4 ms·

Funny thing about the Monsanto cancer case is that they know that the problem is in the Roundup formulation (including surfactants that are required to get the

Funny thing about the Monsanto cancer case is that they know that the problem is in the Roundup formulation (including surfactants that are required to get the glyphosate across the waxy plant cell wall barrier) yet Monsanto financed studies on purified isolated glyphosate to demonstrate it didn't cause cancer. Sneaky and dishonest, isn't that? Why not just do the study with the Roundup formulation? > Mike DeVito, acting chief of the National Toxicology Program Laboratory: “We see the formulations are much more toxic. The formulations were killing the cells. The glyphosate really didn’t do it". https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/08/weedkiller-tests-monsanto-health-dangers-active-ingredient https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/08/weedkiller-t... https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/about_ntp/bsc/2017/december/presentations/17devito_508.pdf https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/about_ntp/bsc/2017/december/pr... As far as Monsanto and GMO, modifying certain crops to make them resistant to weedkiller just so you can dump more weedkiller on the field... might be good for weedkiller sales, but I don't think 'feeding the world' is the goal here, more like 'maximizing product sales'. Dumping all that weedkiller into lakes and rivers also destroys the base of ecosystems, which is unwise. https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/glyphosate02.html https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/glyphosate02.html

tfigment 5y ago
If you are not using roundup, you are still using something. "Organic" pesticides do not work better so you will generally be using more and that goes to the same places roundup does.
- photochemsyn 5y ago
  I like those field-crawling robots that use AI-assisted vision to identify and laser-blast the weeds early in their growth stages. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26841519 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26841519
  - snovv_crash 5y ago
    This is not the first thing an organic farmer reaches for when they have a weed problem though.
- johnofthesea 5y ago
  I use "Organic" pesticides in vineyard and I'm not using it more. I use even less. The thing with "organic" farming is not only that you just spray and it's done. You need to do also other work to manage the healthy environment in your plot. Most people around who use conventional pesticides have neglected vineyards. They are only pruning in spring then tile rows in between, spray and thats it. They do not care about lateral shoots etc. Some even use herbicides - which is completely unnecessary especially in this age of mechanization (there are even electrical hoes for small scale farming).
- car_analogy 5y ago
  ...therefore it's OK to lie about the toxicity of roundup?
- mike00632 5y ago
  No. The type of pesticides we are talking about is herbicide which kills plants. RoundUp is sprayed directly onto the food. Alternatives are not because that would kill the crops.

tfigment 5y ago

If you are not using roundup, you are still using something. "Organic" pesticides do not work better so you will generally be using more and that goes to the same places roundup does.

photochemsyn 5y ago
I like those field-crawling robots that use AI-assisted vision to identify and laser-blast the weeds early in their growth stages. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26841519 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26841519
- snovv_crash 5y ago
  This is not the first thing an organic farmer reaches for when they have a weed problem though.
johnofthesea 5y ago
I use "Organic" pesticides in vineyard and I'm not using it more. I use even less. The thing with "organic" farming is not only that you just spray and it's done. You need to do also other work to manage the healthy environment in your plot. Most people around who use conventional pesticides have neglected vineyards. They are only pruning in spring then tile rows in between, spray and thats it. They do not care about lateral shoots etc. Some even use herbicides - which is completely unnecessary especially in this age of mechanization (there are even electrical hoes for small scale farming).
car_analogy 5y ago
...therefore it's OK to lie about the toxicity of roundup?
mike00632 5y ago
No. The type of pesticides we are talking about is herbicide which kills plants. RoundUp is sprayed directly onto the food. Alternatives are not because that would kill the crops.