In order to begin to understand what GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are it is important to know what Roundup is because they go hand in hand. The company that makes Roundup also makes GMO seeds. The main purpose is to increase yield, often by making the seeds resistant to Roundup. When I took the time to read the label I couldn’t believe that this was the stuff that I had sprayed countless times as a kid to get rid of weeds.
Here is a Roundup label. Roundup Transorb HC Liquid Herbicide to be exact.
3.0 PRECAUTIONS
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED. HARMFUL IF INHALED.
CAUSES EYE AND SKIN IRRITATION. Avoid contact with eyes, skin or clothing. Avoid inhaling spray mist.
Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants during mixing, loading, application, clean-up and repair. In addition, wear goggles or a face shield and chemical-resistant gloves during mixing and loading, clean-up and repair.
Do not enter treated field within 12 hours of application.
3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
Toxic to aquatic organisms and non-target plants. Avoid direct applications to any body of water. Do not contaminate water by disposal of waste or cleaning of equipment. Observe buffer zones specified under “Directions for Use”.
3.6 DISPOSAL
RECYCLABLE CONTAINERS:
Do not reuse this container for any purpose. This is a recyclable container, and is to be disposed of at a container collection site. Contact your local distributor/dealer or municipality for the location of the nearest collection site. Before taking the container to the collection site:
1) Triple- or pressure-rinse the empty container. Add the rinsings to the spray mixture in the tank.
2) Make the empty, rinsed container unsuitable for further use.
Operator Precautions
Do not allow the pilot to mix chemicals to be loaded onto the aircraft. Loading of premixed chemicals with a closed system is permitted.
It is desirable that the pilot have communication capabilities at each treatment site at the time of application.
The field crew and the mixer/loaders must wear chemical resistant gloves, coveralls and goggles or face shield during mixing/loading, cleanup and repair. Follow the more stringent label precautions in cases where the operator precautions exceed generic label recommendations on the existing ground boom label.
Ensure uniform application. To avoid streaked, uneven or overlapped application, use appropriate marking devices, or equivalent electronic positioning systems (GPS). The use of spotter planes is recommended.
Thoroughly wash aircraft, especially landing gear, after each day of spraying to remove residues of this product accumulated during spraying or from spills. PROLONGED EXPOSURE OF THIS PRODUCT TO UNCOATED STEEL SURFACES MAY RESULT IN CORROSION AND POSSIBLE FAILURE OF THE PART. LANDING GEAR ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE. The maintenance of an organic coating (paint) which meets aerospace specification MIL-C-38412 may prevent corrosion.
Yikes. Roundup will corrode steel and could possibly ruin an airplane? Enough said. I feel nauseous.
We can’t enter a treated field within 12 hours of spraying a crop with Roundup. The question I ask is this. Does it ever wear off, or is it still in the food by the time we eat it? I think we have a right to know.
You basically have to wear a giant body condom to handle/mix it and the container can’t be reused. The question I ask is this. Does it ever wear off, or is it still in the food by the time we eat it? It’s obviously still in the container.
Roundup is toxic to aquatic organisms and plants. That brings up more questions. Doesn’t anything sprayed on food or sprayed into the air eventually sink into the food/roots/dirt, and ultimately the ground? Wouldn’t it then soak into the water and streams that way? Does that mean that Roundup is actually hurting aquatic organisms and non target plants?
Roundup is poison used to kill weeds. The company that makes the weed killer Roundup also makes the seeds that can stand up to Roundup. The problem is that we don’t know what they put into those seeds. We are left to wonder if the ingredients in GMOs may be even more potent than those in Roundup. Ugh.
In a previous blog, I talked about animal testing. Here is some related information about animals and Roundup. I didn’t have to look far. Wikipedia said this:
A 2011 report by Earth Open Source asserts that the Roundup active ingredient – glyphosate – has caused birth defects in laboratory animal tests. Published by Earth Open Source, an organization that uses open source collaboration to advance sustainable food production, the report comes months after researchers found that genetically-modified crops used in conjunction Roundup contain a pathogen that may cause animal miscarriages. Lucia Graves Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/roundup-birth-defects-herbicide-regulators_n_872862.html
That’s a lot of information to take in. Please think about how the implications of spraying a poison on top of a chemically designed seed that can withstand the poison could have on our health. We are sick in record numbers so is there a possibility that Roundup and GMOs are partly to blame?
Think Different,
Penny