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The problem is that almost anything and everything is accused of causing cancer by scientists including smog to over cooked steak. The person in the lawsuit was a groundskeeper at a school district. He was exposed to Roundup almost every day for many years. How many of us use Roundup once or twice a year and even then in very small areas? Who's to say if he had been a clerk in a dept store, he wouldn't have gotten cancer just the same?
There are just too many variables with millions of people developing cancer to say this did it or that did it.
Also, people use the term "scientist" so loosely. To me a scientist is a career PhD who successfully does research and publishes in journals reviewed by other well educated scientists. Scientists speak in terms of statistics and probabilities. Sometimes, as in the case of this herbicide, there is no high enough level at which you can expose a test animal to enough of the pure chemical to cause an effect. They would be drowning in it. There are a lot of wanna be scientist types who do not do careful research.
And "Round-up" in the bottle is not pure since it has inert ingredients, called inert because they are not the herbicide. Sometimes it is these that cause damage in casual testing. For example, if there needed to be a little gasoline in the bottle to keep the herbicide dissolved, it could be the gasoline that is deadly.
In addition someone using the product should never have to be exposed to it if they follow directions. While this is not the most important aspect, since minor exposure could accidentally occur and you would not want to be exposed to any toxin, just because the weeds in the sidewalk are treated does not mean that someone just walking by would be "exposed". You spray it properly in a calm wind, it goes into the plant or soil, and it does it's thing in the plant (inhibits a certain plant-specific enzyme) or the soil properties quickly disable it. Gone.
Something to consider for those that use soy products. A roundup ready soybean plant was developed that has been genetically modified to be resistant to herbicides, and can live through being saturated with roundup yet not die while the weeds perish. Unless organic, most of our soybeans are roundup ready.
Knowing that plants absorb things through their leaves, and every part of the plant means that the plant would transport the roundup throughout itself, even to the soybeans themselves. It just doesn't kill it. This is how it kills non roundup ready plants as it goes to the roots. But does the herbicide become part of the food after being absorbed by the plant? What does that possibly do to us when we eat those soybeans? Are we being slowly poisoned, although the company says it is "harmless"?
"Nevertheless, there are concerns about how much glyphosate we might be eating. Some crops have been genetically modified to be tolerant to glyphosate and therefore are sprayed to eliminate weeds growing in their midst. “And because of that, these crops . . . accumulate glyphosate in very high concentrations inside the plants,” Félix Carvalho, a toxicologist from Portugal’s University of Porto and secretary general of the European toxicologist organization Eurotox, writes to The Scientist in an email. “There is evidence that we are being exposed to increasing doses of glyphosate and other compounds of the herbicide formulation over the years. Such exposure is potentially deleterious.”
In France Monsanto and roundup are seen as evil by a large majority of people. California must be the same. It's easy to assume that the jury already had their opinion made before the trial.
Something to consider for those that use soy products. A roundup ready soybean plant was developed that has been genetically modified to be resistant to herbicides, and can live through being saturated with roundup yet not die while the weeds perish. Unless organic, most of our soybeans are roundup ready.
Knowing that plants absorb things through their leaves, and every part of the plant means that the plant would transport the roundup throughout itself, even to the soybeans themselves. It just doesn't kill it. This is how it kills non roundup ready plants as it goes to the roots. But does the herbicide become part of the food after being absorbed by the plant? What does that possibly do to us when we eat those soybeans? Are we being slowly poisoned, although the company says it is "harmless"?
"Nevertheless, there are concerns about how much glyphosate we might be eating. Some crops have been genetically modified to be tolerant to glyphosate and therefore are sprayed to eliminate weeds growing in their midst. “And because of that, these crops . . . accumulate glyphosate in very high concentrations inside the plants,” Félix Carvalho, a toxicologist from Portugal’s University of Porto and secretary general of the European toxicologist organization Eurotox, writes to The Scientist in an email. “There is evidence that we are being exposed to increasing doses of glyphosate and other compounds of the herbicide formulation over the years. Such exposure is potentially deleterious.”
The answer is no. There is no herbicide in the seed. Why? The herbicide is only used when the plant is very young and not yet even forming seeds. Once the plants are large enough to start shading the soil, they will usually not be affected by weeds in their shade.
My 84 y.o. neighbor uses that stuff around his walkway. I've used scalding hot water on the weeds and tough grass that grows up in my pavers and it actually works!
The answer is no. There is no herbicide in the seed. Why? The herbicide is only used when the plant is very young and not yet even forming seeds. Once the plants are large enough to start shading the soil, they will usually not be affected by weeds in their shade.
That is not what Félix Carvalho, a toxicologist from Portugal’s University of Porto and secretary general of the European toxicologist organization Eurotox said in the below post which I reposted from my earlier post. And the plants still absorb the herbicide even though young. It becomes part of the plant structure from which the flowers emerge.
"Nevertheless, there are concerns about how much glyphosate we might be eating. Some crops have been genetically modified to be tolerant to glyphosate and therefore are sprayed to eliminate weeds growing in their midst. “And because of that, these crops . . . accumulate glyphosate in very high concentrations inside the plants,” Félix Carvalho, a toxicologist from Portugal’s University of Porto and secretary general of the European toxicologist organization Eurotox, writes to The Scientist in an email. “There is evidence that we are being exposed to increasing doses of glyphosate and other compounds of the herbicide formulation over the years. Such exposure is potentially deleterious.”
This link talks about it being beneficial to make two passes of roundup application. No matter what, I don't want the plants my food comes from to have anything to do with roundup. You are welcome to pursue it though, by all means.
mlulu = "A roundup ready soybean plant was developed that has been genetically modified..."
So is the problem that it is GMO or is it the Roundup? For some of you, I'm sure the problem is 'both'...
I would have to say both. The plant also gets sprayed with enough roundup to kill the weeds around it, but still live. How can that be a healthy thing?
Age 74, I've been using it or its generic chemical equivalent since 1977.
Guess I'm doomed.
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