Roundup weed killer, will be added to list of chemicals known to cause c

[Linville]

California to list herbicide as cancer-causing; Monsanto vows fight
Tue Jun 27, 2017 | 7:54 AM EDT

By Karl Plume

Glyphosate, an herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto Co's (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.

Monsanto vowed to continue its legal fight against the designation, required under a state law known as Proposition 65, and called the decision "unwarranted on the basis of science and the law."

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.

Monsanto's appeal of the trial court's ruling is pending.
"This is not the final step in the process, and it has no bearing on the merits of the case. We will continue to aggressively challenge this improper decision," Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president of global strategy, said.

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.

Monsanto has not calculated the cost of any re-labeling effort and does not break out glyphosate sales data by state, Partridge said.

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. 

(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio)

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XXX


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PS.
No wonder cancer's are running higher with this kind of thing having been used for so long and introduced into the eco system
Ugh

[Jimking]

I hope california has plenty of money. Monsanto is one of the most powerful company's in the world. I farmed most of my life and I have seen them buy up most of the major seed companies. They now pretty much control the worlds food supply. It's a monopoly even though the patent has expired on the original round- up.  They have sued farmers for years for saving their own seed because insects from nearby fields can cross pollinate non roundup crops. They have the money to buy university studies and politicians. Farmers should sue them when cross pollination ruins  conventional seed crops.monsanto goes back a long way. They were a big player in DDT and many other poisons. They destroyed a thriving soybean and corn  seed industry. Now most of the worlds food supply is sprayed with round up. Cultivation for weed control is a thing of the past. I hope California is successful.

[Jimking]

Audrey Hepburn
I have lived it. I don't farm now because of Monsanto and the university system, and federal gov. They make you criminal. Farming used to be an honorable profession. The gov subsidies determine what u grow and they control farmers to have a cheap supply of food. The grain dealers further poision grains to keep bugs out of grain storage. The university system justifies any studies that big pockets are willing to pay for. If the gov wants to subsidies something, then subsidies medical students so we can have inexpensive health care. The university system supports the docturn of the greater good. Small honest farmers are expendable. Large corporate farms are easier to control. I like to believe karma will take care of Monsanto. I'm pretty sure congress passed a law that forbids farmers to sue Monsanto. I would rather see the gov support organic foods and farming. I would rather have a worm in my apple.

[misterbeefy]

You can go back and forth on this.. 1. More food saves lives. 2. It's GMO and can hurt us in the long run 3. Grow your own food. IMO Grow or go to a local organic market is the best way. I am blessed enough to live in a town like that. Monsanto goes way back. They poisoned other farmers fields with their seed just to sue them.. (I'm sure a lot of us have seen the documentaries). But Food Inc is one of many they put out in the past decade. I've seen many many documentaries, I'm a huge fan of history or historical movies.. They use "Round-up ready" GMO seeds that are immune to "Round-Up weed killer", and do not produce new seeds for the next harvest. Causing them to be stuck in all kinds of legal battles to grow their own food. It's sad but this is the world we live in now. Just gotta enjoy the small things.

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Go to farmers markets.. theyre fun

[misterbeefy]

Well Ramen noodles are the least of your worries.. Anything with corn, that's not from an organic market, is going to be GMO. Which is about everything we eat. If you really want to feel better by eating.. Try to buy more food with *nutrients*.. people just grab the stuff they like. You have to change your lifestyle and start trying to get in about 100-200 grams of protien a day from the right foods. You will feel 10x better.. Of course a little exercise (I swim most days) helps too. But once you start eating right, you'll be more capable of exercise.

[misterbeefy]

Welll, I don't expect everyone to be able to do what I said above, just that it helps (imo). and the protein thing is just me personally as a male with a high metabolism. All depends on your size and sex of course. Medically you only need half per lb of body weight in protein to maintain weight. (-from my FP). Anyway yea I wasn't very clear above.

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The next thing on the list for them will be..

https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic...factories/

[solarpunch]

I second watching Food Inc. It's and eye opening documentary. Makes you think twice about what your eating and you serve your family at the dinner table. We're I live it's the law that GMO's be labeled on every store shelf. It's pretty amazing what foods consist of GMO processing.

[Linville]

Yeah solarpunch, that is a good thing having to lable the food with the truth of how it came into being.

I cannot believe it isnt like that everywhere, well upon second thought I guess it is the powerful lobby that stops it.

