Glyphosate is an herbicide developed by Monsanto and first patented in 1961 as a chelating agent to strip mineral deposits off pipes and boilers in hot water systems. Reportedly, someone threw glyphosate on the ground, and it killed every plant it touched. Monsanto patented it in 1968 as an herbicide for use in agriculture. It is by far the most popular herbicide in the world, with an estimated 150,000 tons sprayed on American crops every year. This is part 1 of 3 where I will discuss the early use of glyphosate, the connection of glyphosate to GMOs, and the impact on our soil and the environment.
Monsanto began selling Roundup, with glyphosate as the major ingredient, to farmers in 1974 to kill off invasive weeds that reduced crop yields. Initially, it was applied manually by spraying the fields early in the growing season, unknowingly exposing the workers to glyphosate. Early on, Monsanto scientists claimed glyphosate was safe and posed no health risk to humans. If glyphosate kills virtually all plants it comes in contact with, how can something be so toxic to plants yet safe to humans? Roundup was marketed as less toxic than other common herbicides, and safer for humans, animals and the environment.
Do you trust a company that has brought to market agent orange, PCBs, DDT, dioxin, Roundup and GMOs? Monsanto claims glyphosate
disappears quickly from the environment after it is applied and that it is largely metabolized by soil bacteria within a couple of weeks. Scientific research says this is not true. According to Stephanie Seneff, PhD and MIT scientist, author of Toxic Legacy, in one study, after 748 days, 59% of the glyphosate was still in the soil.
In the 1990’s, Monsanto launched their genetically modified Roundup Ready soybeans by splicing microbial genes into the seed of a soybean to make them resistant to Roundup. This is the origination of the term GMO, or genetically modified organisms. Roundup Ready crops were heralded as a major advance in agriculture and biotechnology, with a promise to end world hunger and feed the world. Farmers could spray their maturing crops from the air and only the weeds, not the Roundup Ready crops, would die. We now have genetically modified soy, corn, cottonseed, canola, sugar beets, and alfalfa crops. Roundup is also sprayed on crops as a dessicant, adding more exposure to the toxic substance.
Part two next month will show how glyphosate is wreaking havoc on the planet and on our health. The devastating effects of glyphosate will be discussed, with supporting data. Stay
tuned!
Please email any questions to rick@georgetownmarket.com
