Federal appeals court rejects Trump era glyphosate ruling; WOTUS protects life

Roundup® is a threat to human life and is known to cause birth defects and spontaneous abortions despite assurances from the Trump Organization's Environmental Protection Agency to the contrary.

Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Michelle Friedland said EPA’s finding of no risk to human health “was not supported by substantial evidence.” She also ruled that EPA fell short of its obligations under the Endangered Species Act by inadequately examining glyphosate’s impact on animal species and vegetation. Last year, Bayer set aside $4.5 billion to deal with the claims that glyphosate causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer. The company had previously taken a charge of nearly $10 billion for earlier rounds of litigation. [Court rejects Trump-era EPA finding that Roundup weed killer is safe]

High levels of glyphosate, a known endocrine disruptor, are also found in oats, chickpeas and corn sugars.

Recall Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling or MCOOL was repealed during the second Obama term to shield American commodities from scrutiny because every ag product, meats both wild and domestic not grown organically in the United States is contaminated with atrazine, neonicotinoids, glyphosate, dicamba, DDT, mercury, lead, PFAS, E. coli, Imazalil plus other toxins and pathogens. 

Waters of the United States or WOTUS legislation seeks to give authority to the EPA to use some teeth to enforce the rights of people downstream to have clean water even from some sources that the US Geological Survey has already identified as impaired. But Republicans and their toadies cry government overreach while WOTUS architects regroup for another round in Congress. Sackett v. EPA is in the Supreme Court spotlight in a test of the authority of the agency to regulate wetland protection.

The Sackett case has drawn the attention of the regulated community because an eventual court ruling could determine the way water is regulated for generations to come. EPA's 2015 connectivity report asserted that lakes and reservoirs may contribute to groundwater, which eventually contributes to other surface water flows. [Western Ag Asks EPA for WOTUS Clarity]

Particularly concerning is Imazalil, a carcinogenic fungicide that can alter hormone levels especially in children and adolescents. It was detected last year on 90% of citrus not grown organically in the United Snakes. DCPA, sold under the brand name Dacthal, was banned in Europe in 2009 but is still widely used in the US on kale and other greens as are neonicotinoids, pyrethroids and some 20 other pesticides. Also banned by the European Union are the organophosphate insecticides acephate and chlorpyrifos that can harm developing brains but the Trump Organization refused to block chlorpyrifos from being used on US produce.

Republican welfare farmers are the real ecoterrorists who hate subsidies unless they benefit from them.