Poisoned Fields – Glyphosate, An Underrated Risk?

Directed by Volker Barth

Glyphosate is the world’s best-selling herbicide. Most glyphosate products are used in agriculture, because they are a simple and cost-effective way of controlling weeds that can otherwise persist for years. Some claim it is completely harmless, while others say it is a serious health hazard for man and animals. Large-scale studies of the herbicide have only been carried out by the industry itself. Such studies would be far too expensive for individual authorities. A WHO cancer research team considers the herbicide produced by Monsanto, Syngenta and BASF to be absolutely toxic and probably carcinogenic. More and more people and animals that are exposed to the substance become ill. The film sets out in search of sick animals, humans and plants in Germany, Denmark and the United States and asks how the WHO has reached these new conclusions and what action the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is taking.