New Brunswick's anti-glyphosate movement grows by thousands

First targets are forestry industry and New Brunswick Power

by Miles Howe

Glyphosate, a probable human carcinogen, is sprayed over thousands of acres of Crown Land per year in New Brunswick. Eliminating glyphosate applications would not only reduce the risk of cancer in the province, but would also create forestry jobs. [Photo: Upriver Environment Watch]

Kent County, New Brunswick - Thousands of New Brunswickers are joining the call to outlaw glyphosate applications in their province. Glyphosate, recently determined to be a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is currently sprayed on everything from lawns, to potatoes, to blueberries. But it is the widespread application in forestry use that has so far gained the most traction as an issue in the province.

Outdoor enthusiasts are drawing the link between glyphosate applications, used by industry to select for softwood trees, and the dwindling wildlife populations in the woods, most notably the white-tail deer populations. Big time forestry interests in the province, which include JD Irving, as well as New Brunswick Power, appear to be the prime targets of the anti-glyphosate campaign. It's a smart move, because eliminating glyphosate applications from the forestry industry would almost immediately create much-needed jobs in the province, as human labour would be needed to replace intensive chemical usage.

In this interview, I speak with Matthiew Vienneau, one of the administrators of the twelve thousand member strong facebook group: Stop Spraying in New Brunswick.

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