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Roundup/glyphosate being phased out in the US

wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
in The potting shed
I just thought this might be of interest to people here. I've seen a few people defend its use as safe and it's still sold here as safe for kids and pets etc but the fact that the company is unable or unwilling to defend lawsuits in the US is very telling. They have set aside about $15billion to deal with the lawsuits from the people they have poisoned.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited July 2021
    the fact that the company is unable or unwilling to defend lawsuits in the US is very telling.


    Hmm. Perhaps. I would think it's a purely financial equation. Now there is some legal precident for farmers proving they got sick from Monsanto products (essentially bathing in the stuff), I'm not sure the company/s could withstand the scale of any class action. There have been huge pay outs already. A single couple were granted $2 billion in litigation payouts.

  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    We're (residential areas) not allowed to use it here.  It isn't for sale in garden centres, supermarkets etc.  We have to be content with other products  that don't contain glyphosate.   We can't get the old style of mothball either - I use them in the garden as a repellent for soil scratching cats.   
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited July 2021
    Good.  I have long wished a pox on Monsanto for their glyphosate dangers denials and their treatment of farmers using their GM seed strains and especially of those neighbouring framers whose seed strains were contaminated by the GM genes.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I expect so - why should Monsanto be any more moral than the tobacco companies of drug dumpers? - but at least they'll be well out of pocket in the 1st world and loads of bad publicity which may, eventually, have the desired effect.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • coccinellacoccinella Posts: 1,428
    What I naively never thought of is that it is/was widely used along railway lines. Anyway glyphosate is currently approved for use in the European Union until 15 Dec 2022. Many countries though (including Luxembourg) have already banned it since 2019. Some good news.

    Luxembourg
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    edited July 2021
    Used as directed it's no more dangerous than using a knife. 
    If folk drench themselves in chemicals then sue the manufacturers for the stupidity , god help us all. 

    Maybe we should ban bleach as some folk have been known to drink it?
    Also aspirins as folk have overdosed on them?  
    Ban dogs because some of them kill people? 
    Clearly all tobacco and alcohol should be banned as they kill millions per year. 
    Ban cars to stop folk being injured by them too.

    For feck sake can we keep a sense of proportion?

    Devon.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    The difference though Hosta is that the dangers of most of those things are clearly stated and well publicised so the choice whether to (say) smoke or not is reasonably well informed. It didn't used to be. At the moment, it's really hard to know what the risk really is. Is it OK poured out of a watering can but more dangerous to inhale so don't spray it, maybe? Or do you need to avoid contact with the skin, so wear gloves? Or could you drink a pint of it and it would do you no harm? I have no idea. Maybe this information is out there but it certainly isn't either publicised in the way that, say, the dangers of drinking alcohol are, or legislated even to the extent that dangerous dogs are.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    raisingirl said:
    The difference though Hosta is that the dangers of most of those things are clearly stated and well publicised so the choice whether to (say) smoke or not is reasonably well informed. It didn't used to be. At the moment, it's really hard to know what the risk really is. Is it OK poured out of a watering can but more dangerous to inhale so don't spray it, maybe? Or do you need to avoid contact with the skin, so wear gloves? Or could you drink a pint of it and it would do you no harm? I have no idea. Maybe this information is out there but it certainly isn't either publicised in the way that, say, the dangers of drinking alcohol are, or legislated even to the extent that dangerous dogs are.
    Children are foribidden from buying weedkillers, ergo only adults can buy it. 
    If adults choose to ignore the instructions, clearly printed, how do we legislate against such stupidity? 
    As far as I'm aware, the "ban" being suggested here will only apply to domestic users. 
    Farmers, local Authorities and highway agencies will be exempt. 
    Might I suggest that domestic users of weedkillers are probably a lot more discriminating on how / when/ where they apply it?
    Devon.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I really miss it in France. I am aware of the risks but I only used it twice a year on the drive. I wore gloves, wellies and old clothes and it only took about 20 minutes. Now weeding the drive is a real chore and the new weedkillers are expensive and don't work.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    I really miss it in France. I am aware of the risks but I only used it twice a year on the drive. I wore gloves, wellies and old clothes and it only took about 20 minutes. Now weeding the drive is a real chore and the new weedkillers are expensive and don't work.
    Exactly.
    Devon.
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