The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Dr Young: Roundup Herbicide Is Endocrine Disruptor in Human Cells at Drinking Water Levels (GMO Evidence, March 20, 2015):
Roundup is an endocrine disruptor and is toxic to human cells in vitro (tested in culture dishes in the laboratory) at levels permitted in drinking water in Australia, a new study has found.
Read moreRoundup Herbicide Is Endocrine Disruptor In Human Cells At Drinking Water Levels
– New Study Shows Roundup Herbicide Causes Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria (Sustainable Pulse, March 24, 2015):
Research lead by a team from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand has found that commonly used herbicides, including the world’s most used herbicide Roundup, can cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics.
Full Study: mbio.asm.org/content/6/2/e00009-15
Herbicides are used to kill plants. They can be tested for killing bacteria, too, as part of the process of reviewing their approval for use. However, they have never been tested for other effects on bacteria, University of Canterbury’s Professor Jack Heinemann says.
Read moreNew Study Shows Roundup Herbicide Causes Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria
– Pesticide Experts Call for GM Crops Review after WHO Glyphosate Report (Sustainable Pulse, March 24, 2015):
On March 20th, a scientific working group consisting of seventeen experts from eleven countries released their evaluation of the herbicide glyphosate and four organophosphate insecticides for the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The group classified Monsanto’s glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The finding gives new urgency to questions about the impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops that are designed to tolerate herbicide applications. In the fifteen years following the introduction of Monsanto’s signature “RoundUp Ready” corn and soy crops in 1996, more than 500 million additional pounds of glyphosate and other herbicides have been used in the U.S.
Emily Marquez, Ph.D., staff scientist at PAN, released the following statement:
Read morePesticide Experts Call For GMO Crops Review After WHO Glyphosate Report
Related info:
– Another Independent Study Confirms Monsanto’s RoundUp Chemicals Are Lethal, Even in Small Doses
– Study: Roundup Herbicide 450-Fold Diluted Is Still Genotoxic
More info down below.
Roundup weedkiller contains glyphosate which the WHO has said is probably carcinogenic to humans
– Weedkiller alert over cancer link (Telegraph, March 21, 2015):
The World Heath Organisation has declared that glyphosate, one of the UK’s most popular herbicides marketed as Roundup, is ‘probably carcinogenic’
The World Health Organisation’s cancer agency has declared that one of the UK’s most widely used weedkillers is “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
Amateur gardeners and professional farmers have been urged to “think very carefully” about using the popular herbicide Roundup, which contains glyphosate.
A summary of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) report, published in The Lancet Oncology, said that the herbicide had been detected “in air during spraying, in water, and in food”.
Read moreWHO: Roundup Weedkiller Containing Glyphosate Is ‘Probably Carcinogenic To Humans’
I’ve posted about this before:
– GMOs And Glyphosate Discovered in Kellogg’s Froot Loops
Related info:
– Another Independent Study Confirms Monsanto’s RoundUp Chemicals Are Lethal, Even in Small Doses
– Kellogg’s Froot Loops contains GMOs and glyphosate herbicide, lab tests verify (Natural News, March 2, 2015):
With the food industry doing everything in its power to avoid having to tell the public that its products are laced with genetically modified (GM) additives, pesticides and other poisons, grassroots efforts to raise awareness about GMOs are flourishing. Recent laboratory tests conducted by GMO Free USA, which revealed the presence of both high levels of GMOs and glyphosate herbicide in Kellogg’s Froot Loops breakfast cereal, are just the start of a much larger campaign to rid the American food supply of all these hidden toxins and restore health to the general public.
Read moreLab Tests Verify That Kellogg’s Froot Loops Contains GMOs And Glyphosate Herbicide
– Roundup-Ready GM Crops Leave Monarch Butterflies Close to Extinction (Sustainable Pulse, Feb 6, 2015):
Center for Food Safety (CFS) today released a detailed, 80 page scientific report, “Monarchs in Peril: Herbicide-Resistant Crops and the Decline of Monarch Butterflies in North America.”
The comprehensive report reveals the severe impacts of herbicide-resistant genetically engineered (GE) crops on the monarch population, which has plummeted over the past twenty years. The report makes it abundantly clear: two decades of Roundup Ready crops have nearly eradicated milkweed – the monarch caterpillar’s sole source of food – in cropland of the monarch’s vital Midwest breeding ground. At the urgent request of scientists and public interest groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering listing the monarch as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
The report (available here) is being presented to Congress today at an expert briefing on the decline of monarchs.
