It’s time to stop spraying glyphosate on BC Forests
Today in the legislature I rose during Question Period to ask the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development what his ministry was doing to curtail glyphosate spraying in BC forests. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup™. It’s used to kill off broadleaf plant species that might inhibit the growth of seedlings that are replanted after a forest is logged. There are a number of significant negative impacts that arise from the current practice of widespread glyphosate spraying.
Below I reproduce the video and text of our exchange.
Video of Exchange
Question
A. Weaver: Every year in B.C., 16,000 hectares of forests are sprayed with an herbicide known as glyphosate. It’s sprayed over forests that have recently been logged and replanted to kill broadleaf plant species that might inhibit the growth of lodgepole pine seedlings. The result is reduced plant diversity, leading to monocropped forests that are vulnerable to more frequent and destructive wildfires and beetle infestations.
The World Health Organization has warned that glyphosate is likely carcinogenic. It also has genotoxic, cytotoxic and endocrine-disrupting properties. For decades, researchers have been reporting reduced numbers of rodents, moose, insects and birds in forests that have been sprayed.
To the Minister of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, if our forests exist for the monetary value once felled, glyphosate is an efficient tool. If we consider the value of our wildlife ecosystems and human health, it is a veritable threat. What are the values that inform our ongoing use of glyphosate in B.C. forests?
Supplementary Question
Hon. D. Donaldson: Thank you very much to the Leader of the Third Party for the question on glyphosate. It’s a topic that I’ve been following closely since 1990. It’s of great interest to people around B.C.
Glyphosate is broadleaf herbicide. Many members in the House might recognize it as the active ingredient in Roundup. I want to say that our government is committed to protecting the important biodiversity of forests while ensuring a continued vibrant forestry sector.
The herbicide glyphosate is approved by Health Canada for use in forest management and is used to improve survival and growth of trees. In B.C., any users must follow the Integrated Pest Management Act and take steps to minimize impacts on the environment, including fish-bearing streams, a very important consideration.
B.C.’s reforestation practices are continually updated based on new scientific research and information, and recently, the ministry started to allow increased levels of aspen and broadleaves in managed stands throughout B.C., which will lead to a further decline in the use of herbicides.
I know the member quoted a figure of 16,000 hectares where glyphosate was applied. That was a number from 2015. I’m happy to report, in 2017, that number went down to 10,000 hectares — so a decrease of almost 40 percent.
Supplementary Question
A. Weaver: Numerous jurisdictions have banned or restricted the use of glyphosate. These include the Netherlands, Germany, France, Portugal, El Salvador, Argentina and Denmark, to name but a few.
Meanwhile, in British Columbia, we continue to spray tens of thousands, or at least 10,000 hectares, of forests annually with glyphosate. We are contributing to the severity of wildfires, harming wildlife and watching the chemical work its way through our food supply, all without any sound justification.
We should be thinking about the precautionary principle here, not waiting until it’s too late. As Rachel Carson once wrote: “The right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged. It is the public that is being asked to assume the risks.”
To the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, we are risking a lot for questionable benefit. How can the minister continue to justify the ongoing use of glyphosates in our provincial forests?
Answer
Hon. D. Donaldson: I want to acknowledge that we’re looking for ways to do better in the forests, especially around the application of herbicides, and so other forestry innovations, such as the use of superior orchard seed, improved nursery techniques, fast-growing seedlings and well-timed planting is also reducing the amount of herbicide being required.
We continue to investigate other silviculture strategies that take into account climate change and managing for resilient forest ecosystems. I’m very excited about the work of re-establishing forests after they’ve been disturbed by wildfires and recreating a forest mosaic so that deciduous as well as conifer stands are part of that mosaic, leading to more resilient forest eco-types.
We’ve also been doing work on the impacts of glyphosate on wildlife, specifically with moose. That’s a huge concern to many people in rural areas — moose populations. We want to make sure we’re responding to scientific evidence, and so we have a program where we’ve initiated a two-year study to look at the impacts of herbicide spraying on feed and moose forage and nutritional quality of moose forage.
We anticipate the preliminary results to be available in 2019, and we look forward to implementing that research, based on scientific evidence.
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24 Comments
Its good to see this practise exposed to the public.
Its sad that a government with “green concerns” will fall back on unjustified excuses and out of date rationale instead of stopping this now, then undertake real science to see if it has any place in our supernatural province
Thank you! What more can we do to keep this issue in the forefront and get this practice banned?
As an avid berry picker and fisher person I am very concerned about the spraying of this chemical. I am extremely ignorant about this issue so needless to say I am grateful it has been brought to my attention. Thank you Mr Weaver. I will be speaking to my MLA regarding this most concerning Issue!
Glycophosphate causes leaky gut and then the worst disease Rheumatoid arthritis. Stop using it. Period.
Thank you! Like others, I was extremely heartened to see you stand up in the Legislature last week and ask these questions, as this is an issue whose time has come, I truly hope. Not only is there a potential human health risk in the chemical itself, but I feel there are two especially good reasons to stop this practise.
