Earth Convulsions > EU authorizes Glyphosate for 10 more years; Fed Court bans plastic bans in Canada

 

EU commission to prolong use of controversial

herbicide glyphosate for 10 years

The European Union will extend glyphosate’s authorisation for 10 years, even though its member states failed to agree over the active ingredient in Bayer AG’s Roundup weedkiller.

By:NEWS WIRES

Glyphosate has proved divisive since the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency concluded in 2015 that it was probably carcinogenic to humans. Other agencies around the world, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EU agencies, have classified it as non-carcinogenic.

The European Commission said on Thursday it would renew glyphosate’s approval based on European Food Agency and European Chemicals Agency safety assessments and subject to new conditions and restrictions, such as maximum application rates.

Bayer welcomed the EU executive’s decision, which was condemned by environmental groups including Greenpeace.

“This reauthorisation allows us to continue to provide important integrated weed management technology to farmers across the European Union,” Bayer said in a statement.

The German company, which acquired Roundup through its $63 billion purchase of Monsanto in 2018, faces thousands of cancer lawsuits from plaintiffs across the United States.

Glyphosate has been widely used for decades by farmers and in other uses such as to clear weeds from railway lines.

The Commission had proposed extending authorisation by 10 years and sought approval from the EU’s 27 member countries.

A more substantial “qualified majority” had been required either to support of block the proposal, but on Thursday and a month ago, the voting did not clear this hurdle.

Under EU rules, the Commission had to take a decision on authorisation which was due to expire on Dec. 15.

French pro-environmental farming group Confederation Paysanne called the decision and the approval process “scandalous”. France was among a number of countries to abstain.

Greenpeace said it was outraged by the decision, which was contrary to numerous opinions of scientists on glyphosate’s probable negative effects on human health and the environment.

Agriculture without glyphosate was possible, it said, and public policies should help farmers to phase it out. Farming group Copa and Cogeca said there was no equivalent alternative.

Individual EU countries will remain responsible for authorising plant protection products containing glyphosate.

(Reuters)

The Federal Court just overturned Ottawa’s

single-use plastic ban

The Federal Court overturned Canada’s ban on single-use plastic on Thursday, deeming the policy “unreasonable and unconstitutional.”

The decision found that the classification of plastics in the cabinet order was too broad to be listed on the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 and the government acted outside of its authority.

“There is no reasonable apprehension that all listed Plastic Manufactured Items are harmful,” the decision read.

The decision has essentially quashed a cabinet order that listed plastic manufactured items, such as plastic bags, straws, and takeout containers, as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a statement that the federal government is “strongly considering an appeal” of the decision.

“Canadians have been loud and clear that they want action to keep plastic out of our environment,” he said. “We will have more to say on next steps soon.”

The decision has implications for the government’s ban on six single-use plastic items. The government is only able to regulate substances for environmental protection if they are listed as toxic under CEPA.

The decision found that it was not reasonable to say all plastic manufactured items are harmful because the category is too broad.

The regulations banning plastic items are already being phased in, with a ban on manufacturing and importing six different categories already in place, and a full ban on their sale and export planned by the end of 2025.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement that the decision “demonstrates a continued pattern of federal overreach intended to subvert the constitutionally protected role and rights of provinces,” and that the ban has had “wide-ranging consequences for Alberta’s economic interests.” She said the ban has put thousands of jobs and billions of investments at risk.

“Alberta is proudly home to Canada’s largest petrochemical sector, a sector with more than $18 billion in recently announced projects that were needlessly put in jeopardy by a virtue-signalling federal government with no respect for the division of powers outlined in the Canadian Constitution,” she said. She urges the federal government not to appeal the decision.

The case was brought by the Responsible Plastic Use Coalition and several chemical companies that manufacture plastics.

— with files from the Canadian Press.

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Nutrition and Dementia > The Link between super-processed foods and dementia, etc., etc

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Ultra-processed foods linked to cognitive decline, dementia: study

By Brooke Steinberg

December 6, 2022 11:22am  Updated

Ultra-processed foods might make our lives easier and taste delicious, but they might have detrimental impacts down the line — possibly leading to dementia.

