I'm continuing the new tradition of providing some headlines from days/a week gone by. I did not do so in the last paper because I submitted my annual rerun.
Number 1: 39,000 Verizon Workers Enter Sixth Week on Strike in Biggest U.S. Labor Action in Years. 2: Our Lives are on the Line: Protesters Blockade Planned Pipeline Site Near Nuclear Plant Outside NYC. 3: Argentina: Public Workers Launch 24-Hour Strike. 4: France Forced to Use Oil Reserves Amid Sweeping Labor Protests. 5: Corporate Media Lied: Absolutely No Evidence of Violent Bernie Supporters in Nevada. 6: Monsanto Rejects Bayer Takeover Bid, Leaves Room for Future Talk.
Now that I've followed through with that commitment, I shall press on with somewhat of a public service announcement (PSA).
Speaking of Monsanto, the above mentioned PSA pertains to a product which is produced by said company. See how I casually tied this in to my headlines of the week feature? (Not sure if feature is the right word but just play along if you would.) Moving along, the product of which I currently blather is RoundUp Weed Killer. Hence forth I shall just use the word Roundup without the capital U that the company uses. I just get tired of seeing red lines under that word when I type it.
Roundup seems to be in the news as of late. By “news” I speak of the non corporate kind of information gathering agencies and not the media that takes millions of dollars in advertising dough from Monsanto.
In 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO believe it or not) came out and said that a main ingredient in Roundup called Glyphosate, is a probable carcinogenic. Of course, Monsanto has done its absolute best to cover this up or come out with their own studies, etc.
Before I morph into my usual overly sarcastic self, I have to point out that many people are simply not aware of the dangers due to a variety of reasons. Believe me, this company does its very best to keep the citizenry uninformed about their various chemical compounds. Always beware of words like: industry insiders and task force when it comes to this particular jazz. In other words, the EPA and FDA (just two examples) often take the word of the “industry” in terms of scientific studies, etc.
This might shock you to the marrow but lobbyists for companies like Monsanto are oft' “in bed” with so called regulators and politicians. Sorry to cause massive pearl clutching but that is the truth of the matter.
If memory serves, we were told that several products manufactured by the above-mentioned Monsanto were fine and dandy and caused no harm to human beings.
Among the list of simply wonderful and TOTALLY kosher (of course) products were: Agent Orange, Aspartame, Saccharin, DDT and Bovine Growth Hormone just to name a few.
I believe I heard tell of asbestos being a innocuous substance as well. Not to mention but I will, how many women who are now in their late eighties to early nineties actually took cigarettes to the hospital when they went into labor? This would have been carried out after enjoying a cocktail during pregnancy. (Mother was one of those women and you wonder why I have turned out this way!) Hmm, I thought all of that was declared to be absolutely risk-free, even whilst pushing a child from one's body.
Due to the lack of warning labels, citizens are not aware of the risks involved with the use of Roundup or from eating Genetically Modified Foods, which have been marinated in the product. Many countries have banned the use of any glyphosate based product. For one example, France has banned the sale of Roundup in garden centers due to the concerns of its toxicity. The use of such has also tied in with the decline of monarch butterflies and the honeybee crisis, for lack of a better description.
I must do something rather rare in this column space and give a big thumbs up to California. Reason being, in September of 2015 California's Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) was the first in the nation to list glyphosate as a carcinogenic. This next part might come as a total surprise but Monsanto has been fighting this to the max since it came to light. How odd.
Monsanto claims that the product is safe and is not required to label it as anything but. It is for that reason that many people do not understand the health risks involved. Unlike pharmaceutical company advertisements, Roundup commercials do not point out the side effects or risks.
Outside of the industry, scientific studies conducted over many years have concluded that a plethora of illnesses are linked to the product. There have also been lawsuits against Monsanto for that very reason. More often than not, large corporations such as Monsanto will be fined huge amounts of money for wrongdoing. However, they often are NOT required to label their defective products. (For another example of large conglomerates getting by with just paying a fine, check out Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder. That company just settled a 55 million dollar lawsuit because talc was linked to ovarian cancer. Sometimes during biopsies, talc was literally found. We put this substance on our BABIES for crying in a bucket! Just Google this if you don't believe me. I don't think that J&J is required to label that product to this day but I could be wrong—that happens every now and again. I don't think I'm digressing but am remaining in these brackets for some odd reason.)
Whew! What a relief to be out of those parenthesis. I was becoming claustrophobic in there. Anyhow, to put an end to this madness for the week, I just want to encourage the readership to investigate the safety of products before taking the “industry's” word for it. “Follow the money,” as many a person has said over the years. It will not take too terribly much time or energy to invest in some old-fashioned research. Heck, if that were the case I would have never carried it out as my energy level has gone downhill as of late.
I must dash because I'm off to murder some weeds without the use of Roundup. I will provide you with a recipe below for your own weed killer. Boy, this column is actually becoming informative. What has happened? HOLD ME!
THE END
P.S. Homemade weed killer recipe: Ingredients are 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 cup ordinary table salt and 1 tablespoon of dish soap. Mix wildly, transfer to spray bottle and have at it. I think one could reduce this recipe with ease but one would have to figure that out by oneself.