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HWN Suggests

Why use these poisons?

There are various products that people can apply to their gardens. These include fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, moss killers and so much more. Many have come under close inspection by several authorities, especially the herbicides glyphosate and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Glyphosate is one of the most widely used weed killers in the world and there were plenty of products on my garden centre’s shelves that contained it.

Glyphosate works by interfering with a biochemical pathway involved with the formation of amino acids. This is called the shikimate pathway and is not found in humans but is present in bacteria. Humans depend on bacteria in their gut to form…

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Articles of Interest

Herbicides: How toxic are they?

An herbicide is any agent used to bring about plant death. Although everything from salt to soap has been used for this purpose, herbicides are primarily synthetic chemicals manufactured for use in the agriculture, industrial, and ornamental and turf industries.

Natural Herbicides: Are they effective?

The majority of these “green” weed-control products are botanically based oils (e.g., clove oil, eugenol, and d-limonene), soaps (e.g., pelargonic acid), or acetic acid that control weeds by destroying the leaf cuticle or causing cell leakage that rapidly leads to death. Unfortunately, because these herbicides kill only green parts of the plant they contact, they don't provide long-term control of weeds with extensive root systems or underground storage structures such as rhizomes, tubers, or bulbs.

Trust Us, It’s Harmless

Roundup® herbicide hit the market in 1974 and was lauded as “the premier solution for the control of perennial weeds” by its maker Monsanto. Forty years and hundreds of millions of pounds later, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, has insidiously made its way into our soil, water, food, and bodies. But don’t worry, it’s harmless, they say.

Atrazine, an endocrine-disrupting herbicide banned in Europe, is widely used in the U.S.

Atrazine is the second-most widely used weed killer in the United States, with more than 70 million pounds are applied across the nation each year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It is an endocrine disruptor and also linked to various cancers, premature birth and birth defects. The herbicide has been banned for use in the European Union since 2004. In the U.S., it is one of the most commonly reported contaminants in groundwater and public drinking water, according to the EPA.

Childhood exposure to common herbicide may increase the risk of disease in young adulthood

New research from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health shows that childhood exposure to the world’s most widely used weed killer, glyphosate, is linked to liver inflammation and metabolic disorder in early adulthood, which could lead to liver cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease later in life.

EPA accused of failing to regulate use of toxic herbicides despite court order

Instead of yanking products, EPA made Monsanto and others amend labels before reapproving dicamba, lawsuit claims

Four Decades of Herbicide Use Is Creating Zombie Weeds That Just Won't Die

The US Department of Agriculture has identified 14 species of glyphosate-resistant weeds in the United States, and 32 have been documented worldwide, according to a government-industry-university coalition.

Health impacts of herbicides and pesticides: bridging the gap from correlation to causation with more low‐cost environmental data

Even though glyphosate is worldwide by far the most widely used herbicide, data on its distribution, reactivity, and transport in the real‐world environment are surprisingly limited. The reason is that measuring glyphosate and its degradation products is both difficult and expensive.

Herbicide How-To: Understanding Herbicide Mode of Action

Knowing and understanding each herbicide’s mode of action is an important step in selecting the proper herbicide for each crop, diagnosing herbicide injury, and designing a successful weed management program for your production system.

Herbicides 101: Everything Growers Need to Know About Herbicides

Contact herbicides, like Willowood Paraquat 3SL* or Willowood Glufosinate 280SL, kill plants through direct contact. Systemic herbicides, such as AgSaver™ Glyphosate 53.8%, 2,4-D or Dicamba DMA 4 Value Pick, travel through the plant’s vascular system to kill weeds. Selective herbicides specifically treat either broadleaf or grass weeds, while non-selective herbicides broadly kill all weeds.

Herbicides and GMO Crops

The widespread adoption of genetically engineered (or “GMO”) crops over the past two decades has led to an explosion in the use of toxic weed killers. Nearly all corn and soybeans in the U.S. – totaling more than 150 million acres – are genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. But overreliance on glyphosate has led to the growth of “super weeds” that are resistant to the weed killer. Today, more than 60 million acres of U.S. farmland are infested with weeds resistant to glyphosate.

Herbicides and Human Health - An Overview

Long-term exposure to chemicals present in herbicides causes adverse health effects. Glyphosate-containing herbicides (Roundup) are the most commonly used chemical for weed control. Exposure to harmful chemicals will lead to long-term health effects.

Herbicides: Should We Use Them Or Not?

In spite of all the legal pre cautions and reviews, prob ably the most important ele ment in the safe use of weed killers around homes is the user! Improper application of herbicides undoubtedly ac counts for most herbicide mis fortunes. It is imperative that directions for using a product be followed exactly with re gard to rate, area covered, time of application, and any exceptions in treatment. AL WAYS READ THE LABEL CAREFULLY!

Herbicides: What to Know Before You Use Them

Not all herbicides work the same way, or on the same types of plants. Contact or burndown herbicides like horticultural vinegar desiccate just the plant tissue they come into contact with. Systemic herbicides — the one most widely used by gardeners is probably glyphosate — are taken up by the plant and translocated through its parts. Contact herbicides might kill the top of the plant, which works for small annual weeds, but they won’t move into the roots to destroy the whole plant.

