If you have heard it from us once, you have heard it a thousand times. But it bears repeating because the EPA has still not done its job and banned glyphosate.

The science to support that ban keeps on coming.

In the past few months, more and more data is accumulating, showing that glyphosate herbicides, otherwise known as Roundup or Ranger Pro and 700+ other brands, must be removed from the shelves, banned from aerial spraying, and restricted from agriculture use immediately. Here are five more reasons why.

A new study released April 6, 2021, in the Journal of Applied Ecology reveals that Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world, and the focus of recent lawsuits regarding non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, is not just a weedkiller but a bee killer as well.

This study is monumental because the decline of bee populations has been drastically declining since Roundup was introduced to agriculture, landscaping, and backyard gardening in the late 1970s. In the US, the number of honey-bee colonies dropped from 6 million in 1947 to just 2.5 million in 2014. In 2015, Monsanto made nearly $4.76 billion in sales and $1.9 billion in gross profits from herbicide products, mostly Roundup.

The EPA has admitted that glyphosate herbicides (also known as Roundup or Ranger Pro by Monsanto/Bayer) harm 93% of endangered species. This is an excellent reason for the EPA to deny the license of glyphosate. However, they claim that only landscaping use (20 million pounds of glyphosate a year) is the only method of use that is causing harm, NOT agriculture use ( 280 million pounds). This is outrageous! We have a huge problem with this- do you?

Did you know that how our democracy is designed such that when you, the citizen, have a grievance with a government policy, it is your elected official’s job to address it with the government? They work for you. You elect them to be your megaphone to the lawmakers, your liaison to the federal regulatory agencies.

Do you have a grievance with the most widely used herbicide in the world, glyphosate herbicides such as Roundup, being sprayed on our food?

Do you have a grievance with this known carcinogen, endocrine disruptor, and neurotoxin that causes liver disease and multiple generations of reproductive harm being found in our breastmilk, baby food, tap water, wine, beer, orange juice, and thousands of foods?

Do you have a grievance with this herbicide damaging gut bacteria, weakening our immune systems, leaving us more vulnerable to severe COVID symptoms and prolonged shutdowns?

Have you seen the increased number of reports about the important role of Vitamin D in avoiding severe COVID symptoms?

Do you wonder why some people die from COVID and others have almost no symptoms or very mild symptoms?

We wanted to know too...

We already know that glyphosate, one of our major focuses for the past 8 years, is a chelator and can grab onto and make unavailable the vital nutrients of any living thing it touches. We suspected glyphosate, made by Bayer, is a major factor in why we humans are widely Vitamin D deficient in the first place. So we asked a glyphosate expert about the role of this most widely used herbicide in the world. Glyphosate has been found on thousands of food samples, breast milk, urine, rain, and drinking water. Could glyphosate be playing a role in the deficiency of Vitamin D and therefore contributing to death around the world from COVID?

In a "Unsafe on Any Plate" Report, Food Democracy Now and The Detox Project tested 28 cereal and snack products and found moderate to high levels of glyphosate in many samples. Detectability was 5 ppb. Levels of 1 ppb have been shown to cause liver damage in animal studies. Levels as high as 1,125.3 ppb was found in Cheerios. Cheerios is made of wheat, as many snacks and cereals are, and wheat has been commonly sprayed with glyphosate as a drying agent. Since Moms Across Americas initiation of glyphosate testing, and other tests results like the following, country's such as Canada, France, Belgium, Germany and 30 others have banned or restricted the use of glyphosate use in agriculture or landscaping.

The "Unsafe on Any Plate" Report states:

A 2014 study found that high levels of glyphosate exposure in animals and humans were correlated with an increase in chronic illness. The authors discovered that: “Glyphosate residues in urine were grouped according to the human health status. Chronically ill humans had significantly higher glyphosate residues in urine than healthy humans.”

Most concerning is that the USA allows much higher amounts than Europe...showing a clear discrepancy in the safety standards of our regulatory agencies.

Full report found here.

To the Honorable Court Judge William Shubb:

We are writing to express our objection to your recent ruling to prevent cancer warnings on Roundup and glyphosate weed killer. We find your ruling to be unfounded based on available science, dangerous, and shameful to the justice system. Justice was not served and we, as mothers, are outraged that the safety of our families will continue to be compromised. We have children, fathers, mothers and friends who suffer daily from using glyphosate-based herbicides. We have lost loved ones that will never see their grandchildren graduate from high school, will never see them marry, because of the lack of warning that glyphosate herbicides can cause cancer. 

New Study Shows Maternal Exposure to Glyphosate Causes Autism Symptoms in Young

By Zen Honeycutt, Moms Across America

The evidence continues to stack up against Roundup weedkiller. 

This time a new study from UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan, found that maternal exposure to high levels of glyphosate herbicide produced by Bayer/Monsanto, caused autism symptoms in young male rats.

The effects of glyphosate herbicide clearly impacted the gut microbiota, and showed that enzyme activity, after glyphosate exposure, was higher in certain parts of the organs. “Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) in the brain of offspring after maternal glyphosate herbicide exposure was higher than controls.” Prevention was shown to be possible, however. Treating orally with an sEH inhibitor for the production of those enzymes from pregnancy to weaning prevented the onset of the autism-like behaviors after maternal exposure, showing a significant finding of causation and prevention.

Previous animal studies have also shown a disturbance of the gut bacteria with glyphosate herbicide exposure. The disturbance of the gut microbiota is significant and has been repeatedly connected with behavioral and learning disabilities in animals and humans. 

The findings in this study and in previous medical literature mirror current social and health conditions among many American households.

In the United States, one out of six children has a learning disability, and one out of five children is living with a mental illness. It is predicted that by 2025, half of all children will be diagnosed with autism if we continue at the current rate. 