Read moreRoundup-Ready GM Crops Leave Monarch Butterflies Close To Extinction
Related info:
– Another Independent Study Confirms Monsanto’s RoundUp Chemicals Are Lethal, Even in Small Doses
– Glyphosate detected in feeding tubes given to babies and children with cancer (Natural News, Jan 6, 2015):
An unthinkable, (although not entirely surprising), discovery has been made by a group called “Moms Across America,” a coalition of mothers fighting to raise awareness and support regarding the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their associated pesticides.
Thanks to contributions provided by sponsors and private citizens, Moms Across America funded an experiment that tested feeding tube liquid used in a pediatric rehabilitation hospital where one of the group’s supporters is employed.
To say the findings are alarming would be a severe understatement.
Read moreGlyphosate detected in feeding tubes given to babies and children with cancer
– New ‘Harmless Herbicide’ to Compete with Monsanto’s RoundUp (Natural Society, 9, 2014):
Why use carcinogenic herbicides to kill weeds when a little hot water will do the trick? Botanists and organic gardeners have known this effective, chemical-free way to treat weeds for hundreds of years. Now a UK based company has developed an innovative herbicide-free way to kill weeds utilizing this age-old wisdom.
Weeding Tech’s new products is said to kill weeds in 24 hours with no pesticides or herbicides. This is great news for the world considering that herbicide-resistant crop technology has led to a 239 million kilogram (527 million pound) increase in herbicide use in the United States between 1996 and 2011.
Read moreNew ‘Harmless Herbicide’ To Compete With Monsanto’s RoundUp
– Dr Santadino: Glyphosate Destroys Earthworm Eisenia fetida Populations (GMO Evidence, Nov 27, 2014):
Using glyphosate herbicide can wipe out local earthworm populations, a new study shows.
Glyphosate Sublethal Effects on the Population Dynamics of the Earthworm Eisenia fetida
Authors: Marina Santadino, Carlos Coviella, Fernando Momo
Abstract:
Read moreDr. Santadino: Glyphosate (Roundup Ready) Destroys Earthworm Eisenia fetida Populations
– Food Safety Experts Slam USDA over 2,4-D GM Crops Approval (Sustainable Pulse, Sep 18 2014):
Center for Food Safety has condemned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to fully deregulate Dow Chemical’s Enlist corn and soybeans, genetically engineered to withstand repeated spraying of the herbicide 2,4-D. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to approve the accompanying herbicide, which is a blend of 2,4-D and glyphosate.
Read moreFood Safety Experts Slam USDA over 2,4-D GM Crops Approval
– Glyphosate decreases yield, seedling quality of Roundup Ready soybeans; increases rate of fungal disease (Natural News, July 10, 2014):
The blockbuster herbicide glyphosate (marketed as Roundup) causes toxic effects even to plants supposedly engineered to resist it, according to a study conducted by Brazilian researchers and published in the journal Planta Daninha. The researchers found that use of glyphosate on Roundup Ready soybeans led to an increase in fungal infections and to lower crop yields.
The study offers another blow to herbicide-resistant crops, which are increasingly coming under fire for promoting increased use of toxic chemicals without actually benefiting farmers through increased crop yields.
Even resistant crops are poisoned
Flashback:
– Study: GMO Toxins Found In Nearly All Pregnant Women, Unborn Babies
– Governments Ignore Definitive Proof That Monsanto’s Roundup Causes Birth Defects
– Study: Roundup Herbicide 450-Fold Diluted Is Still Genotoxic
– World’s Number 1 Herbicide Discovered in U.S. Mothers’ Breast Milk (Sustainable Pulse, April 6, 2014):
- Pilot study shows build-up of glyphosate herbicide in Mothers’ bodies
- Urine testing shows glyphosate levels over 10 times higher than in Europe
- Initial testing shows Monsanto and Global regulatory bodies are wrong regarding bio-accumulation of glyphosate, leading to serious public health concerns
- Testing commissioners urge USDA and EPA to place temporary ban on all use of Glyphosate-based herbicides to protect public health, until further more comprehensive testing of glyphosate in breast milk is completed.
In the first ever testing on glyphosate herbicide in the breast milk of American women, Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse have found ‘high’ levels in 3 out of the 10 samples tested. The shocking results point to glyphosate levels building up in women’s bodies over a period of time, which has until now been refuted by both global regulatory authorities and the biotech industry.
