Health effects of environmental exposures have been a growing concern all over the world in the last decades. Of particular concern is exposure to known endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which are found in personal care products, additives or contaminants in food, household products, including chemical coatings. Because of the endocrine system’s critical role in maintaining cell integrity, and in the regulation of a number of other biological processes, impairments in any part of the endocrine system can lead to cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders.
Laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group – a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, exposed the shocking truth that American babies are born pre-polluted with highly persistent perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The PFAS group comprises thousands of man-made chemicals, which, thanks to their unique chemical and physical properties, are used in everything from frying pans and paper food packaging to clothes, cleaning agents and firefighting foams.
Studies have shown how highly fluorinated chemicals pass through the placenta throughout pregnancy and deposit to the embryo and fetal tissue. Further research is now needed to ascertain the effect that these substances have on different fetal organs.
Maternal PFAS Exposure May Affect the Development of Unborn Babies and Breastfeeding Infants
People can be exposed to PFAS from a variety of different sources over time, including from today’s consumer products. However, ongoing exposure to PFAS in drinking water can substantially increase total exposure in humans and can lead to concentrations in the body high enough to potentially increase health risks.
The accumulation of PFAS in maternal tissue (e.g. placenta, umbilical cord blood, and mammary glands) is related to the growing incidence of endocrine-associated pediatric disorders. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can alter a baby’s hormonal system by modifying or substituting natural hormones and interfering with cellular signaling. The weight of the evidence shows that prolonged exposure to certain contaminants can affect a baby’s well-being over time by causing subtle, but important changes in early development that can manifest later in childhood and adulthood, such as learning and cognitive disabilities, behavioral problems, and nervous system imbalances.
Developmental effects affecting the infants and older children:
Reduced response to vaccines
Lung function impairment
Lower birth weight
Delayed mammary gland development
Obesity
In recent years, special attention has also been focused on the toxic chemicals detected in breast milk since it’s consumed by infants. Researchers have found that protein-rich breast milk can be a major source of PFAS exposure, as these chemicals accumulate easily in human breast milk and can build up to worrying levels in breastfeeding babies. Prenatal exposure can affect immunity, hormonal functions, and the development of the nervous system.
How Can Expectant Mothers Protect Their Future Children From Toxic PFAS Chemicals?
Because PFAS chemicals have an important bioaccumulation potential, these chemicals are only very slowly eliminated from the body, which means even short-term exposure could be harmful. Reproductive health experts say that advice that preventing exposure to pregnant women or women trying to become pregnant is critical to prevent childhood neurological harm. FDA scientists confirmed that chemical contamination of PFAS has made its way into the U.S. food supply chain. The main sources of PFAS substances today are food, in the form of fish, milk, meat and eggs, or in the drinking water, if you happen to live near military bases, industrial plants, commercial airports or firefighting training sites.
During early development, the human fetus is vulnerable and relatively susceptible to impact from adverse conditions within the mother’s environment. As these persistent organic pollutants can be absorbed by the mother through food or water and subsequently by the unborn baby, who will absorb them via the placenta, pregnant women living in or near areas that have been identified as having been contaminated with PFAS should take steps to limit their exposure to these chemicals.
Decreased exposure to PFAS chemicals may be achieved by:
using consumer products from green labels;
avoid greasy or oily packed and fast foods, as the packages often contain grease-repellant coatings;
monitoring PFAS levels in drinking water and taking action as soon as possible if PFAS are discovered in the drinking water at concentrations that exceed the health advisory levels;
avoid eating fish, including fish caught in areas affected by PFAS; the exposure also comes from sources other than drinking water, such as fish, as long-chain PFAS has been shown to bioaccumulate in freshwater fish to concentrations that pose a threat to human health can accumulate in freshwater fish to concentrations that pose a threat to human health.
While the potential magnitude of PFAS risk is daunting, public health advocacy organizations and environmental attorneys need to be proactively committed to strengthening drinking water protections and supporting community groups who are fighting for their community’s right to safe drinking water. Both persistence and prevalence of PFAS chemicals make it a simmering threat that should be mitigated to minimize the spread of adverse health outcomes in humans and negative environmental impacts.
Treven Pyles is the administrative director at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C., a widely recognized law firm located in Birmingham, Alabama, with a distinguished record of helping victims of wrongful exposure to dangerous substances to cover the high medical costs of a serious illness, potentially lifelong and fatal. Treven is in charge of organizing complex operations that involve people and information and knows the importance of addressing the clients’ needs in complex cases like environmental litigation
They spray toxins KNOWN to cause cancer, weed-killer KNOWN to disrupt hormones herbicides KNOWN to be harmful to human health.The cities and counties spray toxic chemicals our sidewalks (where my children play barefoot), they spray our parks (where my children tumble and roll around) and they spray our school grounds where children spend most of the days of the weeks.
