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Farmers needed in glyphosate dialogue

A plant scientist says the attack on glyphosate is not science-based and farmers need to be part of the conversation surrounding the weed killer.

Kevin Folta is the chairman of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida.

“We need people to be stepping in and say, ‘on my operation here is what I replaced by using glyphosate, here are the better impacts, here is how it’s better for my bottom line,'” he says. “Those conversations are not being heard by farmers.”

California plans to add glyphosate to its list of cancer-causing chemicals, which requires that products containing or grown with glyphosate carry warnings that it is a known carcinogen. California’s action is based on an advisory by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic.”

He tells Brownfield the claims that are being made against glyphosate are unfounded.

“What we’re seeing with glyphosate especially is an asymmetrically dominant attack on a good product,” he says. “People are in that space motivated by other factors who are really making a case against glyphosate.”

Folta says although ag groups are seeking an injunction to stop relabeling, more farmers need to speak out against these attacks. He says farmers can start by getting involved in social media, where most of the dialogue is taking place.

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