what is Macri's plan after condemning Monsanto

Despite the fact that in the United States, the country where it was created, the demand is raining and the penalties for cancer are increasing, glyphosate paradoxically enjoys very good health in Argentina.

At least that's how it happens A solid defense around its use and the continuity of an activity on the local market which, in terms of sales, is close to 900 million dollars a year.

A few hours before the third sentence pronounced against Monsanto in the United States for concealing information on the toxic nature of its formulation Roundup, sources of the National Service of Health and Agrifood Quality (SENASA) consulted by iProfesional They ratified the fact that the decision in this country "does not change at all" the "safe label" label that the government attributes to the product.

"For our specialists, this measure – in reference to the condemnation of the multinational – does not change anything," said a spokesman. The voice consulted indicated that in the eyes of the government, the decision made by the US Department of Justice was nothing more than a dispute between individuals.

It should be noted that in the second half of 2018 and after it was verified that the American gardener Dewayne Johnson contracted cancer after spraying Roundup glyphosate developed by Monsanto, SENASA sources contacted by iProfesional provided details on the official interpretation.

It should be noted that SENASA is the agri-food industry portfolio-dependent agency that has direct responsibility for approving and defining criteria for the use of pesticides in Argentina.

"The user of a product is against a company. Up to now, with the documents and studies available to all government agencies, including SENASA, there is no reason to change the situation of glyphosate", manifested at this moment.

Nearly a year and more than two million sentences later, the state has not moved its positioning one centimeter.

In the north of the country, a California court has condemned Bayer's control to pay more than $ 2 billion to Alberta and Alva Pilliod, who developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after spraying the herbicide into their own fields. over 30 years

The jury concluded that Monsanto concealed information about the carcinogenic nature of its Roundup glyphosate, manufactured and distributed the product in a "careless" manner and indicated that the company had intentionally performed such operations.

"The jury saw on its own the company's internal documents which showed that, from the first day, Monsanto had no interest in knowing whether the Roundup was safe." Instead of investing in sound science, he used millions of dollars to attack the science threatened his business program, "said one of the lawyers who took part in the defense of Pilliod.

Prior to this new legal reversal, Monsanto was sentenced last August to compensate $ 289 million – a reduced $ 78 million – for gardener-gardener Dewayne Johnson, who also has cancer using Roundup.

Already in March of this year, The company was again found guilty in a lawsuit brought by Edwin Hardeman, also a victim of the same disease after applying the herbicide in the garden of his house. between 1980 and 2012. In this case, the court set a compensation of 80 million dollars.

Millions and millions

Glyphosate is a key element of the transgenic soybean production model in Argentina, but it is also a determining factor for growing genetically modified corn, cotton and alfalfa varieties to resist agrotoxicity.

Today, of the approximately 400 million liters of pesticides applied each year in local agricultural activity at all scales, with the exception of the agro-ecological alternative, it is estimated that 320 million correspond to varieties of glyphosate.

The new decision in California coincides with the March 2015 International Cancer Research Center (IARC) opinion, linked to the WHO, that there was sufficient evidence to link this agrochemical agent to proliferation cancer.

The herbicide, first licensed in the United States in 1974, combines chemical elements that inhibit the work of enzymes that allow plants to carry out processes essential for survival.

Although Monsanto is responsible for its creation, it is certain that the patent on pesticides was published in 2000, so its manufacture is already carried out in different parts of the world. One of the peculiarities of this chemical is that it does not act selectively: it removes all the vegetation.

Only the incorporation of a glyphosate-resistant gene allows the varieties manipulated in their DNA, such as RR soy, to continue to grow in a field after the usual fumigations.

Roundup, the bestseller

Glyphosate is the main component of Roundup, the herbicide developed by Monsanto most prevalent in local agriculture, but it should be noted that in Argentina, brands such as Zamba (marketed by Nidera) Sulfosato (Syngenta) or Sitrin (Bayer) are also available. ).

In July 2016, a work including the signature of Alicia Ronco – who died in November of the same year – and Damián Marino, researchers of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and the University National Office of La Plata (UNLP), has confirmed that the Paraná watershed, considered the second most important in South America after that including the Amazon and its mouth in the Rio de la Plata, is heavily contaminated by glyphosate or water. AMPA, the metabolite resulting from its degradation.

Andrés Carrasco, scientist who died in May 2014, conducted a rigorous study to demonstrate the toxicity of the compound. He came to chair CONICET and proved that the substance produced cell death with malformations.

In France, the research of scientist Gilles-Eric Séralini provided new arguments for the work of Carrasco in Argentina.

"We are working on newborn cells with product doses one hundred thousand times lower than those of any common gardener, and Roundup programs the death of these cells in a few hours," said Séralini, a specialist in molecular biology.

In July 2018, and as published iProfessionnel scoop, a study conducted by scientists from the Center for Environmental Research (CIM), dependent on the University of La Plata, It revealed that the rains had recurrent concentrations of herbicides such as glyphosate.

And that the maximum quantified load of pesticides in local rainfall is up to 20 times higher than in countries such as the United States, the territory where the path of pesticide use is the longest and the leading global promoter of the use of these substances and its application through highly disputed fumigations.

At present, the adverse effects on human health and the environment resulting from the application of glyphosate occupy the pages of more than 800 independent scientific works developed around the world.

Bayer collapses

Tuesday, after the announcement of Monsanto's new conviction, Bayer's action fell to 5%, although the newspapers finally closed on a fall of 2% to 55.33 euros.

The decision resulted in the closing of the company's papers to their lowest level in almost seven years.

From the board of directors of Bayer, his board said, by a statement, that the verdict was a "disappointment", while notifying that the appeal would be promoted. A cabinet spokesman described the jury's decision as "excessive and unjustifiable".

What happened in California coincided with the scandal unleashed in Europe after the dome of the German acknowledged that Monsanto hoped for years to politicians, scientists and journalists in France to know their respective positions around the use of agrotoxic and seeding of transgenic.

June 2018 – the date on which the Germans concretized Monsanto's movements – to date, Bayer lost approximately 45% of its market capitalization. In currency, this represents approximately 63,000 million dollars.

Following this week's decision, Monsanto will now face an additional 13,400 requests from Roundup users who are denouncing the health effects of the herbicide.

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