Glyphosate and Health

– Summary:

Glyphosate, a synthetic herbicide patented in 1974 by the Monsanto company and now manufactured and sold by many companies in hundreds of products, has been associated with cancer and other health problems, such as being an endocrine disruptor that affects fertility both male and female, liver disease, alteration of the microbiota and neurotoxicity.

– Discussion:

Germany has banned glyphosate throughout the country. Germany’s ban is particularly important because Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, is a German-based company. This European country announced that the ban would imply the total elimination of glyphosate by the year 2023.
Meanwhile, the lobbies pressure the rest of the component countries of the European Union to maintain its commercialization, and the fate of this toxic product is uncertain and dangerous.
Despite all the movement to scrap, ban, and educate the public about the dangers of glyphosate, the herbicide has alarmingly found a way to get it into our food.
The Environmental Working Group reported in 2019 that widespread glyphosate contamination affected breakfast cereals, oatmeal products, pasta, crackers, chickpea flour, pizza, and lentils.
Glyphosate inhibits the enzyme, synthase in plants, allowing farmers to eradicate weeds that compete with crops.
Despite the official position, studies have found that glyphosate exposure is linked to a 41% to 70% increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and an increased risk of bladder cancer.
In pets, glyphosate exposure can cause cancer, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, excessive drooling and fatigue, and is also harmful to bees.
Unfortunately, that 2019 review only determined on the surface of foods affected by dangerous levels of glyphosate.
Another review of foods that might be affected by glyphosate found that glyphosate was found in all 12 wheat-based foods that were tested.

– Conclusions:

Some farmers use glyphosate on non-GM crops, such as wheat, barley, oats, and lentils, to desiccate the crop before harvest in order to speed up harvesting.
This practice, known as desiccation, can be a major source of dietary exposure to glyphosate.
According to 2005 research by Plant Research International, up to 24 percent of glyphosate that has been applied to a hard surface can wash off.
Glyphosate exposure can also have mental health consequences, including anxiety, depression, and alterations in the gut microbiome.
The use of glyphosate has increased dramatically in the last 20 years due to its frequent use in crops such as corn, soybeans, cotton, etc. etc.
Food is not the only product contaminated with dangerous levels of glyphosate. Recently, concern about glyphosate in tampons has increased.
It has been found that 85 percent of tampons, sanitary pads, and other hygiene products are contaminated with trace amounts of glyphosate.
Consequently, the probability of exposure to glyphosate has increased, also for pesticide applicators.
It is harmful to human and wildlife health and its use is clearly contraindicated, as evidenced by various reports.
References:
-Glyphosate Fact Sheet: Cancer and Other Health Concerns.Posted on September 27, 2021 by Carey Gillam.
-Review Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Jul 7;12:672532. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.672532. eCollection 2021.Glyphosate Herbicide: Reproductive Outcomes and Multigenerational Effects. María Mercedes Milesi et al.

Keywords:
glyphosate and female fertility, glyphosate and male fertility, glyphosate and non-hodgkin cancer, glyphosate and adverse reproductive outcomes, glyphosate and estrogenic effects, glyphosate and implantation failure, maternal exposure and glyphosate, glyphosate and tampons, glyphosate and bladder cancer, glyphosate and neurotoxicity, glyphosate and depression, glyphosate and microbiota, glyphosate and wildlife.