A new study published in JAMA Neurology on Monday found that people could be at a higher risk of cognitive decline if more than 20% of their daily caloric intake is ultra-processed foods.

That’s about 400 calories a day in a diet of 2,000 calories a day. An order of small fries and a regular cheeseburger from McDonald’s is 530 calories.

Other examples of ultra-processed foods include frozen pizza, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, cookies, cakes, candy, doughnuts and ice cream.

In the study, researchers defined ultra-processed foods as “industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers and other cosmetic additives.”

“Fifty-eight percent of the calories consumed by United States citizens, 56.8% of the calories consumed by British citizens, and 48% of the calories consumed by Canadians come from ultra-processed foods,” co-author Dr. Claudia Suemoto, an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of São Paulo Medical School, said.

Those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline.

Getty Images

The part of the brain involved in executive functioning — the ability to process information and make decisions — is especially impacted by the risk of cognitive decline, according to the study.

More than 10,000 Brazilians between 35 and 74 years old were followed for up to 10 years for the study, which aimed to see how eating this kind of food affected brain power.

A new study found that people could be at a higher risk of cognitive decline if more than 20% of their daily caloric intake

is ultra-processed foods. Getty Images

Participants were tested at the beginning and end of the study to see if their mental state had changed. Tests included immediate and delayed word recall, word recognition and verbal fluency. They also had to complete food questionnaires to determine how much ultra-processed foods they consumed.

Those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive-function decline compared to those who ate less than 20%.

In addition to cognitive decline, ultra-processed foods can be linked to an increased risk in obesity, heart and circulation problems, diabetes, cancer and a shorter life span.

Examples of ultra-processed foods include frozen pizza, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, cookies, cakes, candy, doughnuts,

 and ice cream. Getty Images

One way to prevent ultra-processed foods from impairing your cognitive health is by cooking and preparing the food from scratch, according to Suemoto.

“People need to know they should cook more and prepare their own food from scratch. I know we say we don’t have time, but it really doesn’t take that much time,” she said. 

“And it’s worth it, because you’re going to protect your heart and guard your brain from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. That’s the take-home message: Stop buying things that are super processed.” 

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Atheist Oncologist Returns to Faith While Treating Cancer Patients

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Atheist Oncologist Returns to Faith While Treating Cancer Patients:

Science Proves the Existence of Higher Power

BY MARINA ZHANG TIME

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 

Dr. Stephen Iacoboni is part of the baby boomer generation. Born in 1952, he came of age during the 1960s when the country was living in the bubble of the ideal American Dream.

“I was raised as a Roman Catholic, and I was very faithful,” said Iacoboni, “but there are some inherent contradictions with Christianity, and when you’re young and idealistic, you don’t understand that humans are imperfect, and so you blame them for things that are just part of being a frail human with faults.”

Iacoboni’s disillusionment came in the early 70s, when the societal problems festering in America’s inner cities rose to the surface with civil rights protests and anti-war movements against the Vietnam War.

Anti-war demonstrators, wearing black armbands, fill the steps of the United States Capitol Building

and hold hands on the day of the National Moratorium in Washington D.C., to protest against the

continuing war in Vietnam, on Oct. 15, 1969. (AFP/Getty Images)

“I was raised to be patriotic and believed that everyone was equal; I became a young adult and [realized that] people of color don’t have the same rights and [we have been] slaughtering innocent people in Southeast Asia [in the Vietnam War],” Iacoboni told The Epoch Times during a phone call.

The United States withdrew from Vietnam once the casualties were too much for the country to bear.

In the aftermath of the lost war, Christians, who mostly held conservative views were blamed for the anti-communist policies that led to the United States’s eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War. This included the mounting casualties, traumatized veterans, and stories of brutal killings by the U.S. military upon the Vietnamese civilians.

