Serious scrutiny needed as EPA seeks input on cancer ties to Monsanto herbicide

By Carey Gillam The glyphosate geeks are gathering in Washington this week. After a two-month delay, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding four days of meetings aimed at examining the evidence that does or does not tie the world’s most widely used herbicide — glyphosate — to cancer. Scientists, activists and agricultural industry leaders ... Serious scrutiny needed as EPA seeks input on cancer ties to Monsanto herbicide

New Data on Pesticides in Food Raises Safety Questions

As Americans gather their families to share a Thanksgiving meal this week, new government data offers a potentially unappetizing assessment of the U.S. food supply: Residues of many types of insecticides, fungicides and weed killing chemicals have been found in roughly 85 percent of thousands of foods tested. Data released last week by the U.S. ... New Data on Pesticides in Food Raises Safety Questions

Trump Talk Of Pompeo For Cabinet Could Spell Setback For Consumers

News that President-elect Donald Trump is considering U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo for a cabinet slot illustrates just how dark the days ahead might be for America’s burgeoning “food movement,” which has been advocating for more transparency and fewer pesticides in food production. Pompeo, a Republican from the farm state of Kansas, was the designated hitter ... Trump Talk Of Pompeo For Cabinet Could Spell Setback For Consumers

Tests Show Monsanto Weed Killer in Cheerios, Other Popular Foods

Independent testing on an array of popular American food products found many samples contained residue levels of the weed killer called glyphosate, leading the nonprofit organization behind the testing to call for corporate and regulatory action to address consumer safety concerns. The herbicide residues were found in cookies, crackers, popular cold cereals and chips commonly ... Tests Show Monsanto Weed Killer in Cheerios, Other Popular Foods

FDA Suspends Testing for Glyphosate Residues in Food

By Carey Gillam Government testing for residues of an herbicide that has been linked to cancer has been put on hold, slowing the Food and Drug Administration’s first-ever endeavor to get a handle on just how much of the controversial chemical is making its way into U.S. foods. The FDA, the nation’s chief food safety ... FDA Suspends Testing for Glyphosate Residues in Food

More Bad News for Honey as U.S. Seeks to Get Handle on Glyphosate Residues in Foods

Testing for residues of an herbicide developed by Monsanto Co. that has been linked to cancer has turned up high levels in honey from the key farm state of Iowa, adding to concerns about herbicide contamination that have triggered at least two lawsuits against honey industry players and prompted scrutiny by regulators. The Food and ... More Bad News for Honey as U.S. Seeks to Get Handle on Glyphosate Residues in Foods

IARC Scientists Defend Glyphosate Cancer Link; Surprised by Industry Assault

Don’t mess with Monsanto Co. That is the message being delivered right now by the agrichemical industry as it makes a full-fledged assault on the team of international cancer scientists who dared to declare cancerous connections to the widely used herbicide called glyphosate, the chief ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup brand. Industry swagger is on full ... IARC Scientists Defend Glyphosate Cancer Link; Surprised by Industry Assault

EPA Bows to Chemical Industry in Delay of Glyphosate Cancer Review

By Carey Gillam This might have been a tough week for Monsanto Co. The Environmental Protection Agency was slated to hold four days of public meetings focused on essentially one question: Is glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide and the lynchpin to Monsanto’s fortunes, as safe as Monsanto has spent 40 years telling us ... EPA Bows to Chemical Industry in Delay of Glyphosate Cancer Review

FDA Tests Confirm Oatmeal, Baby Foods Contain Residues of Monsanto Weed Killer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is quietly starting to test certain foods for residues of a weed killing chemical linked to cancer, has found the residues in a variety of oat products, including plain and flavored oat cereals for babies. Data compiled by an FDA chemist and presented to other chemists at a ... FDA Tests Confirm Oatmeal, Baby Foods Contain Residues of Monsanto Weed Killer

Upcoming EPA Meetings on Safety of Monsanto Weed Killer Drawing Scrutiny

By Carey Gillam Bayer better be paying attention to this. The German company’s intended $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. comes amid growing concern over the future of the company’s top-selling weed killer, a chemical called glyphosate that Monsanto introduced to the world 40 years ago as the active ingredient in its Roundup herbicide. Monsanto ... Upcoming EPA Meetings on Safety of Monsanto Weed Killer Drawing Scrutiny

FDA Finds Monsanto’s Weed Killer In U.S. Honey

By Carey Gillam The Food and Drug Administration, under public pressure to start testing samples of U.S. food for the presence of a pesticide that has been linked to cancer, has some early findings that are not so sweet. In examining honey samples from various locations in the United States, the FDA has found fresh ... FDA Finds Monsanto’s Weed Killer In U.S. Honey

