Failure of Roundup

RISE OF SUPERWEEDS
Similar to how the overuse of antibiotics led to ever more drug-resistant supergerms, now the widespread use of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide is leading up to a similar resistance in agriculture. The NY Times reports that this could lead to higher food prices, lower crop yields and rising farms costs – plus more pollution. Farmers are being forced to spray more toxic chemicals to deal with the crisis that is affecting nearly 10% of the 170 million acres that are planted with genetically modified staples such as cotton, corn and soy. “What we’re talking about here is Darwinian evolution in fast-forward,”  says Mike Ownes a weed scientist at Iowa State University. Among the superweeds are giant ragweed and Palmer amaranth or pigweed.

PROMISES OF MONSANTO DON’T HOLD UP
They are forcing farmers to plow fields more often. Originally Roundup use promised farmers that there would be less erosion, pless resence of chemicals in waterways and also less use of gasoline for tractors. In the end, all of this can be reversed. We seem led to a new stage of yet more toxic-chemical-dependent agriculture that inevitably undermines our health as well.  These trends can be seen in the US, Australia, China, and Brazil where genetically modified foods are commonly found.

ROOT PROBLEM
The emerging failure of genetically modified crops is a by-product of the underlying failure of a mechanical vision of nature. Life and consciousness are deeper forces in nature.

The herbicide used in Roundup has been definitively linked to brain, intestinal and heart defects in fetuses according to a new scientific study, the results of which were released this week in Argentina.

ONTOGENY RECAPITULATES PHYLOGENY
One of the most memorable things I learned in the fascinating study of biology was that “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.” This is a phrase I have never, ever forgotten. It means that the stages of a fetus repeat the stages in which all of life has developed on the planet. Thus the human fetuses goes through fish, amphibian and monkey-like stages, for example. This connects to my philosophy of raw-wisdom. There seems to be a conscious, not a mechanical evolution within each of us and this indicates the very deep interconnectedness of all of life on Earth!

USE OF AMPHIBIANS
I bring this up because the study “used amphibian embryos” and the results “are completely comparable to what would happen in the development of a human embryo,” according to embryology professor Andreas Carrasco, one of the study’s authors. What he doesn’t mention is that amphibians are among the most threatened species on the planet, subject to extinctions as they are chemically sensitive.

FIRST STUDY OF ITS KIND
This was the first study ever of embryos where glyphosate exposure was tracked.

THE SCARY PART
The frightening part of this study is that the levels of herbicide used “were much lower than the levels used in the fumigations...so the situation is much more serious…[as] glyphosate does not degrade,” added Carrasco. The vast global spraying of Roundup adds to the problem. Birth defects in the US and around the world have skyrocketed. For example, autism used to be rare a generation ago. I only affected 1 out of 5,000 newborns in the US. Now it is epidemic, affecting closer to 1 out of 90!

AN EXAMPLE
Carrasco also gave the example of what occurred in Ituzaingo, Argentina, a district where 5,000 people over the past 8 years were exposed to fumigations, and 300 cases of cancer developed as a result. “In communities like Ituzaingo its already too late, but we have to have a preventive system.”  He added that there has to be a serious study of the effects of glyphosate, which political forces have hindered due to lobbying by Monsanto.

TIME TO DO SOMETHING
It is time to take the bull by the horn and stop the unconscionable  selling, marketing and distributing this single most lethal of all contaminants on our entire planet – what can only  boomerangs to deeply harm ourselves, our children and future generations

Gladys Williford
Resolution Expeditor – Store Support Center
Customers FIRST!
The Home Depot  |  2455 Paces Ferry Road  |  Atlanta, GA 30339
Phone: (800) 654-0688 EXT 76501 | Fax: (678) 556-7614
Schedule Monday thru Friday 08:30am to 05:30pm
Please contact Ryan Bray ext.76306 in my absence

Gladys:

I appreciate your having forwarded all my correspondence. However, at least a month has now passed and I have not gotten a followup response. So please again  forward this email.

TWO REASONS I AM PERSISTENT

1) I’m a loyal contractor and customer of Home Depot’s. It is my favorite store for contracting materials. Just two weeks ago I spent a sizable amount to money for the materials to build an addition.

