Roundup / glyphosate- Do you use it?

Sorry about the long post- but if you use Roundup and have children and animals you should probably take a look.

I came across a report today about the dangers of RoundUp/ glyphsate and the efforts of Monsanto to keep it on the shelves even though they and the regulators have known for decades the stuff causes serious birth defects and miscarriages in animals.

The report cant be dismissed as the usual green movement scare story, its serious science and patient investigative work.

This and other studies have shown that "Roundup and glyphosate cause birth defects in frogs and chickens at concentrations much lower than those used in agricultural spraying. "(Source: here)

It turns out the EU have known for a long time, but Monsanto lobbyists have been working for years to push back and delay product reviews and reports.

Roundup is the world's best selling herbicide, and I wondered about its widespread use here. Im more or less organic and so I wouldnt have it in my shed, but I see it's use recommended on here all the time.

Im stunned its not a bigger story, but I guess Cheryl Cole looks better on the front pages.


Huffington Post article here or see below for an excerpt.

Link to the full original Earth Open Source report: RoundupandBirthDefectsv5

Its fairly well laid out for an academic document, and easy enough to follow if you navigate via the table of contents.


More coverage here: The inside story on Monsanto and the glyphosate birth defect data - Comment - The Ecologist

Be careful with the stuff people. The fallout from this is going to be HUGE.

 

Melinda, have YOU used Glyphosate? Have YOU given birth to frogs or chickens? Ignore them. We have lost 90% of our gardening chemicals through beaurocrats force feeding the materials to lesser animal forms than us. For no reason except to accrue revenue through " green " taxes.

 

I use Round Up. I care strongly about the environment and people's health etc, and wouldn't use a product if I believed it carried an unreasonable risk.

So glyphosate causes birth defects in lab animals does it? I have no doubt it does. But the question is, at what levels?

If I was drink a full bottle of Round Up concentrate, I'm fairly sure I'd be ill. I certainly wouldn't try it. Nor would I spray it into my face every day and keep meticulous notes to see how it affected me over time.

 

I really didnt want a knee jerk 'its the EU/ green movement interfering' type debate. This isnt a 'the EU withdraws Rose Clear it irritates skin' type story.

This report is about lies and deception and birth defects and mutations.

Please look through the the scientific report- Ive linked to it above; at least look at the methodology.

I want to talk science and the cover up, and to ensure people are making informed decisions about whether or not to use it.

Yes the scare stories have been around for years, but this is the first time its been proven that both the manufacturer and the regulators KNEW the stuff was dangerous to mammals.

Amongst the report bibliography I checked out is a major Argentinian report about the spraying of glyphosate on its GM soy crops.
Monsanto are heavily invested in the GM soy monoculture industry in Argentina (tens of millions of acres) and there was an demonstrable escalating incidence of human birth defects and cancers in areas where the crops are grown and sprayed, and so a study was undertaken.

It showed that Roundup and glyphosate causes birth defects in frogs and chickens at concentrations much lower than those used in agricultural spraying.


Read here:Study Released in Argentina Puts Glyphosate Under Fire – CIP Americas

Look even if your instinct is to rubbish the findings, if you are a professional horticulturalist or garden designer and are regularly coming into contact with glyphosate. Just be careful.

There were probably builders who rubbished the evidence proving asbestos was a carcinogen too.

 

Have you seen how much stuff is sprayed in intensive agriculture? To say that levels lower than those used in agriculture can cause problems is very believable, and doesn't surprise me. This is where aircraft are used to spray thousands of litres of stuff to blitz everything. But if we were to object to glyphosate for this reason, we'd have to object to a considerable list of other harmful practices in intensive agriculture.

The quantities used in people's gardens is nowhere near that, and is often used in small quantities, very infrequently, just to bring a problem spot under control.

It is well documented that glyphosate is harmful to aquatic life. Nobody kept that secret, and I believe it says it on the label, so the problem with frogs being sprayed is no revelation, hence the label stating that glyphosate is not to be used anywhere near water.

I didn't know about the risk to chickens, however, and here's the interesting twist, there is scientific evidence that certain foods consumed in high doses can cause significant hormone imbalances in mammals. One such food, interestingly enough, is soya.

 

I breathed in some horticultural strength Glyphosate spray once.

I was ill for days.

 

I appreciate your concern, Melinda, but you do need to remember that reports such as this are generally compiled to further the authors' point of view. I've only flicked through it quickly but I find that although the authors are reporting the results of various scientific surveys and tests, they are apparently being selective and choosing the ones which suit them.

I don't think anyone would dispute that in high concentrations and used irresponsibly glyphosate is harmful. It probably wouldn't kill weeds if it wasn't. I personally am extremely careful when using Roundup and very careful how I dispose of it, but I wouldn't be without it.

One would hope that we have learned the lessons of DDT, but I honestly don't think glyphosate is in that league.

 

I would agree with Clueless1 ,vast areas sprayed by aeroplane using horticultural strengh Glyphosate ..Not good.
However I was a professional horticulturalist for 46 years ,till retiring last year and I took any form of horticultural chemical spraying very seriously,and still do, as we all should ,professional or not ..

Dave

 

Well done on opening up the subject to debate Mellinda

I find it's very difficult to come to a conclusion regarding Monsanto and glyphosate, particularly as Monsanto has been portrayed as the devil incarnate by some environmental pressure groups. The situation is further obfusticated by conspiracy theorists citing the financial clout of the company as aiding cover ups. To form a well informed opion I'd need to read some totally independent and detailed peer reviewed research covering the environmental impacts of small scale horticultural use and large scale agricultural use.
I like to think I'm a fairly green gardener and would probably be regarded as a tree hugger by some, but I do use glyphosate in extremis and at present, for me at least, the jury's still out regarding the chemical in a horticultural context.

 

Glyphosate poisoning through skin & inhalation

After spraying 3.5 gallons concentrate glyphosate over a two day period, I experienced two sharp pains to the right and below my ribs. Abdominal pain continued for months with diagnostic tests inconclusive other than my blood labs abnormal.

Chemicals like RoundUp do not carry MSDS hazard labels. There was no warning to wear hazmat coveralls or don a respirator. I did use a particulate dust mask and discarded my jeans after spraying.

My platelets remain low (104,000) at last check in February 2011. The molecules accumulate in the bones of lab animals. My pain subsided after six months. Glyphosate hazard to agricultural and landscape workers is beginning to be reported.

"In California, where there is a mandatory system of reporting pesticide poisoning, Glyphosate is the third most common cause of pesticide illness in farm workers. It is the most common form of reported pesticide poisoning in landscape gardeners."
( http://www.ofa.org.au/papers//glyphosatereview.htm )

Sadly, Monsanto prevails in dumping a known poison into the human food supply through the actions of its lobbyists.