What Do We Really Know About Glyphosate?

Glyphosate is an herbicide, meaning it is a substance that is toxic to plant life. It is administered to the exposed parts of plants to eliminate unwanted grasses and weeds. Glyphosate also comes in the form of sodium salt that is intended to control plant growth and mature particular crops.

This herbicide was first listed for practice in the United States in 1973 and is the most extensively applied herbicide in the entire world. People use it in both the forestry and agricultural industries, on their own personal gardens and lawns, and for weeds in almost any area. Some products that contain glyphosate are even used to manage aquatic plants.

How Does Glyphosate Work?

Glyphosate is what is referred to as a non-selective herbicide, which means that it will prove lethal to just about all plants. It stops the plant’s biological manufacture of specific proteins that are necessary for the plant’s growth. Glyphosate specifically blocks a precise enzyme path, the shikimic acid pathway, which is an essential path for the growth of plants and some microorganisms.

How Was I Exposed to Glyphosate?

You could be exposed to this herbicide if it comes into contact with your skin, gets in your eyes, or you inhale it while you are using it. You could potentially ingest some glyphosate if you were to smoke or eat after using it and did not wash your hands before doing so. You could also be at risk if you handle any leaves that are still damp from being misted or sprayed. Glyphosate generally does NOT hang around in the air for too long after it is sprayed.

What are Signs of a Small Amount of Glyphosate Exposure?

Unadulterated glyphosate is actually fairly low in toxicity, but the products that use it normally include additional components that help the glyphosate enter the plants. It is those other ingredients in the product that often causes it to be more toxic than it would otherwise be. Products that utilize glyphosate can generate skin or eye irritations. People who have inhaled spray or mist from products that contain any glyphosate immediately felt sensitivity in their nasal passages and in their throat. Ingesting products that contain glyphosate could also cause increased salivation, accompanied by burns to the inside areas of the mouth and the throat, vomiting, nausea, and also diarrhea. Deaths have been recorded in most cases of deliberate ingestion.

Your pets could also be in danger if they come into contact with or ingest plants that are still damp with any mist or spray from products that contain any glyphosate. Animals that are exposed to products containing this chemical might vomit, drool, have diarrhea, experience a loss of appetite, or appear unusually sleepy.

What Happens When Glyphosate Gets Into my System?

As it pertains to humans, glyphosate does not enter via the skin very easily, but it is nonetheless absorbed. Glyphosate that is absorbed or eaten will move through your body fairly quickly. The largest amounts of glyphosate vacate your body via feces and urine and are not present for long enough to be converted into any other chemical.

Will it be the Cause of Any Cancer?

Studies that had been conducted on both animals and humans were assessed by regulatory agencies in Canada, the USA, Australia, Japan, and the EU, along with the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues of the United Nations and World Health Organization. These organizations analyzed the instances of cancer in human beings as well as research where animals in a laboratory setting were made to ingest large quantities of glyphosate. After examining these various studies, the government agencies concluded that glyphosate was not anticipated to be a cause of cancer. Several committees of scientists, however, some of whom were employed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, evaluated these same studies and advised that glyphosate is most likely carcinogenic.

Endocrine Disruption and Other Health Issues

Research that glyphosate is disruptive to the endocrine system has also been studied. In addition to this, the herbicide has also been connected to liver diseases, reproductive issues, and birth defects as well. In tests performed on laboratory animals, it was noted that the chemical damaged DNA in human embryonic, umbilical, and placental cells, and killed off most of the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

More recent studies have also demonstrated that there are, in fact, negative biological outcomes to glyphosate exposure, even to those who are regularly exposed to the chemical in low doses. These negative effects include shortened pregnancy terms, greater instances of spontaneous abortions, congenital malformations in newborn children, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and behaviors that are commonly associated with depression and anxiety in adults.

Glyphosate and the Animal Kingdom

Glyphosate has also been associated via recent studies with adverse consequences on bees and monarch butterflies. These studies indicate that the gut flora of honeybees was altered, leaving them susceptible to a wide range of infections. The overall bee population also matured more slowly and died off much faster when exposed to glyphosate. It also contributed to the fast decline of the monarch butterfly population by killing off milkweed, one of their primary sources of food.

Dietary Exposure

Some farmers apply glyphosate to their non-modified crops, like barley, oats, wheat, and lentils in order to “dry down” their crop and speed up the harvesting process. This is most likely a very significant source of human exposure to glyphosate, according to collected data.

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