Congressional Hearings on Monsanto Have Not Gone Far Enough

Here's what I appended to a form letter an organization e-mailed around. Unfortunately, because the organization is trying to gank more contact information about me than I'm willing to give them, the organization "lost" the part of the letter that Congressman Griffith isn't getting from zillions of bots. I sometimes wonder about these form letters anyway. Why, when we sign them and personalize them, do they redirect to fundraising pages? Are they actually delivered to elected officials, or are they just used to enable pushy sales pests to annoy people who support their causes?

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Dear Representative Griffith,

Yes, this e-mail was prompted by a form that's being circulated...but it's a real message from a real live Gate City voter.

I developed celiac sprue in 1995. The gene runs in my family, but celiac sprue used to develop in those who had the gene only in old age, and I was only about 30. Furthermore, several neighbors and relatives had similar symptoms but different diagnoses, and the local beekeeper burned his hives that year. At the time I thought it might be something in the water.

Over the years, I've become good at avoiding wheat gluten, staying active and healthy, "breaking the family curse" of unexplained disabilities...except when some (insert worst words you ever use) has sprayed glyphosate or other poison in the neighborhood.

Last summer, after utility workers repaired a damaged power line and mindlessly sprayed poison on the ground below, I lost a wren, a whole colony of threatened insects, and a pet kitten, while I myself was too sick to do yard work around my own home for several days.

Glyphosate has not been confirmed as a primary cause of a specific type of cancer. Big whoop. I frequently see glyphosate exposure affecting four or five members of one family in four or five different ways. Celiacs bleed heavily into the toilet after exposure, and may have other symptoms like hayfever or asthma. Other people exposed to glyphosate may suffer from general debility. Mental problems, mood disorders, or learning problems may be noticeably aggravated. People recovering from diseases or injuries may noticeably lose ground. I know a woman who really didn't want to notice a connection between using Roundup on her lawn and continuing to suffer from vertigo, sometimes even vomiting, months after having had that as a symptom of flu. Glyphosate has been passed off as harmless because it is, in fact, so insidious that it's hard to document exactly how much harm it does do humans--but it does a lot of harm.

Monsanto's most rich and famous stockholder happens to be a well-known genius of cybertechnology, and there's no reason why he's not leading his company to focus on non-poisonous micro-robot weeders instead of poisons that harm humans, pets, and wildlife.

I’m not pleased by the hearing the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology held to “examine” the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) classification of glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. For ONE thing, I should have been invited to testify! Now, from reports of the hearing, it appears the committee used the opportunity to attack independent scientists.

Holding this hearing and attacking IARC indicated that Congress is following the direction of Monsanto, the manufacturer of glyphosate. Recent ligation revealed that a plan to question the International Agency for Research on Cancer was started three years ago after Monsanto predicted international cancer scientists would find its toxic pesticide is a probable carcinogen. Additional documents demonstrate that a month before the International Agency for Research released its determination, Monsanto took extensive measures to manipulate public perception about the agency and discredit IARC's scientists.

I’m concerned by these reports and the actions of the Committee because this indicates that Monsanto is doing whatever it takes to keep its toxic pesticide on the market -- and that Congress may be prioritizing the interests of the company over protecting the health and safety of the American public and our environment.

The impacts of glyphosate are clear. In early 2015, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) -- the cancer evaluation arm of the World Health Organization -- convened a meeting of 17 scientific experts from 11 countries to review the cancer data regarding glyphosate. The IARC experts unanimously voted to classify glyphosate as a probable (Group 2A) human carcinogen.

IARC is specifically qualified to conduct chemical cancer assessments like this one. IARC has been conducting such reviews for forty years, and has evaluated hundreds of chemicals. IARC is considered an authoritative body by governments around the world, and non-industry experts testify as to its integrity and scientific credibility, often in the face of harsh criticism from the industries whose products are being reviewed. Nonetheless, Monsanto and its sponsored consultants have relentlessly argued with IARC’s assessment since then.

Glyphosate is used in over 750 herbicide products and applied to fields in the U.S. at over 250 million pounds annually. Apart from significant risks to human health, the U.S. Geological Survey routinely finds glyphosate in U.S. waterways. Ecological data also reports that glyphosate and glyphosate-formulated products are toxic to aquatic organisms and are extremely lethal to amphibians. Independent studies have found concentrations of glyphosate in human urine and breast milk. Recent studies even indicate glyphosate has the potential to be even more harmful in combination with other chemicals.

In the past 19 years, glyphosate use in U.S. agriculture has increased 20-fold. Glyphosate’s long term impacts are just starting to be apparent, with monarch decline serving as just one example. Glyphosate is widely used along the monarch’s migration route -- virtually wiping out milkweed, the only food young monarchs eat. A recent report found monarch butterflies would need a 5-fold increase to recover from risk of quasi-extinction.

Monsanto's glyphosate is harming the environment we depend on for sustainable food production -- and it’s likely also harming our health.

The science is clear -- we need action now. I urge you to work with other members of Congress to protect independent scientists that are investigating the harms of this pesticide, not attack them. Congress should be holding the pesticide industry and EPA accountable by working to take glyphosate off the market, not serving as the mouthpiece for Monsanto.

Monsanto can do much better than this. And they should. And if they drag their feet when they could be making real progress, then Congress should apply a sharp stick to them.

Sincerely,
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