food

May 1, 2024

EPA action on nerve agent used in food applauded, but concerns persist

By Carey Gillam

A proposal by US regulators to issue a ban on most uses of a pesticide that acts as a nerve agent was applauded by health advocates this week, though some warned the proposal doesn’t go far enough.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal targets acephate, a widely used bug-killing chemical whose residues have been found in foods generally considered healthy, such as celery, green beans and tomatoes. The chemical is also found in drinking water.

The agency said it plans to end all uses of acephate on food because it had determined – after more than 50 years of use – that it cannot be certain that “no harm would result” from acephate exposure, particularly from acephate levels in drinking water.

Acephate is part of a class of nerve agent chemicals known as organophosphates that are popular with US farmers who use them to fight pests in their fields. But the chemicals have been linked to a range of adverse health effects, particularly in children, such as reduced IQ, attention deficit disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. Acephate, long banned in the European Union, has also been linked to cancer among other health problems.

“We are applauding this. It is long overdue,” said Patti Goldman, a lawyer with Earthjustice, one of several health and environmental advocacy organizations that have pushed the EPA for year to take action on acephate and other organophosphates. “We are really pleased that EPA is proposing to ban all food uses.”

Earthjustice, along with several other health, civil rights, farmworker, and learning disability groups, filed a petition in 2011 calling on the EPA to prohibit all organophosphates.

The EPA action came late last month, coinciding with a report by ProPublica, which revealed how the agency had in the past justified increasing the amount of acephate allowed on food by removing safety margins that are called for in federal law to protect children from pesticide residues in their diets.

The new EPA proposal reiterates that stance, saying that when using “new approach methods” for developmental neurodevelopmental toxicity (DNT NAMs), there was little scientific support for adding those protections for children.

Nonetheless, the EPA said its assessments show current uses of acephate pose both dietary and aggregate risks that are “inconsistent” with safety standards.

April 30, 2024

Despite ban, EPA grants ’emergency’ approval for bee-killing insecticide for 10th straight year

By Johnathan Hettinger

US regulators have approved the emergency use of clothianidin on Florida citrus trees for the tenth straight year, once again allowing farmers to use the insecticide despite its known risk to endangered species and pollinators critical to the health of the food supply.

Since 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has had a moratorium on new uses of neonicotinoid insecticides, including clothianidin, because of evidence that the class of pesticides is linked to pollinator decline. Neonics have been shown to be particularly harmful to bees, which help pollinate important crops, such as vegetables, nuts, cotton and more.

In a 2023 analysis, the EPA found that clothianidin and other neonics are driving hundreds of species protected under the Endangered Species Act toward extinction. Neonics are banned in Europe, and the EU has proposed essentially banning clothianidin on crops imported into the EU.

Despite the concerns, the EPA has continually allowed farmers in Florida to drench the soil surrounding citrus trees with clothianidin to help fight an insect called Asian citrus psyllid, which spreads a disease the industry calls “citrus greening.” The EPA renewed that exemption last week. Florida’s citrus production has seen a steep decline over the last 20 years due largely to the dreaded disease.

“It is the no. 1 issue in citrus, probably in the world,” said Lauren Diepenbrock, an assistant professor & citrus entomology extension specialist at the University of Florida. In the past 20 years, Florida citrus production declined from 300 million boxes in 2003-04 to under 20 million boxes in 2022-23.

April 24, 2024

US health advocacy groups support Mexico in GMO trade dispute

By Johnathan Hettinger

More than a dozen North American organizations have weighed in to support Mexico in its trade dispute with the United States over Mexico’s ban of genetically modified (GM) corn, agreeing that the nation has the right to protect human health from food ingredients it considers hazardous.

“The burden of proof, so far generated for Mexico, [should] be reversed. It should be the United States that proves that there is no long-term risk to human health from the direct consumption of [genetically modified corn], in the particular case of the Mexican consumption pattern,” Mexico-based El Poder del Consumidor, a consumer rights association, wrote in comments filed earlier this month.

