The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed in the Roundup brand of herbicides, and in other brands. Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed; it provides the technology in 90% of the genetically engineered seeds used in the US market. It is headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. In 2005, it finalized the purchase of Seminis Inc, making it the world's largest conventional seed company.
Monsanto's development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation, political lobbying practices, seed commercialization practices and "strong-arming" of the seed industry have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the alter-globalization movement and environmental activists. As a result of its business strategies and licensing agreements, Monsanto came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department in 2009.
| | A recent study conducted by a German university found very high concentrations of Glyphosate, a carcinogenic chemical found in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup, in all urine samples tested. The amount of glyphosate found in the urine was staggering, with each sample containing concentrations at 5 to 20-fold the limit established for drinking water. This is just one more piece of evidence that herbicides are, at the very least, being sprayed out of control. |
Glyphosate in Monsanto’s Roundup Impacting Global HealthThis news comes only one month after it was found that glyphosate, contained in Monsanto’s Roundup, is contaminating the groundwater in the areas in which it is used. What does this mean? It means that toxic glyphosate is now polluting the world’s drinking water through the widespread contamination of aquifers, wells and springs. The recent reports of glyphosate showing up in all urine samples only enhances these past findings. Monsanto continues to make the claim that their Roundup products are completely safe for both animals and humans. However many environmentalists, scientists , activists, and even doctors say otherwise. Glyphosate radically affects the metabolism of plants in a negative way. It is a systemic poison preventing the formation of essential amino acids, leading to weakened plants which ultimately die from it. A formula seems to have been made to not only ruin the agricultural system, but also compromise the health of millions of people worldwide. With the invent of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops, resistant superweeds are taking over farmland and public health is being attacked. As it turns out, glyphosate is also leaving behind its residue on Roundup Ready crops, causing further potential concern for public health. Glyphosate is even contributing to escalating rates of mental illness and obesity through the depletion of beneficial gut flora that directly regulates these functions. But it certainly doesn’t stop there. Researchers tested roundup on mature male rats at a concentration range between 1 and 10,000 parts per million (ppm), and found that within 1 to 48 hours of exposure, testicular cells of the mature rats were either damaged or killed. Even at a concentration of 1 ppm, the Roundup was able to affect the test subjects by decreasing their testosterone concentrations by as much as 35%.
ISIS Report 09/01/12
USDA Scientist Reveals All
Glyphosate Hazards to Crops, Soils, Animals, and Consumers
In less than an hour, Don Huber,
professor emeritus at Purdue University and USDA senior scientist (see Box) delivered to the UK Houses of Parliament a damning indictment
of glyphosate agriculture as a most serious threat to the environment,
livestock, and human health [1].
Don Huber
Don Huber, Emeritus Professor at Purdue University and senior scientist on
USDA’s National Plant Disease Recovery System, has been a plant physiologist
and pathologist for over 40 years. His academic career began with 8 years as a
cereal pathologist at the University of Idaho, and the next 35 years at Purdue University where he specialised in soil-borne disease control, physiology of
disease, and microbial ecology. For the past 20 years, he has conducted
extensive research into the effects of glyphosate on crops, in response to the
increase in crop diseases on glyphosate-applied fields.
Since his
letter to the US Secretary of State Tom Vilsak was leaked in February 2011, there
has been a
great deal of controversy over what Huber described as a pathogen “new to
science” and abundant in glyphosate-tolerant GM crops (see [2] Emergency!
Pathogen New to Science Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops?, SiS 50). As
he concluded in the letter: “We are now seeing
an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and disorders.
This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving this problem”.
His talk
linked glyphosate to reduced nutrient availability in plants, increasing plant
diseases, the emergence of a new pathogen, animal illness and possible effects
on human health (see [3, 4] Glyphosate Tolerant Crops Bring Death and Disease, Scientists Reveal
Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil, SiS 47).
Pathogen new to science
The conversion of US agriculture to monochemical herbicide practice has resulted in the extensive use of
glyphosate herbicides. Coincidentally, farmers have been witnessing
deterioration in the health of corn, soybean, wheat and other crops, and epidemics of diseases in small grain crops. All are
associated with the extensive use of glyphosate, which has increased further since the introduction of glyphosate-tolerant,
Roundup Ready (RR) crops.
