Byron Shire Chemical Free Landcare

“In secret internal Monsanto documents released on Tuesday by legal firms in the U.S. it was revealed how Monsanto led the attack on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), after the Agency announced that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is a probable human carcinogen in 2015. On Tuesday it was shown how Monsanto edited and wrote an ‘independent’ Expert Panel Manuscript to refute IARC’s findings. It was also revealed that Monsanto paid members of the ‘independent’ Expert Panel as consultants and also planned a press attack with a Forbes contributor on the IARC findings, even before they were published. Amazingly the secret documents have shown that Monsanto went even further than just attacking IARC over their glyphosate decision. They decided to try and “invalidate relevance of IARC” so as to “prevent future bad IARC decisions on pesticides/GMOs” . Monsanto did this by using U.S. political … Continue reading →

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“Why is glyphosate’s run-off so deadly to our oceans? Glyphosate’s half-life, or the rate at which it breaks down, is dramatically longer in the ocean than in fresh water. This is because glyphosate is a salt and in the presence of ocean salts it acts as a preservative. Even worse, it gathers strength over time leading to massive plankton and aquatic die-off. Unfortunately, this news is not being reported. “The studies say: “The half-life for glyphosate at 25°C in low-light was 47 days, extending to 267 days in the dark at 25°C and 315 days in the dark at 31°C, which is the longest persistence reported for this herbicide.” “In soil, the chemical’s half-life is as quick as 5 days. In bog or fresh water, it’s 49 days. Since so many agricultural countries in the world use this dangerous herbicide, glyphosate is now being detected in a diversity of water … Continue reading →

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Remember the 4 Corners program ‘Chemical Time Bomb’ shown on ABC on 22 July 2013. It showed the shocking legacy of herbicide dioxins in 2,4-D used in weed control in Western Australia and passed down from the workers to their children. “Four Corners reveals evidence that this potentially deadly chemical compound may still be present in weed control products and that authorities do not routinely test for it. “The program also reveals that this hands-off approach to regulation is entirely in keeping with the way governments have dealt with the lethal chemical dioxin over four decades.” This tragic story can be viewed again here It is a reminder too that these weed control programs do untold, unrecorded, and unmonitored environmental damage. For fauna, this is not just through habitat loss but more directly through toxicity.

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To protect young children, crucial pollinators, and the general public, France has banned the use of pesticides in public parks, gardens, and forests. At the moment they can still be used in private residential spaces but this will change in 2019 when over-the-counter sale to non-professionals will also be banned. The full article from Mother Nature Network can be read here.

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The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) and the European Chemical Agency (EChA) have completed their assessments of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate. Once again it was concluded that the evidence does not support a classification of carcinogenic for glyphosate. However, members of the European Parliament requested the raw data on which this assessment was made (previously ‘commercial in confidence’). The limited data they received was again analysed by Dr Chrisopher Portier (Former Director US National center for Environmental Health, Former Director US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, amongst other positions). He found “Both EFSA and EChA failed to identify all statistically significant cancer findings in the chronic rodent carcinogenicity studies with glyphosate.” His full letter to the European Commission, containing his analysis, is here. Once again we see that regulators are corrupted at the highest levels.

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Recent news articles stemming originally from Reuters but even repeated in Mother Jones seek to discredit one of the International Agency’s scientific panel, Aaron Blair. In view of the pending court cases against Monsanto in the US courts re glyphosate causing cancer, Monsanto is getting desperate. The US Right to Know organisation unravels the lies here The original Reuter’s article was authored by reporter Kate Kelland, who has a history of cozy relations with the Science Media Centre partly funded by agrichemical company interests. Their aim is to connect certain ‘scientists’ with journalists to disparage news adverse to corporate profits. This group is very active in Australia.

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The corruption of pesticide regulation in the US and Australia is clearly visible from their acceptance of Monsanto’s manipulations and their reliance on ‘research’ from the manufacturers. Very interesting in the US that they have a process to (eventually) properly investigate through their laws. Thanks to the APVMA we seem to have no process in Australia which will ensure human and environmental health as long as people use these dangerous products according to the labels! You can read the full report here

