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Epidemiologist John McLaughlin says Glysophate poses risks

Epidemiologist John McLaughlin says glysophate is not as benign as Joe Schwarcz suggested on The Current last week. He argues there are real risks associated with glysophate, especially for people exposed to it in the workplace setting.
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Glyphosate is commonly found in household garden herbicides, such as Roundup, but is also widely used to control weeds on farmers' fields, spray forests and to kill undergrowth on tree plantations. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)
Vani Hari is a food blogger, who among other things, helped get Kraft Foods to give up artificial dyes in its macaroni and cheese. (Courtesy Vani Hari via Associated Press)

Vani Hari is known online by her nickname, the "Food Babe" ....and to many, she's a trusted source of advice on healthy eating, food additives and the food industry.

But Joe Schwarcz says many self-proclaimed experts, including the Food Babe, aren't sufficiently grounded in science. Joe Schwarcz is the director of McGill University's Office of Science and Society.

The Current27:29Monkeys to molecules, Joe Schwarcz dispels myths about science - May 6, 2015
How is it that with so much hard fact and information we still absorb dumb stuff as truth? Especially when it comes to science and nutrition. Joe Schwarcz has made it his mission to tackle myths about science and the so-called experts who spread them.

Some of you took issue with some of what Joe Schwarcz had to say ... including his views about a herbicide called glyphosate.

John R. McLaughlin has looked at the research into glyphosate very closely. He is a Chief Science Officer and Senior Scientist with Public Health Ontario and a Professor of Epidemiology at The University of Toronto. John R. McLaughlin was also invited to be part of an expert panel that reviewed pesticides, including glyphosate for the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization. 
 

This segment was produced by The Current's Kristin Nelson. 

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