WEEDS and HERBICIDES (Part 3)

"Round-Up"

Today I want to look at the consequences of using Round-Up and Round-Up ready Genetically Modified crops.

Scientists at the University of Caen in France found that human placental cells are very sensitive to this herbicide at concentration levels lower than used in agriculture and that it disrupts human sex hormones and leads to reproductive problems. Environmental Health Perspectives, June 2005, "Differential Effects of Glyphosate and Round-Up  on Human Placenta Cells and Aromatase".

Glyphosate herbicides cause genetic damage and harm to the immune systems in fish, and frogs leading to abnormal development.  Ecological Applications, April 2006, "The impact of insecticides and herbicides on the biodiversity and productivity of aquatic communities"

A 2007 study conducted by Pontifical University in Ecuador found a higher degree of genetic damage in populations exposed to glyphosate than those whom lived 50 miles away.  A 2009 study in the Journal Toxicology, researchers from the University of Caen in France found that in human cells glyphosate disrupted hormones. This was at a level of only 0.5 parts per million (ppm) which is 800 time less than what is found on our food.

In 2010 in the Journal Chemical Research in Toxicology another low-dose study found that glyphosate exposure caused malformations in frog and chicken embryos.

A 2012 review of several studies by the King's College London School of Medicine found evidence that Round-Up caused birth defects.

Another of the claims of safety is that glyphosate targets an enzyme (EPSP synthase) that does not exist in humans. However, this enzyme is present in the bacteria that live inside people. These bacteria are intimately linked to many physiological functions in the body that are crucial to human health. This disruption has been linked to many illnesses.

Monsanto's claim that glyphosate only targets one enzyme is false as it was originally patented in 1964 as a enzyme disrupter. Additionally many metals are co-factors for many enzymes and the enzyme cannot work without them. Hence the chelating properties of glyphosate locks up these metals and prevent the enzymes from working.

A report in the Health Freedom Alliance stated that an estimated one Billion pounds a year of Round-up is sprayed on our food crops. This results in the average American eating several hundred pounds of glyphosate-contaminated food every year!

Dr. Samsel a research chemist whom helped author the Chemical Hazard Response Information System (CHRIS) manual for the US Coast Guard. He was also a farmer whom used Round-Up. He began to question the safety of glyphosate when he noticed his own urine killed plants. He went on a diet of only organic foods and the herbicidal effect of his urine went away.  He convinced the USDA to release the results from over 400 samples of soybeans that were tested where over 90% of them had glyphosate residues on them. He also noticed that the data had been "cherry picked" by the USDA so that EPA limits for safety were not exceeded. The report also ignored the very toxic breakdown product of glyphosate (AMPA) which was found at higher levels than the glyphosate.

 Dr. Samsel also found out that glyphosate had also been patented as an biocide and a antibiotic.  During his research into glyphosate he found that Monsanto knew as far back as 1981 that it was carcinogenic in animal studies. A paper by the Health Freedom Organization may be found at www.healthfreedom.org/researcher-reveals-monsanto-has-knowledge.

A recent study in the Surgical Neurology International found that on cows fed genetically modified Round-Up ready feed, they developed a severe depletion of serum Manganese (Mn) which prevented many biological systems from working properly.

Other studies have Round-Up linked to many human health problems. A study in the journal Entropy found Round-Up exposure linked to the development of Parkinson's disease.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) over the last couple years in multiple published studies have linked Round-Up exposure to gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, infertility, autism, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

One of the promises (lies) of GMO crops was less chemical usage would be required. In the U.S. in 1992 only 11,000 tons of glyphosate were applied. In 2007 it had increased to 88,000 tons!  Today it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of tons are used. This means more people are exposed to a carcinogenic chemical in greater amounts. 

So what has happened since the introduction of Round-UP ready GMO foods?

Below are some of the slides shown at the soil conference, summarizing hundreds of published research studies linking Round-Up to health problems.

 Many health problems have increased in direct proportion to the increased usage of Glyphosate.

