In the last three years, advocates fought against proposed pesticide immunity bills in 15 different states. They were defeated in a dozen states, but passed in Georgia, North Dakota and Kentucky. The Modern Ag Alliance (MAA), a lobbying and public relations group founded by Bayer, the maker of Roundup, spent $1.6 million lobbying in Tennessee in 2025.
1,3-dichloropropane is a carcinogen. It is used to kill anything living in the soil before planting strawberries, almonds, grapes and other billion-dollar crops. The Department of Pesticide Regulation, or DPR, enacted new rules in 2024 to restrict the use of the compound to protect residential bystanders. There was a 30% increase in average levels of the pesticide in the air.
Lawmakers are moving to ban "toxic" chemicals in food packaging in a bill that is quickly gathering pace. The legislation is brought by Democratic Representatives Jan Schakowsky (Illinois) and Rosa DeLauro (Connecticut) and Senator Richard Blumenthal. It has quickly attracted the support of nine cosponsors. It could be one to attract bipartisan support as it aligns with the Make America Healthy Again contingent, associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the Republican party.
FDA, CDC, and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service are being defunded. Food safety lawyer Bill Marler has represented families on the other end of foodborne outbreaks for more than 30 years. FDA lost nearly 3,900 employees in 2025 alone, part of an HHS purge of some 20,000 jobs.
Julie Binot is an LL.M. graduate from UC Berkeley. She is concerned about California's weak pesticide regulation. The state permits 72 pesticides that are banned in the European Union. Latino and immigrant farmworkers and low-income residents living near agricultural fields face the highest pesticide exposures.
On June 5, 2026, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued California Notice 2026-05 announcing the availability of the semiannual report summarizing the reevaluation status of pesticide products during the period of July 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. All pesticides sold or distributed in the United States must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before they can be used in California.
On May 26, 2026, Vermont became the first U.S. state to ban paraquat, a weed-killing pesticide, due to its potential link to Parkinson’s disease. Paraquat has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of intentional and accidental poisonings worldwide, and its acute toxicity is the reason it has been banned in 74 countries. Syngenta is stopping production of paraquats in the U.K. this July, leaving China as the world's largest producer.
The number of children with cancer in France has reached record levels. Other serious diseases affecting children, birth defects and developmental disorders are recorded, pointing the finger of blame at pesticides. France remains the number one consumer of pesticides in Europe. The state has provided compensation to victims since 2020.
FDA, CDC, and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service have been hit hard by budget cuts. Foodborne outbreaks are being defunded, and the people who find them are being fired, defunded and disbanded. FDA lost nearly 3,900 employees in 2025 alone, part of an HHS purge of some 20,000 jobs. FDA had 443 inspectors to cover more than 36,000 food facilities at home and abroad in 2024. CDC stopped tracking Campylobacter, Listeria, and four others.
The European Commission defended its Beating Cancer Plan during European Week Against Cancer. Pesticides are not mentioned in the plan. There are at least 15 suspected carcinogenic pesticides approved in the EU. Long-term exposure to glyphosate causes different types of cancer in laboratory animals at doses deemed ‘safe’ by EU authorities. PAN Europe and some members are challenging this decision at the European Court of Justice.