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Video: Monsanto Lobbyist Claims Glyphosate Safe to Drink, Refuses to Drink It

HeadlineMar 27, 2015

Agribusiness giant Monsanto has agreed to pay a fine for failing to report hundreds of uncontrolled releases of toxic chemicals at a plant in Idaho. Monsanto will pay $600,000, a tiny fraction of the more than $240 million in profits from the last quarter alone. Meanwhile, footage has emerged of a lobbyist claiming Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer is safe to drink, but then refusing to drink it. Pat Moore, a former Greenpeace activist turned corporate lobbyist, made the remarks in an interview for a documentary with the French channel Canal+.

Pat Moore: “You can drink a whole quart of it, and it won’t hurt you.”

Paul Moreira: “You want to drink some? We have some here.”

Pat Moore: “I’d be happy to, actually. Not, not really, but …”

Paul Moreira: “Not really?”

Pat Moore: “I know it wouldn’t hurt me.”

Paul Moreira: “If you say so, I have some glyphosate.”

Pat Moore: “No, no, I’m not stupid.”

Paul Moreira: “Ah, OK. So you …”

Pat Moore: “No, but I know …”

Paul Moreira: “… said it’s dangerous, right?”

Pat Moore: “No. People try to commit suicide with it and fail, fairly regularly.”

Paul Moreira: “No, no, but let’s tell the truth. It’s dangerous.”

Pat Moore: “It’s not dangerous to humans. No, it’s not.”

Paul Moreira: “So you are ready to drink one glass of glyphosate?”

Pat Moore: “No, I’m not an idiot. Interview me about golden rice. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Paul Moreira: “We did. We did. We did.”

Pat Moore: “OK. Then it’s finished.”

Paul Moreira: “Except it’s …”

Pat Moore: “Then the interview is finished.”

Paul Moreira: “That’s a good way to solve things.”

Pat Moore: (getting up to leave) “Yeah. You’re a complete jerk.”

Earlier this week, a report by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found glyphosate, a main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, likely causes cancer.

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