Tag Archives: World Health Organization

Economy, Featured, Health, Podcast

Truth In Media with Ben Swann, Episode 29: W.H.O. Admits Asymptomatic Spread of Coronavirus Is “Very Rare”

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If this is the case, why is the lockdown of the economy still in place? Plus, we take a look at a similar study which shows zero virus transmission from asymptomatic Covid carriers.

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Civil Liberties, Health, Podcast

Truth In Media with Ben Swann, Episode 11: Seasonal Flu TWICE as Deadly as Coronavirus?

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I’ve been warning for the past few weeks so just take a look at the numbers from the W.H.O. and in an “apples to apples” comparison, the Coronavirus has HALF the mortality rate of the seasonal flu when it comes to “death to confirmed cases” ratio.

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Health, Politics

European Scientists Split Over Glyphosate Cancer Claims

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European Union scientists are facing off over a World Health Organization study which indicated the popular herbicide glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic” to humans.

The head of the EU’s European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) disagrees with the conclusions of the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

In March 2015, Truth In Media reported that the IARC published a report in The Lancet Oncology detailing evaluations of organophosphate pesticides and herbicides. The report concluded that there was “limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.” The evidence for this conclusion was pulled from studies of exposure to the chemical in the US, Canada and Sweden published since 2001.

The researchers found “convincing evidence that glyphosate can also cause cancer in laboratory animals.” The report points out that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) had originally classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans in 1985.

The IARC Working Group evaluated the original EPA findings and more recent reports before concluding “there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.” Despite the WHO’s findings, the EPA approved Monsanto’s use of glyphosate as recently as 2013.

Glyphosate is not only the most widely-used herbicide, it is a key ingredient in biotech giant Monsanto’s popular RoundUp products. Glyphosate is only one of Monsanto’s products that have been recently connected to cancer, however. In June the IARC also found that the weed killer 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, known as 2,4-D, “possibly” causes cancer in humans.

Bernhard Url, Executive Director of the EFSA, does not support the conclusions of the IARC study.

The EFSA issued an official opinion on the matter in November 2015, stating “glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans and the evidence does not support classification with regard to its carcinogenic potential.”

Url’s position did not sit well with environmental activists who agreed with the study’s findings.

As Reuters reports, “Ninety-six academics from around the world signed an open letter to European Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, dated Nov. 27, urging EU authorities to ignore the European watchdogs’s opinion.”

“We urge you and the European Commission to disregard the flawed EFSA finding on glyphosate in your formulation of glyphosate health and environmental policy for Europe,” the letter said.

The letter was written by Christopher Portier of the non-governmental organization the Environmental Defense Fund. Portier was a specialist consulted as part of the IARC study on glyphosate. Portier’s letter called for “a transparent, open and credible review of the scientific literature”.

On Wednesday, Bernhard Url responded to Portier’s letter. “I strongly disagree with your contention that EFSA has not applied open and objective criteria to its assessment,” Url wrote.

“We should not compare this first screening assessment with the more comprehensive hazard assessment done by authorities such as EFSA, which are designed to support the regulatory process for pesticides in close cooperation with member states in the EU,” Url told Reuters.

Url also said representatives of the EFSA and the IARC will likely meet to clarify their differences. Reuters reported the meeting would likely take place in Brussels in mid-February.

If the European Union’s 28 members decide to yield to the EFSA’s opinion, it could lead to overturning the ban on glyphosate.

Stay tuned to Truth In Media for more details.

Featured, Health

Bacon To Be Classified As Dangerous As Cigarettes By World Health Organization

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By Guy Bentley

The World Health Organization (WHO) will soon warn that some of America’s favorite meats are as dangerous a cigarettes.

WHO will target processed meats such as bacon, ham and sausages as causes of cancer and will say red meat is also hazardous to health in a decision to be released Monday. The findings resulted from a meeting of scientists from 10 countries.

The Daily Mail reports WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer will conclude that a host of processed meats should be placed in the highest of five possible rankings as “carcinogenic to humans.”

