FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2014
CONTACT:
Organic Consumers Association,
Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090
FINLAND, Minn. – The
Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today called on U.S.
regulatory agencies, including the Food & Drug Administration
(FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ban the use of glyphosate
based on a
new pilot study showing that the toxic herbicide was found
in the breast milk of American women. This finding contradicts
industry claims that glyphosate does not accumulate in human
tissue.
“For years Monsanto has claimed that glyphosate, the key active
ingredient in its Roundup-brand herbicide is ‘safe’ because the
human body excretes it,” said Ronnie Cummins, national director
of the OCA. “This pilot study is the first of its kind to prove
that Monsanto is wrong. In fact, this preliminary study shows
that glyphosate accumulates in our bodies, and mothers are now
passing the toxin on to their infants via breast milk.”
Results of the pilot study, conducted by
Moms
Across America and
Sustainable Pulse, with support from Environmental Arts &
Research, were released today. While the numbers are small, they
are alarming. The study revealed that the levels found in the
breast milk of American women were found to be 760 to 1600 times
higher than the European Drinking Water Directive allows for
individual pesticides (Glyphosate is both a pesticide and
herbicide), but less than the 700 ug/l maximum contaminant level
(MCL) for glyphosate in the U.S.
The EPA, arguing that glyphosate is not bio-accumulative,
recently raised the limits for the amount of glyphosate
residue allowed on human food.
The study also analysed 35 urine samples and 21 drinking water
samples from across the U.S. and found levels in urine that were
over 10 times higher than those found in a similar survey done
in the EU by Friends of the Earth Europe in 2013.
According to Sustainable Pulse, glyphosate-containing herbicides
are the top-selling herbicides in the world and are sold under
trademarks such as Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’. Monsanto’s sales of
Roundup jumped 73 percent to $371 million in 2013 because of its
increasing use on genetically engineered crops (GE Crops).
Glyphosate has also been found to be a powerful pesticide.
“This is another in a long line of studies showing the many ways
in which glyphosate poses a real danger to human health,”
Cummins said. “It’s time for Americans to demand that the FDA,
USDA and EPA ban this toxin for good. Until then, at the very
least, the FDA must require labels on foods that contain this
dangerous toxin. And the best way to do that is to require
mandatory labelling of foods that contain genetically modified
organisms, most of which derive from crops that require massive
amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup.
We must also stop retailers from selling Roundup to consumers,
for use on their lawns and gardens. And we need to put an end to
the use of Roundup by municipalities to control weeds in parks
and roadways. The best way to accomplish all of this is to ban
Roundup and other glyphosate-containing herbicides and
pesticides for good.” Cummins said.
The study will be used to launch a country-wide plan for a
follow-up study on blood, urine and breast milk with a
significant number of samples carried out using the best testing
equipment available and overlooked by expert scientists,
according to the authors who have already secured funding for
more extensive tests.
Background
World’s Number 1 Herbicide Discovered in U.S. Mothers’ Breast
Milk,
Sustainable Pulse, April 7, 2014.
Heavy use of herbicide Roundup linked to health dangers-U.S.
study,
Reuters, April 25, 2013
Why Glyphosate Should Be Banned,
Institute of Science in Society, Oct. 10, 2012
Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide May Be Most Important Factor in
Development of Autism and Other Chronic Disease,
Mercola.com, June 9, 2012
EPA to American People: 'Let Them Eat Monsanto's Roundup Ready
Cake,'
Sayer Ji, July 2, 2013
Pesticides may be more dangerous than testing reveals,
study finds, Environmental Health News, February 11, 2014
Roundup Linked to Global Boom in Celiac Disease and Gluten
Intolerance,
by Dr. Anthony Samsel and Dr. Stephanie Seneff, Feb. 19,
2014
For press inquiries, please contact Katherine Paul by
email or phone: 207.653.3090/
The Organic Consumers
Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3
public interest organization campaigning for health, justice,
and sustainability.
The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of
the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots
lobbying and legislative action.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29697.cfm