Lavender Tipping Point: French Growers Lash Out At EU Anti-Science Policies
French growers have to endure a lot of strange restrictions - they can't use seeds with neonicotinoids on them, for example, because of a manufactured controversy about colony collapse disorder, but they can spray neonics on the plants themselves, which is actually worse for the environment. They can't use GMOs but they can use products created using mutagenesis, even though it is far less rigorous and precise. Now the European Commission has gone too far; they are putting warning labels on products made with lavender oil, which reportedly can cause allergic reactions for some people. According to an article in Chemical&Engineering News, the French are getting ready to fight anti-science regulations for the first time this century. read more