Pregnant women exposed to pesticides carry high risk of having kids with autism spectrum disorder
Exposure during early development can affect mood, learning, social interactions and behaviour, reveals a study conducted near agriculture sites …
After an erratic monsoon, farmers in nine states struggle with pest outbreaks
Although most states in India lose five to 10 per cent of crops to pest attacks every year, the scale and intensity of the recent attacks is a …
Report highlights use of non-approved pesticides in food items in India
Even as studies point out the use of these pesticides in food commodities, coordination gaps between concerned deparments have not been addressed
Beetles high on coffee
Erratic weather is fuelling the growth of a pest which destroys Arabica coffee. In the absence of effective pest management, India's coffee …
Droopy dead
New findings suggest the vulture might be falling prey to an infectious disease. The scientific community is not yet certain if the vulture's …
COLANISATION'S DIRTY DOZEN
12 brands of cold drinks put to the test the coolest event of our times. They put to the test the most aggressive, glitzy, gutsy, premium, …
Another Kasaragod
Like Kerala’s Kasaragod, neighbouring Dakshina Kannada is bearing the brunt of spraying of endosulfan. While Kasaragod grabbed media …
Residue standards for organic food is a step in the right direction:CSE
FSSAI's new regulations for residue standards to certify food as organic is in alignment with international best practices
Alphonso’s last call?
The world’s best mango is perishing in coastal Maharashtra, which grows most of the crop. The culprits are climate change and unsustainable …
Farmers in tech trap
Cotton cultivators are on a seed and pesticide treadmill that is draining them of traditional skills
We found to our horror
By regulation, the soft drink industry must use "potable" water. But what's that? Who ensures municipalities meet standards? What …
Why environmental degradation is a big health risk
Down To Earth and Centre for Science and Environment jointly release Body Burden 2015, an annual health report
Prominent Indian tea brands contain pesticides: Greenpeace
Study finds 67 per cent of tested samples of packed tea leaves contained banned pesticide DDT; some samples had acutely poisonous monocrotophos
Keeping cancer alive
Punjab has been in the grip of cancer for over a decade but the government has ignored the threat. Sonal Matharu reports with photographer …
Into the ginger trap
Farmers from Kerala make big bucks by growing ginger in Karnataka but leave behind a trail of pollution
Supreme Court reminder to FSSAI on monitoring pesticides in food commodities
Non-profit Centre for Science and Environment says food regulatory body should also periodically test packaged and processed food, including soft …
Contaminating millets
There is disquiet over government scheme to wean traditional millet farmers on chemical inputs
GE cotton: Three states refuse NOC for field trials
GEAC demands Telangana, Gujarat state reasons for declining, will take decision if Maharashtra doesn't reply on time
Kidney conundrum
A mysterious chronic kidney disease is afflicting a large number of people in India and Sri Lanka. Despite decades of studies, scientists are …
We have robbed the soil of its nutrients
P N TAKKAR former director of the Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, and currently principal scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research …
Idea of farmer wisdom is relentlessly manipulated
As a visiting American academic, Glenn Davis Stone has put in over 60 weeks of field research on the impact of Bt cotton on farmers in Andhra …
Technology needs stewardship
Keshav Raj Kranthi, an entomologist by training, is director of the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur. He has developed an extensive …
Simply Put: Insect apocalypse
Silent fields: a cocktail of pesticides is stunting bumblebee colonies across Europe, study shows
The pollen that bumblebees collected and stored in their nests was contaminated with multiple pesticides, an average of eight different compounds …
Pesticide Management Bill 2020: What could have made it better
The bill was introduced after much delay