permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

California to list herbicide as cancer-causing; Monsanto vows fight |
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-glyphosate-california-idUSKBN19H2K1

Glyphosate, an herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto Co's (MON.N
<http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MON.N>) popular
Roundup weed killer, will be added to California's list of chemicals known
to cause cancer effective July 7, the state's Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) said on Monday.

The listing is the latest legal setback for the seeds and chemicals
company, which has faced increasing litigation over glyphosate since the
World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer
said that it is "probably carcinogenic" in a controversial ruling in 2015.

Dicamba, a weed killer designed for use with Monsanto's next generation of
biotech crops, is under scrutiny in Arkansas after the state's plant board
voted last week to ban the chemical.

OEHHA said the designation of glyphosate under Proposition 65 will proceed
following an unsuccessful attempt by Monsanto to block the listing in trial
court and after requests for stay were denied by a state appellate court
and the California's Supreme Court.

Listing glyphosate as a known carcinogen under California's Proposition 65
would require companies selling the chemical in the state to add warning
labels to packaging. Warnings would also be required if glyphosate is being
sprayed at levels deemed unsafe by regulators.

Users of the chemical include landscapers, golf courses, orchards,
vineyards and farms.

Monsanto and other glyphosate producers would have roughly a year from the
listing date to re-label products or remove them from store shelves if
further legal challenges are lost.

Environmental groups cheered OEHHA's move to list the chemical.

"California's decision makes it the national leader in protecting people
from cancer-causing pesticides," said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at
the Center for Biological Diversity.