Dear Editor,
Since our last letters to you about Glyphosate, RoundUp and GMOs, on March 20th the World Health Organization (WHO)’s panel of scientists from 11 countries announced their decision to list glyphosate as “Probably carcinogenic to humans”. According to the report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in the highly respected journal, “Lancet Oncology”, there is sufficient evidence that Monsanto’s Roundup is linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and lung cancer in humans and there is “convincing evidence” that glyphosate can cause cancer in lab animals. This was based on a “comprehensive review of the latest available scientific evidence.”
This was followed days later by the release of a film online of Patrick Moore, pro-GMO lobbyist, being interviewed by Paul Moreira on French Television (in English) as part of Moreira’s investigative documentary, “Soon On Your Plate”.
Patrick Moore clearly stated “No one should believe that glyphosate in Argentina is causing increases in cancer. You can drink a whole quart of it and it won’t hurt you.”
Moreira offered: “You want to drink some? We have some here.”
Moore: “I’d be happy to actually,…. Not, not really, but….”
Moreira: “Not really?”
Moore: “I know it wouldn’t hurt me.”
Moreira: “If you say so, I have some glyphosate.”
Moore: “No, I’m not stupid.”
Moreira: “Tell the truth. It’s dangerous.”
Moore: “It’s not dangerous to humans. No, it’s not.”
Moreira: “So you are ready to drink one glass of glyphosate?”
Moore: “No. I’m not an idiot.”
Moore then declared the interview over and walked out.
The interview was taped before the release by WHO about glyphosate being potentially carcinogenic. Once the WHO report came out, Moore publicly called it “bad science”. Did he mean “bad” as in “Trust ME, I’m a scientist”? or did he mean “Bad” as in “naughty, you’re not following the corporate party line’”? Monsanto and its promoters have consistently declared for decades that RoundUp is “safer than table salt” and so safe you can “drink it”.
With the U.S. Geological Survey announcing eight months ago that, in the USA, 88 per cent of air samples and 77 per cent of water samples contained glyphosate in agricultural areas in 2007, we can easily say that this “probable carcinogen” is usually in the air we breathe and the water we drink. “Trust me, I’m a scientist” doesn’t mean much when the scientist is in the pay of the company selling the product.
Any food products containing GMOs need to be labeled, even if 75 per cent of all processed foods contain them. Similarly, government agricultural agencies need to investigate and develop alternatives to Roundup and glyphosate, as soon as possible. It’s time to get glyphosate off our plates, out of our water, and out of the air we breathe.
To your health,
Robbie Anderman
Killaloe ON
