Can you imagine what the results would be if testing like this was done in the U.S.?
A new study analyzing glyphosate residue in the urine of the German population has resulted in some truly shocking findings. Nearly one hundred percent of those tested have been contaminated with the ‘probable carcinogen’.
The troubling research comes on the heels of the EU’s announcement to delay a critical decision on whether to re-authorize glyphosate, classified by the World Health Organization as ‘probably carcinogenic’, until 2031.
The study, conducted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, determined that all but 0.4% of the German population have glyphosate residues at five times the acceptable amount permitted in drinking water. More shocking, over one third of the population tested at levels between ten and 42 times the accepted amount! According to the study, children seem exceptionally vulnerable to the likely carcinogen, as significantly high amounts were found in children aged 10-19, primarily those living on farms.
Also of significance, the study found that meat eaters had substantially high levels of the chemical versus their vegetarian counterparts. This is likely an indication of animal feed made from GMO corn and soy crops which are heavily sprayed with glyphosate-based herbicides multiple times during the growing seasons.
“The investigation confirmed the findings of the Federal Environment Agency, in regards to the majority of the population having glyphosate residue in their urine”, said retired veterinarian Monika Krüger, who was involved with the study.
Dr. Krüger states the findings exemplify that further research must be conducted in order to grasp the link between glyphosate exposure and serious diseases, like cancer.
Will The EU Re-Authorize Glyphosate?
Although the European Union has called for the renewal of glyphosate until 2031, a formal decision has been postponed.
The controversy surrounding the herbicide has reached a fever pitch. Hundreds of thousands of activists have signed an online petition demanding the an end to glyphosate’s license. Numerous members of the EU, including Italy, Sweden and France strongly oppose the re-licensing and have announced they would vote against it, while other countries such as Austria, Belgium and Denmark are rumored to also oppose the re-licensing.
While the German government has not publicly weighed in on how they will vote, this new research is certain to put pressure on opposition to the re-licensing.
“Now nearly every single one of us has been contaminated by plant poison, it is clear to me that no new authorizations for 2031 should be issued,” urged Harald Ebner, a genetic engineering and bio-economic policy with the German Greens.
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) made headlines with the declaration that glyphosate ‘probably’ causes cancer, listing it as Group 2A carcinogen. This classification is almost the highest possible categorization given by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), of the WHO.
The American Cancer Society has stated in regards to the classification system, “Perhaps not surprisingly, based on how hard it can be to test these candidate carcinogen, most are listed as being of probable, possible, or unknown risk. Only a little over 100 are classified as “carcinogenic to humans.”
The evidence cited for glyphosate’s classification is based on the following:
“For the herbicide glyphosate, there was limited evidence of carcinogenicity in human for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The evidence in humans is from studies of exposures, mostly agricultural in the US, Canada, and Sweden published since 2001. In addition, there is convincing evidence that glyphosate also can cause cancer in laboratory animals. On the basis of tumours in mice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) originally classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group C) in 1985 [equivalent to IARC group 2C]. After a re-evaluation of that mouse study, the US EPA changes its classification to evidence to non-carcinogenicity in humans (Group E) in 1991. The US EPA Scientific Advisory Panel noted that the re-evaluated glyphosate results were still significant using two statistical tests recommended in the IARC Preamble. The IARC Working Group that conducted the evaluation considered the significant findings from the US EPA report and several more recent positive results in concluding that there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. Glyphosate also caused DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells, although it gave negative results in tests using bacteria. One study in community residents reported increases in blood markers of chromosomal damage (micronuclei) after glyphosate formulations were sprayed nearby.”
Monsanto’s best selling herbicide glyphosate, sold most commonly as ‘Roundup’, is now the most widely and heavily used weed-killer in the history of chemical agriculture in both the U.S. and the world, according to a landmark publishing in the journal, Environmental Sciences Europe.
Hamburg, Germany
March Against Monsanto
2014
March Against Monsanto
2014
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By via March Against Monsanto
Article Source: The Ecologist
Article Source: Institute of Science in Society
Article Source: Phys.org
