Has Roundup Put Hunters at Risk of Cancer As Well?

Here in Northern Michigan, as the leaves begin to turn, many of us start thinking about deer camp. It’s just around the corner. Opening day of rifle season is always the 15th of November. It’s a tradition unlike any other here in the Mitten State.

For years, many of us that hunt have engaged in Quality Deer Management or QDMA. Since 1988, the Quality Deer Management Association has worked to promote sustainable, high quality deer populations, wildlife habitats and ethical hunting experiences through research, education, advocacy and hunter recruitment. They encourage protection of the younger bucks, appropriate harvesting of the does in the population and maintaining healthy habitat and food plots on your property.

It is a brilliant approach to managing deer and your property. It’s certainly an approach that my deer camp has adhered to, and we’ve seen the benefits. For years, we’ve planted brassica, oats, clover and buckwheat. It’s a lot of work planting and maintaining those crops and it pays dividends. But up until recently, we didn’t realize that the QDMA approach was going to put our camp at risk of cancer.

When it comes to food plots, the first step recommended by QDMA is to kill all the weeds in the area where you’re going to plant the food plot to attract the deer. Roundup is the product that they have recommended for years. Why? Because it works. From the QDMA website – Commonly referred to by its original trade name Roundup, glyphosate is undoubtably the most commonly used when it comes to planting food plots.

The problem is Roundup and it’s active ingredient glyphosate cause cancer, specifically, non-Hodgkins lymphoma. In the first 3 trials against Monsanto/Bayer as it relates to Roundup causing cancer, all three juries found that Roundup caused the cancer. The evidence and the science clearly supported the connection between exposure to Roundup and cancer.

Here in Northern Michigan, most of the Roundup victims are exposed through their work in agriculture, farming and landscaping. But we’ve started to see clients who have nothing to do with Roundup as it relates to their job. Rather, their exposure to the cancer causing chemical came through prepping food plots at their deer camps.

So if you, your friends or family are getting ready for the fall hunt and are looking to invest some time into some last minute food plot prep, think twice about using Roundup. If you’ve been losing Roundup at camp, keep an eye out for these symptoms as outlined by the Mayo Clinic:

• Painless, swollen lymph nodes in your neck, armpits or groin
• Abdominal pain or swelling
• Chest pain, coughing or trouble breathing
• Persistent fatigue
• Fever
• Night sweats
• Unexplained weight loss

Lastly, to all our hunters here in Michigan and throughout the US, here’s to a safe and successful hunt.

If you, a friend or family member has been exposed to Roundup and has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at 231.946.0700 for a free consultation and click for more information about Smith & Johnson’s Roundup Glyphosate litigation or complete our free case evaluator.