[ad_1]
Monsanto, perhaps the world's most repugnant nasty environmentalist, was finally arrested for selling his toxic products around the world.
In the past year, jurors in two US trials have ruled that Monsanto's glyphosate-based Roundup Herbicide has caused or significantly contributed to the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system that causes cancer. life in danger. Some US $ 160 million has been awarded for compensation to two victims and more than 9,000 other lawsuits are pending.
A year ago, aware of the impending medical risks, the German giant of chemistry and drugs, Bayer AG, bought the complex in difficulty Monsanto. Since the purchase, as Monsanto's liabilities increased, Bayer's share price has collapsed, losing more than 40% of its value.
Figures on stilts, dressed as executives of DuPont, Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta, the largest multinational agro-multinational in the world, mark patent clips on plants and seeds around a globe of three meters. © Greenpeace / Jens Küsters
The dubious history of Bayer includes the sale of heroin in the form of cough syrup in the early 1900s, the production of Zyklon B gas and the execution of deadly medical experiments on prisoners in Hitler's execution camps. . As a general rule, after glyphosate testing, Bayer doubled its refusal. "Glyphosate herbicides do not cause cancer," said spokesman Dan Childs, saying "Monsanto's conduct was appropriate." Bayer will soon have to drink those words.
The two historical trials and subsequent investigations resulted in accusations from victims, scientists and the media that, in order to promote the sale of glyphosate, Monsanto suppressed the evidence, manipulated the lab results, intimidated and harbaded scientists, undermined international regulatory authorities and manipulated public opinion. Internal documents obtained by the courts now suggest that Monsanto marketed Roundup as "safe," knowing full well that it was a likely carcinogen.
Farmers cancer
In 1950, the Swiss chemist Henry Martin synthesized for the first time glyphosate, a chemical badogue of the naturally occurring amino acid, glycine. Glyphosate acts as a nonselective herbicide, killing most plants and certain microorganisms by disrupting a chemical pathway that produces essential amino acids. As mammals do not contain this particular chemical route, Monsanto, without waiting for the final test results, first claimed that the chemical "was safer than table salt". They started marketing the herbicide as a "Roundup" in 1974.
In the 1990s, Monsanto Laboratories discovered a bacterial strain that can survive in glyphosate, cloned the relevant enzymatic gene sequence into soybeans, and introduced the first glyphosate-resistant plants to allow farmers to poison weeds without destroying crops. report. The technique has since been applied to corn, canola, alfalfa, sugar beet and cotton. In 2015, in the United States, 94% of soybeans and 89% of corn and cotton were genetically modified to be glyphosate tolerant.
On the banner hanging on the bridge on a river in Louisiana, you can read "Monsanto – Sell American Farmers by the Water". © Greenpeace / Kent Hardouin
However, the slogan "safer than salt" quickly began to collapse. Scientists have badociated repeated or high doses administered to rats during pregnancy with growth retardation and bone defects in the fetus. Children seemed particularly vulnerable because their bodies and organs were growing.
Skin lesions, headaches and respiratory symptoms began to appear in farmers. A 2001 US National Cancer Institute study of male farmers showed "a statistically significant 50% increase in risk" for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, although other factors complicated the interpretation. Subsequent studies have confirmed the increased risk of lymphoma.
In 2010, in New South Wales, Australia, doctors diagnosed Tulae Snape, a farmer, with a case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that had spread Roundup in her fields with her husband, Ron. Australian doctors, including the Tralee oncologist, have called the disease "farmer's cancer" because of the many cases among farmers. "The bloody bastards who made this product should have warned us," says Ron Snape, "so we can make an informed decision."
In 2012, after a high-dose death in Thailand, doctors discovered that the mixture of glyphosate and other Roundup compounds eroded mucous membranes, gastrointestinal linings, and airways, resulting in pulmonary congestion and edema of the victim's lungs.
A 2014 meta-badysis published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that "B-cell lymphoma was positively badociated with … the organophosphorus herbicide, glyphosate".
In February of this year, a meta-badysis by Louping Zhang and colleagues at the University of Washington revealed "a clear link between GBH (glyphosate herbicide) exposures and the increased risk of NHL ( non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) ".
I'm not an idiot
In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization reviewed scientific data on glyphosate. Unlike some regulators, IARC has avoided unpublished studies funded by the industry, while the US Environmental Protection Agency, for example, had allowed Monsanto to submit its own unpublished research. According to epidemiological studies, animal studies and in vitro studies, IARC has clbadified glyphosate in category 2A as "probably carcinogenic in humans".
Greenpeace activists protested the planting of Monsanto's genetically modified corn. Signs with X mark the field. © Paul Langrock / Greenpeace
As international studies multiplied and regulators warned potential victims, Monsanto launched a public relations offensive. The company's lobbyists described the IARC report as biased and demanded a retraction. They claimed that IARC deliberately "neglected dozens of scientific studies," unpublished studies funded by industry. Monsanto created an agrochemical glyphosate working group that attacked IARC for scientific "deficiencies".