2) Home Depot  has otherwise quite high environmental standards and selling Roundup on the shelves contradicts this and makes no sense to me.
 
ROUNDUP
This herbicide is indubitably one of the most lethal ever made. It directly kills everything plant-like but Roundup-resistant genetically-engineered plants. It annihilates the surrounding ecology of anything alive with chlorophyll.

INCREASED HERBICIDE USE
Combined with genetic modification of plants to be resistant, the bottom line is that there has been a meteoric increase in toxic herbicide use the US and where Monsanto’s products are sold. between 1996 and 2007, and as the largest selling herbicide in the US, glyphosate sales increased more than 5x! Financially that sounds good but not for the environment. This rise in use is directly related to the introduction of GMO technology engineered to create dependency on using far more glyphosate with GMO-resistant plants.. Within 11 years the use by farmers went from 25 million pounds to more than 135 million annually (not counting lawns and other consumer uses).

I cannot think of a single chemical compound anywhere that has so undermined the vision of Rachel Carson.
 
OUR RESPONSIBLITY
I do not believe this should be on Home Depot’s shelves. It does not easily biodegrade, by Monsanto’s own tests despite denials, it leaves a huge trail of death behind it. It’s been documented to harm farm workers and those who eat foods laced increasingly with Roundup-herbicides. The Bush administration turned a blind eye. This puts the responsibility with Corporate America  and the consumer to stop this full-charge affront to our environment – and to our health as well. Already 1 of 2 men in the US can expect to have cancer in their lifetime and 1 of 3 women. Cancer rates used to be closer to just 1 percent of the population a century ago….that is when farms were still all organic.

This linkage is crystal clear.

TAKING CARE OF A FRAGILE PLANET
As world leaders grapple with the dire issue of global warming, I believe we have a profound moral responsibility of conscience, especially as we approach Christmas, for remembering we are the final caretakers of this fragile planet – for ourselves and for future generations. Home Depot is a caretaker and supplier for thousands of family homes situated on this precious planet Earth
Its financial partnership with Scotts cannot ever take precedence over its environmental and deeper customer responsibilities. I have offered to provide experts to substantiate my claims – as the above statements are all based on fact.

Please forward this sincere note to the best person to address this with me – and as I am a long-time and devoted customer of Home Depot’s.

With thanks and best wishes for the holidays
Nathan Batalion

forwarded a letter to me from Scotts Company LLC, the billion-dollar-a-year selling and exclusive distributor of Monsanto’s Roundup. This letter explained why there is no reason for alarm about the French court decision to view Roundup as dangerous to the environment – so that Home Depot could safely continue to sell their product.

TEXT OF RESPONSE

Home Depot

Gladys (my contact at Home Depot)

I hope you got my long fax and also hope, and almost want to apologize, if it was not too overwhelming much information!

Finding so much on the web was a bit much for me too! To keep things very, very simple, I thought I would follow up with a shorter note and more to the point.

TO RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THE SCOTTS LETTER:
The key issue is that Roundup is a virtual universal killing agent of nearby plants. Its killing toxins are so vastly powerful and in unparalleled ways. This is no ordinary herbicide. It is absorbed first by the leaves, then the sap, and finally the roots of all surrounding plants, spreading like metastatic cancer. It kills the essence of what supports plant life and I think it is quite foolish to think this will not harm our whole ecology of life in the end, or the  chain/web of life (with humans included inducing terrible cancers and farmer worker illnesses). This is a more serious health issue than a passing, one-season swine flu. No amount of making of money should blind us to this, or to justify the sale of such a product. According to Monsanto’s own studies, Roundup does not degrade rapidly, rather at a level of 2% over 28 days (roughly four years) or so I’ve read. But I would rather put you in touch with experts who know more than I do about this.

