Corporate studies asserting herbicide safety show many flaws, new analysis finds

A new analysis of more than 50 previously secret, corporate-backed scientific studies is raising troubling questions about a history of regulatory reliance on such research in assessing the safety of the widely used weedkilling chemical known as glyphosate, the key ingredient in the popular Roundup herbicide.

In a 187-page report released on Friday, researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria said a thorough review of 53 safety studies submitted to regulators by large chemical companies showed that most do not comply with modern international standards for scientific rigor, and lack the types of tests most able to detect cancer risks.

I hadn't bought anything labeled "organic" since I was a dumb hippy-thinking young man, but a few weeks ago I was in the produce section at Fry's (Kroger), eyeballing some clear clamshell packages of strawberries, not liking what I was seeing, when I decided to try the "organic" strawberries nested in the upper part of the display. They really were so expensive it was stupid.

I got home and tried one. Opened the container, rinsed one off and -- wow, I could smell it. I could smell that strawberry from a foot away. What did it smell like? A strawberry!

I hadn't had a strawberry that delicious since I was a boy in Orange County, CA. Where they grew strawberries back then.

Encouraged by my experience with the strawberries, the next week I ventured to purchase some "organic" cherries. Those were the most powerfully flavorful cherries I've eaten in my entire life.

That's one of the perks of being past the child-rearing stage of life: I can afford strawberries that aren't two for five bucks.

I’ve been on a mission to cut the ash trees down on my property. Those and poplars. Both grow fast and die fast. Otherwise I have a lot of OLD oak trees on the property (6 acres in MA).

-SB

non organic vs organic is a financial issue primarily for me.....organic has no more nutrients then non organic....

however, I mistrust my govt and big pharma and big FARMA as well....I think they've made us unhealthy overall....

so perhaps organic is the way to go....I've tried to buy only heirloom or organic seeds this year.

I’ve been on a mission to cut the ash trees down on my property.

That's a very good idea and everyone should do that. If you don't they will just become hosts to spread the borer. You may save a neighboring tree or two by turning yours into lumber or firewood.

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