Glyphosphate is not only in Roundup! Monsanto lost patent protection on glyphosate in 2000, and a large number of herbicides now use it as an active ingredient, including OrthoGroundclear, KleenUp, Aquamaster, Sharpshooter, StartUp ,Touchdown, Total Traxion ,Vector, and Vantage Plus Max II.
Saiontz and Kirk sum it up quite succinctly and clearly in their medical background for their legal efforts for individuals suffering from Roundup and Glyphosphate poisoning and related cancers:
Monsanto has capitalized on glyphosate by genetically engineering glyphosate-resistant crops, known as "Roundup Ready". However, weeds also become resistant over time, meaning farmers need to use more and more glyphosate to have the same effect, thus constantly increasing their exposure.For years concerns have existed about a risk of cancer from herbicides and weed killers, specifically non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. However, recent reports have suggested that many cancers suffered by agricultural workers may have been caused by side effects of Roundup exposure.
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For reasons I will not go into that go beyond the scope of this article, I personally am not a fan of Huffington Post when it comes to publishing anything at all resembling consumer protection oriented journalism.
However, their recent excellent article (December 16, 2016) reported on what the EPA is doing and what they are not doing about Roundup is so revealing that I will here quote a large section of it because it illuminates what is really going on as background.
There are so many scoffers, doubters, and tire kickers in America, on this and related issues, like GMOs, aspartame, and the entire chemical feast, that I am honored to share with you such a thorough and incisive litany of truth, especially if you can read between the lines of the corporate language of those scientists who work for Monsanto and other firms of that ilk who are so anxious to lend their lofty but manipulable credentials to please their corporate sponsors. (Anyone can hire a dishwasher or a gravedigger or a or a private detective, and hiring toxicologists and oncologists to say what you want them to say is only slightly more complicated and much more expensive!).
This long quote that follows is entirely from an article by Carey Gillam, a "veteran journalist and research director for U.S. Right to Know," as it appeared in the cited Huffington Post article.
The meetings brought together a roster of scientists with expertise in epidemiology, toxicology and related expertise to advise the EPA on whether or not the agency has properly determined that the weight of evidence indicates glyphosate is "not likely to be carcinogenic" to humans. The determination runs counter to the classification made in March 2015 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer".that glyphosate is a "probable human carcinogen."
The EPA's determination is crucial on many fronts: Monsanto is currently defending itself against more than three dozen lawsuits claiming glyphosate-based Roundup gave people non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a type of blood cancer; both the EPA and the European Union are assessing re-registrations of glyphosate to determine if limits should be placed on the chemical; and Monsanto is attempting a $66 billion merger with German-based Bayer.
But while the EPA may have hoped for resounding support from the Scientific Advisory Panel it assembled, from the outset of the meetings on Tuesday, concerns were raised by some of the experts about the quality of the EPA's analysis"that the EPA was violating its own guidelines in discounting data from various studies that show positive associations between glyphosate and cancer. Several of the SAP members questioned why the EPA excluded some data that showed statistical significance, and wrote off some of the positive findings to mere chance.
Monique Perron, a scientist in the Health Effects Division of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs, explained that "professional judgment" played a role in looking at the "weight of evidence" from various studies. The EPA looked at both published studies as well as unpublished studies conducted by industry players like Monsanto, according to Perron. The IARC review focused on published, peer-reviewed research. The German BfR, which is part of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Germany, advised European Food Safety Authority and drafted the report that EFSA issued in November 2015 that declared glyphosate was "unlikely to be carcinogenic."
That report has been the subject of some controversy because the BfR relied on the advice of the Glyphosate Task Force, the consortium of chemical companies that includes Monsanto, when it did its evaluation.
The EPA did not invite either BfR or European Food Safety Authority to travel to the United States to deliver the support for glyphosate safety, according to Steven Knott, the EPA official who oversaw the meeting logistics. The foreign scientists simply asked for the opportunity to appear, he said. Who invited them and/or arranged for their travel raised some eyebrows among onlookers.
Another element of the meetings that did more than raise a few eyebrows was the devotion of time given to industry presenters supportive of glyphosate versus representatives from non-profits or others who urged regulators to rein in use of glyphosate. Monsanto representatives were granted roughly 3-1/2 hours on Wednesday to make the case for glyphosate safety, and several other pro-glyphosate industry players were granted additional time as well. In comparison, most critics of glyphosate had comment periods that ranged from 5-15 minutes. Knott said speaking allotments were assigned based on how much time commentators asked for, but some glyphosate opponents said they were told they could not have more than a few minutes.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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