It is amazing how the increased health problems directly correlate to Round-Up application.

 Look at the tumors that developed when the mice were fed GMO corn!

What is the Glyphosate in Round-Up doing to our children?

There is a definite correlation of when genetically modified canola was introduced in Canada and the increase of the disease.

 In addition to the human and livestock health effects, Round-Up has also been linked to the decline in Monarch butterflies, as their primary food source (milkweeds) are very sensitive to this herbicide. It has also been linked to the decline in bees. It is now believed to weaken their immune systems which makes them more susceptible to other factors and together it leads to colony collapse disorder.

How did this happen to people? It started back during the early 80's when GMO technology was in its infancy.  The problems took off in 1991 when the White house hired Michael Taylor a Monsanto attorney to oversee the creation of GMO policy for the FDA. He then went back to work for Monsanto as Vice-President for Public Policy from 1996-2000 when he was appointed the FDA's Food Safety Czar. As a result the FDA approves GM foods based on industry studies and does no independent testing.

Note: Most industry test are 90 days or less with NO Long Term Studies. 

I am currently reading an very interesting book: Altered Genes, Twisted Truth, by Steve Druker, copyright 2015, that I will review when I am finished.  He was an attorney representing an environmental organization that filed suit on the USDA.  As a result the courts gave him access to all the internal documents from the USDA and other agencies that showed that they knew the dangers of GMO's and how our government covered them up.

Round-Up is in all of our food supply of conventionally grown food. That is why well over 90% of Americans want foods containing GMO ingredients labeled.  I read this morning that 64 nations now require labeling of GMO foods. With labeling we have "freedom of choice" to purchase GMO foods or not. 

The slide below illustrates how easy it is for consumers to ingest Glyphosate as it now contaminates our food supply. This is another reason why gardeners need to organically raise as much of their own fruits and vegetables as they can.

Due to the properties of Glyphosate there has been a tremendous reduction in the nutrient content of our foods.  As a result we have to eat more food to get the minerals our bodies need. The consequence is that we consume many times the calories that we need which leads to fat and diseases like diabetes.

I remember reading a study 10-12 years ago based on USDA data that just due to hybridization, we have to eat 3 1/2  ears of corn to get the same amount of nutrition that one ear of corn had in 1903. We consume calories that make us fat but not nutrition to make us healthy. We have developed a agricultural system that rewards agribusiness based on quantity not quality.

The slide below illustrates the reduction in essential nutrients in crops by just Round-Up.

What can we as individuals do?  Many states have passed or started the process to pass GMO labeling laws to protect their citizens since the USDA and EPA are not protecting us and are under the control of the giant agri-business companies.

In congress there is a bill (H.R. 1599) known as the "DARK act" (Deny Americans the Right to Know Act).  It has passed the US House of Representatives and prohibits states or other government agencies from passing bills that require labeling and protects citizens.  I was amazed that 275 of our representatives  whom report to the agribusiness companies (they no longer represent the people that elected them) have voted for it. By party there were 45 Democrats and 230 Republicans that voted for it.  There is a summary of the act at:  http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/07/23/house-votes-gmo-safety

The New York Times had an article listing how politicians voted  if you want to find out how your representative voted: http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/114/house/1/462

What scares me the most about this bill is that it takes away one of our most important civil liberties, "Freedom of Choice".  Without labeling there is no choice and the only way to protect our families is to purchase organic foods. So what comes next if this encroachment on civil liberties is allowed to stand, "freedom of speech" or "freedom of the press" or "freedom to worship as we choose"?

God tells us in the Bible to "Love our neighbor as ourselves".  This means we do not do things that harm them. In the book of James we are told "Faith without works is dead".  When we purchase and use products like Round-Up or when we purchase GMO foods we are harming our families and neighbors and we are in direct violation of God's commandments, hence we suffer the consequences as shown above. 

Thirty years ago we thought we were doing something good and useful by using Round-Up.  However, we now know the dangers and can make better choices therefore there is no excuse.