Muda69 Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/30/727914874/safe-or-scary-the-shifting-reputation-of-glyphosate-aka-roundup Quote John Draper and I are sitting in the cab of a tractor on the research farm he manages for the University of Maryland, alongside the Chesapeake Bay. Behind us, there's a sprayer. "So, away we go!" Draper says. He pushes a button, and we start to move. A fine mist emerges from nozzles on the arms of the sprayer. We're spraying glyphosate, killing off this field's soil-saving "cover crop" of rye before planting soybeans. Farmers have been using this chemical, often under the trade name Roundup, for about four decades now. But now it's under fierce attack, accused of causing cancer. In three civil cases so far, U.S. juries have ordered Roundup's inventor, Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, to pay enormous damages to cancer survivors. Thousands more lawsuits have been filed. For this chemical, and for Monsanto, it's a stunning change in fortunes. Farmers felt that they could spray glyphosate with a clear conscience. It doesn't persist in the environment as much as, say, DDT did. It doesn't build up in groundwater like another widely used herbicide, atrazine. And it's certainly less toxic than some alternatives. "If we were spraying Gramoxone [the trade name for paraquat, another herbicide], even for you to be standing next to the sprayer, you'd have to have a respirator on. I'd have to wear a respirator even in the tractor, spraying," says Draper. Monsanto started selling Roundup in 1974. For 20 years, it didn't attract much attention. That was Act 1 of the glyphosate drama: the quiet years. .... So whom to believe? For those of us who grew up and still live in Indiana, especially those of us in rural areas, I suspect our exposure to glyphosate has been somewhat high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 It works wonders on anything green growing in the yard that SF wants to kill...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impartial_Observer Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 I just did my second spraying of the season around the yard on Monday. I wore no protective equipment other than my "old" flip flops that I mow in. My opinion is Roundup is safe, I think one of the biggest issues with it is pre-harvest usage on row crops. It aids in the drying process. I would question it's residual levels on crops that are about to be harvest. Virtually all farmers in our area use Roundup Ready beans, and even a few use Roundup Ready corn, though you don't see a lot of it. It's got a be a huge savings in fuel and time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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