Koreans concerned over Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer

A growing number of farmers and consumers here are concerned about the health risks of Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, following a California jury’s recent verdict over the cancer-causing glyphosate-based herbicide, according to civic groups Monday. With the wide use of the controversial herbicide at local farms, people have begun urging the government to take proactive measures to protect the public health, arguing policymakers have not learned lessons from recent scandals involving “radon mattresses” and toxic humidifier disinfectants. The U.S.-based agrochemical giant was ordered last week to pay $289 million to a former groundskeeper in compensation for its weed killer that allegedly caused his cancer.  The ruling has sent a ripple effect across the globe and Korea is no exception. “The government should come up with guidelines for safe use of glyphosate-based herbicide at least, if it cannot ban farmers from using it,” said Choi Jun-ho, a secretary-general at the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, a local environmental organization. “It should stop saying the weed killer is safe.” According to the Rural Development Administration (RDA), the Roundup weed killer has been used in Korea since January 2017 when the government declared it safe. The RDA previously banned the use of glyphosate in 2015 when the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic in humans,” or category 2A, based on epidemiological, animal, and in vitro studies. But the RDA lifted restrictions on glyphosate in 2016 after the WHO reversed its decision, declaring Roundup and other herbicides containing glyphosate to have no cancer risk, an RDA official said. “Following the WHO’s 2016 decision, we allowed the use of the Roundup weed killer,” the official said. “Given the latest U.S. ruling, we will check whether glyphosate poses any threat to human health in cooperation with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.”  Glyphosate-based herbicides including Monsanto’s Roundup account for about 55 percent of Korea’s use of weed killers. Environmental activists here have been protesting Monsanto’s genetically modified organism (GMO) products, which have been grown with the chemical giant’s herbicide. They have also criticized the government for not implementing a GMO-labeling system. The California jury’s ruling will likely prompt them to make stronger protests against Monsanto and the government. Against this backdrop, Monsanto has denied the carcinogenic risk of its weed killer. Bayer, the German owner of Monsanto, said Saturday that glyphosate is “safe.” Monsanto also said it will continue to “vigorously defend this product,” although it is sympathetic to the groundskeeper and his family. “The decision does not change the fact that more than 800 scientific studies and reviews ― and conclusions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and regulatory authorities around the world ― support the fact that glyphosate does not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr. Johnson’s cancer,” Monsanto said in a statement. After the verdict, some of the U.K.’s top DIY chains, such as Homebase and B&Q, have put the weed killer under a safety review. Germany, France and Netherlands have been gradually prohibiting the use of glyphosate.

By  Park Jae-hyuk

(Korea Times)