Glyphosates and Trinidad

Hey everyone! Arielle here. So adding to Sarah's last two posts, Glyphosate? and GRCs Affecting Us.. (which if you haven't already read, you know the drill), how effective or appropriate is this for Trinidad? We understand the purpose of this herbicide and how it may be administered, but use in the US may be completely different from that in Trinidad.

Glyphosates

Credit: National Pesticide Information Center

Glyphosate residues remain on crops, in soil and can persist in the soil for up to 6 months. Some crops, particularly carrots and lettuce were found to have taken up some of the glyphosate from the soil which was treated with it (Henderson et al, 2010). The toxicity levels of glyphosates was tested to be low for humans and animals, as well as the carcinogenic nature of it was found to not affect humans in these low levels, however it was found to be possible that in higher concentrations, it could be carcinogenic as stated in a report done by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN and the World Health Organisation.

Spraying Glyphosate

Credit: Nature's Path

Major reported issues of Glyphosate use were found to be poisonings from spraying the pesticide, in Latin America; spraying soybean crops which are GMOs and in Colombia; spraying Coca crops (a US government funded programme to eliminate cocaine production in Colombia). This resulted in effects recorded up to 10km away from the spray zone and in Colombia, widespread deaths were also reported (Watts et al, 2016). Reported symptoms included:

-Vomiting                                               -Palpitations                

-Diarrhoea                                              -Increased Blood Pressure

-Respiratory Problems                         -Dizziness      

-Skin Rashes/ Irritation/ Blisters      -Chest Pains               

-Abdominal Pain                                   -Insomnia

-Gastrointestinal Infections                -Numbness     

-Blurred Vision                                      -Debilitation

-Conjunctivitis                                        -Dry Cough

-Headaches                                             -Sore Throat

-Fever                                                       -Unpleasant Taste in Mouth

-Rapid Heartbeats        

Imagine now, just how small Trinidad is. What are the implications of spraying Glyphosates in Trinidad? If already existing crop lands are used in GM planting, such as Caroni plains (where sugar cane once thrived), this may pose serious health issues. The Caroni plain is in the middle of a residential area, with many schools nearby. If glyphosates are used, the threat of it being carried by the wind is high, which can seriously affect residents and commuters; anyone who comes into contact with the chemical.

There are alternatives to using glyphosates in combatting weeds. Some methods may be more labour intensive. These include tillage, delayed sowing, crop rotation and the choice of crop can also be used to prevent or reduce weeds (Friends of The Earth Europe, 2013). In Trinidad, most of these methods, if not all are already used, so why not combine them for a better crop? It would be a safer alternative as persons would not be exposed to harmful chemicals.  The video below shows various faming methods around the world some of which are employed to reduce weeds as mentioned above.

Farming Around the World

Credit: Monsanto

There already are solutions for most of the issues and concerns brought up about GMOs and it may actually be feasible for Trinidad. The product seems to be amazing right? So why haven't we started using it yet? Stay tuned for my next post for more.

References:
Bàrberi, P. (2003). Preventative and Cultural Methods for Weed Management. Weed Management for Developing Countries Addendum 1. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5031e/y5031e0e.htm

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organisation. (2016). [Report]. Joint FAO/ WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues Summary Report. Geneva, Switzerland.

Friends of the Earth Europe. (2013). Problems with Glyphosate Overuse and Alternatives for Farmers. Retrieved from https://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/press_releases/foee_6_problems_with_glyphosate_overuse.pdf

Henderson, A. M. et al. (2010). Glyphosate General Fact Sheet; National Pesticide Information Center, Oregon State University Services. Retrieved from http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/glyphogen.html

International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2015). IARC Monographs Volume 112: evaluation of five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides. Retrieved from http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf

Monsanto Company. (2017 May, 25). Farming Around the World. [YouTube]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQuLO6lmMlA

Watts, M. et al. (2016). Glyphosate. Pesticide Action Network International. Retrieved from http://www.pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Glyphosate-monograph.pdf

Images:

Henderson, A. M. et al. (2010). Glyphosate General Fact Sheet; National Pesticide Information Center, Oregon State University Services. Retrieved from http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/glyphogen.html

West, S. (2017 March, 24). Are You Eating Glyphosate? How Organic Farming can Help. [Web log post] Nature's Path Organic. Retrieved from http://blog.naturespath.com/are-you-eating-glyphosate-organic-farming-can-help