Dr. Stephanie Seneff and Anthony Samsel have released a paper in Entropy suggesting that glyphosate’s toxicity to mammals may be understated–or misunderstood. Glyphosate is a main chemical component of RoundUp weedkiller and is used quite heavily in commercial agriculture, particularly on the GMO crops that have been specifically designed by Monsanto to withstand RoundUp. These glyphosate-laden GMO crops include RoundUp-Ready soybeans, canola, sugar beets, and corn.
According to the article, glyphosate inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes which help a body detoxify xenobiotics. In layman’s terms, this means it interferes with your body’s ability to metabolize and/or neutralize chemicals foreign to it such as drugs, pollutants, and other compounds that aren’t normally part of your biology. Ultimately, a foreign substance that the bacteria in your gut would otherwise be able to process and eliminate normally becomes more damaging, especially when looked at over a long period of time.
In the paper, they write:
Our systematic search of the literature has led us to the realization that many of the health problems that appear to be associated with a Western diet could be explained by biological disruptions that have already been attributed to glyphosate. These include digestive issues, obesity, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, Parkinson’s disease, liver diseases, and cancer, among others. While many other environmental toxins obviously also contribute to these diseases and conditions, we believe that glyphosate may be the most significant environmental toxin, mainly because it is pervasive and it is often handled carelessly due to its perceived nontoxicity.
While the full text of the article might be a little daunting to the average reader, there’s a nice interview of Dr. Stephanie Seneff by Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating.
Glyphosate persists in soil long after the treatment stops, and so even plants and produce that are not GMO will absorb the product for months after the last treatment of Round-Up. Unfortunately the only way to be sure of avoiding it is to grow your own produce in soil you’re sure of, stick to single-ingredient organic foods, or find products labeled Non GMO Project Verified.