Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - [permaculture] Too ‘dramatic’: Monsanto shuns WHO verdict that Roundup ‘probably’ causes cancer — RT News

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Too ‘dramatic’: Monsanto shuns WHO verdict that Roundup ‘probably’ causes cancer — RT News
  • Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2015 02:52:13 -0400

finally a decent use for putin's propaganda machine, RT

<>
Monsanto Monarch massacre: 970 million butterflies killed since 1990
http://rt.com/usa/230823-monarch-butterflies-monsanto-massacre/
<>

Too ‘dramatic’: Monsanto shuns WHO verdict that Roundup ‘probably’ causes
cancer
Published time: March 21, 2015 03:48
Edited time: March 21, 2015 04:49
http://rt.com/news/242801-glyphosate-cancer-risk-monstano/

The active ingredient in the world’s most widely-used Roundup herbicide has
been classified as “probably” carcinogenic to humans by a branch of the
World Health Organization. The agrochemical giant Monsanto, has immediately
rejected the new conclusions.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in their latest
study said that there was *“convincing evidence”* that glyphosate in
Roundup can cause cancer in lab animals.

St. Louis-based Monsanto was not pleased with WHO conclusions, claiming
that scientific data does not support their assumptions and urging the
health watchdog to hold a meeting to explain the findings.

*“We don't know how IARC could reach a conclusion that is such a dramatic
departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies around the
globe,”* Philip Miller, Monsanto’s vice-president of global regulatory
affairs, said in a brief statement released soon after the report was
published.

The study, published Friday in the journal Lancet Oncology also said it
found *“limited evidence”* that glyphosate was carcinogenic in humans
for *“non-Hodgkin
lymphoma.”* The conclusion of the research was based on studies of exposure
to the chemical in the United States, Canada, and Sweden that date back to
2001.

According to the study, Glyphosate is used in more than 750 different
herbicides in air dissemination during spraying, in water and in food. IARC
said glyphosate was traced in the blood and urine of agricultural workers.

IARC has four levels of classifications for cancer agents. Glyphosate now
falls under the second level of concern known as ‘probable or possible
carcinogens.’ The other agents are classified either as carcinogens,
‘probably not carcinogenic’ or ‘not classifiable’.

Glyphosate, which was invented by Monsanto back in 1974, is a
broad-spectrum herbicide used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf
weeds and grasses known to compete with commercial crops.

In the US the herbicide is considered safe since 2013, when Monsanto
received approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for
increased tolerance levels for glyphosate. In its original assessment the
US watchdog said glyphosate can *“be used without unreasonable risks to
people or the environment.”* The EPA said it would consider IARC’s
evaluation.

A German government evaluation conducted for the European Union last year
also found the herbicide safe to use*. “The available data do not show
carcinogenic or mutagenic properties of glyphosate nor that glyphosate is
toxic to fertility, reproduction or embryonal/fetal development in
laboratory animal,”* the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said.

Monsanto insists that *“all labeled uses of glyphosate are safe for human
health,”* according to Miller.

Glyphosate is mainly used on genetically modified corn and soybeans, thus
the general public is unlikely to face the greatest risk of exposure,
according to the report.

However, *“home use”* is not the issue, said Kate Guyton of IARC.

*“It's agricultural use that will have the biggest impact. For the moment,
it’s just something for people to be conscious of.”*

Last month, a leading US environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), filed a lawsuit
<http://rt.com/usa/236403-epa-sued-declining-butterfly/> against the
Environmental Protection Agency, accusing regulators of dismissing the
dangers of glyphosate.

In a recent report by the Center for Food Safety, the heavy proliferation
of Roundup was linked to a drastic 90-percent drop in the population of
monarch butterflies in the US. Roundup has become a leading killer of
Glyphosate-sensitive milkweed plants – the only spots where monarchs lay
eggs, as the plant is the only food source for monarch larvae.



  • [permaculture] Too ‘dramatic’: Monsanto shuns WHO verdict that Roundup ‘probably’ causes cancer — RT News, Lawrence London, 03/21/2015

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page