American Soybean Association (ASA) Chairman Ray Gaesser and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Chip Bowling issued a joint statement Wednesday, expressing concern that a pending announcement from the U.N. World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) about two widely used herbicides will lead to more confusion and concern.
The IARC is scheduled to release the findings of its review of Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and dicamba this month. The two substances play an especially important role in corn and soybean farming by allowing growers to manage weeds in a sustainable way.
The statement said that the IARC exists to review health and safety data to decide whether something could -- not will or is even likely to -- be carcinogenic.
“IARC creates confusion and unnecessary fear among the public by using narrowly-focused data removed from real-world situations to find almost everything that it reviews as potentially carcinogenic, including drinking coffee, using aloe vera or working the late shift,” the statement said.
It also said the two herbicides and others under review have been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies and regulatory reviews.
“Government regulatory agencies charged with protection of public health in more than 100 countries have evaluated the science and concluded that 2,4-D and glyphosate do not increase health risks when used as directed. In fact, no government in the world considers them carcinogens. That includes U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada and the World Health Organization, the same World Health Organization that oversees IARC.”
More Stories
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Announces one Vacancy on the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: Support Ag Literacy Through the AFB Foundation for Agriculture’s Online Silent Auction
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: Farm Bureau: Members Accept Leadership Roles on National Committees
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Office of the Farm to Fork Invites Application for 2021 Farm to School Grants
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Awards Funding to Support Agricultural Education and Leadership Opportunities as part of the Calag Plate Program
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: AFBF Welcomes Nomination of Katherine Tai for U.S. Trade Representative
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Announces Vacancies on Feed Inspection Advisory Board Technical Advisory Subcomittee
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: AFBF Stands-Up for Farmers in Predatory Shakedown
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CFDA Issues Stop Use Notice and Statewide Quarantine on Organic Fertilizer AGRO Gold WS
- AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: Registration Open for American Farm Bureau Virtual Convention, Featuring Mike Rowe, Rorke Denver and Beth Ford