Farming experts Dr. Don Huber and Frank Dean have released a farmer educational video that covers the many ways in which glyphosate impacts crops, soil, waterways, marine life and human health.

The training specifically focuses on citrus diseases and marine die-off in Florida. A particularly controversial assertion is that glyphosate contributes to citrus greening and several crop diseases which are a serious threat to the citrus industry and the economy of Florida.

Dean, expert chemist and biologist, also links aquatic glyphosate use to toxic cyanobacteria known as green algae and red tide. Glyphosate is the declared active chemical ingredient in Roundup, Ranger Pro, ShoreKlear Plus, RoundUp Custom, FarmWorks Aquatic, Catt Plex, Shoreline Defense and Glyphosate Plus produced by Monsanto, now owned by Bayer. Monsanto has already lost four lawsuits due to its glyphosate products contributing to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with rewards of more than $2.5 billion from the jury and 47,000 more plaintiffs waiting for their day in court.

Moms Across America, an educational nonprofit whose mission is to create healthy communities, received funding to conduct the testing and produce the video. Founding Executive Director of Moms Across America Zen Honeycutt said, “Dr. Don Huber and Frank Dean have boldly asserted a controversial claim that glyphosate is a major contributing factor to citrus greening and the toxic algae growth in Florida.

“This is both good and bad news. Good because that means it is within our control to stop these tragedies, and bad because our federal government and governors continue to allow the use of this harmful chemical herbicide. We hope this video and report will inspire farmers, landscapers and our city officials to discontinue the use of glyphosate-based herbicides and use safe alternatives regardless of whether our government takes action or not.”

Glyphosate-based herbicides are the most widely used herbicides in the world. In the video, Dean said, "Glyphosate is a biocide. It kills everything.” He also explains how glyphosate contributes to citrus greening. In summary, Dean said, "Glyphosate blocks disease resistance.”

Environmental Working Group has reported that, in South Florida, over 3.5 million tons of glyphosate herbicides were used per square mile between 2000-12. The cancer rates for children in South Florida are 36 percent higher than other parts of the state. Huber states about glyphosate herbicides, “This product must be removed from the market.”

In addition to the training video, Dean covers alarming glyphosate test results in water from 10 locations throughout Florida, including farm runoff, in an online report. Glyphosate test results ranged AMPA from 0.04 to 59.69 ng/ml and glyphosate ranged from 0.75 to 128.61 ng/ml. The highest levels of glyphosate were in the farm runoff water, showing the farms as a contributing source of glyphosate contamination in the water supply.

The citrus farm glyphosate runoff levels were 1,200 times higher than allowed in European drinking water. These samples were collected from farm ponds for peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries. The levels are much higher than those that have been recorded to cause sex hormone changes and cell damage in fish and other animals - .1 ppb. Glyphosate is also widely used in citrus groves as a weed killer, and in sugar fields as a drying agent in Florida, a major source of income for the Florida economy.

The training video focuses on the impact of glyphosate use and on the importance of eliminating glyphosate in farming, particularly the citrus industry in Florida. This report will be distributed within the farming community and environmental organizations.

To read the full report and watch the educational video, go to www.momsacrossamerica.com.

Moms Across America is a nonrofit whose mission is to educate and empower mothers and others with actions and solutions to create healthy communities.