[Ngo-sanrm] Roundup Revealed: Glyphosate in Our Food System

Sun Jun 11 13:48:45 ICT 2017

This is now primarily a U.S. problem, since Europe still is trying with
some success to halt or slow the introduction of GMO seeds and crops, and
the associated use of glyphosate in agricultural production.

The problem also seems, luckily, not yet to be a major concern in Viet
Nam.  It is still not too late for Viet Nam to choose healthy, sustainable
agricultural practices that Vietnamese farmers have employed for
generations, combined with new and encouraging organic and other
applications that can improve production and food safety.

However, some officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, and representatives
of Monsanto and subsidiary companies licensed by the government to operate
in Viet Nam, still cling to the hope that Viet Nam will follow the same
toxic path as the U.S., with industrial application of GMOs and related
glyphosate.

*=============================================== CHUCK SEARCY International
Advisor, Project RENEW*

*Tư Vấn Viên Quốc tế, dự án RENEW*

*Co-Chair, NGO Agent Orange Working Group*

*Đồng Chủ tịch, Nhóm làm việc Phi chính phủ về Chất độc da cam Vice
President, Veterans for Peace Chapter 160 (Hoa Binh) Phó chủ tịch, Cựu
chiến binh vì Hòa bình, Chương 160 (Peace)*

*71 Trân Quốc Toản, Hà Nội, Việt Nam Cell VN      +8 490 342 0769*

*Cell US      +1 404 740 0653*

*Skype:       chucksearcy Email:        chuckusvn at gmail.com
<chucksearcy at yahoo.com> Web:          www.landmines.org.vn
<http://www.landmines.org.vn/> *

*Web:          www.veteransforpeace.org <http://www.veteransforpeace.org>*

*===============================================*

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*ECOWATCH
<https://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-roundup-revealed-2434939481.html?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=ca238562fd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-ca238562fd-86046029>*

*From As You Sow <https://ecowatch.com/community/As_You_Sow>*

07 June 2017

*Roundup Revealed: Glyphosate in Our Food System*

By Austin Wilson

Rising use of glyphosate, <https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate> the
world's most heavily applied herbicide, is putting people at risk
<https://www.ecowatch.com/cancer-expert-glyphosate-monsanto-2430362569.html>
 of significant health problems, according to a report
<http://www.asyousow.org/ays_report/roundup-revealed/> released Tuesday by As
You Sow <http://www.asyousow.org/>.

Glyphosate is applied frequently to the most popular crops in the U.S.,
including corn, soybeans and wheat, and has been found
<https://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-glyphosate-cheerios-2093130379.html> in
many common food products including "all-natural" Quaker Oats
<https://www.ecowatch.com/quaker-oats-accused-of-being-deceptive-and-misleading-after-glyphosate-1891128136.html>.
The report, *Roundup Revealed: Glyphosate in Our Food System*, raises
concerns about the health and environmental impacts of current glyphosate
use, gaps in the regulation of pesticides and how large chemical companies
are promoting the use of glyphosate.

The report consolidates years of research, cutting through to the heart of
the controversy over glyphosate. One key finding showed that glyphosate is
increasingly being sprayed on crops just before harvest to dry out
("desiccate") the plants to speed up harvest operations
<https://www.ecowatch.com/why-is-glyphosate-sprayed-on-crops-right-before-harvest-1882187755.html>.
This practice results in greater residues of glyphosate in foods. The
report's analysis finds that in 2015, nearly a third of U.S. wheat was
treated with glyphosate, likely through pre-harvest use in most cases. A
recent biomonitoring study <https://detoxproject.org/1321-2/> revealed that
93 percent of Americans tested had glyphosate in their bodies.

In 2015, glyphosate was was classified as a probable carcinogen
<http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf> by
the world's leading cancer authority, the World Health Organization's
International Agency for Research on Cancer. Recent research suggests that
glyphosate is likely to cause other chronic health impacts
<http://www.pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Glyphosate-monograph.pdf>,
including disruption of the body's endocrine system.

American regulators are dismissing key scientific data and continuing to
raise the allowable limits for glyphosate residue in food, leaving the
population at risk of health harms. The widespread use of glyphosate is
also creating environmental problems, including herbicide-resistant weeds
<https://www.ecowatch.com/gmos-glyphosate-enlist-duo-2075835175.html> and
reduced biodiversity. For too long, pesticides have been the foundation of
agriculture, with glyphosate as the cornerstone; the cracks in this system
run deep.

As You Sow has brought this issue to the attention of major companies,
including Kellogg, a leader in sustainable agriculture who responded by
agreeing to survey its supply chain
<http://www.asyousow.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Kellogg-Glyphosate-Use-Withdrawal.pdf>
 about pre-harvest use of glyphosate.

"Experts, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization,
agree that pesticides are not necessary or helpful to feed the world," said
Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow. "Investors would be prudent to
analyze their exposure to pesticide-intensive agriculture and prioritize
sustainable solutions."

While the legal and political battles over glyphosate continue to emerge
and develop, pesticide companies are staking their future on increased use
of toxic pesticides. Monsanto <https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/monsanto> and Dow
Chemical <https://www.ecowatch.com/dow-pesticide-study-2370173164.html> are
betting that farmers will adopt a new generation of genetically engineered
<https://www.ecowatch.com/gmo-genetically-modified-organism/> crops that
can be treated with both glyphosate and the more toxic herbicides dicamba
and 2,4-D, increasing sales of these pesticides 10-fold while keeping use
of glyphosate at current high levels.

Monsanto, which sells half of the world's glyphosate, has proposed to merge
with Bayer <https://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-bayer-trump-2189974761.html>,
a major seed and pesticide company. This consolidation in the
already-uncompetitive seed and agrochemical industry concerns farmers who
fear that prices will continue to increase.

The pesticide industry mergers, including Monsanto-Bayer, are likely to
exacerbate the food systems' greatest challenges. Investors, communities
and downstream companies should be opposing these mergers and advocating
for more sustainable agriculture methods
<https://www.ecowatch.com/regenerative-agriculture-cummins-2428092458.html>.

*Austin Wilson is the environmental health program manager for As You Sow.*
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