Glyphosate immobilises
nutrients required to maintain plant health and resistance to disease. This
weakening of the plants defence could explain the infestation of GM crops with
the new pathogen, which has now been observed in horse, sheep, pigs, cows,
chicken, multiple animal tissues including reproductive parts (semen, amniotic
fluid), manure, soil, eggs, milk, as well as the common fungal pathogen that is
currently infesting RR crops, Fusarium solani fsp glycines mycelium. All
are coming into contact with glyphosate either through direct exposure or
consumption through animal feed. It is also highly abundant in crops suffering
from plant Goss’ wilt and sudden death
syndrome.
The pathogen can be
cultured in the lab, and has been isolated from livestock foetal tissue,
replicated in the lab and re-introduced back into the animals. It appears to be
very common and may well be interacting with the effects of glyphosate on both
plants and animals, exacerbating disease and causing reproductive failure in
livestock (see below). Although great expectations have been placed on Huber to
publish his findings, he insists that before this can be done, further
resources are necessary to be able to characterise the ‘entity’ and identify
what type of species it is, including sequencing of its genome. This is a slow
process and once complete, it is his intention to publish the work in a
peer-reviewed journal.
Understanding
glyphosate’s mode of action
Recognising glyphosate’s mechanism of action is the key to understanding
how it may exert detrimental effects on the health of crops, animals, and the
environment alike. Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that interacts with
a range of physiological processes in the plant and its environment. Although it is most commonly recognised to work through
inhibition of the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase
(EPSPS) involved in the production of aromatic amino acids in the shikimate
pathway, it was actually first patented as a strong metal-chelator that binds
to metals including manganese, magnesium, iron, nickel, zinc and calcium, many
of which are important micronutrients acting as co-factors for plant enzymes in
different physiological processes including the plants’ defence system. Indeed,
it is actually through chelation of manganese that the EPSPS enzyme is
inhibited.
Rendering plants more
susceptible to disease through glyphosate’s
pathogenic activity is actually the way it exerts its herbicidal activity. This
is done not just through immobilising nutrients in the plant but also impacting
the agricultural system as a whole. Consistently, if glyphosate does not reach
the root of a plant or the plant is grown in a sterile soil, the plant is not
killed.
Once in the soil,
glyphosate is later immobilised through the chelation of cations, and is
therefore very stable and not easily degraded. However, phosphorus (including
phosphorus fertilisers) can desorb the herbicide, making it active once again
in the soil.
Glyphosate
interferes negatively with many components of agriculture
Huber stressed that agriculture is
an integrated system of many interacting components, which together determine crop
health and therefore yield. This concept is undervalued, and the sooner this is recognised, the sooner we will be able to
reap the full genetic potential of our crops.
The three main
components of an agricultural system are 1) the biotic environment including
beneficial organisms for example, nitrogen-fixing microbes and mineralizers; 2)
the abiotic environment including nutrients, moisture, pH; and 3), defence
against pathogens that damage crops. The genetic potential of a plant can be
achieved by minimising the stress placed on these components through improving plant
nutrition and physiology and prevention of diseases and pests.
We have been repeatedly
told that to meet the world’s needs for food
production we must resort to GM crops and chemical agriculture. However,
glyphosate detrimentally interacts with all the agricultural components, so
much so that an estimated 50 percent of the potential crop yields are currently
being lost (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 Interactions of glyphosate with plant and soil biology;
adapted from Huber’s presentation
As shown in figure 1,
glyphosate interacts with a wide range of health determinants, which
intensifies stress and reduces crop yields. Not only does it accumulate in the
plant tissues (shoot and root tips, reproductive structures and legume
nodules), it accumulates in the roots where it then leaks into the soil and
harms beneficial microorganisms in the soil including those that act as biological
controls of pathogens. The obvious consequence is the
increased virulence of soil-borne pathogens that lead to disease.
