California Becomes the First State in America to Label Roundup as Causing Cancer

California Becomes the First State in America to Label Roundup as Causing Cancer

Beginning Friday, July 7, 2017, California will become the first U.S. state to require Monsanto to label its notorious weed killer, Roundup, as a possible carcinogen. A recent decision by Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Kapetan will allow California to proceed with the process of listing glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as a chemical "known to the state to cause cancer" in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Proposition 65.

This labeling follows the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issuing its report on glyphosate, which classified the chemical as a "probable human carcinogen." Glyphosphate has been linked to cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, as well as a host of other health maladies including gastrointestinal diseases and endocrine system disruption. And lest you think glyphosphate is only an issue for far-away Californians to deal with, it is important to understand that widespread use of glyphosphate over the past 40 years has led to essentially the wholesale contamination of our entire American food system, including even organic foods.

In the past 20 years, there’s been a massive increase in glyphosate use directly linked to the introduction of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready genetically engineered crops, including engineered soybeans, cotton, corn, canola and sugar beets plants that have been genetically manipulated to survive being sprayed with glyphosate weed killers. In one form or another, whether as refined sugars from beets or corn (in the form of high fructose corn syrup) oils, vitamins or binding agents, ingredients derived from these genetically modified plants are included in 75 to 80 percent of the processed foods sold in grocery stores across the country. In fact, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, a staggering 93 percent of all soybeans and 89 percent corn and cotton planted by farmers in the U.S. are genetically engineered to be Roundup Ready or glyphosate tolerant, which results in a much greater concentration of glyphosphate being used nationwide.

Research confirms even very low level exposure to Roundup can cause liver and kidney damage at only 0.05 ppb glyphosate equivalent, as reflected by changes in the function of over 4000 genes! And the truly terrifying news is that many of us are consuming 20,000 times that dose simply by eating supposedly heart healthy grains. Testing on Cheerios, for example, shows glyphosphate concentrations at over 1,000 ppb!

Kudos to California for taking steps to bring heightened awareness to the very real dangers associated with Roundup and other glyphosphate-containing chemical products. This is an important first step that will hopefully be built upon to protect the American people from this ubiquitous hazard. In the meantime, if you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and have been exposed to Roundup, you should contact an experienced attorney to explore your rights.