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News Releases

Foreign Companies Paid Billions to Run U.S. Crop Insurance Program

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Twenty insurance companies in Bermuda, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the U.S. were paid $7.1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds from 2007 to 2011 to sell American farmers crop insurance policies, an Environmental Working Group analysis shows.
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Key Issues: 
Subsidies
Farm Policy

California Drinking Water Pollution Traced to Fertilizers and Animal Waste

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Animal waste and fertilizer from farming operations in California’s Salinas Valley and Tulare Lake Basin are the source of 96 percent of the nitrate contamination in the area’s groundwater, a new study commissioned by the State Water Resources Control Board found.
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Key Issues: 
Farming
Water
Tap Water

FDA to Decide Soon On Move Toward BPA Food Packaging Ban

Friday, March 9, 2012
The federal Food and Drug Administration, faced with a series of legal actions from environmental groups, is poised to decide whether to move toward barring the toxic chemical bisphenol-A from food packaging. The agency’s decision is expected by March 31.
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Key Issues: 
Chemical Policy
BPA

Brazilian Blowout to Pay Workers, Customers

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
A class action settlement requiring the manufacturer of Brazilian Blowout, a popular chemical hair straightener to pay a small compensation to salon workers and customers who used its formaldehyde-laced products doesn’t go far enough to protect public health.
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Key Issues: 
Chemical Policy
Cosmetics

World's Largest Soup Maker to Remove BPA from Cans

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Campbell’s Soup, whose iconic red and white label is found in pantries across the country, says it will stop using the notorious chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, in the linings of its cans.
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Key Issues: 
BPA
Food Containers
Chemicals in Food

109 Organizations Take Issue With Obama’s Support for Fracking

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
More than 100 organizations – including environmental, religious and public health groups – expressed concern about President Obama’s endorsement of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling in his recent State of the Union address. “Amid mounting evidence of the harm and...
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Key Issues: 
Fracking

EPA Identifies Group of Highly Toxic Chemicals for Risk Review

Thursday, March 1, 2012
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has announced a plan to conduct comprehensive safety reviews of 83 chemicals common in consumer goods and manufacturing and to give top priority to seven chemicals considered the most serious risks to human health and the environme
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Chemical Policy

California Regulators Turn a Blind Eye to Fracking

Wednesday, February 29, 2012
State regulators have no idea how many oil and gas wells have been fracked in California despite having requested and received $3 million in new funding in 2010 to regulate the practice.
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Key Issues: 
Fracking

How Much Added Sugar is in Food? Eaters Have the Right to Know

Thursday, February 23, 2012
If Americans knew exactly how much added sugar came with the food and beverages they and their families consume, many might make different choices.
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Key Issues: 
Food
Healthy Eating

EPA Dioxin Assessment: Essential Advancement for Human Health

Friday, February 17, 2012
The Environmental Protection Agency today released its safety standard for dioxin toxicity for risks other than cancer, a crucial advance in protecting Americans from exposure to this ubiquitous industrial pollutant.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Dioxin

New Ethanol Blend Puts Hundreds of Millions of Engine Warranties At Risk

Friday, February 17, 2012
The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision today to pave the way for the sale of gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol is likely to prove a nightmare for car owners who improperly fuel their gas tanks.
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Key Issues: 
Biofuels

America’s Conservation Compact is Eroding Despite Farmers’ Support

Friday, February 17, 2012
A new research paper finds that most farmers support the long-standing conservation compact that has helped protect the rich soil and clean water that sustain food, farming and public health.
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Key Issues: 
Farming

Ad Campaign Targets Farm Bill Conservation Cuts

Monday, February 6, 2012
WASHINGTON – Some lawmakers have made clear that they intend to cut 7 million acres protected under the Conservation Reserve Program from the next farm bill. Congress has cut other critical conservation program every year since 2002. These programs are essential to protect fresh water from toxic...
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Key Issues: 
Farm Policy

Veteran Food and Farm Advocate Joins EWG

Monday, February 6, 2012
Washington, D.C. -- Scott Faber, a long-time food and farm policy advocate, has joined the Environmental Working Group as EWG's Vice President for Government Affairs. During his 20-year career as an advocate for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Environmental Defense Fund and American...
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EPA Lists Dry Cleaning Chemical Likely Carcinogen

Friday, February 10, 2012
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has declared tetrachloroethylene, or PERC, a chemical used by many dry cleaners, a “likely human carcinogen.”
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Chemical Policy

Popular Lipsticks Contain Dangerous Levels of Lead

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration researchers have detected lead in 400 brands of lipstick tested by the agency. At least two popular brands had amounts of the neurotoxin above the threshold the state of California considers safe in personal care products, which is 5 parts per million.
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Key Issues: 
Lead
Consumer Products
Cosmetics

Calif. Announces Brazilian Blowout Settlement

Monday, January 30, 2012
Environmental Working Group issued the following statement in response to the settlement between California and the manufacturer of the chemical hair treatment Brazilian Blowout:
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Key Issues: 
Chemical Policy
Cosmetics

Gatorade To Drop Suspect Additive

Tuesday, January 29, 2013
PepsiCo’s decision to stop using brominated vegetable oil in Gatorade marks an important victory for consumers. The chemical, known as BVO, is used in the U.S. as an emulsifier in citrus-flavored drinks, about 10 percent of the U.S. soft drink market , to keep the flavoring from floating to the top.
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Key Issues: 
Food
Chemicals in Food

President's Speech Misses Mark in Addressing Concerns Over Fracking

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
During last night's State of the Union address, President Obama appeared ready to throw the full support of his administration behind the expansion of natural gas drilling operations throughout the country, largely ignoring the outrage and worry expressed by those in affected communities.
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Key Issues: 
Fracking
Oil & Gas Drilling

New School Lunch Standards Will Improve Diets for 31 Million Children

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
More whole grains, leafy greens, and fruits and vegetables will be on the menu for 31 million children who participate in the federally-supported National School Lunch Program under new nutrition standards announced today by First Lady Michelle Obama.
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Key Issues: 
Food
Healthy Eating

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