1. Loss of biodiversity in our forest ecosystems and in particular moose. Moose populations are known by Government data to have decreased by 70% in the Prince George and Vanderhoof forest district/areas. This is extremely significant. And yes, there may be multiple reasons, such as habitat fragmentation and wolf ingress, ticks, high snowpack in some years, and other reasons, but also if much of their food supply is sprayed and killed, they are at a supreme disadvantage when under these other pressures as well. Ironically, except in urban or semi-urban areas, we rarely see a moose anymore in the Prince George area.
2. Forest fires (“wildfires”). Broadleaf/deciduous trees that are targeted in glyphosate spraying are fire retardants and can have a significant impact on impeding forest fires. This has been well-studied and is well-understood. If we continue to manage for pine monoculture predominantly, or at the very least coniferous-dominant forest, we set ourselves up for more forest fire, not to mention insect infestations like mountain pine beetle (and that previously-mentioned reduction in biodiversity). I feel we do not have to accept that what we experienced in the last two summers is the “new norm” and that a change in forest practises could see a relatively rapid change. It is not only the impact to those immediately threatened by fire, but the impact to numerous communities in terms of the smoke that impacts our health. Breathing the smoke is one risk, but the impact to young and old alike when they are asked to stay indoors for days and weeks at a time is significant, physically and mentally. I want to give Minister Donaldson the benefit of the doubt but I have heard him say at least three times that he understands “people are worried about structures”. Well certainly this is true, but many more are worried about impacts to health, recreation, wildlife, community life, tourism, and many other industries, even forestry itself. We simply must change our practises to ensure so much of our forests are not burning every year.
Thank you for taking the time to read all this, and there is so much more which could be said. I know, Dr. Weaver, that you understand all this. But many of us understand this, and we need action. So I urge you to please count this as a top issue to be addressed before we have no more moose left and to ensure we do not have perpetual seasons of fire, smoke and all the disruptions and health hazards that come with it. Thank you.
You state “ numerous jurisdictions have banned or restricted the use of glyphosate” and go on to name countries. It’s somewhat disingenuous on your part. For example, in the Netherlands, glyphosate use is banned for non-commercial use, meaning people can no longer spray it on their lawns and gardens. Commercial use of glyphosate in the Netherlands is neither banned nor restricted. It is used and regulated. I’m not aware of any ban or restrictions in Germany, France, Denmark or Argentina. Only El Salvador has banned its use in agriculture, along with over 50 other products. Portugal has prohibited the use of glyphosate in all “public spaces”. That’s all.
So, in context to your question on glyphosate use in forestry, these countries, Canada and BC continue to use this herbicide and other methods within a balanced, integrated pest management program which I think is sound and justifiable.
I suggest you should correct your statement in the Legislature and apologize to Members and the public for providing misleading and false information at the earliest opportunity.
Not only is glyphosate a well used herbicide, it is also a well known and heavily used desiccant used to prematurely kill and dry plants to allow early harvest.
So why do we continue spraying this drying agent on our forests that have been increasingly subject to warmer and dryer conditions that have resulted in a growing number of wild fires burning an increasing number of hectares of BC forests each year in a trend that is expected keep getting worse?
Thank you for addressing this issue.
We need better and more up to date forestry practices.
No more monocultures and also stop destroying old growth forests as well.
Well done. Please keep pressing for a total ban. What did the NDP say about this while in opposition?
Thankyou Andrew for bringing up this topic, it gives hope to the idea that we will soon eliminate the application of glyphosates in BC. The deep damage that it is doing to our ecosystem is unconscionable but eliminating glyphosate will be one step to bringing back respect for Mother Earth.
Certainly agriculture is using vast quantities of pesticides which is impacting the soil, our health and insect life at a remarkable rate. However, there is no good reason to spray our forests and this is going on across Canada in every province except Quebec. Deer and moose populations are declining at remarkable rates. When you remove vegetation to support life in a forest you impact the entire ecosystem. It in fact creates dry tinder to increase the risk of forest fires-you take away vegetation that will hold moisture in times of drought and will prevent flooding in times of heavy rain. It is becoming clear that this herbicide is far more harmful than industry implies-it persists much longer and is actually patented as an antimicrobial and impacts the soil and our gut in very negative ways. 8700 plantiffs are suing Bayer right now-this is the tip of the iceberg. The whole system of using pesticides does not work.
Why are you referred to as the 3rd Party and not the a member/leader of the Green Party?
It’s the same reason the BC NDP are referred to as government and the BC Liberals referred to as Official Opposition. It’s just naming conventions.
Thank you for bringing this issue up in the house. It is time to ban glyphosate in BC and Canada. Can you next bring up the issue of fracking, with the amount of water required, and the gas companies that are playing fast and loose with that water, using unauthorized dams etc.? You (Greens) have my vote in the next election.
