The Rain of Death - Glyphosate based Herbicides
Last summer I was working in a field based position and one of my tasks was to assist in the spraying of invasive species. At the time I didn’t think anything about having to wear a full hazmat suit to spray the plants, but I eventually questioned how healthy it was for the environment to breathe it if I wasn’t supposed to breathe it.
The chemical I was spraying is commonly known as Roundup, and it has a main ingredient of glyphosate. Glyphosate does an incredible job of killing weeds and invasive plants, it also does an incredible job of killing all plants as it is non-selective.
Glyphosate is a known carcinogen (cancer causing), and has been found to impact human digestive systems, endocrine systems and causes a range of fertility issues. The feeling I get knowing I carried around 5L of this chemical on my back for hours at a time is far from comforting.
Many refer to glyphosate as the rain of death, because once sprayed it has the ability to poison and kill large expanses of vegetation. It remains in the environment for years, and while the effects of this are largely unknown it is suspected that the chemical can enter the systems of mammals, fish, birds, and amphibians.
Due to the lacking scientific research many governments, including Ontario, continue to deem this chemical safe for use as it does not present ‘unacceptable risks to human or environmental health’. The banning of glyphosate is not difficult, Quebec was able to do this by turning to mechanical methods of invasive species removal. These manual methods have been shown to be more effective, less harmful, and actually create more jobs. It just means less money for large chemical companies like Monsanto (the owner of Roundup).
Following the trail of glyphosate and the reason it's still in use is a rabbit hole of money, power, and disregard for human and ecological health. Perhaps I will go into that another time, but for now make sure you question everything no matter who tells you it is right.
Information sourced from Greenpeace and the references listed in this article;