In the series of recent filings submitted to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement secretariat, only one group, the US-based Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) defended the United States’ position that Mexico is violating trade agreements by banning the corn for foods for human consumption. Bayer AG, which bought GMO crop developer Monsanto in 2018, is a BIO member as are other companies that make and sell GMO seeds and agrochemicals.

The Canadian government also defended the US position. Both Canada and the US accuse Mexico of failing to base its decision on GMO corn on valid scientific research. The governments say science shows GMO corn is not a threat to human health. Mexico disagrees, and says that solid research does show risks to humans from foods made with genetically altered corn. Mexico also objects to GMO corn for environmental and cultural reasons.

“There is a basis in the Mexican legal framework that makes it necessary for the Mexican government to transition away from GM corn to protect its people,” Javier Zuñiga, an attorney with Mexico-based El Poder del Consumidor, said in a webinar held on Tuesday. “It guarantees the right to live in a healthy way.”

Mexico is also working to ban glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller and other herbicides. Glyphosate is commonly used on genetically modified crops, including corn. The ban on glyphosate in Mexico was set to go into effect April 1, but was delayed indefinitely last month.

2020_04_10_Corn-Vessel-Unloading-in-Vietnam-1

April 23, 2024

Not just Mexico – US worries over barriers to agricultural trade across the world

By Johnathan Hettinger

From Algeria to Vietnam, Norway to Nigeria, and the European Union to China, regulation of agriculture biotechnology by countries around the world is creating increasingly concerning barriers to US agriculture and technology trade, according to a recent report from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

The report shows the US government is highly concerned about what it sees as inconsistent and unscientific regulation of farm chemicals and genetically modified crops that are widely used in the United States but are subjects of concern abroad. Farmers in the United States annually spray millions of pounds of pesticides that are banned in other countries, including the EU, China and Brazil.

Among other concerns, the US cites “excessive” requests for data on certain products and expresses frustration that the EU seeks to ban pesticides until they are proven safe, instead of approving pesticides until they are proven unsafe.

In a 394-page report, the USTR detailed a range of concerns with specific countries, including those related to its ongoing bitter battle with Mexico over genetically modified crops (GMOs).

Mexico has not approved a new genetically modified cotton variety since at least 2018, the report notes, despite the cultivation of GMO cotton in Mexico for more than 25 years “with no evidence of adverse impact on the environment, biodiversity, or animal or plant health.” US officials are continuing to press the country on the issue, just as they are on Mexico’s restrictions on GMO corn. The US has also battled with Mexico over its efforts to ban glyphosate weed killer, developed by Monsanto.

In another example cited in the report, the US government complains that Taiwan’s decision to ban genetically modified food in school meal programs is not based on science.

Yet, the document makes it clear that the question of science is also a concern in the countries at odds with the US. Many other countries have expressed concern with what they see as the United States’ lax pesticide laws, driven not by science but by corporate influence.

April 18, 2024

“Sustainable” company behind POM juice among California’s top paraquat sprayers

By Shannon Kelleher

The Wonderful Company, which has been recognized for its sustainability initiatives and owns POM pomegranate juice, Fiji Water, and other popular brands, was among California’s top sprayers of the toxic weedkiller paraquat in 2021, according to a new analysis.

The major agricultural company, which grows pistachios, almonds, and pomegranates, was California’s second largest sprayer of paraquat, which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Wonderful accounted for over 13% of the state’s paraquat use, applying almost 57,000 lbs to its fields, according to the analysis published Thursday by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which drew from data obtained from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and county agriculture commissioners.

The company’s website states that “environmental sustainability is at the center of our work” and that the company, “in all its operations, must be a deeply responsible steward of the environment, and lead by example to create a sustainable future.” Wonderful has invested $400 million in sustainable agriculture, according to its website.

The Wonderful Company did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Just ten farms and companies in the top agricultural state sprayed 40% of all paraquat used in California in 2021, the analysis found. The biggest paraquat user in the state was the J.G. Boswell Company, a major producer of cotton, tomatoes for paste, and seed crops, which also accounted for over 13% of California’s paraquat use that year.

