Last night I was out with a friend who wanted to roll down the car windows and enjoy the mild breeze stirring the heavy, humid air. I warned: "Somebody's sprayed poison. I don't know where, but close enough."
"You can smell it, y'mean?"
"No, feel it. My eyelids are itching."
This led to a discussion of how different people can tell when we've been exposed to glyphosate or, even worse, to New Roundup, which adds four other "active" poisons to glyphosate.
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
All count arthritis as a curse.
Sprayers make it even worse."
"By the burning of my eyes,
Something wicked this way flies.
Glasses are not what I need;
From poison sprays I must be freed."
"By this burst of violent rage,
Evil seeks me to engage.
Not a word of blame I'll say
To my family this day."
"By the anguish of my soul,
Evil seeks me to control.
I need no pills for 'depression.'
They need active opposition."
"By this sneezing and this cough,
Evil's near and not far off.
No flower's pollen, no pet's dander,
But the greedhead goons who slander."
"By the spinning of my head
Something wicked's being said.
Loval climate change is real,
But poison sprays are what I feel."
As a mnemonic rhyme this could go on for a long time. Let's just remind everyone...If it feels as if you have "Long COVID," and pinkeye if you don't remember measles, and food poisoning, all at the same time, you have probably been exposed to New Roundup. You will probably feel miserable and not get much done for about a week. There is a cure...it's called a BAN!
Oh, that's terrible in all sorts of ways! (Not the poem, the poetics of which I enjoyed, but what it says.) I do have pollen allergies affecting my eyes and respiratory system, and thanks to climate change plus living in the sub-tropics, this affects me nearly all year. Not much I can do about it except medicate – but how horrible to know that yours are caused by something so pernicious which could be changed, if only.
ReplyDeleteMine and so many other people's, too. It was instructive to be in an open-air market for about an hour before and three hours after the crowd was exposed to glyphosate spray. Everyone has a different reaction but, in that crowd of several hundred people, all were feeling happier and healthier before glyphosate vapor rolled past them. However, most didn't know why, and blamed "the heat" (which they'd been enjoying), or "age" (they were only an hour older), or if the symptoms were more severe "some virus that must be going around. Most people's reactions feel like flare-ups of something they've been dealing with for years.
DeletePK
Very relevant and informative poem. There was an attempt here in Oz to ban Round Up as it has been in other nations but the Supreme Court deemed there was not enough evidence to declare it dangerous enough. It is used as a weed killer and sprayed on the foot paths here by the Councils. What chance do we have with these " greenhouse goons who slander" ?
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this.
It's an ongoing struggle, indeed. This web site has links to dozens of scientific studies. MomsAcrossAmerica.org has organized them into a searchable database. I recommend that people read these studies and share them with friends. The greedhead goons really have fought back, so most people should keep a low profile...but do spread the word.
DeleteWell-spoken. Roundup is widely used here in New Zealand. It is said that it's a carcinogen but the farmers think it's effective to spray the paddocks so they don't want to get rid of it. It's a horrible world
ReplyDeleteFarmers have really been "sold" with the whole idea of spraying pesticides, which actually promotes the growth of more aggressive pest species. We must remember that many of these things damage their brains. Breaking the vicious spray cycle WILL cost them several years' income; the best thing to do is what my father did--stop spraying, write off land as a loss for a few years, get another job, then come back and raise increasing amounts of "clean" crops each year.
DeleteMarja, the world's not completely horrible. It has you in it. People you know need to look at the evidence the Moms have curated at their web site, and share this information with everyone you know...privately, if you want to be "safe."
PK
This is a massive issue and good on you for bringing it up... it surely is wicked if it has so many sideeffects and is still being permitted...greedhead goons seems appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rajani. I hope for good things if Robert Kennedy's elected, but with or without him, we can all spread information.
DeletePK
I'm definitely not a fan of pesticides like Roundup for various reasons. I'm just lucky that I either have never had prolonged exposure to it or I'm just not allergic to it. In a suburb like mine, I'm sure more than one neighbor uses it.
ReplyDeleteQuite likely. Most people have some reaction to glyphosate, but think they're reacting to something else. (Not pollen, not dander, not their age...) If people can agree to stop spraying poisons for a year, they'll be amazed by how much better they and the neighborhood children feel!
DeletePK
Beautifully composed, the message one that the world needs to hear / read!! My sister told me recently they were using Roundup in their large garden, I tried to warn them ... to no avail. The response: we aren't breathing it in when we apply. Shaking my head in wonder and worry here in Oregon.
ReplyDeleteOh, your poor clueless sister! Yes, covering their faces while spraying reduces the immediate damage to them, but meanwhile they're doing so much harm to others...and probably in denial about harm to themselves. I had a friend, still living but I've probably seen her for the last time. She didn't want to admit she had a reaction and wasn't pleased when I noticed her having one. It's reached the point of a disability by now. She quit spraying but still reacts to vapors in the air and residues in food and water. It's bad enough watching a friend pay the price for spraying poison. Empathy hugs to you, having it be a sister.
DeletePK
I don't know anything about this topic but often check out if Brian Dunning has had anything published about things like this. It's five years old now but an interesting read, especially on behavioural economics. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4676
ReplyDeleteHe seems like a smart writer but in that article he's working with outdated information. (1) Chemicals become more harmful at higher levels--even H2O and O2. (2) "Pesticides" lose effectiveness with every use. So even if a "pesticide" seems safe and effective one year, twenty years later it'll be neither. Glyphosate kills people (though other "pesticides" have indeed killed people faster). People didn't reach this conclusion by watching some TV show; we reached it by proving that various other things didn't cause our symptoms, and glyphosate did.
Delete