Saw this trending on my twitter feed...

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/...

indeed. But the article makes it fairly clear that there is still a long way to go. Monsanto will surely fight, like they always do.

I doubt that putting a warning on the label will change anything. That warning is on the gas pumps, cigaretts , most cleaning products, etc. We still use them.

So then...we should do nothing? Here is the thing...a do nothing at all attitude will get you exactly those results. Large companies like Monsanto count on that and thank you for your support.

Things have to start somewhere. You know... asbestos used to be found in almost every home.

sounds like CA is making "fear based decisions"

Or perhaps fact-based...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/...

as a gardener, you should dig a little deeper . . .

"A vast body of relevant information, including dozens of detailed genotoxicity, studies, animal bioassays, peer-reviewed publications and regulatory assessments, that show no evidence of carcinogenicity, and confirm its safety were presented to the IARC, but seem to have been ignored. On the other hand, witnesses report one paper so severely criticized and discredited that it was condemned by the scientific community and withdrawn by the publisher was actually taken on board by IARC.

That the IARC seems to have even considered such a fatally flawed and withdrawn paper triggers the Séralini Rule: “If you favorably cite the 2012 Séralini rats fed on Roundup® ready maize study, you just lost the argument.” The fact that IARC seems to be taking seriously this laughingstock publication suggests they have run thoroughly off the rails, gone beyond anything defensible as science, and well into fictional realms.

Scientific experts who have considered the body of relevant research do not agree with a categorization of glyphosate as likely carcinogen for a very simple reason–it’s clearly not. There is nothing in the data to support such claims, and nothing in the deep reservoir of real world experience with glyphosate, to justify such a move."

you can control vast populations with fear

https://www.geneticliteracypro...

Max, I made a conscious decision 35 years ago to go organic and have never looked back. I am guessing we could trade conflicting research results until we're blue in the face and likely not change one another's mind. Organic just feels 'right' to me - no poisons, no weird mixtures, no worries about whether chemicals might be good, bad, or neutral, or how they might affect the natural world in 10-20-30 years. My mind is at ease with my decision, which I really don't think is fear-based. It is just common sense for me.

An interesting study was done by the University of Washington College of Forest Resources back in the mid 1970s, funded by Monsanto or one of the other chemical giants. During reforestation of recently logged areas, rounds of cardboard impregnated with various strengths of 2,4-d (I believe a primary ingredient in today's Roundup) were placed around newly planted seedlings. After some amount of time (perhaps 3-5 years?), the seedlings were measured to see if there was a significant difference between the groups. The bottom line was the control group (non treated cardboard) was just as effective as the cardboard with the highest dose of 2,4-d. Obviously, this was not the hoped-for result, but I did get a bit of laugh out of it much to the dismay of the graduate students working on the project. (I was the Forestry administrative secretary at the time, so responsible for preparing/distributing research reports.)

I actually tried to locate this old research online, but back then I was using a memory typewriter and computers were giant behemoths housed in separate rooms and fed with those stacks of punched data cards, so who knows where the info might be today...

Just a little blast from the past, but it definitely influenced my gardening habits - to this day, I just give new shrubs/trees a good solid cardboard ring when I first plant them, often topped with a layer of wood chips or compost mix to make it a bit more visually appealing. Rather like lasagna gardening I suppose.

Was Roundup ever labelled carcinogenic?

I have no idea why that product is still on the market.

Gleni......
http://www.alternet.org/enviro...

and......

Many thanks Sherry. I will cease to use it - quickly.

Much appreciated, Gleni......

So what's the substitute? I need something that will kill grass. Heard about Remedy, but the only place I've found it is really expensive. How about Spectracide?

I dunno...sorry....I dig, you know?...LOL....

I'm with you, Sherry. I dig it up or pull it out by hand.

Carol, where is the grass you need removed? If in a flower bed, you will likely just have to pull it out by hand (or hoe). If the grass is really taking over, I will sometimes pull the plant itself, then dig out the grass, pull all signs of grass from the rootball, and replant into now-cleaned up dirt. If the grass is growing in your driveway, gravel or sidewalk cracks, try a propane torch.