Is weedkiller a cancer threat?

YOU don’t have to be a member of Greenpeace to understand that chemicals thought of as game-changers when introduced — DDT or Thalidomide say — might, in the fullness of time, be viewed differently. The law of unintended consequences applies to chemicals in a very forceful way.

A decision is needed about whether we can continue to use glyphosate — Roundup — in crop management. One arm of the WHO has ruled that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans”. However, another arm concluded it is “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans”. So, for the moment, it is a case of buyer beware. Clarification is urgently needed.

Despite that conflict, Ireland last year supported a renewal of glyphosate use across the EU for 15 years. Sanity intervened and approval was granted for just 18 months. It is impossible at this stage to make a definitive ruling but prudence suggests we might minimise our exposure to the weedkiller.