Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup and has been linked to 29+ diseases including cancer, birth defects, kidney disease, Parkinsons and more.
This is excellent news! A long time coming. Wake up people and see beyond the surface stories you are told … this NZ man who is spraying the stones in the course of his work day is wearing no protective equipment for his hands or face, as is the custom with most people who use it here. One contractor I questioned on this matter told me he didn’t wear a mask because it would alarm the public! Let’s just not frighten them because after all if any of us gets cancer nobody will be able to prove how it happened anyway. Farmers swear by it and their Agricultural texts recommend spraying their fields with it … this means it is likely in your non-organic meat. One in three people now get cancer … time to join some dots people. And this is not the only product that carries similar health risks, there are many more in our environment … we are bombarded from many angles. Read our Cancer pages.
An employee of one of NZ’s major contractors, Fulton and Hogan, spraying the stones, unprotected with any safety gear apart from overalls
By Dr. Mercola
In March, 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), reclassified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen” (Class 2A).1,2
The decision was based on “limited evidence” showing the weed killer can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer in humans, along with “convincing evidence” linking it to cancer in animals.
The IARC is considered the global gold standard for carcinogenicity studies, so its determination was of considerable importance. It’s also one of the five research agencies from which the OEHHA — the California agency of environmental hazards — gets its reports to declare carcinogens under Prop 65.
Monsanto has vigorously pursued a retraction of the IARC’s damning report,3 to prevent California from pursuing a cancer warning on Roundup and other, newer weed killers in the pipeline, designed for use on the company’s latest genetically engineered (GE) crops.
Monsanto Forced to Put Cancer Warning on Roundup
Their efforts have so far failed, and Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Kapetan recently struck another nail in the company’s coffin, striking down Monsanto’s attempt to overturn California’s 2015 ruling to require Prop 65 warnings on glyphosate.4,5,6
While Kapetan has yet to issue a formal decision on the matter, Monsanto says it will challenge the ruling, if upheld. As reported by LA Progressive:7
“California would be the first state to order this level of labeling if this decision by the California Carcinogen Identification Committee is sustained by further court action.
Monsanto previously sued the nation’s foremost agricultural producing state by filing court motions to the effect that California’s carcinogen committee … had illegally based their decision for mandatorily requiring the warnings on “erroneous” findings by an international health organization …
For more info and links to docos see our Glyphosate pages (remember the sub pages). Educate yourself and make informed decisions from all the data, not just what mainstream feed you. And remember to share the information and expose the untruths we’ve been told. Use the share buttons & thank you for reading.
“Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of many chemicals, but industrial chemicals are rarely tested for health and safety before sale ” ecochem.com
“Each day in the United States more than a million children age 5 and under who eat a normal diet ingest doses of organic phosphate pesticides that exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s adult reference doses, according to a recent analysis of USDA and FDA data.
Twenty million American children age 5 and under eat an average of eight pesticides a day”
The average apple has four pesticides on it after it has been washed and cored; some apples have as many as 10″ ecochem.com “An increasingly vast body of evidence shows that some chronic conditions such as birth defects, cancers, and developmental disorders among children are linked to the poisons that are dumped into the food children eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of many chemicals, but industrial chemicals are rarely tested for health and safety before sale”
Environmental Health Perspectives – a commentary on the book Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children by Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff.
New Zealand’s Produce … is it Also Sprayed?
NZ is not exempt from these chemicals. Herald has posted a ‘dirty dozen’ list of foods that have the least to the most chemicals. And organicnz‘s website features a more detailed exposé…
“Celery, a range of fruit, dairy products and bread are all ranked in the top dozen of foods available in New Zealand that are likely to contain more pesticide residues.1 Close contenders behind the ‘dirty dozen’ (see table for the list) were cucumber, nectarines, lettuce, tomatoes, wine and pears”.
Bread, unless organic, is ranked in the dirty dozen for pesticides … wheat crops are frequently dessicated with Roundup since the plants have been genetically altered to resist the pesticide
Do you really want to continue feeding your family toxic pesticides many of which are known carcinogens? I used to think peeling would take care of things until I learned recently of growers of oranges for export in the Gisborne area sprayed the ground around their orange trees with glyphosate (Roundup) in order for the tree’s roots to absorb it. This means it will be inside the oranges so can’t be removed. And glyphosate is in the middle of huge debate over its carcinogenicity. WHO deemed it a ‘probable carcinogen’ (See links to research and WHO’s report at the bottom of this page). With a cocktail of up to ten pesticides on the average apple it really is not safe to be eating them. Remember the effect is cumulative which is why they get away with using these with impunity. By the time cancer appears and your chances of that are now one in three, there is little chance in today’s set up, to prove what caused it. It is in fact well known that exposure to environmental hazards are dangerous and predispose us to the development of cancer. Read Dr Samuel Epstein’s book ‘The Politics of Cancer’examining this in the 1970s. Dr Meriel Watts of Pananz has also written a book about the effect of pesticides on our children: “Poisoning Our Future: Children and Pesticides”.
According to Pesticide Action Network Aoteoroa New Zealand author, Dr Meriel Watts, “Children are not little adults. The activities they do make them more prone to accumulate pesticides in their bodies; and their developing bodies make them more prone to the negative effects of toxic chemicals such as pesticides. Yet government regulatory processes and tests do not look into these effects,” according to Dr Meriel Watts, author of the book. Tests used to approve use of pesticides do not look into endocrine disruption which can impact the physical, intellectual and behavioural development of the foetus and young child. The effects can include ADHD and autism and even conditions like obesity and breast cancer that can show up later in life in what is now referred to as the “foetal origins of adult disease”. Some childhood cancers like leukaemia have been linked to the exposure of parents to pesticides. Highly hazardous pesticides also damage the developing immune, nervous and reproductive systems. PANANZ
See also fact sheets on the pesticides at Pananz website in the links below.
