SA's Food Capture?
Big Issue|Issue 300
While the debate rages on over glyphosate-based herbicides, farmers are spraying the chemical all over the world
Marion Werner
SA's Food Capture?

As the US enters its peak summer growing season, gardeners plant and weed, and groundskeepers mow parks and playing fields. Many are using the popular weed killer, Roundup, which is widely available at [American] stores like Home Depot and Target.

Recently, three US juries awarded multimillion-dollar verdicts to plaintiffs who asserted that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, gave them non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. Bayer, a German chemical company, bought Roundup’s inventor, Monsanto, in 2018 and inherited some 125 000 pending lawsuits, of which it has settled all but about 30 000. The company is now considering ending US retail sales of Roundup to reduce the risk of further lawsuits from residential users, who have been the main source of legal claims.

As scholars who study global trade, food systems, and their effects on the environment, we see a bigger story: generic glyphosate is ubiquitous around the globe. Farmers use it on the majority of the world’s agricultural fields. Humans spray enough glyphosate to coat every acre of farmland in the world with half a pound [almost 250g] of it every year.

Glyphosate is now showing up in humans, but scientists are still debating its health effects. One thing is clear, though: because it’s an effective and very cheap weedkiller, it has become pervasive. Research on glyphosate’s possible human health effects has been inconclusive, but the concern is rising over its heavy use worldwide.

HOW GLYPHOSATE WENT GLOBAL

When glyphosate was commercialized under the Roundup brand name in 1974, it was widely viewed as safe. Monsanto scientists claimed that it would not harm people or other non-target organisms and did not persist in soil and water. Scientific reviews determined that it did not build up in animal tissue.

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 300 de Big Issue.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 300 de Big Issue.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BIG ISSUEVer todo
Visit The ‘Seaside Circus'
Big Issue

Visit The ‘Seaside Circus'

There’s a new art activation on the prom …

time-read
1 min  |
Issue 300
SA's Food Capture?
Big Issue

SA's Food Capture?

While the debate rages on over glyphosate-based herbicides, farmers are spraying the chemical all over the world

time-read
5 minutos  |
Issue 300
Design That Uplifts, Delight Intrigues
Big Issue

Design That Uplifts, Delight Intrigues

A collaboration with Southern Guild at the Silo District in Cape Town showcases designer Rich Mnisi’s first solo exhibition, titled Nyoka, on show from 2 October 2021 through to 4 February 2022. Designed to reach out and inspire.

time-read
4 minutos  |
Issue 300
Why Kaaps Language Dictionary Matters!
Big Issue

Why Kaaps Language Dictionary Matters!

The first-ever dictionary of South Africa’s Kaaps language has launched. Why it matters …

time-read
5 minutos  |
Issue 300
Hungry, And Tired
Big Issue

Hungry, And Tired

This charity has been feeding Cape Town’s hungry for more than 80 years. Never have so many people queued for food.

time-read
6 minutos  |
Issue 300
Life's Ups And Downs
Big Issue

Life's Ups And Downs

Feeling burnt out? Clinical Psychologist and Business Director at The Human Edge, Helene Vermaak, gives some grounded self-care advice for anyone feeling overstressed or depleted.

time-read
4 minutos  |
Issue 300
WHAT'S ON?
Big Issue

WHAT'S ON?

Get out and about under the spring sun, or enjoy entertainment online from the comfort of your couch …

time-read
2 minutos  |
Issue 300
SPACE TO REFLECT
Big Issue

SPACE TO REFLECT

When former Big Issue editor, Alicia English, lost her husband to Covid-19 earlier this year, she and her son discovered a novel way to process overwhelming, difficult feelings.

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 300
INSPIRATIONAL READING
Big Issue

INSPIRATIONAL READING

Whether you tap, turn pages or listen to audiobooks, an inspirational read can help you relax and see the world differently.

time-read
2 minutos  |
Issue 300
Rough sleeping
Big Issue

Rough sleeping

“Winters are the worst nightmare for us,” says a homeless man in Springs. Temperatures dropped to minus 7º C recently.

time-read
3 minutos  |
Issue 300