June 14, 2023

GLP podcast and video: Pesticide ban crushes French sugar production; Activist group ‘greenwashing’; How farming affects presidential elections

52 minutes

A pesticide ban in France has sent the country's sugar beet production to a 14-year low, a troubling result that could boost consumer food prices to alarming levels. Environmental activist groups that complain about industry "greenwashing" make dubious scientific claims to promote their agendas. Why do lawmakers and voters tolerate this double standard? Americans generally pay little attention to the politics of farming. But the recent push to further restrict pesticide and fossil fuel use in agriculture could force the public to pay more attention to farm policy.

Podcast:

Video:

Join guest host Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 222 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

* France sugar beet production hits 14-year low, analysts blame neonicotinoid pesticide ban

Sugar beet growers in France are battling unfavorable weather conditions and a pesticide ban that have sent their yields plummeting to 14-year lows. Experts have long argued that the prohibited insecticides, seed coatings known as neonicotinoids, pose minimal risks to human health and the environment while helping farmers control aphids that spread several deadly plant viruses. Will regulators reconsider the neonic ban in light of its potentially disastrous impact on the country's sugar production?

* Viewpoint: ‘Organic is good’? — Greenwashing propagated by environmental advocacy group lobbyists and marketing-savvy green industry

Food and consumer goods manufacturers are routinely accused of "greenwashing," using dubious claims to market their products to sustainability-minded shoppers. The oft-overlooked problem is that the politicians and activists who complain about greenwashing are guilty of promoting falsehoods about agriculture, energy and recycling as they try to generate public support for their environmentalist causes.

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* Viewpoint: The politics of farming affects every American. Here’s why agriculture will be the next presidential election’s big issue

American voters tend to focus on a handful of highly polarizing, controversial issues during presidential elections. But the federal government's recent push for "green" farming—that is, growing crops with access to fewer pesticides ...

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By Cameron English

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