By now most everyone knows about the trouble with the pesticide known as Roundup….but did you know that the maker of this pesticide is the aspirin people, Bayer? (Think about that for a moment)
Bayer is fighting in most states to stop all the lawsuits against it and its product Roundup….as a public service I want to pass on what this company is up to in your state.
On TikTok, Iowa State Representative Megan Srinivas is angry.
“To me,” she says, pointing at herself with both hands, her eyebrows raised, “Iowa’s farmers matter more than corporate interests.”
Srinivas, a Democrat, posted the video on February 7 to draw attention to a bill that was just starting to make its way through the statehouse. If passed, the legislation could prevent individuals who use pesticides from suing manufacturers based on the argument that the manufacturer should have warned them the products could cause cancer or another illness.
Srinivas is a physician, and one specific concern added to her outrage. Less than a year earlier, the Iowa Cancer Registry released data showing Iowa now has the second highest cancer rate in the country, after Kentucky, and is the only state where rates significantly increased between 2015 and 2019. For the first time, researchers at the Iowa Cancer Consortium have a plan to evaluate whether the incredible volume of weed- and bug-killers used in the state is a contributing factor (although an annual report released at the end of February focused more on high rates of binge drinking).
However, while other states have seen a flurry of more than 100,000 lawsuits brought by individuals claiming Roundup—the most widely used commercial product that contains the weedkiller glyphosate—had caused their cancers, Iowa stands apart. Especially in agriculture, most people trust the safety of pesticides, locals say, and Roundup is the most common and coveted.
Inside Bayer’s State-by-State Efforts to Stop Pesticide Lawsuits
Check with your state rep to see just what Bayer is up to in your state.
I am sure that money will be the answer to their problems….after all there are elections come up…..and soon.
Have a wonderful weekend and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Roundup is still sold widely here, mainly for domestic use by people with issues with weeds on patios, paths and lawns. Thanks for the warning, I almost bought some recently!
Best wishes, Pete.
They are still selling it in garden centers even after all the legal stuff….not for me chuq
I use Bob’s Ted Mill extra thick rolled oatmeal which is certified free of pesticides.
The Red Mill stuff is excellent….but now that Bod is dead will it remain so? chuq
I don’t think you need to worry about Red Mill. Bob didn’t want to ever see the company taken over by one of the big food processors. He gave the whole company to the employees so it will remain independent
I hope you are right….but in these times of rising prices I expect the worse. chuq
so far so good
Keep that thought. chuq
Them buying Monsanto was a total f*ck up for the company as a whole. Whoever masterminded this a Bayer should have lost their job and been blackballed from the industry, frankly. Bayer wanted Monsanto’s genetically modified, herbicide resistant line of crops, not the liability for the whole glyphosate scandal. Monsanto, meanwhile, realized that if it didn’t do something to try to get out from under the ever increasing number of lawsuits that were starting to be filed against it over glyphosate, it was going to be sued into bankruptcy. So it was absolutely desperate to sell itself off to someone, anyone, before the hammer dropped.
Bayer did it anyway, thinking it’s pet scientists had put together enough evidence to gat a court to believe that glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) wasn’t responsible. Unfortunately for them the other side has scientists too, and the courts have, generally speaking, been believing the plaintiffs, not Bayer. At least here in the US.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that a lot of weeds have developed resistance to glyphosate and it is actually becoming ineffective as a herbicide for agricultural use. What Bayer really wanted was Monsanto’s GM dicamba resistant crop line. Dicamba is another herbicide, and an especially nasty one. It’s been around a long time and is heavily restricted. Dicamba has this nasty habit of vaporizing after it’s applied and drifting for miles across the countryside.
Basically it’s one giant clusterf*ck.
But then Bayer has a history of manufacturing dangerous chemicals. It’s parent company, IG Farben, made zyklon B
Thanx for the back story….I use no pesticides in my garden so I know my stuff is clean and healthy. chuq
In 2021 when my dog was diagnosed with and died from anal gland cancer, I considered whether the weed killer in the backyard contributed to or caused it. As a girl dog, she had to get down almost to the ground to do number one. We always kept her in at least 3 hours after doing weed patrol, but I wonder. I wonder.
Sorry about your pup….and that is an good question….but sadly I cannot answer for you….sorry chuq
Not looking for answers. It’s just one of those things that I think about. I will never use Roundup on my lawns again.
A wise decision in my opinion. chuq
It’s hard to say for sure but probably not? The cancer cases that have come up in the courts have all been from people who worked with the stuff professionally, groundskeepers at golf courses, landscapers, farmers, people who worked with large amounts of it over a long period of time.
Those would be humans who have worked with the product and have taken tests, received medical treatment, able to provide history, etc. Many vets only go by tests results and what they see to make a diagnosis. They don’t determine the reason. If only our pets could talk.
You have a good point there. I didn’t think of that, but you’re absolutely right. I do know for an absolute fact that pesticides and herbicides are just as toxic to animals as they are to people
The only reason I have that curiosity is because of my experience with dogs and vets. You are correct about the toxicity of pesticides and herbicides. Pet parents need to keep their pooches safe too, even if that means living with weeds.