The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition from the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and other groups calling on the agency to amend or formally interpret the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as not exempting seeds covered in insecticide and thus requiring compliance with registration and labeling under FIFRA. CFS filed the rulemaking petition in 2017; when EPA failed to respond to the petition by late 2021, the group filed suit. In its September 27, 2022, response denying the petition, EPA stated it “will continue to review labeling instructions for pesticides registered for seed treatment use(s) in registration and registration review to verify the completeness of these instructions for both use of the treating pesticide and the distribution, sale, and use of the treated seed.” EPA also said it intends to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking "to seek additional information on pesticide seed treatment…
Tag Archives pesticides
The Guardian has released "Toxic America," a "major series to investigate the risks of contamination in our food, water, and cosmetics." Articles in the series include: A comparison between the "stringent health and environment review" that the European Union will apply to foods edited using CRISPR-Cas9 and the perceived lack of regulation for similar foods in the United States; An examination of nanoparticles, "which are largely unregulated in the US," and their use in foods; A discussion of additives "with industrial applications" banned in Europe but approved for use in the United States, such as materials that appear in "yoga mats, pesticides, hair straighteners, explosives and petroleum products"; and An interactive tool allowing readers to identify their grocery choices and purporting to inform them about "what additives, pesticides and antibiotics" are in their selections.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has imposed a suspension, a formal reprimand and fines on several attorneys who attempted to enforce in U.S. courts a $489 million default judgment entered by a Nicaraguan court against a business entity that did not exist for allegedly exposing hundreds of banana plantation workers to pesticides. In re: Thomas V. Girardi, Esq., Nos. 08-80090, 03-57038 (9th Cir., decided July 13, 2010). The litigation in Nicaragua had been filed against “Dole Food Corporation” and “Shell Oil Company,” but should instead have named “Dole Food Company” and “Shell Chemical Company.” According to the court, “In a high-stakes gamble to enforce a foreign Judgment of nearly a half billion dollars, Respondents initiated and directed years of litigation against Defendants. Respondents efforts went beyond the use of ‘questionable tactics’—they crossed the line to include the persistent use of known falsehoods.” Those falsehoods included that (i) “Dole Food Company…
