The profuse use of glyphosate on our crops and environment is a public health emergency. If you do not know the details of the herbicide glyphosate, please pay attention – you are eating, drinking and touching it all day, everyday.
Glyphosate is everywhere. It is in nearly all of our non-organic food. Cheerios, for example, provide a hefty dose of glyphosate. [1] In most US cities, our parks, schools and athletic fields are showered in glyphosate. Glyphosate is found in and fed to babies in breast milk. What is the mega-consumption of glyphosate and associated formulations like Roundup doing to our bodies and those of our children?
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide and crop desiccant that is overwhelmingly the most widely used herbicide in agriculture and landscaping. More commonly known as the key ingredient in its commercial name Roundup, glyphosate was first introduced to market in the 1970s and originally used modestly. Following the introduction of genetically engineered “Roundup Ready” glyphosate-resistant crops in 1996, glyphosate use exploded, expanding fifteen-fold. Two-thirds of the total volume of glyphosate applied in the U.S. from 1974 to 2014 has been sprayed in just the last 10 years. [2] Over this same time period, we have had a parallel explosion of health issues – endocrine disorders, cancer incidence, autoimmunity, food allergies and sensitivities, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, autism, infertility, behavioral disorders, and much, much more. Life expectancy has decreased. Glyphosate has had a large, sneaky and widely underestimated role.
The FDA, EPA and EFSA have all claimed that glyphosate is safe for human consumption in low levels, though studies on the cumulative effects of prolonged exposure to glyphosate have not been properly acknowledged in determining chemical regulation by the US government. In 2015, the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), an intergovernmental agency within the World Health Organization, determined that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen”. (3) Take notice. Monsanto has noticed. Monsanto has gone to great lengths to discredit the IARC finding as well as the findings of numerous researchers who attempted to publish evidence that glyphosate is more toxic than advertised.
Research has been performed on many aspects of the toxicological and biological impact of glyphosate, and the results are tragic. The continued application of new science will provide critical insight into the role that glyphosate plays in creating disequilibrium in our microbiome, among other physiological functions. The herbicidal action of glyphosate and Roundup hits our “good” gut bacteria, which can lead to a host of health issues. Roundup also has recently been shown to contribute to the weakening of our intestinal tight junctions, which leads to harmful intestinal permeability.
I am following the riveting court cases that are underway that seek to challenge Monsanto’s claim that Roundup is non-carcinogenic. I also am interweaving and commenting on glyphosate news, scientific discoveries, and the delicate state of Bayer corporate.
NOTE: I am an independent public health advocate and receive no compensation from anyone for my work. If I can help to get glyphosate out of our lives, that is compensation enough.