NOT A MATTER OF LINGUISTICS
Now it makes sense, however, that the French and NY courts both jointly were not quibbling over linguistics. They considered Monsanto’s resounding claim of biodegradability to be a most seriously fraudulent and knowingly deceptive practice. Monsanto has a history of making such claims postured with false pride (as the Scotts letter states “we take great pride…etc”). Monsanto was forced by the Courts to remove their knowingly misleading statements. These known untrue statements were again repeated in the Scotts letter to help sell Scotts products to Home Depot . To quote the Scotts Company  letter you sent: “Does glyphosate biodegrade in the soil? The simple answer to this question is a resounding yes. It is a scientific fact..etc..”)  Really?

SALES PARTNERSHIPS
It sends chills up and down my spine to read the above letter text. I have worked on Wall Street and met all kinds of individuals, noble and corrupt, and I would not want to be in a “partnership” with purveyors of such distortions to fool vendors and customers to buy products. It is amazing how the corruption of money can cause people to falsify things – and even fool themselves. This is why it was necessary to bring Monsanto repeatedly to Court.

COURSE OF ACTION
Let me ask you how does Home Depot deal with employees who lie even once, or cashiers that steal or do secretive discounts? They are immediately fired.The Scotts letter is in this category.

Food for thought why I believe Roundup should absolutely not be sold anywhere, and certainly not, by all  good conscience, in any fine Home Depots outlets.

I suggest you deeply reconsider the Monsanto/Scotts “partnership.” Again I can put you in touch with knowledgeable experts who can share truly independent opinions.

Nathan Batalion

RESPONSE TO SCOTTS COMPANY’S LETTER

.

NOVEMBER 11, 2009

TEXT OF LETTER

“I have always respected Home Depot for its environmental policies and therefore appreciate your taking my the time and attention to view my correspondence seriously. I am a local contractor who believes in shopping responsibly. I also appreciate the letter from Ed Billmaier, director of Scotts Consumer Service directed to Mike Mahler.

I am aware that Scotts Company LLC, with billion in lawn care product sales, has been the exclusive distributor of Roundup, apparently since 1998, and has been also working with Monsanto on a Roundup Ready turf grass since a little before then. I have heard that Roundup is presumably a biodegradable herbicide that binds to the soil and that the EPA has labeled it with but a “caution” classification. However, this brings up the following issues of much greater concern to me.

First since Scotts obviously has a sizeable financial stake in this issue, I think Home Depot would be wiser to get a broader spectrum of opinions. This could  engender further and solid objectivity on this very important issue. May I recommend reviewing the material I will be faxing you and I will aso see if I can get you in touch with Caroline Cox, editor of the Journal for Pesticide Reform who is one of the leading experts on this subject. I can inquire about other experts to give more opinions for your making a sound business decision on Round Up.

Secondly, my concern is not primarily with biodegradability but rather with toxic levels and the overall heath and reverberating environmental impacts. Roundup’s main ingredient has been linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in a study published by the American Cancer Society. Some have suggested it is the number one herbicide now implicated in farm-worker illnesses. In my home state of New York, Monsanto was sued by the Attorney General for recklessly claiming their product was “safe and environmentally friendly.” In France it was sued for similarly claiming the product is biodegradable and leaves the soil “clean”, which scientific studies do not bear out. They lost both the French and New York State cases and appeals. Since much the same has happened in NY, this is not something concerning far away overseas affairs where different laws may apply.

Thirdly, as to seeking comfort and refuge via the EPA labeling, I think that was reasonable to say a couple of decades ago. I have friends in Washington DC and things have changed there dramatically, These friends have kept me abreast on how the Bush Administration has unprecedentedly downsized the EPA’s  and ham-stringed regulatory effectiveness, as it did with the financial industry (resulting in near-catastrophic results for our American economy). The Bush Administration originally had private meetings with Monsanto executives to forcefully push their sales agenda without adequate safety testing these products to protect the public, as the literature I am faxing reiterates. The Bush Administration also pushed the closely related notion that genetically modified foods (Roundup Ready) are essentially equivalent to regular foods, requiring no safety testing or labeling at all – even though the EPA’s own scientists substantially disagreed. In short such labeling decisions were political, not science-based and offer little comfort.