These alarming trends correlate with the increased use of glyphosate in agriculture. Over 70 percent of the glyphosate that has ever been used (3.5 billion pounds) has been used in the past ten years. A large portion of that use was as a drying agent on wheat, peas, beans, and grains used in animal feed. Glyphosate does not wash, dry, or cook-off and has been found in thousands of foods, animal feed, and beverage samples, air and water.

While the new study includes significantly higher levels of exposure than normal dietary,  environmental, or occupational exposure, the results indicate that increased glyphosate herbicide exposure is cause for concern. 

In today’s society where a mother can be exposed to over 2400 ppb of glyphosate herbicide residue in a day’s consumption of food, and glyphosate can also be found in breastmilk, water, soil, and vaccines, it’s hard to determine how exactly how much of the chemical is being absorbed by the body.

In fact, food testing has shown 1000 ppb of glyphosate in wheat, garbanzo beans and other foods made of grain. Glyphosate levels in eggs have exceeded FDA levels of 1.67 ppb. Glyphosate has also been found in peas, beans, bagels, cereal, oatmeal, wine, beer, and sanitary products.

Vaccines are also a likely source of glyphosate exposure with residue findings between 2.67-3.4 ppb in one MMR vaccine. It is believed that glyphosate is contaminating vaccines through gelatin (an ingredient in vaccines), which is made from the tendons of pigs that have consumed glyphosate sprayed grains. In fact, direct injection of a “low” level of glyphosate into the bloodstream could have the same effect as a “high” level of glyphosate exposure through occupational or environmental exposure -- there simply aren’t enough safety studies to determine one way or the other, therefore, precautionary measures are crucial. 

Glyphosate has also been shown to break down the blood brain barrier, allowing toxins, like aluminum, into the brain. Aluminum, an ingredient in many vaccines, has been found at higher levels in the brains of children with autism and Alzheimer patients.

While flu shots are increasingly promoted to pregnant women, it is abundantly clear, even admitted by the FDA, that the that safety and efficacy studies of vaccines in pregnant women are lacking. In researching this topic, my colleagues and I at Moms Across America requested through the Freedom of Information Act, any studies showing the safety of administering a flu vaccine to pregnant women. The FDA responded that there are no studies available.

Considering today’s pandemic, one must wonder —  will there be testing on the new COVID-19 vaccine to ensure it is not contaminated with glyphosate? Will it be promoted to pregnant women without safety testing?  

Depending on manufacturers to ensure safety is not enough. Bayer/Monsanto claimed that glyphosate passes harmlessly through the body but previous studies have found glyphosate residue detected in the tissue, bone marrow and tendons of animals that consumed glyphosate sprayed grain feed. This new study adds to the growing skepticism of the harmlessness of this prevalent herbicide and calls for immediate government action to ban the use of the dangerous chemical and/or manufacturers, farmers gardeners and landscapers to discontinue its use. 

Until then, avoiding vaccination before or while pregnant, eating organic and gardening organically will support lower levels of exposure. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kombucha and apple cider vinegar have shown to contain a bacterium called acetobacter, which has, in soil, shown to break apart glyphosate into non-toxic components. Consumption of these items on a daily basis could help.

Ultimately, one thing is clear, the sale, use, and contamination by glyphosate herbicides should no longer be tolerated. It is unacceptable for the United States to allow the continued use of a chemical herbicide that is a major contributing factor of the rise of autism - projected to be one out of two children in 15 years. The future of our country is at stake and glyphosate is something we can no longer afford to ignore.

To ask Bayer to retire Roundup and glyphosate herbicides immediately, click here.

Or use the blue widget below to have your voice be heard!

Also, listen to UNSTOPPABLE, episode 52 which addresses this issue. 

The EPA's finding that glyphosate exposure does not cause any health risks is a blatant act of reckless endangerment to public health. Americans should be outraged, not just because our EPA is not protecting us, but because our government is allowing the collapse of democracy by pandering to corporate greed. 

Summary

• The EPA assessed risks to humans from exposure to glyphosate from all registered uses and all routes of exposure and did not identify any risks of concern, including cancer. 
• The EPA did not review any cumulative health impacts of glyphosate.
• The EPA did reduce the list of crop types with allowable levels of glyphosate residues from 160 to 15, however the crops removed likely did not utilize glyphosate, and the list is not complete.
• The EPA still has not responded to the EWG et al petition about discontinuing the use of glyphosate on oats and wheat as a desiccant or made a determination on residue levels.
• The EPA will do further assessments on the impact of glyphosate on bees and endangered species due to the Center for Biological Diversity mitigation.
• The EPA is limiting the amount of glyphosate used per acre, by category of use, in order to prevent further weed resistance.
• The EPA is requiring additional labeling for aquatic use which warns of fish kill from the lack of oxygen from dead water vegetation (note: not from glyphosate).
• A final decision will be made after a decision about the desiccation of wheat and oats, endangered species review, and an assessment of endocrine disruption. Decisions could be in 2020 for some and August 2021 for others.

Moms Across America has long encouraged courage, creativity, and striving to make a contribution to your communities by taking action to raise awareness about GMOS, glyphosate, and toxins that harm our families.

A creative group of people called RoundupWine Team did just that... and made this very clever and artistic parody song about Roundup Wine!
Share it far and wide!

Keep it organic,
Roundupwine.com

Not-so-fun-fact. Having one glass of wine a day can increase the risk of cancer up to 44%. Maybe it's the glyphosate?
What if wine was NOT contaminated with glyphosate?

Click here for the first glyphosate test results in wine.

And the second here.

And the third here.

By Neil Young and Daryl Hannah

Updated: Oct. 14, 2018 11:12 a.m.

As originally posted in the San Francisco Chronicle