Are neonics critical to all crops? Research says no

In 2018, Louis Robert, an agronomist in Québec, was fired after releasing controversial research about the limited effectiveness of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Research contract gave Bayer control of neonics study methods, but university researchers claim full credit

A research contract gave multinational pesticide manufacturers ample influence over pesticide research conducted at a state university. Experts in research ethics found fault with the influence the contract gave the funders, and linked the situation to broader transparency failures in corporate-funded research. Resulting scientific studies only acknowledged the funds the pesticide manufacturers contributed to the ... Research contract gave Bayer control of neonics study methods, but university researchers claim full credit

Neonicotinoid health risks: widespread exposure, growing evidence of harm 

A growing body of scientific evidence raises concerns about the human health risks of neonicotinoid exposure, including neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity.

World’s most used insecticides damage male fertility in rodents, researchers say

Neonicotinoid pesticides, the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, are linked to male reproductive toxicity in lab animals, especially at higher doses, according to a new scientific review of two decades of evidence.

U.S. beekeepers report ‘catastrophic’ winter losses; cause is a mystery

Honey bees may be dying at an unprecedented rate this winter, with more than 1 million colonies lost, according to a survey of U.S. beekeepers by the nonprofit organization Project Apis m. More than a dozen government and academic scientists have mobilized to search for the cause.

A boost for bee science: Controversial pesticide research returns to major entomology conference

In the last decade, as pesticide companies gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Entomological Society of America, scholarly research on the harmful effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees vanished from the society’s annual conference.

Beekeepers continue to lose hundreds of thousands of honey bee colonies, USDA reports

American beekeepers and honey producers continued to lose hundreds of thousands of bee colonies each quarter in 2023, according to an annual survey released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From January through March, respondents to the federal survey reported that they lost nearly 400,000 colonies in a single quarter. That number constitutes 15 ... Beekeepers continue to lose hundreds of thousands of honey bee colonies, USDA reports

Anatomy of a science meeting: How controversial pesticide research all but vanished from a major conference

At a major conference on insect science, a significant topic went missing: scholarly research on neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides implicated in bee deaths. But corporate sponsors who make the chemicals were well represented.

Why did the National Honey Board hire a PR firm that works for the pesticide industry?

As Porter Novelli was downplaying concerns about pesticides in honey for the National Honey Board, the PR firm was also working for Bayer to create a report arguing against pollinator protection laws.

How the pesticide industry tried to stop a bill to protect bees in Maryland

Days after Maryland state legislators introduced a bill aimed at protecting pollinators by restricting the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in residential areas, a group of representatives of Bayer, Syngenta, CropLife America, Maryland Farm Bureau, and the Maryland Department of Agriculture planned and executed a counter-offensive. Emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know show the strategies ... How the pesticide industry tried to stop a bill to protect bees in Maryland

Genetic Literacy Project: PR front for Monsanto, Bayer and the chemical industry

Genetic Literacy Project and its founder Jon Entine partner with corporations to promote and defend GMOs and pesticides. Bayer paid the Genetic Literacy Project $100,000 in fiscal year 2020-2021.

Bayer pressured researchers over neonic study results, but researchers pushed back

Agrichemical giant Bayer helped fund a study by university academics, then pressured them to omit photos that implicated a defective insecticide-treated seed product as a threat to bees, according to communications obtained by U.S. Right to Know. Several seed and insecticide companies, including Bayer, paid Ohio State University researchers to determine how much their insecticide-coated ... Bayer pressured researchers over neonic study results, but researchers pushed back

Neonicotinoids: a growing concern

On January 10, 2021 The Guardian published this story about a small rural Nebraska community that has been struggling for at least two years with contamination tied to neonicotinoid-coated corn seed. The source is an area ethanol plant that has been marketing itself as a free “recycling” location for seed companies such as Bayer, Syngenta ... Neonicotinoids: a growing concern

Climate Science Denial Network Funds Toxic Chemical Propaganda

They promote GMOs and pesticides, defend toxic chemicals and junk food, and attack people who raise concerns about those products as “anti-science.” Yet Jon Entine, Trevor Butterworth and Henry Miller are funded by the same groups that finance climate-science denial. By Stacy Malkan British writer George Monbiot has a warning for those of us trying ... Climate Science Denial Network Funds Toxic Chemical Propaganda