By Sophia Katramadakis
It all started when a forest green pick up truck pulled up to our neighbour’s house. The truck was framed by a bright picture of a grinning man plastered on the passenger side door, intriguing my young self as if the dinghy rig was now a jubilant ice cream truck. The once grinning man stepped out of the car with a now depressed resting face, slamming the squeaky rusted door behind him. His heavy combat boots scuffed the gravel leaving a jagged, uneven trail behind him. The man then proceeded to the back of his truck where he dreadfully picked up a black wand, looking like a dismal Tinkerbell. However, instead of magic and fairy dust, his wand rained down chemicals and herbicides. This was my first exposure to Roundup.
In the days following, our home had become infested with the toxic stench of these harmful chemicals; the synthetic stench seeping through the walls and into our lungs. Slowly our voices became hoarse, and our eyes became glossy with tears. These worrying consequences left us wanting answers. Why have our senses been assaulted by this putrid stench? Why do we suddenly have a taste like metal in our mouths as if we’ve been sucking on pennies? Why have our eyes began to water? Why has speaking become a task? But perhaps most of all, why is a green lawn is more important than our health? These are the questions that led me to the answers as to why Roundup should be banned in Squamish.
Monsanto, the producers of Roundup, argue that glyphosate products are safe to use and that “their” studies have proven that their products are non-carcinogenic. However, in 2015, the International Agency for Cancer Research, a World Health Organization branch, labelled glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans”. Why should we be trusting a huge corporation that only cares about selling their product? Why should we trust CEOs who only care about making a profit and amassing their own personal wealth at the expense of unaware citizens?
One such unaware citizen was a 46-year-old cancer patient. Doctors informed him he only had months to live, although he did not like to dwell on death. Those days, he had an easy distraction – navigating international attention on his life. On August 10th, 2018, a jury in California found that Roundup and other weed killing, pro-herbicide products contributed to the diagnosis of former school groundskeeper, DeWayne Lee Johnson’s Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Johnson was the first person to take Monsanto (now Bayer) to trial on allegations that the company spent decades hiding the risk of cancer and possible dangers of its herbicide product. Mr. Lee was also the first to win at trial. He was awarded $289 million dollars.
Mr. Lee was an integrated pest manager. His job consisted of routinely spraying Roundup and Ranger Pro (two of Monsanto's glyphosate-rich herbicides). He sprayed these chemicals at schools, and sports fields in his area. During some of his seven-hour shifts, he would spray up to 150 gallons of these products. Mr. Lee claimed that he was not concerned about any of the health hazards associated with his job given that the labels had no warning about any life-threatening risks. He claimed he was even advised in his training session that these products were "safe enough to drink”. Mr. Lee claimed that this statement led him to believe that his job was hazard free. He reported that always followed the correct procedures and made sure to read the label instructions. He never took off his protective gear while spraying, and was cautious when doing this procedure. Sometimes small leaks occurred. However, in 2014, an accident left Mr.Lee drenched in Roundup. According to the evidence at Mr. Lee’s civil trial, this incident was the catalyst for his non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis.
Subsequent to Mr. Lee’s trial, Monsanto has become the defendant in approximately 11,200 civil lawsuits from farmers, home gardeners, and landscapers in the U.S alone. These plaintiffs claim that the chemical glyphosate found in these potent herbicides, including Roundup, caused the development of their non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and other types of cancer. Six trials are due to start sometime this year in Federal and State courts.
Many studies investigating how Monsanto’s pro-herbicide products affect cancer cells have been conducted, including one done by Senior Scientists at Consumers Union who investigated how ingesting Roundup-Ready corn (with its herbicide residue) affected the health of rats. They separated the rats into ten groups, each containing 10 males and 10 females. Three rats had a portion of their typical diet replaced with varying levels of Roundup-Ready. During its growth phase, three rats received the same food but without Roundup; three others also ate the non-GMO (genetically modified organism) corn but had small amounts of Roundup herbicide in their drinking water; the final group ate two-thirds of the normal rat food and one-third non-GMO corn. The researchers concluded that their findings identified “severe adverse health effects, mammary tumours, and kidney and liver damage leading to premature death”. By the end of the scientific study, 50 to 80 percent of the female rats had developed tumours in the control group, while the male rats gained liver congestion and necrosis up to 5.5 times higher than their non-affected counterparts. Overall 50 to 70 percent of the rats died prematurely due to the consumption of these chemicals.