The ranking will put burgers and bacon alongside asbestos, arsenic, cigarettes and alcohol. The justification behind the decision, according to the Daily Mail, is that when meat is being preserved through processes like smoking carcinogens can be added. Red meat on the other hand has been linked to bowel cancer, according to the U.K’s Department of Health.

The decision is already drawing fire from scientists and meat experts, with the North American Meat Institute claiming the the report went against “both common sense and dozens of studies showing no correlation between meat and cancer.”

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Dr. Ian Johnson, Emeritus Fellow of the Institute of Food Research, said:

[quote_box_center]Although there is epidemiological evidence for a statistically significant association between processed meat consumption and bowel cancer, it is important to emphasise that the size of the effect is relatively small, and the mechanism is poorly defined.

It is certainly very inappropriate to suggest that any adverse effect of bacon and sausages on the risk of bowel cancer is comparable to the dangers of tobacco smoke, which is loaded with known chemical carcinogens and increases the risk of lung cancer in cigarette smokers by around 20 fold.[/quote_box_center]

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Health, US

Monsanto Asks California to Halt Plan Listing Glyphosate as Cancer Cause

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Monsanto Company is fighting back against California’s recent decision to list glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s popular herbicide RoundUp, as a cancer-causing chemical.

In late September, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a notice stating that glyphosate would be added to the state’s list of cancer-causing chemicals under the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65.

The decision was made after the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the research agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), published a report in March that classified glyphosate “as probably carcinogenic to humans.” State officials said this decision is a requirement following the IARC’s findings.

[Read more: World Health Organization: Monsanto’s RoundUp ‘Probably’ Causes Cancer]

In response to the IARC report in March, Monsanto announced its plans to hire Intertek Scientific & Regulatory Consultancy to provide a third-party review of IARC’s claims. The Guardian later reported that a separate assessment performed by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessments (BfR) “has drawn contrary conclusions from the IARC’s data. The BfR paper also relied heavily on unpublished papers provided by the Glyphosate Task Force, an industry body dedicated to the herbicide’s relicensing. Its website is run by Monsanto UK.”

[Read more: Monsanto Seeks Third-Party Review of Cancer Claims]

Monsanto filed formal comments on Tuesday stating that California’s plan may be illegal, and claimed that the state was insufficient in seeking valid scientific studies before moving forward with adding glyphosate to its Proposition 65 list. The IARC said that before making its classification, the agency had examined several scientific studies including two from Sweden, one from Canada and at least three from the United States.

Monsanto stated in its filing that California’s decision “has the potential to deny farmers and public agencies the use of this highly effective herbicide.” Monsanto further claimed that “global regulatory authorities… agree that glyphosate is not carcinogenic.”

The WHO’s classification of glyphosate as a probable cause of cancer has led to several lawsuits filed against Monsanto. A number of the lawsuits claim that the glyphosate in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide caused cancer in individuals exposed to the ingredient. Monsanto responded that those claims are “without merit,” according to Reuters.

Health, US

Monsanto Facing Wave of Lawsuits After WHO Cancer Study

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Monsanto Company, one of the world’s leading Agri-chemical companies, has had a difficult year regarding public relations. Not only has Monsanto been the focus of two studies by the World Health Organization which found its products are “possibly” and “probably” carcinogenic, but the company has been forced to cut 12% of its employees due to declining stock value. Monsanto’s problems only seem to be increasing as personal injury lawyers are now looking for plaintiffs who have been harmed by the corporations products.

Reuters reported:

“The latest lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court by three law firms representing three plaintiffs.

The lawsuit is similar to others filed last month in New York and California accusing Monsanto of long knowing that the main ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, was hazardous to human health. Monsanto “led a prolonged campaign of misinformation to convince government agencies, farmers and the general population that Roundup was safe,” the lawsuit states.”

Monsanto continues to deny the charges against its products. Company spokewoman Charla Lord told Reuters, “Glyphosate is not a carcinogen. The most extensive worldwide human health databases ever compiled on an agricultural product contradict the claims in the suits.”