It is beyond time to stop spraying that poison in our forest or anywhere for that matter. Even the people spraying it are at risk
Thank you Andrew-although one of the comments does discuss the concerns around this in agriculture this herbicide does not belong in our forests at all. This does nothing for the “forest”-it only kills plants and trees that grow along side the pine which is considered a commodity rather than part of a forest. This will of course impact wildlife as you are removing their food source. This herbicide is used to “dry down” crops so of course this contributes dry tinder to increase the risk of forest fires. Health Canada does not do any studies-the science used to register product is provided by the industry itself and is only done on the active ingredient – NOT on the actual product which contains additives like surfactants which increases toxicity. This herbicide is an anti-microbial and destroys important microbes in both the soil and any animal that has gut flora.
The minister states that “In B.C., any users must follow the Integrated Pest Management Act and take steps to minimize impacts on the environment, including fish-bearing streams, a very important consideration.” Does the minister know about the illegal spraying carried out by CN Rail between July and October of 2017 along the banks of the Skeena River from Terrace to Prince Rupert? Illegal because their pest management plan had expired and because they sprayed right up to the river’s edge. Apparently they sprayed more than the Skeena River applying herbicide in several areas because their expired permit covered all of BC. If this is the way that the minister protects our fish bearing streams than I would not hold out hope that he will do anything about forest herbicide spraying in the near future. This article mentions the illegal spraying…https://www.wcel.org/blog/herbicide-illegally-sprayed-along-cn-rail-lines-throughout-bc-wild-salmon-risk
Respectfully I would disagree with the comment that only 2% of forests are sprayed and only once in their rotation. As someone working in forestry I would say that most cutblocks are sprayed twice in the process of reaching free to grow which is in the first 20 years. Although the second treatment is usually a spot treatment. In central and northern BC there is a lot of herbicide spraying. I would also like to state that I believe that the herbicide we spray on our forests now has probably stronger formulations than we used many years ago as the effects seem to be lasting longer.
Finally some dialogue amongst our leaders to address the issues of glyphosate spraying of our forests!!
This practice of destroying our broadleaf plants is ludicrous! To think this practice was ok, that glyphosate is not harmful is beyond comprehension!
Walk through an area that has been recently sprayed and you won’t find a living creature, not a bird, not a bug certainly not moose or elk.
Time to do something before it’s too late!
Also, at least in the Columbia Valley BC Hydro is using it to maintain their transmission lines. It’s so sad and heartbreaking.
All I can say is, if Mr. Donaldson has been studying this subject since 1990 and this is as informed and wise as he’s gotten, I don’t hold out much hope for our forests, wildlife or for that matter ourselves anytime soon.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! In the PG area this is such a huge problem and I just don’t understand why it is being used, expect to safe Canfor money! So we pay for it with cut blocks we can’t pick berries in, cut blocks with no herb/shurb layer, cut blocks with no habitat and food for animals. This has to stop. The hate on and vilification of broad leave trees is all short sighted forestry practice. So the minister doesn’t need to research different forestry techniques. Brush (with people and saws = jobs!!!) where absolutely necessary, and then leave the rest to grow. They will fix nitrogen and protect us from forest fire (they literally DON’t BURN!). They are destroying thousands of years old root stock in order for Canfor to make money off of OUR trees, while destroying OUR wilderness.
Thank you so much for advocating for us!
Warmly,
Jenn Matthews
A much bigger problem is that Monsanto recommends spraying Roundup 3 to 10 days before harvest to kill grain crops in the field (to reduce drying and packaging costs)
Only about 2% of young forests ever get herbicided, and that is almost always a single application over the 60year to 120 year rotation.
Bug poison and fungicide, which are much more toxic, aren’t even sprayed on forests, but they are routinely sprayed many times a year on lots of fruits, vegetables and grains.
While giving me a ride in his combine, one Alberta farmer proudly told me that beside various applications of fungicide and insecticide, he usually doesn’t spray more than 6 litres/ha of roundup (Glyphosate) on his canola every year.
6.0 Litres/ha is the MAXIMUM amount of Glyphosate that can ever be applied to a forest in British Columbia – with big buffers around any water, houses and other sensitive areas. 5.0 litres/ha is more than enough to completely shrivel up and desiccate a dense (10,000 tree per hectare) 10-meter tall aspen forest — and more Glyphosate than that is sprayed directly on your food every year.
Can you imagine spraying weed killer on your tomatoes to shrivel them up on the vine to save time making “Sun-dried tomatoes”? That’s exactly the approach many farmers take producing:
Wheat
Barley
Oats
Canola
Flax
Peas
Lentils
Soybeans
Dry Beans
Here’s Monsanto’s user manual for farmers recommending to spray these crops 3 to 10 days before harvest (swathing):
http://www.roundup.ca/_uploads/documents/MON-Preharvest%20Staging%20Guide.pdf
Respectfully, I’m assuming you are not from north or central BC. This is a huge huge huge issue up here. Our wildlife and plant diversity is disappearing because of spraying. This is not to say that the things you brought up aren’t important, it’s just that they don’t trump this.