A study is needed - but surely those conducting it should be paying for the entire project, not the public who take part, even if that's just the initial test?
The initial cost puts me off honestly and I think it limits the scope of the survey because anyone on a tight income isn't going to waste that £40. Those people are likely to have a poorer diet and the results of that would be helpful.
A very important point, the people you need to catch are those that either don't care, so wouldn't sign up or don't have the money to care, and therefore can't sign up. Those who care will already be avoiding as much as they can, and are likely to self report more issues as they believe it will effect them in a negative manner.
I agree @Skandi. I could afford it, but like @wild edges it would put me off. It's the principle of it too. It would certainly put me off if I was on a low income and struggling with daily needs as it is. It surely needs to be a widespread survey covering all sorts of people.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My guess is it'll attract mostly those who want it banned. A bit like asking those outside a football stadium which is their favourite sport , or outside the Royal Opera House which is their favourite music.
I am a supporter and subscriber to Wild Justice's newsletters. This is the full text of the planned study from their newsletter.
Glyphosate: taking the p*ss. Wild Justice is interested in the use of the powerful pesticide glyphosate in the environment - as are many others. With your help - click here for details - we have contacted local authorities across the UK to ask about their compliance with the requirements of pesticide legislation and simply asking questions is nudging local authorities to make further reductions in use. Glyphosate, is also used in gardens and on farmland. There are concerns, hotly disputed, that glyphosate may be a carcinogen. UK authorities do test some foods for glyphosate levels. The renowned entomologist, Prof Dave Goulson, is campaigning for a ban on the use of glyphosate in gardens - see his petition here.
Based on fairly small sample sizes there is an indication, no more than that, that levels of glyphosate in UK residents are higher than the average in Europe. You probably have glyphosate in your body - over 70% of Europeans do, and the UK figures are slightly higher than average. Would you like to find out? If so, and if you would consider participating in a future Wild Justice investigation of glyphosate levels in UK citizens, then read on.
How to discover your own glyphosate levels: this website will send you a glyphosate testing kit that you can use in your own home and send off a urine sample to a laboratory in Germany which will send you your results. The cost of the testing and postage is about £40 (depending on the £/euro exchange rate) so it is a significant investment. And all you'll get for it is a figure for the glyphosate level in your urine that you can compare with averages for other European countries.
However, if you share your results with us at Wild Justice, we will ask you whether you would like to take part in a study of glyphosate levels in UK citizens that will track glyphosate levels in individuals to discover more about their trends through the year and any links with lifestyle etc. We will pay for all the test kits of those invited to participate in the study. What we can study will depend on the number of you who are interested in participating.
Mark Avery sent off for a urine testing kit last autumn, followed its instructions and got his results by email a couple of weeks later. Mark's glyphosate levels were 2.5nm/ml - a bit higher than both the European and UK averages. Mark said 'The process was pretty straightforward and I was interested to find that my levels were higher than average. I wonder why. We don't use pesticides in the garden but I live in an arable farming area where glyphosate is used, and my local authority uses glyphosate too. Perhaps I am picking up glyphosate from the food I eat. I'm interested to know more but that would need a bigger sample of people. Will you join me in taking the p*ss?'.
So, the offer on the table to you is to find out your own glyphosate levels through buying a test kit and sending off your urine to be tested. When you get your results then if you'd like to share them with us please forward them to Wild Justice at [email protected] . Depending on the response, we may invite you to become part of a study to investigate glyphosate levels and their variability and lifestyle correlates. Wild Justice will then reimburse the costs of testing kits.
Do consider this: you will probably find that you have glyphosate in your urine - 70% of people across Europe who have done similar tests do find that. Levels vary and there are no levels yet set by governments that indicate dangerous levels. There is some evidence that glyphosate is a carcinogen but opinions differ, and the levels at which it has any human health impact, if any at all, are not well known. So it is just possible that you will find that you have 'high' levels of glyphosate in your urine and you might find that worrying. It is very likely that you will find that you have some glyphosate in your urine which will mean that you are like most other people living in Europe. If you would rather not know how much glyphosate you have in your urine then please don't send off for a test kit. If you are interested to learn what your glyphosate levels are and feel pretty confident that you can cope with any results that come through, then that is your choice. Give it some thought before doing anything please.