Please use the share buttons to spread this information. Check out our pages on Chemicals and particularly Glyphosate at the main menu. Glyphosate is very widely used in NZ. Be proactive and protect your family.
“Experts warned that eating this GE wheat could lead to significant changes in the way glucose and carbohydrates are stored in the human body, which could be potentially deadly for children and lead to serious illness in adults. Yet despite the seriousness of these findings, regulators are ignoring and dismissing such warnings. According to the Institute of Science in Society,10 the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved at least five such GE food products already.”
The more we learn about genetically engineered (GE) foods, the clearer the dangers become. I’ve warned you of the potential dangers of GE foods for many years now, as I was convinced that the artificial combining of plants with genes from wildly different kingdoms is bound to cause problems.
As the years roll on, such suspicions are becoming increasingly validated. In recent weeks, we’ve not only learned that GE corn is in no way comparable to natural corn in terms of nutrition, we’re also discovering the ramifications of dousing our crops with large amounts of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup.
GE crops are far more contaminated with glyphosate than conventional crops, courtesy of the fact that they’re engineered to withstand extremely high levels of Roundup without perishing along with the weed.
A new peer-reviewed report authored by Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant, and a long time contributor to the Mercola.com Vital Votes Forum and Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has fortunately received quite a bit of mainstream media attention.
Their findings, along with the development of another breed of “gene silencing” crops, makes the need for labeling all the more urgent, and the advice to buy certified organic all the more valid.
NZ used to be GE free until 2000 when GM corn was planted in several locations throughout NZ. Helen Clarke then PM found out about it and ordered them pulled up … (corn gate it was known as) then through corporate persuasion presumably she caved. The crops were left til full term and harvest and who knows how many of our own crops were contaminated? They then raised the percentage bar of acceptance in our country. By increments is how these people work. For a full exposé read Nicky Hager’s ‘Seeds of Distrust’. (See also Foreword & Chapter 1).
Rats from Professor Seralini’s experiment that were fed GM Corn for two years. Monsanto, when they first released Roundup tested glyphosate on rats for the required 90 days only, not long enough for tumours to grow … still think it’s safe? WHO after briefly deciding it was a ‘probable carcinogen’ has now backtracked, like our PM in 2000, & deemed glyphosate is safe
When you’re done watching the video below, check out our Glyphosate pages for local info on that chemical in your (not) GE free NZ’s favourite farming and garden herbicide Roundup. It is an integral part of the whole GMO package. The stuff is slathered over everything everywhere here in NZ like there is no tomorrow… roadsides, berms, parks, gardens, you name it. And no warning signs posted either. It’s now been deemed safe (again) after a short foray into official recognition of the health risks courtesy of WHO saying it was ‘probably carcinogenic’. However, the tumours on the rats in the ground breaking study by Professor Séralini are evidence enough for me to decline. The video of that experiment is on our Glyphosate page. And by the way, because Monsanto are telling us it is safe to eat, they’re not required to label it in many places. It is already in our food chain because it’s fed to animals and is in many processed foods. Soy and corn that is not labeled organic is likely GM. Here is a short video that tells you the top 12 foods to avoid if you want to avoid GMOs.
The world’s leading Scientists, Physicians, Attorneys, Politicians and Environmental Activists expose the corruption and dangers surrounding the widespread use of Genetically Modified Organisms in the new feature length documentary, “Seeds of Death: Unveiling the Lies of GMOs”.
Senior Executive Producer / Writer / Director: Gary Null PhD
Executive Producer/Writer/Co-Director: Richard Polonetsky
Producers: Paola Bossola, Richard Gale, James Spruill, Patrick Thompson, Valerie Van Cleve
Editors: James Spruill, Patrick Thompson, Richie Williamson, Nick Palm
Music: Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com), Armando Guarnera
Graphics: Jay Graygor
“Future historians will look back on our time and write not about how many pounds of pesticides we do or don’t apply, what they’ll write about is how willing we are to sacrifice our children and jeopardize future generations just for this massive experiment that we called genetic engineering that’s based on failed promises, flawed science – just to benefit the bottom line of a commercial enterprise.” – Dr. Don Huber
This blog post is intended to provide information about some aspects of glyphosate so that anyone who is interested in doing more research can use this as a source to assist in that process. It is not meant to be a full report about glyphosate and its many issues.
What is especially infuriating about this is Monsanto’s original claim their product would “solve the world’s food problem”. Food problem? Read Susan George’s exposé of the real root cause of the world’s food problem. It’s not because of laziness and overpopulation as the powers that be would have you believe. You can download that book (written in the ’70s) for free (search pdf). Agribiz corporations created the food problem, now corporations claim they can fix it … well of course they can! … and for a whole lot more profit – to themselves. EnvirowatchRangitikei
The horrific truth about this disastrous chemical is that, while Monsanto claims it’s harmless, it actually creates nutritional deficiencies and systemic toxicity in the human body, and is linked to multiple chronic diseases and conditions including autism.
Sprayed in a section adjacent to a primary school in NZ, farmers are told Roundup is harmless
Reuters news service has discovered that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency advised a review panel not to disclose documents on the weed killer glyphosate requested under U.S. freedom of information (FOIA) laws, according to America Online News. The report said the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) claims they are exempt from FOIA laws because they alone own the information.
Critics of the IARC’s “possibly carcinogenic” classification of glyphosate — including Monsanto vice president Scott Partridge — say they want to review the agency’s work. Glyphosate is the most heavily used agricultural chemical of all time, with 1.8 million tons of it applied to U.S. fields since 1974; two-thirds of that in the last 10 years.
When this toxic poison was first released in connection with “Roundup Ready” genetically engineered (GE) glyphosate-tolerant crops (soy, corn and cotton), Monsanto promised it would reduce the use of pesticides worldwide and solve the world’s food problem. Instead, it’s been a dismal failure, with “super weeds” resistant to glyphosate posing a massive worldwide problem.
The horrific truth about this disastrous chemical is that, while Monsanto claims it’s harmless, it actually creates nutritional deficiencies and systemic toxicity in the human body, and is linked to multiple chronic diseases and conditions including autism.
