Glyphosate and farm weed control

June 07, 2026

Key points from this story:

• Glyphosate is widely used worldwide
• Weeds compete for nutrients and water
• IARC classified glyphosate as Group 2A
• Manufacturer settled many cancer lawsuits
• Health Canada deems glyphosate noncarcinogenic
• Calls to diversify away from glyphosate

The popularity is a rather obvious testament to glyphosate's continued usefulness in doing what is supposed to do, help control weeds which if left unchecked would impact crop production as weeds do compete for field nutrients and water.

Now you can argue that a level of weed concern for producers is self-caused through various cropping patterns which have led to continued weed issues, but at the end of the day why the weeds are there is a secondary issue coming after immediate control measures to allow successful production year-to-year.

That said there have been those who look at glyphosate as a danger.

In fact the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified it as a Group 2A carcinogen ("probably carcinogenic to humans").

And, glyphosate has been at the centre of varied lawsuits related to cancer risks, leading to massive settlements by the manufacturer.

But, Health Canada, generally considers glyphosate safe for humans and non-carcinogenic when used in accordance with label directions - following label directions always critical in using such products.

In the case of glyphosate being ultra cautious in its application just seems a wise precaution given the cloud of concern which continues to loom over the chemical.

In terms of the chemical even Health Canada seems to be ramping up it's monitoring on glyphosate, as recent reports suggest through its Pesticides Regulatory Directorate, it is monitoring the herbicide now as part of its "continuous oversight policy." It is basically a label suggesting a continuous oversight in tracking an evaluating new information associated with the pesticide.

Now as a food consumer I would rather hope Health Canada is doing that on all crop protection products because science is not a static thing. Knowledge grows and that can change conclusions in terms of safety. We have seen that in the past for example with thalidomide which was developed in West Germany in the late 1950s, the drug was heavily marketed as a "wonder drug" for treating anxiety, insomnia, and morning sickness in pregnant women. It was later discovered to cause severe birth defects and miscarriages.

And perhaps more directly relatable to glyphosate there is the history of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). It was once widely used as a powerful agricultural insecticide, but was later found to be environmentally persistent, causing toxicity, and bio-accumulation in the food chain.

So there is reason to remain vigilant with glyphosate, and also a seeming need to diversify away from the significant reliance agriculture has on the product.