More commonly referred to as weed killer, Glyphosate is a toxic substance that is used on a lot of farms and public gardens. People also use it on their personal properties. Glyphosate is most known for its trade name Round-up, which is one of the most widely used herbicides in Australia. 

Glyphosate affects all of our lives daily, and most people don't even know it! It's sprayed on common foods we eat, like wheat, soybeans, barley, oats, lentils, peas, canola, corn, flax, alfalfa, rye, triticale, sugar beets, cotton, buckwheat, potatoes and millet. It is in lots of cereals, for example, Honey Nut Cheerios. Glyphosate interferes with the plant’s ability to intake all the nutrients it should. For example calcium, iron, magnesium, and nickel from soil. Glyphosate also acts as a type of antibiotic in our gut, as well as the soil. It can kill the good bacteria in our gut, in addition to plant life, and most people don't even know that it's happening.

The World Health Organisation declared that Glyphosate was “Probably Carcinogenic”, and in 2017, Glyphosate was declared a known Carcinogen. Let me put this into perspective, around 11,000 people are killed a year from pesticides. There have been cases where toxic pesticides have been leaked or have contaminated clothes or food. Innocent people's lives are in danger, this needs to be stopped.

The use of Glyphosate is currently banned in 28 countries, including France, Germany, Shri-Lanka, The Netherlands, and Austria. According to Bondi Wash, “A plethora of scientific studies have shown that exposure can result in various additional health conditions including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, senile dementia, inflammatory disease, thyroid and liver cancer. Additionally, high doses of glyphosate administered to rats and mice have shown that exposure can result in developmental delays, kidney damage, hepatomegaly, hepatitis and gastric disease.” You can access this link here.

Presently Parks Australia has been repeatedly witnessed using Round-up and other Glyphosate-based products in the Yarra Ranges parks and gardens. We are all at risk. Please help us save the Yarra Ranges.