Weedkiller Warfare
Through my work with the courageous people who have shared the inner workings of their minds and souls with me during their pursuit of freedom from suffering, I have had the honor of realizing with certainty that people are inherently good. Humans generally have the best intentions in their interactions with others and in their guardianship of our terrestrial home. I have also learned from my work that the more consistent a person’s actions are with their morals and values, the happier they generally are.
This can be simply boiled down to the idea of living with intention. Or, a more clinical way of thinking of this is the reduction of cognitive dissonance. Simply put, cognitive dissonance is the unpleasant conflict between one’s own discordant values or beliefs. Cigarette smoking is a good example of cognitive dissonance since most people who do it also know it is not safe. It is when people aren’t fully aware of how their actions are affecting the things they care about that they can get caught in a position where they are stuck doing something harmful that is also contributing to simultaneously feeling bad. People commonly find themselves with habits and actions that are actually self-defeating.
The widespread use of Roundup has become one of our most harmful, self-defeating behaviors.
What would you say if I told you that farmers in the United States and in over 160 other countries around the world were habitually spraying their crops with a known “probable carcinogen”? Millions of pounds of this chemical are being dumped on nonorganic crops every year and it is even being detected now in our air and rain. This same chemical has been shown to kill off frogs, tadpoles, bees, and monarch butterflies. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Monsanto’s product Roundup and studies dating back to 2009 showed linkages between the ingredients in Roundup with birth defects and cancer.
This past August, a school groundskeeper was awarded a landmark settlement of $289,000,000 in damages from Monsanto when a jury determined that Roundup had caused his cancer. Monsanto continues to deny their culpability in the case. However, there are reportedly over 5,000 more cases of allegations against Roundup which have yet to be heard in court.
What about the implications of using a probable carcinogen on the lawn where our furry friends lick, sniff, and lay their bodies? Anyone who cares about their pets (or wildlife) should probably read the product reviews on Amazon.com which describe some pretty gruesome stories of pets getting cancer after the use of Roundup in pet owners’ lawns.
In my work of seeking to understand my patients so that they can then better understand themselves, I commonly see the relief that accompanies peoples’ decisions to live a life more consistent with their values systems. Once we are aware of the ways in which an old choice is self-defeating, we can choose to change it and do something different. One of the primary ways that therapy helps people is to bring previously unconscious thought processes into consciousness, thus giving the thinker newfound power over their behavior.
With the current administration consisting of an impulsive, narcissistic, fast food and TV-addicted reality show president and his Wall Street cronies running the rest of the government and the EPA, the responsibility is on us to make our own informed decisions about the health of our bodies and our planet. Similar to the enlightenment that can free us from cognitive dissonance and self-defeating behaviors, we must do our own research and seek to make choices that will protect our precious natural resources. Unfortunately, the government can’t always be trusted to put the peoples’ health and safety above their private financial interests or their allegiances to corporations like Monsanto.
In a culture which simultaneously values superficial good looks and instant gratification, some vanity measures just aren’t worth the eventual cost on health. Let’s work together to find gardening solutions that don’t spread toxic chemicals into our water and food, like these recipes for nontoxic weedkiller. We can also take a simple stand with our wallets, by intentionally buying organic foods. Making the choice of buying organic options both reduces the demand for crops that have been sprayed with pesticides and it protects ourselves and our loved ones from these harmful chemicals.
This post was created by an amazing GREEN ZINE volunteer contributor, and opinions expressed may not represent the views of Greenpeace. If you are interested in volunteering as a GREEN ZINE contributor, visit this link.