[Linville]

Traces of Controversial Herbicide Are Found in Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream


By STEPHANIE STROM
July 25, 2017
[img=375x0]https://cdn1.nyt.com/images/2017/07/25/dining/25BEN1/25BEN1-articleLarge.jpg[/img]
Ten of 11 samples of Ben & Jerry’s ice creams contained traces of glyphosate — although at levels far below the ceiling set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for Ben & Jerry's

A growing number of foods commonly found in kitchens across America have tested positive for glyphosate, the herbicide that is the main ingredient in the popular consumer pesticide Roundup, which is widely used in agriculture. But few brands on that list are as startling as the latest: Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont ice cream company known for its family-friendly image and environmental advocacy.

The Organic Consumers Association announced Tuesday that it found traces of glyphosate in 10 of 11 samples of the company’s ice creams — although at levels far below the ceiling set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rob Michalak, global director of social mission at Ben & Jerry’s, said the company was working to ensure that all the ingredients in its supply chain come from sources that do not include genetically modified organisms, known as G.M.O.s. None of its plant-based ingredients, for instance, come from a genetically engineered crop like corn or soy, where glyphosate is used in production. The company is also trying to figure out a cost-effective way for the dairy farms that supply its milk to use non-G.M.O. feed.

“We’re working to transition away from G.M.O., as far away as we can get,” Mr. Michalak said. “But then these tests come along, and we need to better understand where the glyphosate they’re finding is coming from. Maybe it’s from something that’s not even in our supply chain, and so we’re missing it.”
Consumer groups around the country, including the Organic Consumers Association, have begun raising awareness of glyphosate in food, because some studies have linked it to a variety of diseases. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a unit of the World Health Organization, declared this year that it “probably” could cause some cancers. 

The agency reviewed scientific studies involving people, laboratory animals and cells to assess whether glyphosate might cause cancer.

Monsanto and other companies that make products containing glyphosate hotly dispute those studies and say there is no reason for concern. Government and other regulators tend to agree that very low levels are not harmful to humans.

Ronnie Cummins, a founder and the international director of the Organic Consumers Association, said the amount found in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream would not violate any regulations. “Not everyone agrees with the acceptable levels governments have set,” Mr. Cummins said. “And, anyway, would you want to be eating this stuff at all?”

It’s far from clear. Divergent findings over glyphosate’s impact on health have divided governments, scientists, regulators and even the World Health Organization, with its International Agency for Research on Cancer linking it to cancer and another unit of the organization insisting on its safety.

Here is what we know:

• The levels of glyphosate found in Ben & Jerry’s ice creams are, indeed, small, according to government regulators and the scientist who did the testing.

Among the flavors tested, Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie showed the highest levels of glyphosate, with 1.74 parts per billion, and glyphosate’s byproduct aminomethylphosphonic acid registering 0.91 parts per billion.

Such amounts might seem negligible. John Fagan, the chief executive of the Health Research Institute Laboratories, which did the testing for the Organic Consumers Association, calculated that a 75-pound child would have to consume 145,000 eight-ounce servings a day of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream to hit the limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency, the government body charged with setting a ceiling on the amount of glyphosate allowed in food.

An adult would have to eat 290,000 servings to hit the agency’s cutoff, Dr. Fagan said.

Even European regulatory limits for glyphosate consumption, which are almost six times lower than limits in the United States, find that a child would have to eat 25,000 servings a day and an adult 50,000 for the herbicide to pose a threat.
“Based on these government thresholds, the levels found in Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream would seem totally irrelevant,” he said.

• But recent research suggests that the glyphosate levels still might besignificant. In research published this year in the journal Nature, rats that consumed very low doses of glyphosate each day showed early signs of fatty liver disease within three months, which worsened over time.

In that study, conducted by a group of scientists at King’s College London and led by Michael Antoniou, a molecular biologist, the rats consumed in a day an amount of glyphosate equivalent to a child’s portion of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, Dr. Fagan said.

Monsanto, the largest seller of products containing glyphosate, labeled the research “bad science” and the rehashing of a study done five years earlier. Some scientists criticized the more recent study for failing to disclose the age of the rats, which could affect outcomes, and for using a breed prone to tumors.

“There were a number of criticisms of that study that were absolutely not true,” said David Schubert, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies who works on neurodegenerative diseases. “But the industry does what it can to make the science very confusing to a layperson.”

[img=375x0]https://cdn1.nyt.com/images/2017/07/25/dining/25BEN3/25BEN3-articleLarge.jpg[/img]
The main ingredient in the pesticide Roundup, which is widely used in agriculture, is the herbicide glyphosate.
Reed Saxon / Associated Press.


