GMO Myths and Truths

at lower doses. Interestingly, these effects
were discounted by regulators, who approved
glyphosate for use in food production. 10
● Roundup caused liver and kidney toxicity in fish
at sublethal doses. Effects in the liver included
haemorrhage and necrosis (death of cells and
living tissue). 21
● Roundup caused total cell death in human cells
within 24 hours at concentrations far below
those used in agriculture and corresponding to
levels of residues found in food and feed. 13
● Roundup caused death of human cells and
programmed cell death at a concentration of
50 parts per million, far below agricultural
dilutions. 16
● Roundup was a potent endocrine disruptor at
levels up to 800 times lower than residue levels
allowed in food and feed. It was toxic to human
cells and caused DNA damage at doses far
below those used in agriculture. 17
● Glyphosate was toxic to human placental cells
and is an endocrine disruptor in concentrations
lower than those found with agricultural use.
Roundup adjuvants amplified glyphosate’s
toxicity by enabling it to penetrate cells more
easily and to bioaccumulate in cells. 15
● Glyphosate and Roundup damaged human
embryonic and placental cells at concentrations
below those used in agriculture, suggesting that
they may interfere with human reproduction
and embryonic development. 14
● Glyphosate’s main metabolite (environmental
breakdown product), AMPA, altered cell cycle
checkpoints by interfering with the cells’ DNA
repair machinery. 22,23,19,24 The failure of cell
cycle checkpoints is known to lead to genomic
instability and cancer in humans.
● Glyphosate and AMPA irreversibly damaged
DNA, suggesting that they may increase the
risk of cancer. 25,26
● Glyphosate promoted cancer in the skin of
mice. 27
● Roundup caused cell and DNA damage to
epithelial cells derived from the inside of the
mouth and throat, and glyphosate alone caused
DNA damage, raising concerns over the safety
of inhaling the herbicide, one of the most
common ways in which people are exposed.
Importantly, both glyphosate and Roundup
caused DNA damage at concentrations
below those required to induce cell damage,
suggesting that the DNA damage was caused
directly by glyphosate and Roundup instead of
being an indirect result of cell toxicity. 28
4.1.4. Epidemiological studies on
Roundup show links with serious
health problems
Epidemiological studies show a link between
Roundup/glyphosate exposure and serious health
problems, including:
● DNA damage 27
● Premature births and miscarriages 28,29
● Birth defects including neural tube defects and
anencephaly (absence of a large part of the
brain and skull) 32,33
● Multiple myeloma, a type of cancer 34
● Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of
cancer 35,36,37
● Disruption of neurobehavioral development in
children of pesticide applicators – in particular,
attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attentiondeficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 38
Epidemiological studies cannot prove a cause-andeffect
relationship between exposure to a suspect
substance and a health effect. However, in the
case of glyphosate/Roundup, toxicological studies
carried out under controlled laboratory conditions
confirm the causal relationship to health problems
(see 4.1.3).
4.1.5. People are widely exposed to
glyphosate
Glyphosate-based herbicides are widely used
outside of the farm environment – for example,
by municipal authorities to control weeds on
roadsides and in parks and school grounds, as
well as by home gardeners. So even when farm
use is excluded, people’s exposure to glyphosate
is significant. In agricultural areas where GM
glyphosate-resistant crops are grown, exposure is
likely to increase exponentially.
Study findings on human exposures and body
burdens include:
● Glyphosate was detected in between 60 and
GMO Myths and Truths 66