The California lawsuit was filed by 58-year-old Enrique Rubio, a former farm worker in California, Texas, and Oregon. The Anti Media reported on his case:

“One of his main duties included spraying fields with RoundUp and other herbicides. Mr. Rubio maintained these tasks until he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1995, the lawsuit states.

Attorney Robin Greenwald, a representative in the Enrique Rubio case, says she believes additional lawsuits will emerge because RoundUp is the most widely-used herbicide and the WHO statements support ongoing concerns surrounding glyphosate.”

Another lawsuit filed against Monsanto comes from 63-year-old New Yorker Judy Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald claims that her cancer was caused by exposure to RoundUp when she worked in a horticulture company during the 1990s. Judy Fitzgerald was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012.

In March of this year Truth In Media reported that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a report in The Lancet Oncology detailing evaluations of organophosphate pesticides and herbicides. The report concluded that there was “limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.” The evidence for this conclusion was pulled from studies of exposure to the chemical in the US, Canada and Sweden published since 2001.

The researchers found “convincing evidence that glyphosate can also cause cancer in laboratory animals.” The report points out that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) had originally classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans in 1985.
The IARC Working Group evaluated the original EPA findings and more recent reports before concluding “there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.” Despite the WHO’s findings, the EPA approved Monsanto’s use of glyphosate as recently as 2013.

Glyphosate is not only the most widely-used herbicide, it is a key ingredient in biotech giant Monsanto’s popular RoundUp products. Glyphosate is only one of Monsanto’s products that have been recently connected to cancer, however. In June the IARC also found that the weed killer 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, known as 2,4-D, “possibly” causes cancer in humans.

The IARC reviewed the latest scientific research before deciding to classify 2,4-D as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” a step below “probably carcinogenic.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been receiving pressure to restrict or prohibit the use of 2,4-D, while some farm group and pesticide industry groups say the chemical does not need any more restriction.

Of particular interest with the recent findings is the fact that in April the EPA approved the use of Dow AgroScience’s Enlist Duo herbicide which contains 2,4-D and glyphosate. Enlist Duo is part of a partnership between Monsanto and Dow known as the Enlist Weed Control system.

Monsanto has not released a statement on whether or not they will also convene a panel to study the IARC’s claims about 2,4-D.

In 2013, Ben Swann examined several controversies surrounding Monsanto in a Truth in Media episode, seen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YC7M6j-dGs

Health, Opinion

World Health Organization: Monsanto’s RoundUp ‘Probably’ Causes Cancer

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The cancer research agency of the World Health Organization has stated the world’s most popular herbicide “probably” causes cancer in humans, as well DNA and chromosomal damage.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a report in The Lancet Oncology detailing evaluations of organophosphate pesticides and herbicides. The report concluded that there was “limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.” The evidence for this conclusion was pulled from studies of exposure to the chemical in the US, Canada and Sweden published since 2001.

The researchers found “convincing evidence that glyphosate can also cause cancer in laboratory animals.” The report points out that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) had originally classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans in 1985. The IARC Working Group evaluated the original EPA findings and more recent reports before concluding “there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.” Despite the WHO’s findings, the EPA approved Monsanto’s use of glyphosate as recently as 2013.

Glyphosate is not only the most widely-used herbicide, it is a key ingredient in Bio-Tech giant Monsanto’s popular RoundUp products. Reuters reports that Philip Miller, Monsanto’s vice-president of global regulatory affairs, was unsure “how IARC could reach a conclusion that is such a dramatic departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies around the globe.” The corporation says scientific data does not match the claims and called for an emergency meeting between Monsanto and WHO officials.

The battle around glyphosate is also closely linked to the debate around Genetically Engineered or Modified foods. The herbicide is typically used on GM crops such as corn and soybeans that have been specifically modified to survive the harmful effects of the herbicide. Corporations like Monsanto are heavily invested in the success of the chemical. The herbicide has been found in food, water, and in the air in areas where it has been sprayed.