The levels found in the breast milk testing of 76 ug/l to 166 ug/l are 760 to 1600 times higher than the European Drinking Water Directive allows for individual pesticides. They are however less than the 700 ug/l maximum contaminant level (MCL) for glyphosate in the U.S., which was decided upon by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on the now seemingly false premise that glyphosate was not bio-accumulative.
Read moreWorld’s Number 1 Herbicide Discovered In U.S. Mothers’ Breast Milk
– GMOs will unleash global killer ‘ecocide’ across the planet, warns prominent scientist (Natural News, March 12, 2014):
A top scientist and “risk engineering” expert is now publicly warning that GMOs pose a dire, genuine threat to the continuation of life on Earth. Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, says that GMOs have the potential to cause “an irreversible termination of life at some scale, which could be the planet.”
His full explanation is presented in this public paper which describes how even a small risk per crop species can still result in global ecocide if pursued with abandon. As Taleb explains, “The risk of ruin is not sustainable, like a resource that gets depleted in the long term (even in the short term). By the ruin theorems, if you incur a tiny probability of ruin, as a “one-off” risk, survive it, then repeat the exposure, you will eventually
go bust with probability 1.” (Where “probability 1” means a 100% chance.)Rational thinking automatically leads to skepticism of GMO safety
Read moreGMOs To Unleash Global Killer ‘Ecocide’ Across The Planet
– Roundup Weedkiller Found In 75% of Air and Rain Samples, Gov. Study Finds (GreenMedInfo, Feb 20, 2014):
The GM farming system has made exposure to Roundup herbicide a daily fact of our existence, and according to the latest US Geological Survey study its probably in the air you are breathing…
A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey, accepted for publication online ahead of print in the journal Enviromental Toxicology and Chemistry, titled, “Pesticides in Mississippi air and rain: A comparison between 1995 and 2007,”[i] reveals that Roundup herbicide (aka glyphosate) and its still-toxic degradation byproduct AMPA were found in over 75% of the air and rain samples tested from Mississippi in 2007.
The researchers evaluated a wide range of pesticides currently being used through weekly composite air and rain sampling collected during the 1995 and 2007 growing seasons in the Mississippi Delta agricultural region.
The researchers discovered the following:
Read moreGov. Study: Roundup Weedkiller Found In 75% of Air And Rain Samples
– Study: Monsanto’s Roundup causes “gluten intolerance” (John Rappoport, Feb 21, 2014):
A recent study proposes that gluten intolerance and celiac disease are on the rise as a result of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.
The National Library of Medicine states that celiac disease “damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.”
The study authors, Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff, have a different view. They point out that this rise in celiac disease parallels the increase in the use of Roundup, and the effects of glyphosate are those listed for celiac disease.
– A Valuable Reputation (The New Yorker, Feb 10, 2014):
After Tyrone Hayes said that a chemical was harmful, its maker pursued him.
…
– Pesticide evaluations dishonest and misleading, new study shows (GMO Seralini, Feb 1, 2014):
- Pesticide formulations as sold and used are up to 1000 times more toxic than the isolated substance that is tested and evaluated for safety
- Roundup the most toxic of herbicides and insecticides tested
- Flawed safety evaluations put public health at risk
Does the fact that a pesticide is approved by regulators mean it is safe? A new study suggests not – and casts into question the assumptions on which all regulatory authorizations of pesticides are based.
Pesticides are authorized for use based on medium- or long-term tests on laboratory animals. These are carried out with a single chemical ingredient, which is known as the active ingredient because it is assumed to be responsible for giving the pesticide its pest- or weedkilling action.
Read moreStudy: Pesticide Evaluations Dishonest And Misleading
– Dr Mercurio: Glyphosate is Most Resistant to Biodegredation in Sea Water (GMO Evidence, Jan 30, 2014):
In this unique study in Australia scientists have shown that Glyphosate (Roundup) primarily in GM agriculture, is particularly resistant to biodegradation in sea water, and could therefore be a major contributor to the decline of marine coral reef systems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
Read moreDr. Mercurio: Glyphosate Is Most Resistant To Biodegredation In Sea Water
– Strontium, PFOA and toxic chemicals found in one-third of U.S. water supply (Natural News, Dec 29, 2013):
You may want to think twice before further drinking or even bathing in unfiltered tap water, as a new report set to be published next year has found that a striking percentage of the U.S. water supply is contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that an astounding one-third of U.S. water systems contain traces of at least 18 unregulated and potentially hazardous contaminants, many of which are linked to causing endocrine disruption and cancer.