In 2009 a French court found Monsanto guilty of lying about its safety, and since then other research has shown more evidence of glyphosate’s dangers.
Find further articles on glyphosate under ‘categories’ top left of any page and visit our glyphosate pages. Please share the info and help expose corporate corruption and lies.
I’m reblogging this article from 2014 to remind us all of the evidence. WHO some twelve months or so ago decided that glyphosate was probably a carcinogen. That got everybody frantically spreading the word however the probably has now given them a convenient little out for later in my opinion anyway… going by what has since happened, that being the major flip flop they’ve done. So … to recap, they (IARC) look at the myriad of independent research and decide on the probably carcinogenic scenario (yes rats fed very diluted glyphosate and GE corn for two years grew enormous tumours all over their bodies) then a year or so later do an about turn. Even if their current conclusions are correct they don’t inspire much trust in their processes to have done a major flip flop like that within a year. And remember, first up after the Séralini experiment Monsanto went into debunk mode by discrediting the Professor’s choice of rat as not being the correct type as in that particular rat is supposedly prone to tumours anyway. All the links to that info are on our Glyphosate pages (the independent research etc) and a brief google search will tell you that you can relax and start spraying everything with Roundup again because yes it’s perfectly safe. After all it is in the GM food you are eating that you don’t know about because it’s so safe they don’t need to label it for you. Please do yourself a favour and watch carefully Professor Séralini’s evidence, and/or read the transcript below. EnvirowatchRangitikei
The Séralini Experiment
Transcript: Pay close attention to what you are about to see. These images will be seen around the world. These rats have been fed with transgenic corn during their entire life cycle. The tumours they suffer from are enormous. The study that revealed the effect of these GMOs on the health of these rats has just been completed. It benefited from exceptional financial & technical means. We were able to witness the study in its entirety. It lasted for two years. Following years of doubt and controversies will we finally know the truth about GMOs? Would we then be faced with a health crisis of global proportions?
Paris, December 16th, 2011, Criigen offices, Committee for Research & Independent Information for Genetic Engineering…. Presentation of the results collected by Professor Seralini during his study focused on determining the potential harmfulness of the GMO corn Nk603 for humans and animals….
This is the longest most thorough study to have been carried out on a GMO and we’ve also carried out a joint study on the most used pesticide in the world, the Roundup which is a herbicide. It belongs to the main pesticide category. We spent over a year trying to obtain transgenic corn because no GMO manufacturers were willing to provide them. This is because Monsanto requires contracts to be signed stipulating that the seeds must not be used for testing and an arrangement must be made prior to the testing. We wanted our study to be independent.
Joel Spiroux Vendomois
Doctor specialized in Environmental Health
President of the CRIIGEN
This is the first time that a two year study has been conducted on GMOs and there lies the big difference. Furthermore, we tried to evaluate a maximum of biochemical & biological parameters with repeated blood tests, weighing of the specimens and urine tests. We studied the hepatic & urinary parameters as well as the blood parameters, all the parameters that can be studied. We also studied the hormonal parameters which has never been done in previous studies. This experiment is a world premiere.
Up until now the corn NK603, the very one selected for the study had only been tested over a three month period and that in a test environment entirely controlled by Monsanto, its manufacturer. Furthermore, concerning the Roundup, also manufactured by Monsanto & which is used for growing corn, only its active agent, Glyphosate had been assessed. But one needs to understand that the manufacturers in order to enable the agent to penetrate the plant cell successfully, use additives that are sometimes more harmful than the actual Glyphosate.
Gilles-Eric Seralini
Molecular biologist
University of Caen (France)
We have two clear objectives, firstly to conduct the studies exactly according to international requirements, but making sure we are very thorough when it comes to analyzing the results. Secondly we want to determine if there are secondary effects. The only way to do this is to carry out tests on animals, and then to examine all the blood parameters whilst paying close attention to their organs.
Commentator: At this stage it might prove useful to know exactly what GMOs are used for. It is a plant that has been developed either to produce its own insecticide or to be tolerant to a herbicide, thusenabling it to be exposed to massive doses of it without dying. One can understand how GMOs can be useful to farmers, for example they would be able to spray their entire field with Roundup, killing all the weeds in the process & never harming the genetically modified plant. On the other hand it is hard to see the benefits for the consumer who will effectively be ingesting substances coming from a plant that has absorbed the pesticides. That is why it is crucial to test not only the GMO, but also the GMO with its residue & the pesticide on its own.
Professor Seralini: This type of testing had never been done before because the corporations doing the test would do them on GMOs with the Roundup which meant that we had no idea what between the GMO & the Roundup caused the pathologies. Or they did them on GMOs without specifying that this was the case. So what we decided to do was to address the question, are we dealing with the effects of the GMO or the pesticide. During the last ten years of testing the national commissions did not envisage a pesticide effect.
Commentator: Therefore Europe does not even demand chronic or toxicity tests to be systematically carried out on animals, & when they are required, it is the manufacturers who decide the protocol to be used. For example, the Amflora potato was only tested on a group
of thirty rats, ten of which were being fed the GMO. The Monsanto corn was tested on 400 rats. Eighty of them were fed the transgenic plant, but only forty of them were then subjected to blood tests. Either way, none of these studies lasted longer than 90 days.
Professor Seralini: What is represented by this figure is that certain groups of rats, male and female, have ingested GMO corn. GMO with Roundup residue and Roundup on its own. Every time we go up a level a rat dies. The limit is ten due to the number of rats that constitute a group. The dotted line represents the females in the group who die but have a completely normal diet. Only two animals die spontaneously after 550 days. On the other hand, every female that has been fed on the GMO, GMO with Roundup or Roundup diet has died more frequently than the other rats. Some will challenge
the relevance of such results but what is undeniable is in the group that has been exposed to the GMOs there is a 600% increase or six times more deaths compared to the control group. As far as medicine or biology is concerned there is no need for further testing. An important fact is that all the studies carried out on the rats are done over a three month period. It so happens that none of the effects are visible until the fourth month. This is fundamental in understanding that studies conducted over a three month period are useless. This conclusion is easily understandable. It could be said that their only use is to soothe their consciences.
