A recent article on Farm Wars examines the connection between genetically modified food and a slew of health effects. There are a number of studies which support the article's exertions. Let's look at some studies that indicate GMOs, and the herbicide glyphosate (known best as Monsanto's Roundup) that they are created to tolerate.
There are a number of studies about the effects of glyphosate. A French study published in 2012 found that Roundup has an "inhibitory effect" on microbes at "lower concentrations than those recommended in agriculture." In order to understand how pesticides like glyphosate effect the environment and health, researchers looked at the effects of glyphosate on the "growth and viability" of beneficial microbes like probiotics. Why is this important? Good bacteria protect against bad bacteria.
A German study published this year found an increase of Clostridium botulinum associated diseases, otherwise known as botulism, in cattle in Germany in the last 10 to 15 years. Intestinal microflora are a "critical factor" in preventing Clostridium botulinum from colonizing in the intestines. The study also found that herbicides like glyphosate could be an explanation for the increased levels of Clostridium botulinum associated diseases.
There could also be a link between botulism and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDs). A 2004 German study found that in 20 percent of the SIDs cases analyzed, botulism bacteria or toxin were discovered. Therefore, since glyphosate decreases good bacteria, that means botulism could increase, which could potentially result in more SIDs cases.
Glyphosate linked to liver and kidney damage
- A 2011 study looked at the link between pollutants, including glyphosate, on human embryonic and liver cell lines. What the researchers found are "clear toxicities of pollutants" on both cell lines "at very low sub-agricultural dilutions." The researchers concluded that environmental pollutants "have intracellular effects."
- Another 2011 study reviewed previous studies of mammals fed GMO soybean and maize, two crops, which represent more than 80 percent of all GMO crops cultivated on a large scale. The researchers found that "several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects in the above-mentioned experiments." They confirmed their findings through a meta-analysis test of all the studies published, which revealed that kidneys are "particularly affected" in males, and the liver in females.
- A 2010 study found that all of the four Roundup (the trade name for glyphosate) formulations examined "provoke liver cell death."
Glyphosate and testosterone decrease and birth defects
Other studies link glyphosate to decreased testosterone and birth defects. A 2012 study tested glyphosate on mature rats' testicular cells and found that lower non-toxic concentrations of the pesticide caused a testosterone decrease. Higher contamination levels caused an "acute rat testicular toxicity." A study by researchers in Paraguay published in 2010 studied the effects of glyphosate on different animal embryos. Frog and chicken embryos treated with glyphosate were found to have deformities.
Photo Credit: Antoine Couturier