Why are we ALLOWING this practice to continue? A few unsightly weeds are not worth another cancer diagnosis in a child! Our health is valuable. Here are several ACTION STEPS you can take to protect our children!
I wasn’t really planning on doing anything as my week has been crazy busy. But, an opportunity presented itself as I drove home today to find my street being sprayed with a ‘weed killer’ along the sidewalks and in the street cracks. I stopped the gentleman who had a golf cart and two large tanks of chemicals. He was applying it with a hand wand.
I asked him “HOW DO I STOP THIS!?”
He recognized I was worried and saw the van full of kids. “My son has sensitivities to chemicals I don’t want this sprayed near my yard.” He was very kind and said just post a sign, “NO SPRAY ZONE”. He already did my house but he wouldn’t spray my property next time.
I didn’t want to be around the chemical tanks with the kids in car so I drove home to call the city. Ron from the Street Department called me back promptly. He’s been with the department since the 80’s and they have always sprayed weed killer.
No, they don’t alert the public and they spray twice a year. Yes, they use RoundUp and another cancer causing chemical combination. (Ask your city what THEY use?)
When I expressed my concerns about its new label as a carcinogen, he responded “Oh, that’s California not Idaho”. My response was “Oh, but the World Health Organization also labels it as a carcinogen. Cancer is an issue in Idaho as much as it is in California. Since 1 in 3 people get cancer it seems we should find an alternative chemical to get rid of weeds?”
It was a productive conversation. I finished the conversation with the question, “Since you said, you can’t stop spraying for weeds, how do we change the chemicals being use?”
I was told to find a product that is the equivalent to Round Up in effectiveness and cost and he would research it and be willing to approach the supervisors to make a change.
I promised him that I, a mom of a sick kid, will research and find some alternative products for their use -because its that important to me. Not just for my kids sake, but for those workers being exposed to the chemicals in large concentrations, and the families that aren’t even aware that their children’s health issues are stemming from the constant chemical exposure and their bodies unable to detox like the rest of us.
I later found out that Nampa (a neighboring city) has already committed to reduce their use of this carcinogenic chemical Glyphosate. John from the parks department told me that they put out signs when they use chemicals in the park. The glyphosate is sprayed in tree wells – an area I will have my children avoid in the future.
“Napa is phasing out the herbicide, known by its brand name Roundup, and is substituting other substances, plus increased mulching to attack weeds in public recreational areas, according to Dave Perazzo, the city’s director of parks, trees and facilities.”
Step #3 Join Others! We can do more together as a community
Join our closed Facebook Group. Learn what people are doing in your city. Join with them to unite our voices against toxins sprayed in our beautiful state.
Cancer, Simian Virus 40 (SV40), and Polio Vaccine Fact Sheet
SV40 is a virus found in some species of monkeys.
SV40 was discovered in 1960. Soon afterward, the virus was found in the polio vaccine.
More than 98 million Americans received one or more doses of polio vaccine from 1955 to 1963 when a proportion of vaccine was contaminated with SV40; it has been estimated that 10–30 million Americans could have received an SV40 contaminated dose of vaccine.
SV40 virus has been found in certain types of cancer in humans, but it has not been determined that SV40 causes these cancers.
The majority of scientific evidence suggests that the SV40-contaminated vaccine did not cause cancer; however, some research results are conflicting and more studies are needed.
Polio vaccines being used today do not contain SV40. All of the current evidence indicates that polio vaccines have been free of SV40 since 1963.
SV40 found in tumors
SV40 has been found in the tumors of children and grandchildren from around the world of the 100 million who received tainted Salk and Sabin Polio vaccines.
What are the consequences going to be for my grandchildren? Vaccines are not tested for mutagenesis or carcinogenic potential. Not to mention DNA insertion.
Vaccination is still a budding science and we are barely catching a glimpse of the consequences from vaccines administered 100 years ago.
German consumer organization finds high levels of melamine and formaldehyde migration from re-useable bamboo-based cups, condemns misleading labeling advertising them as recyclable and eco-friendly.
Looking for environmental friendly options as an alternative to paper coffee cups? Buyers are generally given the impression that they are buying natural product when purchasing and reusing a bamboo mug. With this description found easily on Amazon Prime ” BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: Made from Biodegradable and Naturally Organic Bamboo fiber.”, producers gloss over the fact that the cups are made from a powder of finely-ground bamboo fibers that are then glued together. The glue is toxic!
All of the cups tested by a German consumer watch group contained melamine resin, a kind of plasticky glue made from formaldehyde and melamine. Melamine is suspected of causing damage to the bladder and kidneys, while formaldehyde is a known irritant and can even cause cancer if inhaled.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has recently classified melamine as being “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (FPF reported).
