Scientific Consensus Statement Reveals Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide a Major Health Threat
10th March 2016 By Sayer Ji Contributing Writer for Wake Up World A newly published scientific consensus statement on Roundup herbicide reveals exposure to this ubiquitous toxicant is increasing and valid research proving it safe is still nowhere to be found. A powerful new review on the toxicity of glyphosate signals a growing consensus among non-industry-sponsored scientists that the relatively unmonitored and unregulated exposure to this ubiquitous toxicant can no longer be promoted as a justifiable risk. The review is open access and can be downloaded as a PDF and/or read in its entirety here. The newly released consensus statement published in the journal Environmental Health and titled, “Concerns over use of glyphosate-based herbicides and risks associated with exposures: a consensus statement,” identified the broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate (common trade name “Roundup”) as major threat to human and environmental health. Identified as having increased in usage 100-fold since the late 1970’s, the study predicts glyphosate usage will increase to even greater amounts due to,”widespread emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds and new, pre-harvest, dessicant use patterns.” Oats, for example, are commonly sprayed with glyphosate as a pre-harvest dessicant, even though it is legal to label them “non-GMO,” as we recently reported on in connection with the product Cheerios. The study also identified a key regulatory problem associated with increased glyphosate exposure: “To accommodate changes in GBH [glyphosate based herbicide] use patterns associated with genetically engineered, herbicide-tolerant crops, regulators have dramatically increased tolerance levels in maize, oilseed (soybeans and canola), and alfalfa crops and related livestock feeds.” In a previous report titled, “EPA to America People: ‘Let Them Eat Monsanto’s Roundup Ready Cake,” we discussed the EPA’s role in covering up the increasingly dire glyphosate accumulation in our food supply by arbitrarily increasing its permissible levels without regard to the obvious health risks. This is all the more disturbing considering recent research has demonstrated it has the potential to act as a carcinogenic/estrogenic endocrine disrupter in the parts per trillion range. Owing to the fact that animal and epidemiology studies clearly point to glyphosate exposure having serious health risks (see the GreenMedInfo.com toxicity database on glyphosate to read the first-hand literature on the topic), as well as the fact that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer recently concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” the scientists who authored the new paper produced a Statement of Concern, summarized into the following seven concerns:
While there are dozens of glaring problems addressed in this report, we would like to highlight the following five points of concern:
The researchers suggest that in order to fill the gap created by an absence of government funds to support essential research on glyphosate based formulations a system should be employed through which manufacturers fund the process:
As the world becomes increasingly aware of the dangers of glyphosate-based formulations, and the scientific community begins to muster the courage to speak out, there is a growing sense of hope that glyphosate and glyphosate-based farming techniques will be phased out in favor of non-toxic, far more sustainable food production methods. Perhaps the best way to enact this change is to vote with your fork and dollar, making sure to buy only truly organically produced food and related commodities whenever possible. Recommended articles by Sayer Ji:
About the author:
Sayer Ji is on the Board of Governors for the National Health Federation and Fearless Parent, Steering Committee Member of the Global GMO Free Coalition (GGFC), a reviewer at the International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, and founder of GreenMedInfo.com – an open access, evidence-based resource supporting natural and integrative modalities. All original material Copyright © 2015 Wake Up World.
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