Tag: pesticides

Protesting Farmers Successfully Bully EU into Scrapping New Environmental Regulations

Michigan Star Staff
EU Farmers

The European Union (EU) is withdrawing a pesticide proposal amid protests by farmers against environmental regulations, The Associated Press reported.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the decision Tuesday to suspend a regulation that aimed to cut pesticide and similar chemical use in half by 2030, according to The Guardian. The move is the latest concession by the EU to farmers who have staged sweeping protests across the member nations against environmental regulations they feel are hurting their livelihoods.

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Commentary: Journalists Become Cynical, But Not Skeptical

RealClearWire
Farm grown fruit for sale

Journalists and scientists have more in common than you’d think—at least they should. Scientists seek to understand and explain how the natural world works. They observe, ask questions, and approach new information with skepticism as they work through a careful process to determine what is true.

Journalists, in theory, use the same curiosity and rigor to provide the information we need to make good decisions in our lives. According to the Society of Professional Journalists, a core tenet of journalism is to “seek truth and report it.” In both worlds, negligence begins where skepticism ends, creating dangerous opportunities for peddlers of misinformation.

The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) annual “Dirty Dozen” list is a perfect marriage of scientific and journalistic negligence. Each year, the EWG, a controversial, agenda-driven organic activist group, purports to rank the top 12 fruits and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides. And each year, the media takes the bait without fail, and the coverage reads like sponsored content.

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