10 ms·

USA lags behind EU, Brazil and China in banning harmful pesticides

225 points by QuickToBan 7y ago

agacera 7y ago
Brazil's new administration already approved more than 160 pesticides in 6 months. So they are catching up quickly. https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2019/05/21/governo-federal-aprova-registro-de-mais-31-agrotoxicos-somando-169-no-ano.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2019/05/2...
- xvf22 7y ago
  It's also conceivable that enforcement isn't as thorough. While China did eventually raid the factories responsible for CFC-11, it took the international community pinpointing where it was coming from. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44738952 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44738952
oneplane 7y ago
Because harmful pesticides are easy money and easy money trumps health. At least, that is what everybody thinks when looking at the USA.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
ncmncm 7y ago
One expects the US to be behind the EU, a place generally more concerned with the welfare of its citizens than the US, where corporate profits are King. But when we fall behind Brazil and China, too, alarm bells should be ringing -- if they weren't, already, over US infant mortality soaring past that in dozens of other countries, or life expectancy reverting to a persistent downward trend. You don't get declining life expectancy without really concerted mismanagement and corruption at the top.
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  China isn’t really a rule of law country, so they have the option of banning things without really banning them (the law can be on the books but enforced only very seductively that most people ignore it). I’m not sure about Brazil, but in general it is very difficult to compare a developed country with a developing one.
  - inflatableDodo 7y ago
    >in general it is very difficult to compare a developed country with a developing one. I don't know about that. Is done all the time. Also, 'developing/developed' is a incredibly crude taxonomy with few useful contexts and a very fuzzy border.
    - kazen44 7y ago
      Not to mention, economic development is not the only factor that determines if a country is doing well for it's citizens. Heck, what people regard as a country "doing well" is different between different countries and their cultures.
  - jimclegg 7y ago
    >China isn’t really a rule of law country I don't know about that, slightly unrelated but I'm 4 times less likely to get murdered in China than in the USA. The population seems to adhere to laws against harming fellow humans better than we do in the USA.
    - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
      That has nothing to do with rule of law. Laws are definitely enforced on China, it’s just up to the officials on what laws to enforce when and on whom. They will enforce pesticide bans, for example, on farmers they don’t like or where it is politically convenient to do so. Likewise, one can get away with murder if they are politically connected enough and in good grace (well, until the publicity gets bad and they become pariahs like Bo Xilai).
QuickToBan 7y ago
Such pesticides and other toxic chemicals not only cause cancer, but they also explain the increasing infertility in the West as explainable by germline damage in both men and women. This should worry you a lot. Please refer to: [1] Assessment of Glyphosate Induced Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Pathologies and Sperm Epimutations: Generational Toxicology. (2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31011160 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31011160 > The transgenerational pathologies observed include prostate disease, obesity, kidney disease, ovarian disease, and parturition (birth) abnormalities. Epigenetic analysis of the F1, F2 and F3 generation sperm identified differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs). A number of DMR associated genes were identified and previously shown to be involved in pathologies. Therefore, we propose glyphosate can induce the transgenerational inheritance of disease and germline (e.g. sperm) epimutations. Observations suggest the generational toxicology of glyphosate needs to be considered in the disease etiology of future generations. [2] Environmental toxicant induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of ovarian pathology and granulosa cell epigenome and transcriptome alterations: ancestral origins of polycystic ovarian syndrome and primary ovarian insuffiency. (2018) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30207508 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30207508 [3] The epigenetic impacts of endocrine disruptors on female reproduction across generations. (2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31077281 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31077281
- pkaye 7y ago
  So what is the safer alternative to Glyphosate?
  - QuickToBan 7y ago
    Organic (natural) pesticides tend to be safer. Unfortunately, USDA has been doing a terrible job with their USDA Organic certification. It is firstly very expensive. Secondly, it is no guarantee that glyphosate is not present. This could be due to fraud or negligence. Third, it is subject to lobbying to legalize nasty synthetic pesticides as being Organic. The USDA needs to step up and do its job. Meanwhile, I nevertheless advocate buying Organic. Use a warm solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in which to dissolve fruits like apples and others for 12-15 minutes. It helps dissolve a fair portion of the pesticides, but is not a substitute for buying Organic. Refer to https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2017/10/nahco3-aka-baking-soda-washes-all.html https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2017/10/nahco3-aka-baking-s...
wardogs 7y ago
Pesticides are the ultimate culprits that harm human and all biological life. Unfortunately things like plastic ban occupy mindshare. Unlike plastics pesticides like Glyphosate get 'locked' into the body --- meaning your body cannot wash them out through its usual means --- resulting in cancer and what not.
- chewz 7y ago
  All those people who worry about plastic straws while wearing cotton t-shirts. https://organiccotton.org/oc/Cotton-general/Impact-of-cotton/Risk-of-cotton-farming.php https://organiccotton.org/oc/Cotton-general/Impact-of-cotton... https://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/cotton_environmental_impacts/cotton_pesticides_statistics https://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/cotton_environmental...
- driverdan 7y ago
  > Unlike plastics pesticides like Glyphosate get 'locked' into the body --- meaning your body cannot wash them out through its usual means --- resulting in cancer and what not. This is utter nonsense. Glyphosate doesn't get "locked" into the body.
- feld 7y ago
  Microplastics do not wash out of your body... edit: also glyphosate is not a pesticide
  - beatgammit 7y ago
    Glyphosate is absolutely a pesticide. It's an herbicide, which is a type of pesticide. And AFAICT, glyphosate doesn't pose a significant risk to humans in the amounts people would normally be exposed to. It's really quite harmless. However, it can become more harmful when mixed with other chemicals, but honestly, the other chemicals are probably more harmful than it.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
alkonaut 7y ago
US lags behind rest of world in X, due to political inertia. Don’t wake me up please.

