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Catch up on the latest news and analysis from EWG’s team of experts.

Areas of Focus

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Climate change isn’t high priority for $1.2 billion USDA farm stewardship program

One of the Department of Agriculture’s largest farm stewardship programs doesn’t make a big enough priority of helping farmers reduce greenhouse gases – even though food and farming emissions keep...

Tackling the rising climate costs of American food and farming

Even if the U.S. stopped burning fossil fuels tomorrow, rising greenhouse gas emissions from food and farming could make a climate catastrophe unavoidable.

EWG: ‘Forever chemicals’ may taint nearly 20 million cropland acres

The toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS could be contaminating nearly 20 million acres of U.S. cropland, according to an EWG estimate.

It’s time to reform the Conservation Reserve Program – but not for the reason you might think

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was right to reject efforts this week to allow farmers to plow up lands enrolled in the Agriculture Department’s Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, to grow more...

Why is EWG talking about plant-based foods and the climate crisis?

It’s no secret we’re living through a period of unprecedented and catastrophic climate change, and every day serious problems from the crisis become more apparent.

Flush with cash, farmers ask Congress for even more money

Farmers are flush with cash, as exports soar, income and profits reach record highs, and subsidies hit historic levels. And now crop groups are asking Congress for even more money.

USDA livestock subsidies near $50 billion, EWG analysis finds

The Department of Agriculture has spent almost $50 billion in subsidies for livestock operators since 1995, according to an EWG analysis.

Our beef with Big Beef’s bad math

During a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, lobbyists for the beef industry claimed the greenhouse gas emissions caused by beef production are simply too small to matter in fighting the climate crisis.

Pesticide peril: Toxic threats to farmworkers and families in Ventura County

A toxic threat is facing many parts of California’s Ventura County, where everyone from farmworkers to families could be at risk from increased exposure to harmful pesticides.

‘Low carbon’ beef: As nonsensical as ‘low cancer’ cigarettes

The Department of Agriculture has approved a label designating “low carbon” beef, a statement as nonsensical as the Food and Drug Administration calling a cigarette “low cancer.”

Should Secretary Vilsack speak to the Farm Bureau?

You might be surprised to find out a member of President Biden’s cabinet was addressing an organization that opposes gay marriage, supports making English our official language, opposes the removal of...

Can plant-based foods end Big Meat’s monopoly and help the climate?

Meat prices are skyrocketing, in part because just four meat companies control 85 percent of U.S. beef supplies. In response, President Joe Biden this week introduced an action plan targeting...

More meat means more land use and even more greenhouse gases

Don’t believe the meat industry’s claims of embracing sustainability and using less land to produce more meat. Land use, and its associated greenhouse gas emissions, are rising. Plowing grassland and...

Tackling food, farming emissions key to avoiding climate catastrophe

Even if we stopped burning fossil fuels today, greenhouse gas emissions from food and farming could make a climate catastrophe unavoidable.

Meat’s math problem is exacerbating the climate crisis

There’s broad agreement that a climate catastrophe is unavoidable unless we cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly. The transportation and energy emissions that contribute to the climate crisis...

Forever chemicals from military bases may be lurking in agricultural water supplies

Farmers near military bases might be unknowingly contaminating their crops and livestock with water contaminated by the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, an EWG analysis finds.

Hundreds of potentially toxic algae outbreaks have plagued water in 2021

Fall typically marks the end of the algae outbreak season for most of the U.S. This year, news reports of the potentially toxic blooms in bodies of water have soared to at least 476, an eight percent...

Toxic algae exposure leads to more than 300 emergency room visits in three years

Harmful algae blooms caused 321 emergency room visits between 2017 and 2019 for respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurologic and skin problems, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study says...

Avoid potentially toxic algae during Labor Day weekend: Almost 400 outbreaks already in 2021

At least 39 states are suffering potentially toxic algae bloom outbreaks this year, with almost 400 news reports of incidents already in 2021 – a 25 percent leap from reports by the same time last...

Growing farm conservation backlog shows need for Congress to spend smarter

Despite billions of dollars in federal spending, the U.S. has a growing backlog of farmers seeking assistance for conservation efforts that can protect drinking water supplies. It’s time for Congress...

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