Friday news roundup

Hello fair ground readers! Here's a little round up of news stories and items-of-interest that crossed my desk this week. Have a great Mother's Day weekend, and please take a moment to take action on our Mother's Day Action Alert - Toxics Reform Your Mom Would Love! - Billie

Farmers Cope with Roundup-Resistant Weeds from the NY Times.

"(...)“You’re having to add another product with the Roundup to kill your weeds,” said Steve Doster, a corn and soybean farmer in Barnum, Iowa. “So then why are we buying the Roundup Ready product?” (...)"

Agencies Pledge to Curb Abuse of Child Farm Workers from NPR.

"(...)Human Rights Watch also criticized the EPA, saying its regulations regarding pesticide use on farms did not adequately consider the special vulnerabilities of child workers.

In response, the EPA said it was working to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks, in part to improve conditions for child workers, and expected to propose amendments to federal worker protection standards by 2012. (...)

New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer from the NY Times.

"(...) It’s striking that this report emerges not from the fringe but from the mission control of mainstream scientific and medical thinking, the President’s Cancer Panel. (...)"

And the backlash: US Panel Criticized as Overstating Cancer Risks, also from the NY Times.

Some local news:

NC Farm to School Program Sees Record Sales from WRAL

MomsRising: Cut Toxics from Our Kids' Lives on the WRAL "Go Ask Mom" Blog

And, the comment war on Toxic Free NC's last post over on NewRaleigh.com - Sayin' No to GMOs. Thanks to Hayes Simpson for the post that inspired that one!