My fourth concern is the most paramount. By creating Roundup-Ready genetically modified crops, they can tolerate a vastly increased (several times more) herbicide load that is one of the most growingly polluting factors in our groundwaters and rivers. Alarm signals were put out by the World Health Organization in regard to this specific impact of increasing Roundup use. Related to this is also thrust of the major players in the biotech seed industry have been monopolizing staple food seeds (including via buying out competitive companies and destroying their heirloom seed stocks) – the foundation of life in earth – and creating only Roudup-ready genetically modified seeds and the like. Farmers cannot (by contract) have these seeds independently tested for safety, nor can they be saved or replanted except as directed by Monsanto. This ownership of the foundation pillars of life by such means represents a gravest ever political, human health and environmental threat faced by our planet and civilization.

I cannot think of a single greater positive environmental step, dwarfing any energy-saving sales of HD, than taking Roundup fully off of Home Depot’s shelves. It would attract an avalanching explosion of positive consumer response that would dwarf the comparative size of any profit lost from Roundup toxic product sales. It would also, in my opinion, be the truely responsible approach sending a positive message of the high-minded, moral, consumer-oriented stance of the executive leaders of Home Depot, a firm I have always deeply respected. It would tell the herbicide industry that business cannot be conducted as usual at the huge expense of  our health, our children’s health, the health of the consumer, and of farm workers and our environment.

Thank you again for taking this issue not only to heart but with the utmost of seriousness.”

Nathan Batalion, ND

Activism
Being mostly a “global mind changer” – changing our world from within –  I am not so much a consumer activist except when things highly offensive are  right in my face. Such is indeed the case with Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide facing me on the shelves of Home Depot.

Contacting Home Depot
This prompted me to call and email them information on the Roundup court decision from France that pointed out this herbicide is acutely dangerous to the environment. They wrote back that they are offering an alternative for next year, but they are not pulling this product off the shelf because it is one of their biggest sellers. Thereafter I persisted and they sent me a letter from The Scotts Company, LLC Consumer Director trying to convince me its ok. I am following up with about 50 pages for a fax that outline the dangers of Roundup, and derivatively genetic modified foods. I hope OCA (Organic Consumers Association and others will join me in this effort.

More on this as this progresses.

A CAMPAIGN
As part of my overall “GRO Campaign”  (GRO stands for gently relating to organisms – opposed to the violence involved with GMOs) I have been lobbying Home Depot to remove Roundup from its shelves. This toxic herbicide produced by Monsanto and distributed by Scotts remains on their shelves as if it was just another consumer product. It is something “special.”

WHAT IS ROUNDUP?
It  is the most widely used herbicide or plant killing chemical agent in the world. The explosion in sales for this one herbicide was spearheaded by Monsanto’s creation of Roundup-Ready (resistant) genetically modified seeds. These seeds  can withstand much larger quantities of this, otherwise killing herbicide – thus worsening the poisonous state of modern agriculture.  These seeds are also the basis for the majority of corn and soy products grown in the US. Without going into all the details, there is no company on the planet that is more directly engaged in undermining the vision of Rachel Carson to save our planet from such poisons and make modern agriculture chemically-dependent rather than sustainable. No product is more centrally involved in this than Roundup.

INITIAL CORRESPONDENCE
After my first request was an email asking to remove that product. It was addressed to Gladyss Williford,  “Resolution Expeditor” at Store Support Center (and with the motto Customers FIRST). She was pleasantly and quickly responsive. Gladys wrote back by forwarding the following correspondence from Jayme Lyles with cc’s to Michael Mahler and Sarrah S Steiner.

NOV 2, 2009 HOME DEPOT RESPONSE
We will be carrying a product next year that is Ecosmart that is safe
for pets and the environment.  Please let the customer know that there
will be safer product alternatives to choose from on next years product
line in the stores. SKU  961 – 047   ECOSMART WEED GRASS KILLER 64OZ
Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thank you-
Jayme Lyles Assistant to Mike Mahler Merchant-D.28O Atlanta SSC-B7.

NOV 4, 2009 REPLY
Does that mean you are going to continue to sell Roundup while offering an alternative or are you discontinuing the sale of roundup which would make me feel much better on this subject.

