Abstract
History has shown that proving a specific chemical causes cancer is a long road that can leave countless lives in limbo for decades while the science is sorted out. But when it comes to the impact a certain chemical can have on the environment, often the evidence is easier to see. In fact, sometimes it is impossible to miss.
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Notes
- 1.
Bill Johnson, in conversation with the author, December 2016.
- 2.
Roberto A. Ferdman, “The Decline of the Small American Family Farm in One Chart,” Washington Post, September 16, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/16/the-decline-of-the-small-american-family-farm-in-one-chart/?utm_term=.f53170de29bc.
- 3.
Kent Fraser, “Glyphosate Resistant Weeds—Intensifying,” Stratus Ag Research, January 25, 2013, http://stratusresearch.com/blog/glyphosate-resistant-weeds-intensifying.
- 4.
Dallas Peterson, in conversation with the author, January 2017.
- 5.
I. Heap, “International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds: Weeds Resistant to EPSP Synthase Inhibitors (G/9) by Species and Country,” accessed December 23, 2016, http://weedscience.org/Summary/MOA.aspx?MOAID=12.
- 6.
Andre Gallant, “Pigweed in the Cotton: A ‘Superweed’ Invades Georgia,” Modern Farmer, July 18, 2013, http://modernfarmer.com/2013/07/superweeds-2/.
- 7.
Dean Campbell, in conversation with the author, December 2016.
- 8.
Mike Owen and Chris Boerboom, “National Glyphosate Stewardship Forum,” November 17, 2004, http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/weednews/2006/NGSF%20final%20report.pdf.
- 9.
Chris Boerboom, “National Glyphosate Stewardship Forum II: A Call to Action,” March 21, 2007, http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/mgmt/2007/NGSFII_final.pdf.
- 10.
Bryan Young, in conversation with the author, December 2016.
- 11.
Patricia Callahan, “EPA Tosses Aside Safety Data, Says Dow Pesticide for GMOs Won’t Harm People,” Chicago Tribune, December 8, 2015, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-gmo-crops-pesticide-resistance-met-20151203-story.html.
- 12.
Center for Biological Diversity, “EPA Approves Use of Dangerous Herbicide Dicamba on GE Crops,” press release, November 9, 2016, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/pesticides-11-09-2016.html.
- 13.
Chris Clayton, “Farmer Allegedly Killed Over Dicamba,” DTN, October 28, 2016, https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2016/10/28/confrontation-herbicide-drift-leads.
- 14.
Center for Food Safety, “Public Interest Groups, Farmers File Lawsuit Challenging Monsanto’s Toxic Pesticides,” press release, January 23, 2017, http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/4744/public-interest-groups-farmers-file-lawsuit-challenging-monsantos-toxic-pesticides.
- 15.
Stanley Culpepper, in conversation with the author, January 2017.
- 16.
Bryan Young, in conversation with the author, December 2016.
- 17.
Eric Lipton, “Food Industry Enlisted Academics in G.M.O. Lobbying War, Emails Show,” New York Times, September 5, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/food-industry-enlisted-academics-in-gmo-lobbying-war-emails-show.html.
- 18.
E-mail communications and other documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know and the New York Times, https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2303692/david-shaw-missstateuniverdocs.pdf.
- 19.
Ibid.
- 20.
Monsanto Company, “USDA Deregulates Monsanto’s Next-Generation Weed Control Trait Technology,” press release, January 15, 2015, http://news.monsanto.com/press-release/usda-deregulates-monsantos-next-generation-weed-control-trait-technology.
- 21.
Dean Campbell, in conversation with the author, December 2016.
- 22.
Brice X. Semmens et al., “Quasi-Extinction Risk and Population Targets for the Eastern, Migratory Population of Monarch Butterflies,” Scientific Reports 6, no. 23265 (March 21, 2016), doi:10.1038/srep23265.
- 23.
Center for Biological Diversity et al., “Before the Secretary of the Interior: Petition to Protect the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) under the Endangered Species Act,” August 26, 2014, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/pdfs/Monarch_ESA_Petition.pdf.
- 24.
Darryl Fears, “The Monarch Massacre: Nearly a Billion Butterflies Have Vanished,” Washington Post, February 9, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/09/the-monarch-massacre-nearly-a-billion-butterflies-have-vanished/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.1f5b58f87bdc.
- 25.
Pollinator Health Task Force, “National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators,” May 19, 2015, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/Pollinator%20Health%20Strategy%202015.pdf.
- 26.
Monsanto Company, “The Monarch Butterfly,” Beyond the Rows (blog), February 2, 2014, http://monsantoblog.com/2014/02/24/the-monarch-butterfly/.
- 27.
Robert Kremer, in conversations with the author, March 2010 and January 2016.
- 28.
Monsanto Company, “The Science of Roundup Ready Technology, Glyphosate, and Micronutrients: Part 3—Glyphosate and Soil Microbes,” September 2011, http://www.monsanto.com/products/documents/glyphosate-background-materials/rrplus%20iii%20-%20glyphosate%20and%20soil%20microbes%20-%20final-9-30-11.pdf.
- 29.
Stephen O. Duke et al., “Glyphosate Effects on Plant Mineral Nutrition, Crop Rhizosphere Microbiota, and Plant Disease in Glyphosate-Resistant Crops,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60, no. 42 (October 24, 2012): 10375–10397, doi:10.1021/jf302436u.
- 30.
Jefferson Dodge, “Expert: GMOs to Blame for Problems in Plants, Animals,” Boulder Weekly, August 11, 2011, http://www.boulderweekly.com/news/expert-gmos-to-blame-for-problems-in-plants-animals/.
- 31.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, “Citrus: World Markets and Trade,” January 2017, https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/citrus.pdf; U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Citrus Fruits: Final Estimates, 2003–2007,” Statistical Bulletin 1009, December 2008, http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/SB997/sb1009.pdf.
- 32.
G. S. Johal and D. M. Huber, “Glyphosate Effects on Diseases of Plants,” European Journal of Agronomy 31, no. 3 (October 2009): 144–152, doi:10.1016/j.eja.2009.04.004.
- 33.
Frank Dean, in conversation with the author, July 2016.
- 34.
Craig Ramsey, in conversation with the author, January 2017.
- 35.
Stephanie Strom, “Misgivings about How a Weed Killer Affects the Soil,” New York Times, September 19, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/misgivings-about-how-a-weed-killer-affects-the-soil.html.
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Gillam, C. (2017). When Weeds Don’t Die, But Butterflies Do. In: Whitewash. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-833-6_11
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