First introduced to the market in 1974 by Monsanto, Roundup quickly became one of the most widely used herbicides in the world due to its effectiveness at eliminating weeds. In fact, in Michigan, the majority of row crop farmers turn to Roundup as a primary tool for weed management.
Despite the World Health Organization’s decision in 2015 to classify glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – as a probable carcinogen in humans, the agricultural industry’s widespread use of the chemical has continued.
“All you have to do, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is cover your arms, wash your skin after applying, wear a mask and respirators,” Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue senior editor and chief correspondent, told Stateside.
“The glyphosate itself is pretty harmless, but it's the chemical that accompanies it that allows glyphosate to penetrate leaves, [it’s] called surfactant, [it] can penetrate skin, and science has shown that it reaches your bone marrow and causes formations in a person’s gene structure," he said.
Trace levels of the chemical have been found in food and water as well as people.
Monsanto was bought by Bayer in 2018 for $63 billion.
“They've been sued for causing cancers in groups of people and in individuals, and they’ve put up a $16 billion fund to pay for these lawsuits and paid $14 billion of it already to over 100,000 Americans for damages,” Schneider explained.
Over the years the continued use of Roundup has been backed by the EPA – most recently even considering a rule to protect Roundup from any claims of injury. But these may be facing opposition. That’s as the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made limiting glyphosate a central focus of his Make America Healthy Again campaign to combat chronic disease.
“If my life were a Superman comic, Monsanto would be my Lex Luther. I've seen this company as the enemy of every admirable American value,” Kennedy wrote in a Facebook post in 2020.
His criticisms of Roundup are not new. As an environmental attorney, Kennedy was part of the legal team that secured a $289 million judgment against Monsanto in 2018 (later reduced to $78 million) for a man who claimed his cancer was caused by the herbicide. He has also been involved in a class-action lawsuit against Monsanto for failing to warn consumers about the alleged dangers of the herbicide.
Kennedy's role in regulating the product could be growing. “The president issued an executive order that essentially gives Robert F. Kennedy full authority to address whatever systemic risk that [he] sees in the country that exposes Americans to toxic elements and other threats to their health and glyphosate is one of them,” said Schneider.
Some research backs up a number of Kennedy’s claims. A 2020 study by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Program found that Roundup was detected at least once in 66 out of 70 streams and rivers across a variety of land-use settings. Data collected between 2013 and 2014 estimated that approximately 81% of the U.S. population had been recently exposed to Roundup through environmental sources as well as the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and cereals.
As part of his role at the health department, Kennedy is planning to release a report detailing how pesticides may be contributing to rising rates of chronic disease. But some lawmakers worry that any efforts to limit pesticide use could harm farmers nationwide. At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi expressed her concern to Kennedy, warning that the report might “unfairly target American agriculture, modern farming practices, and the crop protection tools” relied on by farmers.
While farmers are aware of the risks associated with Roundup, Schneider explained that they are reluctant to switch to organic farming, which typically involves much lower chemical use, largely due to the greater efficiencies of conventional methods.
“But if we change the labeling to say: wear a mask, wear better clothing, basically don’t let yourself be exposed dermally, you're going to have a lot lower risk for carcinogenicity than if you just go out there and spray it,” Schneider added.
Currently, the EPA requires labels on all Roundup products. These need to include an EPA registration number, ingredients as well as directions for use. Since 2019, these products no longer have to include labels that say "glyphosate is known to cause cancer."
Background reading:
Conflict over a blockbuster farm chemical
RFK Jr. tells farmers, GOP not to worry about his report targeting pesticides