Dr. Schubert pointed to a study in the journal Cell Chemical Biology that came out shortly after the one led by Dr. Antoniou, which found that when a body processes glyphosate, one of the herbicide’s byproducts interfered with the body’s ability to break down fatty acids. The accumulation of fatty acids is a signature of fatty liver disease.

“It basically confirms what Antoniou showed in his research,” Dr. Schubert said.

• One of the consumer groups pointing at Ben & Jerry’s may have a larger motive.

The Organic Consumers Association has been working with an organization called Regeneration Vermont to persuade Ben & Jerry’s to go organic. Federal regulations governing organic agriculture prohibit the use of glyphosate.

To make its point, the association also had the Health Research Institute test four organic brands of vanilla ice cream — Alden’s, Three Twins, Julie’s and the Whole Foods Market brand 365. 

The lab found 0.25 to 0.5 parts per billion of glyphosate’s byproduct, aminomethylphosphonic acid, in the 365 sample, but no detectable traces of glyphosate or its byproduct in the other samples.
“If they went organic, they wouldn’t have this problem,” said Will Allen, a founder of Regeneration Vermont and an organic farmer who has met with Ben & Jerry’s executives.

Other groups testing for glyphosatehave found it in Quaker Oats, Cheerios, Ritz Crackers and Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips, among a range of other products. The companies behind those products have all noted that the glyphosate amounts fell well below regulatory limits.

Many of those products have few or no ingredients derived from genetically engineered crops like corn, soy and sugar beets, which are meant to withstand glyphosate. Some of those products have nonetheless tested for glyphosate registered at much higher levels than those found in Ben & Jerry’s ice creams.

Both Mr. Cummins, of the Organic Consumers Association, and Mr. Michalak, of Ben & Jerry’s, said the glyphosate found in Ben & Jerry’s probably comes from add-ins like peanut butter and cookie dough. Such products contain ingredients like wheat, oats and peanuts that are often sprayed with the herbicide to dry them out.


• Regardless, this may be only the beginning for consumer brands, which will face increasing scrutiny over glyphosate. 
[img=375x0]https://cdn1.nyt.com/images/2017/07/25/dining/25BEN2/25BEN2-articleLarge-v2.jpg[/img]
Ronnie Cummins, a founder of the Organic Consumers Association, said the amount of glyphosate found in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream would not violate any regulations: “Not everyone agrees with the acceptable levels governments have set. And, anyway, would you want to be eating this stuff at all?”
Derek Montgomery for The New York Times



For the past few years, consumer and environmental groups have started testing for glyphosate in food, because, while the government routinely tests foods for a variety of pesticides, it does not regularly test for glyphosate.
In 2011, the Agriculture Department conducted a special test of 300 soybean samples for glyphosate and found the herbicide in 271 of them, according to Carey Gillam, the author of “Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science,” a book about glyphosate that will go on sale in October.

“Regulators have turned a blind eye toward trying to figure out what levels of glyphosate are in our food supply,” Ms. Gillam said.
The Agriculture Department did not respond to a request for comment.


The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for enforcing maximum pesticide residue levels for any foods in interstate commerce, and it issues an annual report on pesticide residue found in food — with the exception of glyphosate.
Megan McSeveney, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the methods used in its annual tests cannot detect glyphosate because of its chemical makeup and how it degrades. Available methods of testing, she added, are costly and labor intensive. In 2014, after the Government Accountability Office sharply criticizedthe agency for failing to test for glyphosate — and also for not disclosing that fact to the public — the Food and Drug Administration said it would cost about $5 million to start such testing.

The agency, Ms. McSeveney said, planned to test four food commodities — corn, soy, eggs and milk — although she could not say when such testing would begin.
Some food and commodity companies have decided they can’t wait on the government.

 The Scoular Company, which sells grains and other commodities, has begun requiring farmers who sell the company soybeans and corn to notify it before using any defoliants, including glyphosate.

“We are concerned about the general increase in chemical residues in foods,” said Greg Lickteig, a director at Scoular, “and some of our customers are concerned, too. That’s just the way it is. We now have the ability to know what’s in our food more than we ever have before.”

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Correction: July 25, 2017

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the name of the lab that tested the ice cream for the Organic Consumers Association. It is Health Research Institute Laboratories, not Health Resource Institute Laboratories.

[Charon]

I thought Ben and Jerrys presented as good guys. But, despite how horrified we are, to date, the gvt allows a certain number of parts per billion of all sorts of grotesque things in one's food.

This stinks.