In May 2026, Vermont became the first U.S. state to ban paraquat. The U.S. still lags behind at least 74 other countries that have already stopped using the herbicide.

“We’re the first in the nation, but the last in the world, so it’s kind of a mixed feeling,” said Vermont State Representative Esme Cole, who sponsored the bill.

Paraquat is the deadliest chemical in U.S. agriculture. The EPA’s own warning is “one sip can kill,” and the agency has documented deaths from accidental ingestion of tiny amounts. It has even deemed paraquat too toxic for golf courses, while continuing to allow it on the food we eat.

Farmers and farmworkers face the heaviest exposure. From 2013 to 2017, paraquat use doubled and Parkinson’s diagnoses increased by 107%. Lawyers for paraquat-exposed victims say manufacturers Syngenta and Chevron knew for decades that paraquat destroyed the brain cells whose death causes Parkinson’s.

Paraquat’s damage reaches further than Parkinson’s. It is linked to childhood acute myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, and birth defects. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 14. Paraquat is linked to at least one form of it. S74 countries banned it. Vermont just made it 49 states to go.

LEARN MORE: Paraquat Health Risks and Hot-Spots: California, Mississippi, and Louisiana

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Follow Vermont’s Lead and Ban Paraquat!

Some of the world’s biggest chocolate makers, including Mondelēz, Mars, and Barry Callebaut, are quietly moving toward lab-grown cocoa, with the first commercial products expected on U.S. shelves by late 2026. Chocolate grown in bioreactors, not on farms. They’re calling it a climate solution.

Cocoa farming supports 5 to 6 million smallholder families across West Africa, Latin America, and Asia, many already living in poverty. For these communities cocoa is their livelihood and their future. Lab-grown cocoa lets corporations walk away from that reality without ever being asked to do better.

There are also real questions about what this means for our health. These cell-cultured products enter the food supply through self-GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) safety pathways, a system that allows companies to essentially determine their own safety. Nobody really knows what regular consumption of these novel foods does to our bodies over time.

In the meantime, you can vote with your dollars. Equal Exchange sources organic, fair trade chocolate directly from small farmer cooperatives. This is chocolate that is actually grown on farms, not in labs, by farmers earning a fair wage.

43,497 people have signed OCA’s petition calling on lawmakers to ban genetically engineered foods made with synthetic biology. Now lab-grown cocoa is headed to U.S. shelves by late 2026. Corporations say it’s sustainable. Millions of farming families say it threatens everything they have.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Lawmakers To Ban Genetically Engineered Frankenfoods Made With Synthetic Biology (So-Called “Precision Fermentation”)!

Jane Leverich, M.S., RDN, Eating Well:

“As convenient as restaurant delivery, takeout and prepared foods may be, there’s something to be said for the simple act of cooking at home. Beyond the nutrition benefits, preparing meals involves a surprising amount of physical, mental and social ability and engagement—from planning what to eat and grocery shopping to chopping ingredients, cooking and cleaning up afterward.

And while the various tasks associated with cooking may feel mundane—especially when we have the option to order a tasty meal straight to our doorstep—they’re exactly the kinds of everyday activities that help keep us engaged as we get older. Cooking requires decision-making, memory, coordination and movement, while grocery shopping can provide opportunities to socialize and stay physically active. Together, these small daily habits may offer benefits that extend far beyond the kitchen.”

New research published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health suggests that those everyday tasks may play an important role in healthy aging.

Vermont just banned paraquat, the deadliest chemical in U.S. agriculture, becoming the first state in the country to do so. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because people kept pushing, kept educating, and kept showing up. Now we need every other state to follow. Thousands of people respond every time OCA sounds the alarm on toxic chemicals, and that consistent, collective voice is what moves the needle for positive change.

This issue alone covers a pesticide linked to Parkinson’s, childhood leukemia, and birth defects that 74 countries have already banned. It covers millions of cocoa farmers being engineered out of their livelihoods. It covers a USDA that fired its own experts on corporate seed consolidation. It covers a federal government that tried to eliminate chemical safety oversight before a spill killed 11 people.

Now is the time for resisting illegitimate authority, and picking up the pieces of our shattered Democracy. Now is the time to join together, left and right, urban and rural, under the banner of organic and regenerative food, farming, and land use, natural health, and constitutionally-based participatory democracy.

Moving forward we will continue our decades-long campaign to educate and mobilize the public. As always we will expose the bad — how our deteriorating public health and chronic disease epidemic is directly related to our degenerative food, farming, and land use practices — while highlighting the good — how organic and local food and natural health practices can resolve our health, environmental, and climate crisis.

But we need your help to step up our truth-telling as we campaign to regenerate our politics, food, farming, and health. If you’ve already donated recently, thank you so much for your support. If not, please consider giving us a donation now.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International, our international sister organization

Have you considered making a gift from your IRA?

