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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Organic Consumers Association
Contact:

Organic Consumers Association: Katherine Paul, katherine@organicconsumers.org, 207.653.3090

Pilot Study Shows Consumers Should Be Concerned About So-Called 'Safe' Levels of Glyphosate-Based Weedkillers

The

FINLAND, Minnesota

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued the following statement on the announcement by the Global Glyphosate Study that preliminary test results of a single-dose study on glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) in rats, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) guidelines for 'safe' levels, produced adverse health effects in rats.

International Director Ronnie Cummins said:

"For years, the U.S. EPA has dismissed consumer concerns about glyphosate-based weedkillers in their drinking water and in their food, claiming that exposure to the chemical at low levels is harmless. This new pilot study confirms what many responsible scientists have been saying all along: There is no such thing as 'safe' levels when it comes to glyphosate, especially when it comes to children.

"In fact, the EPA established what it calls 'safe' levels without having any scientific evidence to back up its claim because, until now, there have been no long-term, peer-reviewed studies of the potential health impact of glyphosate exposure at levels lower than the EPA's guidelines.

"This new study confirms that consumers should be alarmed when products such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream test positive for glyphosate at any level--despite corporations' claims that these levels are 'harmless.'

"OCA looks forward to the completion of the full Global Glyphosate Study and will continue to test food products for glyphosate and warn consumers when food products test positive for this toxic chemical, no matter how small the amount."

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit public interest organization, and the only organization in the U.S. focused exclusively on promoting the views and interests of the nation's estimated 50 million consumers of organically and socially responsibly produced food and other products. OCA educates and advocates on behalf of organic consumers, engages consumers in marketplace pressure campaigns, and works to advance sound food and farming policy through grassroots lobbying. We address crucial issues around food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability, including pesticide use, and other food- and agriculture-related topics.