In Britain, Lord Taverne QC characterises the trends towards consumers buying overpriced organic food as a "monument to irrationality", promoted by advocates whose "principles are founded on a scientific howler" namely that "natural" chemicals are good and synthetic chemicals bad. In Britain, Lord Taverne QC characterises the trends towards consumers buying overpriced organic food as a "monument to irrationality", promoted by advocates whose "principles are founded on a scientific howler"...

pesticide companies over allegations that the firms' products caused agricultural workers in Nicaragua to become sterile. dollars to 13Nicaraguan workers who contended they were sterilized while exposed to a pesticide called DBCP on banana plantations nearly three decades ago, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. The agreement, which Amvac filed late last month, still requires final approval by a Los Angeles judge, said the paper in an article from Chinandega, Nicaragua, quoting...

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used in excess to boost yields, and harmful antibiotics are widely administered to control disease in seafood and livestock. Even so, shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year, the largest from any country, compared to about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the United States, according to data posted on the FDA's Web site. In recent weeks, scores of cats and dogs in America have died of...

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used in excess to boost yields while harmful antibiotics are widely administered to control disease in seafood and livestock. SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- The list of Chinese food exports rejected at American ports reads like a chef's nightmare: pesticide-laden pea pods, drug-laced catfish, filthy plums and crawfish contaminated with salmonella. Chinese products are bounced for containing pesticides, antibiotics and other potentially harmful chemicals,...

Because the Vermont name lends value to everything from maple syrup to apples to cheddar cheese, the state's economy is closely linked to agriculture, especially dairy farming. Unfortunately, this rural way of life is declining along with the supporting infrastructure like the local farm machinery dealer and the seed and grain companies. Producing artisan cheese on the farm has allowed many small producers to hold onto the land, diversify their products, or begin farming anew. Vermont's $2...