Presented below are ten sobering facts about Glyphosate (the key ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp weedkiller, which the majority of Monsanto’s seeds are genetically engineered to withstand):

1) Glyphosate causes disease and biological / physiological disorders in crops

Fifteen years of research by the USDA indicates that the chemical glyphosate, the key ingredient in RoundUp herbicide, is linked to fungal root disease in plants.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/13/us-usa-gmos-regulators-idUSTRE63C2AJ20100413

Purdue Report about biological/physiological disorders: http://www.btny.purdue.edu/weedscience/2011/GlyphosatesImpact11.html

2) Glyphosate is no longer effective at killing weeds

Article about Superweeds: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html

International Database on Glycines (Glyphosate family): http://www.weedscience.com/summary/MOA.aspx?MOAID=12

Iowa State: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2011/0120hartzler.htm

University of Arkansas: http://arkansasagnews.uark.edu/610-20.pdf

National Academy of Sciences Report: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12804

3) Glyphosate use is increasing steadily

According to the USGS, more than 88,000 tons of glyphosate were used in the United States in 2007, up from 11,000 tons in 1992. Since the advent of “super weeds,” the use of glyphosate (and other even stronger weed killers) has risen significantly.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/us-glyphosate-pollution-idUSTRE77U61720110831

4) Glyphosate is not breaking down as promised

In 1996, New York’s attorney general sued Monsanto over the company’s use of “false and misleading advertising” about RoundUp. That case ended with Monsanto agreeing to stop calling Roundup “biodegradable,” and to pull ads claiming that Roundup was “safer than table salt,” “practically nontoxic,” and “stayed where you put it.”

Two decades after the advent of “RoundUp Ready” crops and their dominance in the agricultural marketplace, the evidence of their falsehoods abound: multiple studies have found significant levels of glyphosate in streams, soil, air, rainwater, and groundwater:

Wastewater: http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/glyphosate_wastewater.html

51 Midwestern Streams in 9 states: http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/glyphosate02.html

Rain and Streams (2011): https://archive.usgs.gov/archive/sites/www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp-ID=2909.html

Mississippi and Iowa Streams: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2009AM/finalprogram/abstract_162346.htm

Mississippi Air and Rain: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24549493

Groundwater: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22101424

Soil (2015): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971530989X

Soil (2016 report citing multiple studies): https://www.soilassociation.org/media/7202/glyphosate-and-soil-health-full-report.pdf

Atmosphere, Soil and Surface Water in Alberta, Canada: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/182025#page/4/mode/1up

In our food: a recent study found that Glyphosate residues in the main foods of the Western diet – sugar, wheat, and genetically modified corn and soy – inhibit critical enzymes in mammals [which] manifests slowly over time, as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. Source: http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

In humans (study #1): No surprise, a study done in Germany in 2012 found glyphosate in all of the urine samples it took from non-agricultural workers in Berlin, at levels 5-20 times the limit for drinking water. Source: http://www.ithaka-journal.net/herbizide-im-urin?lang=en

In humans (study #2): in June 2013, another study found traces of glyphosate in the urine samples of individuals across 18 countries in Europe. Summary: http://gmoevidence.com/dr-hans-wolfgang-hoppe-glyphosate-found-in-human-urine-across-europe/ Original Study Report: http://gmoevidence.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/glyphosate_studyresults_june12.pdf

In pregnant women (study #3): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22261298

In humans and animals (study #4): in January 2014, researchers from Germany and Egypt discovered that animals fed GM feed had much higher levels of glyphosate in their urine and organs than animals fed non-GM or organic feed, which translated into higher levels of the toxic chemical in humans as well. Source: http://omicsonline.org/open-access/detection-of-glyphosate-residues-in-animals-and-humans-2161-0525.1000210.pdf

5) Glyphosate causes birth defects, tumors, disease, and reproductive disorders in animals, antibiotic resistance, and contributes to the decline of monarch butterflies

And often at dilutions far lower than the concentrations used in agricultural and even home garden spraying…

Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695457

Study: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57277946

Study: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39328

Study: http://mbio.asm.org/content/6/2/e00009-15.full.pdf+html

Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23820267

Study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/abstract

Study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2011.00142.x/full

A June 2011 report assembled by an international team of scientists revealed that studies done as early as the 1980s by biotech and ag-industry corporations (including Monsanto) all showed that Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate causes birth defects in laboratory animals… again, at very low exposures. Read a related article here.

