Monsanto knew about glyphosate-cancer link 35 years ago.

Monsanto knew about glyphosate-cancer link 35 years ago. The almighty Monsanto has recently come under fire, after the World Health Organization labeled the main ingredient in the company’s popular Roundup weed killer product to be a human carcinogen. Monsanto is currently in damage control mode in an effort to pick up the pieces from this public relations disaster. In reality, Monsanto has known about the link between glyphosate and cancer for upwards of 35 years. It’s no surprise the evil giant has kept quiet for profit’s sake. The effects of glyphosate on the human body have been studied for years by research scientist Dr. Anthony Samsel, who has revealed the harmfulness of its nature. Samsel has also worked with Dr. Stephanie Seneff, who released a warning that upwards of half of all children in the U.S. could be autistic by year 2025. The impending autism rate will largely be caused by exposure to glyphosate. Samsel was recently given a look into a “trade secret” file that had been sealed away since 1981 at the request of the Monsanto Company. Samsel was able to view the document thanks to his field of study. Though he was not granted permission to show the file to anyone, he is allowed to speak his thoughts on his findings. Samsel was interviewed by journalist Tony Mitra, and spoke about his findings on camera. He talks about disturbing evidence which shows “significant incidences of cell tumors of the tests and tumor growth in multiple organs and tissues” of lab animals. Samsel also discusses the fact that there is evidence that glyphosate enters bone marrow almost immediately. This entry into the bone marrow prevents the formation of new cells in living organisms. Samsel continues to highlight a higher incidence of benign tumors and cancerous tumors that, in almost every single case, begin in outer tissues.

Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents.

Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents, report says.The agricultural giant Monsanto has sued hundreds of small farmers in the United States in recent years in attempts to protect its patent rights on genetically engineered seeds that it produces and sells, a new report said on Tuesday. The study, produced jointly by the Center for Food Safety and the Save Our Seeds campaigning groups, has outlined what it says is a concerted effort by the multinational to dominate the seeds industry in the US and prevent farmers from replanting crops they have produced from Monsanto seeds. In its report, called Seed Giants vs US Farmers, the CFS said it had tracked numerous law suits that Monsanto had brought against farmers and found some 142 patent infringement suits against 410 farmers and 56 small businesses in more than 27 states. In total the firm has won more than $23m from its targets, the report said.

South Africa Government Rejects Monsanto’s GMO Triple Stacked Maize.

South Africa Government Rejects Monsanto’s GMO Triple Stacked Maize.The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has welcomed the decision of the South African biosafety authorities, rejecting Monsanto’s application for the commercial release of its GM drought tolerant triple stacked maize: MON 87460 x MON 89034 x NK 603. At its meeting on the 2nd October 2018, the Executive Council: GMO Act, refused to authorize the GM maize for commercial growing as it found that the data provided by Monsanto was insufficient to demonstrate the claimed drought tolerant and insect resistant efficacy of the GM event. In particular, the EC found that the drought tolerant field trial data presented by Monsanto for trials conducted over a period of 5 years (2014-2018) in Hopetown, Orania, Lutzville and Malelane, were sorely wanting.

Monsanto Loses Landmark Roundup Cancer Trial, Set to Pay USD 289 Million in Damages.

Monsanto Loses Landmark Roundup Cancer Trial, Set to Pay USD 289 Million in Damages. Monsanto has lost a landmark cancer trial in San Francisco and has been ordered by the Judge to pay over USD 289 Million in total damages to the former school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson, a California father who has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was caused by Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup.

How Monsanto Plants Stories, Suppresses Science & Silences Dissent to Sell a Cancer-Linked Chemical.

How Monsanto Plants Stories, Suppresses Science & Silences Dissent to Sell a Cancer-Linked Chemical. As Monsanto comes under scrutiny for allegedly hiding the dangers of its weed killer, Roundup, we talk to a reporter who says the company attempted to censor and discredit her when she published stories on their product that contradicted their business interests. Carey Gillam is a veteran investigative journalist and author of “Whitewash–The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science.”

AGRIBUSINESS: Tanzania Orders Destruction of Monsanto/Gates Foundation GMO Trials.

AGRIBUSINESS: Tanzania Orders Destruction of Monsanto/Gates Foundation GMO Trials. Tanzanian civil society organisations (CSOs) welcome the decision of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mathew Mtigumwe, to bring an immediate stop to all ongoing GMO trials taking place in the country. These are under the auspices of the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project which includes Monsanto, the Gates Foundation and national research centres.

Big data technology ,precision agriculture and food security.