Even more shocking is that the cups, sold for ‘hot drinks’ actually deteriorate over time and release the toxins in higher quantities. With each cup of Joe you pour your risk of ingesting toxic chemicals increases. Until they make an environmentally friendly AND safe coffee mug, we recommend you save your health – skip the bamboo mug.
High Levels of Cadmium a known carcinogen has been detected on the 2019 Edition of Starbucks Christmas Mug. As we enjoy this holiday mug manufactured in China, we are unknowingly poisoning ourselves. This fact wasn’t discovered by our protective government agencies but an advocate mother whose mission is to make us aware of the dangers of hidden toxins. Check out Lead Safe Mama’s page.
Were you surpised to find carcinogens on the Starbucks mugs?
Frankly – even though I know how bad this brand has rated (from a toxicant perspective) over the years [I’d estimate I have personally tested more than athousand Starbucks branded mugs for people over the last decade] – I am really shocked that a brand-new2019 Starbucks product has Lead at levels this high.
Hey Starbucks, Where’s your corporate responsibility and accountability when it comes to the planet, our children and their future? What possible excuse could you have for manufacturing brand-new high-Lead-content products emblazoned with your name??
And let’s be clear: the end product is not the only concern here…The big picture concern here is that you as a company are supporting/creating a demand for Lead-based pigments. Starbucks – this means you are supporting/instigating the demand for the mining, refining and manufacturing of Lead – along the entire global supply chain. Shame on you.
Our bodies are exposed to pollutants before we’re even born. Many pollutants, like the ones in our air, are unavoidable. But there are many toxins that we can choose to avoid. Aluminum is one of those toxins. Unlike vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, the body does not need aluminum. And aluminum is no innocent or benign participant. Aluminum accumulates in the kidneys, brain, lungs, liver and thyroid where it competes with calcium for absorption and can affect skeletal mineralization. In infants, this can slow growth. Animal models have linked aluminum exposure to mental impairments. [1]
The scary truth about aluminum is that it is found in so many things in our world and it is toxic to our bodies, even in small amounts. From household products to vaccinations, aluminum pervades our lifestyle, and if not monitored closely, can easily make its way into our bodies causing lasting, harmful effects.
Why is Aluminum Exposure Harmful? Just as cigarette smoke damages lung function and overexposure to UV rays will degrade your skin, aluminum is an attacker and its target is your central nervous system. [2]Studies show that toxic metals contribute to brain diseases by producing oxidative stress and aluminum is one of the worst offenders. [1] The prevailing belief around the world is that aluminum is linked to degenerative brain diseases:
linked to Alzheimer’s
epilepsy
dementia
osteomalacia
ADD
chronic fatigue syndrome
It makes sense, research shows aluminum can produce toxic, oxidative stress in the brain and a brain autopsy study of elderly persons found them to have aluminum levels 20+ times higher than a middle-aged group. [3][4] The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recognizes aluminum as one of several metals known to affect the neurological system. [5] As far as aluminum is concerned, the supreme brain-health concern is Alzheimer’s disease.
Many of the symptoms of aluminum toxicity mimic those of Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis. Colic, rickets, gastrointestinal problems, interference with the metabolism of calcium, extreme nervousness, anemia, headaches, decreased liver and kidney function, memory loss, speech problems, softening of the bones, and aching muscles can all be caused by aluminum toxicity. To minimize the risk of degenerative brain, bone, and other diseases, reductions in oral and topical exposure to aluminum and aluminum compounds are highly recommended. Download your free copy of Aluminum Tainted Everyday Products from the CHILDREN’S MEDICAL SAFETY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
AVOIDING ALUMINUM Aluminum is one of the most abundant metals on earth and it has permeated mainstream products to the degree that it’s virtually impossible to completely avoid exposure. However, you can take certain measures to reduce your exposure.
Avoid using disposable aluminum pans for cooking. Use glass pans for baking, stoneware for cookie sheets, and cast-iron for stove-top cooking.
Do not wrap food in foil to cook in oven or on grill. Potatoes bake just fine with no wrapping at all on oven rack.
Don’t use a deodorant that contains aluminum. Try using baking soda (as long as it is aluminum-free, too) or buy all-natural, aluminum-free deodorant, or make your own. bettermindbodysoul.com/diy-natural-deodorant-stick/
Read all labels on food and pay attention to packaging. Acidic foods in aluminum cans react, causing the aluminum to leach into the contents of the can.
Avoid aluminum-containing antacids. Try natural remedies for heartburn and indigestion like sipping a glass of water with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, eat fresh pineapple or papaya, chew a sprig of parsley, drink a cup of peppermint tea, drink aloe vera, or coconut water, or milk.
†Results may vary. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. Global Healing Center does not dispense medical advice, prescribe, or diagnose illness. The views and nutritional advice expressed by Global Healing Center are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician.
