After years of studies pointing to its carcinogenic properties, California has labeled glyphosate (Roundup^®) a cancer causing agent:

California has just dealt a blow to Monsanto as the state’s Environmental Protection Agency has decided to list glyphosate, the highly toxic main ingredient used in Roundup, as a known carcinogenic.

Under Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, the state is required to list and publish chemicals that cause birth defects, cancer, or other reproductive harm. If a chemical is found to be carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), they are required to be listed as well.

The IARC released a report, in March, that states glyphosate to be a ‘probably carcinogen.’ The report shows that the herbicide has been found to cause cancer in lab animals as well.

There have been concerns about the cancer causing effects of Roundup^® since its commercial release.

There have been studies that have reinforced these concerns for over a decade.

Unfortunately, the standard, in the US at least, is to require proof of harm, rather than, as is the case with medications, a proof of safety.