A self-driving John Deere tractor rumbles through Ian Pigott’s 2,000-acre farm every week or so to spray fertilizer, guided by satellite imagery and each plot’s harvesting history. The 11-ton behemoth, loaded with so many screens it looks like an airplane cockpit, relays the nutrient information to the farmer’s computer system. With weather forecasts and data on pesticide use, soil readings, and plant tissue tests pulled by various pieces of software, Pigott can keep tabs on the farm down to the square meter in real time without ever leaving his carpeted office. “This is becoming more standard,” says Pigott, who grows a rotation of wheat, oil seed, oats, and barley on his farm in the rolling Hertfordshire countryside an hour north of London.We can take our data, walk right into the fields with an iPad or iPhone, pinpoint exactly where we are ... and figure out what we should be doing with each parcel of land” German chemical company Bayer cited the growth in such digitally assisted farming as a key reason for its $62 billion bid for Monsanto, which has become a leading provider of analytics used by growers. Bayer Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann says Monsanto is at the “forefront of digital farming.” Acquiring the company would further Bayer’s goal of identifying and providing the best-suited seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals for farms around the world. Signs of the transition to precision agriculture are obvious ,the use of drones providing bird’s-eye views of fields; mapping software locating underground water sources; sensor- laden tractors monitoring harvests in real time. It’s happening outside the fields, too. Cows’ meal portions are adjusted automatically based on their milk output. Infrared cameras identify chickens with fevers, protecting flocks. A software offers farmers recommendations on what to plant and where to plant it and farmers are very excited about new technology. Read

Brazil Judge Suspends Use of Agrochemical Glyphosate.

Brazil Judge Suspends Use of Agrochemical Glyphosate. A Brazilian judge has suspended the use of products containing the agrochemical glyphosate, a widely employed herbicide for soy and other crops in the country, according to legal filings. A federal judge in Brasilia ruled that new products containing the chemical could not be registered in the country and existing registrations would be suspended within the next 30 days, until the government reevaluates their toxicology. The decision, which could be subject to multiple appeals, also applies to the insecticide abamectin and the fungicide thiram. The ruling affects companies such as Monsanto Co, which markets a glyphosate-resistant, genetically-modified type of soybean that is planted on a large scale in Brazil. Monsanto is now a unit of Bayer AG, following a $62.5 billion takeover of the U.S. seed major which closed in June. Certain glyphosate-resistant corn and cotton strains have also been authorized in Brazil.

GLYPHOSATE .

Glyphosate is a herbicide applied to leaves to kill grasses and weeds. It is the most-used agricultural chemical in the world, and experienced a boom in use beginning in the 1990s, according to Newsweek. Glyphosate use in agriculture was previously hampered by the product often killing not only weeds but the crops it was intended to protect. But in the 1990s, Monsanto began producing genetically modified crop strains resistant to glyphosate, to which the herbicide could be applied without damaging the crop. Oats, a very commonly used grain in breakfast foods, are not modified for glyphosate resistance. Farmers often use the product on oats to kill the crops and dry them out, to hasten harvesting. A 2013 study found that glyphosate can induce the growth of breast cancer cells in humans while another study from last year found links between applications of glyphosate and fatty liver disease in rats.

Pesticides, human health, and food security.

Pesticides, human health, and food security. The worldwide population is projected to increase to 9 billion by 2050 (United Nations 2015). To accommodate this increase, food production will necessarily need to increase as well. However, new agricultural land is limited, so sustainable production and increasing productivity of existing agricultural land is an important aspect to addressing global food security (Popp et al. 2013). Food security has been described as a condition of humanity “…when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” (Food and Agriculture Organization 1996). Increases in the terrestrial agricultural production of food and fish farming will be necessary to ensure adequate food availability, but this is only part of the larger concept of food security that also comprises food access, utilization, and stability (Food and Agriculture Organization 2006). Given that there is limited additional land available for agriculture and sites for fish farming coupled with increasing economic pressures to produce agricultural commodities for industrial purposes, including fiber and biofuels, strategies to increase agricultural yield will need to be used to meet the increase in food demand for the immediate future . For the near and foreseeable future, pesticides may be an important component of a comprehensive strategy to increase crop yield by preventing both pre and postharvest loss to pests.“Pesticides are substances used to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest ranging from insects, animals and weeds to microorganisms” (Grube et al. 2011), but inadvertent exposure to pesticides may adversely affect human health. Glyphosate, an herbicide linked to cancer by California state scientists and the World Health Organization is the active ingredient in Roundup, the Monsanto weed killer that is the most heavily used pesticide ,has been found to leave residue in food thus posing health risks. Each year, more than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are sprayed on American crops, primarily on “Roundup-ready” corn and soybeans genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide. But when it comes to the food we eat, the highest glyphosate levels are not found in products made with GMO corn. Increasingly, glyphosate is also sprayed just before harvest on wheat, barley, oats and beans that are not genetically engineered. Glyphosate kills the crop, drying it out so that it can be harvested sooner than if the plant were allowed to die naturally.