Republicans are very good at associating their policies with Christian ideals, as if God wanted America to go to war in Viet Nam. Only the weapons manufacturers and their investors really wanted to go to war. This association is what has allowed Democrats to come out full force against anything Christian.

While Christians faced attack in the public forum for pushing the war agenda, modern science was spouting exciting new discoveries, framed in narratives that denied the existence of a higher being.

There is much more on this article in the Epoch Times. It is well worth the read.

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Covid-19 > Chinese Close to Covid Panacea; EU's Political Games Cost Lives; NHS Cancer Patients Being Sidelined

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Antibody neutralizing all Covid variants found,

Chinese scientists claim

1 Dec, 2021 14:49

(FILE PHOTO) © REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Chinese scientists claim to have isolated an antibody which can effectively neutralize all strains of Covid-19, referencing both lab experiments and those performed on a living organism.

In a study published on Tuesday, Chinese scientists from a variety of institutions, including Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, suggested that they may have the panacea to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The authors claim that monoclonal antibody 35B5 has been shown in both in vitro (laboratory or test-tube experiment) and in vivo (performed on living organism) studies to neutralize wild-type Covid-19 (without mutations) as well as variants of concern (VOCs). The in vivo tests were carried out on humanized mice. 

The scientists noted that the antibody also works on the highly mutated Delta variant, which has been responsible for deadly waves of infection around the world since it first emerged in India earlier this year.

“35B5 neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19] by targeting a unique epitope [part of the antigen molecule which the antibody attaches itself to] that avoids the prevailing mutation sites,” the study explains. In other words, 35B5 targets a unique part of the virus that does not change during the mutation process.

By targeting part of the virus which is not impacted by the mutations identified in circulating VOCs, antibody 35B5 demonstrated capacity for “pan-neutralizing efficacy” across multiple strains. These findings, the scientists argue, could be “exploited for the rational design of a universal SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19] vaccine.”

The part of the antigen targeted by antibody 35B5 is also present in the Omicron variant, the researchers note.

The research could prove particularly valuable amid the spread of Omicron, which is highly mutated. Leaders and scientists around the world are concerned the mutant virus could evade vaccine-induced immunity and immunity gained from previous infection. 

==========================================================================================

Hungary slams EU for ‘political’ refusal to recognize

Russian Covid-19 vaccine

27 Nov, 2021 21:15

FILE PHOTO: A medical specialist holds a vial of Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in a department store in Moscow, Russia, January 18, 2021 © Reuters / Shamil Zhumatov

Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto told RT he’s “frustrated” with Western officials playing politics with Russia’s Sputnik V, the world’s first Covid vaccine. He says they can’t bring themselves to publicly admit it’s “the best.”

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen, yet Russia’s Sputnik V is still awaiting the agency’s nod despite getting approval in over 70 countries worldwide. For Hungarians vaccinated with Sputnik V, that means they’re frozen out of the EU’s bloc-wide Digital Covid Certificate system, even though Hungary will start locally producing the vaccine next year.

“This is a political and ideological issue and I am very frustrated about this,” Szijjarto told RT, describing how under EU regulations, either the EMA or national governments can approve vaccines, as Hungary’s government did with Sputnik V and China’s Sinopharm shot. “We don’t understand why [this approval] is not respected by the other member states,” he added.

It's not in the Deep State narrative, Peter!

The EU’s cold shoulder for the Sputnik V shot is more a question of politics than efficacy, Szijjarto suggested.

“Whenever I talk to Western European colleagues... they always tell me that they know that Russian scientific performance can be spoken about only very highly,” he said. “I tell them ‘Look, it works the best. Of course it works well.”

Privately they all say that… when it comes to publicly, they all say differently.

“I hoped for the conflicts to be left behind. And I hope for countries’ understanding that we need to cooperate on the issues like saving the lives of people. But, unfortunately, I have to be disappointed because this is not the case,” the minister said.

Saving lives is never part of the Deep State narrative!