Glyphosate immobilises
nutrients critical for plant defence system and other functions
One of Huber’s important
discoveries was the close correlation of all the known conditions affecting the
disease ‘take-all’ with the availability of manganese to the plant and its
physiological effect on resistance to this pathogen.
Micronutrients are the
activators or inhibitors of many critical physiological functions. Thus, a
deficiency or change in availability of these regulatory elements can greatly
affect plant growth and resistance to diseases and pests. Those metabolic
pathways producing secondary anti-microbial compounds, pathogen-inhibiting amino acids and peptides, hormones
involved in cicatrisation (walling off pathogens), callusing, and disease
escape mechanisms can all be compromised by glyphosate.
Micronutrients
are also necessary for other processes in a plant. Manganese for example is not
only involved in co-activating the EPSPS enzyme, with up to 25 other enzymes
known to be affected by manganese chelation. Such enzymes are necessary for
photosynthesis, in assimilating carbon dioxide in the electron transport chain,
along with zinc. It also helps in the synthesis of chlorophyll and in nitrate
assimilation. Numerous enzymes requiring other mineral co-factors are also
affected, among them enzymes of the shikimate pathway, to which EPSPS belongs,
are responsible for plant responses to stress and the synthesis of defence
molecules against pathogens, such as amino acids, lignins, hormones,
phytoalexins, flavenoids and phenols.
Consistent
with what is known about the role of micronutrients and glyphosate, the levels
of key minerals have been measured in transgenic RR soybeans and found to be lower
than those in isogenic non-transgenic varieties. Manganese was reduced by as
much as 45 %, while iron was reduced by 49 % [5]. Similar deficiencies in
mineral content have been found in non-GM varieties, suggesting that the
glyphosate, and not the RR transgene, is responsible for reducing mineral
availability [6]. Glyphosate reduces photosynthesis, water uptake, amino acid
production as well as lignin, a molecule conferring mechanical strength of the
plant and crucial for conducting water through plant stems [7, 8].
As Huber
stated, the consequences of these nutrient deficiencies is that “crops don‘t
look as good, are not as productive or rigorous, and are slower growing“ (see Figure
2). He noted yield drags of 26 % for RR soybeans. Furthermore, with current
concerns for global warming, plants that are up to 50 % less water-efficient,
such as RR crops, are counter-productive and can only exacerbate problems.
Huber stressed that
there is nothing in the glyphosate tolerant crops that operates on the
glyphosate applied to them. Consequently, although they have enough resistance to
prevent them from dying (conferred by the EPSPS transgene), their overall
physiological function is compromised by glyphosate. It therefore affects GM
as well as non-GM crops through residual levels of glyphosate in the ground.
In addition to
chelating nutrients in the plants, glyphosate can lower mineral content through
damaging beneficial soil organisms, including microbes
producing indole-acetic acid (a growth-promoting auxin), earthworms, mycorrhizae associations,
phosphorus & zinc uptake, microbes such as Pseudomonads, Bacillus
that convert insoluble soil oxides to plant-available forms of manganese and
iron, nitrogen-fixing bacteria Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium, and organisms
involved in the biological control of soil-borne diseases that reduce root
uptake of nutrients.
Figure 2 Effects of long-term glyphosate on crop health; adapted
from Huber’s presentation
Glyphosate increases
incidence and virulence of soil-borne pathogens
Thirty-four diseases have been reported
in the scientific literature to increase in incidence as a result of glyphosate
weed-eradication programmes. They affect a
wide variety of crops from cereals to bananas, tomatoes, soybean, cotton,
canola, melon and grapes [9]. Some of these diseases are considered ‘emerging’ or
‘re-emerging’ as they had not caused serious economic losses in the past. This
has worrying implications for the agricultural sector with the US now in its fourth year of epidemics of Goss’ wilt and sudden death syndrome and
eighteenth year of epidemic of Fusarium fungal colonisation resulting in
root rot and Fusarium wilt. Not only does glyphosate affect disease
susceptibility, there is also evidence of increased disease severity. Examples
include ‘take-all’; Corynespora root rot in soybean; Fusarium spp
diseases, including those caused by Fusarium species that are ordinarily
non-pathogenic. Head-scab caused by Fusarium spp of cereals increases
following glyphosate application, which is also now
prevalent in cooler climates when previously it was limited to warmer climates.
