Sri Lanka’s President Bans Monsanto Products

[Gibbs]

Sri Lanka's President Bans Monsanto Roundup and all Glyphosate Products

In a bombshell announcement, newly elected Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has followed Bermuda’s lead in banning the import, sale or deployment of glyphosate containing products in his country.

Discovered by Monsanto chemist John E. Franz in 1970, glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that has been used in products around the world for decades, but apparently, Sri Lanka has had its fill of the chemical — a substance the World Health Organization (WHO) has now stated is “probably carcinogenic.”

President Maithripala is a former health minister and farmer and pointed to a massive rise in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) as the motivating factor behind his decision.

Centre for Research on Globalization (CGR) reported there has been 400,000 reported cases of CKD in the northern Sri Lanka, and thousands of deaths in the region have been blamed on Monsanto’s Roundup — the poster-child of glyphosate products.

Maithripala’s decision came on May 22, at the International Day for Biological Diversity at the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment in Battaramulla reports ColumboPage — an online Sri Lankan publication.

Numerous businesses asked for permission to sell their existing stocks of glyphosate products, but those requests were flatly denied by the President ColumboPage reported.

Sri Lanka had attempted to ban the product in 2014 following a damning report from the WHO, and after reviewing the work of Dr. Channa Jayasumana that demonstrated a link between glyphosate and the skyrocketing rates of CKD in the country, but in the end, the country caved to pressures from Monsanto and others and abandoned the ban.

Considering President Maithripala’s strong roots in the agricultural sector, and his first hand experience with health impacts visited upon the workforce, the ban is expected to stick this time around.

The use of glyphosate products exploded in application after Monsanto created their “Roundup Ready” genetically modified (GMO) crops which could resist the enzyme inhibiting effects of the product, enabling farmers to kill weeds without killing their crops. In 2007 alone, it is estimated over 200,000,000 pounds of the product were deployed into the open environment in the United States alone, with oceans more of the chemical released abroad. Recent moves have also been made to ban Roundup and other glyphosate products in Europe, although activists and environmental groups are sounding the alarm that ploys have been included in the secretive Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) that seek to undermine the European efforts.

All things considered, it would seem that governments around the world are becoming more and more skeptical of the noxious week-killing chemical. Now, time will tell if more follow Sri Lanka’s lead in axing the product from their borders altogether.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

"Round Up" is nasty stuff even when used properly. If not used properly I wouldn't want to eat any food that was touched by it.

Buy organic! You want cancer...keep eating those green leafy vegetables..that have been sprayed with herbicides/pesticides.

 

[Gibbs]

"Round Up" is nasty stuff even when used properly. If not used properly I wouldn't want to eat any food that was touched by it.

Buy organic! You want cancer...keep eating those green leafy vegetables..that have been sprayed with pesticides.

Whats so significant about the ban in Sri Lanka is it takes tremendous courage for a government in the developing world to go against massive corporate giants like Mosanto and at great risk, They have the capacity financially and politically to topple governments in relative smaller nations that may have negative impact on their operations,

As you can see in 2014 they successfully lobbied the then government to shelve the ban of glyphosate, For instance Indian environmentalists and activists have been struggling to enact legislation on Mosanto GMP but have failed in the face of political lobbying by Mosanto, The US lawmakers in similar situations

So far it has been only Bermuda and Sri Lanka.. That have taken a stand, Maybe those markets are too insignificant for a huge multinational conglomerate like Mosanto to bother too much about, Who knows

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Whats so significant about the ban in Sri Lanka is it takes tremendous courage for a government in the developing world to go against massive corporate giants like Mosanto and at great risk, They have the capacity financially and politically to topple governments in relative smaller nations that may have negative impact on their operations,

As you can see in 2014 they successfully lobbied the then government to shelve the ban of glyphosate, For instance Indian environmentalists and activists have been struggling to enact legislation on Mosanto GMP but have failed in the face of political lobbying by Mosanto, The US lawmakers in similar situations

So far it has been only Bermuda and Sri Lanka.. That have taken a stand, Maybe those markets are too insignificant for a huge multinational conglomerate like Mosanto to bother too much about, Who knows

There's nothing wrong with banning herbicides. It happens all the time. Roundup is a biggie because farmers worldwide rely on it to kill weeds and thus have larger density crops. You ban that and farmers start crying. If they use Monsanto roundup tolerant seeds they cry even more because they can't have unnatural insane densities!!