Szijjarto added that the timely arrival of Sputnik V and the Chinese vaccine made by Sinopharm had helped the Hungarian economy reach pre-pandemic level by the summer.

“At the beginning – I mean [during] the first part of this year – the deliveries from Western producers were [at times] late. They were cancelled even sometimes, or the volume was less compared to what was contracted,” Szijjarto said.

The fact that both Sinopharm and Sputnik delivered additional volumes [on time] compared to others, gave us a huge advantage. We could reopen the country and the national economy around two months earlier than the European average.

Phase 3 trial data showing the efficacy of Sputnik V has been published in the authoritative medical journal, The Lancet, while a comparative study based on data from Hungary and published this week found the Russian jab to be the most effective of five different vaccines in preventing Covid-related deaths. Sputnik V came in second behind the US-made Moderna shot in preventing infection in the first place. The study was based on data from 3.7 million people.

When it came to choosing his own vaccine, Szijjarto turned to the Russian-developed jab. “The reason for my vaccination with Sputnik is crystal clear,” he told RT. “When I was a kid, I was vaccinated by Soviet vaccines. Since I am still alive and doing well, I decided, why should I change?”

Szijjarto went on to talk more about the politicization of vaccination, and had some choice words for the European politicians and bureaucrats who “attacked” Hungary over its hardline immigration policies.

Up to 740,000 missed cancer referrals in UK due to Covid-19

1 Dec, 2021 07:01

A healthcare worker pays her respects to mark the anniversary of Britain's first COVID-19 lockdown,

in London, March 23, 2021 © Reuters / Hannah McKay

As many as 740,000 urgent cancer case referrals have been missed in the UK since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic due to backlogs and growing waiting lists, a new report has warned.

The UK National Audit Office (NAO) estimated in a report on Wednesday that between 240,000 and 740,000 urgent referrals for suspected cancer cases were missed from the start of the pandemic until September 2021, as “millions of people have avoided seeking, or been unable to obtain, healthcare.”

The report claimed that the number of people undergoing cancer treatment dropped to such levels as Covid-19 took hold in the UK. “By June 2021, NHS cancer services activity had recovered to pre-pandemic levels. However, in September 2021 only 68% of patients requiring treatment within 62 days of urgent referral by their GP were receiving that treatment on time,” the NAO said.

The NAO also warned that the waiting list in 2025 could be much higher than it is today, explaining that if “50% of missing referrals return to the NHS and activity grows only in line with pre-pandemic plans, the waiting list would reach 12 million by March 2025.”

Catchup With Cancer co-founder Professor Pat Price said the report “shows we are in the middle of the biggest cancer catastrophe ever to hit the NHS.”

“There is a deadly cocktail of delays across the board, a regional lottery of cancer inequality and a growing cancer backlog. And it feels like the Government and NHS leaders have their heads in the sand,” she said, calling the situation “frightening.”

Monsanto Blowback: Bayer Stock Crashes to 7yr Low after $2bn Roundup Cancer Verdict

© AFP / INA FASSBENDER

German pharmaceutical firm Bayer lost 6.8 percent on share value in trading Tuesday after a US jury awarded a couple from California $2.055 billion in punitive damages for failure to warn of cancer risks of its Roundup herbicide.

According to Monday’s ruling, Roundup weed killer was liable for causing cancer, while US agrochemical firm Monsanto, acquired by Bayer last June, failed to inform consumers about the potential risks. Glyphosate, the basic component in Roundup, was found to be the cause of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in both Alva and Alberta Pilliod.

The jury awarded $18 million in compensatory and $1 billion in punitive damages to Pilliod, while his wife will get another $37 million in compensatory and $1 billion in punitive damages.  The couple has reportedly used the herbicide since the 1970s.

The case marks the third verdict delivered against Roundup since August 2018. Since acquiring Monsanto in a $63 billion deal, Buyer has inherited thousands of lawsuits over the weed killer. The corporation has repeatedly defended the controversial product, claiming that scientific evidence supports Monsanto’s position that glyphosate-based herbicides are not carcinogenic.

