Could all this have anything to do with money and politics?
Monsanto’s cash cow weed killer Roundup probably causes cancer, according to a new report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization. IARC recently published a report in the journal Lancet Oncology with findings on three pesticides, including Monsanto’s best-selling brand. The report found that the herbicide glyphosate — the active chemical ingredient in Roundup — and two insecticides, malathion and diazinon, were “probably carcinogenic.”1
However, no action has been taken to take the products off the shelves. “It remains the responsibility of individual governments and other international organizations to recommend regulations, legislation or public health intervention,” the IARC said. But nothing seems to be done about it. Could this inertia be related with the huge profits posted by the company and its ability to lobby our governments? Last year alone, Monsanto posted a profit of $2.74 billion and spent over 4 million dollars in lobbying activities.2,3
The scientist Patrick Moore, recently joined French cable channel Canal+ as part of an upcoming news documentary. He advocated for the safety of glyphosate and told the journalist “You can drink a whole quart of it and it won’t hurt you”. But in the middle of the interview, when the Canal+ journalist offered to go backstage to get his guest a glass of glyphosate to drink on-air, Moore refused to drink it.4
With Spring looming, TV ads for Roundup pop-up everywhere, and nobody seem to care. Instead, State Attorney General from New York, Connecticut, Indiana and Puerto Rico have announced their intention to create a coalition to crack down on ….the herbal supplement industry!
Could all this have anything to do with money and politics?
(1) Carcinogenicity of tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and glyphosate http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2815%2970134-8/abstract
(2) Monsanto to Pay $350k in Settlement Over Franken-Wheat http://sputniknews.com/us/20150319/1019740522.html
(3) http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000055
(4) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/monsanto-roundup-patrick-moore_n_6956034.html
(5) http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/led-ag-schneiderman-state-attorneys-general-form-coalition-expanded-probe-herbal