September 2019, 5G went live in Boise, Idaho. Verison Wireless went around the public concern about health and installed emitters without public input. Families living in and around the city have expressed concerns about the impact of this untested technology on their families. EMFs effects are scientifically documented by independent labs worldwide. Wireless technology is engrained in our culture. In this modern age, it’s not unusual to see a 2-year-old operate a tablet with finesse. Kids are asking for smartphones at younger and younger ages. But are they safe? What can we do to protect our most vulnerable?
EMF Safety Research
The truth is, there is plenty of unbiased research on the health effects of EMFs. You can find over 4,000 studies alone at Bioinitiative.org. Additional studies can be found at the World Health Organization and the I.A.R.C. (International Agency for Cancer). Both the WHO and the I.A.R.C. have classified wireless radiation as a Group 2B carcinogen, indicating that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields are possible human carcinogens. For reference, this category also includes glyphosate, lead, gasoline, and engine exhaust.
EMF Exposure
We are literally swimming in EMF soup daily thanks to the demand for “smart” everything. Besides cell phones and tablets we are getting exposed via modems, routers and router extenders, smart TVs, gaming devices, baby monitors, Bluetooth devices, and even robotic vacuums. Not to mention cell towers and smart meters.
Studies have shown that anything over 30 microWatts per square meter (mWm²) has the potential to cause DNA damage. Anything over 1 milligauss on a Gauss meter is causing dirty electricity. According to the science, safe levels for adult exposure to EMFs are a maximum of 30 mW/m2 and safe levels for a child are much lower at a maximum of 10 mW/m2. Safe levels for children are much lower because their blood-brain barrier is still forming so they absorb twice the amount of EMFs than adults do.
Unfortunately, the devices listed above often show readings well over 2,000 mW/m2. Now we need to ask ourselves…What are these frequencies doing to the body?
Possible Health Effects
Common health effects associated with EMF exposure include fatigue, sleep disturbances, concentration difficulties, depression, anxiety, headaches, immune system imbalances, cell damage (DNA and free radical damage), and evidence for Alzheimers and cancer risk.
Even scarier is that our future generations are at risk. A woman’s eggs have 10 times the DNA damage compared to any other DNA in the body. Our future grandchildren are in our wombs with our baby girls, making it even more important to be safe with wireless technology. (Source: Dr. Berrie Trower, Physicist, UK Royal Navy)
Simple Tips on Minimizing Exposure
Before we discuss EMF protection, let’s talk about some of the simple ways you can be a smarter tech user:
Never hold the cell phone against your head. Use a speakerphone or a wired headset to talk. Avoid wireless earbuds.
Use airplane mode as much as possible, especially if children are handling your device.
Avoid keeping your cell phone in your pocket or bra.
Never let children play with a smartphone or tablet on their lap.
Never sleep with a cell phone or tablet next to your bed.
EMF Protection
What do you do if you can’t live without your device? What if your child uses a tablet at school? And what about those who are electrically sensitive that need to be able to survive in an increasingly wireless world? That’s when personal and device protection comes in very handy.
Thankfully there are more and more options available to help us in the marketplace. How do we know what actually works? One great option is to use earth-based solutions to harmonize yourself and your wireless devices.
Products from EMF Harmony are tested extensively with live blood microscopy testing, mold testing, Acugraph testing, Avatar testing, Muscle testing/Applied kinesiology, and client testimonials to determine effectiveness. They are not designed to block EMFs, but rather harmonize them by using proprietary materials that filter the EMF and show a favorable body response when exposed to WiFi, A/C, powerlines, automobile EMFs, electrical appliances, cell phones, cell towers, and computers and laptops.
Clients report back better sleep, less brain fog, fewer headaches, and a sense of calm.
Thank you for EMF Harmony for authoring this post. If you have questions about EMF protection, contact Ryan directly at emfharmony.com
Pesticides are used all around us, in homes and gardens, schools, parks and agricultural fields. All too often, these chemicals are allowed onto the market before their impacts are fully understood — and harms to our health and the environment are discovered years later. The science is increasingly clear that even low levels of exposure can harm human health, and children are particularly vulnerable.
Our national rules governing pesticide use are surprisingly weak. Yet as public concern continues to grow, alternative approaches to managing pests are increasingly available and gaining ground in homes, schools and agricultural fields across the country.
Below is a brief overview of the problem; explore our campaigns and key issue pages to find out more about how PAN and our partners are building a healthy, thriving system of food and farming — and how you can help.
What are pesticides?
Insecticides (bug killers), herbicides (weed killers), and fungicides (fungus killers) are all pesticides; so are rodenticides and antimicrobials. Pesticides come in spray cans and crop dusters, in household cleaners, hand soaps and swimming pools.
