New solutions are needed as the court forces the EPA takes a closer look at glyphosate herbicides.
A Historic Victory
Dewayne Anthony Lee Johnson loved his job. He worked at a school with the title Integrated Pest Manger. He kept the school clean and safe for children. He would still be at that job if it weren’t for a devastating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma -a terminal cancer- diagnosis in 2014.
His diagnosis came promptly after a workplace accident in which a spray bottle broke and drenched him in Monsanto’s (in 2016 acquired by Bayer) Roundup herbicide.
His search for answers led to a historic trial. Johnson was the first person to challenge Monsanto over their herbicides in court and win. The jury found that Monsanto failed to warn of the cancer related dangers of Roundup. They awarded him a shocking 289 million dollars, later lowered to 78 million dollars.
What is Glyphosate?
Roundup is the most widely used weed-killer in the United States, both in the agricultural sector and in the home and garden market. Farmers rely on Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, to kill weeds, help increase yields and reduce costs.
Glyphosate Herbicides Under Scrutiny
Glyphosate’s use as a widespread safe and viable option is being put under serious scrutiny. In June 2022, the Ninth Circuit of Appeals decided that the EPA needs to revisit several of their study’s findings on glyphosate. The following was reported:
The court voided the EPA’s human health risk assessment that said glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans”. The EPA must revisit the assessment and release a revised one.
The EPA violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing continued use of glyphosate before performing an analysis on the effects on ecology and endangered species. The court gave them a deadline of October 2022 to issue an assessment of the herbicide’s ecological effects.
The court found that EPA deviated from its own guidelines and experts. The EPA selectively discounted evidence that glyphosate causes tumors in animals.
Further, the EPA discounted studies showing increased non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma risk by saying that ‘chance and/or bias’ could be an explanation for the associations between glyphosate and increased cancer risk. The court did not accept the EPA’s inability to reach a conclusion as a reason to state the glyphosate is “not likely” to cause cancer.
Controversy Around Glyphosate Research
The science behind glyphosate’s effect on humans and ecology has been highly controversial. Multiple organizations and institutes are conducting research around the herbicides safety.
The stakes on the safety determination are high.
There is research on glyphosate that is highly influenced by commercial interest. Commercially influenced research confuses and minimizes the public’s knowledge of the true risk this chemical can be having on their health.
Bayer, in the face of spending billions of dollars on cancer lawsuits and settlements, stands by its conclusion that the herbicide is safe. In 2021 Bayer announced that it will remove glyphosate-based products from retail stores by 2023 (they will make it available to professional farmers). Bayer claims they are removing the herbicide to avoid future litigation and not due to safety concerns.
However, in 2015 the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the herbicide as a “probable human carcinogen”. This study provides a voice to the many who suffer from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from the use of RoundUp.
Monasanto responded to this study by promoting studies that the herbicide poses no cancer risk. However, internal emails from Monsanto showed the studies being promoted were commissioned, directed and edited by Monsanto to be published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology.
The Future of Glyphosate
As glyphosate herbicides under scrutiny within the court’s recent decision, it serves as an opportunity to consider new and innovative solutions for a more healthy and sustainable food system.
In a 2021 peer-reviewed paper, researchers examined 3,000 scholarly articles to analyze whether glyphosate based herbicides meet sustainable agriculture standards. They noted the impact on human health, soil quality, aquatic ecosystems and species not targeted by the herbicide.
The paper found that these herbicides are not sustainable.
They decrease the quality and health of farm workers. Putting workers, especially in marginalized communities, at a higher risk of developing cancer or health impacts related to the chemical’s toxicity.
The herbicide is having widespread effects on the ecosystem. Most notable are the effects to pollinators essential to the management of our food systems and crop yield. Scientific evidence shows a clear connection between the role of herbicide in the decline of honey bees and wild pollinators.
Glyphosate herbicides under Scrutiny leaves the possibility of farming with a reduction of glyphosate or without glyphosate needs to be considered and planned for. In the study of Agroecology, scientists take an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts to design and manage agricultural systems.
We need to ensure food systems are safe and sustainable for future generations. Glyphosate is unhealthy and unsustainable. It is time for a new solution.
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