Based on a nationwide survey of 25 unnamed water utilities, scientists found traces of the herbicide metolachlor, for instance, a pesticide commonly applied to conventional corn, soy, cotton, safflower, potato and other crops, as well as the heavy metal strontium, which is linked to causing bone problems. Other chemicals identified include so-called perfluorinated compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which numerous scientific studies have found can cause thyroid disease and various types of cancer.
“Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in drinking water from more than one-third of U.S. water utilities in a nationwide sampling,” reports Environmental Health News (EHN). “Included are 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant.”
More than 250 potential hazardous compounds detected in tap water
Read moreToxic Chemicals Found In One-Third Of U.S. Water Supply
– GMO and the Corporate Patenting of Living Organisms: Monsanto’s Patents on Life (Global Research, March 1, 2013):
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a seed patent infringement case that pits a small farmer from Indiana, 75-year old Vernon Hugh Bowman, against biotech goliath Monsanto. Reporters from the New York Times to the Sacramento Bee dissected the legal arguments. They speculated on the odds. They opined on the impact a Monsanto loss might have, not only on genetically modified crops, but on medical research and software.
What most of them didn’t report on is the absurdity – and the danger – of allowing companies to patent living organisms in the first place, and then use those patents to attempt to monopolize world seed and food production.
The case boils down to this. Monsanto sells its patented genetically engineered (GE) “Roundup Ready” soybean seeds to farmers under a contract that prohibits the farmers from saving the next-generation seeds and replanting them. Farmers like Mr. Bowman who buy Monsanto’s GE seeds are required to buy new seeds every year. For years, Mr. Bowman played by Monsanto’s rules. Then in 2007, he bought an unmarked mix of soybeans from a grain elevator and planted them. Some of the soybeans turned out to have been grown from Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready soybean seeds. Monsanto sued Mr. Bowman, won, and the court ordered the farmer to pay the company $84,000. Mr. Bowman appealed, arguing that he unknowingly bought soybeans grown from Monsanto’s seeds, not the seeds themselves, and that therefore the law of “patent exhaustion” applies.
The press and public have fixated on the sticky legal details of the case, and the classic David vs. Goliath nature of the fight. But win or lose, Mr. Bowman’s predicament is part of a much bigger problem.
Read moreGMO And The Corporate Patenting Of Living Organisms: Monsanto’s Patents On Life
– Bhutan To Be First Country to Go 100% Organic (Natural Society, Feb 18, 2013):
If there was ever a nation that could see the purpose behind organic, sustainable farming, it would be a nation that is composed mostly of farmers. Such a place does exist, and it soon may be the first nation to go 100% organic, paving the way for others to do the same on a global scale.
The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is known for a high level of citizen happiness, but it is doing something even more noteworthy in the near future. With Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley making a major announcement regarding the organic farming project at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development which took place last month, the move has made national headlines. It’s called the National Organic Policy, and it is fueled by the simple concept that working ‘in harmony with nature’ will yield the most powerful results — all without sacrificing human health or the environment.
What this comes down to is no GMO, no pesticides, no herbicides, no fluoride-based spray products, no Monsanto intrusion at all, and a whole lot of high quality food available for the 700,000 citizens of Bhutan. Food that, at one time, was simply called ‘food’. In the statement to other policy makers, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley explained the move:
– Roundup Herbicide Linked To Overgrowth of Deadly Bacteria (GreenMedInfo, Dec 14, 2012):
Could Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup be leading to the overgrowth of deadly bacteria in animals and humans consuming genetically-modified food contaminated with it?
This question follows from a new study published in the journal Current Microbiology titled, “The Effect of Glyphosate on Potential Pathogens and Beneficial Members of Poultry Microbiota In Vitro,” which found that the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, known as glyphosate, negatively impacted the gastrointestinal bacteria of poultry in vitro. The researchers presented evidence that highly pathogenic bacteria resisted glyphosate, whereas beneficial bacteria were moderately to highly susceptible to it.
Some of the beneficial species that were found to be suppressed by glyphosate were Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus badius, Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Lactobacillus spp. The pathogenic species which were found to resist glyphosate toxicity were Salmonella Entritidis, Salmonella Gallinarum, Salmonella Typhimurium, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium botulinum.
