When I started writing this post I was just going to write about how glyphosate interrupts microbial activity and why it might adversely impact the human microbiome. However, when I went looking for the data, I decided to rewrite the post. This one is for all of you who think that organic doesn’t matter.
The following article was published in the peer reviewed journal BioMed Research International. It shows clearly that Roundup is more toxic than plain old glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) and that far from being one of the safer herbicides it is among the most deadly to human cells in vitro.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955666/
Please note the following quote from the article the next time you are tempted to eat a nacho or corn dog.
“
Most importantly, 8 formulations out of 9 were up to one thousand times more toxic than their active principles. Our results challenge the relevance of the acceptable daily intake for pesticides because this norm is calculated from the toxicity of the active principle alone. Chronic tests on pesticides may not reflect relevant environmental exposures if only one ingredient of these mixtures is tested alone.”
Yes you read that correctly, up to one thousand times more toxic than the active ingredient.
And while it may be fun to vilify Monsanto, it is essentially unfair. Pesticides are a more universal problem. Here is something to think about before you reach for some summer berries, grapes, or stone fruits that are not certified organic.
“On human cells, among the tested products, fungicides were the most toxic (Figure 1), being cytotoxic from doses 300–600 times lower than agricultural dilutions, followed by herbicides (Figure 2) (except Matin) and then insecticides (Figure 3).”
Yes, you read that correctly. In a dose that was 1/300 to 1/600 of what they spray on those pretty summer berries and peaches the stuff killed human cells. And yes, those are the fruits most likely to be treated with fungicide. Ever see the guys spraying the strawberries…in hazmat suits.
But I’d still stay away from those corn dogs since
“In all cell types, fungicides were the most toxic (mean LC50 12 ppm). They were followed by the herbicide Roundup (LC50 63 ppm), twice as toxic as Starane, and more than 10 times as toxic as the 3 insecticides, which represent the less toxic group (mean LC50 720 ppm)”
Ten times as toxic as insecticide. And it actually becomes a part of the food itself.
Of course one study is not a trend or a pattern. A hypothesis needs to be repeatedly tested.
Like maybe…this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19105591
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23000283
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22787363
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23099315
But, those are all in vitro. What about in vivo? What evidence is there that this stuff actually harms living animals
Like rat neurotoxicity?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24636977
Male rat infertility?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23820267
This one about cows is especially disturbing as it appears that the glyphosate soaked feed is destroying the cows good gut flora and allowing Clostridium (not something you are going to find in a probiotic) to flourish. You remember clostridium. That is the genus of bacteria that has been linked to regressive autism.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23396248
Here are a few other articles on clostridia and autism, so you can check my facts there.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17904761
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24130822
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21114016
Back to the original question about whether or not Roundup actually kills microbes and therefore might possibly hurt the microbiome. Monsanto itself states that glyphosate kills microbes. No really. Here are the links.
http://www.monsanto.com/products/documents/glyphosate-background-materials/rrplus%20iii%20-%20glyphosate%20and%20soil%20microbes%20-%20final-9-30-11.pdf
http://www.monsanto.com/products/documents/glyphosate-background-materials/gly_soyrust_bkg.pdf
Now they of course say that its hard to tell how many and that they tend to grow back. And that may be true in a soybean field where earthworms can come in and clean the soil and its only sprayed from time to time.
But the truth is that there appears to be minimal testing of the impact of eating glyphosate daily on the microbes in humans, and for me the tradeoff is not worth it.
