SAN FRANCISCO, CA, July 17, 2023 — Following legal pressure from Center for Food Safety (CFS) and courts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn its interim approval of difenoconazole, a potent and toxic fungicide sprayed on a wide range of fruits and vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, and soybeans. Numerous endangered species […]
Center for Food Safety
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USDA Proposes to Reinstate Organic Animal Welfare Standards Gutted by Trump Administration, Marking Big Win for Organic Advocates and Consumers
WASHINGTON, August 6, 2022 – Today the USDA officially committed to reinstate the 2017 Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) rule, affirming that the USDA Organic label includes animal welfare protections—a major win for organic advocates, farmers, and consumers. Today’s pre-publication proposed rule reverses Trump administration moves that gutted the OLPP in 2018. “This is […]
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Up to 144,000 Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Released in Florida Keys
MARATHON, Fla. April 26, 2021 – The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec, a British biotech company, will begin the first-ever U.S. release of genetically engineered (GE) Aedes aegypti mosquitoes this week. Despite scientific concerns and public outcry over the human health and environment risks, the field trial’s first phase will release up to […]
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Federal Court Rejects Bid by EPA, Pesticide Industry to Keep Bee-Killing Pesticide Sulfoxaflor on Market Despite Known Risks to Endangered Species
San Francisco, Calif. January 13, 2021 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) request to allow farmers to continue using the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor while the agency assessed the pesticide’s harm to endangered species. Today’s ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the […]
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Monarch Butterflies Put on Candidate Waiting List for Endangered Species Act Protection
WASHINGTON, D.C. December 15, 2020 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that protection for Monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act is warranted but precluded. This puts the imperiled butterfly on a waiting list for listing but confers no protection in the meantime. The decision was issued in response to a 2014 […]
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California Supreme Court Upholds Placement of Glyphosate on State’s Carcinogens List
San Francisco, CA, Aug. 17, 2018 – The California Supreme Court refused to hear Monsanto’s appeal to remove glyphosate, a major component of the company’s Roundup herbicide, from California’s list of chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects. The state had placed glyphosate on the list pursuant to Proposition 65, based on the 2015 determination […]
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Proposed Regulations for GMO Food Labeling Could Leave Millions of Americans in the Dark
WASHINGTON, DC, May 3 2018 — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the long-awaited proposed regulations for the mandatory disclosure of foods produced using genetic engineering (GE or GMO), which it calls “Bioengineered foods.” The regulations come out of a 2016 law signed by President Obama prohibiting existing state GE labeling laws, such […]
Posted inCalifornia
CFS and State of CA Win Appeal Affirming Listing of Glyphosate Pesticide as Probable Carcinogen Under Prop 65
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, April 19, 2018 – Today, a California Appellate Court sided with the State of California and Center for Food Safety (CFS) affirming that Monsanto’s glyphosate pesticide can be listed as a probable carcinogen under Proposition 65. Monsanto’s lawsuit challenged the 2015 announcement by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) that it […]
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Environmentalists and Farmers Seek Court Decision Halting Use of Dow’s Pesticide
WASHINGTON, D.C. April 12, 2018 – Late Wednesday, a coalition of environmental organizations and farmers represented by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and Earthjustice filed new legal papers in federal court seeking the reversal of Scott Pruitt and the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) approval of Dow Chemical’s toxic pesticide, Enlist Duo. The novel […]
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Annual Monarch Count Shows Butterfly Still Threatened
WASHINGTON, D.C. March 6, 2018 — The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released yesterday, shows a decrease from last year’s count and confirms the iconic orange and black butterfly is still very much at risk. The count of 2.48 hectares of occupied winter habitat is down from 2.91 hectares last winter. Overall […]
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Overwhelming Opposition to USDA Proposal to Legalize Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus Trees
WASHINGTON, DC, July 6, 2017 – Well over a quarter of a million people and 500 organizations submitted comments yesterday rejecting the commercialization of ArborGen Inc.’s genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees, which, if approved, would be the first-ever GE forest tree approved in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed approval in April […]
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Concerned Americans Say New GMO Regs Would Make Oversight Worse, Not Better
WASHINGTON, DC, June 19, 2017— Today marks the close of three U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public comment periods on proposed changes to the oversight of genetically engineered (GE) crops and animals. Nearly 100,000 individuals, along with 65 leading environmental, food safety, consumer, and farm groups, are calling on […]
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Landmark Report Shows Bee-killing Seed Coatings Aren’t Worth the Harm
WASHINGTON, May 24, 2017—A new report, Alternatives to Neonicotinoid Insecticide-Coated Corn Seed: Agroecological Methods are better for Farmers and the Environment, released today from Center for Food Safety, shows that environmentally harmful neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticide seed coatings are largely unnecessary and ineffective. The landmark report is the first of its kind to compile and analyze […]
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Report Shows Continued Widespread Water Contamination from Bee-Killing Neonic Pesticides
WASHINGTON, May 3, 2017—Center for Food Safety (CFS) today released Water Hazards 2.0: Continued Aquatic Contamination by Neonicotinoid Insecticides in the United States, an update to the 2015 report, “Water Hazard: Aquatic Contamination by Neonicotinoid Insecticides in the United States,” which shows continued widespread water contamination from neonicotinoid insecticides. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides […]
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New Report Confirms Bee-Killing Pesticides Cause Other Widespread Environmental Harm
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2016— A new report released today by Center for Food Safety (CFS), Net Loss—Economic Efficacy and Costs of Neonicotinoid Insecticides Used as Seed Coatings: Updates from the United States and Europe, shows that the economic and environmental losses associated with widespread overuse of certain pesticide seed coatings greatly outweigh potential gains. The […]
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President Obama Signs GMO ‘Non-labeling’ Bill, Leaves Millions of Americans in the Dark
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2016— Today President Obama signed into law a GMO labeling bill that discriminates against more than 100 million Americans. The bill recently passed through Congress and allows companies and producers to use QR codes, 1-800 numbers and other difficult to access technology to label food products that contain GMOs, instead of clear, […]