The researchers stated that “A reduction of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract microbiota by ingestion of glyphosate could disturb the normal gut bacterial community.” Even more alarming was their observation that the toxicity of glyphosate to the most prevalent beneficial species, Enterococcus, “could be a significant predisposing factor that is associated with the increase in Clostridia botulinum-mediated diseases by suppressing the antagonistic effect of these bacteria on clostridia.” Clostridia are a class of anaerobic bacteria including some of the most dangerous known to man, such as C. tetani and C. botulinum, which produce tetanus and botulin toxin, respectively.
Consider that botulin is the most acutely toxic substance known, and that despite the fact it is FDA-approved for use “cosmetically,” e.g. Botox injections, it is being looked at as a potential bioweapon because it only takes 75 billionths of a gram (75 ng) to kill a person weighing 75 kg (165 lbs). It has been estimated that only 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) would be enough to kill the entire human population.
Read moreMonsanto’s Roundup Herbicide Linked To Overgrowth of Deadly Bacteria
– Mainstream Media Launches Another Phony War Against Organic (Natural Society, Oct 23, 2012):
The mainstream media is invoking déjà vu with their latest laughable attempt to frame yet another study that actually highlighted the benefits of organic into a hysterical anti-organic news frenzy. This time, however, some publications are actually publishing the truth on the matter. Why? Because last time that the mainstream media conglomerate decided to smear the last organic foods study’s findings and proclaim how great pesticides and GMOs are for you and your family, it ended in a major apology by the New York Times.And it was this piece, a response to the uproar from the public following the alternative news media’s response to the mainstream media spin (including my piece first released on the night of the study with a video breakdown), that signified the final nail in the coffin for the mainstream media’s previous assault on organic foods. In the apology piece, New York Times columnist Mark Bittman states:
“That was dumb of me… I’m sorry. This junk science deserves a response. Ignoring it isn’t enough. I apologize.”
But now, once again, some sources such as CBS have begun spinning the latest organic food study. In this study, just like the last one, it was found that organic food contained less brain-damaging pesticides, has higher concentrations of antioxidants, doesn’t contain GMOs, brain-tumor-linked artificial sweeteners, mercury-containing high-fructose corn syrup, and so on. However many sources don’t seem to care about the facts. Instead, they title something like ‘Organic Same as Conventional Say Docs’. Meanwhile, some are erring on the side of the truth to avoid backlash.
But don’t take my word for it, just look at the below image from Google News. Notice the difference in titles? You can clearly see instances of nutritional doublespeak, in which news agencies title an article something wildly incorrect and then go on to say the opposite inside the content of the story. Considering that many — if not most — news readers glance at the title and keep reading onward, this is highly effective.
Media Blackout on GMOs, Real Issues Surrounding Conventional Food
Titles such as ‘Organic food no better than conventional for kids’ ultimately lead to content explaining that organic food contains less pesticides and less antibiotic-resistant bacteria (that can result in resistant diseases like the white plague), but that it’s not ‘entirely conclusive’ whether or not this matters. Peer-reviewed research may argue otherwise, with pesticides linked to over 60 negative conditions including:
Pesticides and herbizides
– Marie-Monique Robin: ‘Unser täglich Gift’ – ‘Notre Poison Quotidien’ (Documentary – Full Length – In German And French)
Danger zone: sugar crop workers in Bajo Lempa, on the west coast of El Salvador. Photograph: Will Storr for the Observer
– What is killing sugar-cane workers across Central America? (Guardian, Oct 14, 2012):
Chronic kidney disease has killed tens of thousands of young men and is becoming more deadly. But nobody knows exactly what it is, or what to do about it
It is stage five they fear the most. Stage five is the mysterious sickness in its deadliest form. “I’m entering stage five,” Edilberto Mendez tells me as his wife looks on fretfully. I’m in their small home on the floodplains of Lempa River, in the dank sugar-lands of rural El Salvador, where they live in a community with about 150 other families. “How many others in the village have died of this?” I ask.
“Three close friends, just last year,” says Edilberto. His wife interrupts, counting out on her fingers. “And my nephew, my brother, and Ramon, Carlos, Pablo…” She pauses. “I know three Pablos who have died of this.”
Edilberto’s kidneys are beginning to fail. It means dialysis. “This is what they’ve told me,” he says with a defensive shrug. “But I’m still walking around. I’ve seen many people have dialysis. As soon as they try it, they die. I don’t want it.” Edilberto has his wife to support, his deaf-mute 27-year-old son, and his six-year-old granddaughter.
“If you don’t have dialysis you’ll die,” I say. “And then what will happen to your family?”
“They will be homeless.”
Read moreWhat Is Killing Sugar-Cane Workers Across Central America?
