Blog 5- Glyphosate

Glyphosate

Everyday many people are exposed to Glyphosate without even knowing it.  According to glyphosate.eu, Glyphosate was first patented in 1964 as the main ingredient of the herbicide Roundup.With Glyphosate growing at annual rate of 7.2%, it is expected to be work 9 billion by 2019. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Roundup and if it can be harmful for humans, animals, and the environment.

A picture of the different types of Roundup products.

According to EPA (Environmental Protection Agency),  Glyphosate is used to control weeds in many places including gardens, houses, roadsides, and lawns. Round up can be sold in solid or liquid form. It is applied by uses tools to spray and spread the product on the certain area.

According the PAN (Pesticide Action Network), statistics put out by the EPA, conclude that Roundup usage has nearly double from 2000 to 2007. In 2000, at least 90 million pounds was used. It has doubled since with at least 180 million pounds being used.

A picture of someone spraying Roundup in a field. 

Monsanto, the company that makes Roundup, has been under scrutiny in the past couple years about the affects of Glyphosate on the body. There have been articles published going against the usage and claiming many health problems. Monsanto, has fired back on their website with a whole section claiming that it has been tested multiple times with no direct link to these health problems. 

Endocrine disruptor's are chemicals that disrupt the body's endocrine system which is neurological, immune, and reproductive. Many claim that it is an endocrine disruptor's that can lead to weight gain, birth defects, cancer, and other problems.

There have been lawsuits and speculation against Monsantos. Many people have gotten cancer after working around this product for a good amount of time. There is speculation that the EPA and  government has covered Glyphosates tested results to save the billion dollar powerhouse company that is Monsanto.  Monsanto claims that they have tested but it is argued that the tests have not been long enough to see the actual effects. 

On the environmental side, a species of butterfly known as the Monarch Butterfly lives off milkweeds. Milkweeds are killed by Roundup. It is examples like this that prove that these chemicals can cause a species of something to dissipate. 

A picture of a poster made against the usage of Roundup. These facts are not proven at this time. 

Roundup Ready Crops
According to this blog, roundup ready crops are crops genetically modified to resist Roundup. This includes corn and soybean plants. There is a concern that so much Roundup used on plants will eventually lead to the weed becoming used to the product. Monsanto has come up with seeds that are genetically modified to resist Roundup.

It would cost millions of dollars to find another chemical instead of Glyphosate. Even if this chemical was found, it would likely not be as strong, reliable, and powerful as Glyphosate. It is hard to know for sure if Glyphosate is good for humans. There is very unreliable and contradicting research about this. I wish the government would tell us the truth and give us a clear cut answer.