Insecticides are generally the most acutely (immediately) toxic. Many are designed to attack an insect’s brain and nervous system, which can mean they have neurotoxic effects in humans as well. Herbicides are more widely used (RoundUp and atrazine are the two most used pesticides in the world) and present chronic risks. This means ongoing, low-level exposures can increase the risk of diseases or disorders such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease or infertility and other reproductive harms. Fungicides are also used in large amounts; some are more benign, some are not.
Pesticides are also sometimes broken down into chemical classes and modes of action. For example, fumigants are pesticides applied as gases to “sterilize” soil, and systemics work their way through a plant’s tissue after being taken up at the root. Major chemical classes include: carbamates, organochlorines, organophosphates (mostly developed 70 or more years ago for chemical warfare) and triazines. Newer classes include pyrethroids and neonicotinoids, synthesized to mimic nature’s pest protection. For more details on specific pesticides, visit our online database at www.pesticideinfo.org.
What is the “pesticide treadmill?”
Farmers get caught on the treadmill as they are forced to use more and more — and increasingly toxic — chemicals to control insects and weeds that develop resistance to pesticides.
As “superbugs” and “superweeds” develop in response to widespread and continous use of chemicals, a farmer will spend more on pesticides each year just to keep crop losses at a standard rate.
The recent introduction of crops genetically engineered for use with the herbicide 2,4-D provides a clear example of the pesticide treadmill. Widespread planting of RoundUp Ready crops and the associated application of RoundUp prompted weeds to develop resistance to the product. Resistant strains of “Pigweed” for instance, reportedly now grow with such vigor in southern cotton fields that the weeds can “stop a combine in its tracks.” Farmers are forced to return to use of 2,4-D — an antiquated, drift-prone chemical clearly linked to cancer and reproductive harms.
Overall, pesticide resistance is increasing. In the 1940s, U.S. farmers lost seven percent of their crops to pests. Since the 1980s, loss has increased to 13 percent, even though more pesticides are being used. Between 500 and 1,000 insect and weed species have developed pesticide resistance since 1945.
Rachel Carson clearly predicted the treadmill phenomenon in her 1962 book Silent Spring.
There is another way. Agroecology is the science behind sustainable farming. This powerful approach combines scientific inquiry with place-based knowledge and experimentation, emphasizing approaches that are knowledge-intensive, low cost, ecologically sound and practical. Home use of pesticides — which on a per acre basis outpaces use on farms by a ratio of 10 to 1 — puts families across the North America at unnecessary risk. Alternatives are available to manage home, lawn and garden pests without toxic pesticides.
Which rules govern pesticides?
In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has primary authority to register and regulate pesticides. The agency’s oversight of pesticides is authorized by the following federal laws:
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act allows EPA to register pesticides using risk/benefit standards (how much risk is balanced by how much benefit);
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act aims to increase protection for children and infants, including setting tolerances (maximum residues on food);
The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) amends previous laws by establishing a single safety standard for tolerances to increase protection of children from aggregate exposures (dietary, water and residential); and
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 which requires that pesticides that will harm these species will not be registered.
Some states have additional, stricter rules restricting pesticide use, and in a handful of states, local cities and counties can put even stricter rules in place.
Internationally, pesticides are regulated through two treaties that PAN played a formative role in creating:
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs treaty) addresses toxins that persist, move around the world on wind and water, and bioaccumulate (DDT, for example)and
Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC treaty) gives countries the right to refuse the import of highly hazardous toxins.
The PIC treaty attempts to redress the dumping of obsolete or banned pesticides on the developing world. While only 25 percent of global pesticide use takes place in developing countries, 99 percent of acute pesticide-related fatalities occur there.
Exposure & impacts
Pesticide exposure depends on where you live and what you do.
Each year, an estimated one billion pounds of pesticides are applied to U.S. farms, forests, lawns and golf courses. More than 17,000 pesticide products are currently on the market — with many of them approved through “conditional registration,” a regulatory loophole that allows products on the market quickly without thorough review.
Pesticide applicators, farmers and farmworkers, and communities near farms are often most at risk, but studies by the Centers for Disease Control show that all of us carry pesticides in our bodies. Golf courses use pesticides heavily, as do some schools and parks. Consumers also face pesticide exposure through food and water residues. For instance, the herbicide atrazine is found in 94% of U.S. drinking water tested by the USDA.
This widespread, long term use of pesticides has had tremendous ecological impacts over the years, from pest and weed resistance to environmental contamination and honey bee declines.
In terms of human health, pesticides are now linked to a range of health impacts, including increased risk of cancer, Parkinson’s disease and neurodevelopmental effects like autism and ADHD. As we highlight in ourA Generation in Jeopardy report, the science shows that infants and children are most at risk.
Systemic pesticides are in the plant, not on it. When we make the plant itself poisonous to predators, one has to wonder what (or who) else it’s poisoning.
