Candidate: ban glyphosate

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Candidate: ban glyphosate

A CANDIDATE in the November state election is calling for the immediate ban of glyphosate.
Geoff Pain, the Health Australia Party’s (HAP) candidate for the Legislative Council seat of Eastern Victoria Region, said despite a US jury granting a terminally ill retired groundskeeper US$289m in damages for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was attributed to herbicide glyphosate, the Australian Government has taken no precautionary measures to protect its citizens.
Glyphosate is the active chemical ingredient in the commonly used herbicide marketed as Roundup.
“Many concerned citizens around Australia are questioning why local and state governments are lagging so far behind countries such as Canada where most provinces have introduced cosmetic pesticide bans in urban areas,” he said.
“This is not only for glyphosate/Roundup but on a range of harmful pesticides with known links to cancers, neurological and autoimmune diseases.
“International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) lists glyphosate as being ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ and there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate animal carcinogenicity.
“Research also indicates that glyphosate is a bio-accumulative residue in soil and food, and can now be measured in the general population via blood, urine and breastmilk.
“As well as being an endocrine disruptor, glyphosate is also a neurotoxin and is causing the breeding of increasingly resistant weeds.
“Also notable is the massive decline in global bee populations, reducing pollination and crop yields attributed to use of glyphosate.
“When alternative non-hazardous measures such as steam treatment and non-toxic products approved for organic farming already available, it makes little sense that the precautionary principle isn’t applied.
“When elected, the HAP will call for an immediate ban of glyphosate use in all public areas, particularly around schools and parks. In addition, the use of glyphosate in farming should be eliminated, with a transition period to ensure that farmers are not disadvantaged during the change.
“The HAP will strongly encourage the use of other non-hazardous methods in farming practises as a matter of priority.”
Mr Pain’s career included many years as an environmental consultant with specialist interest in toxicology.

Taking a stand: Geoff Pain, the Health Australia Party’s candidate for the Legislative Council seat of Eastern Victoria Region (back, at left) with other party candidates, front left, Andrew Hicks (Eastern Metropolitan Region), Pippa Campbell (Northern Metropolitan), Briony Jenkinson (Western Metropolitan and Ben Moore (Southern Metropolitan).

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Posted by on Oct 16 2018. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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