Dewayne Johnson was the first cancer victim to take the company to court. The San Francisco groundskeeper was awarded $289 million, as the court ruled that the popular herbicide was responsible for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma. While the award was reduced to $78 million on appeal, it opened the floodgates for thousands of similar cases, and there are more than 11,200 such lawsuits currently pending against the German agrochemical conglomerate.

Bayer’s spokesman called the latest decision “excessive and unjustifiable,” saying that the company would appeal the verdict.

Bayer Beware! Monsanto Found Guilty of Poisoning French Farmer

French cereal farmer Paul Francois © Reuters / Emmanuel Foudrot

A French court has ruled that US agrochemical firm Monsanto, currently owned by German drug company Bayer, was liable for the sickness of a farmer who inhaled fumes from a weed killer made by the company.

The 55-year-old cereal farmer Paul Francois said he has suffered neurological damage, including memory loss, fainting and headaches, after accidentally inhaling Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller in 2004 while working on his farm. He accused the company of not giving sufficient safety warnings.

“Mr Francois justifiably concludes that the product, due to its inadequate labeling that did not respect applicable regulations, did not offer the level of safety he could legitimately expect,” the court said in its ruling.

Bayer AG, the German pharmaceutical company that acquired Monsanto last year, confirmed Thursday’s ruling. It said that was considering its legal options, including an appeal.

Bayer may need a few aspirin to get through the consequences of this ruling

“We are currently reviewing the decision of the court,” the company’s spokeswoman told the BBC.

The court in Lyon rejected Monsanto’s appeal on Tuesday but did not rule on how much it might have to pay. The compensation will be determined in a separate ruling. Meanwhile, Monsanto was ordered to immediately pay €50,000 for Francois’s legal fees. The farmer is seeking about €1 million ($1.1 million) in damages.

Interesting - the judge made sure the lawyers got paid immediately!

Francois has fought a decade-long legal battle against the firm. He had won rulings against Monsanto in 2012 and 2015 before France’s top court overturned the decisions and ordered the new hearing in Lyon.

“We are all happy to have won but it came at a heavy price,” Francois told reporters in Paris, adding: “It’s a big sigh of relief. It’s been 12 years of fighting, 12 years during which I had to put my whole life on hold.”

His lawyer Francois Lafforgue described the initial ruling as a “historic decision.” He said it was the first time a herbicide maker was “found guilty of such a poisoning.”

Lasso has been banned in France since 2007 and had already been withdrawn in some other countries.

Bayer Stock Sinks 12% After Court Rules Weed Killer It Bought from Monsanto Caused Cancer

Why Bayer, primarily a pharmaceutical company, bought Monsanto, an agrochemical company known for making Roundup and Agent Orange, is beyond my imagination. Agent Orange produced dreadful famine in Viet Nam and many horrible diseases in the people and in the soldiers who encountered it. 

Bayer's website makes this astonishing claim:

We exist to help people thrive - Advancing health and nutrition is what we do best and care about most.

© Global Look Press / Sven Hoppe

Bayer shares plunged more than 12 percent after a second US jury ruled that glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer causes cancer. It was a huge blow to the German pharmaceutical giant which bought US agrochemical firm Monsanto.

The stock drop during Wednesday morning trading on the Frankfurt exchange wiped out almost $8 billion from Bayer's market value.

The unanimous decision by a jury in San Francisco federal court followed another ruling made in August in California. Back then, the biotechnology corporation was ordered to pay $289 million in compensatory and punitive damages over the case of a school groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, whose cancer was allegedly caused due to years of using glyphosate-based Roundup.

The latest verdict was not a finding of Bayer’s liability for the cancer of plaintiff Edwin Hardeman. The trial is expected to proceed to the next phase, beginning on Wednesday, with the jury to determine the liability and damages in the case.

Bayer, which specializes in producing pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products, agricultural chemicals and biotechnology products, inherited the legal battles with its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto, the US' leading producer of genetically engineered crops. Bayer may potentially face thousands of similar lawsuits in the US alone.