Commentator: Every rat out of the 200 that were tested was dissected by Professor Seralini’s team. They did this to discover
exactly what had affected their organs. The purpose behind this was to identify the way each diet, GMO, GMO & Roundup & Roundup on its own had acted on the metabolism of each animal. Focusing on the development rate of the tumours, that, and this comes as no surprise, only start to manifest themselves after the initial three month period.
Professor Seralini: This figure represents a number of palpable tumours contracted by the animal during the experiment. Here we can see the rats subjected to GMOs compared to those with a regular diet. As you can see, very few males contracted tumours. This is due to them being more resistant to the testing process. What these figures show are the for the large tumours, each step up
represents a large tumour which can measure 17 millimeters by 17 millimeters. For a rat these measurements are colossal. It would equate to a tumour of this size if seen on a human being. It is enormous. After having studied these tumours it can be said that 94% of them take effect in the mammary glands which would equate to breast cancer in a woman. We are faced with renal tumours for the males but not only. Some males also suffer from mammary tumours. This points towards a hormonal effect that isn’t affected by the dosage. Sixty percent of breast cancer cases are caused by hormonal deficiencies.
Commentator: Professor Seralini’s study holds one last surprise for us, and this is a major one. Up until now, one could have thought that the main cause of death for the tested rats was coming from the
pesticide added to the corn. But what the study highlighted, and this for the first time ever, is the fact that the transgenesis itself could have killed the rats. What this means is that just by interfering with the genome of the plant in order to modify it, we are faced with repercussions that no one could have anticipated. This is enough to make us reconsider all the scientific precepts that have led to the creation of GMOs.
Professor Seralini: Roundup had never been tested separately. Whilst conducting cellular studies we saw that the cells of the liver, embryos, placenta, kidneys and the umbilical cord died much faster and so we could deduce that there was a toxic effect on the organism. What can be said is that there is an increase in deaths due to GMOs and Roundup. The biggest surprise came when we realized
that GMOs without any Roundup residue were responsible for an increase in the death rate of females and of some males. This could be the result of the GMO gene that has been badly assimilated by the plant and that has therefore resulted in a negative effect, or due to a secondary metabolical effect.
Joel Spiroux Vendomois: What that means is that we are dealing with a GMO in particular. The modification of a cereal or GMO corn, with regard to the genes inserted into the corn, to make it a GMO corn can make it result in different effects. It’s not because a certain GMO has a particular effect that other GMOs will have an effect, but some have even more of an impact. What is alarming is that this
is the GMO that is being eaten by the Americans but, also the GMO that has been proved for importation by European agencies including the French ones and that obviously contaminates our food.
Commentator: Nowadays, only two types of GMOs are being produced in a few European countries. One is corn and the other potato. But what about the 27 million tons of transgenic soya that are being unloaded each year in European ports. This soya is used to feed our cattle, but it also makes its way into a number of our foodstuffs.
Professor Seralini: What we want to achieve with this study is a moratorium. The situation is serious enough, and we’re not going to eat anything and everything. We imported without knowing what was being imported. And the United States have produced crops without knowing what they were producing. There needs to be more studies of this kind, and GMO manufacturers need to conduct them before commercializing their products.
Commentator: A moratorium on growing GMOs has been approved by most European countries. Now that we know the results of the study conducted by Professor Seralini, could it be time to extend this moratorium to all the GMO used in many of our foods. To establish an undeniable scientific truth, one needs teams, time and means. Some will say that it takes too much time and that this is too expensive. But had we taken this precaution, could we not have avoided recent sanitary scandals? Will GMOs be responsible yet again for a calamitous scenario? And while we are waiting for scientific certainties, evidently, this is a risk we cannot afford to take.
For further Info visit our Glyphosate pages … and don’t forget to share 🙂
Since the powers that be refuse to label their supposedly ‘safe’ wares, we are forced to do our own homework. (If they’re so safe then why can’t they label them?) They can’t be trusted with profits their bottom line. Please read up on GMOs. They aren’t safe! EnvirowatchRangitikei
With all the so called debate raging still about glyphosate & GM food (really not rocket science when you read the research, they just split hairs in the interests of corporate greed) this is an excellent listen. When somebody who has been part of the industry, switches sides & speaks out, we need to sit up and take notice. One glimpse of Prof Seralini’s rats was enough to convince me that glyphosate is not safe. But no they continue to defend it to the hilt in spite of all the evidence. As always do the research and ignore the debunkers who abound in MSM. All also corporately owned. EnvirowatchRangitikei
Dr. Thierry Vrain, former genetic engineer and soil biologist with Agriculture Canada, spoke with us today about his concerns with genetically engineered crops (GMOs) and more importantly, the use of Glyphosate (RoundUp). Dr. Vrain’s background in the field of genetic engineering (for 30 years), makes him an expert on this gene technology. He explained how a cell is genetically engineered and what happens after this random insertion process through a gene gun and how it can have unknown effects.
Since leaving Agriculture Canada 12 years ago, he has learned much more about the process of genetic engineering and the BT process (insect resistant) and the HT (herbicide resistant) crops that make up about 500 million acres. His primary concern at this time is the widespread use of Glyphosate which is a powerful herbicide, mineral chelator and a patented antibiotic. Dr. Vrain stated when speaking about Glyphosate:
“It’s almost as if the entire population of North American is on a low-grade antibiotic diet day in day out from birth, everyday, so this is the reality.”
This herbicide is not safe, according to a large body of independent research. Concerned people nationwide are currently petitioning their respective district councils to be rid of it. Auckland has done an about face and no longer wants to use chemical free treatment of weeds in its public spaces. We have our own petition for the Rangitikei District – check out our pages for that.
