Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

(Beyond Pesticides, August 18, 2026) In a review of the current scientific literature on Parkinson’s disease (PD), published in Journal of Central Nervous System Disease, exposure to environmental contaminants and conditions, including pesticides, solvents, heavy metals, infectious agents, air pollutants, and climate change, is linked to neurodegeneration, the process where nerve cells in the bra…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 17, 2026) A nationwide action is calling on the U.S. Congress to keep pesticides and other toxic chemicals out of infant formula. An article, “Pesticide contamination in infant formula: A Systematic review,” in Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology (2026) concludes, “[T]he contamination of infant formula does not concern a single class of substances, but manifests i…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 14, 2026) The issue of pesticide contamination hits close to home for parents concerned about potential exposure pathways through food and related products specifically consumed by infants, toddlers, and children. A new piece of legislation, H.R.9788, introduced by U.S. Representative Brian Mast (R-FL), would mandate the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 13, 2026) A study published in Environmental Pollution detected 30 percent of the 50 target compounds across summer and winter seasons, with evidence of off-target drift on untreated surrounding plants. Importantly, the researchers find that pre-bloom pesticide applications fail to protect pollinators, and that residues detected before scheduled pesticide applications e…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 12, 2026) As research continues to mount showcasing the deleterious effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has acknowledged that trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), an ultra-short-chain PFAS and pesticide metabolite (breakdown product), is more toxic than previously thought. In lowering the dietary safe levels of TFA, E…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 11, 2026) A study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment finds that organic land management “enhances the activity of soil enzymes, particularly on sandy soils” that are generally known to have poorer retention capabilities of both water and essential nutrients that facilitate soil productivity. The researchers point to improved nutrient cycling and decompos…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2026) The fight against the Republican Farm Bill is still on! While the focus of Democratic opposition to the bill seems principally to be on whether Republicans will accept a 2-year delay (they have proposed a 1-year delay) in draconian cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), there are other major bottom-line issues that have elicited rigorous…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 7, 2026) Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) published research in European Journal of Agronomy identifying the importance of cover cropping systems within organically managed oats and reporting a successful reduction in weed pressures. These findings build on continuous evidence borne out in the scientific researc…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 6, 2026) In a groundbreaking study on the weed killer glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs), researchers from Argentina find multigenerational effects from perinatal (shortly before and after birth) exposure in rats. The results, published in Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, include developmental alterations, increased mortality, and oxidative imba…

(Beyond Pesticides, August 5, 2026) In a review of over 60 experimental and epidemiological studies related to chronic, low-dose exposure to pesticide mixtures, a team of international researchers finds unreasonable adverse health effects that are not adequately captured in regulatory processes. Published in the Journal of Environmental Protection, the authors note that the focus on single compou…