This may seem like a frivolous question but it’s meant to be serious as will soon become apparent. Let’s review what we know about Roundup.
What is Roundup?
Roundup is the brand name of a broad spectrum herbicide which basically means that it can destroy many different types of plant. Its active ingredient is glyphosate which is an abbreviation for N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, a small molecule derived from the amino acid glycine. Its intended purpose is as a weed killer, both domestically in gardens and on a larger scale in commercial crop farming. It works primarily by chelating (binding) manganese, a crucial cofactor in the biosynthesis of the aromatic amino acids, phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine which are essential building blocks of proteins. Roundup also has a more general action in that it chelates the soluble ions of many other mineral nutrients including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, nickel and zinc, which are essential cofactors in many specific biochemical reactions. Since there is 100 to 1,000 times more free glyphosate in the plants than unbound mineral ions, the chelation seriously affects nutrient availability. As a dramatic illustration, the chelation of manganese and other mineral ions by glyphosate can result in a yellowing of the plants known as “flashing” which persists until fresh unbound mineral ions can be supplied. Glyphosate not only weakens plants by limiting the availability of essential mineral nutrients but it also opens the door to infection by pathogens, which healthy versions of the plants would normally resist ( Johal & Huber, 2009; Huber, 2010 ).
In Roundup, the glyphosate comes with an added surfactant, polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA), enabling the herbicide to spread over plant surfaces. POEA also enhances the solubility of many common herbicides in organic solvents, allowing them to penetrate through the waxy surfaces of plants. (Interestingly, POEA is not regulated under environmental laws because it is not considered an active ingredient in the herbicide.) This means of course that these herbicides can get inside the plants and in the case of Roundup, the glyphosate is then transported to the growing points, namely to reproductive sites and the tips of the shoots and roots where it exerts its mechanism of action. Roundup is therefore effective on actively growing plants. The fact that the active ingredient in Roundup can enter the plant structure and penetrate cells also means that we will ingest it when we consume plants that have been sprayed with Roundup. It will be inside our food as well as on it.
In 1996, soybeans genetically – modified to resist the herbicide action of Roundup were made commercially available. They were referred to as Roundup Ready. The thinking behind this was that if the soybeans could resist the action of the herbicide then spraying could be done to control competing weeds without damaging the main crop, thus substantially improving crop yields. This would be especially important in climates where weeds normally grow rampantly. Current Roundup Ready crops include soy, corn, cottonseed, canola, sugar beet and alfalfa, with wheat under development. It was initially thought that only modest spraying with the herbicide would be required to control weeds but now that Roundup – resistant weeds are evolving, the spraying has intensified and this has only made matters worse.
Just how much Roundup is being used in agriculture?
So much Roundup is now being sprayed commercially that the U.S. Department of Agriculture can no longer provide accurate figures. It stopped updating its figures in 2008. The EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency ) has estimated that in 2007, the agricultural market in the U.S. used 180 to 185 million pounds (82,000 to 84,000 tonnes) of glyphosate, the home and garden market used 5 to 8 million pounds (2,300 to 3,600 tonnes), and industry, commerce and government used 13 to 15 million pounds (5,900 to 6,800 tonnes). According to Dr. Don Huber, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology at Purdue University, “glyphosate it the most abused chemical we have ever had in the history of man”.
What are the consequences of this?
Now that so much Roundup is being used commercially, it is getting into the plants and soil in higher quantities. Because certain crops are genetically modified to be Roundup-Resistant they are not being destroyed but there is growing evidence that they are being weakened and thus more susceptible to infection by pathogens. We are seeing an increased incidence of SDS or Sudden Death Syndrome in soybeans, and of Goss’s Wilt in corn, diseases that healthy crops would normally resist. In 2011, the U.S. Government permitted Roundup Ready alfalfa to be planted. Like soybeans, alfalfa is a legume with nitrogen fixing bacteria present in root nodules. These bacteria help the alfalfa to incorporate nitrogen and thus increase its nutrient value. That’s why it is such an important food for livestock. Unfortunately, in Roundup Ready alfalfa the herbicide is transported to the root nodules, destroying most of the nitrogen-fixing capability and thus impairing the nutritional status of the plant. Not only this, but the glyphosate in Roundup exudes out of the roots and into the surrounding soil, the rhizosphere, exerting toxic effects on many soil microorganisms and compromising the oxidation status and availability of mineral nutrients ( Johal & Huber, 2009; Huber, 2010 ). It is clear that the glyphosate is impairing the activity of certain bacteria and because it is present in our food crops the question now becomes; can it damage the friendly gut bacteria upon which we depend so much for our health and wellness?
Since the introduction of RoundUp Ready crops the number of weed species that have developed resistance to glyphosate has increased dramatically; from zero in 1995 to 19 species in June, 2010 and the acreage now infested is estimated to be in excess of 11 million acres, a fivefold increase in three years. http://www.physorg.com/news203697204.html
There are increasing concerns about the safety of genetically modified crops and the pesticides and herbicides to which they are exposed. Reports are circulating of decreased fertility, reduced litter size, and increased developmental abnormalities and miscarriages in animals exposed to genetically modified foods and their chemical residues. However, it has yet to be determined just how much Roundup and other chemicals can be safely ingested by humans and animals. Presently, no such investigation has taken place, and so regulatory agencies have chosen to rely upon industry reports claiming that glyphosate is safe ( Mercola, 2011 ).
References
Johal, G.S. & Huber, D.M. (2009) Glyphosate Effects on Diseases of Plants. European Journal of Agronomy: 31, 144–152.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/documents/huber-glyphosates-2009.pdf
Huber, D.M. (2010) What’s New in Ag. Chemical and Crop Interactions. Fluid Journal: Vol. 18, No. 3, Issue #69.
http://www.fluidjournal.org/1gsdgfs-S10/S10-A4.pdf
Huber, D.M. (2010) Ag. Chemical and Crop Nutrient Interactions – Current Update.
http://www.calciumproducts.com/dealer_resources/Huber.pdf
Mercola, J. (2011) Perhaps the World’s most Overlooked Poison. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/07/are-you-being-kept-in-the-dark-about-birth-defects-from-weed-killers.aspx
© Christopher J. Jones, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Adventist Health Ministry, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677, USA
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