New developments in human embryo gene editing are drawing sharp criticism from scientists and bioethicists. Researchers say they edited the DNA of early human embryos with greater precision than ever before, using a technique called base editing that makes more targeted changes to the genetic code than standard CRISPR. The work has been posted online but has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The lead scientist, Dieter Egli, says the technology is nowhere near ready for clinical use. In some embryos, the editing was incomplete, leaving a dangerous mix of edited and unedited cells. A previous attempt by the same team ended in what Egli described as “absolutely catastrophic consequences,” with entire chromosomes destroyed.

The scientific community is raising serious concerns, and for good reason. A Stanford biomedical ethicist warned that for a few million dollars, anyone could set up an IVF and gene editing lab and start doing this, with the result potentially being “really sick kids.”

The money behind this research comes from a company already selling parents the idea of a better baby. Read the full story from Josie Fischels at NewsNation.

ABC News:

“When Instagram trolls attacked actor and director Rachel Ward for ‘letting herself go,’ it became a cultural moment about how older women are perceived.

But Rachel, once voted one of the most beautiful women in the world, laughed it off and used the moment to draw attention to her passion for regenerative farming.

Living and working on the family’s cattle farm in northern NSW, Rachel has found a profound sense of purpose and a new-found connection with her adopted country.”

Read more

Watch on YouTube

by Sarah Todd, STAT:

“The all-star lineup of ultra-processed food researchers who teamed up on a new special edition of the American Journal of Public Health have an overarching message for policymakers: ‘Do policy!’

That directive, offered by food politics scholar Marion Nestle during a press call ahead of the issue’s release, is accompanied by new polling that shows broad cross-partisan concerns over the health harms associated with ultra-processed foods.

The 17 articles in the special issue also include new research on topics including how tobacco giant Philip Morris Companies drew from its cigarette playbook to develop Lunchables in the 1980s and 1990s during the period when it owned Kraft General Foods, applying the flavor-enhancing technologies that had helped the company make lower-nicotine cigarettes to create more palatable fat-free cheeses and processed meats.”

This special issue of American Journal of Public Health lays out the case for government action over personal responsibility.

by Angela Symons, Euro News:

“With a hot summer looming, fueled by human-caused climate change, drought is likely to take grip on the continent, further threatening food supplies and livelihoods.

New data gathered on drought-hit French farmland reveals that the most promising solution could also be the greenest one.

In a study of more than 1,200 farms across the country, early findings show that highly regenerative farms recorded an eight per cent drop in crop yields compared with 22 per cent on their least regenerative counterparts following the 2023 droughts.”

Regenerative farming could save enough wheat during drought to produce 130 million baguettes according to this new French study.

Discover how to grow food in ways that restore ecosystems, build healthier soil, and support long-term resilience, rooted in scientific principles and real-world practice.

Join us for 5 interactive 90-minute online lessons, accessible across the globe. Regeneration International’s certificate course, offered in conjunction with South Seas University and taught by  Prof. Dr. André Leu D.Sc., BA Com., Grad Dip Ed. who is our International Director of Regeneration International, blends regenerative agriculture, organic farming, and agroecology into a practical, science-based program that empowers you to design productive, climate-resilient farming systems.

This 5-week foundational (101) training provides a coherent introduction to the concepts and practices that underpin regenerative land management and agroecological systems. It combines global perspectives, essential principles, and practical strategies so you can: 

• Understand how to build healthy soils and thriving plant communities
• Apply regenerative practices that restore ecosystems and biodiversity
• Strengthen farms, landscapes, and communities with climate resilience
• Grow your confidence to act, whether in farming, research, policy, or advocacy

Whether you’re improving an existing farm, launching a new project, or advancing sustainable practices in your community, this certificate gives you tools, credibility, and global insight to make a real impact.

Pamela Ferdinand, U.S. Right to Know (USRTK):

“For decades, regulators viewed chlorpyrifos — a pesticide widely used in the U.S. and around the world — primarily as a neurotoxin that disrupts signaling in the brain and nervous system. But as the EPA reconsiders whether to continue to allow its use on foods like apples and soybeans, a new review indicates other insidious harms.

Published in April 2026 in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, the review synthesizes findings from nearly 300 studies worldwide published up to this year. These include laboratory experiments, animal studies, epidemiological research, regulatory documents, and risk assessments.

Growing evidence suggests chlorpyrifos may damage the brain, hormones, liver, gut microbiome, muscles, reproductive organs, and bones. Studies also link the pesticide to DNA damage and lasting changes in gene activity that may increase the risk of chronic disease.”

Together, the findings portray chlorpyrifos as what the reviewers call a “multi-system toxicant” that poses a more significant threat to public health than previously understood.

by Felicia Lee, The Daily Meal:

“Most of us know a gifted gardener with a seemingly magical touch. Their talents are obvious before you even see them: every plant on their property is thriving. And if they grow vegetables, you’re especially lucky — they’re almost certain to force a bag of home-grown heirloom tomatoes or squash upon you when you visit, since there’s no possible way they can eat it all.

