The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) has reiterated its stance on glyphosate’s carcinogenic profile and now calls it ‘definitely genotoxic’ – just to be sure the world understands that Monsanto is causing harm to human beings and animals fed GM food.
One of the co-authors of the IARC report which found glyphosate to be ‘probably carcinogenic,’ professor Christopher Portier says that there is ‘no doubt in his mind’ that Monsanto’s best selling product, Round Up, is genotoxic. This means that it can damage DNA molecules in genes, causing tumors and other serious health issues.
The professor reiterated his stance when speaking recently in London at a scientific briefing on glyphosate in Westminster, organized by the Soil Association.
The Soil Association, a charitable organization which promotes organic food and sustainable agriculture, has asked the UK to ban the use of glyphosate sprayed on wheat as a pre-harvest weed killer. When the organization analyzed data released by the government recently, it found that the herbicide is used in UK farming 400% more often in the last 20 years and is one of the three pesticides regularly found in routine testing of British bread – appearing in up to 30% of samples tested by the Defra committee on Pesticide Residues in Food (PRiF).
Similarly, glyphosate is showing up in human blood, urine, and even breast milk.
Furthermore, it isn’t glyphosate as a singular ingredient that is troubling. Dr. Robin Mesnage of the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Kings College in London has brought to the forefront new research attesting to the synergistic toxicity of Round Up. The product is 1000 times more toxic than glyphosate alone.
Mesnage states:
“Glyphosate is everywhere throughout our food chain – in our food and water. The lack of data on toxicity of Glyphosate is not proof of safety and these herbicides cannot be considered safe without proper testing. We know Round Up, the commercial name of Glyphosate based herbicides, contains many other chemicals which, when mixed together are 1,000 times more toxic than Glyphosate on its own.”
The recent news that glyphosate was carcinogenic caused a rash of bans and lawsuits, but now that the combined ingredients of Round Up are known to be 1000 times worse, Monsanto should halt all further production of their toxic product.
Claire Robinson, an editor at GMWatch.org said:
“Outside the United Kingdom, the reaction to the WHO IARC report has been dramatic. Some retailers in Switzerland and Germany have removed Glyphosate products and France has committed to do so by 2018 and German states are calling for an EU wide ban. The Danish Working Environment Authority has declared it as a carcinogen and El Salvador and Sri Lanka have banned it and the Colombia government has banned aerial spraying on coca crops.”
It makes you wonder why the US still does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!