Documentary Reveals Highly Toxic Roundup Herbicide ‘Everywhere’

When award-winning filmmaker Brian Lilla moved to Napa Valley, California, he quickly learned about the health hazards lurking in wine country. In his new documentary, “Children of the Vine,” Lilla shows how the use of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide and its active ingredient, glyphosate, has affected those who work in and live nearby.

“I didn’t want to run away from the problem,” Lilla said in an interview with the nonprofit publication Capital & Main. “No matter where I go, there’s going to be glyphosate in the food. Yes, it blew my mind to find out how much it’s being used in the vineyards. But I want to make it clear that the vineyards are not the villains, nor are farms.”

Studies and Lawsuits tie Roundup Weedkiller to Cancer and Birth Defects

Widespread use of the popular herbicide Roundup, which contains the known carcinogen glyphosate, is at the center of a series of lawsuits in Hawaiʻi and across the country.

New information is coming to light from studies linking the chemical to serious health problems that include cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, infertility and birth defects.

Pesticides Expose Hawaiʻi Families to Higher Birth Defect Risk

Families in Hawaiʻi are experiencing dramatic increases in certain serious birth defects, including a rare and serious condition that is being diagnosed at a rate 10 times higher than on the mainland.

Mothers living near farms where pesticides are used are at particular risk, physicians say. The Hawaiʻi Center for Food Safety found that chemical companies have sprayed restricted-use pesticides at a rate 17 times greater than the mainland average.