If you like what we do then please share these newsletters with your friends, or with members of your natural history society or workmates if you think they'd be interested in learning about the work of Wild Justice and becoming a part of that work through signing petitions, writing letters and sometimes donating to our projects. Anyone interested can sign up to this newsletter through our website - click here.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
Apparently they had 120 people who took part in the test and out of those about half agreed to do a repeat test 6 months later. They stated in the results that more diversity of gardeners might have been helpful though. It's a small sample and didn't show anything unexpected but it did reinforce the work done by previous studies.
In all honesty I think they need to find a cheaper way to do the testing using a lab in the UK if they want to take this any further.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Apparently they had 120 people who took part in the test and out of those about half agreed to do a repeat test 6 months later. They stated in the results that more diversity of gardeners might have been helpful though. It's a small sample and didn't show anything unexpected but it did reinforce the work done by previous studies.
Is this about Wild Justice? I was wondering about the German project. (Not gardener-specific)
The main problem with glyphosate for me is that it has not been proven to be safe. It has been found in water courses across Europe - not just in urine - and who knows what its effects will be on long term health and fertility for all forms of life from soil and water micro organisms, larger creatures and birds to humans at the top of the food chain.
In Latin America its overuse in very strong concentrations by poor farmers as well as big agri is linked to the sales by Monsanto of engineered seeds for corps resistant to glyphosate so that weeds can be knocked out more easily. People in those areas have higher rates of cancer and other diseases and anabnormal rate of birth deffects.
Not something I want in my environment then.
Add to that the increasing understanding of how bad mono cultures are for the environment from soil condition to bio-diversity and it seems to me we need to change and adapt our gardening as well as horticulture and agriculture.
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)."
@Obelixx glyphosate hasn't been proven unquestionably to be unsafe either. Therein lies the root of the problem with testing of many products. Giving massive doses to rats, for example, and then claiming xyz is dangerous doesn't provide real world data.
Posts
A very important point, the people you need to catch are those that either don't care, so wouldn't sign up or don't have the money to care, and therefore can't sign up. Those who care will already be avoiding as much as they can, and are likely to self report more issues as they believe it will effect them in a negative manner.
I could afford it, but like @wild edges it would put me off. It's the principle of it too.
It would certainly put me off if I was on a low income and struggling with daily needs as it is. It surely needs to be a widespread survey covering all sorts of people.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
A bit like asking those outside a football stadium which is their favourite sport , or outside the Royal Opera House which is their favourite music.
Glyphosate: taking the p*ss. Wild Justice is interested in the use of the powerful pesticide glyphosate in the environment - as are many others. With your help - click here for details - we have contacted local authorities across the UK to ask about their compliance with the requirements of pesticide legislation and simply asking questions is nudging local authorities to make further reductions in use. Glyphosate, is also used in gardens and on farmland. There are concerns, hotly disputed, that glyphosate may be a carcinogen. UK authorities do test some foods for glyphosate levels. The renowned entomologist, Prof Dave Goulson, is campaigning for a ban on the use of glyphosate in gardens - see his petition here.
If you like what we do then please share these newsletters with your friends, or with members of your natural history society or workmates if you think they'd be interested in learning about the work of Wild Justice and becoming a part of that work through signing petitions, writing letters and sometimes donating to our projects. Anyone interested can sign up to this newsletter through our website - click here.
In Latin America its overuse in very strong concentrations by poor farmers as well as big agri is linked to the sales by Monsanto of engineered seeds for corps resistant to glyphosate so that weeds can be knocked out more easily. People in those areas have higher rates of cancer and other diseases and anabnormal rate of birth deffects.
Not something I want in my environment then.
Add to that the increasing understanding of how bad mono cultures are for the environment from soil condition to bio-diversity and it seems to me we need to change and adapt our gardening as well as horticulture and agriculture.