Since 40 years, Glyphosate, the basic „ingredient“ of the herbicide „Roundup“ has been applied to vast stretches of agricultural monocultures in more and more countries, and its use has been on the increase. www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/bund-untersuchungen

glyphosate

Many countries have been re-considering new policies about Glyphosate

The article also states that according to WHO, glyphosate has been detected in lesser concentrations in food, water and air www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/glyphosat-hoehere-krebsgefahr-durch-weltweit-verwendetes-pestizid-1.2406147 and it appears feasable that this goes for any country in which glyphosate „et al.“ has been in use since its existence on the market…and since this substance has now openly been reported to present the risk of cancer by WHO (ref. AVAAZ below), contributes to a dying out of species, plant and animal alike, ( „Schrot & Korn“,4/2015,p.23) together with the potential of even more accumulation in food, water and air with its presently further extensive use, and since it has even been found in the fatty tissues of polar bears…(www.ewg.org/foodnews) its worldwide use might be called a worldwide ecocide…

The United Nations Organization – UN, has called 2015 the Year of Save our Soils… („EVE“-Magazin, 2/2015) http://www.saveoursoils.com/news.html

Soon after, in April this year, AVAAZ sent a petition to its millions of members around the globe in which it also airs the news that WHO (World Health Organization) has reported on an independent study by medical experts in the field that glyphosate presents a risk of causing cancer…. a lot of people one talks to about cancer have been wondering about the reason for its worldwide spreading increasingly like an epidemic over the years and especially in the recent past…. and that people concerned are ever younger…

According to renowned southern Bavarian SZ (Suedeutsche Zeitung) http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/streit-um-unkrautvernichtungsmittel-risiko-rundumvernichter-1.1146276 an independent group of scientists from „Earth Open Source“ made the allegation that authorities had concealed the dangers of glyphosate which were known to these authorities since 1998. They referred to tests having shown malformations in animal embryos. This risk of genetic damage, also of reproduction disorders, allergies, etc. can also be read at www.ewg.org/foodnews (2014), and www.greenpeace.de.

pesticides

Pesticides are sprayed over the fields with a plane

In South America/Argentina people living near sprayed fields frequently had malformed babies as can be read in http://szmagazin.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzeigen/42435/Der-Tod-kommt-mit-dem-Wind

Here, glyphosate is sprayed extremely extensively and intensively across vast plains of soy bean monocultures from airplanes. SZ’s vivid report discloses that drinking water of the respective rural population is mostly contaminated. The photographer had people wear breathing masks…to point out the danger of extreme health hazards for them.There’s an unspecified number of organ dysfunctions (thyroid), lung/breathing problems/asthma, ugly dark eczema on children, deformations, some are born with brain damage of which they die eventually, a high rate of depression with suicidal tendencies, a mysterious dying of babies. In 2010 a North Argentinian physician www.mdr.de/fakt/fakt_glyphosat104.html reported a way above average cancer rate among children, which the commission attributes to the cell damaging effects of glyphosate.

 In Europe, up to now effects have not yet been so drastic and up to the recent past not been known to be linked to glyphosate, like the vast and increasing number of cancer cases, mentioned above. In France, Parkinson has been acknowledged as farmer’s disease by insurance companies for conventional farmers having worked with glyphosate for 10 yrs („Schrot&Korn“,4/2015, in “letters to the editor“) . Interesting is the text of the instructions for use: harmful for your health when inhaling (breathing organs), poisons water, danger class 2a: highest danger class. ttp://www.mdr.de/fakt/fakt_glyphosat104.html

One physician stated that almost any of his patients with symptoms like weakness, prolonged fatigue, feeling unwell was found to have glyphosate and tallowamine in his body www.mdr.de/fakt/fakt_glyphosat104.html >(see comments).

In Germany, in rural non – touristy areas, when stepping outdoors, especially this year it has been widely noticed by people in rural areas who moved there as an alternative to city air pollution, how strong and often the spraying has been. Some had to withdraw from recreation grounds and lakes, because they could hardly breathe anymore. Dogs suffered from extreme, prolonged vomiting cramps. Others more sensitive, had to avoid their nature walking grounds totally (Poisoned Spring!) due to the effects of glyphosate…nausea, depression, digestive disorders, dizziness, burning sensation on tongue, in throat, breathing „pipe“, cramp, coughs etc.. Anyone concerned can report to www.pan-germany.org as stated in „Schrot&Korn“, 4/2015, p.24.

Due to the danger of widespread drift and the fact that glyphosate was found in conventional bakery goods, flour and oats, to name a few, and apart from contents in ground water, water bodies and drinking water, the environmental organization BUND, together with „Friends of the Earth“ took urine tests of 182 people living in cities (!) in 18 European Countries – out of 10, 7 were glyphosate „positive“. http://sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/bund-untersuchung

The German ministry of the environment has been warning: „Conventional farming today counts among the driving forces of species extinction – plants and animals.“ (Together with WWF the author of „Ackergifte? Nein danke!“, U. Scheub, states that the extinction of species has nowadays been happening at least a 1000 times faster than in the past 60 Mio years… the cause to great extent being the excessive use of toxic herbicides…)

conventional farming

Conventional farming is causing massive species extinction

A plan for reduction measures of the 30.000 to 40. 000 tons of herbicides sprayed each year in Germany alone, has had no effect so far („Schrot&Korn“, 4/2015,p.23).

The only cure/alternative to the ubiquitous health and species dangers due to conventional farming with substances like glyphosate appears to be turning to organic farming („BIO“). To those who have tried, and failed due to lacking support by state financed experts „on location“, exactly this measure, ( as successfully carried out in a small state in Europe; „EVE“ 8/2014), together with sufficient financial government support till new crops can be marketed, might be the solution.

After all it has been proven in many parts of the earth that organic farming IS possible.

A silver lining on the horizon in favour of at least diminishing glyphosate „et al.“ farming is the fact that since the WHO report mentioned by AVAAZ, many countries, like the US, Canada, Brazil, Netherlands etc. have been re-considering new policies about this substance. (ref. Petition).

When AVAAZ launched its April 2015 „Anti-Glyphosate“ Petition after the WHO report, the EU had begun a process of re-evaluating the substance anyway, due to the fact that this December a decision needs to come forth regarding the permission for glyphosate to be used in conventional agriculture – for the next d e c a d e… or not!

Hence AVAAZ asked for 1.500.000 Mio members to click sign the petition to help turn the tables.

The 1.500.000 are not full yet, so if you wish to sign, please feel free to do so. The UN calling 2015 the year of „saving our soils“ ( together with the sur-/re-vival of species – plant & animal alike ?) maybe still has the chance of some success.

And maybe even the following will be considered eventually, in general, namely the fact that any state has the obligation to grant its citizens, among other things – physical intactness, which entails the obligation of taking precaution measures when there is a risk of this to fail.

The author of this blog is not responsible for the content of the links included in this text. Likewise, any influence whatsoever on contents of  linking pages is outside the influence of the author. Therefore, no responsibility is accepted for any information provided on these pages. This blog may not be changed, used on any other sites reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior permission by the author (Inga-Caren Higginbotham).

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