Watch the video then see our Glyphosate pages for more info & links, &/or search categories for further related articles (at left of any page).
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Stephanie Seneff, PhD, MIT CSAIL presents “The ‘SAFE’ Herbicide that’s making us all Sick!” Seneff’s three decades of scientific rigor is added to a growing body of independent research that exposes the toxic reality of America’s favorite weed killer and biocide; Monsanto’s RoundUp.
Presented by The SHAKA Movement’s Christina Fisher & Seeds of Truth’s Melissa Yee
Special Thanks to “The Five Citizens” – Mark Sheehan, Alika Atay, Lei’ohu Ryder, Dr. Bonnie Marsh & Dr. Lorrin Pang
More than 90% of all soybean, cotton and corn acreage in the United States is used to grow genetically modified crops. Other popular and FDA approved genetically modified food crops include sugar beets, alfalfa, canola, papaya, summer squash, apples that don’t brown and bruise-free potatoes.
However, if you have been led to believe that genetically modified foods were one of the main reasons why the world was enjoying food with less pesticide residues, you are being misled – the fact is, GMOs replaced one class of harmful pesticides with something more poisonous – neonicotinoids, dicamba, 2,4-D, DDT, glyphosate and its family of products including Round Up – and therefore ended up doing more harm than good.
COMMENT: Lest you are thinking Kiwis, “we’re not affected by this over here”, as Kiwis who read the mainstream media often do, think again. Our stock is fed GE food (report the Greens) so it’s in our meat. Our pastures are also sprayed liberally with glyphosate (which our stock eats) and we had trial GE corn grow here in ’99 left to harvest with a raised threshold on GE’s acceptable levels, many thanks to Helen Clarke (all kept from the public at the time). It’s coming by increments. And it’s not labeled of course and since much of the corn and soy products found in so much packaged food now (that companies decline to declare the origins of) a very high percentage of that is GM. Search other GMO articles here under categories and check out the Glyphosate pages.
Monsanto faces many lawsuits these days as folks awaken to the real hazards with the products they peddle. Here they are being challenged to disprove the research …. “Livingston High School graduate Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai … is attempting to alert the public to the hazards of unregulated GMOs through a drastic challenge: if Monsanto can disprove his research, which shows that GMO soy contains high levels of formaldehyde and a depletion of glutathione, Ayyadurai will sign over his $10 million building in Cambridge, Massachusetts … ”
“Ayyadurai, an MIT graduate who holds the first U.S. patent for email, has exposed a lack of acceptable testing standards for Monsanto’s GMOs through research published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Sciences…”
(Collective-Evolution) “Studies that link Genetically Modified (GM) food to multiple human health ailments are not the only thing that has millions of people questioning the production of GM food. There is fact that previously classified secret government documents exist which show how the Bush administration developed ways to retaliate against countries that were refusing to use GM seeds, for example. If information about our food needs to be concealed from the public domain, then something has gone seriously wrong with the food industry. It’s great to have an organization like WikiLeaks shed some light into the world that’s been hidden from us for so many years…”
Targeting Certain Countries
“The cables reveal that the State Department was lobbying all over the world for Monsanto and other major biotech corporations. They reveal that American diplomats requested funding to send lobbyists for the biotech industry to meet with politicians and agricultural officials in “target countries.” These included countries in Africa, Latin America, and Europe…”
“This is just one example that clearly shows how giant corporations pretty much dictate government policy. These food corporations are responsible for forcing independent agriculturists to go out of business. They control the world’s seed supply, forcing farmers to become dependent on their seed. Monsanto and corporations like it have created patented GMO seeds and are preventing farmers from seed saving and sharing, resulting in a dependence on their genetically modified product…”
See our Corporations page for more on how corporations operate. Watch ‘The Corporation’, on that page, for the finer detail of their workings. You’ll be surprized at the far reach of their persuasion & the lengths they go to to maintain control. This is why we need to oppose the TPPA (protest coming up on 14th November). Corporations are about profits and they will guard those to the death almost. They use well paid lawyers in their large armoury of tactics. GMOs are being resisted world wide now that more of the truth is out. Research GMOs for yourself if you’re not up to speed with them. Much of our food, particularly soy and corn is already GM, and it isn’t labeled. It has never been proven safe and there is much data now to cause you to want to refrain.
Our supposedly ‘clean green’ country (and don’t get me wrong, I love my country) is sold to the world as being GE/GMO free. I’ve been repeating this often on here that we are not. (Read a quote from the Green Party on GE animal feed). Back in 2000 Nicky Hager wrote in his book ‘Seeds of Distrust’ that GE Corn was grown here in several different locations, without the public’s knowledge and obviously without their consent. Once uncovered, the PM at the time,
PM Helen Clarke initially ordered the GE corn be pulled up … then did an about turn (‘Seeds of Distrust’ by Nicky Hager)
Helen Clarke ordered the crops be pulled up and disposed of, however after some discussion and clearly corporate persuasion, the crops were left in and went to full term and harvest. How many other organic or otherwise crops were contaminated? Who knows given the industry is inclined to secrecy and an aversion to labeling of anything containing their poisonous products? As a result of all this the bar of acceptance levels was raised a little higher, widening the previously thin end of the wedge so to speak. It’s happening by increments folks. So here now we are being told of a 15 year excursion into biological experiments on genetically modified/engineered (whatever you like to call tinkering with nature) cows … and note, with ‘disastrous results’.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
Read the article here, from Sustainable Pulse:
NZ Cows are fed GE stock feed
“GE Free NZ ‘s report on “GE Animals in New Zealand: the first fifteen years, 2000 – 2015”, documents the world’s first field trials of genetically modified cows, bred to express one of six transgenic protein traits in milk for use as bio-pharmaceutical products. Agresearch has conducted the research at their Ruakura facility in Hamilton.
Using AgResearch’s own records, the report catalogues a sad and profoundly disturbing story that has characterised the genetic engineering (GE) trials.