However, the German company has denied claims that glyphosate or Roundup causes cancer and said it was disappointed with the jury’s decision.

“We are confident the evidence in phase two will show that Monsanto’s conduct has been appropriate and the company should not be liable for Mr. Hardeman’s cancer,” Bayer said in a statement.

Good luck with that! I think you paid a fortune for a big liability.

EU Approval of Glyphosate Weed Killer was Based on ‘Plagiarized’ Monsanto Studies

© Reuters / Charles Platiau

EU regulators based a decision to relicense the controversial glyphosate-based Monsanto weed-killer on an assessment which was heavily plagiarized from agri-chemical industry reports, a cross party group of MEPs has revealed.

The MEPs commissioned the investigation after the Guardian reported that Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) had copy-and-pasted tracts from Monsanto studies into its safety assessment for the weed killer. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) then based its recommendation that glyphosate was safe based on that very report.

And what's wrong with that? Are you suggesting Monsanto's own studies might possibly be slightly bias? C'est impossible! 

The results of the investigation were published just hours before a parliamentary vote on tightening scrutiny on the approval of pesticides. The cross-party report said that BfR had given the “deliberate pretence” of independent assessment, but in reality was “only echoing the industry applicants’ assessment.”

The scale of plagiarism was “extremely alarming” according to Green MEP Molly Scott Cato. The study found that more than 50 percent of the chapters were plagiarized, including whole pages of text.

Bayer, which bought Monsanto for $63 billion last year, is dealing with more than 9,300 lawsuits from people claiming that the company’s glyphosate-based weed killers caused their cancers. The World Health Organization has classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen.

Adding to the company’s woes, a French court on Tuesday decided to cancel the authorization to market RoundUp Pro 360, a Monsanto weed killer product which contains glyphosate. Filings showed that regional court in Lyon ruled to cancel the market authorization for the product, saying the approval, which had been granted by French environment agency ANSES in 2017, had not taken potential health risks into consideration.

The court said that “scientific studies and animal experiments” showed that RoundUp Pro 360 is a “potentially carcinogenic product for humans, suspected of being toxic for human reproduction and for aquatic organisms.” ANSES has not yet commented on the ruling. French President Emmanuel Macron had previously pledged to outlaw it completely in France by 2021.

Bayer has defended the product, however, citing other regulatory rulings which found glyphosate to be safe and the company is appealing a court decision in the US which awarded $78 million in damages to a plaintiff in California.

In 2018, two studies showed that the best-selling herbicide was showing up in food products for both humans and animals. Researchers at Cornell University found the substance in all 18 dog and cat food brands surveyed  — including one product which was certified as GMO-free.

The other study found glyphosate in all oat-based cereals and foods tested. One variant of Quaker Oatmeal Squares, for example, contained nearly 18 times the levels of glyphosate considered acceptable.

Except in Canada, eh! We just approved it for sale here. 

Glyphosate is off-patent and also marketed by dozens of other companies around the world.

Canada Sees No Cancer Risk from Monsanto’s Roundup Weed Killer

Nothing I could say here that would not put me at risk of being sued

Oh, Canada

© Reuters / Benoit Tessier

Canadian farmers will continue using glyphosate after Health Canada concluded that the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer poses no human risks.

The federal agency dismissed eight notices of objection and assertions made in the so-called Monsanto Papers in 2017.

“After a thorough scientific review, we have concluded that the concerns raised by the objectors could not be scientifically supported when considering the entire body of relevant data. The objections raised did not create doubt or concern regarding the scientific basis for the 2017 re-evaluation decision for glyphosate,” Health Canada said in a press release.

The 2017 re-evaluation determined that glyphosate is not genotoxic and is unlikely to pose a human cancer risk. It also determined that dietary exposure associated with the use of glyphosate is not expected to pose a risk of concern to human health. When used according to revised label directions, glyphosate products are not expected to pose risks of concern to the environment, according to the study.

