Future historians may well look back upon our time and write, not about how many pounds of pesticide we did or didn’t apply, but by how willing we are to sacrifice our children and future generations for this massive genetic engineering experiment that is based on flawed science and failed promises just to benefit that bottom line of a commercial enterprise.

Glyphosate-based herbicides are used to control a wide variety of weeds that grow among food crops, residential lawns, gardens, public parks, roadsides, conservation lands, wildlife areas, rangelands, forests, waterways, and more.

These herbicides come under a long list of names, including Roundup, Roundup Ultra, Roundup Pro, AquaMaster, Aqua Neat, Polado, Accord, Rodeo, Touchdown, Backdraft, Expedite, EZ-Ject, Glyfos, Laredo, Buccaneer Plus, and Wrangler, among others. These products contain a variety of chemicals. But in all of them, glyphosate is the primary ingredient making up 36 – 48% of the product.

Glyphosate was first patented by the Stauffer Chemical Company in 1961 as a chelating agent to strip mineral deposits off pipes and boilers in commercial hot-water systems. Then in 1968, Monsanto patented glyphosate for a totally different application, as an herbicide for use in agriculture.

It was then patented a third time (again, by Monsanto) in the early 2000s, this time as an oral antibiotic. All of these applications, as a chelator, an herbicide, and an antibiotic, play a role in the chemical’s unique and diabolical impact on human health.

Monsanto began selling a glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, in the mid-1970s. Roundup was marketed as being considerably less toxic than other common herbicides, such as dicamba and 2,4-D, less persistent in the soil, and safer for humans, animals, and the environment. By reducing the need for tillage, it was described as “the perfect environmental solution at the perfect time. . . one of, if not the safest, herbicides in history.”

As a nonselective herbicide, it would kill almost any plant it came in contact with. Farmers had to be cautious in its application. In the 1980s, Monsanto began investing in a brilliant new biotechnology research and development program. The company’s genetic engineers spliced microbial genes into common crops to make them resistant to Roundup. We generally use the term genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to describe these kinds of crops. These “Roundup-Ready” GMO crops transformed the herbicide from a home run to a grand slam. Buy the time glyphosate-resistant crops came on the market in 1996, they were heralded as a major advance in agriculture and biotechnology—a promise to end hunger and feed the world. And instead of biotechnology—a promise to end hunger and feed the world. And instead of using glyphosate carefully and selectively, farmers could now douse entire fields with it and only the weeds, not the Roundup Ready crops, would die.

Sales of Roundup Ready seed, beginning with soybeans and corn, and followed by canola, sugar beets, cotton, and alfalfa, skyrocketed. So did sales of Roundup. By 2014, glyphosate use in the United States had risen to 125 million kilograms (about 138,000 tons), up 15-fold from the 1970s. Today, nearly 150,000 tons of glyphosate are sprayed onto American crops every year. That’s the equivalent of one pound of glyphosate per year for every person in the United States.

There was only one big monkey wrench in the weed killing glory of glyphosate: Living beings want to survive. Organisms that can withstand poisons will flourish and multiply. While glyphosate would kill weeds indiscriminately, certain weeds were less sensitive—or became so over time. These “superweeds” begin to dominate an ecosystem, crowding out crops, requiring more and more glyphosate, or different herbicides entirely, to kill them off. The solution? Use more glyphosate! Since 1974, about 8.6 billion kilograms—some 19 billion pounds—of glyphosate have been applied worldwide.

To produce glyphosate resistance, a gene from a bacterium with a version of EPSP synthase insensitive to glyphosate is inserted into the crop’s genome. The amount of glyphosate used on GMO crops has increased dramatically over the past two decades. The highest levels of glyphosate have consistently been found in non-GMO foods derived from wheat, oats, and legumes. These crops are commonly sprayed with glyphosate as a desiccant right before harvest, causing the plant to drop its leaves and dry out so it’s easier to harvest.

Glyphosate causes the plant to go to seed as it’s dying, which synchronizes seed production and increases yield. Many other crops are desiccated with glyphosate, including barley and rye, and oily crops such as canola, safflower, sunflower, linseed and flax, that are used for vegetable oil production.

The astute shopper should be aware of the difference between the label “non-GMO” and “certified organic.” By law, glyphosate cannot be used on certified organic crops. Even if a food is certified organic, however it doesn’t necessarily mean the food is glyphosate-free. It’s nearly impossible to avoid glyphosate in the soil, in animal manure, ion rainwater, and in wind drift.

Glyphosate-based herbicides have become so pervasive that even food from farms nowhere near where glyphosate is sprayed can be contaminated. When the FDA tested 28 samples of honey in 2017, 100% contained glyphosate. Two years later, government scientists in Canada found the herbicide in 197 out of 200 honey samples they tested. Bees don’t understand property boundaries. They forage freely, picking up bits of herbicides and insecticides as they fly from flower to flower, bringing it back to their hives.

Glyphosate has been showing up in human urine since 1993, well before genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops were in widespread use. At least 70% of Americans test positive today. As high as that sounds, it’s likely an underestimate. Of the several dozen patients one doctor in southern Oregon tested for glyphosate—most of whom were self-described health nuts who eat organic food—100%, including the doctor himself, came back positive. People who eat a predominantly organic diet have significantly less glyphosate in their urine than people who consume mostly conventional foods, and people who are healthy have significantly lower levels of glyphosate in their urine than those who are chronically ill. Still, glyphosate is nearly impossible to avoid.

We are all being exposed to glyphosate—primarily from the food we eat, but also from the water we drink and bathe and swim in; the lawns we walk on; the parks children play at; and probably even the medicines and nutraceuticals we take. Glyphosate is also in the air—a particular risk to people who live in farming communities—and it has been shown to be a contributing factor in rising rates of lung damage, asthma, and allergies. When a chemical is so pervasive , so ubiquitous, so nearly impossible for even the most diligent person to avoid, it is especially incumbent on regulatory agencies and hearings, and put the health and safety of its populace first. But in the case of glyphosate, this hasn’t happened.

Recommended Reading

Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment Hardcover – July 1, 2021

by Stephanie Seneff