225 points by QuickToBan 7y ago

Brazil's new administration already approved more than 160 pesticides in 6 months. So they are catching up quickly. https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2019/05/21/governo-federal-aprova-registro-de-mais-31-agrotoxicos-somando-169-no-ano.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2019/05/2...

xvf22 7y ago
It's also conceivable that enforcement isn't as thorough. While China did eventually raid the factories responsible for CFC-11, it took the international community pinpointing where it was coming from. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44738952 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44738952

oneplane 7y ago

Because harmful pesticides are easy money and easy money trumps health. At least, that is what everybody thinks when looking at the USA.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

ncmncm 7y ago

One expects the US to be behind the EU, a place generally more concerned with the welfare of its citizens than the US, where corporate profits are King. But when we fall behind Brazil and China, too, alarm bells should be ringing -- if they weren't, already, over US infant mortality soaring past that in dozens of other countries, or life expectancy reverting to a persistent downward trend. You don't get declining life expectancy without really concerted mismanagement and corruption at the top.

seanmcdirmid 7y ago
China isn’t really a rule of law country, so they have the option of banning things without really banning them (the law can be on the books but enforced only very seductively that most people ignore it). I’m not sure about Brazil, but in general it is very difficult to compare a developed country with a developing one.
- inflatableDodo 7y ago
  >in general it is very difficult to compare a developed country with a developing one. I don't know about that. Is done all the time. Also, 'developing/developed' is a incredibly crude taxonomy with few useful contexts and a very fuzzy border.
  - kazen44 7y ago
    Not to mention, economic development is not the only factor that determines if a country is doing well for it's citizens. Heck, what people regard as a country "doing well" is different between different countries and their cultures.
- jimclegg 7y ago
  >China isn’t really a rule of law country I don't know about that, slightly unrelated but I'm 4 times less likely to get murdered in China than in the USA. The population seems to adhere to laws against harming fellow humans better than we do in the USA.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    That has nothing to do with rule of law. Laws are definitely enforced on China, it’s just up to the officials on what laws to enforce when and on whom. They will enforce pesticide bans, for example, on farmers they don’t like or where it is politically convenient to do so. Likewise, one can get away with murder if they are politically connected enough and in good grace (well, until the publicity gets bad and they become pariahs like Bo Xilai).

QuickToBan 7y ago

Such pesticides and other toxic chemicals not only cause cancer, but they also explain the increasing infertility in the West as explainable by germline damage in both men and women. This should worry you a lot. Please refer to: [1] Assessment of Glyphosate Induced Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Pathologies and Sperm Epimutations: Generational Toxicology. (2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31011160 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31011160 > The transgenerational pathologies observed include prostate disease, obesity, kidney disease, ovarian disease, and parturition (birth) abnormalities. Epigenetic analysis of the F1, F2 and F3 generation sperm identified differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs). A number of DMR associated genes were identified and previously shown to be involved in pathologies. Therefore, we propose glyphosate can induce the transgenerational inheritance of disease and germline (e.g. sperm) epimutations. Observations suggest the generational toxicology of glyphosate needs to be considered in the disease etiology of future generations. [2] Environmental toxicant induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of ovarian pathology and granulosa cell epigenome and transcriptome alterations: ancestral origins of polycystic ovarian syndrome and primary ovarian insuffiency. (2018) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30207508 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30207508 [3] The epigenetic impacts of endocrine disruptors on female reproduction across generations. (2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31077281 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31077281

pkaye 7y ago
So what is the safer alternative to Glyphosate?
- QuickToBan 7y ago
  Organic (natural) pesticides tend to be safer. Unfortunately, USDA has been doing a terrible job with their USDA Organic certification. It is firstly very expensive. Secondly, it is no guarantee that glyphosate is not present. This could be due to fraud or negligence. Third, it is subject to lobbying to legalize nasty synthetic pesticides as being Organic. The USDA needs to step up and do its job. Meanwhile, I nevertheless advocate buying Organic. Use a warm solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in which to dissolve fruits like apples and others for 12-15 minutes. It helps dissolve a fair portion of the pesticides, but is not a substitute for buying Organic. Refer to https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2017/10/nahco3-aka-baking-soda-washes-all.html https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2017/10/nahco3-aka-baking-s...

wardogs 7y ago

Pesticides are the ultimate culprits that harm human and all biological life. Unfortunately things like plastic ban occupy mindshare. Unlike plastics pesticides like Glyphosate get 'locked' into the body --- meaning your body cannot wash them out through its usual means --- resulting in cancer and what not.

chewz 7y ago
All those people who worry about plastic straws while wearing cotton t-shirts. https://organiccotton.org/oc/Cotton-general/Impact-of-cotton/Risk-of-cotton-farming.php https://organiccotton.org/oc/Cotton-general/Impact-of-cotton... https://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/cotton_environmental_impacts/cotton_pesticides_statistics https://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/cotton_environmental...
driverdan 7y ago
> Unlike plastics pesticides like Glyphosate get 'locked' into the body --- meaning your body cannot wash them out through its usual means --- resulting in cancer and what not. This is utter nonsense. Glyphosate doesn't get "locked" into the body.
feld 7y ago
Microplastics do not wash out of your body... edit: also glyphosate is not a pesticide
- beatgammit 7y ago
  Glyphosate is absolutely a pesticide. It's an herbicide, which is a type of pesticide. And AFAICT, glyphosate doesn't pose a significant risk to humans in the amounts people would normally be exposed to. It's really quite harmless. However, it can become more harmful when mixed with other chemicals, but honestly, the other chemicals are probably more harmful than it.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]

alkonaut 7y ago

US lags behind rest of world in X, due to political inertia. Don’t wake me up please.