I thought paraquat wasn't used anymore. It got a lot of attention in the 70s when it was divulged that it was being sprayed on marijuana. SNL did jokes about sending in your weed to be checked by the cast.
After Biden banned glyphosate, Trump entered office and had the EPA relax restrictions on paraquat so Monsanto could change their Roundup formula and keep selling tons of carcinogenic poison.
The national forest service under Trump is now spraying actual tons of Roundup all over the ground cover in forests, particularly in California as part of the orange diaper man's personal revenge against states that don't like him.
Paraquat has mostly been used on alfalfa hay recently in California. However it's sprayed on all sorts of stuff from cotton to peanuts. It has an extensive label and is still used quite extensively in the U.S.
Suppliers have contracted for shipments already or hold inventory of the chemical in their warehouses.
Farmers have purchased the chemistry and have some in their supplies.
When they ban a chemistry they normally do a phase out to allow them to use existing inventory and not lose money.
If they didn't give them time to use the inventory, the suppliers and farmers could sue the government for losses incurred due to regulation changes. The government would likely lose the lawsuits and have to pay millions.
no it's a win for them because then the corporate overlords will either purchase the land from the family or replace the workers on the farm they already own.
In Canada, Syngenta was the only paraquat manufacturer with a registered product. Syngenta discontinued registering its product in Canada in 2023 following updated risk-mitigation efforts. Although there is not an outright ban, no paraquat products are sold in Canada.
I mean it's great for the people of California but if we would post every single pesticide and every herbacide getting banned for every place in the world this community is going to see a lot of content. Downvote me all you want, but this stuff has been banned (as the title says) in over 70 countries already. California is not even the first US state to ban it. Again this is great news for the wellbeing of the people in California but in the bigger picture this is not really news. Sorry to be a partypooper.
California has an insanely huge population and also gdp.
As of 2025, California's gross domestic product (GDP) is $4.251 trillion, making it the largest state economy in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world.
If anything, if we're going to be jerks and say what locale deserves to be posted about and which doesn't, I think most of those 70 other countries have less standing to be posted about.
If the fourth largest economy on planet earth banning a widely used toxic chemical isn't news, almost nothing is.
23 Comments
TomMasz@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 11d
I thought paraquat wasn't used anymore. It got a lot of attention in the 70s when it was divulged that it was being sprayed on marijuana. SNL did jokes about sending in your weed to be checked by the cast.
RipLemmDotEE@lemmy.today · 27 pts · 11d
After Biden banned glyphosate, Trump entered office and had the EPA relax restrictions on paraquat so Monsanto could change their Roundup formula and keep selling tons of carcinogenic poison.
The national forest service under Trump is now spraying actual tons of Roundup all over the ground cover in forests, particularly in California as part of the orange diaper man's personal revenge against states that don't like him.
SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 11d
Bruh, talk about salting the earth
RipLemmDotEE@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 11d
Yeah, every river is devoid of any life, and the wildfires will become exponentially worse.
TomMasz@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 11d
JFC
The_v@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 11d
Paraquat has mostly been used on alfalfa hay recently in California. However it's sprayed on all sorts of stuff from cotton to peanuts. It has an extensive label and is still used quite extensively in the U.S.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 11d
Paraquat causes Parkinson disease.
3holly3@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 21 pts · 11d
“To be phased out over the next two years” Why not just pull the fucking plug if it’s so blatantly lethal. Boils my blood….
The_v@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 11d
It's always money...
Suppliers have contracted for shipments already or hold inventory of the chemical in their warehouses.
Farmers have purchased the chemistry and have some in their supplies.
When they ban a chemistry they normally do a phase out to allow them to use existing inventory and not lose money.
If they didn't give them time to use the inventory, the suppliers and farmers could sue the government for losses incurred due to regulation changes. The government would likely lose the lawsuits and have to pay millions.
RedAggroBest@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 11d
This could be in addition to the judicial just reversing the regulation to top it off.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 11d
US still uses paraquat? This was banned in Canada in 2022 after definitive studies showing it causes Parkinson disease.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 11d
first time?
American government doesn't give a shit about citizens or infrastructure, only GDP.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 11d
To be faiiiir
Citizens getting too sick to work and dying is bad for GDP.
So the American government doesn't even give a shit about that.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 11d
no it's a win for them because then the corporate overlords will either purchase the land from the family or replace the workers on the farm they already own.
it's TBTF
livligkinkajou@slrpnk.net · 5 pts · 11d
I like maps, I found these from Feb, 2026 by EWG (Environmental Working Group):
In the USA before California's ban:
Nations that have banned paraquat in white:
Note for Canada:
RaoulDook@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 11d
Sounds like the kind of thing that the Dude could abide
Bebopalouie@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 11d
It was used to spray pot crops in Mexico back in the 70’s or at least that was the rumour.
JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 11d
That could be the paraquat.
JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 11d
jwt@programming.dev · 0 pts · 8d
“Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.”
huppakee@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 11d
Not to say this isn't uplifting news, but why wasn't this posted the previous 70 times a country banned this 🤔
TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 11d
You're assuming it wasn't? And that those bans are all recent?
huppakee@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 11d
I mean it's great for the people of California but if we would post every single pesticide and every herbacide getting banned for every place in the world this community is going to see a lot of content. Downvote me all you want, but this stuff has been banned (as the title says) in over 70 countries already. California is not even the first US state to ban it. Again this is great news for the wellbeing of the people in California but in the bigger picture this is not really news. Sorry to be a partypooper.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 11d
California has an insanely huge population and also gdp.
If anything, if we're going to be jerks and say what locale deserves to be posted about and which doesn't, I think most of those 70 other countries have less standing to be posted about.
If the fourth largest economy on planet earth banning a widely used toxic chemical isn't news, almost nothing is.