Agricolture and poisons: glyphosate is one of the most common herbicides in agriculture, and at the same time one of the most dangerous substances, comparable to asbestos. let’s find out what the effects are on health and the environment.
Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, that is, it is toxic to all plants, indiscriminately, unscrupulously, because it penetrates from the leaves into the plant and reaches every part of it. It was patented in 1970under the name of Roundup,its action derives from the fact that it is a strong chelating, that is, it tends to seize micronutrients making them unavailable for the plant. poi
Its use increased in the 1990s when roundup ready crops and glyphosate-free crops were introduced to the market. They are crops that can be sprayed with the pesticide without suffering from it. There are therefore immune varieties of: maze, soya, rapeseed, sugar beet.. sugar. poi
Agricolture and poisons: glyphosate
It is also used in non-GMO crops such as wheat, which are treated with glyphosate before harvest to speed up and facilitate drying. The patent on glyphosate expired in 2001, since then its production has increased exponentially and the price has become more and more accessible, this has led to its increasingly massive and uncontrolled use, both in agriculture and in public and private gardening. Of course, it is Agripharma’s large multinational companies that manage the Glyphosate business and their annual revenues are billionaires. poi poi
In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified it as a “probably carcinogenic” substance. Many independent scientists around the world are calling for more accurate monitoring to detect glyphosate residues in water, food and the human body and for measures to be taken to protect people from exposure to herbicide, as the doubt is that the effects of the poison are not limited to treated weeds alone, but that they inevitably extend to animal species, involving the entire food chain including humans. poi
Agricolture and poisons: glyphosate. poi
Several studies have shown that glyphosate is widespread in air, water and a wide range of food products, it has also been found in human bodily fluids such as breast milk and urine. The search for residues of glyphosate and its metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid, by the control bodies is done and their presence confirmed, unfortunately, are not carried out sufficient controls and the sale and use of the product is in some ways out of control. poi
In many countries its use has been radically banned, while in others it can be freely marketed and used. poi
For example, in Italy there are examples of green maintenance companies or public bodies that have banned their use for the precautionary principle towards the health of employees and citizens. po
In the United States, where industrial interest in this product is very high, the federal government has opposed analyzing foods to test for the specific presence of glyphosate, despite the fact that there is already a check of thousands of food samples to research hundreds of other less commonly used pesticides. poi
The reason?
They say it is a waste of time and money to check for residues of a pesticide that the agrochemical industry declares to be “safe”, despite the fact that there are several scientific studies that combine glyphosate with the development of different types of carcinomas. poi
The control bodies, driven by a growing demand for more controls, have allowed the increase in experimentation, but unfortunately at the same time they have raised the “alarm” thresholds under the request of the companies that manage its marketing. poi
The same fate concerns the request to highlight the presence of GMOs in food (which, playfully, tends to indicate almost automatically the use of glyphosate on the raw materials in question) that several governments are adopting but which, of course, is not favorable to the seed multinationals (which then also manage the glyphosate business). poi
It must be strongly asserted that political games and commercial interests should never outdo public health issues. Tests on glyphosate residues should be strongly promoted and desired by the competent authorities, which absolutely must take into account consumers’ concerns about this controversial herbicide. poi
Agricolture and poisons: Gryphosate