Health Canada said it has selected a group of 20 of its own scientists who were not involved in the 2017 decision to evaluate the eight objections and the concerns raised publicly around glyphosate. The agency said its scientists “left no stone unturned in conducting” the review.

The agency noted that it “had access to numerous individual studies and raw scientific data during its assessment of glyphosate, including additional cancer and genotoxicity studies.” It added that it will “continue to monitor for new information related to glyphosate, including regulatory actions from other governments, and will take appropriate action if risks of concern to human health or the environment are identified.”

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, which is the most popular weed killer in the US. German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer, which bought Monsanto last year, disclosed earlier that lawsuits from 9,300 plaintiffs were pending at the end of October. The lawsuits alleged that the company’s recently acquired weed-killing product caused cancer.

The surge in lawsuits followed the $289-million California court verdict when Monsanto was ordered to pay damages to a man who alleged its glyphosate-based weed killers, including Roundup, caused his cancer.

Bayer rejected all the accusations, claiming there are hundreds of scientific studies and regulatory authorities that show glyphosate, the compound contained in the weed killers, is safe to use.

And how many of those studies were funded by Monsanto? I'm guessing, all of them!

Health Canada to Revisit Approval of Monsanto's Roundup

'Troubling allegations' prompt Health Canada review

of studies used to approve popular weed-killer

Gil Shochat · CBC News 

Health Canada says its scientists are reviewing hundreds of studies used during the approval process for glyphosate,

the active ingredient in Canada's most popular herbicide, Roundup.

Health Canada says in light of "troubling allegations," its scientists are reviewing hundreds of studies used during the approval process for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Canada's most popular herbicide, Roundup.

The decision comes after a coalition of environmental groups claimed Health Canada relied on studies that were secretly influenced by agrochemical giant Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, when it re-approved use of glyphosate in 2015 and confirmed that decision in 2017.

The coalition, which includes Equiterre, Ecojustice, Canadian Physicians for the Environment and others, says academic papers looking at whether the herbicide causes cancer were presented to Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency as independent, when in fact Monsanto had a hand in writing them.

At the time, Health Canada decided the risks of glyphosate to human health were acceptable, if used as directed in updated product labels. Now it's taking another look.

"Health Canada scientists are currently reviewing hundreds of studies to assess whether the information justifies a change to the original decision, or the use of a panel of experts not affiliated with Health Canada," the health agency told CBC-Radio Canada in an email response to the coalition's claims.

But Sidney Ribaux, the head of Equiterre, isn't satisfied.

He says Health Canada should launch an independent review immediately and suspend use of the herbicide, which is commonly applied to corn, soy, wheat and oats, as well as chickpeas and other pulses.

"This does not in any way meet our demands. Health Canada approved a dangerous product based ... on these studies."

Monsanto Papers

The coalition's contention that Monsanto had an uncredited role in producing some of the studies comes from court documents made public in the case of Dewayne "Lee" Johnson.

In August, a California jury ordered Monsanto to pay Johnson $289 million US in damages after the former groundskeeper alleged Roundup gave him non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

He was diagnosed in 2014 at age 42.

A judge upheld the verdict last month, although Johnson's payout was slashed to $78 million US.

The documents filed in the case, including emails between Monsanto and scientific experts, have become known as the Monsanto Papers. The revelations they contain have received worldwide attention.

Plaintiff Dewayne 'Lee' Johnson, seen here during his trial on July 9, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

in 2014 at age 42. A former pest control manager at a San Francisco-area school district, he blames exposure

to glyphosate for his illness. (Josh Edelson/Reuters)

The coalition of Canadian groups says those documents prove that important scientific studies were either co-written or reviewed and edited by Monsanto without properly disclosing the company's role.

"Monsanto has been playing around with scientific studies," said Equiterre's Ribaux. "[It's] making these studies look like they are independent, when in fact they were written or heavily influenced by Monsanto.

"What we found is that some of these studies were key in the Government of Canada's decision to give a permit to Monsanto to continue selling glyphosate in Canada.

