As more and more research comes to light exposing just how toxic glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, really is, it becomes clear that something must be done about its prevalent use across our entire planet.
The latest of these studies underscores that the way pesticides such as Roundup are tested for safety paints an inaccurate picture of their toxicity in the environment.
The new study, published in the journal Chemosphere, examined several pesticides, including glyphosate, as well as their metabolic byproducts. When glyphosate is metabolized by plants or animals, a substance known as AMPA is created. Shockingly, the study found that AMPA had a “cytogenetic toxicity which was 1000 fold higher than that of its parent compound.”
The study authors write: “Results demonstrated that the cytogenetic potentials of pesticides greatly depended on their physico-chemical environment.” They add: “It [the study] highlighted the importance of cocktail effects in environmental matrices, and pointed out the limits of usual testing strategies based on individual molecules to efficiently estimate environmental risk.”
In simple terms, testing the active ingredients of a compound in isolation (which is how it is normally done) says little about the impact of the compound itself, or its metabolic products. AMPA has been found to persist for up to 240 days in soil, and may actually be produced by the livers of mammals who consume foods tainted with glyphosate. This is worrying, as many crops in the US, including GMO foods, are grown with the use of Roundup.
As we explored in more detail in a previous article, a February 2014 study  published in the journal BioMed Research International found that Roundup was 125 times more toxic than glyphosate itself. This study also found that Roundup was among the most toxic of the herbicides and pesticides tested, despite its reputation of being ‘safe.’
Roundup has been linked to multiple cancers, possibly because it is associated with causing inflammation and damage to cells. It has also been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, along with many other health risks.
Currently, Roundup is the most popularly-used pesticide on the planet. In the United States, in 2010 alone, just shy of 92,000 tons were sprayed on corn and soy. If we as a planet do not discontinue our use of this dangerous substance, human lives all over the world will continue to be in serious peril.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/new-study-shows-why-roundup-herbicide-glyphosate-should-be-banned
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24875917
https://www.thealternativedaily.com/roundup-top-toxic-dont-know
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955666
