Boycott, ban, criminalize Roundup

Glyphosate is the primary active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.

There is no official figure for the amount of glyphosate used every year in the world. One estimate? 650,000 tonnes, which works out to a staggering 1.3 billion pounds.

Manufactured by Monsanto and a number of other companies, glyphosate use spiked after the introduction of Monsanto’s GMO Roundup Ready food crops in the 1990s.

Here is a sprinkle of information about glyphosate. To say it’s sobering is a vast understatement. Keep in mind that the medical cartel, which would call a mother’s touch a disease if it could get away with it, has no name for any disease or disorder caused by glyphosate. In other words, the cartel doesn’t acknowledge its existence.

One: Scientific American, June 23, 2009, “Weed-whacking herbicide proves deadly to human cells,” by Crystal Gammon:

“Glyphosate, Roundup’s active ingredient, is the most widely used herbicide in the United States. About 100 million pounds are applied to U.S. farms and lawns every year, according to the EPA.”

“Until now, most health studies have focused on the safety of glyphosate, rather than the mixture of ingredients found in Roundup. But in the new study, scientists found that Roundup’s inert ingredients amplified the toxic effect on human cells—even at concentrations much more diluted than those used on farms and lawns.”

“One specific inert ingredient, polyethoxylated tallowamine, or POEA, was more deadly to human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells than the herbicide itself – a finding the researchers call ‘astonishing.’”

“’This clearly confirms that the [inert ingredients] in Roundup formulations are not inert,’ wrote the study authors from France’s University of Caen. ‘Moreover, the proprietary mixtures available on the market could cause cell damage and even death [at the] residual levels’ found on Roundup-treated crops, such as soybeans, alfalfa and corn, or lawns and gardens.”

Two: Reuters, 4/25/13, “Heavy use of herbicide Roundup linked to health dangers—US study,” by Corey Gillam:

“Heavy use of the world’s most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson’s, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.

“The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of ‘glyphosate,’ the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.”

“Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, 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. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.”

“’Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body,’” the study says.”

“Of the more than two dozen top herbicides on the market, glyphosate is the most popular. In 2007, as much as 185 million pounds of glyphosate was used by U.S. farmers, double the amount used six years ago, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.”

Three: A study: “An acute exposure to glyphosate-based herbicide alters aromatase levels in in testis and sperm nuclear quality”; Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, v.38. Issue 1, July 2014:

“We investigated the effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide after an 8-day exposure of adult rats… These results suggest changes in androgen/estrogen balance and in sperm nuclear quality… The repetition of exposures of this herbicide could alter the mammalian reproduction.”

Four: Truthout, Oct. 6, 2014, “Monsanto’s Roundup linked to cancer,” by Jeff Ritterman, MD:

“Roundup is now heavily sprayed in what is known as the ‘Soy Republic’, an area of Latin America larger than the state of California. This region has undergone a profound transformation since genetically modified (GM) crops were first introduced in 1996. Some 125 million acres in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay are now devoted to GM soy production.”

“Dr. Medardo Avila Vazquez, a pediatrician specializing in environmental health, explained his concerns:

“’The change in how agriculture is produced has brought, frankly, a change in the profile of diseases. We’ve gone from a pretty healthy population to one with a high rate of cancer, birth defects, and illnesses seldom seen before. What we have complained about for years was confirmed and especially what doctors say about the sprayed towns and areas affected by industrial agriculture. Cancer cases are multiplying as never before in areas with massive use of pesticides.’”

“Much the same was found in Chaco, Argentina’s poorest province. In 2012, two villages were compared, the heavily sprayed farming village of Avia Terai and the non-sprayed ranching village of Charadai. In the farming village, 31 percent of residents had a family member with cancer while only 3 percent of residents in the ranching village had one.”

Five: Rense.com, 8/5/2005, “Monsanto’s Roundup Killing Frogs, Amphibians Worldwide:”

“The most striking result from the experiments was that a chemical designed to kill plants killed 98 percent of all tadpoles within three weeks and 79 percent of all frogs within one day” — University of Pittsburgh researcher, Rick Relyea

Six: Global Research, July 5, 2014, “Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide and regulators ‘with something to hide’”, by Colin Todhunter:

“Last year, Friends of the Earth (FoE) and GM Freeze commissioned a study based on urine samples from volunteers in 18 countries across Europe. It found that on average 44 percent of samples contained glyphosate. The proportion of positive samples varied between countries, with Malta, Germany,the UK and Poland having the most positive tests, and lower levels detected in Macedonia and Switzerland. All the volunteers who provided samples lived in cities, and none had handled or used glyphosate products in the run-up to the tests.”

“In Mississippi, 75 percent of air and rain sample contained levels of glyphosate that could have serious physiological consequences for humans.”

“Claire Robinson from GM Watch notes that earlier this year a group of Chinese food safety volunteers submitted a request to China’s Ministry of Agriculture to disclose the study that justified issuing the safety certificate for the import into China of Monsanto’s Roundup. Writing on the GM Watch website, she says:

“’The Ministry replied that Roundup was registered in China in 1988 based on a toxicology test report issued by a testing company called Younger Laboratories in St Louis, Missouri. The test was an acute exposure toxicity test (such tests last a maximum of a few days), with Roundup being given to rats by mouth and applied to the skin of rabbits. It claimed to find no effect on the eyes or skin, and no allergy. The volunteers asked the Ministry to release the study, and the Ministry in turn asked Monsanto. Monsanto replied that the study constituted its own commercial secret, adding that the company had never disclosed the study anywhere in the world and did not agree to disclose it now. The volunteers are appealing against the decision.’”

One of the implications of these six citations: Glyphosate, as an ingredient of Roundup and other herbicides, drifts on the wind, and its dangerous effects are felt far from agriculture centers.

As long as Monsanto is permitted to produce GMO seeds that are engineered to be immune to Roundup, the tonnage of glyphosate loosed on the world population will continue to escalate.

Properly thought of, glyphosate is a chemical-warfare agent.

The labeling of GMOs, as a response to the threat, is too little, too late. It would be akin to requiring enemy planes, loaded with bombs, to display an insignia of the country’s air force as it invades.

Jon Rappoport is the author of two explosive collections, The Matrix Revealed and Exit From the Matrix, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at www.nomorefakenews.com