The Dirt on Agriculture’s Favorite Chemical

In our contemporary, chemically synthesized world, it very often seems like every single thing that you come into contact with could possibly bring about your slow and untimely demise. With concerns that range from microwaves being radioactive to cell phones that give you cancer, it is often easier to shoo away these worries and say that they are far fetched. There is plenty of cause to believe, however, that some of these chemicals that are being approved under the watchful eye of government entities meant to protect us are actually much more damaging to your health than they would have you believe. A popular component to many herbicides, and by extension, your food is one chemical that you definitely need to be aware of.

What Is Glyphosate?

Employed as the primary component in most herbicides, glyphosate can be found in more than 750 horticultural products here in the United States, despite the fact that it is outlawed from any and all use in at least 14 other developed countries throughout the world. The synthetic chemical is most notoriously used in Roundup Weed Killer, the herbicide manufactured by chemical conglomerate Monsanto and the most widely used herbicide in the entire world.

The glyphosate compound serves as a non-selective herbicide. This simply indicates that it destroys every single plant to which it is exposed. It operates by stopping the effectiveness of the shikimic acid pathway, which is what living plants use in order to create proteins and mature. By barring this enzyme stability, the herbicide gives us plants that get sick and die at a rapid pace.

Glyphosate was first introduced into the sales market back in 1974. It was offered up as a substitution for the chemical known as DDT, an agricultural abomination that even the United States government had outlawed two years prior due to its nasty little habit of bioaccumulating in fatty tissues any creature that came into contact with it and endangering their ability to reproduce. DDT was also responsible for the declination of several bird populations, including the bald eagle, as it caused the eggshells to be too thin to safely contain a viable fetus.

Despite appearing at the time as the lesser of two very sadistic evils, glyphosate did not see any economic upswing until 1987 when Monsanto started marketing genetically engineered seeds that were designed to withstand repeated treatments with Roundup. This skyrocketed the herbicide in demand and secured its place in the annals of history, and now nearly all commonly grown cotton, corn, and soy in America are doused with the herbicide at least one time during the manufacturing process.  

Is Glyphosate Harmful?

Although glyphosate has been in widespread use for dozens of years without sounding too many alarms, the synthetic chemical has incurred some notoriety as of late. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer stated that glyphosate is very likely a carcinogen, and the US Environmental Protection Agency later verified that very fact.

With that in mind, there is still a very small amount of agreement concerning glyphosate’s overall danger or the strength at which it goes from harmless to dangerous if there even is one. This is due in part to the fact that Monsanto is not legally compelled to publish Roundup’s complete ingredient list. They are required to designate the levels of all of the active ingredients, the ones that have been deemed as inactive only need to be listed.  

Have I Been Exposed To Glyphosate?

Of course you have. Did you really think that you might be safe from the endlessly grasping, squid-like tentacles of this nearly mandatory chemical? From this corrupt, profiteering agrochemical business that would sell its own soul if it meant another shiny trinket in its pocket? It’s time to be serious. Trace amounts of glyphosate were detected in the urine of 90% of all people who were tested for it in our FIRST WORLD, DEVELOPED country. That is a number that is four times as much as was found in Europe. And for the icing on the chemical-soaked, cancer-causing, endocrine system-disrupting cake? Concentration levels are the highest in our children.

Luckily, taking a stroll through a wheatfield probably isn’t to increase your exposure to hazardous levels unless it has been recently sprayed. Glyphosate is unable to permeate your skin, and you will excrete it soon after ingesting it. The danger lies not with pure glyphosate, this is not what is causing our troubles, but rather with other goods that use glyphosate in conjunction with other chemical compounds in order to increase its permeability to plants, and by extension, your skin as well.

In the event that you do get exposed to glyphosate, the most common symptoms include eye and skin irritability and issues with the nose, throat, and lungs as well. Should you unintentionally swallow some, you should anticipate vomiting, nausea, and/or diarrhea.

Ways To Reduce Your Exposure To Glyphosate

If you are worried about the amount of exposure to glyphosate that might be passing unnoticed in your daily life there are things that you can do to decrease your chances of high exposure.

1. Stay Away From Garden Herbicides

When taking time to care for your garden plants, pay close attention to the various products that you use. DO NOT BUY Roundup. For a fraction of the price, you can make a do-it-yourself weed killer by mixing equal parts white vinegar and lemon juice.

2. Buy Organic

Any plant that is treated with glyphosate is at risk of cross-contaminating you if you consume it, even if you thoroughly wash it before you prepare it. Buying organic is the single best choice that you can make when it comes to ensuring that your ingredients have not soaked up the weed killer into their tissues.

3. Go Outside

While this might seem somewhat counterintuitive, daily exposure to sunlight will help your skin’s ability to detoxify from any herbicide buildup. When you spend time outdoors without sunscreen, your skin synthesizes sulfate which in turn helps you to reduce any herbicide buildup.

If you or someone that you love is suffering from health problems that you believe to be related to Monsanto’s Round-Up Weedkiller then you need to get in touch with one of our experienced Roundup attorneys here at the Brady Law Group. If you would like to receive a free consultation with a professional, please give us a call at (866) 211-2562 as soon as possible so that we can help you assess any claims that you feel you may have.