Roundup Linked to Global Boom in Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance.

Roundup Linked to Global Boom in Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance. Celiac disease, gluten intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome are on the rise worldwide, and that rise has taken place in parallel with the increased use of glyphosate (Roundup) herbicide, shows a new US peer-reviewed paper from Dr. Anthony Samsel and Dr. Stephanie Seneff. The review has been published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Toxicology. Roundup is linked in Samsel and Seneff’s new review paper to a major increase in celiac disease. A recent estimate suggests that one in twenty people in North America and Western Europe now suffer from this gluten intolerant disease. “All of the known biological effects of glyphosate – cytochrome P450 inhibition, disruption of synthesis of aromatic amino acids, chelation of transition metals, and antibacterial action – contribute to the pathology of celiac disease,” Samsel and Seneff’s paper states. Monsanto’s Glyphosate (Roundup) has become the number one selling herbicide worldwide, due to the increase in the planting of Roundup Ready GM Crops.Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms. When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats. It increase the toxin burden leaking into the blood stream) and inclusion of probiotics (superior quality such as ‘entralive maximal’ from Entrapro) which also contain essential prebiotics plus a high quality enzyme formula along with eating whole foods in a manner easy to digest – for several YEARS (such as soups and cooked foods) to enable the gut lining to heal. Many gluten free religites don’t get better because the underlying leaky gut is not repaired.

How farmers are using data to protect the earth.

How farmers are using data to protect the earth.Every square meter of a field contains hundreds of pieces of data, from moisture and nutrient levels to real-time weather variables" How has your life changed since the dawn of the smartphone? We now have unlimited data in our hands: updates on our kids’ grades, real-time stock prices, shipping information for online purchases, even a fitness tracker in the cloud counting our steps. Instead of reading the same newspaper as our neighbors each morning, we each choose the information that comes straight to us based on how our day is shaping up. The opportunities for customization seem endless. All of this data is designed to help us do one thing: make specific decisions, tailored to our needs, about the things that improve our lives.Now imagine how the same data technology can improve decisions farmers make every day. Every square meter of a field contains hundreds of pieces of data, from moisture and nutrient levels to real-time weather variables. Like you and your neighbors, each plant’s day is a little different, and so are its needs. Why should we care about each little change in the life of an individual plant or the soil on the world’s fields? Because each piece of data farmers collect helps them make more precise decisions about resources like seeds, water, soil nutrients and plant health. That precision cuts down on waste and helps grow food more sustainably, with more efficient use of land, water, fertilizer, fossil fuels and other resources. When combined with other important practices, like reducing the carbon released by tilling, precision agriculture can help reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint. Now agriculture can be a piece of the solution to climate change. Farmers play a critical role as true stewards of the land. Monsanto is in the agriculture business, and our customers are greatly affected by shifts in the climate and availability of natural resources. So it’s good business to be proactive, both in keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and in developing more precise options that offer farmers ways to use their resources efficiently and sustainably. Farmers, like other business owners, choose their spending wisely, and every planting season we work to earn our customers’ business. New, innovative solutions mean that we can continue to advance more informed decisions about farming, better economic return for growers and a reduced impact on the environment. There’s never been a more important time for innovation that can support sustainable farming. The population is growing. The world is getting hotter. Water is scarcer. And we have a responsibility to try to put balanced meals on more tables while reducing the environmental impact of agriculture. It’s a daunting and exciting challenge, one that will require collaboration from all types of farmers and consumers. But one thing is certain: Innovation and data science in agriculture will help slow climate change, promote efficient use of precious resources and help farmers feed the world more sustainably for generations to come.more

Roundup weed killer may play role in widespread bee deaths..

Roundup weed killer may play role in widespread bee deaths, study finds.For the past decade, bee colonies have been dying off in high numbers. A new study suggests the widely used herbicide Roundup may be playing a role. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that honeybees exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Monsanto weed killer, lose some of the beneficial bacteria in their guts, thereby becoming more susceptible to infection and death from harmful bacteria.

Genetically Modified Children: New Film Unveils the ‘Monstrous’ Child Deformities Caused by Agrochemicals in Argentina.

