The Core

This article doesn't vilify or justify Monsanto.  It talks about how Monsanto got into the PR problem they are in now. 

https://modernfarmer.com/2014/03/monsantos-good-bad-pr-problem/

Lots of news about Monsanto in the French press. The editorial staff of Le Monde seems pretty convinced that glyphosate is toxic and is a major culprit in the loss of bees and other insects (recent article said insect populations have dropped 80% since the introduction of Roundup-ready crops)

Monsanto's Roundup Faces European Politics and U.S. Lawsuits

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/business/monsanto-roundup-europe.html

Note related articles in right column, too.

Germany: Monsanto Faces Blowback Over Cancer Cover-Up

QuoteA release of internal emails has revealed that U.S. agrochemical giant Monsanto manipulated studies of the company's herbicide, Roundup. Experts believe the product causes cancer - and the consequences for the company could be dire.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/monsanto-papers-reveal-company-covered-up-cancer-concerns-a-1174233.html

TL;DR - Companies lie.

Herbicide 'Roundup' detected in Californians urine at increasing levels

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/10/25/Herbicide-Roundup-detected-in-Californians-urine-at-increasing-levels/3501508931071/

There was a study in the EU where they tested the urine of EU representatives and almost all had glyphosate in their urine, whether it was banned in their country or not

It's in animal feed grain, so I'm guessing meat's an easy way to get your daily dose.

EU lawmakers vote to ban glyphosate weed killer by 2022

QuoteAlthough the resolution is not binding, it ups the pressure on the bloc's executive arm, the European Commission, which had previously recommended the herbicide's license be renewed for 10 years.

Shortly after the European Parliament approved the glyphosate ban resolution, the Commission walked back its recommendation

http://www.dw.com/en/eu-lawmakers-vote-to-ban-glyphosate-weed-killer-by-2022/a-41093018

QuoteOn Monday, a federal court hearing in San Francisco will turn a public spotlight on to the science surrounding the safety of one of the world's most widely used pesticides, a weedkilling chemical called glyphosate that has been linked to cancer and is commonly found in our food and water, even in our own bodily fluids. Given the broad health and environmental implications tied to the use of this pesticide, we would be well served to pay attention.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/05/monsanto-pesticides-roundup-court

This will be interesting. One issue with all industry-backed science, is they are not forced to release research results they don't like.

But if a lawyer subpoenas the lab notes... that changes everything.

^{Debbie is bothered by this headline:}

Bayer sells more assets to help close Monsanto deal

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/27/bayer-sells-more-assets-to-help-close-monsanto-deal.html

Landmark lawsuit claims Monsanto hid cancer danger of weedkiller for decades

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/22/monsanto-trial-cancer-weedkiller-roundup-dewayne-johnson

So let's say that when it all shakes out, the weight of the evidence is that glyphosate is probably not carcinogenic.

And let's say that when it all shakes out, the clear evidence is that Monsanto buried studies that provided evidence glyphosate might be carcinogenic.

What then?

One of the huge problems facing medical science is that companies are really good at only releasing info that makes their newest, latest, most expensive drug/herbicide/pesticide look good and hiding all negative experimental outcomes. So there's a massive gulf between the results of all studies conducted and the results of all studies published.

One solution is that only pre-registered studies can be considered as evidence and that all registered studies must publish their conclusions. Some peer-reviewed publications are moving to that model, but it would be amazing to see it established as a legal precedent. That would shake the foundations of Big Pharma and Big Agri.

I'm not sure that's even a legally possible outcome and, if possible, whether or not it would sustain an appeal. It would be a great outcome though.

Monsanto might have bigger problems than PR

They have always portrayed the situation as a binary choice: either accept GMOs and the herbicides they enable, or go organic and see people in poor countries starve.

Soon there will be a third choice: or deploy robots to spray herbicides only on the plants you don't want in your corn field
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-farming-tech-chemicals-insight/robots-fight-weeds-in-challenge-to-agrochemical-giants-idUSKCN1IN0IK

More on the company Deere bought

https://siliconangle.com/blog/2017/09/07/john-deere-buys-startup-uses-ai-kill-weeds-leaving-crops-intact/

John Deere is putting a lot of money into robotics/ AI.  It's genius, and I'm glad to see it.

weed robots in the field. worth a watch

https://gfycat.com/hoarsewiltedalleycat-r-sciences

Bayer invests in Roundup alternatives - St. Louis Business Journal
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2019/06/17/bayer-s-latest-strategy-to-blunt-monsanto-roundup.html

Disturbing: weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer found in 80% of US urine samples
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/09/weedkiller-glyphosate-cdc-study-urine-samples

glyphosate is not the only problem...