Keeping Secrets From Consumers: Labeling Law a Win for Industry-Academic Collaborations

You’ve heard the mantra over and over – there are no safety concerns associated with genetically engineered crops. That refrain, music to agrichemical and biotech seed industry ears, has been sung repeatedly by U.S. lawmakers who have just passed a national law that allows companies to avoid stating on food packages if those products contain ... Keeping Secrets From Consumers: Labeling Law a Win for Industry-Academic Collaborations

Glyphosate ‘Revolution’ Growing — Consumers Want Answers

By Carey Gillam They’re calling it a glyphosate “revolution.” Consumers around the world are waking up to the fact that they’re living in a world awash in the weed-killing pesticide known as glyphosate. And they don’t like it one bit. Over the last several years, some scientists have been warning that the long-touted environmental and ... Glyphosate ‘Revolution’ Growing — Consumers Want Answers

Conflict of Interest Concerns Cloud Glyphosate Review

By Carey Gillam It’s been a little more than a year since the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research experts upended the agrichemical industry’s favorite child. The group, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared the globe’s most widely used herbicide – glyphosate – to be a probable human carcinogen. Since then, Monsanto ... Conflict of Interest Concerns Cloud Glyphosate Review

What Is Going On With Glyphosate? EPA’s Odd Handling of Controversial Chemical

By Carey Gillam The Environmental Protection Agency’s ongoing risk assessment of the world’s most widely used herbicide is starting to generate more questions than answers. On Monday, it also generated a giant “oops” from the EPA. On Friday, April 29, the EPA posted on its website a series of documents related to its long-awaited risk ... What Is Going On With Glyphosate? EPA’s Odd Handling of Controversial Chemical

What Killed Jack McCall? A Farmer Dies; A Case Against Monsanto Takes Root

By Carey Gillam CAMBRIA, Calif.- Standing on the ridge overlooking her central California farm, new widow Teri McCall sees her husband Jack nearly everywhere. There, atop the highest hill, is where the couple married in 1975- two self-described “hippies’ who knew more about how to surf than farm. And over there, surrounded by the lemon, ... What Killed Jack McCall? A Farmer Dies; A Case Against Monsanto Takes Root

Not Just For Corn and Soy: A Look at Glyphosate Use in Food Crops

By Carey Gillam As the active ingredient in Monsanto’s branded Roundup weed killer, along with hundreds of other weed-killing products, the chemical called glyphosate spells billions of dollars in sales for Monsanto and other companies each year as farmers around the world use it in their fields and orchards. Ubiquitous in food production, glyphosate is ... Not Just For Corn and Soy: A Look at Glyphosate Use in Food Crops

Gates-Funded Cornell Group Misfires in Protest of Vandana Shiva

Staging public protests seems like an odd way to depolarize a debate, yet the Cornell Alliance for Science—a public relations campaign funded by the Gates Foundation to “depolarize the charged debate” about GMOs—joined in a recent protest at Willamette University to confront Vandana Shiva, PhD, an Indian scholar, author and environmentalist. Joining self-described “science nerd” ... Gates-Funded Cornell Group Misfires in Protest of Vandana Shiva

What Bill Gates Isn’t Telling You About GMOs

Related reporting by U.S. Right to Know: Cornell Alliance for Science is a PR Campaign for the Agrichemical Industry Gates Funded Cornell Group Protests Vandana Shiva As the big food companies announce plans to label genetically engineered foods in the U.S., we take a closer look at pro and con arguments about the controversial food ... What Bill Gates Isn’t Telling You About GMOs

FDA Plan to Measure Weed Killer Residues on Food Only a First Step

News Release For Immediate Release: February 17, 2016 For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin, 415-944-7350, gary@usrighttoknow.wpenginepowered.com Consumer advocacy group U.S. Right to Know applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today for declaring that it plans to start testing for glyphosate residues in soybeans, corn, milk and eggs among other potential foods as concerns about the popular ... FDA Plan to Measure Weed Killer Residues on Food Only a First Step

Big Campaign Cash for Clinton from Monsanto Lobbyist

A Monsanto Co. lobbyist, who is seen as Hillary Clinton’s “main man” inIowa, was among the top financial bundlers of contributions to benefit Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House in the most recent quarter, new Federal Election Commission reports show. Jerry Crawford of the Crawford & Mauro Law Firm in Des Moines, Iowa, bundled ... Big Campaign Cash for Clinton from Monsanto Lobbyist