NOV 4th HOME DEPOT RESPONSE
We are not pulling Roundup as this is one of our number one sellers. We will however be giving customers (such as himself) other options. Also, not sure if the same product that is carried overseas is the as same as ours (different regulations as such). Jayme Lyles Assistant to Mike Mahler

On the on-going campaign to remove RoundUp from Home Depot’s shelves:

NOVEMBER 6 RESPONSE TO HOME DEPOT

“The product is the same internationally. I personally think offering an alternative on the shelves is not enough. It is simply not right to make a profit on a  highly, highly dangerous substance any more than selling heroin and cocaine. The fact that Roundup is not banned and illegal in the US is only because the documented backroom deals between Monsanto lobbyists and Bush administration insiders. I think whoever made the decision within Home Depot to continue to carry Roundup is looking at more the short-term profits picture (on a latest quarterly income statements perhaps with product breakdowns) but which is short-sided overall.

Harms Environment
This Roundup product very definitively harms our environment. There is no ifs, ands or buts about it. It also leaves some huge traces in our foods (especially the staples of soy and corn), and thus harms each of us, and our children and for generations to  come. It also harms the surrounding life forms that tread upon the earth’s soil. There really is no logical or moral justification for carrying this product anywhere.  I feel absolutely certain that Home Depot, when it comes to the same conclusion, would gain immeasurably more financially and would make far more profits and significantly more sales by wisely posturing itself as a superior caring and concerned service provider on this critical issue. Taking this off the shelves would send a positive, strong, and powerful leadership message to the entire herbicide industry. The public and media would take note. It would be a breakthrough event for the benefit of our whole planet.

Positive PR For Home Depot With Removal of Roundup
Home Depot does this kind of positive posturing with its energy saving products – and for which it should be greatly applauded. Environmental toxins are an equally serious and pressing issue for all as compared to the issue of global warming. I thus would ask that management more carefully reconsider its position. That would mean getting more data first on this issue.If more information on the dangers of this product is requested, please let me know and I would be more than happy to take the initiative to confer with experts in the field and collect that kind of documented information. Thanks again for your followup on this matter.”

Scotts Letter

On Roundup

Here is a copy of the Scotts Company LLC letter. Scotts has had the exclusive right to sell Monsanto’s Roundup in the US and much of Europe since 1998. The company also has over a billion in total dollar sales annually. Previously they worked with Monsanto on developing a Roundup-ready genetically-modified turf grass.

Scotts Company LLC Letter

November 11, 2009 Addressed to Mike Mahler, D28 Merchant

Thank you for making us aware of the recent information you received regarding Roundup branded herbicides. I sincerely appreciate your letting me know about your concern. This level of communication is a strong testament to the partnership that exists between our two companies.

Does Roundup Biodegrade?

I am very sorry for the confusion this issue has caused. We take great pride in trying to make certain using our products are as simple as possible and it is clear that this ruling confused what is a very straight forward  issue, “Does glyphosate biodegrade in the soil?”

The simple answer to this question is resoundingly yes. It is a scientific fact that has been independently verified that glyphosate binds with the soil shortly after it comes in contact with it and that soil microorganisms over time break glyphosate down into carbon dioxide and other naturally occurring products.

EPA Roundup Comfort Label 

To give you some perspective, the US EPA has determined that this product only needs to carry the “caution” classification on its label. This is the most favorable “signal word” that a product can have. Based on the decades of research that has been conducted, we have complete confidence that when used as directed Roundup branded products poses no undue risk to the environment.

French Roundup Court Case

The case in France was about the use and possible interpretation of language in a specific advertisement and in no way questions the safety of Roundup brand herbicides or the benefits to our customers. The issue was on how the government defined “biodegradable” and the amount of time it took to biodegrade. In this case, France used a different criteria than what is used by other governments. As a result, the French courts have required our company to remove this reference from any materials used in their country. The good news is that this was done many years ago and there is no impact on any recent inventory.

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I hope I addressed your concerns sufficiently . If you have any questions please call me personally at 937-644-7059. We take the issue of the environment very seriously and are very open to addressing any lingering concerns you may have.