Neonic Nation: Is Widespread Pesticide Use Connected To Grassland Bird Declines?
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/neonic-nation-is-widespread-pesticide-use-connected-to-grassland-bird-declines

*Neonic > neonicotinoids - nicotine-based pesticides which often includes seed coatings that result in the whole plant being infused with the pesticide and, according to a friend who was working on such things, could include crops genetically engineered to produce nicotinoids

QuoteBut it's not just a concern for insects; if swallowed, a neonic-treated kernel of corn is enough to kill a jay-sized songbird, and as few as four pinhead-sized canola seeds, treated with neonics, can cause a host of sublethal effects in a sparrow-sized bird, interfering with avian metabolism, migration, fat deposition, and reproduction. Because most of the insecticide applied to a seed comes off in the soil—and because neonics are both highly persistent in the environment and easily soluble in water—they are increasingly ubiquitous in many rivers, streams, and lakes, harming populations of emergent insects on which aerial insectivores like swallows, swifts, and flycatchers depend. Not surprisingly, many ornithologists see a link between pesticide use and the fact that grassland birds, the group that may be most directly exposed to agricultural pesticides, have declined by more than half since 1970.

Silent Spring II

People exposed to weedkiller chemical have cancer biomarkers in urine – study | US news | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/20/glyphosate-weedkiller-cancer-biomarkers-urine-study

Class action suit to follow...

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/27/roundup-monsanto-bayer-cancer-claim/

Bayer ordered to pay $2.25 billion after jury links Roundup to cancer - The Washington Post

QuoteIn the cases of cancer patients Dewayne Johnson, Edwin Hardeman and Alva and Alberta Pilliod, jurors sided with the plaintiffs and awarded them tens of millions – and even billions – of dollars, though judges later reduced those award amounts, saying they were too excessive.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/29/us/roundup-cancer-verdict-philadelphia-bayer-monsanto/index.html

I'd be surprised if that amount stands.

I also wonder what will replace RoundUp if it is pulled from the market and whether that herbicide will be better or worse.

How Much Money Does Monsanto Make From Roundup? (2016 article with 2015 data)
https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/26/how-much-money-does-monsanto-make-from-roundup.aspx

Spoiler alert: $1.9b in gross profits from herbicides, most of which came from RoundUp, and another $6.8b in gross profits from seeds, much of which comes from RoundUp Ready seeds.

In 2016, in the face of growing glyphosate resistance, Monsanto was building a $1b dicamba plant to create a glyphosate-dicamba combo as they had engineered seeds resistant to both glyphosate and dicamba (Roundup Ready 2 Xtend).

And The Fool notes... "These data reflect the fact that Monsanto is only one of dozens of glyphosate manufacturers, most of which reside in China."

*that is to say, "growing glyphosate resistance" among weeds, not the public, though that may turn out to be the bigger resistance problem.

>replace

IIRC, there is a pesticide with known collateral damage to the environment (bees, I think) that even the EU keeps giving extensions for use because there is no 'safer' effective replacement.  I expect that's what will happen to glyphosate.

Farmers (and landscapers & homeowners) are addicted to the stuff.  Here's how the farmers buy it....
https://www.bfgsupply.com/order-now/product/0/75958/roundup-pro-concentrate-265gal-ibc
I see farm flatbed trucks with 2-3 of these glyphosate totes loaded when it is time to do a little weeding.

>China

Plenty of unknown brands on Amazon last time I looked.

You're probably thinking about the neonicotinoids. I know for a while they were working on genetically engineering plants to produce their own, which means it's not just a surface coating. Yummy neonicotinoids all the down

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/eu-scraps-pesticide-proposal-in-another-concession-to-protesting-farmers

EU scraps pesticide proposal in another concession to protesting farmers | PBS NewsHour

>*that is to say, "growing glyphosate resistance" among weeds, not the public, though that may turn out to be the bigger resistance problem.

This is a HUGE problem. Palmer Amaranth is a weed with thousands of seeds. It can take over a pasture in a summer and grow big enough to break a combine sickle in a few short months. It's damn near resistant to everything, but it can be choked out with oats as a cover crop.

Dad found that by accident when there was a grasshopper plague. In the areas of hte field where the grasshoppers got the oats was Amaranth. The rest of the field was clear.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/07/us-weedkiller-ban-dicamba-epa

US court bans three weedkillers and finds EPA broke law in approval process | Pesticides | The Guardian

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Bayer urge$$ Missouri lawmakers to pass bill critics say shields it from Roundup lawsuits | News From The States

https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bayer-urges-missouri-lawmakers-pass-bill-critics-say-shields-it-roundup-lawsuits

related:

Why has B.C. used glyphosate to kill aspen, a fire guard, for decades? | The Narwhal

https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-glyphosate-forestry-impact-aspen/

A Study Is Retracted, Renewing Concerns About the Weedkiller Roundup
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/climate/glyphosate-roundup-retracted-study.html

QuoteIn 2000, a landmark study claimed to set the record straight on glyphosate, a contentious weedkiller used on hundreds of millions of acres of farmland. The paper found that the chemical, the active ingredient in Roundup, wasn't a human health risk despite evidence of a cancer link.

Last month, the study was retracted by the scientific journal that published it a quarter century ago, setting off a crisis of confidence in the science behind a weedkiller that has become the backbone of American food production.

QuoteThere were indications that the authors had received financial compensation from Monsanto for their work, he said. There was no disclosure of a conflict of interest on the part of the authors beyond a mention in the acknowledgments that Monsanto had provided scientific support. As a result, Dr. van den Berg said, he "had lost confidence in the results and conclusions of this article."