Glyphosate Essay

Monsanto is an American agrochemical corporation which manufactures pesticides and GMO crops. One of the most well recognized herbicides is Monsanto’s Roundup, which contains the carcinogen glyphosate. To prevent from killing the crops when farmers apply Roundup to their fields, Monsanto invented GMO versions of many staple crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton which resist Roundup. Like the weeds, these GMO crops still absorb glyphosate, however the crops are able to stay alive through changes in their genetic makeup which make them herbicide resistant. The herbicide tolerance of certain crops has been adopted because it, “simplifies weed control to the use of a single herbicide and a flexible and easy management strategy” (Labrada, 2003), as well as decreasing the cost of weed control programs. As a result, Monsanto bought out most small farms and now owns 80% of the U.S. market share of corn and 93% of the U.S. market share of soy, which are then sold to modern food processing. Upwards of 75% of the processed food on American supermarket shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients. Not only are Americans consuming massive amounts of GMOs, which pose a huge health risk themselves, they are also consuming massive amounts of glyphosate, a chemical known to cause cancer and birth defects (Kruger, 2014). If society stopped consuming carcinogens, the cancer epidemic will be

The film discusses Monsanto, a large multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation, at length. The film mentions Roundup, a product produced by Monsanto, but doesn’t go into detail about the effect Roundup has on human health. “We started to hear rumblings about genetically engineered soybeans that could resist the application of Roundup, and when Roundup is sprayed over the top of it, it killed every weed out there except for this ‘Roundup ready’ soybean.” says a farmer that was interviewed for the film. The film continues to go in depth regarding how Roundup contaminates other farmer’s seeds and how Monsanto then sues the farmers for “stealing”, but the film never discusses the truly terrifying health problem GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) can produce. Alexis Baden-Mayer, a woman who is a part of the Organic Consumers Association, said in an article for ecowatch.com that Roundup can create dozens of serious health problems. The health problems include ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, Anencephaly, Autism, birth defects, brain cancer, breast cancer, celiac disease, chronic kidney disease, Colitis, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and many more. Focused too much on the politics of Monsanto, the film failed to explain the true concern involved with Monsanto’s

Andrew Campbell points out that, “Another study looked at why some agricultural workers who use glyphosate have pregnancy problems and showed that it is toxic to human placental JEG-3 cells within 18 hours of exposure in concentration lower than those in agricultural use-- and that effect increases with concentration and time with roundup adjuvants” (1). This illustrates the damage that glyphosate, which is a pesticide, can cause. It can hurt pregnant women and their unborn child in less than a day. Michael Pollan “Those chemicals have been proven to cause cancer damage nerve cells, and disrupt your endocrine system-- your hormones. These poisons are routinely found in non-organic produce and meat” (133). This proves how non-organic food, or foods with GMOs, cause trouble in cells and hormones. The destruction the pesticides do on body systems can mess up the whole system.

There are two types of GMO; herbicide tolerant and self-generating insecticide. “The herbicide tolerant variety are designed to survive high doses of toxic weed killers” (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). When the toxic weed killers get used on these crops, some of the toxins end up in the weed in the food. What is alarming is that the toxic weed killers are actually linked to birth defects, cancer, and hormone disruption (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). The self-generating insecticide such as corn, produces their own insecticide in each and every cell (Swanson, Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States, 2013). When insects eats the corn or any other food with the insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) toxin, the insecticide breaks open the stomach of insects in order to kill them. Although this supposedly applies only to insects, studies have shown that the BT-toxin can also break the wall of

“A scientific study published last year concluded that eating genetically modified corn (GM corn) and consuming trace levels of Monsanto’s Roundup chemical fertilizer was linked with rats developing shockingly large tumors, widespread organ damage, and premature death” (Adams). This study was published in 2012 and is also criticized by corporate GMO trolls who argued that scientists should not show pictures of rats with large cancer tumors caused by GMOs because the pictures scare consumers into being afraid of GMOs. Roundup is a chemical fertilizer that is produced by Monsanto and the reason why it is harmful is because Monsanto adds pesticides in their chemical fertilizer to keep their crops from being eaten by insects. The evidence provided earlier is significant because the pesticides are a hazard that