The surrogate and transgenic cows suffer from chronic illness, reproductive losses, sudden unexplained deaths, and severe deformities.
In the course of fifteen years of experimentation, many thousands of transgenic embryos, predominately developed offshore in private partnership laboratories, have been used…”
“Omission and selective reporting of important experimental data to the media has enabled AgResearch to avoid scrutiny into the tragic results of using animals as bioreactors.”
“Concerning information shared with us by Dr. Michael Fox and research scientist Dr. Anthony Samsel. Glyphosate in pet food can have deadly consequences.
Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, recently designated a possible carcinogen, is actually absorbed by GM (genetically modified) crops genetically engineered to be resistant to this herbicide. Most corn, soy, sugar beet, cotton, and canola produced in the U.S. is GM, as is much imported rice. Glyphosate is also used to dessicate wheat and other crops before harvesting.”
This article is from the TruthAboutPetFood site. This is no surprize to me given so much is now GE without our knowledge or without labeling. Soy and corn are two typical examples and these are found in many products, particularly bread. They are fillers and are frequently used to add bulk to products. Glyphosate is also sprayed on crops and as I often point out, is sprayed onto fields regularly on the recommendation of our Agricultural textbooks, so on that alone is going to be present in our meat products. And all because farmers have been told for decades that it’s perfectly safe. As the article points out, it is a probable carcinogen, although it says ‘possible’. WHO has deemed it class 2A – a ‘probable’ carcinogen. To read up on glyphosate including the WHO data, visit our glyphosate page on the website.
“Birth defects are on the rise in Hawaii, leaving many to wonder if pesticides are to blame – including some pediatricians who are witnessing a spike in birth defects in babies.
In the town of Waimea, pediatrician Carla Nelson has seen at least 9 severe heart malformations in babies in the last five years, 10 times more than the national average. For the past three years, Nelson and other local doctors have found themselves at the center of a controversy over whether a cash crop of GM corn modified to withstand pesticides on four of the six main islands is the cause of an economic boom, or the source of the birth defects and illnesses. [1]…”
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Monsanto said it would abide by Latvia’s and Greece’s requests under a new EU opt-out law to be excluded from its application to grow a genetically modified (GM) crop across the European Union, but accused them of ignoring science.
Under a law signed in March individual countries can seek exclusion from any approval request for GM cultivation across the EU. While the European Commission is responsible for approvals, requests to be excluded also have to be submitted …. read more
A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after… read more
By: Carey Gillam (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the market,… read more
The study, published in the journal Enviornmental Health, found that continuous exposure to very low doses of the herbicide Roundup might be linked to liver and kidney damage… read more
Washington Post: Montgomery County’s debate over where and how to ban cosmetic lawn pesticides heats up again next week as Council President George Leventhal (D-At Large) defends his far-reaching bill against a more narrowly drawn alternative.
Leventhal’s bill, scheduled for a committee mark-up on Sept. 17, bars what he calls “non-essential” pesticides from private lawns and most county-owned land, including parks and athletic fields. He cites the body of research linking pesticide exposure to childhood cancer and other health issues. read more (VIDEO)
For further information on glyphosate, Roundup, links to the WHO report and Rangitikei’s stance with pesticides, go here.
Any moves to tighten the controls on the liberal use of carcinogenic herbicides/pesticides, especially in public places, is a good move, and labeling products as potentially carcinogenic is definitely a move in the right direction.
“Monsanto may be in for a big surprise, courtesy of the EPA California state. The EPA’s environmental health hazard assessment office out of California has announced a move to label the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide ‘Roundup’ (and four others) as “known to cause cancer….
“The EPA’s office of environmental health hazard assessment in California wants to label four chemicals, including the most popular herbicide and key ingredient of Monsanto’s Roundrup, glyphosate, as “known to cause cancer,” following the most recent WHO cancer research division’s report.”
It is well documented what GMOs do to the human body (see videos in this article) let alone the animals. (Liver disease is one effect). However, here we see how Monsanto (and WHO) manage to hoodwink the public by ensuring the testing period required is not long enough for any health effects to emerge … yet. As Prof Seralini discovered in his two year long research with lab rats. As to the animals, here in NZ our stock (who knows how much) is being fed GE feed. Two producers I’ve contacted here in NZ who are particularly more humane in their animal treatment couldn’t rule out some of the cheaper feed they acquire (making their businesses economically viable) ‘may’ contain GMOs given they are soy products. So … if they admit they possibly are feeding their stock GE food, then what of the larger factory farmed livestock where cost cutting is a primary objective? You can bet your bottom dollar they will be munching on GE feed. The Green Party has drawn this to the public’s attention numerous times.
“The WHO could have picked any arbitrary number of months to ensure that GMOs were safe, and make sure that the public wasn’t dining on food that would cause serious damage to their intestines, their livers, their reproductive organs, and their brains. But I suppose just THREE months will do just fine when experimenting with the global food supply and global population.”
This is good news from Scotland on the GM crop topic. Increasingly, countries are waking up to the dangers of GMOs and making moves to protect the public.
Livestock fed GM feed suffer liver damage … watch Jeffrey Smith’s interviews on the topic of health & GMOs. Very revealing.
Here is one:
Jeffrey Smith: GMO Health Conditions Already Known
“Growing genetically modified (GM) crops will not be permitted in Scotland, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has announced as he moved to protect Scotland’s clean, green status.
The Scottish Government will shortly submit a request that Scotland is excluded from any European consents for the cultivation of GM crops, including the variety of genetically modified maize already approved and six other GM crops that are awaiting authorisation.
The Cabinet Secretary said:
“Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment – and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status….”read more
From the UK’s Guardian, more news on Roundup and glyphosate. Bear in mind glyphosate is in many other products as I recently confirmed. Most of the home garden sprays in our local supermarket, popular brands too, contained glyphosate. So important to read labels and fine print.
