Glyphosate found at high levels in mothers' breast milk

Monday, April 28, 2014 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: glyphosate, breast milk, GMOs

(NaturalNews) Chemicals that destroy the natural world, like glyphosate, are being blasted into the earth at an unprecedented rate. Sales of Monsanto's Roundup, which contains glyphosate, spiked 73 percent in 2013. The rise of genetically modified crops is ushering in the mass application of immune system-destroying chemicals, as consequences are unveiled, one after another.

It's no wonder why the earth purges from time to time, disgusted by all the man-made concoctions that destroy life. Lava erupts from the ground and hail falls from the sky as the earth writhes in disdain.

Plant-killing glyphosate is so environmentally abundant now that it's showing up in urine and blood samples of individuals. The chemical is becoming a part of the human anatomy, circulating through, accumulating. Now researchers are discovering detectable levels of the weed killer in mothers' breast milk!

How will newborns react to the weed killer at their most vulnerable, developing stage of life?

How might a newborn's immune system be disturbed through disrupted gut microbe activity, as the weed killer enters their stomach and blood?

What kind of resulting skin problems and learning disabilities does glyphosate encourage?

Glyphosate is bio-accumulative, passed through breast milk to newborns

Senior Monsanto scientist Dan Goldstein recently stated, "If ingested, glyphosate is excreted rapidly, does not accumulate in body fat or tissues, and does not undergo metabolism in humans. Rather, it is excreted unchanged in the urine."

This is far from the truth, since the discovery of glyphosate in breast milk proves its bioaccumulation. Furthermore, glyphosate has been found to disrupt the shikimate pathway of human gut microbes, essentially destroying positive gut flora, inhibiting the body's natural detoxification processes.

For years, Monsanto has claimed that their Roundup is safe because the human body excretes it. A new pilot study shows that glyphosate doesn't just go away; it persists in mothers and is passed to their kin through breast milk.

In the wake of these findings, the Organic Consumers Association is calling out for an outright ban on glyphosate. Director Ronnie Cummins stated, "This is another in a long line of studies showing the many ways in which glyphosate poses a real danger to human health. It's time for Americans to demand that the FDA, USDA and EPA ban this toxin for good."

He continued, "At the very least, the FDA must require labels on foods that contain this dangerous toxin. And the best way to do that is to require mandatory labelling of foods that contain genetically modified organisms, most of which derive from crops that require massive amounts of Monsanto's Roundup."

But this strategy may be nearly impossible, since the EPA claims that glyphosate is not bioaccumulative. To make matters worse, the US government recently raised allowable levels of the weed killer in food products. Plus, the glyphosate measured in breast milk falls within the 700 µg/l maximum contaminant level established by the US for glyphosate in drinking water.

30 percent of breast milk samples showed detectable levels of glyphosate

The pilot study, conducted by Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse, tested for glyphosate levels in American mothers' breast milk. What they found was startling by European standards -- concentrations of glyphosate in breast milk at 760 to 1600 times higher than pesticide limits set by European Drinking Water Directives.

In the small pilot study, 35 urine samples and 21 drinking water samples from across the US were measured. The results were compared with an EU study conducted by Friends of the Earth in 2013.
The urine samples of Americans were at least ten times more contaminated with glyphosate than Europeans. When samples of breast milk were analyzed, 30 percent showed detectable levels of glyphosate, which is theoretically passed on to newborns.

Virginia mother Jessica M., who tested positive for glyphosate in her breast milk, said, "It is frightening to see any glyphosate in my body, especially in my breast milk that will then contaminate my son's growing body. It's particularly upsetting to test positive for glyphosate because I go to great lengths to eat organic and GMO free. I do not consume any meats or seafood and only very rarely eat dairy. This really shows me, and should show others, just how pervasive this toxin is in our food system."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.gmwatch.org

https://www.commondreams.org

http://science.naturalnews.com