Glyphosate Exposed - New Review Dispels the Myth

Glyphosate Exposed - New Review Dispels the Myth of Safety

Media Release 12 October 2016: Auckland’s Weed Management Advisory welcomes the release of an up to date scientific review of the pesticide glyphosate.

Hana Blackmore of the WMA said that the glyphosate monograph published this week by Pesticides Action Network International (PAN) comprehensively dispels what they call the ‘myth’ of safety.

“The 2015 classification of glyphosate as probably carcinogenic caused the world to wake up to the dangers of this pesticide” said Blackmore.

“But the subsequent uproar only served to drown out the huge body of already established scientific evidence of glyphosate’s adverse impact on human health and the environment.”

The WMA said the adverse effects detailed in the new monograph, such as genotoxicity, endocrine disruption and kidney and liver damage are among the most worrying of effects which have been ignored for far too long.

Lead author, Auckland’s Dr Meriel Watts, said today that the time has come for global recognition of the widespread harm caused to people and the environment from the constant use of glyphosate.

“For too long regulators have ignored the mounting evidence of damage, hiding behind unpublished studies by Monsanto, which not surprisingly paint a picture of a benign chemical startlingly at odds with reality.”

Equally worrying are the environmental impacts of glyphosate, say the WMA.

Eight years ago, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research drew attention to the residues of glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA in the sediment of Auckland Harbour most likely, they said, as a result of roadside weed spraying. And, according to the PAN monograph, glyphosate “can alter the composition of natural aquatic communities, potentially tipping the ecological balance and giving rise to harmful algal blooms.”

Yet Auckland Council and Auckland Transport continue to literally tip this stuff down the drain and into the sea.

It is time they stopped.

The WMA will be among those pressing the new Auckland Council to follow through with the concern expressed by the outgoing Council about the use of glyphosate in public places, and put in place an immediate moratorium on its use.

“The international scientific evidence researched and documented in PAN’s monograph is a valuable tool that Council can rely on” said Hana Blackmore. “Glyphosate is not safe - its effect on the most vulnerable in our society cannot be tolerated anymore.”

PAN press release and Monograph: http://www.panap.net/campaigns/hhps/children-and-pesticides/post/2875

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