GM soybean farming is poisoning children's blood

(NaturalNews) It's no secret that genetically modified foods are detrimental to health; both the Franken-style manner in which certain foods are created as well as the agrochemicals used to protect crops have left many people living in a constant state of fear. Most recently, a slew of people are not only concerned about their own health, but that of their children.

Contrary to what GMO advocates believe, the fear -- perhaps most strongly felt in Argentina -- is not falsely grounded.

There, all of its soy is genetically modified. Considering that soy farming in the country has tripled to 47 million acres and its cattle are fattened as they are in the United States -- with soy and corn (another genetically modified crop) -- it's understandable that residents are worried. Add to this the fact that insects and weeds have become resistant to crop-protecting chemicals, in turn leading to the overuse of glyphosphate-laden agrochemicals such as Roundup (a damaging "more is more" mentality), and its no wonder health problems continue unravel. Disturbingly, it's estimated that farmers in Argentina apply 4.3 pounds of agrochemical concentrate per acre, amounting to more than double what farmers in the United States use.

There are even more shocking statistics.

The World Health Organization has set the limit of glyphosate content at 20 miligrams per kilogram in food products. But Medardo Avila-Vazquez, a pediatrics expert in Argentina says that "soy shipments from Argentina contain 100 miligrams per kilogram of glyphosate in soybean," a statement that's backed up by a German research group that opposes GMOs. Avila-Vazquez says that amount is "a very big quantity of poison in food."

How glyphosates severely jeopardize children's health

So, how is this harming children's health in particular?

Just ask the mother of severely disabled youngster Camila Veron, who was born with multiple organ problems. Born in Argentina, her mother Silvia has been told that agrochemicals are likely to be responsible for her child's condition.

Avila-Vazquez explains that since Argentina began using pesticides on cultivated crops in 1996, the variety of diseases found among "sprayed people" have dramatically changed in many provinces. As the harmful glyphosate enters the blood stream of pregnant mothers and in turn, their unborn babies, many doctors have noticed an uptick in miscarriages, cancers and birth defects, all thought to be linked to use of the pesticide.

Still, Pablo Vaquero, Monsanto's spokesman in Buenos Aires is adamant that Glyphosate is of no concern. "Glyphosate is even less toxic than the repellent you put on your children's skin," he maintains. Yet he adds, "That being said, there has to be a responsible and good use of these products, because in no way would you put repellent in the mouths of children and no environmental applicator should spray fields with a tractor or a crop-duster without taking into account the environmental conditions and threats that stem from the use of the product."(1)

So, Mr. Speak-from-both-sides-of-the-mouth Vaquero, which way is it: are these products safe or not?

Clearly, health conscious, wise and caring people know the answer.

Argentinean Silvina Bettini one such person. She's leery about having her second child ever since learning that her blood has been contaminated with agrochemical residue from pesticides that are actually banned in some countries. "I am afraid that if I get pregnant," she says, that "my child will have a malformation, or that I might lose him or her. This complicates one's life. As a mother, I don't want to inflict this pain on a child."

Study: Glyphosates are detrimental to human offspring

There's even a study titled, "Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling," which was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology. It succinctly states that "Reports of neural defects and craniofacial malformations from regions where glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are used led us to undertake an embryological approach to explore the effects of low doses of glyphosate in development."

The journal's findings show that "The direct effect of glyphosate on early mechanisms of morphogenesis in vertebrate embryos opens concerns about the clinical findings from human offspring in populations exposed to GBH in agricultural fields." The article notes that "neural defects and craniofacial malformations" are common in areas where glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are used.

As mentioned, the agrochemical concentrate per acre is more than double in Argentina than it is in the United States, and that's a significant cause for concern for the future of the world's children.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com

https://news.vice.com

http://pubs.acs.org

http://truthwiki.org/Genetically_modified_cr...

http://truthwiki.org/GMO_Dangers,_opinion