GlyphosatePosted 9 years ago under Uncategorized
Glyphosate is an acid molecule and the active ingredient in the world’s most utilized herbicide that was intentionally created to kill weeds that compete with commercial crops such as corn and soy. Back in 1970, one of Monsanto’s chemists, John E. Franz, manufactured this highly controversial, probable carcinogenic and marketed it under the trade name Roundup. Glyphosate-resistant crops have the chemical compound inside them, and the intention was for farmers to be able to spray the crops with more weed-killer without killing the edible plants, but this trait is failing miserably across the globe, causing health detriment, soil nutrient depletion and environmental disturbances that go unreported by the mainstream media. Nearly 200 million pounds are dumped on American soil each year, including the agricultural sector, home gardens and yards. Over the past couple decades, weed resistance has become a major problem as “Superweeds” have become immune to Roundup and are destroying the yield once thought to be improving by this biotechnology, though Monsanto advocates would have the public, farmers and health organizations believe otherwise to protect their investments, sales and profits. (1)
No regulations on Glyphosate in order to protect humans
Hundreds of tests and independent, reliable studies have been conducted that expose Glyphosate as a major threat to human health, but since the FDA and EPA rely solely on safety tests done by the manufacturer, no regulations are put in place to protect humans, animals or the environment from this known cancer-causing weed killer. The chemical is absorbed throughout foliage and even seeps into roots. Glyphosate is also used as a drying agent that is sprayed on crops heavily, such as wheat and sugarcane, just before harvesting for storage in silos. The term “Roundup Ready” means the crop’s seeds are genetically engineered to contain the toxic and deadly herbicide. Scientific correlations have also been made between Glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The increased risk of farmers contacting NHL has been identified in farm workers using Roundup as recently as 2014. In March of 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subsidiary branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), published a summary of studies on the dangers of Glyphosate. The World Health Organization has revealed in-depth research exposing Glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic in humans” based on epidemiological studies, animal studies and in vitro studies. Laboratory studies dating as far back as 1991 and 1992 reveal that Glyphosate can harm beneficial insects and earthworms. It can also harm the bacterial ecology of soil and cause micronutrient deficiencies in plants, which explains much of the immuno-deficiencies in Americans who consume GM corn and soy regularly. (2)
U.S. regulatory agencies FDA and USDA do NOT regulate use or dangers of Glyphosate
Prior to 1970, Glyphosate was synthesized in a laboratory by a Swiss chemist that patented the chemical chelator “agent” that was known then to bind and remove the minerals calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and manganese. Glyphosate also kills plants and bacteria by interfering with the synthesis of the amino acids tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine by inhibiting certain enzymes. Glyphosate residues are NOT always immobile and do have the potential to contaminate surface waters through soil erosion as it adsorbs (remains as thin film on surface) to soil particles suspended in runoff. Glyphosate is NOT tested by the FDA’s Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program nor the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, and field tests show that carrots, lettuce and barley contain residues up to ONE YEAR after the soil is treated with just three pounds of Glyphosate per acre. Contamination of rain, groundwater and surface water is attributed to urban and agricultural use. People spray Roundup on sidewalks, to clear railroad tracks, and to try to eradicate weeds from their yards. It’s also used in aerial spraying. Laboratory toxicology studies reveal that other ingredients in combination with Glyphosate may have greater toxicity than Glyphosate and might also propel the toxicity and carcinogenic (cancer-causing) actions of Glyphosate itself.
Since Monsanto’s patent on Glyphosate expired in the year 2000, most of the agrochemical (chemical industrial) companies and corporations manufacture and produce Glyphosate now, including Bayer CropScience, BASF, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Syngenta and a host of Chinese manufacturers. Glyphosate is now combined with over 400 chemical and commercial adjuvants (agents that enhances the effect of Glyphosate) from more than thirty companies worldwide for agricultural use. Roundup products, including genetically modified seeds, represent half of Monsanto’s gross profits. (3)
Glyphosate, one of deadly ingredients of Agent Orange used in Vietnam, will now be used to “carpet bomb” American agriculture
Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, just got EPA permission to spray Glyphosate (part of chemical compound found in 2,4-D) on agricultural fields near U.S. schools, according to reports from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The latest weed killer compound mixture is called “Enlist DuoTM” and more than 5,000 schools will be affected that are within 200 feet of those crop fields. Dow’s applications are pending with the EPA and will be sprayed on corn and soy that is genetically engineered (meaning the vegetables already contain the pesticide genes) to be tolerant or “resistant” to the toxic herbicide. Just like with Roundup, the Enlist product will prompt MORE use (up to ten times as much) of toxic herbicide to combat weeds that quickly evolve to overcome the herbicide, commonly referred to as Superweeds. The compound 2,4-D is extra-dangerous to humans because it can transform into a gas after being sprayed and carry the Glyphosate for long distances. American exposure to this cancer-causing compound would of course soar. During the war in Vietnam, thousands of soldiers trudged through the jungles and brush that were sprayed with Agent Orange, comprised of Glyphosate, and came back home after the war with cancer. Not only did Agent Orange “burn” down foliage but it poisoned the food supply of Vietnam, and that was the goal of its usage. In fact, 2,4-D makes up half of Agent Orange, and cancer is just the tip of the iceberg regarding health detriment. Add to the list reproductive disorders and deformations, suppressed immune function, Parkinson’s disease and hypothyroidism. To make matters worse, Enlist and Enlist-resistant crops do not even solve the problem they are created and promoted to handle. All over the world, Roundup-resistant weeds are a growing problem for all countries that grow GM crops and it’s no coincidence. Farmers that spread the deadly herbicide are also committing suicide in record numbers after battling fits of depression from the toxin and from bankrupting crop yields. (4)