Genetically Modified Children: New Film Unveils the ‘Monstrous’ Child Deformities Caused by Agrochemicals in Argentina. The shocking film "Genetically Modified Children" unveils the horrors of decades of chemical-intensive agricultural practices in Argentina, where the majority of crops are genetically modified (GM) and routinely doused in dangerous agrochemicals, and the chokehold big tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and chemical and seed giants have on poverty-stricken farmers desperate to earn a living. The film, produced by Juliette Igier and Stephanie Lebrun, shows the devastating health effects the region's agricultural sector is having on children,1 an increasing number of whom are being born with monstrous physical deformities. Some of the children's cases are so severe that, without a medical intervention, will result in death before the age of 5. The film begins with the crew traveling from North Argentina in the Province of Misiones to the Brazilian frontier, an agricultural region that was one of the nation's first to begin growing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the mid-'90s. Featured in the film is Ricardo Rivero, regional head of the local electricity company. He learned that the reason families cannot pay their bills is because often they are taking care of a sick or handicapped child, and receive no assistance from the Argentinian government. The film shows them visiting the humble home of a tobacco farmer where they meet Lucas Texeira, a 5-year-old boy with an incurable genetic skin disease. The family believes it was caused by the mother's exposure to Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller early on in her pregnancy. No one told her it was toxic, she says. The genetic mutation that caused her son's condition left him with no pores in his skin, which means he doesn't perspire. The heat from his body stays inside, causing him severe and painful itching that leads to frequent crying spells. Mr. Texeira expresses his sadness over Lucas' condition, as well as his fears that he could have another child in the future with a similar deformity.

How data is driving farming revolution.

How data is driving farming revolution. Radical changes in arable farming already taking place also indicate that by 2025 growers are likely to be using digital advice tools, companies will sell complete crop packages, and data will be driving the sector. read. Bayer's global head of digital farming Tobias Menne haa added his voice to the data revolution he expressed his view that embracing totally different technology than that is in use today, and big business will need to partner with people will make it happen. He said that the agrichemicals giant, which is acquiring Monsanto, was always looking for new sources of data, as well as working with start-ups generating such statistics. more

AGRIBUSINESS: Fabián Tomasi, Who Exposed the Toxic Nature of Argentine Agribusiness, Dies.

Fabián Tomasi, Who Exposed the Toxic Nature of Argentine Agribusiness, Dies. Tomasi suffered from a serious illness due to his exposure to pesticides and despite his physical pain, raised his voice to denounce the multimillionaire agribusiness companies responsible .Fabián Tomasi, who contracted severe toxic polyneuropathy due to his exposure to pesticides as an agricultural worker, but fought back by becoming an iconic voice against the impact of agribusiness and toxic chemicals, died on September 7. AGRIBUSINESS: Fabián Tomasi, Who Exposed the Toxic Nature of Argentine Agribusiness, Dies. He had been in hospital for five days after having been diagnosed with pneumonia. Even as his illness inhibited his mobility and caused extreme pain, Tomasi valiantly continued to talk about the impact of chemicals (some of which are illegal), which are widely used in several provinces in the north of Argentina by agribusiness companies. This has led to thousands of cases of cancer, malformations and other related illnesses, which are often ignored or denied by the government and these companies. Below is a piece written by Tomasi in March for La Garganta Poderosa about his life, illness, struggle and about those responsible for the suffering of his community.AGRIBUSINESS: Fabián Tomasi, Who Exposed the Toxic Nature of Argentine Agribusiness, Dies. Many coastal provinces have been destroyed by glyphosate and other chemicals, as if they willingly forgot that we human beings have 70% genetic similarity with plants. How did they expect their poison to tell us apart? They don’t. This is why when they fumigate, only 20% remains in the vegetables and the rest is in the air that we breathe. It is not enough to say “Get out Monsanto,” because the chains of evil today extend to the rest of the multi-million dollar companies and they are tangled up in silence. Today, there are no sicknesses without poison and there is no poison without this criminal collusion between multinational companies, the health industry, the governments and the justice system.

Roundup Made With Vinegar (Rather Than Glyphosate) Is Now Available .

