This morning Gaia attended a “scientific briefing” held by the Soil Association, a pro-organic lobby group. It coincided with the launch of their #BanGlyphosate campaign which is calling for a ban on glyphosate as a herbicide. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world and is relied on by farmers to protect their yield. Every major regulator regards glyphosate as completely safe…

The Soil Association have jumped on the back of a recent finding by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans”. The IARC did not conduct any original research and drew their conclusion after reading the same research used by the regulators.

Other things ranked as “probably” or “possibly” carcinogenic by IARC include coffee (IARC 2B classification in 1991) and baked breakfast pastries (IARC 2A classification in 1994).  Which is exactly what the Soil Association served your reporter for breakfast…