How Monsanto Sold the World on a Toxic Pesticide [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

How Monsanto Sold the World on a Toxic Pesticide [pdf]

usrtk.org

40 pointsmiguelazo14 comments

The patent is already expired. They are attacking their own product because it is no longer profitable.

A non-toxic pesticide would be pretty pointless.

The key is that we typically think of pesticides as “poisonous to insects (or weeds) but not to people” Perhaps that’s a pipe dream.

If it is we need to drastically reassess our use of pesticides.

The beginning of that conversation is to admit that a very common pesticide has been found to be harmful and cancerous in humans and we need to stop using it.

Roundup is not a "pesticide" --- it is a "herbicide". It is designed to kill unwanted plants, not bugs.

Spoken like a true defender of Monsanto.

What it was designed for often has a few unintended consequences like many products do, chemically, electrically, or mechanically.

Spoken like a true defender of technical incompetence.

Erroneous labeling only distracts from any further argument.

When the author clearly doesn't even know/understand the difference between "pesticide" and "herbicide", why trust/bother with anything further they have to say?

Monsanto may well be a disciple of Satan but a proven lack of basic insight on the issue doesn't help validate the opinion.

Herbicide is a subclass of pesticide.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide

> Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests.[1] This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampricide.

I stand corrected.

Still, "herbicide" is a more specific and accurate description of Roundup.

You are still intentionally ignoring any and all spillover effects of an herbicide into other types of -cides.

Disregarding a 100 page report because it uses "pesticide" as the general term containing both actual pesticides and herbicides seem disingenuous.

Page volume in scientific reporting is not at all an indicator of quality or validity. Disclaimer: I haven't read the report yet. Just sayin'

Agreed but the conciseness of volume evidence body despite "misuse" of the -icde suffix should not discount all of the article.

Herbicides are one type of pesticide. Pesticide is the umbrella term.

TIL herbicide is a type of pesticide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide

Pesticide is used to kill unwanted pests, including plants and insects. Herbicide is used to kill unwanted plants. Insecticide is used to kill unwanted insects.

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