Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/author/jhettinger/page/2/)
In 2013, mammoth U.S. investment company TIAA-CREF gave $5 million to the University of Illinois — to study an area of investment where the company has made a, sometimes controversial, name for itself.
Large donors can put universities in potentially awkward positions when faculty conclusions conflict with the interests of those benefactors. Data collected by Harvest Public Media and Investigate Midwest shows corporations have given at least $170 million to ag colleges in the past decade.
The company behind the popular Seresto flea-and-tick collar has filed a lengthy defense of the safety of its product amid calls for federal regulars to ban over concerns of harm and death to the pets who wear it.
Read the most important takeaways from our continuing investigation into the popular flea-and-tick collar for pets.
The maker of a popular flea and tick collar did not report thousands of adverse incidents to federal authorities as required until after an investigation by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting (Investigate Midwest) and USA TODAY was published.
The federal agency said it is “extremely concerned” about damage in 2021, just one year after dicamba was re-registered for five years. The letters sent to chemical companies also alleged they have not shared all relevant information with the agency.
As early as 2015, the EPA identified that Seresto "ranked #1 by a wide margin" when it came to incident reports of pet death and harm.
The petition comes about four months after an Investigate Midwest and USA TODAY story found the popular flea and tick collar had been linked to about 1,700 pet deaths and more than 75,000 incidents of harm.
The lawsuit raises the question of what’s next for specialty crop farmers, many of whom have said dicamba damage limits their ability to grow their products and make a living.
The EPA said it is reviewing the findings as part of a larger investigation into PFAS contamination in pesticide products.