Each year, since 2007, The Center for Biological Diversity has given a Rubber Dodo Award¹ to the person, company, or organization that has “done the most to destroy wild places, species, and biological diversity.”

This year’s award, issued on November 5, 2015, went to Monsanto for its reckless peddling of glyphosate around the world — a pesticide that was recently classified as a “probable human carcinogen” by The World Health Organization (WHO), and has been linked to a worsening of virtually all chronic disease states.

According to Don Huber, an expert with a doctorate in an area of science that relates to the toxicity of genetically engineered (GE) foods, glyphosate may be even more toxic than DDT — a devastating chemical that, just like glyphosate, was once proclaimed to be “safe enough to eat.”

Monsanto’s Callous Disregard for Human and Environmental Health

As noted by the Center for Biological Diversity, the heavy use of glyphosate — particularly on genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready crops, which are also developed by Monsanto — has been implicated in the dramatic decline in Monarch butterflies.

Huber has also previously presented evidence²,³ linking glyphosate to Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), honeybee starvation,⁴ along with toxicity to soil, woodland plants, amphibians, fish, aquatic environments, and mammals⁵ — causing reproductive problems and endocrine disruption.

According to Kierán Suckling, the Center’s executive director:

“The science is increasingly clear that glyphosate is damaging wildlife and putting people at serious risk, yet Monsanto continues to aggressively peddle the stuff to farmers and really any customer it can find.

It’s hard to fathom the depth of the damage that glyphosate is doing, but its toxic legacy will live on for generations, whether it’s through threatening monarchs with extinction or a heightened risk of cancer for people where it’s spread.

Those sitting in Monsanto’s boardrooms and corporate offices won’t pay the price for this dangerous pesticide. It’s going to be people on the ground where it’s sprayed.

This kind of callous pursuit of profits is at the core of what’s driving the loss of wildlife and diversity on a massive scale around the globe.”

Monsanto has defended the safety of Roundup since the start, but mounting evidence suggests many of its hazards have been known for decades.

For example, environmental research scientist Dr. Anthony Samsel obtained evidence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing that Monsanto knew glyphosate caused cancer in rats as early as 1981.