EPA Says Glyphosate Likely Not Carcinogenic

Randall Weiseman Field Crops, General, Specialty Crops

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its long-awaited decision Friday on whether glyphosate is carcinogenic, as a World Health Organization division claims.

The EPA announced the agency believes glyphosate is not likely carcinogenic to humans. Last year, the World Health Organization’s cancer arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

However, global opinions vary on the subject, according to Reuters. The European Food Safety Authority last November said glyphosate was “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans.”

The EPA’s proposed position on glyphosate was outlined in a 227-page paper. The EPA said the agency expects to publish its final assessment of glyphosate in the spring of 2017.

(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters News Service)