Plants may seem defenseless against insects, having neither hands nor tail to brush them away. But many produce potent repellent chemicals, ranging from ones that just taste or smell bad to ones that can kill. These stealthy survival tactics could teach us how to curb the widespread use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. More:

• Natural pest control: Plants enlist their enemies’ enemies  –  Knowable Magazine

• Self-recognition affects plant communication and defense (Research abstract)
• Exploitation of Herbivore-Induced Plant Odors by Host-Seeking Parasitic Wasps (Research abstract)

• Tailored flower strips promote natural enemy biodiversity and pest control in potato crops (Research article)
• Priming by airborne signals boosts direct and indirect resistance in maize - Ton (Research article)
• Laboratory and field trials reveal the potential of a gel formulation of entomopathogenic nematodes for the biological control of fall armyworm caterpillars (Spodoptera frugiperda) (Research article)
• Tritrophic Interactions Mediated by Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles: Mechanisms, Ecological Relevance, and Application Potential (Research article)

• The ever-tenuous success of plants engineered to kill insect foes  –  Knowable Magazine
• Restoring a maize root signal that attracts insect-killing nematodes to control a major pest (Research article)

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law the new legislation that was spurred by a 2019 incident in which a helicopter and a plane sprayed dozens of farmworkers with pesticides, causing health problems for the workers and their infant children. Previously, under the old fine system, applicators who exposed humans to pesticides could escape with little-to-no monetary penalties. More:

• Illinois enacts law increasing penalties for exposing humans to pesticides  –  Investigate Midwest
• How Illinois’ ‘fragmented system’ of monitoring pesticide exposure ‘allows individuals to get poisoned over and over without any brakes’  –  Investigate Midwest
• Top Takeaways: Five things to know from our investigation into Illinois’ monitoring of human pesticide exposure  –  Investigate Midwest
• Legislation to increase penalties for spraying people with pesticides advances in Illinois statehouse  –  Investigate Midwest

It’s hard to avoid PFAS, but experts say there are ways to mitigate your exposure to the man-made chemicals. Across the country, states are banning forever chemicals from consumer products, and some companies are promising to phase out use of the compounds. More:

• How can I avoid eating food with ‘forever’ chemicals?  –  The Washington Post
• EPA warns toxic ‘forever chemicals’ more dangerous than once thought  –  The Washington Post

• Questions and Answers on PFAS in Food  –  US FDA
• Dangerous PFAS Chemicals Are in Your Food Packaging  –  Consumer Reports

Children whose mothers are exposed to toxic PFAS can experience phenomenon previously linked to fetal tobacco smoke exposure. More:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ exposure can lead to low birth weight and obesity in later life  –  The Guardian

• ‘Forever chemicals’ detected in all umbilical cord blood in 40 studies  –  The Guardian
• Associations of Gestational Perfluoroalkyl Substances Exposure with Early Childhood BMI z-Scores and Risk of Overweight/Obesity: Results from the ECHO Cohorts (Research article)
• Gestational Perfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure and DNA Methylation at Birth and 12 Years of Age: A Longitudinal Epigenome-Wide Association Study (Research article)
• Exposure to ‘forever chemicals’ during pregnancy linked to increased risk of obesity in kids  –  Brown University

Transparency. That’s one of the most important things when it comes to getting rid of toxic chemicals. The problem is that there’s too little of it right now. But a new legislative proposal might change this. So-called product passports would increase chemical transparency and drive the market towards safer products. More:

• Product passports can detoxify the market. But not everyone likes the idea  –  ChemSec

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to effectively regulate seeds coated with highly toxic pesticides violates federal pesticide laws and is devastating pollinators, wildlife, and landscapes across the country, according to environmental groups who filed a lawsuit last week. More:

• Pesticide-Coated Seeds Are the Focus of a New Push for EPA Regulations  –  Civil Eats
• Beyond Bees, Neonics Damage Ecosystems—and a Push for Policy Change Is Coming  –  Civil Eats
• Complaint for Declaratory and Equitable Relief - Coated seeds (download PDF) (Judicial document)  –  U.S. District Court California

• Neonicotinoid Insecticides in New York State economic benefits and risk to pollinators - 2020 Neonicotinoid Assessment (download PDF)  –  Cornell University
• Neonicotinoid Pesticides Biological Evaluations Frequently Asked Questions (download PDF)  –  US EPA
• Neonicotinoid (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) jeopardy-Analysis (download PDF)  –  US EPA

• Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments: Limitations and Compatibility with Integrated Pest Management (Research article)
• Large-Scale Deployment of Seed Treatments Has Driven Rapid Increase in Use of Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Preemptive Pest Management in U.S. Field Crops (Research abstract)

• When Seeds Become Toxic Waste  –  Civil Eats
• Dead Bees, Sick Residents from Pesticide Pollution in Nebraska  –  Civil Eats