6) Glyphosate is a genotoxic endocrine disruptor to human cells and gut bacteria

Human Cells: http://www.barnstablecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gasnier-toxicology-elsevier-262-184-191-glyphostae-ed-human-cell-lines2.pdf

Human Placental Cells: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257596/?report=classic#b36-ehp0113-000716

Gut Bacteria: our gut bacteria was recently discovered to contain the very same metabolic pathway in plants that is being targeted and disrupted by Glyphosate—in direct opposition to Monsanto’s claims that the human body did not contain this pathway: http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416 (watch a full video presentation on this topic).



Glyphosate is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp weedkiller, along with other “inert” ingredients that are potentially even more dangerous. Use vinegar instead!

7) Glyphosate is linked to cancer and deadly kidney disease in humans

Three studies have linked glyphosate exposure with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma:

2001: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/10/11/1155.long

2002: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12148884

2003: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1740618/

A 2014 study linked glyphosate exposure to kidney disease in multiple countries: http://archive.lankabusinessonline.com/news/sri-lanka-killer-kidney-disease-linked-to-monsanto-weedicide,-phosphate-fertilizer:-study/2081217214

8) Glyphosate causes DNA damage

Inhalation of glyphosate was observed to cause DNA damage after short exposure to concentrations that correspond to the 450-fold dilution of spraying most commonly used in agriculture:

Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22331240

9) The EPA is still working on Glyphosate’s human risk assessment

Although the EPA has found the time to establish a National Acceptable Daily Intake of glyphosate (5.5% per day; as cited in the study done on pregnant women), long-term human risk assessment studies are slow to emerge.

EPA Study Outline and Schedule: http://pesticidetruths.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Reference-glyphosate-2009-12-00-Final-Work-Plan-EPA.pdf

10) Glyphosate resistance is the primary purpose of genetic crop engineering

GM crops have been responsible for a 527 million pound increase in herbicide use in the United States over the first 16 years of commercial use of GM crops (1996 – 2011).

Article in Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesticides-idUSBRE89100X20121002

Article compiling facts researched by Nature Magazine: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/01/the-rise-of-genetically-modified-crops-in-two-charts/

Study Report containing multiple source links: Benbrook, C. 2009. Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years



Glyphosate-resistant giant ragweed infesting RoundUp Ready corn; photo by Dr. Bill Johnson

Additional Sources and Studies about Glyphosate:

For those who want as many scientific references, peer-reviewed studies, and reports as possible…

Why Glyphosate Should be Banned

A Review of its Hazards to Health and the Environment

Sirinathsinghji, E., Ho, Mae-Wan

Overview: http://permaculturenews.org/2012/11/01/why-glyphosate-should-be-banned-a-review-of-its-hazards-to-health-and-the-environment/

ISIS Report: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Why_Glyphosate_Should_be_Banned.php

Glyphosate Fact Sheet from Beyond Pesticides

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Glyphosate.pdf

Glyphosate Fact Sheet from Pesticide.org

http://www.pesticide.org/get-the-facts/pesticide-factsheets/factsheets/glyphosate

Glyphosate Fact Sheet from the Journal of Pesticide Reform

http://www.eastbaypesticidealert.org/Glyphosate%20Factsheet%201.htm

Glyphosate Toxicology

Caroline Cox. Journal of Pesticide Reform, Volume 15, Number 3, Fall 1995. Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, Eugene, OR.

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