Publisher reviewing 2 more papers on glyphosate safety over ghostwriting claims | Hacker News Reader

Publisher reviewing 2 more papers on glyphosate safety over ghostwriting claims

retractionwatch.com

4 pointstmoertel2 comments

I think Monsanto is an evil company, like in a very real cartoonish-evil sense. I have no doubt they put their thumb on the scale of research leaning it towards safe.

That said I suspect glyphosate is probably not that bad, and among herbicides it may actually be the lesser of many evils. As in most things the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. Glyphosate may have carcinogenic properties but also may not be particularly dangerous in the quantities that a normal person may encounter either in food or spraying the weeds around their house a couple times in the summer.

Probably the most convincing thing I can casually dig up is that despite massive increases in use[1] the per-capita rate of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma has been pretty steady since 1990[2]. Now suspiciously it did rise between 1975 (roundup introduced in '74) and 1990 but seems to have plateaued since then.

If it were substantially linked via casual exposure I would expect a stronger correlation with its use. I wouldn't go drinking the stuff but it's possible it's no better or worse than the myriad of other "safe but not really" chemicals we douse our lives with.

[1] Table 1: https://alanplewis.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Benbrook-T...

[2] https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/nhl.html

100-page report (~15pgs of citations), examining the topics/questions you highlight, and more (i.e. global glyphosate use has eradicated insect populations, and even if glyphosate is less a health risk problem it represents IP-bundling in the form of proprietary pesticide-reliant GMO crops). A necessary read on this topic.

"Merchants of Poison: How Monsanto Sold the World on a Toxic Pesticide" (Dec 2022) https://foe.org/resources/merchants-of-poison/

Contents: Part 1: What’s at Stake? Health, Climate, and Biodiversity The Rise of Glyphosate

Part 2: The Spin Tactic 1: Corrupting Science Tactic 2: Co-opting Academia Tactic 3: Cultivating Third-Party Allies Tactic 4: Tracking and Attacking Scientists, Journalists, and Influencers Tactic 5: Weaponizing the Web

Part 3: What Can We Do?

Appendix I: Expenses of Key Third-Party Allies Named in Monsanto Glyphosate Defense Documents Appendix Il: Debunking the Myth that Pesticides Are Safe and Necessary Appendix Ill: Science of Solutions Appendix IV: Recommended Resources & Readings Endotes

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