The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), unlike the World Health Organization (WHO), does not rate glyphosate as carcinogenic to humans.
On Monday, the EPA issued a risk assessment on the chemical, which is an integral part of the Monsanto weed killer Roundup. Thus, the drug is without any significant hazard to human health.
For more than 40 years, farmers around the world have been using glyphosate for weed control. The chemical became even more important when plant breeders bred corn and soybeans that are resistant to the chemical. Roundup is also used on public greens and golf courses.
The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) fueled discussion on potential health risks in 2015, when it considered glyphosate to be potentially carcinogenic. This assessment was contradicted by the Bayer AG, which wants to take over the plant breeder Monsanto. This was then also attended by representatives of the corn, soybeans and wheat growing associations from the United States.
They feel confirmed by the recent EPA assessment. The IARC report is faulty.
As early as November, California wheat farmers, Monsanto and other farmers' associations had sued the state of California for refraining from labeling the risk of cancer posed by glyphosate. California is one of the top agricultural regions in the US, and legislators added glyphosate to the list of carcinogens. Distributors must print appropriate warnings on the packaging by July 2018.
In Europe, too, there has been a controversial debate over these potential cancer risks for two years. The EU Commission has now granted approval for glyphosate-containing weeds for five years.
Text: HANSA Derivatives Trading GmbH /
