Landscape Online has covered the battle against glyphosate for sometime now, and if you have been following the news surrounding glyphosate, the EPA's latest statement will sound very similar to previous reports.

On December 18, 2017, the EPA released its "Draft Risk Assessment for Glyphosate" and reiterated, "glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans." This is a similar statement to the one the International Agency for Research on Cancer gave in 2015, when it classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans." Both statements include a wide berth of probability, as neither seems to be completely definite.

In order to make its conclusion, the EPA studied the exposure of glyphosate from dietary, residential/non-occupational, aggregate and occupational sources. The EPA also evaluated the glyphosate cancer database, which includes data from epidemiological, animal carcinogenicity, and genotoxicity studies.

Perhaps, one new piece of information is that the assessment indicated that there is a "potential for effects on birds, mammals, and terrestrial and aquatic plants." Again, the same vagueness applies here.

On the other hand, the study was conducted with a large amount of transparency, as the complete testing methods and results are available on epa.gov (https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/draft-human-health-and-ecological-risk-assessments-glyphosate).