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Europe is waking up to the depth of corporate corruption in the regulation (lack of) pesticides. Unfortunately, Australian politicians and beaurocrats are completely captured by corporations – agro-chemical, pharmaceutical, mining. “A wave of glyphosate bans are being introduced by member states in Europe while the issue of the chemical’s reauthorization at EU level drags on. Among the most dramatic developments has been the announcement by Belgium’s federal minister of agriculture, Willy Borsus, that he wants to ban the sale and use of herbicides by non-professionals. He voiced particular concern over glyphosate. ‘Considering the risk-benefit balance, there is no justification for the use of herbicides for individuals,’ Borsus said. He said there were safer alternatives, such as heat treatment, mechanical weeding, or bio-pesticides. Borsus also called for a new investigation into alleged “Monsanto manoeuvres and attempts to influence experts” with the aim of keeping glyphosate on the market.” Read the full … Continue reading →

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Glyphosate killing in more ways than one. Originally released in July 2016, this study by scientists from Ohio Northern University in the U.S. has shown that glyphosate herbicides are a main cause of the tragic phosphorus poisoning of Lake Erie, which has been causing an increase of harmful algae blooms that foul drinking water and kill fish. ‘Find the full article here.

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On Tuesday, April 18, the five judges who presided over the International Monsanto Tribunal for the past six months, reviewing the testimony of 28 witnesses who testified during the two-day citizens’ tribunal held in The Hague last October, delivered their 53-page Advisory Opinion. “The upshot of the judges’ opinion? Monsanto has engaged in practices that have violated the basic human right to a healthy environment, the right to food, the right to health, and the right of scientists to freely conduct indispensable research. The judges also called on international lawmakers to hold corporations like Monsanto accountable, to place human rights above the rights of corporations, and to ‘clearly assert the protection of the environment and establish the crime of ecocide.’ ” Of course Monsanto responded with their usual denegrations. “In their Advisory Opinion, the judges didn’t directly address criticism of the Monsanto Tribunal specifically, nor did they address attempts to … Continue reading →

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In his presentation at the Children’s Environmental Health Network Research Conference, Dr. Winchester said that his research shows that “Shorter pregnancies with relatively lower birth weights have been linked to lower cognitive ability later in life and higher risk of metabolic syndrome.” Read the full article here. Photo: plentywell.com

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“Two nonprofit organizations on Friday filed a lawsuit against Monsanto for misleading the public by labeling its popular weedkiller Roundup as “target[ing] an enzyme found in plants but not in people or pets.” This lawsuit charges that this statement is false, deceptive, and misleading, because the enzyme targeted by glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is, in fact, found in people and pets.” The full article can be found here.

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In a letter to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Greens, including many members of the European Parliament, are calling for a ban on Glyphosate. They outline its serious health effects and the corruption involved in America and Europe in its registration for use. (It is the same in Australia). You can read their full letter here.

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A new French study reported today in the Guardian has shown that “Virtually all farms could significantly cut their pesticide use while still producing as much food. The research also shows chemical treatments could be cut without affecting farm profits on over three-quarters of farms.” One of the research team, Nicolas Munier-Jolain, said “If you want real reduction in pesticide use, give the farmers the information about how to replace them. This is absolutely not the case at the moment. A large proportion of advice is provided by organisations that are both selling the pesticides and collecting the crops. I am not sure the main concern of these organisations is to reduce the amount of pesticide used.” Read the full report here. Exactly the same problem applies to the use of pesticides in public spaces and conservation reserves.

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An article in Truthout makes clear the scale of the glyphosate problem. ” Americans have applied 1.8 million tons of glyphosate since its introduction in 1974. Worldwide 9.4 million tons of the chemical has been sprayed on fields — enough to spray nearly half a pound of Roundup on every cultivated acre of land in the world. Globally, glyphosate use has risen almost 15-fold since so-called “Roundup Ready,” genetically engineered glyphosate-tolerant crops were introduced in 1996.” Read the full article here. Wonder what the tonnage is for Australia?

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The Californian Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has determined that glyphosate (CAS No. 1071-83-6) will be added to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer for purposes of Proposition 65. Read the full Sustainable Pulse article here. Photo: Sustainable Pulse

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Atrazine is a common agricultural herbicide with endocrine disruptor activity. There is evidence that it interferes with reproduction and development, and may cause cancer. It has been banned in the EU since 2003. In Australia it is widely used for crops and in forestry. This review makes it clear that, as for glyphosate and other dangerous chemicals, USA and Australian reliance on manufacturer’s ‘research’ is faulty, and that it leaves the door open for corporate influence over regulators.

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Monsanto and other glyphosate manufacturers appear to have distorted scientific evidence on the public health impacts of glyphosate in order to keep the controversial substance on the market, according to a new report released today by GLOBAL 2000 (Friends of the Earth Austria, member of PAN Europe) with the support of Avaaz, BUND, Campact, CEO, GMWatch, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe, PAN Germany, and Umweltinstitut München.

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