Objective statement regarding stinky yucky horrible dumb diabolical poisons in the garden
Carl went to college. He earned an A in chemistry and an F in French. C’est dommage. However, Carl quickly found a job as a lab technician wearing a lab coat and goggles mixing clear liquids that turned green at certain temperatures.
His supervisor, let’s call him Vlad the Impaler, gave Carl a worksheet for Tuesday which involved mixing chemicals to see what happens (Carl’s favorite thing) plus he got to work with Betty from the toxicity lab, his second favorite thing. Carl stirred, infused, diffused, Charles’ Law-ed and sublimated the day away, and by 3:30 Betty was very impressed. She took a pint jar of Carl’s pale brown-green viscous potion straight to the supervisor.
At 8:15 the next morning, Vlad the Impaler burst through the door, spilled his coffee and greeted Carl with the good news. One industrial poof of Carl’s potion had killed every living thing – plants, worms, arachnids, ladybugs –in the test plot but not the soybeans.
Carl, dumbfounded, proclaimed, “Huh?”
Vlad explained the company would make gazillions and Betty would get a raise. He gave Carl his next worksheet and sashayed back through the door.
“Oops!” Carl lamented. “What stinky mischief have I wrought!”
Opinion is divided on the subject of applying combinations of chemicals not known outside a chemical lab onto plants we intend to eat or the ground they grow on. In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer gave glyphosate, primary active ingredient in weedkiller Roundup, a Group 2a carcinogen grade because evidence indicated it probably caused cancer in humans. France banned dozens of glyphosate products. Some of the countries which have passed legislation limiting and regulating glyphosate use include Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands. There are others, and the list keeps growing.
When Viet Nam banned the import of glyphosate-based herbicides in 2019, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue criticized the move stating it would devastate the world’s agricultural economy. Mr. Secretary would be well aware that every year U.S. agri-business uses in excess of 1.8 million tons of glyphosate, and that’s big business. The federal government has not come around to the opinion of the IARC that glyphosate is a problem, so oversight is left to state and local governments.
In 25 states, there are counties, cities or agencies that have passed legislation or policies either banning or restricting the use of glyphosate herbicides. Cleveland, Boulder and Austin, for example, won’t allow glyphosate on city property.
In Arkansas, the Plant Board states glyphosate products may be used as long as the user adheres to windspeed and direction, droplet size and buffer zone regulations.
Roundup was introduced to the world in 1974. By the end of 2019, there were more than 42,000 lawsuits claiming it caused cancer in users, and millions have been awarded to plaintiffs. Nevertheless, glyphosphate remains the most popular herbicide worldwide because not everyone thinks it is harmful.
Herbicides kill weeds. I pull weeds and mulch to control the invasives. I have a home-size garden, not a corn field bigger than two counties. In my garden, weeds gain momentum in May and by July there might be a jungle. It’s a challenge to keep out every uninvited visitor, so I pull what I can and feed the compost. I might not get all the weeds, but I’m not risking the ill effects of a Group 2a carcinogen which, according to the USDA, might stay active in the soil for three days or possibly a year.
Also, side effects from exposure to glyphosate (and this is about killing weeds) might include skin rashes, burning or itchy skin, difficulty breathing, headaches, eye irritation, sore throat and dizziness. Enough exposure could lead to liver damage.
I’d rather get my hands dirty.