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Monsanto Bullies EPA on Glyphosate Ruling
By Violet Batcha
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) is seeking public input on the health impacts of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. But despite mounting evidence, the EPA continues to ignore glyphosate's hazards, and it looks like Monsanto's under-the-table influence may be a reason why.
Monsanto has launched a campaign to pressure the EPA into declaring glyphosate safe. It is terrified of losing the profits from selling this ubiquitous herbicide.
The use of glyphosate on U.S. farmland has exploded in recent years. A recent study found that Americans' exposure to the pesticide has increased fivefold since it was first introduced more than 20 years ago.
As use of glyphosate has increased, so have concerns about its health hazards.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Earlier this year, California added glyphosate to the state's Proposition 65 registry as a chemical known to cause cancer. A 2018 study out of Indiana University linked glyphosate to shorter pregnancy, which can increase a child's risk of chronic diseases later in life.
California's Proposition 65 listing would require cancer warning labels on Roundup. A group of Big Ag lobbyists, backed by Monsanto, has taken action to stop the labeling rule from taking effect.
Meanwhile, unsealed court documents have revealed Monsanto's efforts to collude with the EPA to cover up glyphosate's cancer risks. In lawsuits against Monsanto by cancer victims, an EPA official who was in charge of evaluating the herbicide's cancer risk has been accused of aiding the company's efforts to kill the agency's investigation.
But now we have a chance to make our voices heard. We can urge the EPA not to cave to Monsanto's pressure and to review all the science linking glyphosate to cancer. But we only have until April 30 to flood the EPA with comments.
Make sure EPA chief Scott Pruitt knows you're watching. Tell him to stand up to Monsanto and protect public health.
Reposted with permission from our media associate Environmental Working Group.
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Charli Shield
At unsettling times like the coronavirus outbreak, it might feel like things are very much out of your control. Most routines have been thrown into disarray and the future, as far as the experts tell us, is far from certain.
By Elizabeth Henderson
Farmworkers, farmers and their organizations around the country have been singing the same tune for years on the urgent need for immigration reform. That harmony turns to discord as soon as you get down to details on how to get it done, what to include and what compromises you are willing to make. Case in point: the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038), which passed in the House of Representatives on Dec. 11, 2019, by a vote of 260-165. The Senate received the bill the next day and referred it to the Committee on the Judiciary, where it remains. Two hundred and fifty agriculture and labor groups signed on to the United Farm Workers' (UFW) call for support for H.R. 5038. UFW President Arturo Rodriguez rejoiced:
800,000 Doctors to Trump: Heed Expert Warnings and End Dangerous Campaign Against Social Distancing
By Julia Conley
A council representing more than 800,000 doctors across the U.S. signed a letter Friday imploring President Donald Trump to reverse his call for businesses to reopen by April 12, warning that the president's flouting of the guidance of public health experts could jeopardize the health of millions of Americans and throw hospitals into even more chaos as they fight the coronavirus pandemic.
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
Over six gallons of water are required to produce one gallon of wine. "Irrigation, sprays, and frost protection all [used in winemaking] require a lot of water," explained winemaker and sommelier Keith Wallace, who's also a professor and the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, the largest independent wine school in the U.S. And water waste is just the start of the climate-ruining inefficiencies commonplace in the wine industry. Sustainably speaking, climate change could be problematic for your favorite glass of wine.