Other scientific studies, including those from scientists at the United States Geological Survey, have been conducted of herbicide levels in midwestern U.S streams since 1989. Presently, pesticide/herbicide contamination of groundwater has become the subject of national importance due to the fact that about 95 percent of the U.S population relies on groundwater for drinking. That possible carcinogens are lurking in drinking water has become a concern to many, especially those living in agricultural areas where the use of these chemicals is most prevalent.
Previously, scientists thought that soil acted as a natural filter to stop pesticides and herbicides from approaching groundwater; however, recent studies have shown this not to be the case. Pesticides and herbicides can reach groundwater points through application to crops, accidental leaks, and improper disposal. These facts come with great apprehension by reason of the fact that we live in Squamish, and generally, receive an abundance of rainwater. Consequently, allowing the use of glyphosate-based products, such as Roundup, can come at a risk to our town and regional district. When it rains the water cannot always be held within the soil structure therefore, contaminated residue from this product can quickly transport to contaminate groundwater and freshwater supplies. Monsanto continues to claim that these products are “non-carcinogenic” and “safe enough to drink”, but the independent research and tests support a contrary position and thus, clearly prove these statements are incorrect and self-serving.
More environmental problems arise with the use of herbicides including the mass extinction of bees. The fact that the use of herbicides are killing bees is concerning to many because these creatures have evolved and adapted to become perfect pollinators. Bees not only help plants grow but they help them breed and produce food. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University believe that even a small dose of these dangerous chemicals are impairing the bees' behaviour and are having negative effects on their immune system. While not killing the bees directly, their quality and span of life have deteriorated. Another study done In 2007 by the Colony Collapse Disorder Working Team, created by the U.S Department of Agriculture, found over 170 different chemicals during their testing of hives. Some of the individual pollen samples that they took had as many as 35 different compounds. These findings show that these herbicides, including Roundup, are contributing to the global casualties in bees, along with the absence of their habitat. Although we claim to be so distressed about the extinction of bees and how that might affect our agriculture, we are uneducated about the effects and repercussions of using this harmful, unnecessary chemical.
The list of powerless animals harmed by glyphosate continues on because of the ill-conceived belief that a green manicured lawn equates to status. Why have we inherited these stereotypes and beliefs? Why have we allowed corporations like Monsanto to build huge wealth while tearing apart our environment and health? France has banned the use of glyphosate because it recognizes the cost to the environment and their citizens’ health is not worth the risk. Germany has announced that by the end of 2023, weed killers like Roundup, containing glyphosate will be phased out. This ban is only a small portion of a new environmentally friendly program announced by Germany’s environment minister. The environmentalists claim that "[w]hat we need is more humming and buzzing" and stressed that "[a] world without insects is not worth living in." I agree.
Despite the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer stating that glyphosate is a “probable” carcinogen, and despite over ten thousand court cases in the US being brought forward by cancer patients exposed to Monstanto’s poison, Health Canada maintains that glyphosate poses no risk to Canadians based on how it is currently used. This stand gives me pause. In other words, based on its current understanding of glyphosate, Health Canada is willing to risk our environment and health but we all know scientific research improves and current beliefs can be debunked. We are all too aware of how powerful corporations and lobbies can manipulate public perception. Remember how these groups had the governments and public believing cigarette smoking did not cause cancer?
Are we willing to place our trust in corporations that profit off our health and the destruction of our environment? Squamish can be a national leader in this area. Our pristine environment that attracts so many to our community to enjoy all that it has to offer cannot afford to be hypocritical. If we don't stand for something, we’ll fall for anything. I, for one, want to take a stand against having glyphosate products, like Roundup, used in our community. Although we are only a small corner of the world, we can make a difference and start a movement. If not us, then who? We have to make our own community understand that beauty is not in a manicured, green, toxic lawn. It is in how nature intended. Weeds are not ugly or unsightly. They are food for our bees and insects. Yellow is the new green!
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