Sincerely
Ed Billmaier
Director Scotts Consumer Service

Home Depot and Roundup

Home Depot &

Roundup

I responded to Home Depot again as follows:

Gladys

The product is the same internationally. I personally think offering an alternative on the shelves is not enough. It is simply not right to make a profit on a  highly, highly dangerous substance any more than selling heroin and cocaine. The fact that Roundup is not banned and illegal in the US is only because the documented backroom deals between Monsanto lobbyists and Bush administration insiders. I think whoever made the decision within Home Depot to continue to carry Roundup is looking at more the short-term profits picture (on a latest fest quarterly income statements perhaps with product breakdowns) but which is short-sided overall.

This Roundup product very definitively harms our environment. There is no ifs, ands or buts about it. It also leaves some huge traces in our foods (especially the staples of soy and corn), and thus harms each of us, and our children and for generations to  come. It also hams the surrounding life forms that tread upon the earth’s soil. There really is no logical or moral justification for carrying this product anywhere.  I feel absolutely certain that Home Depot, when it comes to the same conclusion, would gain immeasurably more financially and would make far more profits and significantly more sales by wisely posturing itself as a superior caring and concerned service provider on this critical issue. Taking this off the shelves would send a positive, strong, and powerful leadership message to the entire herbicide industry. The public and media would take note. It would be a breakthrough event for the benefit of our whole planet.

Home Depot does this kind of positive posturing with its energy saving products – and for which it should be greatly applauded. Environmental toxins are an equally serious and pressing issue for all as compared to the issue of global warming.

Nathan Batalion, Global Health Activist, Healingtalks Editor

(Healingtalks) As part of my overall “GRO Campaign” of Americans for Safe Food (GRO stands for gently relating to organisms as opposed to the violence involved with GMOs)  I have been lobbying Home Depot to remove RoundUp. This toxic herbicide produced by Monsanta and distributed by Scotts remains on their shelves as if it was just another consumer product. It is something “special.”

WHAT IS ROUNDUP?
It  is the most widely used herbicide in the world. The explosion  in sales for this one herbicide was spearheaded by Monsanto’s creation of RoundUp-Ready (resistant) genetically engineered seeds. These seeds  can withstand much larger quantities of this, otherwise killing herbicide – thus worsening the poisonous state of modern agriculture.  The seeds are also the basis for the majority of corn and soy products grown in the US. Without going into all the details, there is no company on the planet that is more directly engaged in undermining the vision of Rachel Carson to save our planet from such poisons and make modern agriculture truly sustainable. No product is more centrally involved in this than Roundup.

After my initial request to remove that product, Gladyss Williford,  “Resolution Expeditor” at Store Support Center (and with the motto Customers FIRST) was pleasantly responsive. She wrote back by forwarding the following correspondence from Jayme Lyles with cc’s to Michael Mahler and Sarrah S Steiner.

INITIAL EMAILS FROM/TO HOME DEPOT

Gladys-

We will be carrying a product next year that is Ecosmart. It is safe for pets and the environment.  Please let the customer know that there will be safer product alternatives to choose from on next years product line in the stores. SKU  961 – 047   ECOSMART WEED GRASS KILLER 64OZ Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thank you-
Jayme Lyles Assistant to Mike Mahler Merchant-D.28O Atlanta SSC-B7.

I wrote back:

“Does that mean you are going to continue to sell Roundup while offering an alternative or are you discontinuing the sale of roundup which would make me feel much better on this subject” Gladys wrote back:

I will ask that. I have not received a response back yet on another inquiry to legal and consumer relations yet either which may answer this question. I will see if there is a response to this yet also. Thanks,

Keywords:

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Being  a “global mind change activist,” I am not as much a consumer activist except when things are so highly offensive and they are  right in my face. Such is the case with Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide facing me on the shelves of Home Depot.

This prompted me to call and email them information on a court decision from France that pointed out this herbicide is acutely dangerous to the environment. They wrote back that they are offering an alternative for next year, but they are not pulling this product off the shelf because it is one of their biggest sellers. Thereafter I persisted and they sent me a letter from The Scotts Company, LLC Consumer Director trying to convince me its ok.

I am following up with about 50 pages for a fax that outline the dangers of Roundup, and derivatively genetic modified foods. I hope OCA (Organic Consumers Association and others will join me in this effort. More on this as this progresses.