And once you taste their home-grown veggies, you understand what the fuss is all about — they offer freshness and unique flavors that generic supermarket produce can’t match. Seeing your friend’s garden — and how easily they can grab dinner ingredients from the backyard — may make you want to try growing veggies yourself. But perhaps you have neither the knowledge nor the patience of your gardening guru friend. You just want easy-to-grow veggies that will offer a fast payoff for minimal effort.” 

Fortunately, a lot of popular veggies are surprisingly fast-growing and can go from seed to harvest in just a month or two.

Beavers Don’t Just Build Dams, They Build Nations Beavers are doing more for watershed restoration than most government programs, slowing water flow, recharging aquifers, and creating habitat for hundreds of species. A closer look at how one animal shapes entire ecosystems. Learn more at Nautilus

The USDA Fired Its Experts on Seed Industry Concentration. Then, It Proclaimed It Was Working on the Issue. The USDA eliminated the staff who were studying corporate control of the seed supply, then announced it was taking the problem seriously. Learn more at Investigate Midwest

Pesticide Use Around Homes and Farms Linked to Childhood Leukemia, Brain Tumors New research links pesticide exposure near homes and farms to childhood leukemia and brain tumors. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that the chemicals most commonly used in American agriculture and lawn care carry serious health risks for children. Learn more at US Right to Know

Remote Work Is Making Americans Lonelier and Sadder, New Study Suggests A new study finds remote workers are reporting significantly higher rates of loneliness and declining mental health compared to people working in person. The findings raise real questions about what we’ve traded away in the shift away from shared workplaces. Learn more at Scientific American

Why Drinking Alcohol May Make You Reach for Chips and Pizza: New Research New research suggests alcohol doesn’t just lower your inhibitions around food, it may actively trigger hunger signals in the brain, making it harder to make healthy choices after a few drinks. Learn more at EurekAlert

No, Rolling Back These Environmental Rules Won’t Lower Your Grocery Bill The argument that environmental regulations are driving up food prices is being used to justify gutting protections that have little to do with what you pay at checkout. Grist breaks down what is actually behind grocery inflation. Learn more at Grist

Farmland for Farmers Act Reintroduced to Stop Corporate Farmland Grabs Corporate investors and foreign entities are buying up American farmland at an accelerating pace, driving up land prices and pushing working farmers out. The Farmland for Farmers Act would put real limits on who can own the land that feeds us. Learn more at National Family Farm Coalition

Data Center Boom Leaves Rural America Shouldering the Costs The rapid expansion of AI data centers is landing hard on rural communities, drawing heavily on local land, water, and power grids while returning very little to the people who live there. Learn more at Farm Action

Vermont Enacts Baby Food Testing and Labeling Law Targeting Heavy Metals Vermont has passed a first of its kind law requiring baby food manufacturers to test for and disclose heavy metal content. It is a meaningful step toward safer food for the most vulnerable, and every state should be watching. Learn more at Daily Intake Blog

Trump Moved to Eliminate Chemical Safety Board Before Deadly Spill Killed 11 The administration had already been working to shut down the federal agency responsible for investigating chemical disasters before a spill killed 11 people. The Chemical Safety Board was one of the few bodies with the independence to hold industry accountable when things go wrong. Learn more at Truthout

We Saw What AI Data Centers Don’t Want You to See AI data centers are consuming staggering amounts of water and energy, and the industry has worked hard to keep the public from seeing the full picture. This documentary got inside. Learn more at Rocky Mountain PBS

Europe’s Aversion To Eating Insects May Have Deep Ecological and Evolutionary Roots Before insect protein gets fully embraced as the future of sustainable food, researchers are taking a closer look at why so many cultures have long avoided eating bugs, and whether that instinct might be telling us something worth listening to. Learn more at Phys.org

Trump Stock Purchases Include John Deere and Major Food Companies Civil Eats reports that the president holds personal stock in John Deere and several major food companies while making agricultural and trade policy decisions that directly affect their bottom lines. Learn more at Civil Eats

Meat Plant Spreads 1000s of Gallons of Blood on Fields, Fouling PA Town’s Water A Pennsylvania slaughterhouse has been spreading thousands of gallons of animal blood on nearby fields, and residents say it is ending up in their drinking water. Spotlight PA follows one community’s years long effort to hold the plant accountable. Learn more at Spotlight PA

Trump SNAP Funding Restrictions in NJ, Other States Halted by Judge A federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration’s attempt to restrict SNAP funding in New Jersey and several other states, keeping food assistance in place for millions of people while legal challenges move forward. Learn more at AOL News

Trees Belong in the Regenerative Agriculture Story Regenerative agriculture conversations tend to center on soil health and cover crops, but trees may be one of the most powerful and underused tools we have. This piece makes a strong case for putting agroforestry at the heart of how we think about farming’s future. Learn more at Sustainable Harvest