On July 17, 2015, Independent Science News published “Ruthless Power and Deleterious Politics: From DDT to Roundup” a new article by former EPA analyst Evaggelos Vallianatos.
Synopsis: The modern controversy over Roundup (glyphosate) and the
documentation of its effects on humans, animals and soils, has much in common
with that over DDT fifty years ago. In particular, Monsanto recycles standard
industry tactics in its attempts to sideline critics while it reiterates the
ongoing delusion of control over the natural world that informs all industrial
agricultural practices. Vallianatos describes grim consequences of soaking the world in herbicides while highlighting past and current resistance and a way forward toward a toxin-free future.
“Humans need a pesticides-free future. We need to appeal to all politicians
all over the world to ban permanently and without exception all pesticides.
Glyphosate represents all pesticides. Our message and policies should be
telling agribusiness companies enough is enough: no more death rain. Monsanto,
on the other hand, is building additional facilities to manufacture another
weed killer by the name of dicamba in order to mix it up with glyphosate. That
way the joint product will be more effective against the super weeds resisting
glyphosate.”
You can read the full text of “Ruthless Power and Deleterious Politics: From DDT to Roundup” at http://www.independentsciencenews.org/environment/ruthless-power-and-deleterious-politics-from-ddt-to-roundup/.
For more on pesticides and the EPA see Poison Spring: The Secret History of Pollution and the EPA also by Evaggelos Vallianatos with McKay Jenkins, reviewed by Carol Van Strum on Independent Science News.
For a powerpoint presentation on Industrial Agriculture and healthy alternatives see: Feeding Cities Ecologically, presented at Cornell in March 2013 by Allison Wilson, PhD, Science Director of The Bioscience Resource Project.