“Folks have known about paraquat for a while…but I think it’s clear the public doesn’t fully appreciate where these pesticides are being applied and how close it is to their communities,” said Geoff Horsfield, a policy director at the Environmental Working Group who works on pesticides and other agricultural issues.

raul-gonzalez-escobar-ZpIskW1Tuvc-unsplash

April 18, 2024

Healthy or high risk? New analysis warns of pesticide residues on some fruits and veggies

By Carey Gillam

Several types of fruits and vegetables generally considered to be healthy can contain levels of pesticide residues potentially unsafe for consumption, according to an analysis conducted by Consumer Reports (CR) released on Thursday.

The report, which is based on seven years of data gathered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of its annual pesticide residue reporting program, concluded that 20% of 59 different fruit and vegetable categories included in the analysis carried residue levels that posed “significant risks” to consumers of those foods.

Those high-risk foods included bell peppers, blueberries, green beans, potatoes and strawberries, according to CR. The group found that some green beans even had residues of an insecticide called acephate, which has been banned for use on green beans by US regulators since 2011. In one sample from 2022, levels of methamidophos (a breakdown product of acephate), were more
than 100 times the level CR scientists consider safe. In another sample, acephate levels were 7 times higher than CR considers safe.

Overall, out of the nearly 30,000 total fruit and vegetable samples for which CR examined data, about 8% percent were deemed to have residues at “high risk or very high risk”. Imported produce was more likely to carry high levels of pesticide residues than domestically supplied foods, the report said, noting that residue levels can vary widely from sample to sample.

The results “raise red flags,” according to CR. The report advises that children and pregnant women should consume less than a serving a day of high-risk fruits and vegetables, and less than half a serving per day of “very high-risk ones.”

“People need to be concerned because we see that the more data we gather on pesticides, the more we realize the levels that we previously thought to be safe turn out not to be,” said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at CR who was recently appointed to a USDA food safety advisory committee.

The organization said the “good news” is that the data showed residues in most of the foods sampled, including 16 of 25 fruit categories and 21 of 34 vegetable types, presented “little to worry about.” Nearly all organic samples showed no concerning levels of pesticide residues.

The report suggests consumers “try snap peas instead of green beans, cantaloupe in place of watermelon, cabbage or dark green lettuces for kale, and the occasional sweet potato instead of a white one.”

April 1, 2024

Concerned about developing babies, EPA warns about danger of weed killer used on farms, golf courses

By Johnathan Hettinger

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday took the rare step of issuing a warning about “serious, permanent, and irreversible health risks” associated with a chemical used to kill weeds on farms and golf courses and athletic fields.

Citing “significant health risks to pregnant individuals and their developing babies,” the agency said farmworkers and others handling dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, more commonly known as DCPA, were at risk, as are people who might play on courses or fields recently sprayed with the pesticide.

The most serious risks extend to the developing babies of pregnant women, especially those handling DCPA products. The agency said pregnant women exposed to DCPA could experience changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels, which are linked to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, and impaired motor skills later in life. Though product labels say people should stay out of fields for 12 hours after they are sprayed with DCPA, the EPA said evidence indicates that in many cases, sprayed fields would be unsafe for 25 days or more. The agency additionally said that mothers and their developing babies could be at risk if they live near areas where DCPA is used because the pesticide can drift.

“EPA has determined that currently registered products containing the herbicide DCPA likely cannot be used under current label directions without posing serious risks of concern in humans,” Ed Messina, director of the Office of Pesticide Programs, stated in a letter to AMVAC, a California-based company that is the sole manufacturer of the pesticide.

The product is primarily used to control weeds on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions, though it is also used in some non-agricultural settings. Last year, AMVAC agreed to end its use on turf, citing health concerns.

The EPA is currently reviewing whether to reapprove DCPA. Though the agency rarely takes the step of canceling a pesticide, it is considering that route, including suspending DCPA during review process, the agency said.

“Due to the serious potential risks posed by DCPA use, EPA will be pursuing these regulatory options as soon as practicable,” Messina wrote in the communication to AMVAC.