In 2014 Anti Media reported on a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health claims to have found a link between glyphosate and the fatal Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown origin (CKDu), which largely affects rice farmers in Sri Lanka and other nations. In response Sri Lanka has banned glyphosate and Brazil is considering doing the same.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Special Projects S.M. Chandrasena stated that President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a directive to ban glyphosate sales in the country. “An investigation carried out by medical specialists and scientists have revealed that kidney disease was mainly caused by glyphosate. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the immediate removal of glyphosate from the local market soon after he was told of the contents of the report.”

The researchers believe glyphosate could be helping carry toxic heavy metals present in certain agri-chemicals to the kidneys. Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu)  was first seen in the north central areas of Sri Lanka in the 1990s and has taken an estimated 20,000 lives. Before being purchased by Monsanto for use as herbicide, glyphosate was a de-scaling agent to clean mineral deposits in hot water systems.

Although the paper did not offer new scientific evidence, the researchers proposed a theory for how CKDu is spread. The researchers believe that glyphosate is contributing to a rise of heavy metals in drinking water. Dr. Channa Jayasumana, lead author of the study said, “glyphosate acts as a carrier or a vector of these heavy metals to the kidney.”  Glyphosate itself is not the toxic agent, however when combined with metals in the ground water the herbicide becomes extremely toxic to the kidneys.

In recent years there has been a spike in CKD patients in farming areas of El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

The Minister stated that a new national program would be launched encouraging Sri Lankan farmers to use organic fertilizer. The Ministry of Agriculture is hoping to plant 100,000 acres of land throughout the country using organic fertilizer.

Monsanto spokesman Thomas Helscher stated,“There are no epidemiologic studies suggesting that exposures to glyphosate-based products are associated with renal disorders either in Sri Lanka or elsewhere. The paper presents a theory, the theory has not been tested, and there are a significant number of publications supported by data that make the Jayasumana hypothesis quite unlikely to be correct.” Despite promises from Monsanto, the evidence indicating dangers related to glyphosate continue to pile up.

With the USDA’s decision late last year to approve a new batch of genetically modified corn and soybean seeds designed to combat glyphosate, we should expect to see an increase in herbicide use overall, and with it, many disastrous health effects. In fact, the approval by the USDA now partners DOW Chemical and Monsanto together, a move which will only further entrench the control that corporate entities have over governments.

This post has been updated to identify glyphosate as an herbicide.

Health, International, Politics

Ebola fears rise as Liberian clinic is attacked and looted

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As patients were being treated for Ebola in a quarantined clinic of Monrovia, Liberia, citizens from the surrounding neighborhoods stormed the facility while at least 30 patients, and other clinic workers, fled the grounds this past Saturday.

Looters stole mattresses, bloodstained sheets, and other medical equipment from the quarantined clinic.  These supplies, which could potentially be infected with the Ebola virus, were then carried to the surrounding neighborhoods where some 50,000 people live.

According to CNN, the assailants had no desire to free patients from the facility, rather, the citizens who stormed and looted the facility did not want the clinic there in the first place.

Yahoo News is also reporting the people who attacked the clinic were armed with clubs, and while they stormed the clinic shouted “there’s no Ebola.”

Liberian National Police spokesman Sam Collins also told CNN on Sunday, “It was an attack from people afraid of Ebola… Everybody is afraid.”

According to the Washington Post, the area surrounding the clinic is known as the West Point slum.  Residents of the slum were angry at how infected individuals from all over Monrovia were being brought to the clinic in the destitute area.

The virus has killed approximately 1,145, and infected some 2,000 in the surrounding nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Liberia.  However, the Liberian Information Minister Lewis Brown has called the raid on the facility, according to ABC News, the “greatest setback” of the campaign to stop the virus.

The virus  is known to spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, and while medical authorities are trying to spread this knowledge throughout the area, many misconceptions are still prevalent in communities.  One of the most prevalent fallacies about the virus is that doctors from the West, who are supposed to be treating the virus, are responsible for spreading it.

While the virus is spreading at a slow rate, the World Health Organization has recommended no restrictions be put on trade items or travel to or from the infected countries.  Instead, WHO urges infected countries to screen people who are leaving their country for the virus, but the spread of the disease through airline travel is unlikely.  WHO is also recommending people who are known to be infected not to travel at all.

The clinic has yet to reopen and police have since restored order to the area.