Pesticides remain the 'elephant in the room' for Michael Gove, the environment secretary, and DEFRA. But until the issue is properly addressed the environmental crisis and fears for human health will only continue, argues GEORGINA DOWNS
Enough of the quick fixes, the sticking plasters that scarcely cover the wound. What farmers need now is help to get off the treadmill, and that requires a wholesale rethink of our food and farming systems - argues HELEN BROWNING
Newly developed pesticides, which could potentially replace neonicotinoid insecticides, may reduce the reproductive success of bumblebees, a study published in Nature has concluded. MARIANNE BROOKER reports
Trading standards have launched an investigation after Unearthed found illegal pesticides and weedkillers easily available to UK consumers. CRISPIN DOWLER reports
Neonicotinoid chemicals used as chemicals came under European Union restrictions five years ago - but our cities' bees are still being bombarded, writes BRENDAN MONTAGUE
Farmers are currently participating in what is likely to be one of the largest deployments of insecticides in United States history as the planting season for corn and soybeans draws to a close. Professor JOHN F TOOKER asks what impact this may have on the ecosystem
The government of Hawaii - once a defender of the GM corn industry - has passed a law that forces agro-chemical companies to disclose what pesticides they spray. It has also become the first US state to ban the chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to brain damage in babies. Christopher Pala reports
Bee-killing insecticides will face a near total ban in Europe following a vote by member states in favour of proposals by the European Commission. The UK government supported the ban, which it says it will maintain after Brexit. CATHERINE EARLY reports
Claims by pro-pesticide groups that pesticide use has halved in the UK since 1990 are 'misleading' since they do not reflect the higher toxicity of modern products, according to campaigners. CATHERINE EARLY investigates
New research suggests that we are heading for an "ecological Armageddon" that will affect all life on the planet, including humans. COLIN TODHUNTER investigates.
A planned nickel mine in Madagasca has led to numerous environmental problems, and whilst the mine continues to struggle the environmental concerns surrounding the project continue to grow. LAURENCE SOUSTRAS investigates.
Scientists have been debating the conclusions of a recently published research on insects that reportedly found alarming declines, reports CATHERINE EARLY.
The UN Committee on World Food Security in Rome has today launched a new report examining the impact of chemical intensive, industrial food system on human health. GEORGINA DOWNS responds.
Rural coffee farmers across southern Laos are sharing sustainable agricultural practices to protect both their land and health from chemical farming methods, reports ROBYN WILSON
Traces of 123 pesticides, including those linked to cancer, hormone disruption and damage to brain development, have been found in fresh produce supplied to primary school children through a government scheme aimed at promoting healthy eating habits. CATHERINE EARLY reports
Bees in Britain are looking enviously at their EU neighbours. The EU is set to extend a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides - but agri-chemical lobbyists have the ear of pro-Brexit Tories, argues Molly Scott Cato MEP. The member of the European Parliament’s Agricultural Committee responds to our report in The Ecologist on Friday about new corporate funded research confirming the threat to bees. She argues it is now time to redouble our efforts to protect our vital pollinators.
The threat posed to vital honeybee populations by neonicotinoid pesticides has long been a cause for serious concern. Now industry funded research proves that those concerns are well founded.
A 2001 study that showed that glyphosate caused cancer in mice was ignored by the EFSA after the unsubstantiated allegation of a former US-EPA official that the mice used in the study were suffering from a viral infection that might have given them cancer, writes Claire Robinson. The EFSA failed to properly investigate the allegation, which appears to originate in a document linked to Monsanto, maker of the world's top-selling herbicide, glyphosate-based Roundup.
Has Monsanto, dubbed the 'world's most evil corporation', turned a new leaf? It has taken the 'probably carcinogenic' glyphosate out of a new version of its market leading 'Roundup' herbicide, and replaced it with vinegar. The bad news is it's only available in Austria. That, and it may still contain toxic 'adjuvants' to increase its effectiveness.