The Roundup Revenue Stream: 2.6 Billion Pounds of Monsanto’s Glyphosate Sprayed on U.S. Farmland in 20 Years
“Human exposure to glyphosate, a chemical widely found in weed killers, has increased approximately 500 percent since the introduction of genetically modified crops,” according to a new report from the University of California San Diego Health.
Monsanto’s signature herbicide glyphosate, first marketed as “Roundup,” is now the most widely and heavily applied weed-killer in the history of chemical agriculture in both the U.S. and globally, according to a landmark report published in the journal, Environmental Sciences Europe.
Since 1974 in the U.S., over three billion, five hundred twenty million pounds of glyphosate active ingredient have been applied. Globally, glyphosate use has risen almost 15-fold since so-called “Roundup Ready,” genetically engineered crops were introduced in 1996. It’s a brilliant business model for the chemical company – genetically engineer seeds to withstand increased applications of your signature weed killer.
Headlines around the world are sounding the alarm. In Europe, one recently read, ” A release of internal emails has revealed that U.S. agrochemical giant Monsanto manipulated studies of the company’s herbicide, Roundup. Experts believe the product causes cancer – and the consequences for the company could be dire.”
As Bayer cut Monsanto’s deal value by $2.5 billion, this is worth another investigation.
See below to watch a time-lapse video of the spread of glyphosate across America over the 20-year period. Nearly 75% of all glyphosate was sprayed in the last ten years. (More data here.)[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Recent research has found that exposure to glyphosate doubles the risk of developing cancer. Since the use of the herbicide on GMO crops has exploded in recent years, it’s no wonder people overwhelmingly want GMO-containing food products to be labeled.
Here are the states that spray the most glyphosate year by year:
Glyphosate primarily blankets fields of GMO corn and GMO soybeans—the two most widely planted crops in the U.S. This table shows how many acres of these herbicide-tolerant GMOs were grown in 2014 in the states that produced the most.
no matter where you live, you should have the right to know if the food your family is eating was produced with GMOs. While 60% of the world’s population have that right already, Americans do not.
Tell Washington that it’s time to stand with the 90 percent of Americans who want mandatory GMO labeling so that we can know that this is being sprayed on our dinner plates.
Originally published at EcoWatch.
Photo by timparkinson 
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