Big Week for Big Ag Players Monsanto and Dow

Monsanto Shareholders Meeting Draws Fire An array of GMO and pesticide critics spoke out at Monsanto Co.’s annual meeting of shareholders on Friday, Jan. 29 in the company’s hometown of Creve Coeur, Missouri, calling on the company to address concerns about the company’s genetically engineered crop products and the glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide used on those ... Big Week for Big Ag Players Monsanto and Dow

Following an Email Trail: How a Public University Professor Collaborated on a Corporate PR Campaign

By Carey Gillam Former University of Illinois food science professor Bruce Chassy is known for his academic gravitas. Now retired nearly four years, Chassy still writes and speaks often about food safety issues, identifying himself with the full weight of the decades of experience earned at the public university and as a researcher at the ... Following an Email Trail: How a Public University Professor Collaborated on a Corporate PR Campaign

USDA Shirking Obligation to Give Consumers Clarity Over Herbicide Residues on Food

When microbiologist Bruce Hemming was hired two years ago to test breast milk samples for residues of the key ingredient in the popular weed-killer Roundup, Hemming at first scoffed at the possibility.Hemming, the founder of St. Louis-based Microbe Inotech Laboratories, knew that the herbicidal ingredient called glyphosate was not supposed to accumulate in the human ... USDA Shirking Obligation to Give Consumers Clarity Over Herbicide Residues on Food

USDA Avoids Analyzing Glyphosate Residues on Food for Annual Report

News Release For Immediate Release: Monday,  January 11, 2016 For More Information Contact: Carey Gillam, Research Director (913) 526-6190, carey@usrighttoknow.wpenginepowered.com USDA Avoids Analyzing Glyphosate Residues on Food for Annual Report Consumer advocacy group U.S. Right to Know criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture today for issuing an annual pesticide residue report that avoided any evaluation of ... USDA Avoids Analyzing Glyphosate Residues on Food for Annual Report

USDA Whistleblower Complaint Raises Question: What Else Is USDA Hiding on Pesticides?

News Release For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 28, 2015 For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin (415) 944-7350 USDA Whistleblower Complaint Raises Question: What Else Is USDA Hiding on Pesticides? Today, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a whistleblower complaint on behalf of U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist Jonathan Lundgren, who may have been harassed and suspended for ... USDA Whistleblower Complaint Raises Question: What Else Is USDA Hiding on Pesticides?

Monsanto Proposes to Change Its Name, To Escape Its PR Woes

News Release For Immediate Release:  Monday, June 8, 2015 For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin (415) 944-7350 Monsanto Proposes to Change Its Name, To Escape Its PR Woes Documents released today by Syngenta include a letter from Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant to Syngenta, suggesting as a part of a corporate merger that, “We would also propose ... Monsanto Proposes to Change Its Name, To Escape Its PR Woes

How the media fell for a GMO front group attack on Dr. Oz

The 55-point headline in Slate blares, “Letter from Prominent Doctors Implies Columbia Should Fire Dr. Oz for Being a Quack.” The story by Ben Mathis-Lilly is based on a letter by a group of doctors who want Columbia University to relieve Dr. Oz of his position as vice chair of the department of surgery at ... How the media fell for a GMO front group attack on Dr. Oz

USRTK Calls for Investigation of Monsanto Cover Up, Harassment of USDA Scientists

News Release For Immediate Release: Monday, March 30th, 2015 For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin (415) 944-7350 USRTK Calls for Investigation of Monsanto Cover Up, Harassment of USDA Scientists U.S. Right to Know sent letters today to the chairs and ranking members of the U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Committees, and to the Inspector General of the ... USRTK Calls for Investigation of Monsanto Cover Up, Harassment of USDA Scientists

Agrichemical Industry Secrets

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 15, “Seedy Business: What Big Food is hiding with its slick PR campaign on GMOs,” by Gary Ruskin, co-director of the public watchdog group US Right to Know. The agrichemical industry’s six major firms, Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow, DuPont, Bayer and BASF, have been involved on so many reprehensible ... Agrichemical Industry Secrets

What the agrichemical and tobacco industries have in common: PR firms, operatives, tactics

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 4, “Seedy Business: What Big Food is hiding with its slick PR campaign on GMOs,” by Gary Ruskin, co-director of the public watchdog group US Right to Know. When assessing whether or not to trust the agrichemical companies and their genetically engineered food, it is noteworthy that several ... What the agrichemical and tobacco industries have in common: PR firms, operatives, tactics

The agrichemical companies have a history of concealing health risks from the public

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1, “Seedy Business: What Big Food is hiding with its slick PR campaign on GMOs,” by Gary Ruskin, co-director of the public watchdog group US Right to Know. Monsanto is one of the world’s largest producers of genetically engineered seeds, and manufacturer of the best-selling herbicide, Roundup. Our ... The agrichemical companies have a history of concealing health risks from the public