July 26, 2019 - Monsanto developed the herbicide glyphosate in 1974, bringing it to market under the trade name Roundup. Once Monsanto genetically engineered seeds to grow food crops which could tolerate high doses of Roundup, the sales of the herbicide surged. Crops from these GMO seeds thrived, while the weeds around them were destroyed by Roundup. Since that time, scientists have been documenting the health consequences of Roundup, and its primary active ingredient, Glyphosate, in our food, water, and air.
In an effort to sell even more Roundup, Monsanto even encouraged farmers to use Roundup to dry out crops more quickly, allowing them to be harvested faster. This meant that Roundup was now routinely sprayed directly on non-GMO crops as well. Between 1996 and 2011, the widespread use of GMO crops increased herbicide use in the United States by 527 million pounds. Many of the following health issues have been attributed to exposure to Glyphosate or Roundup:
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other lymphoma cancer sub-types, including, but not limited to: Mulitple Myeloma, Follicular Lymphoma, Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Mantle Cell Lymphoma, and Hairy Cell Leukemia.
- Alzheimer’s disease (In the lab, Roundup causes the same type of oxidative stress and neural cell death observed in Alzheimer’s disease);
- Cancer—House to house surveys of more than 65,000 people in Argentina farming communities where Roundup is routinely used found cancer rates from two to four times higher than the national average (in particular, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer). It is theorized that Glyphosate’s capacity to induce DNA damage can result in the development of cancer;
- Chronic kidney disease—Agricultural workers in Central America, India and Sri Lanka have seen a surge in kidney disease;
- Liver disease—even relatively low doses of Roundup have been found to disrupt the function of human liver cells, according to a 2009 study published in Toxicology.
- Respiratory illnesses—in the same Argentina study, there were much higher rates of chronic respiratory illnesses in communities where Roundup is used.
What is Glyphosate? The active ingredient in Roundup is Glyphosate; it is theorized that not only is Glyphosate hazardous for humans but that when it is combined with other ingredients in Roundup, it becomes even more dangerous. Roundup works by inhibiting a metabolic pathway, which is crucial for plants and some microorganisms; since the human microbiome contains trillions of bacteria which play crucial roles in our bodies, humans may also be negatively impacted by the use of Glyphosate.
Monsanto products that contain Glyphosate include: Roundup Precision Gel; Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Concentrate; Roundup Ready-To-Use Extended Control Weed & Grass Killer Plus Weed Preventer II, and Roundup Ready-To-Use Weed & Grass Killer III.
Roundup and Cancer - A meta-analysis reported by Forbes found that humans with the highest exposure of Glyphosate had a 41 percent higher risk of Roundup non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Roundup non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is one of the more common cancers in the U.S.; among those with exposure to Roundup, the risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma appears to increase. Those who have routinely used Roundup have likely been exposed to Glyphosate dangers. If you or a loved one have been injured by Monsanto Roundup weed killer, could benefit from speaking to a Monsanto Roundup Lawyer regarding a potential Roundup lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could help recoup losses associated with exposure to Roundup weed killer, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.