Roundup Made With Vinegar (Rather Than Glyphosate) Is Now Available . Roundup is a pesticide (a weed-killer or herbicide) containing the active ingredient glyphosate. It is a controversial herbicide that is the most heavily used pesticide in the world. And since the introduction of Roundup Ready crops that have been genetically modified to survive repeated Roundup applications, the use is only increasing on farms. Several posts here, here, and here have discussed research and controversies with Roundup, and the numerous health concerns (including that it is a "probable carcinogen"), as well as the residues that are in our food (and allowed to be there). A new product called Roundup, but containing acetic acid instead of glyphosate, is now available at garden centers in Austria. The product is called Roundup AC is being manufactured by Scotts (the name is licensed from Monsanto), and it uses 10% acetic acid in place of glyphosate. To use ordinary vinegar as a weed-killer: Use on a hot sunny dry day. Just spray or pour some on the offending weeds - and whatever the vinegar touches will soon die. Unfortunately the weeds may come back after a week or two (the root systems may not be killed off) - so just reapply vinegar. Or can make the effects of the vinegar stronger by adding one cup salt to a gallon vinegar or a little (a teaspoon or more) dish detergent to the vinegar. Or combine all three ingredients when needing permanent removal of vegetation from an area such as sidewalk cracks or gravel driveways. Roundup Made With Vinegar (Rather Than Glyphosate) Is Now Available .

New Agriculture Technologies and smart farmers..

Farmers That Don’t Learn About New Agriculture Technologies Will Get Left Behind, without smart farming output will be low .Kip Tom is a seventh generation Indiana farmer. Starting with a homestead in 1837, the family has grown its operation into Tom Farms, which is engaged in commercial corn and soybean production across seven counties in the Midwestern farm state. The farm, which encompasses 20,000 acres, is also one of Monsanto’s largest seed producers. Born into an agricultural family and having spent much of his life within the industry, Tom has a unique viewpoint on the development of agriculture technology throughout the years. “Whether it is information and technology or equipment technology, there are technologies that will help our agriculture industry deliver a sustainable, affordable, and nutritious supply of food to global consumers,” he says. “It’s exciting, but what is most exciting is when we see collaboration between people in the field, who understand what we need, and developers in places like Mountain View, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. Also, we have an investment community saying this is something new that we haven’t paid much attention to.”. continue

Trump Quietly OK’s Bioengineered Farming on Wildlife Refuges.

Trump Quietly OK’s Bioengineered Farming on Wildlife Refuges. When you think about America’s wildlife refuges, a lush rolling mountain range or untrammeled wetland preserve might come to mind—not a field clouded with industrial weedkillers. There’s a good reason for that: A few years ago, the Obama administration barred two controversial forms of biotechnology on designated wildlife preserves, neonicotinoid pesticides and genetically modified crops, to help the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) better uphold its public mandate of conservation and wildlife protection. But the Trump administration is seeking to make the country’s wilderness safe for agrichemicals again. In a terse memorandum, seemingly unprompted, the FWS quietly rescinded a hard-won Obama-era legal agreement, which imposed a blanket ban on the pesticides and genetically modified crops on the agricultural lands currently hosted in national wildlife refuges. Trump Quietly OK’s Bioengineered Farming on Wildlife Refuges. The Trump administration’s new plans for agrichemicals allows the use of pesticides and GMOs on farmlands located in the habitats of individual wildlife refuges across the United States. This could open the door to wide application of two high-risk biotechnologies. One is genetically modified crops, which have expanded the monopoly power of seed giants like Monsanto across the agricultural supply chain and have often come with increased use of the company’s controversial Roundup glyphosate herbicides. Additionally, the agreement allows refuge-based farms to use neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides associated with the disruption of ecosystems and damage to critical bee populations. Activists say that the chemicals the Trump administration is quietly promoting on conservation areas are known for posing environmental and public-health risks and would upend the fundamental mission of wildlife refuges.

Transforming agriculture.

A new day is dawning for agriculture. When asked to describe the magnitude of the coming change, experts harken back to seminal advances such as the rise of mechanization, the invention of synthetic fertilizers and crop protection chemicals, and the advent of transgenic crops. Within the next five years—less time than it takes to discover and commercialize a new agricultural chemical—gene editing will transform seed and trait development across a wide variety of crops. A new generation of plants will be equipped to thrive in the face of yield-eating climate stress. And all-seeing eyes in the sky will pinpoint problems in the field before the first leaf droops. These tools will not be as obvious as when tractors replaced mules, but they are poised to make a difference where it counts: helping farmers profitably increase yields.At the same time, the business of bringing new tools to market is changing, thanks to consolidation among major agriculture firms that traditionally are the big investors in innovation. For better or worse, Dow Chemical’s planned merger with DuPont, ChemChina’s pending acquisition of Syngenta, and Bayer’s attempt to acquire Monsanto are reshaping the agricultural landscape. Increasing the productivity of agriculture is critical to feeding a growing population. But in the past decade, the per-acre rate of output growth in the U.S. averaged a mere 1.0% per year for corn and 1.6% for soybeans, according to figures from the consulting firm Bain & Co.continue