This is a really great day for evidence-based policy, which means it's a really bad day for environmental and anti-GMO activists. Brazil's health agency, known as ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária), declared that glyphosate does not cause cancer.
The press release issued by the agency (translated into English using Google) says that glyphosate does not pose a hazard to the average person because:
"...the product has not been classified as mutagenic, carcinogenic, toxic for reproduction, teratogenic (causing fetal malformation), among others."
The only warning that the report issued was for people who apply glyphosate in the field or live nearby. The report says:
"The main conclusion of the re-evaluation is that glyphosate poses a greater risk to workers working in crops and to people living close to these areas. Therefore, the main measures proposed are focused on measures related to the handling of the product during its application and its dispersion."
In other words, the report plans to update some safety guidelines for people who work in the field. Other than that, don't worry about glyphosate. This is completely in line with the scientific consensus, and the report itself notes that as well:
"The conclusion is similar to that obtained in other countries that have recently reviewed the use of glyphosate in the field, such as the United States and Canada, in addition to the European Union."
Anti-Biotech and Environmental Activists Reject the Scientific Consensus on Glyphosate
Not that any of this matters to the people who get paid to lie about biotechnology, such as Greenpeace and the Environmental Working Group. To those activists, the scientific consensus on glyphosate is simply evidence of a gigantic Monsanto-led conspiracy that somehow involves the U.S. EPA, the European Food Safety Authority, the World Health Organization, and now Brazil's ANVISA, all of which agree that glyphosate doesn't cause cancer.
Just today, another conspiracy theory was posted on Twitter by science writer and anti-biotech activist Michael Balter (who, incidentally, was fired by Science Magazine for a "breakdown of trust"). Notice the conspiracy he invokes involves the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, California State University-Long Beach, Monsanto, Bayer, and the judicial system.
Much to my surprise, there's absolutely no mention of black helicopters, chemtrails, FEMA death camps, or Area 51. But, just in case...
