A new study claims a chemical used in the popular herbicide Roundup can create a dangerous and toxic cocktail when combined with other environmental toxins and induce diseases like Parkinson's, cancer and even autism.



Roundup is widely used as a weed killer on many large-scale farms that grow food for human consumption. It is also used on lawns, home gardens and golf courses.



The study, published last Thursday in the journal Entropy, also attributes disorders such as obesity, depression, ALS, multiple sclerosis, ADHD, Alzheimer's and developmental malformations to the toxin used in Roundup.



The journal's claim is the latest in a long dust-up between the makers of Roundup and health, consumer and environmental groups, the latter of which have warned for years that the heavy use of glyphosate, the herbicide in Roundup, is an environmental hazard.



The producers of Roundup have defended their product, saying glyphosate is non-toxic and "as safe as aspirin."



Monsanto is the developer of both the Roundup herbicide (produced by Scott's) and a host of genetically altered crops that have been designed to withstand being sprayed with Roundup weed killer.



Monsanto's executive vice president of sustainability, Jerry Steiner, when questioned about the study, said "we are very confident in the long track record that glyphosate has. It has been very, very extensively studied."



As much as 185 million pounds of glyphosate was used in 2007 by U.S. farmers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That number is double the amount used six years ago.



The EPA is in the process of conducting a review of glyphosate and has set a deadline of 2015 for determining if glyphosate use needs to be limited. The study published last week in Entropy is only one among many studies and comments that have been submitted to the agency.



The peer-reviewed study was authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc.



The authors concluded that "Given the known toxic effects of glyphosate reviewed here and the plausibility that they are negatively impacting health worldwide, it is imperative for more independent research to take place to validate the ideas presented here, and to take immediate action, if they are verified, to drastically curtail the use of glyphosate in agriculture. Glyphosate is likely to be pervasive in our food supply, and, contrary to being essentially nontoxic, it may in fact be the most biologically disruptive chemical in our environment."



Activists have created "March Against Monsanto" plan to gather on May 25 in hopes to bring awareness to environmental and health concerns from genetically engineered crops and call out the corporations, like Monsanto, that have a monopoly on the food supply.



To see more about the march, visit the action's Facebook pagehere. The full article published in Entropy is viewable here.