History of the Controversy Over the Use of Herbicides

This chapter reviews the use of herbicides, the early history of the controversy, the concerns that Vietnam veterans have voiced about health problems they believe are related to exposure to herbicides, the Agent Orange product liability litigation, and the response to concerns of Vietnam veterans and the public by the federal government, state governments, veterans organizations, and others.

How Much Herbicide Can You Tolerate in Your Food, and for How Long?

Some scientists say it’s too soon to tell if a popular weedkiller found all over your supermarket is safe.

It’s in the Weeds: Herbicide Linked to Human Liver Disease

Exposure to glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the popular weed killer Roundup, correlates to more severe cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

New research suggests common herbicides are linked to antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics are losing their ability to kill bacteria. One of the main reasons for the rise in antibiotic resistance is the improper use of antibiotics, but our latest research shows that the ingredients in commonly-used weed killers like Round-up and Kamba can also cause bacteria to become less susceptible to antibiotics.

No One Knows Exactly How Much Herbicide Is in Your Breakfast

A new lawsuit raises a lot of questions about what exactly is in the stuff we put in our faces every morning.

One in three Americans have detectable levels of toxic weedkiller, study finds

The herbicide was developed in the mid-1940s and quickly became the go-to weedkiller for farmers focused on increasing crop yields, while also gaining popularity among gardeners looking for a pristine lawn. Its popularity dipped in favor of Roundup (glyphosate) and genetically modified cotton and soyabeans resistant to this herbicide, but it has seen a resurgence since the spread of Roundup-resistant weeds.

Revealed: The secret push to bury a weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease

The global chemical giant Syngenta has sought to secretly influence scientific research regarding links between its top-selling weedkiller and Parkinson’s, internal corporate documents show.

Spraying herbicides changes the flavour and nutritional value of crops

GARDENERS know only too well how hard it is to keep on top of weeds, because hoeing and pulling them out is back-breaking work. With big fields to look after, most farmers turn to herbicides. Over the years these chemicals have become better at knocking out weeds but leaving commercial crops alone. Organic farmers do not use artificial herbicides, and can suffer lower yields as a result. Which system produces the “better” crop is open to debate, although it is known that crops sprayed with herbicides are biochemically transformed in subtle ways.

The Harmful Effects of Weedkiller (Glyphosate) On Our Health And Our Future

The statistics on glyphosate, the world’s most commonly used pesticide, are pretty grim. Billions of pounds have been applied globally since the 70s. In the US, though we’re only 4% of the world’s population, we use 20% of the world’s supply annually. Then, we wonder why our rates of chronic disease are so much higher than other countries.

Weed Killer for Breakfast

For many people, a toasted bagel topped with honey might sound like a healthy breakfast choice. Others might prefer a bowl of oatmeal, cornflakes, or a hot plate of scrambled eggs. Few would likely welcome a dose of weed killer that has been linked to cancer in their morning meal. Yet that is exactly what private laboratory tests in the United States started showing with alarming frequency in 2014: residues of the world’s most widely used herbicide were making their way into American meals.

Weed-Whacking Herbicide Proves Deadly to Human Cells

Used in gardens, farms, and parks around the world, the weed killer Roundup contains an ingredient that can suffocate human cells in a laboratory, researchers say.

What Are Herbicides? Herbicide Pros & Cons

Different herbicides serve different purposes. For instance, there are non-selective herbicides (also known as “total weedkillers” or “broad-spectrum herbicides”) that do not discriminate in the plant life they target. These strong herbicides can kill all the plant material it comes into contact with, used mainly for commercial projects to clear waste ground. Selective herbicides on the other hand, only kill certain types of weeds while leaving other plant life unharmed, such as grass. Read the herbicide label to find out which weeds it targets and how other plant life is affected.

What’s the world’s most widely used herbicide doing to tiny critters?

Glyphosate-based herbicides are not supposed to harm wildlife. But lab studies keep finding otherwise.

While debate rages over glyphosate-based herbicides, farmers are spraying them all over the world

Generic glyphosate is ubiquitous around the globe. Farmers use it on a majority of the world’s agricultural fields. Humans spray enough glyphosate to coat every acre of farmland in the world with half a pound of it every year. Glyphosate is now showing up in humans, but scientists are still debating its health effects. One thing is clear, though: Because it’s an effective and very cheap weedkiller, it has become pervasive.

‘One sip can kill’: why a highly toxic herbicide should be banned in Australia

Paraquat has been banned in more than 50 countries, including the United Kingdom, China, Thailand and European Union nations. However, it’s still widely used by farmers in the developing world, and in Australia and the United States.

Resources

5 Things to Know About 2,4-D, the “Possibly” Cancer-Causing Herbicide

The majority of America’s farms rely heavily on herbicides—lots of them. So when the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the United States’ most widely used weed-killer, glyphosate, as “probably” carcinogenic to humans three months ago, it was big news.

EPA

Herbicides are chemicals used to manipulate or control undesirable vegetation. Herbicide application occurs most frequently in row-crop farming, where they are applied before or during planting to maximize crop productivity by minimizing other vegetation. They also may be applied to crops in the fall, to improve harvesting.