Cancer cause or crop aid? Herbicide faces big test
By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, Missour
“Critics say it’s a chemical that could cause infertility or cancer, while others see it speeding the growth of super weeds and causing worrying changes to plants and soil. Backers say it is safe and has made a big contribution to food production.
It’s glyphosate, the key – but controversial – ingredient in Roundup herbicide and the top selling weed killer used worldwide. For more than 30 years, glyphosate has been embraced for its ability to make farming easier by wiping out weeds in corn, soybean and cotton fields, and for keeping gardens and golf courses pristine.
But the chemical touted as a safe, affordable and critical part of global food production, is now at a crossroads…..” read more.
I am 63 years old. I moved to central IL in Nov 2009 to be closer to my aunt and cousins. I live in a small town surrounded by fields of roundup-ready corn and soybeans. Since spring of 2010 I have been almost incapacitated at times by shortness of breath, particularly when there is corn pollen in the air, and when the fields are disked or harvested. Considering that I moved from the LA basin, and before that lived next to the diesel-spewing largest rail shunt yard in the west, with NO breathing problems, this really puzzles me. I do have other pollen allergies, but they are the runny-nose type. My heart has been evaluated — it works great. My lungs have been evaluated — no COPD, no asthma, no obstruction, no tumors, no pneumonia — they work fine. I am doing pulmonary rehab to see if it will help. One possibility is that irritation by pollen, particulates, etc. causes spasms of the bronchial tubes. I think it’s the GMO crops around me. I don’t have a large disposable income and I’d rather give the money to you than to the doctors, hospitals, labs, etc.