Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Union on Thursday delayed a vote on renewing sales approval for the herbicide glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s Roundup, amid a transatlantic row over whether it may cause cancer. Experts from the EU’s 28 nations had been due to vote on a proposal to extend by nine years licensing of […] Read more
EU delays vote on glyphosate license amid cancer row
U.N. experts find glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — The herbicide glyphosate, sold by Monsanto in its Roundup product and widely used in agriculture and by gardeners, is unlikely to cause cancer in people, according to a new safety review by United Nations health, agriculture and food experts. In a statement likely to intensify a row over its potential health […] Read more
#FreeBacon sizzles on social media
WHO review: Negative tweets outnumber positive ones by more than 6.5 to one
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bacon lovers took to social media on Tuesday to express disdain over a World Health Organization report that said processed meat is likely to cause cancer. The hashtags #FreeBacon, #Bacongeddon and #JeSuisBacon were among the top-trending topics worldwide on Twitter for a second straight day. Celebrities, politicians and ordinary consumers were reacting to Monday’s announcement […] Read more
California considers adding meat to cancer-alert list
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — California is examining new World Health Organization findings to determine whether to add red meat and foods such as hot dogs, sausages and bacon to a cancer-alert list, setting the stage for a potential battle with the meat industry over warning labels. The inclusion of meat and processed meat on the list could […] Read more
U.S. workers sue Monsanto claiming herbicide caused cancer
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A U.S. farm worker and a horticultural assistant have filed lawsuits claiming Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide caused their cancers and Monsanto intentionally misled the public and regulators about the dangers of the herbicide. The lawsuits come six months after the World Health Organization’s cancer research unit said it was classifying glyphosate, the active weed-killing […] Read more
Scientists seek review of glyphosate, allege ‘flawed’ regulations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. regulators have relied on flawed and outdated research to allow expanded use of an herbicide linked to cancer, and new assessments should be urgently conducted, according to a column published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. There are two key factors that necessitate regulatory action to protect human health, […] Read more
Ag chem sector defends 2,4-D over cancer classification
Reading Time: 4 minutes North America’s crop herbicide sector is defending one of its classics against a new classification from the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on Monday released its classification of “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for 2,4-D herbicide, along with new classifications for now-defunct insecticides DDT and lindane. […] Read more
WHO agency says insecticides lindane, DDT linked to cancer
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — The insecticide lindane, once widely used in agriculture and to treat human lice and scabies, causes cancer and has been specifically linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also said that DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) probably causes cancer, with scientific […] Read more
WHO cancer unit to analyze 2,4-D
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The World Health Organization is set to examine a widely used pesticide and agribusiness is bracing for bad news, less than three months after the group classified another popular herbicide as “probably” cancer-causing. Twenty-four scientists representing WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) will analyze scientific findings regarding links between cancer in […] Read more
PMRA review calls for slim changes to glyphosate label
Reading Time: 3 minutes A federal re-evaluation of glyphosate’s health risks leaves the popular herbicide’s status unchanged in Canada — but proposes tweaks to the product label as a “risk-reduction” measure. Products containing glyphosate “do not present unacceptable risks to human health or the environment when used according to the proposed label directions,” Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