Recently, nearly $50 million in disability benefits were awarded by the US federal government to the military veterans who suffer disease and disorder from Monsanto’s Agent Orange herbicide used in Vietnam, including the active-duty Air Force reservists and forces that sprayed the defoliant Glyphosate products. The US used chemical warfare for twenty years, even after everyone knew that the Nazis used similar chemicals to gas hundreds of thousands of Jews to death during the holocaust. Not surprisingly, the U.S. government was functioning in complete denial of the ill health effects of Glyphosate on US soldiers for decades, insisting that Agent Orange residue had nothing to do with their health problems up until this recent humongous settlement for nearly fifty million dollars. All the while, soldiers and reservists were suffering from prostate cancer, diabetes, leukemia and several other crippling medical conditions, thanks to Glyphosate and Agent Orange’s 2,4-D. (5)
Glyphosate and Enlist Duo 2,4-D: Weapons of Mass Health Destruction
Though soldiers and reservists who served in Vietnam will be compensated for the deadly diseases and disorders they contracted from Agent Orange, not a single American civilian will be compensated for consuming GMO foods like corn and soy and contracting the same diseases and disorders. In fact, consumers in USA are kept in the dark as to which foods are GMO and which foods are sprayed with deadly Glyphosate and other ingredients of Agent Orange. It is said that two-thirds or more of all food found in US grocery stores and supermarkets contain genetically modified organisms and chemical pesticides that are associated with deadly immune system cancers, leading health researchers to believe that is why one in every three Americans develop cancer in their lifetime and only half survive it.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit against the EPA for failing to respond to a petition to ban 2,4-D, which was rushed to the market by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with no consideration for how it might affect the environment and the population. Over the past four decades, more than twenty studies have shown the connection between 2,4-D and soft-tissue and blood cancer (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Most Americans do NOT understand what GMO really means
Jeffrey Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception” and the world’s leading outspoken advocate about the dangers of GMO (or GE), explains that GMO is a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant. This refers directly to the use of recombinant DNA techniques and can involve inserting genes of pesticides into food seeds, as done with Glyphosate for corn, soy, and other popular staple foods that are the main ingredients and bulking agents for thousands of products across the globe. The alterations in genetic makeup is highly mutagenic and leads to unpredictable changes in the DNA and proteins produced, leading to toxic and often allergic reactions in humans that consume them.
Most Americans have been conned into believing that genetic modification is the same thing as traditional, selective breeding, but the two “processes” are nothing alike. Traditional hybridization occurs naturally and never circumvents natural laws. Also, using selective breeding does not involve inserting the genes of foreign substances into seeds of crops in order to kill insects or weeds. The argument that GMO and traditional breeding are one in the same is a typical con argument used by GM proponents to trick consumers into thinking GMO are safe and beneficial, when they are not. Genetic engineering strategies are imprecise and unpredictable, and GM can destroy food’s nutritional values, create toxicity and fuel allergic reactions, not to mention lowering crop yields – the exact opposite of the mantra used to sell farmers on using them and consumers on eating them. On average, chronically ill people have higher Glyphosate levels in their blood than healthy people, as revealed by recent studies and as attributed to America’s deteriorating health. Roundup has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor in human cells at surprising LOW amounts, despite findings purported by the manufacturers and their industry-funded conclusions. Roundup has been found in municipal drinking water and at levels high enough to cause harm. All industry-funded research is based on short-term findings in order to ignore and omit the true health detriment caused and revealed in long-term research, such as that done by the French research scientist Seralini and his professional team. (6)
Rats feed GM soy and GM corn had short and long-term detrimental health effects, including DNA damage, abnormal sperm, blood changes, damage to the liver, the kidneys and the testes. GMOs have been in the American food supply for about twenty years, so Americans who do not filter GM from their food and beverage choices are inclined to be suffering chronic health problems as a result. Leading researchers say that if genetically modified foods that contain Glyphosate and other known carcinogens were the only foods we ate, our overall health as a nation would be far worse than it already is now.
More than 800 scientists drafted a letter to the world warning about the dangers of growing and consuming GM agriculture. The letter explained how GM crops are neither necessary, sustainable nor beneficial to the world. Here are some of the highlights of that letter:
- Genetically modified crops have produced inferior yields when compared to their unmodified counterparts.
- GM crops have been shown to have poor disease resistance.
- GM crops engineered to contain BT toxins kill beneficial insects such as bees, lacewings, swallowtails, and monarch butterflies.
- Glufosinate causes birth defects in mammals.
- Glyphosate has been linked to cancer.
- Poor financial returns for farmers.
- GMOs violate farmers rights (Monsanto takes farmers’ farms away by lawsuits monthly).
- GMOs violate human rights and basic human dignity. (The right to know and control what we put into our bodies is a basic and fundamental human right). (7)
Sources:
(2) http://www.responsibletechnology.org/posts/
(3) http://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/08/widespread-glyphosate-contamination-usa/
(4) http://www.naturalnews.com/045905_Agent_Orange_US_schools_agricultural_herbicide.html#ixzz3gMWQ4qFf
(5) http://www.naturalnews.com/050385_Agent_Orange_Vietnam_disability_benefits.html#ixzz3gMWoxZVN
(6) http://www.gmoseralini.org/category/scientists-support-seralini/
(7) http://www.naturalnews.com/050454_GMO_research_biotech_dangers_health_issues.html#ixzz3gMhWLjRI