--- title: Watch This GMO Advocate Claim That Weed Killer Is Safe to Drink description: Patrick Moore said the company’s Roundup weed killer was safe to drink "a whole quart of" but refused a glass of it during a TV interview canonical: https://time.com/3761053/monsanto-weed-killer-drink-patrick-moore/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-27T05:51:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:50.494Z article:section: Science og:title: GMO Advocate Claims Weed Killer Is Safe to Drink og:description: But he refuses to touch it when offered a glass. og:url: https://time.com/3761053/monsanto-weed-killer-drink-patrick-moore/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: GMO Advocate Claims Weed Killer Is Safe to Drink twitter:description: But he refuses to touch it when offered a glass. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch a GMO Advocate Claim a Weed Killer Is Safe to Drink but Then Refuse to Drink It > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=452bd5d2-df30-4dbf-adff-d9b8150793a7&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Mar 27, 2015 5:51 AM UTC by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Mar 27, 2015 5:51 AM UTC **Correction appended**: March 27, 2015. In an interview with the French television station Canal Plus, an advocate for genetically modified foods said Roundup, a weedkiller that is manufactured by chemical giant Monsanto, is safe for human consumption but refused to drink the herbicide when offered a glass by an interviewer. Patrick Moore says he leads [a campaign in support of “golden rice,”](http://www.allowgoldenricenow.org/) a genetically modified grain that contains high amounts of vitamin A. In the interview, which Moore says he believed would focus on “golden rice,” he says the active ingredient in the herbicide, glyphosate, is not causing cancer rates in Argentina to increase. “You can drink a whole quart of it and it won’t hurt you,” he said. But when the reporter told him that they had prepared a glass and invited Moore to drink it, he refused, saying “I’m not stupid.” “So, it’s dangerous?” the interviewer asked. “It’s not dangerous to humans,” Moore replied. He insisted that people “try to commit suicide” by drinking Roundup but “fail regularly.” Moore then walked out of the interview. Last Friday, the World Health Organization’s cancer-research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, [classified](http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/21/roundup-cancer-who-glyphosate-) the widely used herbicide as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” **Correction**: The original version of this story identified Moore as a paid lobbyist for Monsanto. In a statement published Friday, Monsanto said Moore “is not and never has been a paid lobbyist for Monsanto.” _Read next:_ [_What Experts Got Wrong About Viagra_](http://time.com/3748244/viagra-history/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See the Worst Place to Breathe in America  A passenger train travels through town past a refinery in Bakersfield, Calif. Lexey Swall—GRAIN  Oil pumps and scarred earth can be seen for miles in an area of North Bakersfield called the Bluffs. 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Mendoza is a leader for a men's group at Victory Outreach Church in Bakersfield that rents the land from the refinery to grow alfalfa that is then sold to a local dairy for feed. The money earned from the feed helps fund the men's program for the church. This symbiotic relationship between resource companies and the community are played out throughout the region. Lexey Swall—GRAIN  Percolation ponds fill up with runoff water from nearby Belridge Oil Fields in Eastern Kern County. As the water evaporates, leaving oil residue, hydrogen sulfide, methane and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are released in to the air. Lexey Swall—GRAIN  Dust devils can be seen reaching toward the sky during dry months in Bakersfield. Dust is a pervasive problem that contributes to diminished air quality. The problem is exacerbated by the current drought in California. Lexey Swall—GRAIN  Lucy Clark, 72, lives in the foothills north of Bakersfield. Her home sits at 2200 feet, which is about the elevation where the visible layer of smog begins to hang in the air. Because of this, Clark, who suffers from asthma, wears a mask every day she walks out to get the mail. Lexey Swall—GRAIN  Elk Hills Power plant provides electricity to power Occidental Elk Hills oil field. Oxy's Elk Hills field is one of the largest oil fields in the United States and the natural gas power plant can produce 550 megawatts of electricity. Lexey Swall—GRAIN  Samantha Olivarez, 9, left, and her cousin, Daisy Olivarez, 7, play in front of their home in Arvin, Calif. The homes across the street were evacuated after a gas pipe leaked underground. According to reports, the 40-year-old pipe was leaking for as long as two years before it was detected. Olivarez's family is worried about possible health risks in the area due to the pollution. 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