Pesticides

LAMONT, CA - AUGUST 12: Farm workers spray chemicals at the edge of a field bordering homes on August 12, 2004 near the town of Lamont, southeast of Bakersfield, California. California's Central Valley is one of the nation's most important agricultural and oil producing areas. Mass food production has brought heavy use of chemicals, including pesticides that have sickened hundreds of area workers and residents. In 2002, the last year for which numbers are available, 172 million pounds of pesticides were used on California fields sickening 478 people as airborne chemicals drifted 39 times, according to the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. On May 2, a crew of 100 workers was caught in a drift of pesticide at nearby Arvin that made 19 of them sick, including a woman who was five months pregnant. This spring, state Sen. Dean Florez introduced a bill, the Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, to help pay for field workers' medical care. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

EPA Approves Four New Pesticides That Qualify as PFAS

September 8, 2025

Despite MAHA promises to reduce chemical exposures, experts warn the Trump administration is approving a wave of ‘frightening’ pesticides.

What Bees Can Teach Us About Survival and Well-being

By Elena Valeriote

July 21, 2025

Trump Cuts Threaten Federal Bee Research

By Sarah Trent

July 2, 2025

Bee researchers worry that federal funding cuts jeopardize monitoring of these critical pollinators.

Honey Bees Learn to Fight Deadly Varroa Mites

By Jordan Charbonneau

June 11, 2025

Op-ed: Why Most No-Till Agriculture Is Not Actually Regenerative

By Nate Powell-Palm

May 8, 2025

Farmers hands harvesting organic dandelion greens cutting base of stems

Proposal Could Threaten Endangered Species’ Survival in Farm Country

By Brian Calvert

May 7, 2025

A monarch butterfly on tropical milkweed. (Photo credit: Sue Zellers, Getty Images)

Bayer’s Effort to Block Roundup Lawsuits Kicks Into High Gear

By Lisa Held

April 8, 2025

A large group of people hold signs protesting a bill that would stop people from suing Bayer, a maker of pesticides, inside a chamber

Is There Enough Evidence of Health Risks for the EPA to Ban Paraquat?

By Virginia Gewin

February 12, 2025

Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: skyhobo/Getty Images)

Why Are Pesticide Companies Fighting State Laws to Address PFAS?

By Lisa Held

December 18, 2024

An overhead photo of a diversified vegetable farm in Fallston, Maryland, with hazardous chemical symbols appearing between the rows of crops. (Civil Eats illustration; photo credit: Edwin Remsberg, Getty Images)

Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need

By Lisa Held

October 30, 2024

a farmer walks among the rows of corn in his cornfield; in the background, chemical hazard warning symbols appear on the horizon and fade into the distance.

A New Book Dives Deep Into the Climate and Health Impacts of Gas Stoves

By Lisa Held

August 14, 2024

Rob Jackson and the cover of his book, Into the Clear Blue Sky

Study Finds ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Increasingly Common in Pesticides

By Lisa Held

July 24, 2024

Are Companies Using Carbon Markets to Sell More Pesticides?

By Lisa Held

July 9, 2024

a tractor sprays pesticides on a field while hazard symbols fade into the distance. (Civil Eats illustration)

Op-ed: Neonicotinoid Pesticides Keep Killing Pollinators. Here’s How We Can Help.

By Elizabeth Hilborn

June 11, 2024

Two bees pictured on an apple tree on a farm in Watsonville, California.

Changing How We Farm Might Protect Wild Mammals—and Fight Climate Change

By Ruscena Wiederholt

May 6, 2024

A red fox in a Connecticut farm field. (Photo credit: Robert Winkler, Getty Images)

Inside Bayer’s State-by-State Efforts to Stop Pesticide Lawsuits

By Lisa Held

March 27, 2024

a farmer walks in a cornfield early in the season; superimposed over the picture is the text of the Iowa bill that would prevent anyone from suing chemical companies over harms from pesticides

Chemical Capture: The Power and Impact of the Pesticide Industry

By Lisa Held

March 27, 2024

Can Taller Cover Crops Help Clean the Water in Farm Country?

By Brian DeVore

February 27, 2024

Alan Bedtka was paid to plant sorghum-sudangrass to develop organic matter in his soil and reduce his fertilizer use.

WIC Shortfall Could Leave 2 Million Women And Children Hungry

By Grey Moran

January 24, 2024

Congress Could Roll Back Pesticide Protections in the Farm Bill

By Lisa Held

November 7, 2023

Aerial view of tractor spraying fertilizer on plants in agricultural field, California, USA.

The EPA Ignored the Endangered Species Act for 50 Years. That’s Changing, But Is Time Running Out?

By Lisa Held

August 22, 2023

On a foggy morning in a farm field this bird hopes to snag crawling or swimming for a tasty breakfast.

As the Salton Sea Shrinks, Agriculture’s Legacy Turns to Dust

By Virginia Gewin

July 17, 2023

Salton Sea area of Imperial County, California, with farmland and the farm towns of Niland, Brawley, Westmorland, and others. (Photo credit: Raquel Lonas, Getty Images)

The USDA Plan to Better Measure Agriculture’s Impact on the Climate Crisis

By Lisa Held

July 12, 2023

Educator Shane New displays healthy soil at CS Ranch during the Soil Health Academy, which teaches regenerative agriculture techniques, in Cimarron, New Mexico. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Pesticide-Coated Seeds Are the Focus of a New Push for EPA Regulations

By Lisa Held

June 7, 2023

A farmer plants corn on a farm near Dwight, Illinois (Photo credit: Scott Olson, Getty Images)

Unchecked Poultry Farming in North Carolina Violates Civil Rights, Residents Say

By Lisa Held

May 3, 2023

A chicken farm viewed from above in the morning.

Pesticides

EPA Approves Four New Pesticides That Qualify as PFAS

What Bees Can Teach Us About Survival and Well-being

Trump Cuts Threaten Federal Bee Research

Honey Bees Learn to Fight Deadly Varroa Mites

Op-ed: Why Most No-Till Agriculture Is Not Actually Regenerative

We’ll bring the news to you.

Proposal Could Threaten Endangered Species’ Survival in Farm Country

Bayer’s Effort to Block Roundup Lawsuits Kicks Into High Gear

Is There Enough Evidence of Health Risks for the EPA to Ban Paraquat?

Why Are Pesticide Companies Fighting State Laws to Address PFAS?

Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need

A New Book Dives Deep Into the Climate and Health Impacts of Gas Stoves

Study Finds ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Increasingly Common in Pesticides

Are Companies Using Carbon Markets to Sell More Pesticides?

Op-ed: Neonicotinoid Pesticides Keep Killing Pollinators. Here’s How We Can Help.

Changing How We Farm Might Protect Wild Mammals—and Fight Climate Change

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Inside Bayer’s State-by-State Efforts to Stop Pesticide Lawsuits

Chemical Capture: The Power and Impact of the Pesticide Industry

Can Taller Cover Crops Help Clean the Water in Farm Country?

WIC Shortfall Could Leave 2 Million Women And Children Hungry

Congress Could Roll Back Pesticide Protections in the Farm Bill

The EPA Ignored the Endangered Species Act for 50 Years. That’s Changing, But Is Time Running Out?

As the Salton Sea Shrinks, Agriculture’s Legacy Turns to Dust

The USDA Plan to Better Measure Agriculture’s Impact on the Climate Crisis

Pesticide-Coated Seeds Are the Focus of a New Push for EPA Regulations

Unchecked Poultry Farming in North Carolina Violates Civil Rights, Residents Say