I have evidence to support my claim, “New data from a simple survey of 55 vendors in 14 states indicates farmers are planting more GMO sweet corn for the fresh market (corn on the cob) than previously thought” (https://responsibletechnology.org/) This could be bad because, before, most sweet corn did not have any GMOs involved at a severe rate but now farmers are beginning to put GMOs in sweet corn. Multiple studies have outlined the toxicity of glyphosate, it’s been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease and many more diseases, “Glyphosate has also been linked to harming human placental cells as well as embryonic

Not only are GMOs harmful to humans they affect many other communities. “GMOs are also responsible for killing off bees, bats, butterflies, and other pollinators, whose bodies are unable to handle the onslaught of altered DNA and chemicals that are characteristic of GMO technologies”(Bensen). This shows that GMO is not only an issue for humans but it directly affects the insect and animals communities around the plants. These are living organisms that these plants need for pollination. GMOs and the pesticides used on these crops to fight off the insects and weeds is creating more powerful weeds and insects called “SuperWeeds” and “SuperBugs.” “And this built-in resistance has allowed farmers to indiscriminately spray chemicals like Roundup on their crops without worrying about killing them. But this system is now failing, as the weeds and pests targeted by GMO technologies have mutated and developed resistance to crop chemicals and Bt toxin” (Benson). These chemicals are effective for a short period of time However these chemicals become ineffective, the offspring of the insects can be immune to the chemical. This creates a need for a new and stronger chemical mix. GMO seeds and destroy the soil and kill beneficial

No scientific consensus has proven on GMO safety. Eating GMO corn and consuming trace levels of Monsanto's Roundup chemical fertilizer caused rats to develop horrifying tumors, widespread organ damage, and premature death. That's the conclusion of a shocking new study that looked at the long-term effects of consuming Monsanto's genetically modified corn. Those rats became so fat that I could not tell where the paws were. I hate rats but when I looked at that poor animal-it just hurt. “ Many of the genetically modified foods will be safe I’m sure. Will most of them be safe? Nobody knows.” says Jeremy Rifkin. Even critics of GMO food is untested the long term effects unknown. Animas have been dying of organ change after eating GMO foods. We’ve all seen science fiction movies that feature monsters created when lab experiments go wrong. What happens if our GM foods turn into “Frankenfoods”? Scientists worry that the process of creating genetically-modified plants could lead to new allergens, carcinogens, nutritional deficiencies, and toxins that we’re unprepared to confront. It’s taken us decades to clean up after toxins like lead and asbestos, and those were known elements. How are we prepared to deal with the side effects of

Evidence all around the world has mounted that glyphosate have interfered with many individual’s metabolic processes in both plants and animals. Glyphosate have been studied to disrupt the endocrine system and put an effect on the balance of gut bacteria in humans. This also causes damage to the DNA, which acts as a driver to the mutations that can soon possibly lead up to cancer. This is the type of things we put into our bodies each and everyday and is slowly but surely killing us. Monsanto has genetically modified foods so that refusal to glyphosate, which is considered a herbicide Monsanto sells, resulting in a huge increase in the use of these products. The study points out that research has shown that “glyphosate disrupts the ability

Currently, the six largest genetic engineering companies across the globe are Monsanto, Pioneer HiBred International, Syngenta AG, Dow Agrosciences, BASF, and Bayer Cropscience. (Nodoushani, et al 2015). These six companies constantly distribute products that have been modified in ways that allow them to become more beneficial to the companies and the public. However, GMOs are still argued by opposer to contain harmful chemicals that could transfer adverse effects to the public. “Environmental monitoring of genetically modified organism (GMO) is legally required to identify the occurrence of adverse effects of GMO application on the environment after being placed on the market”. (Reuter, et al 2010). There are many potential risks that can be taken by consuming GMOs. One of the important issues is allergenic reactions based on the fact that transgene can be identical to an allergen into a different food source. Those adverse effects vary, from allergenic reactions to chemicals such as toxins that may affect our bodies later on. Meliha Merve Hiz and Cüneyt Aki, two Turkish researchers, argued that “The other drawback is weeds can gain resistance genes from GMO’s via cross-pollination of the weeds by resistant plants. The gene flow between the crop and certain weeds can cause weeds to obtain resistance to different herbicides”. ( Hiz & Aki 2014). This abnormal effect to weeds could allow the growth of herbicide

