Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

First Advisor

Bindu Panikkar

Second Advisor

Patricia O’Kane

Third Advisor

Tatiana Abatemarco

Keywords

glyphosate, Roundup, regulations, environmental health, human/community health

Abstract

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world and remains the main active ingredient in Monsanto’s product Roundup. Not only is glyphosate used for agricultural production, including Roundup-Ready crops, it is also used in many other day-to-day applications outside of agriculture, including lawn-care maintenance. Though there are policies set in place by the EPA, different studies conducted by national and international agencies show that this herbicide poses significant health risks to humans and the broader environment. Grounded in the concepts of risk perception, and 90 survey responses from a door-to-door survey, this study investigates the public perceptions on pesticide use in Franklin County, Vermont and makes future policy-recommendations surrounding glyphosate usage in the State of Vermont. The study finds that citizens are rarely involved in chemical regulations; studies on risk perceptions and risk analysis can be resourceful in future policy-making.

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