April 1, 2024

Mexico delays planned April 1 glyphosate ban

By Carey Gillam and Johnathan Hettinger

After standing firm for more than three years on plans to enact a ban on the weed killer glyphosate starting today, Mexican officials said they were delaying the ban.

Mexico is currently embroiled in a trade dispute with the United States over its unwillingness to accept genetically modified (GM) corn, typically altered to tolerate being sprayed with glyphosate and to manufacture toxins that repel pests, and Mexican officials have repeatedly stated that they consider both GM corn and glyphosate as threats to the health of the Mexican population as well as to the health of the environment.

But in a surprising reversal, less than a week before the ban was to kick in on April 1, government officials announced that glyphosate use could continue until other options for weed control are found. The move came amid reported heavy lobbying from powerful global agrochemical companies and pressure from US trade officials. Similarly, in 2019, Thailand backed down from a planned glyphosate ban after pressure from US officials and industry actors.

Fernando Bejarano, of the Pesticide Action Network in Mexico, said that the move comes after pressure from industry and US officials.

March 14, 2024

New book details rise of “dystopian agricultural horror show”

By Sara June Jo-Saebo

Few books about America’s industrial agriculture system and food industry uncover the billionaires behind its biggest corporations. But a new book by Austin Frerick, a former tax economist at the US Treasury Department and current Fellow at Yale University’s Thurman Arnold Project, reveals the amassed fortunes of Big Ag’s most powerful families. Barons: Money, Power, and Corruption of America’s Food Industry exposes these ill-gotten gains and a cadre of complicit government players who made it all possible.

With the recent release of the USDA’s dismal report Census of Agriculture (February 13, 2024), Frerick’s book is well-timed. The Ag Census disclosed that 141,733 farms shuttered between 2017 and 2022. Barons reveals that these losses happened at the same time that big food producers and merchants garnered both stunning profits and government handouts.

Frerick is an expert in agriculture policy with an antitrust law focus. He served as a co-chair for the Biden campaign’s Agriculture and Antitrust Policy Committee. In Barons, Frerick steers his experience and scholarship into a pointed denunciation of Big Ag’s unbridled and monopolistic wealth. It’s an overdue censure. In fact, many times during the book, I was surprised by a recurring sense of personal validation.

Being from rural Iowa and witnessing the 1980’s Farm Crisis take hold of my family and neighbors,

Barons made me feel like somebody was standing up for the farm community of my youth. It’s a painful loss knowing that today’s industrial food system rises from the ashes of America’s family farms. And it is no accident.

For folks who haven’t kept up with our recent history in food production, Barons will be a wake-up call about the food in our grocery stores.

corn christophe-maertens-v9r31Dxg0X0-unsplash (2)

March 6, 2024

Mexico’s precaution on GM corn safety is justified

By Lucy Sharratt

A Presidential decree has banned the use of genetically modified (GM) corn for food in Mexico. But the governments of the United States and Canada are using the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement (USMCA) to challenge Mexico’s actions.

The purpose of Mexico’s restrictions on GM corn is to safeguard the integrity of native corn from GM contamination and to protect human health. The purpose of the US and Canadian challenge is to defend the interests of the biotechnology industry. The US and Canada want to force Mexico to open its market to all genetically modified foods and seeds. Canada is supporting the US challenge (as a third party in the dispute) even though Canada does not export any corn to Mexico.

Mexico has the right to restrict the use of GM corn. The US argues that Mexico’s actions are not based on scientific principles, but the government has sufficient science to justify its precautionary policies.

Our organization, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, is a large network of farmer and environmental groups that has been monitoring the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for over 15 years, and we support Mexico’s restrictions. We were one of two Canadian groups that were given permission to send expert comments on the risks of GM corn to the arbitration panel in this dispute, but in January, Canadian groups were uninvited at the request of the US government, supported by Canada, on the technicality that the dispute is just between the US and Mexico.

We published our analysis anyway, to show that Mexico’s ban is supported by the science. Research continues to find indicators of potential harm to humans from eating GM insect-resistant corn. The science also continues to warn of health impacts from exposure to the herbicide glyphosate, which is used in GM corn production.