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the pervasive herbicide and pesticide Roundup®. The same Roundup used as to control dandelions in your yard and weeds growing in the cracks of your walkways is sprayed on your food and you consume it on a regular basis. Monsanto, Roundup’s manufacturer, convinced the U.S. regulatory agencies over four decades ago that glyphosate is practically nontoxic to humans.
A study published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe reveals that Americans have applied 1.8 million tons of Roundup since its introduction in 1974. It’s enough to spray nearly half a pound of Roundup on every cultivated acre of land in the world. This is a staggering amount, says Charles Benbrook, study author.
The sheer quantity of herbicide applied on our planet makes its contamination inescapable! It is in our soil, our water, 75% of the rain samples in the Midwest tested positive for it, it contaminates least 75% of the foods in our grocery stores (probably more). Its found in umbilical cord blood, breast milk, and all the childhood vaccines. <Glyphosate testing results Moms Across America>
No Protection from Regulatory Agencies
Glyphosate formulations are often claimed to be safe by industry-linked sources.However, these claims are based on outdated and largely unpublished studies on the isolated ingredient glyphosate, commissioned by manufacturers in support of their application for regulatory authorization. In 2013, Monsanto requested and received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for increased tolerance levels for glyphosate. <6> Recent court findings show that the corporation Monsanto ghost wrote research, bought off and lied to regulatory agencies to increase the usage (and profits) of their product. <Monsanto Confidential Internal Documentation> And because of its perceived nontoxicity, the government has put minimal effort into testing residue levels in the foods that we put on our table. The crops that are engineered to resist glyphosate are highly contaminated because they take up the glyphosate and incorporate it into their tissues. <1>
Systemic pesticides are chemicals that are actually absorbed by a plant when applied to seeds, soil, or leaves. The chemicals then circulate through the plant’s tissues, killing the insects that feed on them. Use of these pesticides on food crops began in 1998, and has steadily increased. Unlike with traditional insecticides, you can’t wash or peel off systemic pesticide residues.
– Mother Earth News
You can’t wash or cook off the glyphosate residue. Contaminated crops include corn, soy, canola, alfalfa, and sugar beets. As well, many grains, legumes, and other crops are sprayed with glyphosate right before harvest as a desiccant or ripener. These include sugar cane, wheat, barley, and oats, among others. Even non-GMO crops use glyphosate just before harvest. While the FDA has a regulated ‘safe level’ limit on glyphosate contamination, they fail to take into account that it bioaccumulates in our bodies.
Miniscule amounts of RoundUp in the parts per trillion are shown to increase the growth of breast cancer cells. Regardless of FDA limits, the reality is that there is no safe level of glyphosate consumption.
One study out of Norway looking at Roundup Ready soybean crops confirmed the presence of glyphosate inside the beans themselves, and even Monsanto itself admits that some glyphosate remains on and in food crops like canola, cotton, and corn that are heavily sprayed with it. This means that animals and people are literally eating glyphosate in unknown amounts on a regular basis.
Leading Researchers Agree on the Dangers of Glyphosate
Over 100 peer reviewed papers have been published by Don Huber, Emeritus Professor at Purdue University and senior scientist on USDA’s National Plant Disease Recovery System, and other scientists on the detrimental effects of glyphosate. Glyphosate increases disease in plants (as well as animals), prompting Huber to write to the Secretary of Agriculture. Respected scientific studies show that there is a strong correlation between Glyphosate and Glyphosate formulations and serious health and environmental hazards, including disruption of hormonal systems and beneficial gut bacteria, damage to DNA, developmental and reproductive toxicity, birth defects, cancer and neurotoxicity. <6>
How Does Glyphosate Damage the Human Body?
Chronic toxicity—the effects of continually ingesting glyphosate residues in food—is cause for concern. Glyphosate interferes with fundamental biochemical reactions and may predispose humans to a host of health problems.
Glyphosate performs two primary functions in agriculture – it robs plants of vital nutrients and weakens their immune defenses, resulting in their systematic destruction and eventual death.
How does that affect the human body?
1. MINERAL CHELATOR
Glyphosate was first patented as a chelator, a ‘magnet’ for drawing out metal ions in 1964 by Stauffer Chemical Co.
In the case of plants, it binds to trace minerals and nutrients like manganese, magnesium, zinc, calcium, and iron, among many others. It does this in order to disrupt the physiological and enzymatic processes plants require for growth and life, ultimately destroying them. <8>
According to Dr. Huber, an award-winning scientist and professor emeritus of plant pathology at Purdue University for the past 35 years, “It’s important to realize that glyphosate is not ‘just’ an herbicide. It was first patented as a *mineral chelator*. It immobilizes nutrients, so they’re not physiologically available for your body.”<3>
Glyphosate chelates essential minerals iron, cobalt, manganese. Thus plants have fewer nutrients if glyphosate has been used on the field, and you absorb less of the existing nutrients that the food has if there is glyphosate residue. <7>
Indirectly, glyphosate damages both food crops and soils, depleting them of the nutrients our bodies need for health. Manganese, which I mentioned earlier as being a chelating target of glyphosate, is an important trace mineral that governs multiple essential functions within the human body.
