Glyphosate: Why a herbicide declared cancerous by WHO generates profits in India
A chemical that has been sprayed on farms across the world for half a century with claims that it is essential for modern agriculture, is
A chemical that has been sprayed on farms across the world for half a century with claims that it is essential for modern agriculture, is actually proving to be a silent killer, slowly eroding the soil, human health, and farmers' economies. Multinational and domestic companies in India producing glyphosate are reaping billions of dollars in profits year after year, but instead of raising awareness among farmers, they are pushing them to their deaths. Read Full Story The biggest paradox is that the very weeds farmers spend their hard-earned money trying to eliminate with this chemical continue to stand tall. Despite repeated applications, many weeds persist and return year after year. This raises some important questions: what kind of herbicide is this that fails to eradicate weeds completely, and instead endangers the health of farmers? Is this simply an endless vicious cycle of collusion between regulators and the greed of the companies that manufacture it? Glyphosate is one of the most controversial weedicides in the history of modern agriculture; a journey that began in a simple laboratory and escalated into trillion-dollar lawsuits and a global environmental debate. Glyphosate kills friendly insects and causes cancer in human veins. The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared it a "probable carcinogen" in 2015. Despite this, Indian regulators are labelling it "safe" based on data provided by companies. This collusion between regulators and agrochemical companies is putting the health of millions of citizens at risk. HOW DANGEROUS IS GLYPHOSATE? Glyphosate manufacturers and some lax government regulators continually claim that the chemical is safe. However, if it is so safe, why has a large part of the world discontinued its usage? More than 30 countries, including Vietnam, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Gulf countries, have either completely banned glyphosate or imposed strict legal restrictions on its use. CASE AND BILLIONS IN DAMAGES The claims of "safety" put forward by glyphosate manufacturers are being shattered before courts around the world. Patients suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a type of blood cancer) caused by this chemical have brought its manufacturers to their knees. More than 1 lakh lawsuits have been filed against the herbicide in US courts and globally. Bayer, the company that acquired Monsanto, has already paid USD 11 billion (approximately Rs 91,000 crore) in compensation settlements to victims. Recently, the company outlined another massive USD 7.25 billion settlement to address future claims. If this chemical is harmless, why is a company pouring money on settlement costs?
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