The Guardian…. “Monsanto is far from happy. The main ingredient of its highly profitable weedkiller, Roundup, often used in conjunction with GM crops, has been declared a “probable carcinogenic”.
As well as being profitable for Monsanto, glyphosate is one of the most widely adopted weedkillers in the world by gardeners and farmers alike. Use of it by UK farmers, for example, has soared by 400% in the last 20 years.
In response to the cancer warning, the US biotech company has been quick to accuse the body behind the new classification of bias. It says the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO), lacks transparency and has made an irresponsible decision – one likely to cause confusion among farmers and the wider public…
Although campaigners in the UK have tried to focus attention on possible risks to human health from glyphosate residues found in bread, toxicologists suggest gardeners and farm workers are the ones most at risk.
“It is difficult to work out the magnitude of cancer risks of glyphosate, but based on the quantities people come into contact with, it can be expected that agricultural workers applying the pesticide are at much greater risk than consumers in Britain, who are exposed via residues in food…..
For those worried about their health, one organisation now allows you to pay $120 (£75) to have your urine, breast milk or tap water tested for glyphosate contamination. Far from scaremonging, toxicologist Dr Robin Mesnage from Kings College London says such testing could help…”
Are councils in bed with Agrichemical companies? Both the Auckland & Rangitikei District Council are favouring chemical weed control over non-chemical, in spite of the heightened health risks highlighted recently by WHO. They cite outdated & incorrect data to support this preference.
Some Aucklanders are currently objecting to a flip flop on their Council’s current weed management policies. A petition has been circulating (and is on FB also if you would like to sign it) calling (like the Rangitikei) for a ban on the use of glyphosate on Auckland’s streets and parks. Some parts of Auckland are chemical free in terms of weed management however not all, and council is doing a u turn on their current policy of minimal chemical use, indicating in their Ten Year Plan a preference for chemical control.
Public areas are sprayed without any warning before, during or after the fact
Auckland’s Weed Management Advisory (a Community-led organization that helped create the Council’s Weed Management Policy 2013 of minimum agrichemical use, which the Council seems intent on doing away with) are also calling for a BAN on Glyphosate and have put a leaked briefing document up on their website. You can read it here. This is the Long Term Plan featuring quotes for alternative methods of weed management as opposed to management with glyphosate, typically, Roundup. Georgina Blackmore, the petition organizer, states that the figures cited should be taken with a pinch of salt … in fact a very large amount of salt. They are using she says, old, inaccurate and misleading information. “Disingenuous” says Auckland councilor John Watson. The Weed Management Advisory has accused the Auckland Council of putting the public at risk. Read their press statement here.
This line is a very familiar tale. Our own Rangitikei District Council cited inaccurate figures when justifying their rejection of glyphosate-free weed management in our public spaces. We had tried to counter this outcome by citing Auckland contractors who are currently employing mechanical weed control methods. The latter stated emphatically that their costs were a marginal 10-15 percent more than Roundup, and expected soon to even match it. Similarly, with the current Auckland scenario cited here, other Auckland contractors are saying their costs are even less than glyphosate.
When the request for tighter parameters and controls around glyphosate spraying was originally put to the RDC, citing the extensive independent research available on the myriad health risks associated with Roundup use, an internal report was requested by RDC on alternative cost-effective weed-control methods. Councilor Lyn Sheridan asked why health effects were not investigated by RDC and the response by CEO Ross McNeill was, ‘…they weren’t asked for’. They are missing the point here.
We need to be asking, why are Councils so bent on, so adamant, about choosing chemical control, and with a chemical that has recently been re-classified by WHO as a Class 2A carcinogen? Claiming there is insufficient proof of health risks is myopic at best.
That statistic is extremely high and surely deserving of closer examination of the research into environmental causes and the elimination of the probable ones?
Walkways and adjacent herbage where both school children & general public regularly walk is sprayed heavily with Roundup/glyphosate
The thing about Roundup is (and you will hear this in the audio link below) we the public are given no warning in advance of spraying, no signs are put out when they are spraying (so people can walk on it before it’s dry without even knowing) it is sprayed on public walkways where school children walk with no prior warning and it is sometimes sprayed on windy days.
Read Georgina’s piece here on her recent findings and her interview on Radio with Auckland Councilor John Watson and Professor Ian Shaw from Canterbury University.
“In an interview I gave on bFM this week about our campaign to ban the use of Glyphosate on Auckland Roads and Parks, Councillor John Watson and expert of Toxicology Professor Ian Shaw both agreed that we need to be seriously looking at what alternatives we have to spraying Glyphosate…” Read at SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/BanGlyphosate/posts/417049618496545
The news on Glyphosate is coming regularly since WHO classified it as a Class 2A carcinogen (it probably causes cancer). There was already enough evidence, in my opinion, to ban it anyway, however with the added weight of WHO’s conclusions (based on the previous research) surely it is only a matter of time before Glyphosate goes the same was as DDT and Agent Orange. You may not be aware but the same company responsible for the creation of Glyphosate is also responsible for the creation of those two products and Aspartame as well. Agent Orange was responsible for horrific birth defects still seen today in the Vietnamese population, a result of the US cleansing Vietnam of its defoliation during the Vietnam war. It was also responsible for a raft of health problems and birth defects experienced by our own Kiwi vets, a fact only recently acknowledged by our NZ government, to their shame I might add, given the war ended decades ago.
We in the Rangitikei are urging our council to desist from the use of Glyphosate in the public spaces of our towns. This at least will protect the public, especially our children, from unwitting exposure. These companies spray with no warning, and no signs out to say they are spraying. This is simply because Glyphosate has enjoyed a ‘harmless’ status for decades. The product data sheets however advise no contact with the sprayed foliage until dry, yet there is no way for us to know where they have sprayed. They also indicate the use of gloves and a mask (which nobody wears I note) and yet they don’t see fit to warn our children they are spraying.
