Photo: Facebook - Tony Mitra

Where do you stand on glyphosate?

Tony Mitra, a retired marine engineer, blogger and citizen journalist, is coming to the Okanagan in mid-July to find out how federal election candidates in the area feel about the use of the controversial herbicide.

“Based on what I find from the candidates… (I will) make citizens aware of what choices they have to save our country from toxicity,” Mitra said.

Glyphosate is best known as the active ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide, which is used in over 130 countries worldwide. It is also sprayed over clearcut forests in British Columbia to kill smaller aspens and poplars, allowing the replanted larger trees to flourish.

Mitra has been interested in the use of glyphosate for a few years now, and has interviewed many scientists who warn against its use.

He said critics of the herbicide claim the rise of the use of the chemical, which was introduced in 1974, can be linked to rising rates of a number of chronic diseases. He said Dr. Nancy Swanson, a former U.S. Navy scientist with a Ph.D. in physics who has researched glyphosate effects, has found the rise in the use of the chemical matches the rise in rates of Alzheimers, diabetes, autism, Parkinsons disease and obesity, among others.

Charla Lord, media communications manager at Monsanto, said there is no health risk associated with glyphosate use.

“All labeled uses of glyphosate are safe for human health and supported by one of the most extensive worldwide human health databases ever compiled on an agricultural product,” Lord said.

Despite Monsanto’s stance, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report this March, calling glyphosate “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Lord accused the WHO report of omitting particular studies in their report and said many other regulatory bodies disagree with the WHO assessment.

Mitra is also pushing for an easy-to-access glyphosate testing system in Canada. He said only one testing lab in Richmond, out of 250 in Canada, are able to test for glyphosate in food.

Mitra does not have an exact date as to when he will be in the Okanagan, but said it will be sometime in mid-July. Visit his blog, tonu.org, for the results of his visit.