Internal documents from Monsanto revealed that an editorial of Forbes magazine, written by an academic contesting the report, had been fantasized by Monsanto. The academic did not reveal the participation of Monsanto. In response, Forbes removed the room.
In 2016, following the announcement by California's Office of California's Environmental Health Risk Assessment (OEHHA), Monsanto filed a lawsuit for SLAPP against OEHHA and its director, Lauren Zeise. Monsanto lost the lawsuit after spending a year harbading the regulator.
In 2017, journalist Carey Gillam published "Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and Corruption Science". Gillam used Monsanto's own internal documents to show that the company had tarnished the reputation of scientists who had published research challenging their claims, threatened regulators with approving the chemical, omitted compliance tests and used the media to manipulate public perception.
Dr. Brian Durie, oncologist, president of the International Myeloma Foundation, said Monsanto was guilty of "fraudulent greed and fraud that led to the poisoning of our planet".
According to David Schubert, head of the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, "Monsanto and other agricultural chemical companies have lied about their products, concealed the damaging and corrupt data from government officials. in order to sell their toxic products around the site. world."
Among their favorite slogans, Monsanto claimed that glyphosate was "safe enough to drink". Public relations lobbyist Patrick Moore often repeated the slogan, but was eventually trapped. In March 2015, Moore appeared on the French television channel Cbad + and announced that "glyphosate does not cause cancer. You can drink a quarter, and it will not hurt you. The Cbad + reporter replied: "Do you want to drink it? I have some. "
"I'd be happy to do it," said Moore, then seemed stunned and confused. "Not really," he stumbled, "I'm not stupid."
"So," replied the reporter, "you know it's dangerous." Moore backtracked again, saying, "This is not dangerous for humans." However, when the reporter offered him a glbad of glyphosate again, the disoriented lobbyist ran away from the interview, saying "No, I'm not an idiot."
Eating Bio
In the case of 70-year-old Edwin Hardeman, who had contracted non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after a long exposure to glyphosate, a US federal court had found that Monsanto had defectively designed Roundup, had acted negligently , had not warned his clients of the risk of cancer and had been engaged deliberately. Sneaky efforts to influence scientists and regulators on the safety of glyphosate. Judge Vince Chabria criticized the company: "There is strong evidence from which a jury could conclude that Monsanto cares little about whether its product actually causes cancer, but rather to manipulate public opinion and public opinion. to undermine anyone raises sincere and legitimate concerns. about the question. "
Francesca Kitheka holds pigeon peas in Yatta, Machokos County.
Kenyan farmers are effectively applying environmentally friendly farming practices that strengthen their ability to build resilience and cope with climate change. © Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Greenpeace
The risk of pesticides in food does not stop with glyphosate. A 2019 study by the US Environmental Working Group (EWG) found pesticide residues in 70% of fruits and vegetables sold in the United States, even after washing. The United States Department of Agriculture (DOA) discovered 225 different pesticides in common products that had been peeled and washed. The twelve most contaminated products were strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery and potatoes. The most commonly detected pesticide was Dacthal, DCPA, clbadified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a possible carcinogen to humans, and banned in Europe since 2009.
A French study published last year with 69,000 citizens, found that people who consumed organic food more often had 25% fewer cancers than those who did not use it. A Canadian study found that glyphosate was present in 98% of Canadian honey samples. The electronic working group, the DOA and French and Canadian researchers have all warned that to avoid pesticides and genetically modified foods, citizens should consume organic products.
According to David Wallace-Wells, "Since 1950, most of the good things contained in the plants we grow – proteins, calcium, iron, vitamin C, to name only four – have decreased by about one. third. Everything becomes more like junk food. Even the protein content of bee pollen has decreased by a third. "
The so-called "green revolution" in agriculture has produced an increased amount of food, but the cost has been a sharp drop in nutrition and a dangerous increase in poison rates and cancers. Only a few generations ago, what we now call "organic farming" was simply called "agriculture".
=================
References and links
Bayer's participation in IG Farben camps, Zyklon and Nazi concentration camps: United Nations War Crimes Commission, "IG Farben and Krupp Trial"; New York Times, "The symbol of the Nazi era, in search of bankruptcy, by Mark Landlernov, 2003; Nuremberg Tribunal, "The IG Farben Case", p. 1282; Peoplesworld.org, "The Bayer-Monsanto merger can not erase the past of Nazi chemists", September 22, 2016, by Victor Grossman.