For instance, manganese protects the integrity of mitochondria, the energy centers of our cells, against degradative oxidative damage. It also protects bone integrity, gut balance, bile acid homeostasis, neurological function, as well as a number of other vital life systems.
If glyphosate’s broad-spectrum chelating ability to strip not only manganese but a host of other vital nutrients from plants and soils is enough to kill them, imagine what it’s doing to our bodies when we consume the nutrient-deficient foods derived from them! <7>
2. HERBICIDE ‘WEEDKILLER’
It was patented by Monsanto and introduced as an herbicide in 1974 –that’s how it is most commonly known. It kills weeds by attacking the “immune system” of the plant. The metabolic pathway it effects is called the shikimate pathway. It disrupts that pathway, thus killing the plant. Humans do not have that pathway, so it was at first thought to be safe for humans. The pathway isfound in bacteria, however, and humans depend on bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to synthesize the essential amino acids.
By interfering with the biochemistry of bacteria in our GI tract, consumption of glyphosate depletes essential amino acids and predisposes humans to a host of chronic health problems. Specifically, glyphosate depletes the amino acids tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine, which can then contribute to obesity, depression, autism, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
There is also evidence that Roundup® inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in plants[iii] and mammals[iv]. The CYP enzymes help to detoxify foreign chemicals (such as pesticides), regulate levels of vitamin D, and control cholesterol in humans.
Dr. Huber says, ” When you take the good bacteria out, then the bad bacteria fill that void because there aren’t any voids in nature. We have all of these gut-related problems, whether it’s autism, leaky gut, C. difficile diarrhea, gluten intolerance, or any of the other problems. All of these diseases are an expression of disruption of that intestinal microflora that keeps you healthy.”
Chronic disease and less nutritious foods are clear ramifications of upsetting the balance of microorganisms naturally occurring in soil and plants, related to our gut microbiota. Glyphosate causes the villi in the intestines die, leading to the leaky gut syndrome, which is associated with all autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, leaky gut leads to “leaky brain”–a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier.
3. ANTIBIOTIC/Microbial Agent
Glyphosate is a registered anti- microbial agent that annihilates organisms, both good and bad. When it enters your gastrointestinal tract, glyphosate not only destroys protective organisms like bacillus and lactobacillus, it also inhibits the growth of new protective organisms, leaving your body vulnerable to pathogenic invaders and bowel diseases like leaky gut syndrome.
Dr. Huber further explains: “When you take the good bacteria out, then the bad bacteria fill that void because there aren’t any voids in nature. We have all of these gut-related problems, whether it’s autism, leaky gut, C. difficile diarrhea, gluten intolerance, or any of the other problems. All of these diseases are an expression of disruption of that intestinal microflora that keeps you healthy.” <5>
Direct Evidence of Harm
A study examining the effect of glyphosate on bacteria that grow in the GI tract of chickens found that beneficial bacteria were susceptible, and harmful bacteria were resistant, to glyphosate. The growth of four types of beneficial bacteria—Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Enterococcus—was reduced at low concentrations of glyphosate.[viii] The same types of beneficial bacteria inhabit the human GI tract, and they are sold over the counter as a probiotic supplement. Some strains are also found in yogurt.
When exposed to the same levels of glyphosate that harmed the beneficial bacteria, several harmful bacteria, including Salmonella, grew successfully. The authors concluded that ingestion of glyphosate can disturb the normal microbial community and predispose chickens to carrying high levels of Salmonella or other harmful bacteria.
4. MOLECULAR MIMICRY
Glyphosate also replaces an amino acid called “glycine” in our protein chains. However, because it’s a bigger molecule, it causes the protein chains to fold in on themselves in such a way that they can no longer function properly.
STEPHANIE SENEFF, Ph.D. says, “My recent research, inspired by Anthony Samsel’s conjecture, leads me to strongly suspect that glyphosate is getting into proteins by mistake in place of glycine. This has huge consequences to our health, because the human proteins contaminated with glyphosate don’t work properly in their function in the body, and the glyphosate-contaminated food proteins tend to resist proteolysis, sticking around and causing autoimmune disease through molecular mimicry. This feature easily explains the epidemic we see in allergies to foods that are likely to contain high amounts of glyphosate contamination, such as gluten, casein, and soy.” <1>
5. ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR
Glyphosate has been shown in several recent studies to be an endocrine disruptor. According to the National Institutes of Health, endocrine disruptors could have long-term effects on public health, especially reproductive health. And the “dose makes the poison” rule does not apply to endocrine disruptors, which wreak havoc on our bodies at low doses.
Not Enough Safety Tests
Roundup and other glyphosate herbicide formulations as sold and used have been found in studies to be more toxic than the isolated ingredient, glyphosate. However, only glyphosate alone is tested in long-term safety tests for regulatory authorizations. This is a fundamental problem affecting all pesticide authorizations.
The ‘safe’ dose for Roundup exposure set by regulators is not based on up-to-date objective evidence. So, current regulations do not protect the public.
The chemicals used in the GM model of farming are toxic, and the model of farming itself is unsustainable and damaging to the environment – with an increase in herbicides significantly increasing pollution and health risks for citizens, and contributing to biodiversity loss. The only people who stand to gain from this model are those that produce the herbicide-resistant crop the chemicals required to grow them.
Take Local Action
Perhaps NOW is the time to systematically SHUT DOWN the use of Roundup in our everyday spaces. While it will take much more to get the farms to switch, we could start small and unravel it bit by bit.
Irvine got them to stop spraying in their parks. We can get it stopped around our schools/daycares. Its easier on a city level you have to change the minds of a few on the City Council instead of 100’s in the State legislature.
[i] Samsel, A., and Seneff, S. 2013. Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. Page 1443. Entropy, 15, 1416-1463; doi:10.3390/e15041416
[ii] Samsel, A., and Seneff, S. 2013. Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. Page 1443. Entropy, 15, 1416-1463; doi:10.3390/e15041416
[iii] Lamb, D.C.; Kelly, D.E.; Hanley, S.Z.; Mehmood, Z.; Kelly, S.L. Glyphosate is an inhibitor of plant cytochrome P450: Functional expression of thlaspi arvensae cytochrome P45071b1/reductase fusion protein in Escherichia coli. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 1998, 244, 110–114.
[iv] Hietanen, E.; Linnainmaa, K.; Vainio, H. Effects of phenoxyherbicides and glyphosate on the hepatic and intestinal biotransformation activities in the rat. Acta. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 1983, 53, 103–112.
[v] Kim, Y.H.; Hong, J.R.; Gil, H.W.; Song, H.Y.; Hong, S.Y. 2013. Mixtures of glyphosate and surfactant TN20 accelerate cell death via mitochondrial damage-induced apoptosis and necrosis. Toxicol. InVitro,27, 191–197.
[vi] Kim, Y.H.; Hong, J.R.; Gil, H.W.; Song, H.Y.; Hong, S.Y. 2013. Mixtures of glyphosate and surfactant TN20 accelerate cell death via mitochondrial damage-induced apoptosis and necrosis. Toxicol. InVitro,27, 191–197.
[vii] Clair, E.; Linn, L.; Travert, C.; Amiel, C.; Séralini, G.E.; Panoff, J.M. 2012. Effects of Roundup and glyphosate on three food microorganisms: Geotrichum candidum, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. Curr. Microbiol. 64, 486–491.
[viii] Shehata, A.A.; Schrödl, W.; Aldin, A.A.; Hafez, H.M.; Krüger, M. 2013. The effect of glyphosate on potential pathogens and beneficial members of poultry microbiota in vitro. Curr. Microbiol. 66, 350–358.
[ix] Krüger, M.; Shehata, A.A.; Schrödl, W.; Rodloff, A. 2013. Glyphosate suppresses the antagonistic effect of Enterococcus spp. on Clostridium botulinum. Anaerobe 2013, 20, 74–78.
[x] Samsel, A., and Seneff, S. 2013. Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. Page 1443. Entropy, 15, 1416-1463; doi:10.3390/e15041416
Is there proof of harm due to long-term exposure to wireless radiofrequency electromagnetic (RF-EMF) radiation? On this episode of HealthMade radio, Dr. Michael Karlfeldt discusses electromagnetic fields and radiation with Dr. David Carpenter MD, co-editor of the 2012 BioInitiative Report BioInitiative Report that Issues New Warnings on Wireless and EMF.
Dr. David Carpenter is the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany, and the author of the Bioinitiative Report, one of the very few publications to evaluate the safety concerns associated with cell phones. He received his degree at Harvard Medical School and has decades of experience studying public health and environmental contaminants, with more than 360 peer-reviewed articles bearing his name.
On this episode of HealthMade radio, Dr. Michael Karlfeldt discusses electromagnetic fields and radiation with Dr. David Carpenter MD, and co-editor of the 2012 BioInitiative Report BioInitiative 2012 Report Issues New Warnings on Wireless and EMF.
There is now much more evidence of risks to health affecting billions of people world-wide. The status quo is not acceptable in light of the evidence for harm.“
“There has been no premarket testing of this technology or the mix of frequencies we will be exposed to. There are no protective regulations to assure monitoring of radiation levels for each antenna or a registry to document reported health effects.” ~Physicians For Safe Technology https://mdsafetech.org/5g-telecommunications-science/
Pesticide exposure depends on where you live and what you do.
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