I-SIS Special Report

Why Glyphosate Should Be Banned

A Review of its Hazards to Health and the Environment

Read the full report here: Why Glyphosate Should Be Banned.

Or purchase as a PDF document: here

• Glyphosate use has gone up sharply worldwide since the introduction of glyphosate-tolerant GM crops. It has contaminated land, water, air, and our food supply. Damning evidence of its serious harm to health and the environment has been piling up, but the maximum permitted levels are set to rise by 100-150 times in the European Union if Monsanto gets its way.
• Scientific evidence accumulated over three decades documents miscarriages, birth defects, carcinogenesis, endocrine disruption, DNA damage, neurotoxicity, and toxicity to liver and kidney at levels well below recommended agricultural use.
• Evidence emerging over the past 20 years reveals its negative environmental and agronomic impacts. The herbicide is lethal to frogs, increases toxic blooms, and accelerates the deterioration of water quality.
• Livestock illnesses including reproductive problems, diarrhoea, bloating, spontaneous abortions, reduced live births, inflamed digestive systems and nutrient deficiencies are linked to glyphosate tolerant GM feed.
• Glyphosate poisons crops and soils by killing beneficial microorganisms and encouraging pathogens to flourish. Forty crop diseases are now linked to glyphosate use and the number is increasing.
• Glyphosate-resistant weeds cover 120 million ha globally, and continue to spread, it is a major factor accounting for increase in pesticide use.
• Contamination of ground water supplies, rain, and air has been documented in Spain and the US. Berlin city residents were recently shown to carry glyphosate levels above permitted EU drinking water levels.

There is a compelling case for banning or phasing out glyphosate-based herbicides worldwide in favour of a global transition to non-GM, herbicide-free organic agriculture. Please forward to your political representatives.

Article first published 10/10/12

---