toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

Cont’d from page 1 - Research: Roundup HerbicideToxicity Vastly Underestimatedformulations like Roundup, which while being labeled"inert" or "non-active," are in no way neutral, and whichamplify glyphosate toxicity far beyond what toxicologicalrisk assessments presently are designed to ascertain.Glyphosate-Formulations Dramatically More Toxic thanGlyphosate AloneBack in Feb. of 2012, the journal Archives of Toxicologypublished a shocking study showing that Roundup is toxicto human DNA even when diluted to concentrations 450-fold lower than used in agricultural applications.[i]This effect could not have been anticipated from theknown toxicological effects of glyphosate alone. Thelikely explanation is that the surfactant polyoxyethyleneaminewithin Roundup dramatically enhances theabsorption of glyphosate into exposed human cells andtissue.If this is true, it speaks to a fundamental problemassociated with toxicological risk assessments ofagrichemicals (and novel manmade chemicals in general),namely, these assessments do not take into account thereality of synergistic toxicologies, i.e. the amplification ofharm associated with multiple chemical exposuresoccurring simultaneously."Inactive Ingredients" In Herbicide Formulations AreActively Poisoning UsBut adjuvants in glyphosate formulations do not justincrease the toxicity of glyphosate -- they are themselveshighly toxic. Indeed, a study published in the journalToxicology September, 2011 titled "Ethoxylated adjuvantsof glyphosate-based herbicides are active principles ofhuman cell toxicity," found 24 hour exposures on liver,embryonic and placental cell lines at concentrations as lowas 1 ppm – a dose well within "acceptable" environmentaland occupational doses – resulted in negative effects oncellular respiration and membrane integrity.[ii] Theauthors reported their findings as such:Altogether, these results challenge the establishment ofguidance values such as the acceptable daily intake ofglyphosate, when these are mostly based on a long term invivo test of glyphosate alone. Since pesticides are alwaysused with adjuvants that could change their toxicity, thenecessity to assess their whole formulations as mixturesbecomes obvious. This challenges the concept of activeprinciple of pesticides for non-target species.What the consumer of GM-contaminated food mustunderstand is that glyphosate, and the many insufficientlytested "inactive" ingredients sprayed on these foods, enterthe body and have real, adverse effects that arecumulative, even if mostly subclinical. The only way wecan be sure to reduce our exposure to these agrichemicalsis through consciously refraining from consuming them.And how do we do that? Get the stuff labeled, and givethe consumer a choice not to eat it.Vote with your fork by buying only organic food,whenever possible.Resources[i] Verena J Koller, Maria Fürhacker, Armen Nersesyan,Miroslav Mišík, Maria Eisenbauer, Siegfried Knasmueller.Cytotoxic and DNA-damaging properties of glyphosate andRoundup in human-derived buccal epithelial cells. ArchToxicol. 2012 Feb 14. Epub 2012 Feb 14. PMID: 22331240[ii] R Mesnage, B Bernay, G-E Séralini. Ethoxylated adjuvantsof glyphosate-based herbicides are active principles of humancell toxicity. Toxicology. 2012 Sep 21. Epub 2012 Sep 21.PMID: 23000283Sayer Ji is an author, researcher, lecturer, and advisory boardmember of the National Health Federation.http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/research-roundupherbicide-toxicity-vastly-underestimated☻☻☻☻☻☻Biotech’s Next Big Disaster:Seeds that Emit MultiplePesticidesBy Jon RappoportMay 13, 2013www.nomorefakenews.comTom Laskawy, writing at Grist, points out how the nextgeneration of GMOs is following in the track of presentdisasters:“…the growing pest and weed problems for GMOs havecaused farmers to turn to seeds that are coated with adifferent pesticide—a neonicotinoid. If that name rings abell, it’s because these pesticides… have been implicatedin the increasing epidemic of bee deaths.“And that’s aside from the evidence that biotech’s ‘nextbig thing’ —seeds that emit multiple pesticides—may bedoomed to fail. An international team of researchers,including USDA and biotech scientists, found what theytermed ‘cross-resistance’ to these pesticides in[predatory] bugs exposed to the next-generation GMOseeds. Evidence, in other words, that GMO seeds arehitting a bug-covered wall.” The seeds don’t knock outthe plant pests. Continued on page 11-2 - Traditional African Clinic – July 2013