The cumulative effects arrive in our foods and water
To the Expositor:
With the passing of a long, snowy winter, it is with reprieve and joy that we welcome spring. With spring comes the perennial blooms, the longer warm evenings, and of course the anticipation of another growing season. Along with this growing season, as I passed a lush green wheat field this week, I noticed a large chemical sprayer applying the first of many chemical treatments to the land, and the strong smell was evident as I drove by. The industrialized cash crop fields have begun their spring/summer season of treatments.
Just recently, it was announced in local Ontario papers that a national class-action has been certified in Ontario court against the maker of the popular weed-killer brand Roundup. The lawsuit alleges Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer, and that the defendants, Monsanto Canada ULC (now Bayer CropScience Inc.), Monsanto Company, and Bayer Inc. failed to adequately warn users of this alleged risk.
The litigation seeks financial compensation for Canadian residents who have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after “significant exposure” to glyphosate-based herbicides made, marketed, sold or distributed by the above companies prior to Dec. 8, 2023. Significant exposure means application of the product on more than two occasions in a 12-month period and more than 10 occasions in a lifetime.
On Manitoulin, to note, the cash crop fields (aka soy, canola, corn) are often treated with this herbicide 2-3 times in a season, and then there is the exposure from the MTO who will spray the ditches, and then there are homeowners who may use Roundup in their yards or neighbour’s yards (and then, of course, the presence of the glyphosate. That we eat in our food). This cumulative effect often amounts to some residents being exposed to this chemical more than two occasions in a 12 month period. Thankfully, Manitoulin’s forests are not being aerial sprayed as they are further north of us.
Our landscape is changing.
More information on this class action lawsuit is available at mckenzielake.com, kmlaw.ca, and merchantlaw.com.
Janice Mitchell
Tehkummah
