Glyphosate - The Most Widely Used Toxic Chemical Ever!

[skeggijon]

70% of all the Glyphosate ever used has been sprayed in the last 10 years.

Monsanto's Glyphosate Most Heavily Used Weed Killer in History

[Aberdeenplotter]

It's typical of the lack of quality of the article that link leads to refers to Glyphosate as a pesticide. It is not a pesticide, it is a herbicide.

And goodness knows what point they are trying to make by saying it is the most heavily used weedkiller in history, The same could virtually be said about aspirin and headaches.

[skeggijon]

I think the point they're trying to make is that it's the most heavily used weedkiller in history, unlike aspirin which isn't a weedkiller.
Glyphosate is a herbicide, but herbicides are also pesticides - Pesticides are substances meant for attracting, seducing, and then destroying any pest. They are a class of biocide. The most common use of pesticides is as plant protection products (also known as crop protection products), which in general protect plants from damaging influences such as weeds, fungi, or insects.

[lookbettertomorow]

This is a big nasty can of worms. May as well add to it :-)

Put simply, pesticide is an generic umbrella term that includes, fungicide, herbicide and insecticide.

My whinge is Bordeaux Mixture has been banned from the shelves (that in itself isn't my whinge, if it's proved to be harmful ok to ban it?), still available on Ebay :-) but it is still cleared for Organic use. So you think organic produce is safe??, huge contradiction, Sulpur is inorganic

That's lit the fuse.....

Resistance to Glyphosate is becoming a problem in America. Too much over use?

[Thelma Sanders]

A herbicide (aka weedkiller) kills plants - a pesticide kills pests (insects funghi etc.)
A herbicide will not kill pests.

My thoughts on Glyphsate.....
It is used a lot because it works.
It is up to individuals whether they choose to use it or not.

[bearded bloke]

Both the glyphosate & Bordeaux debates have been had before, many times, opinions on usage vary, there probably is'nt a single correct answer.


EDIT : From a Mod standpoint, please bare in mind that brandname "bashing" is not permitted

[lookbettertomorow]

A herbicide (aka weedkiller) kills plants - a pesticide kills pests (insects funghi etc.)
A herbicide will not kill pests.

.

Hi Thelma, I've got a huge thistle in my garden, along with next door's barking dog I class them both as pests I'm not a Botanist so I'm allowed

[bearded bloke]

Probably worth noting also, is that the original article is written in the best 'Queen's American', so terminology may be somewhat different in meaning to that of the best 'Queen's English'

[starloc]

It is now generaly agreed as a poven fact by many scientists that roundup often if not always accumulates in soil and does not degrade as advertised and that it does spreaad through soil and poison other plants and that it can affect human body cells , so.... if that is true monsanto have lied about it.

Many many countries have banned or are banning the chemical and they so should....

....there is very signifigent evidence being put forward in the many court cases it is reported that monsanto are facing at present that lies were told about the tests rearding safety so again if not proven safe it should not be sold.

There should be no need for it in any garden, just use a weed burner torch if you cant handle weeding, or use a deep mulch such as straw

Even if roundup was safe...and it seems to be a big IF....

To make a product that is now sold and used to blanket spray as a matter of routine crop production.... almost all food crops... so people have to buy geneticaly resistant weedkiller resistant varieties of food, so they can stitch up the worlds food production is a crime agaianst humanity

To sell a product that is not necessary in supermarkets to people who have 2 square meters of back yard in houses in towns.... in a handy spray label advertising that it is needed.... Needed.... to kill the rogue scary dandilion..... that has apeared on the path....(instead of running and hiding from the scary dandilion and calling the police....or being sane and pulling it out , eating it or leaving it as they look nice....)

[Jungle Jane]

IARC have released these findings & there is evidence of chromosome & DNA damage,some Non Hodgkin lymphoma cancer in humans & lots of evidence of cancer in animals. Why hasn't it been banned?
It says here "it's use has increased sharply with the development of GM glyphosate-resistant crop varieties". Glyphosates been found in food,water & in the blood & urine of agricultural workers.
(So they must be able to spray it all over the crops & everywhere!)
This is from a cancer viewpoint but what about other health problems,skin conditions & the future generations? Why do these chemicals have to exist,I'm coping without using any but are we being poisoned by the governments choices to allow these chemicals in our society to pollute the air,water & food anyway?
http://www.gmofreeusa.org/wp-content...Glyphosate.pdf

[Nicos]

I spotted this yesterday...

GMOs and Glyphosate Discovered in Kellogg

yup- children's breakfast cereal.

and this just now...

UK bread and cereal bars found to be contaminated with glyphosate - NaturalNews.com


no idea how accurate the reports are- but it does make you concerned/think twice about using the stuff.

And yup- we use it in small amounts on one path

[Aberdeenplotter]

Thiat is exactly the typical histrionic response that a discussion about Glyphosate always descends into and ultimately leads to threads being closed.

If it was a proven fact, all scientists would be agreeing to your hypothesis but what is a fact is that for every scientist who says that glyphosate is good, another is there to say it is bad.(and not all of these are beholden to Monsanta)

Weed burners will only kill the top growth and that is fine for annual weeds(I say fine but what about the carbon foot print?) but will have no lasting impact on the likes of dandelions, dock, thistles, couch, ground elder etc. and sometimes a treatment with glyphosate is the solution in difficult areas.

I don't advocate using Glyphosate products although I do use them myself on occasion, not within food crops may I add but it does rather get up my nose when these products are bashed by people on the basis of generally by many and often if not always without the proof to back these arguments up.


Right I'm off to B&Q to buy paint at a discount of 20% before I start chuffin


Edit Note: My post is in response to Starloc's for the avoidance of doubt

[Jungle Jane]

The link I posted is from human studies written by experts (probably scientists if they're doing human studies). It's good to get all information out there to let people make up their own minds about using them!

[skeggijon]

This is the EU definition of a pesticide:
A 'pesticide' is something that prevents, destroys, or controls a harmful organism ('pest') or disease, or protects plants or plant products during production, storage and transport.

The term includes, amongst others: herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, acaricides, nematicides, molluscicides, rodenticides, growth regulators, repellents, rodenticides and biocides.

Pesticides - European Commission

I understand why people use it occasionally and I've used it myself in the past, but there does seem to be increasing evidence of it being found in the food chain, which is a little concerning.

[Alison]

Too much of anything is usually a bad thing in my opinion.