California cancer warning labels are nothing new. Proposition 65 (which was originally known as "The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986") was enacted decades ago and requires food products, buildings and a variety of other goods to post a warning that says, “This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer." Are these warnings valid or are we living in an era of paranoia?
The premise of Prop 65 was to help Californians make better educated decisions to help them protect themselves from chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects. This list is updated at least once per year and currently there are about 900 chemicals on it. You can find the complete list by visiting OEHHA’s website.
There are four ways that a chemical can be added to this list:
One of the most controversial chemicals in the news is glyphosate, which is an active ingredient in Monsanto Roundup. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), they declared in March 2015 that glyphosate is a "probable human carcinogen" which means that it probably causes cancer. Now if you look back at our list of four ways that chemicals can end up on the Prop 65 list, it says that the IARC’s identification of cancer causing chemicals can dictate its place on this list. However, glyphosate IS NOT listed so there are no warning labels on Roundup containers. How can this be?
As recently as February 27, 2018, U.S. District Judge William Shubb in Sacramento ruled that Roundup doesn’t need to put a warning label on its weedkiller because, “only one health organization had found that the substance in question causes cancer." However, the IARC sites 269 references in its report and explains that the “information sources considered... was about 1000 citations. All citations were then screened for relevance, following the principles in the Preamble to the IARC Monographs.” Therefore, it only makes sense that Monsanto Roundup should have this cancer warning, too.
California, we applaud you for your Prop 65 warnings. While many people may think that it’s too much of a good thing, shouldn’t everyone be made aware of a risk so that they can make an educated choice concerning their health? Additionally, many products have changed or altered their ingredient list so that they won’t have to add the Prop 65 warning… and isn’t that better for everyone?
So California, you are doing a lot of things right when it comes to cancer warnings, but we’re not going to give up on you when it comes to Roundup.
