A 2018 Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat. (Ford.com)

Ford says emissions certification process under federal probe

Washington | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday Canadian officials have opened a preliminary investigation into the automaker’s emissions certification process. Ford said in its annual report Environment and Climate Change Canada has opened a probe into the matter after the automaker disclosed early last year that the U.S. Justice Department had opened a […] Read more

Watermelons head to market in California.

Managing water for farming on a large scale

California’s most recent drought has pushed farmers to become more water-use efficient

The drought may be over but water continues to be a top-of-mind issue in California — particularly for its US$50 billion a year agriculture sector. Most of the state’s rainfall happens in the north and most consumption in the agricultural and urbanized south, which has created a complex water distribution network anchored by two main […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

California jury hits Bayer with US$2 billion award

Reuters — A California jury on Monday awarded more than US$2 billion to a couple who claimed Bayer’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide caused their cancer, in the largest U.S. jury verdict to date against the company in litigation over the chemical. It was the third consecutive U.S. jury verdict against the company in litigation over the […] Read more



(BHofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

Romaine-related E. coli outbreak appears over

Reuters — The multistate outbreak of E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce from the Central Coastal growing regions in northern and central California appears to be over, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday. Sixty-two people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli were reported from 16 states […] Read more


(BHofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

CFIA warns on California romaine lettuce

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is advising lettuce buyers such as retailers and restaurants not to sell, serve or import romaine lettuce from parts of California tied to the latest E. coli outbreak. The warning follows an announcement Monday from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its preliminary traceback shows people sickened by […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. judge selects first case in federal glyphosate litigation

Reuters — A U.S. judge overseeing the federal litigation against Bayer’s Monsanto unit over glyphosate-based herbicides allegedly causing cancer on Tuesday selected the first case to be tried in federal court in February 2019. U.S. District Judge Vince Chaabria in San Francisco in an order said the case of California resident Edwin Hardeman will be […] Read more

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson listens as attorney Brent Wisner, not shown, speaks about his condition at trial in San Francisco on July 9, 2018. (File photo: Josh Edelson/Pool via Reuters)

Bayer likely to get new trial in glyphosate case

San Francisco | Reuters — Bayer’s Monsanto unit was likely to get a new trial on the US$250 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to a groundskeeper who alleged the company’s glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, caused his cancer. According to a Wednesday court filing in San Francisco’s Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne […] Read more