During President Obama’s most recent State of The Union Address, he vowed to utilize the full spectrum of the U.S. government’s resources to create a “Moonshot-like” effort geared toward finding a cure for cancer. Why then, is Round Up, a ‘likely carcinogen,’ still being sold on markets across the United States and sprayed on our food?
President Obama also broke a 2007 campaign promise to label GMOs, but he can make things right before leaving office by acting on a highly-prevalent toxic chemical compound used today – glyphosate. Glyphosate is the active compound used in herbicides like Round Up – Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide.
California’s Environmental Protection Agency is even going to label bottles of Round Up as carcinogenic.
The IARC of the World Health Organization who regularly reviews the toxicity of industrial chemicals has also called Round Up a carcinogen. Why will you not do the same, Mr. President? Do we need any more proof that glyphosate is incredibly toxic? Why do we continue to allow a noxious, cancer-causing agent that is even showing up in fetal cells to be used so copiously?
As citizens of the United States, we urge you to act on glyphosate-containing products such as Round Up immediately, suspending all sales in the U.S.
From its use on GMO crops (90% of which are engineered to withstand repeated high-doses of Roundup) to its use as a desiccant on many conventional grains, Roundup is pervasive in our food system, our waterways, and is even found in our urine and breast milk!
The petition reads:
“President Obama:
During your most recent State Of The Union Address you vowed to utilize the full spectrum of the U.S. government’s resources to create a ‘Moonshot-like’ effort geared toward finding a cure for cancer. We wholeheartedly agree that this is an issue of grave importance for all Americans, especially those whose lives have been touched by the devastation that a cancer diagnosis can bring to our families, our friends, and our co-workers.
If we are going to seriously address the ravages of cancer upon human health, there can be no better place to start than by ridding our food system of carcinogenic chemicals that are routinely sprayed on the food that we eat and feed to our children.
In March of 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (the world’s leading authority on carcinogenicity), announced that after a lengthy review of all the relevant scientific evidence they have classified Glyphosate (AKA Roundup) as a “probable human carcinogen.”
Unfortunately, the use and abuse of glyphosate is widespread within our food system, and we urge you to issue an Executive Order IMMEDIATELY suspending all sales of Roundup in the U.S. From its use on GMO crops (90% of which are engineered to withstand repeated high doses of Roundup) to its use as a desiccant on many conventional grains, Roundup is ubiquitous in our food system, our waterways, and is even found in our urine and breast milk!
Therefore we hereby request that you take action TODAY to protect our health and our environment by banning the sale and use of Glyphosate IMMEDIATELY.”
Join others in telling Obama NO MORE ROUND UP!
CALL TO ACTION: Sign the petition to President Obama:
Sign here: http://bit.ly/1n5NhLV
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Featured image credit (modified): BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images.