Stop Monsanto: Join the first massive US research project studying glyphosate's health effects on humans

Monday, November 21, 2016 by: Vicki Batts
Tags: glyphosate, Monsanto, health effects

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(NaturalNews) Glyphosate has been a topic of serious controversy for quite some time now. It's a key ingredient in a widely used herbicide that has been linked to a number of consequences not just for humans, but for wildlife and the environment. But just how pervasive has this toxic herbicide become in our society, and what effect does it really have on us? One organization, The Detox Project, is doing their best to find out.

Recently, The Detox Project announced that they will be launching an extensive research project in January 2017, in order to assess the effects of glyphosate on human health. Glyphosate is the key active ingredient found in Monsanto's popular herbicide, Roundup.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared that glyphosate was a "probable carcinogen" in 2015. Dr. Kurt Straif, a section head from the IARC has spoken out about the agency's conclusion about the chemical. Straif said in an interview, "Our evaluation was a review of all the published scientific literature on glyphosate and this was done by the world's best experts on the topic that in addition don't have any conflicts of interest that could bias their assessment."

He went on to describe multiple lines of scientific evidence that illustrated glyphosate's toxicity to humans. According to Straif, there is clear evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in animals, some evidence of real-world glyphosate exposure causing cancer in humans, and strong evidence that it can damage genes.

Recent studies have also verified that the chemical can alter DNA in very harmful, damaging ways. One study also found that glyphosate can cause breast cancer even at just parts per trillion – which is an infinitesimal amount. Given that traces of glyphosate have been found in widely consumed items such as honey, oatmeal and other snacks – its no wonder that concerns surrounding the herbicide have continued to rise. Even though glyphosate is supposed to be used as a weedkiller, many farmers also use it as a desiccant for grain crops. This means that they spray it on their crops to dry them out and hasten their harvest; it also means that trace amounts of glyphosate are left behind. New scientific evidence indicates that these traces of glyphosate are capable of accumulating in both humans and animals.

You can see where the accumulation of glyphosate in bodily tissues would be rather concerning.

This is why The Detox Project is launching their own investigation, and is inviting the people of the United States to join. Their research project will give the general public the ability to find out how much glyphosate is in their own urine, while also helping expert independent scientists to study the effects glyphosate has on the human body. The Detox Project also has many areas of follow-up research already planned. The organization has already begun testing a variety of foods for glyphosate content.

The Detox Project also recently announced the results of the first-ever regulatory recognized public glyphosate testing in urine in the country. They worked with the Organic Consumers Association and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in 2015 to analyze 131 human urine samples, and what they found was horrifying: 93 percent of all the samples studied contained glyphosate. The average glyphosate content was about 3.096 parts per billion. However, children had significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their urine, with an average of 3.586 parts per billion. Studies show that glyphosate can be cancer-causing at parts per trillion, which is many times smaller than parts per billion. In other words, these findings are extremely concerning.

The upcoming large-scale study will paint a broader, more detailed picture of the pervasive and insidious nature of glyphosate, and will hopefully spark action across the nation.

Sources:

NaturalBlaze.com

SustainablePulse.com

DetoxProject.org

EcoWatch.com