"Obviously this is very problematic."

In a statement to CBC, German-based Bayer AG which now owns Monsanto says it has an "unwavering commitment to sound science transparency" and did not try to influence scientific outcomes in any way.

The company says in each case where it sponsored a scientific article, that information was disclosed.

U.S. plaintiff calls for more testing

Lee Johnson, the plaintiff in the landmark American case, wants to see glyphosate research re-evaluated and expanded.

"Hopefully the conversation is big enough to where they have to do more testing, more research," Johnson told CBC-Radio-Canada in an exclusive interview during a recent visit to Toronto.

Johnson said he was thrilled to win his suit, but he knows his fight is far from over. He expects years of appeals.

 I'm not scared to die. You know, but if I have to die,

at least I'll die for something.

- Dewayne "Lee" Johnson

Bayer has already announced its intention to appeal the ruling. Bayer now faces more than 8,000 lawsuits in the U.S. over its glyphosate-based products.

In a post on its website last month, Bayer said it continues "to believe that the liability verdict and damage awards are not supported by the evidence at trial or the law."

The company told CBC-Radio Canada "its product is safe and has been used successfully for more than 40 years."

It also says there is an extensive body of research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 studies required by regulators in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere, that confirms these products are safe when used as directed.

Many government regulators, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2017, have determined there is no conclusive link between glyphosate and cancer.

But the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded in 2015 that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen.

Johnson, who sprayed Roundup and a similar Monsanto product, Ranger Pro, as part of his job as a groundskeeper at a San Francisco Bay Area school district, says he has found a certain consolation in his struggle against Monsanto.

"I was there to defend the truth," he said. "I'm not scared to die. You know, but if I have to die, at least I'll die for something."

Price of Cancer Drug Jumps >1500% - Merry Christmas Big Pharma

It just can't be that hard to write a law making it illegal to significantly raise prices of drugs without substantial improvement in those drugs. It might be easier if lawmakers weren't in the pockets of Big Pharma.

Price gouging? Cancer drug price spikes from $50 to $768 per pill after change of owner

© Global Look Press

A long-standing medication for cancer has become almost unaffordable for most of patients, as its price has skyrocketed 1,500 percent over four years. The company behind the drug is under fire.

The remedy for brain tumors and Hodgkin lymphoma was introduced 42 years ago, and the highest dose was sold for $50 per capsule. The drug, called lomustine had no generic alternative and was branded as CeeNU.

In 2013, the brand’s owner Bristol Myers Squibb sold lomustine to a Miami startup called NextSource. The new owner rebranded the drug, giving it a new name – Gleostine, and multiplied the price by almost sixteen times. Now, the same treatment costs $768 for a single capsule.

According to an analysis done for the Wall Street Journal by Truveen Health Analytics and Elsevier, the company raised the price for Gleostine by 12 percent in November following a 20 percent increase in August.

Dosage is assigned by a patient’s weight with some of them needing more than one pill. That makes the medication’s price point entirely out of reach.

Any government that would allow these obscene price hikes to stand has no interest in the welfare of the lower or middle classes regardless of what they say. This can be dealt with and must be dealt with. It is obvious that free-enterprise doesn't work where one's life and health is on one side and greedy, soulless, selfish jerks are on the other.

NextSource sets prices based on the costs it bears to develop the medication and to pay regulatory agency fees, as well as on the benefits it provides patients, according to the company’s CEO Robert DiCrisci, as quoted by the media. The firm reportedly provides discounts and financial assistance to those who can't afford its cost.

Though the medicine has been in use since 1976, oncologists along with pharmacies have a renewed interest in it, as government-funded research revealed that Gleostine combined with chemotherapy can help patients struggling with brain tumors to live longer.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly started a campaign to provide a more competitive field for the medicines that have no current generics. Approving generic drugs is a top priority for the FDA. Earlier this week, the agency’s commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the FDA had approved a record number of generic drugs.