal wall beside the belly button. Sometimes this hole is very small, but it can also be quite large, and other organs such as the stomach and liver can extend from the baby’s body.
In the wake of the Flint water crisis, two more deaths from Legionnaires’ disease have been confirmed, bringing the total up from 10 to 12. In 2014 and 2015, the state found 91 cases of this illness. It is believed that at least half of the cases are associated with the recent water crisis, though at this time they are still uncertain. [1] [2]
Eden Wells, M.D., Chief Medical Executive with the MDHHS, said:
