Robinson et al., 2012
CJ Robinson, M Antoniou, MEM Habib, CV Howard, RC Jennings, C Leifert, RO Nodari, and J Fagan, “Teratogenic Effects of Glyphosate-Based Herbicides: Divergence of Regulatory Decisions from Scientific Evidence,” Environmental and Analytical Toxicology, S:4, 2012, DOI: 10.4172/2161-0525.S4-006.
ABSTRACT:
The publication of a study in 2010, showing that a glyphosate herbicide formulation and glyphosate alone caused malformations in the embryos of Xenopus laevis and chickens through disruption of the retinoic acid signalling pathway, caused scientific and regulatory controversy. Debate centred on the effects of the production and consumption of genetically modified Roundup Ready® soy, which is engineered to tolerate applications of glyphosate herbicide. The study, along with others indicating teratogenic and reproductive effects from glyphosate herbicide exposure, was rebutted by the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, BVL, as well as in industry-sponsored papers. These rebuttals relied partly on unpublished industry-sponsored studies commissioned for regulatory purposes, which, it was claimed, showed that glyphosate is not a teratogen or reproductive toxin.
However, examination of the German authorities’ draft assessment report on the industry studies, which underlies glyphosate’s EU authorisation, revealed further evidence of glyphosate’s teratogenicity. Many of the malformations found were of the type defined in the scientific literature as associated with retinoic acid teratogenesis. Nevertheless, the German and EU authorities minimized these findings in their assessment and set a potentially unsafe acceptable daily intake (ADI) level for glyphosate. This paper reviews the evidence on the teratogenicity and reproductive toxicity of glyphosate herbicides and concludes that a new and transparent risk assessment needs to be conducted. The new risk assessment must take into account all the data on the toxicity of glyphosate and its commercial formulations, including data generated by independent scientists and published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, as well as the industry-sponsored studies. FULL TEXT
Mills et al., 2017
Paul J. Mills, PhD, Izabela Kania-Korwel, PhD, John Fagan, PhD, Linda K.McEvoy, PhD, Gail A. Laughlin, PhD, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, “Excretion of the Herbicide Glyphosate in Older Adults Between 1993 and 2016,” October 24, 2017, Journal of the American Medical Association, 318:16, DOI:10.1001/jama.2017.11726.
ABSTRACT:
The herbicide Roundup is sprayed onto genetically modified crops and applied as a desiccant to most small non–genetically modified grains. Use of this herbicide has increased since 1994 when genetically modified crops were introduced in the United States. Glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the herbicide, is found in these crops at harvest. Environmental exposure through dietary intake of these crops has potential adverse health effects and can be assessed by measuring urinary excretion. We measured excretion levels of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in participants fromthe Rancho Bernardo Study (RBS) of Healthy Aging. Mean glyphosate and AMPA levels and the proportion of samples with detectable levels increased over time. FULL TEXT
Bohn et al., 2014
T. Bøhn, , M. Cuhra, T. Traavik, M. Sanden, J. Fagan, R. Primicerio, “Compositional differences in soybeans on the market: Glyphosate accumulates in Roundup Ready GM soybeans,” Food Chemistry, 2014, 153, DOI: 10.1016/J.FOODCHEM.2013.12.054.
ABSTRACT:
This article describes the nutrient and elemental composition, including residues of herbicides and pesticides, of 31 soybean batches from Iowa, USA. The soy samples were grouped into three different categories: (i) genetically modified, glyphosate-tolerant soy (GM-soy); (ii) unmodified soy cultivated using a conventional ‘‘chemical’’ cultivation regime; and (iii) unmodified soy cultivated using an organic cultivation regime. Organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile with more sugars, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose, significantly more total protein, zinc and less fibre than both conventional and GM-soy. Organic soybeans also contained less total saturated fat and total omega-6 fatty acids than both conventional and GM-soy. GM-soy contained high residues of glyphosate and AMPA (mean 3.3 and 5.7 mg/kg, respectively). Conventional and organic soybean batches contained none of these agrochemicals. Using 35 different nutritional and elemental variables to characterise each soy sample, we were able to discriminate GM, conventional and organic soybeans without exception, demonstrating ‘‘substantial non-equivalence’’ in compositional characteristics for ‘ready-to-market’ soybeans. FULL TEXT