This dossier is the result of a five months-long collaboration of five European journalists. Together, they investigated the transportation of ammonia via rail, in Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands. Ammonia is a toxic chemical. It is used for fertiliser prodction but will also be used in great volumes as a carrier of hydrogen, which
Toxic Trains Dossier Read More »
There is growing evidence that glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, carries serious risks for human health and the environment. Even so, in December 2023, the EU re-approved its use for another ten years. An international team of journalists, coordinated by The Investigative Desk, found that the chemical industry shapes the very documents on
How the chemical industry doctored a new EU approval of a contested pesticide Read More »
Ireland was set to become the first EU country to put cancer warning labels on alcoholic drinks. But following a massive lobby campaign by Big Booze – stretching from Dublin and Brussels to Washington – the plan has been delayed. An investigation reveals how the industry relied on the lobbying playbook once used by Big
This is the warning Big Alcohol wants to keep off your bottles of beer Read More »
More and more Dutch young people are becoming addicted to vaping. This is not surprising, as illegal vapes with sweet flavors and excessive nicotine levels are easily accessible online. How is this possible? Argos and The Investigative Desk delved into the world of vape dealers, old-fashioned tobacco giants, and Chinese traders. We discovered that a
The hidden world behind illegal vapes Read More »
Over the past decade, foreign trade ministers granted permits worth hundreds of millions for military exports to countries where there was a serious risk of conflict and human rights violations, according to research by The Investigative Desk and Follow the Money. In doing so, the Netherlands is pushing the edges of export regulations. In 2020,
The Netherlands provides military resources to dubious regimes Read More »
Big Food is making more and more money with dietary supplements that promise to combat obesity, stress and menopause symptoms. However, nearly half of those claims violate EU advertising rules. Dietary supplements have become increasingly popular over the past 15 years. In 2024, 72 percent of Dutch people over the age of 17 were taking
Fitter, better, younger? Big Food’s health supplements mislead European consumers Read More »
Europe’s unwithered solidarity with Israel is evident in the EU’s biggest research program, Horizon Europe, also after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Israel receives the most money from all non-EU states – more than 3 billion euros since 1996. The scientific projects cannot have a dual use – meaning, serve both civilian and
Dutch universities conduct joint research with Israel’s defense industry Read More »
The Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine emerged in early 2024 as a response to the monthslong suspension of US military aid and Brussels’ failure to keep up with the promised pace of shell deliveries, affecting Kyiv’s ability to fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion. As many as 16 European countries, led by the Czech Republic, decided
Large food manufacturers are increasingly positioning themselves as ‘health companies’. But not by making their chocolate, sauces, and desserts less unhealthy —instead, they’re capitalizing on the rising demand for dietary supplements and medications caused by the very unhealthy food they continue to produce. Recent years have seen unprecedented investments in health products by food companies.
Three men sit at a table with the Environmental Reporting Collective (ERC), sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. It is a warm and quiet evening at an industrial park in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province. Only the sound of crickets chirping can be heard, occasionally interjected by the intermittent blare of passing motorcycles. The men work at
Jokowi’s dream to ‘downstream’ nickel became an industrial nightmare Read More »
The Investigative Desk is an independent platform for investigative journalism, focusing on large international industrial sectors such as tobacco, food and chemicals, finance, energy, pharmaceuticals and health care, defence and security.
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