Biden EPA goes after strategy that would massively raise food prices

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed cracking down on a widely used agricultural herbicide, sparking outrage from farmers who say the move could raise food prices and imperil farms around the country.

The EPA announced Thursday it was reopening the finalized reregistration for the chemical atrazine, claiming the Trump administration’s “previous decision was not adequately supported by science,” according to an agency memorandum.

“Based on this reevaluation, EPA determined that this level of regulation was not appropriate and is proposing, for public comment, additional mitigation to protect aquatic plant communities,” the memo stated.

The agency’s new proposal would overturn a 2020 Trump administration decision to set the CE-LOC for atrazine at 15 parts per billion (ppb) in aquatic ecosystems. CE-LOC stands for “aquatic ecosystem concentration equivalent level of concern,” which is the level at which EPA says “organisms are adversely affected” based on scientific studies.

EPA now wants to lower the CE-LOC to 3.4 parts per billion, which farmers say will hamper their ability to protect their crops from weeds and use modern farming practices. – READ MORE