How GMOs & Herbicides Are Affecting Our Health

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While GMOs may prove to be safe over time, the pesticides and herbicides they are sprayed with are decidedly not. Here’s what you need to know…

The development of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in our food supply continues to arouse controversy. While some say that developing more GMOs will allow us to produce more food at a lower cost, other say that the potential health risks of these modified foods outweigh the benefits.

However, while some swear by the long-term safety of these new elements in our food supply, there is one aspect that is often overlooked when discussing whether GMOs are safe to eat or not…

One of the main reasons for the genetic modification of food crops is to make them resistant to the herbicides and pesticides that are sprayed on these crops. And this aspect is a very big deal indeed when it comes to our health.

Although, somewhat nonsensically in my mind, some proponents of GMOs argue that genetically modified crops allow for LESS spraying, this just doesn’t make any sense. After all, if a crop is now resistant to a weed killer, what is to stop farmers from spraying as much (and as often) as they feel the need to?

And the chemicals that are being sprayed are no laughing matter.

This article explores some of the dangers inherent in relying on genetically modified foods and their accompanying load of pesticides and herbicidal chemicals:

On August 20, 2015, Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., and Charles Benbrook, Ph.D. published a paper^1,2 in the one of the most prestigious medical journals, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on the topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), herbicides, and public health, noting that:

“… [T]he application of biotechnology to agriculture has been rapid and aggressive. The vast majority of the corn and soybeans grown in the United States are now genetically engineered.

Foods produced from GM crops have become ubiquitous…Two recent developments are dramatically changing the GMO landscape.

First, there have been sharp increases in the amounts and numbers of chemical herbicides applied to GM crops, and still further increases — the largest in a generation — are scheduled to occur in the next few years.

Second, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate, the herbicide most widely used on GM crops, as a ‘probable human carcinogen’ and classified a second herbicide, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), as a ‘possible human carcinogen.’”

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Research³ published in 2007 found that aerial spraying of glyphosate in combination with a surfactant solution resulted in DNA damage in those exposed.

Another study⁴ published this year found that glyphosate in combination with aluminum synergistically induced pineal gland pathology, which in turn was linked to gut dysbiosis and neurological disease.

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For a more thorough review of the published studies⁵ questioning the safety of glyphosate in terms of its effects on human and animal health, please see this compilation by Dr. Alex Vasquez. It contains 220 pages’ worth of research — more than enough to satisfy most critical thinkers.

Another illuminating and heavily referenced 80-page report⁶ you can read through at your leisure is “Banishing Glyphosate,” authored by Drs. Eva Sirinathsinghji and Mae-Wan Ho, with cooperation from six other researchers, including Dr. Don Huber and Dr. Nancy Swanson.

Dr. Huber has also written a 42-page report⁷ titled “Ag Chemicals and Crop Nutrient Interactions.” In it he explains how extensive use of glyphosate and the adoption of glyphosate-tolerant GE crops have resulted in essential micro- and macronutrient deficiencies in plants, and the increased need for micronutrient remediation in the soil.

A study⁸ published earlier this year shows that glyphosate-based herbicides adversely affect the activity and reproduction of earthworms, which are important players in healthy soils. Herbicide application also increased nitrate concentrations in the soil by 1,592 percent, and phosphate concentrations by 127 percent, thereby adding to the risk of nutrient leaching into and polluting nearby water sources and groundwater aquifers. Research⁹ from 2003 also found that growing Bt corn had an adverse effect on the microbial activity in the soil by significantly increasing the saturated to unsaturated lipid ratios in the soil.

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For more info, check out the referenced studies above, or visit the full article at Mercola.com…

 

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