Monsanto accused of manipulating lab results: "Monsanto's weed toll is facing new doubts about the safety of unsealed documents," Danny Hakim, New York Times, March 14, 2017; and 'the industry has manipulated academic research or erroneous conclusions, The New York Times, 2018.' Whitewash: the history of a herbicide, cancer and science corruption ', of Carey Gillam, Island Press, 2017. "Monsanto Handles Science to Make Roundup Look Safe," Food and Water Watch, April 2017. "Laboratories hired by Monsanto to conduct Roundup studies have committed fraud. Baum Hedlund Aristei Goldman, attorneys, firm website. The secret tactics used by Monsanto to protect Roundup, "ABC Australia, 2018.
Monsanto accused of intimidating scientists: "Monsanto Articles: The Pesticide Giants' War Against Science, Le Monde, Stéphane Horel, Stéphane Foucart, June 2017; and an English version: "Monsanto Papers: A Monsanto Global War Investigation to Save Glyphosate," Environmental Health News, November 2017. "Bully Monsanto attacks scientists who combine glyphosate and cancer," The Hill , Carey Gillam, 2016. The lawyer tells the court: Guardian, that Monsanto "tyrannizes scientists" and hides the risk of cancer by weedkiller.
"Glyphosate Herbicide Exposure and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Risk: Meta-badysis and Supporting Evidence, Luoping Zhang, Iemaan Rana, Rachel M. Shaffer et al., University of Washington, Exams in Mutation Research, February 19, 2019.
"Pathological and toxicological findings in the mortality of glyphosate herbicides and surfactants: a reported case", Sribanditmongkol P, et. al., American Journal of Forensic Pathology and Pathology, NCBI, 2012.
General Information Sheet on Glyphosate, Henderson, A.M .; et al. National Pesticide Information Center, State University of Oregon, NPIC, 2010.
"Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and occupational exposure to chemical groups of agricultural pesticides and active ingredients: systematic review and meta-badysis," Schinasi L, Leon M. International Journal of Environmental and Public Health Research, 2014.
"Agricultural Use of Organophosphorus Pesticides and Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Farmers (United States)", Waddell BL, et al., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, American Cancer Institute, Cancer Causes Control, 2001.
The use of organophosphorus pesticides was badociated with a statistically significant 50% increase in the risk of NHL, .. higher risks from indirect respondents complicate the interpretation
"Glyphosate's common herbicide increases cancer risk by 41%," Emily Dixon, CNN, February 15, 2019
"The verdict is decisive in the verdict of the jury," reveals the jury in a decisive verdict "The Guardian, March 19, 2019.
"Bayer must pay an additional $ 80 million in the Monsanto Roundup cancer trial," Reuters / Wolfgang Rattay, RT News, March 28, 2019,
"Herbicide commonly used in cancer" Cressey D (March 25, 2015). Nature, 2015. "Malathion, diazinon and glyphosate – have been clbadified as" probably carcinogenic to humans ".
"Differences in the evaluation of the carcinogenic properties of glyphosate between the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)", Chief Justice Portier, Armstrong BK, et al. (94 medical researchers), Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2016.
"Carcinogenicity of tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, malathion, diazinon and glyphosate", Kathryn Z. Guyton. et al., The Lancet, Oncology, 2015.
"The herbicide commonly used against cancer," Daniel Cressey, Nature and Scientific American Review, 2015.
"The weed killer, long erased, is in doubt," Andrew Pollack, New York Times, March 27, 2015.
"Association between the uptake of pesticide residues resulting from the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the consequences of pregnancy in women following an badisted infertility treatment, Reproductive Technology", YH Chiu, and al.,. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2018.
"A Monsanto lobbyist moves away when asked to drink a" safe "pesticide, catches a lie from Pat Moore and flees an interview with Cbad + in The Young Turks, March 2015.
The secret tactics used by Monsanto to protect Roundup, ABC Australia, 2018
"Whitewash: The Story of a Herbicide, Cancer and Corruption Science," by Carey Gillam, Island Press, 2017.
Pesticides in Food .., GTE, March 2019, Pesticide residues found in 70% of products sold in the United States even after washing. Working Group on the Environment .. research and education, choice and consumer action.
"Herbicide residues found in 98% of Canadian honey samples," Carey Gillam, Environmental Health News, March 2019
"Determination of glyphosate, AMPA and glufosinate in honey", Thomas S. Thompson, et al. Journal of Food Additives and Contaminants, 2019
"Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption with Cancer Risk," Baudry et al., JAMA, Internal Medicine, 2018.
"Estimate of exposure to pesticides resulting from the ingestion of food and organic food choices: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA)" CL Curl et al. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2015.
"Intervention in a biological diet significantly reduces urine levels of pesticides in American children and adults," C. Hyland et al., Environmental Research, 2019.
California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues on Fresh Produce, CDPA, 2015.
"A Monsanto lobbyist fainted when asked to drink a" safe "pesticide, The Young Turks, March 2015.
Source link
