09/March/21

 

Ten UN special rapporteurs sent a letter to the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, asking the government not to resume the aerial spraying of illicit crops with the herbicide glyphosate, a plan that the Ministry of Defence wants to undertake in the coming months. These sprays, they consider, are carried out in “a context of systematic violence against indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples and human rights defenders who work to protect the right to health and the environment in the country.” Inspired Traveler

 

 

Exposure to glyphosate has been associated with respiratory dysfunctions in agricultural workers. A new study (currently in pre-print) shows how repetitive exposure to glyphosate at an agriculturally relevant dose can cause inflammation in the lungs of laboratory animals. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology

 

 

A study on fish has found that Roundup formulations are extremely harmful at an environmentally relevant concentration. One formulation negatively affected swimming performance, thigmotaxia (motion in response to touch stimulus) and long-term memory consolidation. Another formulation reduced the sexual performance of males. The study also found that these formulations have different targets of toxicity, affecting behaviours that are essential for fish survival. Environmental Science and Pollution Research

 

 

Last month, Bayer reached a $2 billion settlement that would cover future legal claims that the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. While migrant farmworkers in Vermont are routinely exposed to the herbicide, the current settlement would likely exclude them from getting any of the money, experts say. The $2 billion Bayer settlement establishes a fund that would pay between $5,000 and $200,000 per plaintiff over the next four years. Only those who have already developed cancer following exposure to Roundup are eligible to apply. But Will Lambek, an organizer for the activist group Migrant Justice, said that condition is “the major exclusionary factor” that would make it nearly impossible for migrant farmworkers to receive compensation. VT Digger