Food and
Feed Safety Concerns
Nutrient-deficient, transgenic plants suffering
from disease that also harbour herbicide residues, presents an array of
possible safety hazards to animals and humans. According
to Huber, possible harm include direct toxicity of glyphosate itself, which has
been shown to cause
endocrine disruption, DNA damage, reproductive and developmental toxicities,
neurotoxicity, cancer, and birth defects (see [10]Glyphosate
Toxic and Roundup Worse,SiS26; [11]Death by Multiple Poisoning, Glyphosate and Roundup,SiS42; [12]Ban Glyphosate HerbicideNow.SiS43; [13]Lab Study Establishes Glyphosate Link
to Birth Defects,SiS48). Furthermore, allergies are on the
rise, and animals are showing allergy responses, including inflamed irritated stomachs (Figure 3), discoloration of stomach lining,
leakage of intestines as well as behavioural symptoms of irritability and
anti-social behaviour in cows (abnormal for herd animals). Inflammatory bowel
disease in humans has risen 40 percent since 1992, which may be related to
consumption of GM foods, although this has not yet been proven.
Figure 3 Stomach shows allergic response of
discolouration and inflammation in GMO fed pig (right) compared with control
(left)
The
increase in infestation of crops with fungal pathogens that produce toxins is
an added concern. Mycotoxins, including fusarium toxins as well as
aflatoxins released by Aspergillus fungi are carcinogenic and have
forced imports of wheat into the US due to unsafe levels found in domestic
harvests.
Triple whammy of
reproductive toxicity caused by glyphosate
In 2002, the
Cattlemen’s Association gave a
statement to US Congress on the serious and puzzling rises in reproductive
problems. It said: “high numbers of foetuses are aborting for no apparent
reason. Other farmers successfully raise what look to be normal young cattle, only to learn when the
animals are butchered that their carcasses appear old and, therefore, less
valuable...The sporadic problem is so bad both in the United States and abroad
that in some herds around 40-50 percent of pregnancies are being lost.. [and] the viability of this important
industry is threatened.”
Glyphosate appears to
be able to induce reproductive failures through three separate mechanisms. The first, mentioned above is the endocrine dysfunction
caused by direct toxicity of glyphosate.
The second
is the reduced nutrient content having consequential effects on the nutritional
status of animals. Manganese in animals, as in plants, is an essential
nutrient, and deficiencies have been associated with a variety of diseases as
well as reproductive failures, which are becoming increasingly common in livestock.
One study performed in Australia following two seasons of high levels of
stillbirths in cattle found that all dead calves were manganese deficient [14].
Furthermore, 63 percent of babies with birth defects were also deficient. Manganese
is known to be important for mobilising calcium into bones, correlating with
abnormal bone formation in these calves.
Third, the
unknown pathogenic ‘entity’ may be associated with inducing pseudo-pregnancies.
As far back as 1998, a suspect agent was found in reproductive tissue of
livestock. It has now been isolated in high concentrations from semen, amniotic
fluid as well as placental tissue. It has also been found in aborted foetal
tissue. Some farms are reporting up to 50 percent fewer conceptions in animals
due to increased miscarriages and
pseudo-pregnancies. Although evidence of the widespread presence of this new
pathogen is clear, Don Huber suggested the need for further research to
understand not only what kind of pathogen it is, but importantly, the effects
it is having on the health of plants as well as animals.
To conclude
Over 100 peer reviewed papers have
been published by Huber and other scientists on the
detrimental effects of glyphosate. Glyphosate increases disease in plants (as
well as animals), prompting Huber to write to the Secretary of Agriculture. It may
be linked to many health problems in animals and humans, which are an added
cost to all the failed promises of a new agricultural technology that would feed
the world. As Huber concluded, the “public trust has been betrayed.” A fully illustrated and referenced version of this report is posted on ISIS members website and is otherwise available for download here. |