It all comes down to how much money can farmers make at the expense of public health. As long as they want more money the happier companies like Monsanto will be to sell them nasty herbicide stuff. I'll happily pay the double or triple cost if they don't use herbicides or pesticides. The problem is can the average person in the world say the same. The less the density the less farmers can make.

Yum...the spinach looks awesome right...WRONG!!
Unfortunately crops with unnatural insane density sights like this are almost impossible to do without herbicides...and farmers love all the money they can make doing things this way. They probably spray extra RoundUp to ensure it gets this dense! To make matters worse when the bugs come they spray pesticides on top of RoundUp type herbicides. Now you have a double-dosage of nasty chemicals!!

So now with farmers growing in high density everybody is used to seeing cheap food prices at the grocery store (and that super perfect leafy vegetable) but at the expense of your health. Just fight the urge and go back to the old way...pay the extra price and buy organic (or be like me and also have a big backyard garden!)..it may save your life!

 

[Sky lord]

Good for you Sri Lanka.

Wish our government had the same courage. everything we eat here is coated in pesticides of the worst kind. Cancers are growing by leaps and bounds.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Its a good step.

 

[Gibbs]

There's nothing wrong with banning herbicides. It happens all the time. Roundup is a biggie because farmers worldwide rely on it to kill weeds and thus have larger density crops. You ban that and farmers start crying. If they use Monsanto roundup tolerant seeds they cry even more because they can't have unnatural insane densities!!

It all comes down to how much money can farmers make at the expense of public health. As long as they want more money the happier companies like Monsanto will be to sell them nasty herbicide stuff. I'll happily pay the double or triple cost if they don't use herbicides or pesticides. The problem is can the average person in the world say the same. The less the density the less farmers can make.

Yum...the spinach looks awesome right...WRONG!!
Unfortunately crops with unnatural insane density sights like this are almost impossible to do without herbicides...and farmers love all the money they can make doing things this way. They probably spray extra RoundUp to ensure it gets this dense! To make matters worse when the bugs come they spray pesticides on top of RoundUp type herbicides. Now you have a double-dosage of nasty chemicals!!

So now with farmers growing in high density everybody is used to seeing cheap food prices at the grocery store (and that super perfect leafy vegetable) but at the expense of your health. Just fight the urge and go back to the old way...pay the extra price and buy organic (or be like me and also have a big backyard garden!)..it may save your life!

Yeap.. It all boils down to profit.. But i have read that increasingly Lankan farmers are turning back to organic farming, Especially since the chronic kidney disease attributed to these pesticides are wrecking havoc in the Lankan Agricultural zones in the North West and North central provinces.. Decades of soil contamination have seeped through to the water table in these area's and ground water have become poisonous

 

[Shotgunner51]

Sri Lanka's President Bans Monsanto Roundup and all Glyphosate Products

In a bombshell announcement, newly elected Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has followed Bermuda’s lead in banning the import, sale or deployment of glyphosate containing products in his country.

Discovered by Monsanto chemist John E. Franz in 1970, glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that has been used in products around the world for decades, but apparently, Sri Lanka has had its fill of the chemical — a substance the World Health Organization (WHO) has now stated is “probably carcinogenic.”

President Maithripala is a former health minister and farmer and pointed to a massive rise in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) as the motivating factor behind his decision.

Centre for Research on Globalization (CGR) reported there has been 400,000 reported cases of CKD in the northern Sri Lanka, and thousands of deaths in the region have been blamed on Monsanto’s Roundup — the poster-child of glyphosate products.

Maithripala’s decision came on May 22, at the International Day for Biological Diversity at the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment in Battaramulla reports ColumboPage — an online Sri Lankan publication.

Numerous businesses asked for permission to sell their existing stocks of glyphosate products, but those requests were flatly denied by the President ColumboPage reported.

Sri Lanka had attempted to ban the product in 2014 following a damning report from the WHO, and after reviewing the work of Dr. Channa Jayasumana that demonstrated a link between glyphosate and the skyrocketing rates of CKD in the country, but in the end, the country caved to pressures from Monsanto and others and abandoned the ban.