However, one of the leading discussions about why GMOs are put in such a negative light is based around the insecticide Roundup (Cassidy, Emily). A confirmed carcinogen within roundup is called glyphosate. Roundup is used by many people including mass-production farmers. If the risk for users to have cancer is so drastic, why use the product? Chiefly, because it works. Roundup is successful in controlling unwanted weeds for what are called Roundup Ready crops. They’re able to survive the harsh chemicals of the spray, but weeds and other unwanted growth is not. The dangerous chemicals from Roundup have been known to stick around in the delivered crops, which are GMOs. This may be where a lot of the negative stigma of GMOs comes from, because it is 100% true that Roundup is unhealthy. But if farmers don’t use Roundup, what’s the issue with the Roundup resistant foods? If there is no negative effect on humans consuming the foods, then there isn’t much of an issue with their

The genetically modified crops disrupt natural environmental ecosystems present in the soil. This means that once the soil is infected with menacing GMOs and synthetic internal-pesticides such as glyphosate, the damages are irreversible

One of the biggest concerns about the implementation of GMO’s in the United States is its environmental hazards. Most GMO crops are able to resist certain herbicides, but the weeds that these herbicides kill have been coming back stronger and more resistant than ever. These “superweeds” require even stronger and more toxic pesticides to be eradicated (GMO Inside). A survey has found that waterhemp, a major weed in crop fields, has become resistant to multiple different herbicides including Roundup (Concerns about GMOs). In the United States, superweeds have taken over nearly 10 million acres of farmland (GMO Inside). In North Carolina alone, nearly a million acres has been infested. As many as 21 weed species have developed a resistance

How Canada supports its economy plays a major role in governmental decisions. With glyphosate being the one of the main herbicide in the lumber industry, as well as a product that can be bought by home owners, it is up to each province’s government to manage the use of glyphosate products. Governments like the province of Quebec have already banned the usage of glyphosate in their forests, a decision the federal government claims were based more off politics than science (Thompson, 2011, para. 44). In a statement to Nova Scotia’s provincial government, the Ecology Action Centre (2016) wants them to stop funding the use of glyphosate, banning it on federal lands, and to give companies a sustainable alternative (para. 4). Sadly, these plans are

There is clear signs that GMO products are contaminating our water in various forms, including rivers, streams, and groundwater. The water now is absorbing more and more chemicals that are sprayed and injected into the crops. The seeds are also requiring a much more extensive amount of water compared to regular crops, causing droughts to be deadly to these crops. Many chemicals are coming from the spray that Monsanto created, they have a wide range of synthetic materials that are not safe for our water or consumption. The main chemical and most harmful one they use is called glyphosate which is the herbicide used every crop. The levels of glyphosate in our ground water has grown exponentially and is going to keep rising until our water is unusable. Less than a decade ago there was a study conducted testing the levels of this chemical in water sources around the areas it was used. The results were astounding, according to Dr. Eva Sirinathsinghji and her article “GM Crops and Water - A Recipe for Disaster” gave us data that stated “140 groundwater samples taken from Catalonia, Spain, 41 % of them had glyphosate levels above the limit of detection; contrary to the claim by Monsanto that the herbicide biodegrades rapidly in the environment”(Sirinathsinghiji). Not only are the levels above the detection level, Monsanto is lying to the people about how it degrades into our environment. Glyphosate has been linked to many health issues besides the environmental ones, but that will