glyphosate
Untangling the cancer risks of glyphosate
Claim: Monsanto and EPA slowed a safety review of glyphosate
Officials within EPA worked to slow a safety review of glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, in an apparent response to emails from Monsanto, which makes the chemical, said HuffPost. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of HHS, said in early 2015 that it planned to publish a toxicological review of glyphosate before winter of that year, but the review has yet to appear.
What does the Monsanto verdict mean for thousands of pending cases?
Last week’s $289-million verdict against Monsanto was a stunner. How might it affect the more than 4,000 other plaintiffs facing off against the agrichemical giant on charges that the company’s popular herbicide Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a common cancer that will likely kill nearly 20,000 people in the U.S. this year? (No paywall)
New study finds glyphosate in oat, wheat products
Jury awards groundskeeper $289 million in Roundup trial
A California state court jury awarded $289 million to terminally ill Dewayne Johnson on grounds that Roundup, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, gave the former school groundskeeper cancer. The maker of the herbicide, Monsanto, said it would appeal the verdict "and continue to vigorously defend this product, which has a 40-year history of safe use," reported CNN.
Informal FDA tests find glyphosate residue pervasive in food
The Food and Drug Administration says it has not found illegally high residues of the weedkiller glyphosate in samples of corn, soy, milk or eggs. But informal work by its scientists found residues in an array of commonly consumed food, said the Guardian. The FDA has been testing food for traces of glyphosate for two years and will likely release an official report later this year or in early 2019.
In Roundup case, federal judge vets the experts for testimony
A federal lawsuit alleging Monsanto’s top-selling weed killer, Roundup, causes cancer is at a pivotal moment as the presiding judge deliberates on which scientific experts will be permitted to testify before a jury. A verdict preventing key experts from linking Roundup’s main ingredient, glyphosate, with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma could deliver a disastrous blow to the case filed by farmers, landscapers, and consumers suffering from cancer. <strong>No paywall</strong>
U.S. judge blocks California warnings about glyphosate
In a win for Monsanto, U.S. district judge William Shubb temporarily blocked a state agency in California from requiring warning labels on packages of the weedkiller glyphosate saying it posed a risk of cancer, reported Reuters. The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment added glyphosate to its list of cancer-causing chemicals last July and planned to require warning labels beginning this July.
In contentious hearing, House panel revisits glyphosate safety
At a high-tension House hearing, members of Congress and expert witnesses yet again debated the safety of the pesticide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, the most popular herbicide in the world. The hearing, convened by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, brought a diverse panel to weigh the Environmental Protection Agency’s assessment of the chemical’s safety against the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s assessment.
Study: GE crops not driving herbicide-resistant weeds, but still cause for concern
In a new study, published in the December 2017 issue of the journal Weed Science, University of Wyoming weed scientist Andrew Kniss finds that GE corn does not produce increased herbicide resistance in weeds relative to non-GE crops, but that soybean and cotton plantings do — but only to a limited extent. (No paywall)
Monsanto expects its dicamba-tolerant seeds on 40 percent of U.S. soy acres this year
The world’s largest seed and ag-chemical company said it expects U.S. farmers will plant 40 million acres of its dicamba-tolerant GMO soybeans this year, double the 2017 total and equal to four of every 10 acres of projected soybean sowings.
Glyphosate not likely to cause cancer in people, says EPA
A draft human health risk assessment of the most widely used weedkiller in the world concludes that glyphosate is not likely to be a human cancer agent, says the Environmental Protection Agency.
British farmers urge EU to reauthorize glyphosate for ‘maximum period possible’
In a joint letter, British farm groups urged the European Union to reauthorize use of the weedkiller glyphosate "for the maximum period possible." The European Commission has proposed a five-year extension of the license for glyphosate, and an EC committee could discuss the future of the herbicide at a meeting expected on Thursday, said news site Farming UK.
Monsanto takes aim at researchers who question dicamba
Monsanto is fighting back as agricultural scientists accuse the company of misleading farmers about the safety of its weedkiller dicamba. The chemical has been blamed for millions of dollars in crop damage this year.
EU extends glyphosate for five years, with Germany’s vote
Ending a year-and-a-half of indecision, EU nations voted for a five-year extension of its license of glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world. Germany was pivotal in reaching the qualified majority – 55 percent of EU nations with at least 65 percent of EU population – for passage with France, the largest EU agricultural producer, opposing the extension, said online newspaper EU Observer.
EU postpones vote on license for glyphosate
With protesters outside the EU headquarters in Brussels, EU member nations postponed a vote on extending the license to use the weedkiller glyphosate in Europe. Approval for the herbicide expires at the end of December and the next opportunity for an EU decision will likely be at a Nov. 6 meeting, said Associated Press.
European Commission retreats on 10-year license for glyphosate
Human exposure to glyphosate up 500 percent in GMO era
Since GMO crops came into cultivation two decades ago, human exposure to glyphosate has increased by approximately 500 percent, according to UC-San Diego scientists. They say more research is needed on the impact of the chemical on human health. The research follows the listing of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, by California regulators as a carcinogen.
Lower glyphosate prices hurt Bayer sales
Bayer Group, a pharmaceutical and consumer health goods giant and one of the world’s largest seed and ag chemical companies, said on Tuesday that its sales had fallen by 3.1 billion euros in 2023, with lower herbicide prices as a factor. Sales by the crop sciences division, which accounts for half of Bayer’s revenue, were down by 1.9 billion euros, or 3.7 percent.