Lisa Held, Civil Eats:

“Both Rollins and Kennedy said they were concerned about farm soils being contaminated with the chemicals, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS—commonly referred to as forever chemicals. ‘We want to end the production of PFAS,’ Kennedy said. ‘Ultimately, I think that’s what we have to do. There’s a lot of pressure on the industry now to stop using it.’



It wasn’t clear which industry Kennedy was referring to, but the pesticide industry, in fact, is moving in the opposite direction—with the help of the Trump administration that Kennedy serves in. Between April and June of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the approval of four new pesticides that qualify as PFAS based on a definition that is commonly used around the world and supported by experts.

‘What we’re seeing right now is the new generation of pesticides, and it’s genuinely frightening,’ said Nathan Donley, the environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, who published a paper last year showing pesticides are increasingly fluorinated. Fluorination is the process that creates PFAS.”

Read how at a time when most industries are transitioning away from PFAS, the pesticide industry is doubling down. They’re firmly in the business of selling PFAS.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Ban Toxic PFAS!

Christine Dzujna, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund:

“We are happy to report that an important federal meat bill we’ve been tracking, which had been shelved for a time, has now been reintroduced by Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Thomas Massie (R-KY).

The Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act is proposed bipartisan legislation that would dramatically reduce barriers for local producers and processors.

It would legalize in-state sales of locally-produced, custom-slaughtered beef, pork, or lamb to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery stores. This would go a long way in decentralizing meat processing in the United States.
Regenerative producers, who raise their livestock with the most humane welfare standards, often must drive their animals long distances; this stresses animals immediately prior to slaughter, impacts the environment, and takes up what could have been productive time at the farm.

In addition, smaller ranches and farms struggle to obtain appointments at slaughter facilities, since larger producers are favored.”



Learn more about how the passage of the PRIME act would be groundbreaking for access to local foods

TAKE ACTION: Support the PRIME Act!

Abdullah Khan writes for Longevity:

“For centuries, people relied on natural remedies long before the age of modern medicine. What was once dismissed as superstition or ‘old wives’ tales’ is now being revisited by scientists and many of these ancient practices are showing real, measurable benefits. It seems our ancestors knew more than we gave them credit for.

Here are ten ancient remedies that modern science is finally proving right.



1- Turmeric for Inflammation
For thousands of years, turmeric has been a staple in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. The golden spice was believed to heal wounds, fight infections, and reduce pain.Today, research shows that curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Studies even suggest it may help in managing arthritis, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.No wonder turmeric lattes have taken over coffee shops worldwide.



2- Honey as a Natural Antibiotic
Ancient Egyptians used honey to dress wounds and prevent infections. In Greek and Roman times, it was praised as both food and medicine. Science now confirms honey’s antibacterial and wound-healing properties. Manuka honey, in particular, has been shown to kill harmful bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Plus, a spoonful of honey still works wonders on a sore throat just like grandma always said.”

Read how healing can come from plants, practices, and traditions that have been with us for thousands of years

By Don Rauf, Everyday Health:

“Do you sit down to breakfast early or late? The answer matters, research suggests, because when you eat may make a difference in your overall health and even how long you live.

A new study has found that people tend to experience gradual shifts in meal times as they age, and for older individuals, eating later — especially breakfast — may be linked to underlying physical and mental problems including depression, fatigue, and oral health issues.



Later breakfast time was consistently connected with having physical and mental health conditions such as depression, excessive sleepiness, and dental problems.”

Read how researchers also found a link between later mealtimes and difficulty with meal preparation and worse sleep

Did you know that the pesticide industry is doubling down on PFAS “forever chemicals,” despite the known risks? Four new PFAS-based pesticides have been approved, threatening our health and the environment for decades to come. Meanwhile, Americans are already being widely exposed to large doses of multiple toxic chemicals.

These new pesticides active ingredients can degrade into trifluoroacetic acid, which persists in the environment for more than 100 years.

But there’s hope. At the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), we’re fighting for a ban on all PFAS chemicals and working to hold the pesticide industry accountable. Our mission is to give people a voice on the most critical current issues of the day and empower them to demand safer, healthier products and environments.

Every voice matters!

Please consider making a donation to support OCA’s mission of creating a safer, healthier planet and future for all.

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 grant request from your Donor-Advised Fund?

Pamela Ferdinand, U.S. Right to Know

“Common chemicals in plastics, personal care products, and food packaging may drive the onset, growth, and spread of breast cancer—the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women, new research suggests.

Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide, causing more than 42,000 deaths in the U.S, with particularly high rates among Black women. Only 5 to 10 percent are inherited, meaning most arise from environmental and lifestyle factors.

The findings, published this month [September 2025] in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, suggest phthalates hijack the body’s hormone systems, activate cancer-promoting genes, and make tumors easier to form. and harder to treat. The study raises new questions about the safety of chemicals that millions of Americans encounter every day in air, food, and water.”

Learn why understanding phthalate-driven carcinogenicity, and how to mitigate it, is essential to inform public health policy, clinical guidance, and individual risk reduction methods

READ: Phthalates: The Everywhere Chemical

Toxic Phthalates Found In Everyday Processed Foods — Guide

Stacy Malkan, U.S. Right To Know:

“Professor Michael Antoniou, head of the Gene Expression and Therapy Group at King’s College London, has studied for more than 35 years how genes function and how they are disrupted. His decades of rigorous independent research into the risks of GM foods and glyphosate-based herbicides have raised serious concerns about the safety of these technologies.

In a report he prepared for the Mexican government, as the country attempted to restrict GMO corn imports for health reasons, Professor Antoniou cited ‘a large body of evidence from well-controlled laboratory animal toxicity studies that show evidence of harm to multiple physiological systems’ from toxic agents found in GM corn.

In this interview, Antoniou explains that the health risks of GM corn and its associated pesticides arise from three main sources: Bt insecticidal proteins engineered into the plants, DNA damage caused by the genetic modification process itself, and pesticides used on the crops.”

Read how today’s “stacked trait” GMOs – which combine multiple Bt toxins with resistance to several herbicides – have never been properly tested for safety, and more

By Dan Gooding , Billal Rahman & Amanda Castro, Newsweek:

“New York’s small farms are beginning to feel the strain of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, with experts warning that an industry heavily reliant on undocumented workers needs an urgent solution from Congress.

While much of the focus when it comes to immigrants in the Empire State has been the New York City metro area, the state itself is home to as many as 67,000 farmworkers across 30,000 farms mostly upstate and on Long Island.

‘We are the most important part of the country, because no one can live without food,’ said one Mexican man who has worked in New York for 12 years, speaking to Newsweek on condition of anonymity. ‘So we can live without a car, without electricity, without many things. But we can’t live without food.’”

Read why it doesn’t make sense on either a human level or on a business level as the food industry relies mostly on undocumented people

Ann Thomas, Harvard Magazine:

“Life forms built from left-handed DNA and RNA could threaten Earth’s plants, animals, and insects.
Synthetic biologists can alter the genes of microbes, plants, and animals to give them new abilities, with wide-ranging applications in medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing. 

But one advance in the field has raised special concern: that researchers might develop the ability to create lifeforms from molecules that are mirror images of the building blocks of life. Because the release of such organisms into the environment could be lethal to most life forms, 38 prominent scientists argued in a recent commentary in Science, this line of research should be paused.

Although most experts believe that the development of such organisms is at least 10 years away, Winthrop professor of genetics George Church, a leader in the development of DNA sequencing and synthetic biology, anticipates a much shorter time frame. ‘It’s less than a year,’ he says. ‘It’s already gotten to the point where somebody who is sufficiently mischievous could start with what we’ve already published and run with it.’”

Read how if someone engineered an entire mirror organism, its invisibility to the immune systems of existing life forms could lead to catastrophe

Willis Ryder Arnold & Deborah Becker interview Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir & Rebekah Granger-Ellis, WBUR:

“Intuition is fundamental to our intelligence. And there wouldn’t be much innovation if we didn’t have intuition. It’s really fundamental to our creativity, and it’s part of our analytical and rational thinking. And I think many of us have been trained to think that it’s separate from that.

And in today’s world, where we are really immersed in so much noise and distraction and speed, and for many of us, it’s just really hard to listen to our inner voice, to really connect within. But the thing is, intuition is always bringing us hints, signs, helping us think, make sense of, sense make, of the world around us, the place we’re in and how we take decisions.

But it’s really up to us, to connect with it, to listen to it, to learn how to train it like a muscle, because it’s always there doing its job. We all have it, but it’s absolutely up to ourselves to hone and harness it. And it both becomes harder in today’s noisy world. But it also, I think, is even more important than before. Because a well-honed intuition becomes super important to our intelligence as we try to understand complexity and uncertainty. Which I think most people would agree is something that we have enough of a lot of in today’s world.”

Listen or read more about why some problems best solved by ‘trusting our gut’

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