Glyphosate in soybeans and other foods has now reached 'extreme' levels while the USDA and FDA do nothing

Thursday, September 29, 2016 by: Daniel Barker
Tags: glyphosate, exposure limits, health dangers

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(NaturalNews) Glyphosate – the cancer-causing active ingredient found in Monsanto's Roundup weed-killer product – has been found to be present at "extreme" levels in soybeans, and is presumably also present at high levels in other foods, since glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are now the most widely-used throughout the world.

While the FDA and USDA have done little towards regulating glyphosate, its use has gradually become the "industry norm," according to a study published by Independent Science News:

"Globally, glyphosate-tolerant GM soy is the number one GM crop plant and glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide, with a global production of 620 000 tons in 2008. ... The world soybean production in 2011 was 251.5 million metric tons, with the United States (33%), Brazil (29%), Argentina (19%), China (5%) and India (4%) as the main producing countries. ...

"In 2011-2012, soybeans were planted on about 30 million hectares in the USA, with Roundup Ready GM soy contributing 93-94 % of the production. ... Globally, Roundup Ready GM soybeans contributed to 75 % of the production in 2011."

The study found that glyphosate levels exceeded even the levels classified by Monsanto itself as "extreme," in seven out of 10 samples.

Allowable levels of glyphosate in food have been dramatically increased

Meanwhile, in many countries – including the United States – the legally acceptable levels of glyphosate have been adjusted, according to the report, "not based on new scientific evidence, but pragmatically in response to actual observed increases in the content of residues in glyphosate-tolerant GM soybeans."

While maximum residue levels (MRLs) of glyphosate are being allowed to increase, the evidence continues to mount that glyphosate exposure at even low levels can cause serious illness in both animals and humans.

One recent report revealed that "ultra-low dose" Roundup exposure causes liver and kidney damage in laboratory rats:

"Our results suggest that chronic exposure to a GBH in an established laboratory animal toxicity model system at an ultra-low, environmental dose can result in liver and kidney damage with potential significant health implications for animal and human populations."

Glyphosate toxicity may be greatly underestimated

The first study quoted above also pointed out the fact that the toxicity of GBH products may be greatly underestimated, due to the fact that only the main ingredient's effects are tested, while the actions of the other compounds found in herbicides such as Roundup are not taken into account:

"When regulatory agencies assess pesticides for safety they invariably test only the claimed active ingredient.

"Nevertheless, these do not necessarily represent realistic conditions since in practice it is the full, formulated herbicide (there are many Roundup formulations) that is used in the field. Thus, it is relevant to consider, not only the active ingredient, in this case glyphosate and its breakdown product AMPA, but also the other compounds present in the herbicide formulation since these enhance toxicity."

Organic foods are more nutritious than glyphosate-laced GMO foods

The first study also found that, "Roundup Ready GM-soy accumulates residues of glyphosate and AMPA, and also differs markedly in nutritional composition compared to soybeans from other agricultural practices," and that, "Organic soybean samples also showed a more healthy nutritional profile (e.g. higher in protein and lower in saturated fatty acids) than both industrial conventional and GM soybeans."

Although Monsanto has begun to suffer financially from growing public opposition and GMO bans in many countries, its interests in the United States continue to be protected by regulatory agencies who have been essentially bought out and staffed with GMO industry insiders such as the newly-appointed head of the FDA, Dr. Robert Califf.

Glyphosate use and GMO agriculture should be universally banned

This is in spite of the growing number of studies pointing to the increase of glyphosate in our food supply, and its potential negative impact on human health.

Monsanto may have had to lay off a significant portion of its workforce, but the danger to citizens in the United States and elsewhere continues to increase.

The only sane solution is to ban glyphosate use – along with GMO agriculture, in general – in every nation on the planet.

Sources:

IndependentScienceNews.org

FunctionalFormularies.com

EHJournal.BioMedCentral.com

Science.NaturalNews.com