Health Canada concludes new review of Glyphosate Herbicide
Posted on January 12th, 2019
Chandre Dharmawardana
Last summer when a California School Gardener was awarded damages by a Court, various militant anti-GMO groups in Canada demanded a new review of Glyphosate.
An independent panel of 20 scientists reviewed the latest material and their unanimous report has been released.
Note that this approval covers NOT ONLY GLYPHOSATE, but ALSO THE INGREDIENTS (adjuvants) added to it, i.e., usually Tallowamine (or similar agents as used in common detergents and shampoos to act as wetting agents).
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/health-canada-herbicide-glyphosate-roundup-1.4975945
Health Canada stands by approval of ingredient in Roundup weed killer
Government scientists reject claims substance causes cancer
The Canadian Press · Posted: Jan 11, 2019 8:49 PM CT | Last Updated: January 11
Many canola farmers on the Prairies use the herbicide glyphosate on their crops. (Shutterstock)
Health Canada scientists say there is no reason to believe the scientific evidence they used to approve the continued use of glyphosate in weed killers was tainted.
On Friday they rejected, again, arguments that the ingredient in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer if the substances are used as they’re supposed to be.
The department’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency is required to reassess herbicides every 15 years and after such a reassessment in 2017 it approved glyphosate for continued use in Canada with some additional labelling requirements. The review looked at more than 1,300 studies and concluded glyphosate products pose no risk to people or the environment as long as they are properly used and labelled.
Glyphosate is one of the most common herbicides used in the world, is in more than 130 products sold in Canada and has widespread use by farmers to keep weeds out of their crops.
After the decision, eight objections were filed, many of which said the evidence used to approve the product was tainted because Monsanto had influenced the results.
Their accusations were largely based on documents filed in a U.S. lawsuit in which a former groundskeeper was awarded a multimillion-dollar settlement after jurors decided his cancer was linked to glyphosate.
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Image
Bottles of Roundup herbicide, a product of Monsanto, are displayed on a store shelf iThe generc name is glysophate and it is one of the most widely used agricultural herbicides in the world. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
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‘No stone unturned‘
The groups, including Ecojustice, Environmental Defence and Canadian Physicians for the Environment, wanted Health Minister Ginette Petipas Taylor to order an independent review of the Health Canada decision.
Instead Health Canada assigned 20 scientists not part of the original review to look at the matter. Connie Moase, a director in the health-effects division of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, said Friday the scientists “left no stone unturned” in reviewing the decision.
“The objections raised did not create doubt or concern regarding the scientific basis for the 2017 re-evaluation decision for glyphosate,” said Moase.
She said the documents, known as the Monsanto Papers, were mainly reviews of studies, not studies themselves, and that Health Canada’s approval was based on the actual studies.
Moase added that no pest regulatory management agency in the world says glyphosate causes cancer at current levels of exposure.
Bayer Canada pleased
Trish Jordan, the public-and-industry-affairs director for Bayer Canada’s crop-science division, said the company supported the additional review Health Canada launched and is also pleased with the result.
Monsanto has previously denied any attempt to influence scientific studies on glyphosate.
“We have an unwavering commitment to sound science, transparency and to producing valuable tools that will help farmers continue to feed a growing population in a sustainable manner,” Jordan said.
‘Troubling allegations’ prompt Health Canada review of studies used to approve popular weed-killer
Elaine MacDonald, head of healthy communities for Ecojustice, said the decision is a big disappointment.
“How can we trust the science if we can’t be sure that it’s independent?” she said.
Muhannad Malas, the toxics program manager at Environmental Defence, said there is no reason to trust Health Canada if it assigns its own scientists to review the work of their peers.
“We maintain that the public cannot be confident about the validity of the government’s decision to re-authorize glyphosate unless the health minister strikes an independent panel of experts who are not affiliated with Health Canada or industry,” he said.
Thierry Belair, spokesman for Petipas Taylor, said the government is very aware Canadians have concerns about pesticides and this review was done with the utmost of care.
“A team of 20 of our best scientists reviewed the evidence before coming to this decision,” he said. “As always, we have asked them to continue to monitor for new information related to this pesticide, and to take action if needed.”
Recent testing by Environmental Defence uncovered traces of glyphosate in a number of popular food products including doughnuts, cookies and cereals. However the amounts were well below the levels Health Canada says would be unsafe for human consumption.
Monsanto weedkiller ‘not statistically significantly associated with cancer’: study | CBC News
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January 12th, 2019 at 10:52 pm
The population which is predominantly Sinhalese in the NCP area is depleting. And there are large number of CKDu cases there. First solve this problem. Then we can talk about the use of Glyphosate in other countries however small the traces in their systems. Till then let us eliminate agro chemicals one by one and revert to bio fertilizer. There was no CKDu in the olden days. It started after the uncontrolled use of agrochemicals.
January 13th, 2019 at 2:44 am
Looks like you had your daily dose. Howis it now compared to old Monsanto.
Canada Health got nothing to do with us.
January 13th, 2019 at 4:01 pm
I agree strongly with Aloy.
Let’s solve our problem. Poor folks are dying and even young are getting diagnosed with the Kidney deceases.
Why it is happening in Sinhalese dominated areas? Is there some other planned chemical poisoning happening? Anything is possible with our own people siding with the culprit LieTTE. Even JVP are with them now and poisoning the water reservoirs is not hard using their activists.
People should be vigilant in the meantime.
January 13th, 2019 at 4:33 pm
The commanding clause is “ON FRIDAY THEY REJECTED, AGAIN, ARGUMENTS THAT THE INGREDIENT IN HERBICIDES LIKE MONSANTO’S ROUNDUP CAUSES CANCER IF THE SUBSTANCES ARE USED AS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE”!
This is what goes wrong exactly when such agrochemicals are used in third world countries. Big companies are there to sell and collect money but hardly anybody even if completely harmless, to administer in correct doses and how to use them properly and safely.
Many years ago there was a case against Nestle’ accusing them of causing an inordinate number of infant deaths in third world countries. They overemphasized the use of milk formula as a valid or even a better substitute for mother’s milk. What went wrong primarily in these countries was the preparation of milk formula using contaminated water which ultimately resulted in diarrhea, dehydration, and death of infants whereas this was not the case with mother’s milk. Nestle’ if I remember right paid a heavy fine in the end.