"Stingless bees from the Amazon have become the first insects to be granted legal rights anywhere in the world, in a breakthrough supporters hope will be a catalyst for similar moves to protect bees elsewhere."
"The nation’s main office for protecting Americans from harmful chemicals is welcoming its fourth prominent industry insider since President Trump took office, adding to an administration full of former lobbyists and corporate executives who are making environmental policy."
"Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture."
"More than 700 Illinois schools are within a quarter-mile of crop fields, yet state law doesn’t require pesticide applicators to notify them before spraying. Advocates say a new notification proposal would give educators and park staff time to move children indoors and reduce exposure."
"“Make America healthy again” (Maha) movement leaders have put out a petition calling for Donald Trump to fire Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin, who, since being appointed in late January, has quickly moved to undo toxic chemical regulations and fast-track pesticide approvals."
"A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers."
"More than 300 lobbyists for food and farming organisations have participated at this year’s United Nations climate talks, known as COP30, taking place in the Brazilian Amazon, where agribusiness is the leading cause of deforestation, a new investigation has found."
"State officials are failing to protect the health and safety of thousands of young field laborers, an investigation has found."
"California farms applied an average of 2.5m lb of Pfas “forever chemicals” per year on cropland from 2018 to 2023, or a total of about 15m lb, a new review of state records shows."
"In line with its plan to continue pesticide approvals despite the government shutdown, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that it will register a new weedkiller for use in corn, soybean, wheat, and canola fields."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/stingless-bees-amazon-granted-legal-rights-world-first
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/29/stingless-bees-from-the-amazon-granted-legal-rights-in-world-first
[3] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-epa-adds-another-industry-lobbyist-ranks-conflicted-regulators
[4] https://www.thenewlede.org/2025/12/epa-adds-another-industry-insider-as-the-administrations-lobbyist/
[5] https://www.sej.org/headlines/chemicals-food-system-creating-health-burden-22tn-year-report
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/10/synthetic-chemicals-food-system-health-burden-report
[7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/pesticide-drift-catches-schools-guard-lawmakers-want-spraying-notice
[8] https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/12/03/pesticide-drift-is-catching-schools-off-guard-lawmakers-want-to-require-notice-before-spraying/
[9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/maha-v-maga-feud-grows-trump-epa-rolls-back-rules-toxic-chemicals
[10] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/07/maha-maga-feud-chemicals-pesticides
[11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-urged-ban-spraying-antibiotics-food-crops-amid-resistance-fears
[12] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/30/antibiotics-spraying-farms-epa-bacteria-resistance
[13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/more-300-lobbyists-industrial-agriculture-attend-cop30
[14] https://www.desmog.com/2025/11/18/more-than-300-lobbyists-for-industrial-agriculture-are-attending-cop30/
[15] https://www.sej.org/headlines/calif-child-farmworkers-exhausted-underpaid-and-toiling-toxic-fields
[16] https://capitalandmain.com/californias-child-farmworkers-exhausted-underpaid-and-toiling-in-toxic-fields
[17] https://www.sej.org/headlines/calif-farms-applied-millions-pounds-pfas-key-crops-study-finds
[18] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/california-pfas-forever-chemicals
[19] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-proposes-approving-fifth-forever-chemical-pesticide
[20] https://civileats.com/2025/11/05/epa-proposes-approving-fifth-forever-chemical-pesticide/
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=1
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=2
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=3
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=4
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=5
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=6
[27] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=7
[28] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=8
[29] https://www.sej.org/search_results?keys=pesticides&type%5B0%5D=headline&page=57