This is the address of our Facebook page if you would like to keep up to speed with happenings in the Rangitikei to do with Glyphosate … or they are on the site as well:
The path our Marton school children take to school
HERE ARE LINKS TO SOME OF THE LATEST NEWS ON GLYPHOSATE:
Why The Netherlands Just Banned Monsanto’s Glyphosate-Based Herbicides
From naturalhealth365 … “The Netherlands has just become the latest country, following Russia, Mexico, and many others, to say no to Monsanto. The sale and use of glyphosate-based herbicides (the most commonly used herbicides in the world) has just been banned for non-commercial…”
New Research Fuels Roundup Weedkiller Toxicity Concerns
From Dr Mercola … “Last year, groundbreaking research was published suggesting that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, might be “a crucially important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and conditions…” This article includes an interview with Dr. Stephanie Seneff and Jeffrey Smith … a must watch with some facts that will horrify you about the meat industry and GE (glyphosate laden) feed.
I’m recommending here a useful NZ book on pesticides…
“Poisoning Our Future: Children and Pesticides” by Dr Meriel Watts PhD … “This book details the scientific evidence for the insidious effects of pesticides on children and calls on government institutions to adopt a more precautionary approach to better protect human health and the environment…”
Further info about this book can be found at the following website: http://www.pananz.net/publications-2/books/
You can also purchase a hard copy or a download at the website.
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT THE MARTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
An excellent resource to familiarize yourself with how pesticides affect our kids. The pananz website has more info on glyphosate also. Dr Watts has been a long time campaigner in reducing toxic pesticide use in NZ.
It is phasing out the use of controversial pesticide glyphosate – the active ingredient in Round Up – and introducing natural ways to control weeds, even though regulators from the State Government and CSIRO do not require them to.
Parks manager Mark Presswell says council is concerned that research has shown glyphosate is a health hazard and harmful to the environment….”
Here is excellent news from Switzerland, joining the ranks of countries that are rejecting the probable carcinogen, glyphosate. This article is from Sustainable Pulse.
“Swiss supermarket giants Coop and Migros have announced that they will no longer sell products that contain glyphosate, following the World Health Organization’s report stating that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. They have also announced that they will be exploring non-toxic alternative weed-killers.”
Note: if you consider ‘probably causes cancer’ is not proof enough to stop using glyphosate, consider now the statistics of cancer deaths which are at one in three. That is very high. Is it not worth erring on the side of caution to try and cut down this awful death rate? Consider reading the book by Dr Samuel Epstein called ‘The Politics of Cancer’. This is very enlightening and will get you to consider more deeply the part environment plays in our protection.
Kissinger: “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.”
GE feed is already being fed to some of our farm animals … it is unlabeled as GE so farmers can give no guarantee it’s not
They’ve been doing it by increments for decades. Once they own all the seed companies, you will have no other option than buying their genetically modified seed which we already know is dangerous to health. GE feed is already fed to some of our NZ animals … so it is in our food… be aware and treasure your organic/heirloom seed like gold.
Some history here … in the late 1980s a bill was passed in NZ (now world-wide) called Plant Variety Rights (PVR) or Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR). This allowed companies to emasculate seeds, removing their ability to reproduce by removing the reproductive organs. This meant of course that you couldn’t save seed from the resultant plants and would be forced to return to the store and buy another packet of seeds next season. Now what good could transpire from such an arrangement except profits for the …. yes …. the corporation? Corporations are about profits not the well being of populations. They are not averse to suing poor farmers for saving seed, something they’ve done for thousands of years. How helpful is that for struggling farmers from struggling nations? Already in poorer nations the promise by Monsanto of greater yields with their emasculated seed (aka genetically modified) have fallen flat and these farmers find themselves in very great debt instead, many committing suicide.
Just ten companies own 67% of the world’s proprietary seed market, and of that, Monsanto owns 23% and DuPont 15%. Need I say more? Do take the time to research this topic for yourself. You can read the full article on Monsanto at permaculture.co.uk:
” … Monsanto is buying heirloom seed companies. They are also buying the trademarks to a number of heirloom seeds. This means that you may think you are supporting an heirloom seed company but in reality the company is owned by Monsanto… “
More on glyphosate … another nation bans it. Since its reclassification by WHO to a class 2A carcinogen, many countries are moving to protect the public:
“Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena announced Friday that the import of the World’s most used herbicide glyphosate will be banned with immediate effect. The release of already imported stocks has also been stopped. Sirisena, a farmer and ex Health Minister, stated that glyphosate is responsible for the increasing number of chronic kidney disease (CKDu) patients in Sri Lanka and added that the move would protect the Sri Lankan farming community…”
From Natural Society … this article recapitulates the progress so far in terms of recent mounting evidence:
“It’s not just the WHO that has raised the alarm over Monsanto’s Roundup and its devastating effects on human and environmental health. Instead, the WHO announcement was simply the most widely reported on Roundup study that we have seen. Sadly, it’s not even the most concerning.
It was back in September of 2014 that the International Journal of Toxicology published a much more alarming piece on the dangers of Roundup entitled “Glyphosate Commercial Formulation Causes Cytotoxicity, Oxidative Effects, and Apoptosis on Human Cells: Differences With its Active Ingredient.” As you can gather from its name, the study highlighted the multitude of ways in which glyphosate is wreaking havoc on human cells…”
For Kiwis, remember, New Zealand is an avid user of Roundup and glyphosate. It is recommended in our Tertiary Agricultural textbooks, and touted as being completely harmless. Therefore it is sprayed liberally onto pastures and eaten by the stock headed for the market and our consumption. Hence it is found now in human urine, blood and breast milk. It is used by the keepers of our roads and public spaces in towns, by large contractors as well as small.
Educate yourself, read the data and spread the word. There are currently two petitions circulating in NZ, one for Auckland and one for the Rangitikei. I note that one may be coming for all of NZ, the better option really as it is at government level it needs addressing. Councils continue to repeat that glyphosate is government approved. In the meantime however, please consider signing the petitions and stop the ongoing poisoning of our future.
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