Roundup Kills Competition
by: Julia Koziatek
Carterville High School delegates, Jalyn O’Brien and Ashley Woolard, are sponsoring a bill protecting the use of Roundup weed killer, in Illinois agriculture.
Though the use of Roundup has recently been declining since it was considered to be a carcinogen, O’Brien argues that: “Roundup is the only safe alternative right now and is a safer choice than other chemicals such as DDT and paraquat.”
If this bill is passed, the use of Roundup by farmers would be protected for ten years. During this ten year period, pesticide companies would research for a safer alternative. To fund this research, a 4% tax increase on tobacco would be imposed.
O’Brien and Woolard took inspiration from Woolard’s brother-in-law, a scientist, who claims: “this is the only alternative and it would benefit people if we kept Roundup in use,
and then found a better solution in the long run.”
Overall, Woolard and O’Brien have an interest in protecting the environment, even if it means using a supposed carencingon for the time being. O’Brien explains, “the end goal of this is to find an alternative” to what is being used now.
