By: Arthur Cook, Staff Member
Summer means family barbeques,
celebrations surrounding flags, our fathers, and at least a dozen
weddings. Summer also means lawn
care. Committing herbicide against the ever-encroaching weed terror sends many
to their local lawn and garden centers. Glyphosate, the most widely used
herbicide in the United States, is featured in many popular weed killing
products like Roundup.[1] Roundup is
particularly popular with farmers. Glyphosate is non-selective in that it kills
all vegetation except genetically modified plants marketed as "Roundup
Ready."[2]
Roundup is manufactured by everybody's favorite shady conglomerate, Monsanto.[3]
What most people do not
consider when purchasing and applying Roundup is the relationship between the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their lawns. As you read this, the
EPA is in the process of finishing its data-gathering for the first
comprehensive review of Roundup in thirty years.[4]
Some studies indicate levels of Glyphosate have risen in food sources over the
last few years.[5] This is particularly concerning because
Glyphosate has low, but not the lowest, level of toxicity.[6]
Additionally, a surfactant
non-active ingredient in Roundup, polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEA), has
recently come under fire for posing greater dangers to humans than Glyphosate.
In one study from the University of Caen, researchers determined the chemical
was more deadly to human embryonic, placental, and umbilical cord cells than
the herbicide itself. [7] Additionally, POEA is not subject to
EPA regulation.[8]
Some governments have already
moved to curb the influence of Roundup. For example, the province of Ontario in
Canada has a comprehensive ban on all non-essential weed killers, including
Roundup.[9]
Ontario defines "non-essential" as uses for purposes that include a
concern for public safety.[10] Other
locales, such as Boulder, Colorado, have entirely moved away from using Roundup
in public places.[11] As the EPA
concludes its study, the effects of Roundup will be more closely scrutinized
for the potential for danger to humans. In the meantime, consider pulling those
pesky weeds yourself.
[1] Glpyhosate
Technical Fact Sheet, National Pesticide Information, http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/historical/upload/Archived-Technical-Fact-Sheet-on-Glyphosate.pdf.
[2] Herbicide
Tolerance and GM Crops, Greenpeace
International, (June 30,
2011), http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/Herbicide-tolerance-and-GM-crops/.
[3] Id.
[4] Carey Gillam, Cancer Cause or Crop
Aid? Herbicide Faces Big Test, Reuters, (Apr. 8, 2011, 12:14 PM), http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-glyphosate-epa-idUSTRE7374WX20110408..
[5] Agronomic
and Enviromental Impacts of the Commercial Cultivation of Glpyhosate Tolerant
Soybean in the USA, Centrum Voor
Landbouw en Milieu, http://www.sbcbiotech.nl/page/downloads/Agronomic_and_environmental_impacts_GT_soybean_SBC___CLM_July_2001.pdf.
[6] R.E.D. FACTS: Glyphosate,
EPA, http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/0178fact.pdf.
[7] Crystal Gammon and Environmental Health News, Weed-Whacking
Herbicide Proves Deadly to Human Cells, Scientific American, (June 23, 2009),
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=weed-whacking-herbicide-p.
[8] Id.
[9] Mary Agnes Welch, Province's Chemical Dependency, Winnipeg
Free Press, (May 22, 2012), (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/provinces-chemical-dependency-152469985.html.
[10] Id.
[11] Heather Urie, Boulder City Manager Pulls Roundup Weedkiller in Public Places, Daily Camera, (May 1, 2011), http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_17960073.
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