Considering President Maithripala’s strong roots in the agricultural sector, and his first hand experience with health impacts visited upon the workforce, the ban is expected to stick this time around.

The use of glyphosate products exploded in application after Monsanto created their “Roundup Ready” genetically modified (GMO) crops which could resist the enzyme inhibiting effects of the product, enabling farmers to kill weeds without killing their crops. In 2007 alone, it is estimated over 200,000,000 pounds of the product were deployed into the open environment in the United States alone, with oceans more of the chemical released abroad. Recent moves have also been made to ban Roundup and other glyphosate products in Europe, although activists and environmental groups are sounding the alarm that ploys have been included in the secretive Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) that seek to undermine the European efforts.

All things considered, it would seem that governments around the world are becoming more and more skeptical of the noxious week-killing chemical. Now, time will tell if more follow Sri Lanka’s lead in axing the product from their borders altogether.

Bro what's your view on Syngenta?

 

[raktaka]

Good for you Sri Lanka.

Wish our government had the same courage. everything we eat here is coated in pesticides of the worst kind. Cancers are growing by leaps and bounds.

Glyphosate is Manufactured in India so it is unlikely the GoI will ban it.

But kudos to SL for this courageous and Ethical decision taken to protect its citizens.

Bro what's your view on Syngenta?

Just another Monsanto but to be now owned by China ?

Knowing Chinese ethics and general behaviour on adultration and pollution, is that a trick question ?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Bro what's your view on Syngenta?

It doesn't matter. China is already the largest producer/user of glyphosate (Roundup) in the world, It is the one most used by Chinese farmers. You probably have roundup in every vegetable you eat. The Syngenta purchase just assures you will get even MORE in the future. This year China enforces the ban of Paraquat (the #2 most used herbicide which BTW was a top
seller by Syngenta).

PAN China takes down paraquat | Pesticide Action Network

Yeap.. It all boils down to profit.. But i have read that increasingly Lankan farmers are turning back to organic farming, Especially since the chronic kidney disease attributed to these pesticides are wrecking havoc in the Lankan Agricultural zones in the North West and North central provinces.. Decades of soil contamination have seeped through to the water table in these area's and ground water have become poisonous

by 2014 organic foods in the US hit $39B. 2015 over $45B.

Every week I buy bags of organic spinach, organic Kale, organic celery, organic lettuce, organic carrots, organic arugula, organic radicchio, organic broccoli, organic peas, organic corn, and organic swisschard mostly for the lunch salad I make every day.

They even sell organic soil here

 

[Indika]

For instance Indian environmentalists and activists have been struggling to enact legislation on Mosanto GMP but have failed in the face of political lobbying by Mosanto,

There is indeed severe opposition to monsanto in india,but MNC has strong clout. May be we will wake up when the disaster strikes.
Brave decision by Lanka, expect some misinformation campaign and backlash. These companies just dont simply walkaway.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

There is indeed severe opposition to monsanto in india,but MNC has strong clout. May be we will wake up when the disaster strikes.
Brave decision by Lanka, expect some misinformation campaign and backlash. These companies just dont simply walkaway.

Well keep in mind it's the farmers who will do most of the crying. Monsanto will just be their unified mouthpiece.

 

[HeinzG]

Yeap.. It all boils down to profit.. But i have read that increasingly Lankan farmers are turning back to organic farming, Especially since the chronic kidney disease attributed to these pesticides are wrecking havoc in the Lankan Agricultural zones in the North West and North central provinces.. Decades of soil contamination have seeped through to the water table in these area's and ground water have become poisonous

There is no large scale incentive to move into organic farming. Last government tried it on small scale with some degree of success. But they even couldn't replicate it on the nation wide level. Farmers no longer use the traditional paddy seeds. They are now used to the more modern bio engineered paddy seeds which relies heavily on the pesticides.

Therefore I find it a really a bad move by the gov. who only aims to make PR frenzy by doing these kind of things. Besides they use this excuse to increase the pesticide price thus making life very difficult to the farmers.

 

[Gibbs]

Bro what's your view on Syngenta?

I dont see a difference, Syngenta infact is the main competitor for Mosanto especially in GMF sector.. It is also well known for poaching seeds and herbal plants from underdevelopment countries to patent them in arbitrary manner.. Depriving those bio diversity rich but poorer countries billions of $'s in revenue, Basically fleecing them