The departure of Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “leaves a gaping hole in the Obama administration's leadership on food and agriculture policy,” Environmental Working Group’s president Ken Cook said today.

The top environmental health stories of 2012 were all about everyday hazards that are right in our backyards. They have to do with the unintended consequences of chemical pollution that could harm the health of our families, our neighbors, our towns - our nation.

Pesticide and chemical companies battling California’s Proposition 37, to require labeling of genetically engineered foods, are telling Californians these genetically engineered foods are perfectly safe and no different from food grown naturally. But at least one corporation is delivering a very different message to corn farmers.

Consumers can markedly reduce their intake of pesticide residues and their exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria by choosing organic produce and meat, according to researchers at Stanford University who reviewed a massive body of scientific studies on the much-debated issue.

The Alliance for Food and Farming, an agribusiness group representing the bulk of conventional produce growers in California - and seemingly the only organization in existence that doesn’t want people to have information about which fruits and veggies come with multiple pesticides - sent me a list of questions after the release of Environmental Working Group’s 2012 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

Learn more about the Environmental Working Group's "Shopper's Guide to Pesticide and Produce." EWG's Senior Research Analyst, Sonya Lunder, introduces the 2012 Shopper's Guide and how you can use it to help you determine which fruits and vegetable

In an innovative study, researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine have developed a laboratory screening system for detecting neurotoxic chemicals and successfully tested it on more than 1,400 potential toxicants. The study confirmed the high toxic activity of the chemical piperonyl butoxide, a so-called chemical “synergist” used to increase the potency of more than 700 insecticides, including many for home use.

In June 1993, the Environmental Working Group released a report titled “Pesticides in Children’s Food.” In the very first line of the forward to that study, EWG President Ken Cook had this advice for parents:

Don’t toss out those fresh strawberries, mom.  Don’t dump the lettuce, don’t pitch the tomatoes, don’t throw out the bananas, and don’t pour that apple juice down the kitchen drain.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture began testing fruits and vegetables for pesticide residues in 1991 after the public became concerned about their potential risks to children.