Why is Glyphosate a Problem?

Glyphosate is synthetic (man-made), systemic, chemical herbicide that is used extensively throughout the world.  It is controversial.  Arguments made in favor of Glyphosate say that it is harmless, opponents insist it is deadly.  Most consumers know it as RoundUp but there are many other brand names.  Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in the world.

Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide.  That means that it kills all plants equally.  Glyphosate works because it inhibits an enzyme which therefore blocks a pathway, which prevents the synthesis of amino acids that plants need for protein production.  In other words, a domino effect throughout a plant that ensures it cannot survive.

Glyphosate is synthetic meaning it does not exist in Nature.  Scientists researched deeply into how plants grow and figured out a product causing a process that would stop that growth.  But the product did not exist, so they created it.  On one hand, that is amazing that scientists could create something with so much power!  But on the other hand, it is not natural and there is no way to understand the long-term effects of a man-made poison.  Is this Pandora’s Box?

It has become MUCH scarier!  Read on…

Corn is a very valuable crop.  It is processed for livestock to eat; massive amounts of corn produce the high fructose corn syrup ever-present in the processed American food supply; corn oil is used extensively in human food production; and corn produces ethanol where it can substitute for petroleum oil.  If you have farmland, corn sounds like a great cash crop!

Farmers grow corn and fight weeds that compete with the corn for water and nutrients.  It isn’t realistic to hand-pull, so herbicides are sprayed that will kill the weeds but not harm the corn.  It is a never-ending battle of weeds and addressing those weeds that may cost more to implement than the profit the cornfields will bring.

Dilemma.  So, the scientists went back to the laboratories.  They went into the DNA of corn, removed a chromosome, and replaced it with a chromosome of Glyphosate.  This is called a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) because the original DNA has been modified.  Now a farmer can spray his corn crop with Glyphosate to kill the weeds, but it has no effect on the corn since Glyphosate is now in the corn DNA.  Glyphosate is systemic, meaning it is absorbed and infiltrates into the entire corn plant, including the parts that feed America.

Just about ALL corn grown in the United States is GMO corn which means that every time you eat corn on the cob, corn chips, corn cereal, ingest anything with corn, high fructose corn syrup, or feed you pets, you are ALL INGESTING Glyphosate.  Glyphosate has been banned in many countries yet encouraged in the United States.  Since we are all familiar with exports and tariffs currently, the irony is that many countries refuse US corn even at a fraction of the costs as before because they are not comfortable with this long-term monster.

Glyphosate has been linked scientifically to a host of health issues, and the manufacturer of RoundUp has been ordered to pay millions of dollars to victims who became ill after exposure to Glyphosate.  Several cancers including Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, plus evidence of reproductive harm, gastrointestinal issues, behavioral issues, agitation, tremors, breathing issues, etc. - the list goes on of the many health issues attributed to Glyphosate.

Glyphosate is banned or restricted in more than 40 countries including Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and many more.  The manufacturers of RoundUp have more than 190,000 active litigation cases against them and have already been forced to pay out more than $11 billion in damages.  If it were safe, why the pushback?

Why is Glyphosate a problem? Because it harms people and the environment. 

Use natural products instead. Which is exactly why we started Greenbug.  No synthetic chemicals, please!