According to an Alberta dairy farmer, the ramifications of a recent U.S. jury award against the maker of the world’s most widely-used weed killer are worrisome.
On Friday, a California jury ruled that Roundup caused a groundskeeper’s cancer, and ordered maker Monsanto to pay US$289 Million in damages.
Experts from both sides testified during the trial whether Roundup was carcinogenic to humans.
But Lakeside Dairy owner Jeff Nonay told 630 CHED’s The Ryan Jespersen Show that more than 800 studies show it’s not.
“It’s worth always continuing to look at and research — the science is never closed on it — but currently all the evidence we have, which is 40 years of it, indicates that at this point in time the benefits far, far outweigh any of these concerns over it. And really, what are we going to replace it with?”
LISTEN BELOW: Jeff Nonay speaks wit 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen
Nonay said pulling weeds by hand just isn’t practical on a large scale, and other herbicides haven’t been tested as thoroughly. He said we also know that Roundup doesn’t build up in the soil.
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“And the indication and the science is that the half-life of that compound in the soil is about one month,” Nonay said. “So it breaks down really quickly into carbon and phosphorus compounds, and it’s certainly not something that’s going to be a legacy that’s going to last very long in the soil. And that’s what makes something like Roundup so safe to use in our program.”
Nonay says the most troubling aspect of the jury decision is that lots of peer-reviewed, scientific evidence seemed to be ignored or overlooked.
“I think that’s something everybody should be scared of, because in this application, however you feel about Monsanto and Roundup, if we apply that same philosophy that courts don’t have to use science and evidence to make rulings, then that’s a very dangerous place for society.”
Health Canada has deemed Roundup safe when used as directed.
Monsanto has vowed to appeal.
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