Banishing Glyphosate

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Banishing Glyphosate
a thyroid cancer in females [53] [this study was not considered by the IARC]. The second study (completed in 1983) found doserelated
increases in the frequency of a rare kidney tumor in male mice [54]. The most recent study (1988-1990) found an increase
in the number of pancreas and liver tumors in male rats together with an increase of the same thyroid cancer found in the 1983
study in females [55].”
But the EPA explained all that away. Cox continued [51]: “All of these increases in tumor incidence are “not considered compound-related”
[55] according to EPA. In each case, different reasons are given for this conclusion. For the testicular tumors, EPA
accepted the interpretation of an industry pathologist who said that the incidence in treated groups (12 percent) was similar to
those observed in other control (not glyphosate-fed) rat feeding studies (4.5 percent) [56]. [This is an illicit use of controls, and
12 percent is clearly well above 4.5 percent in any case.] For the thyroid cancer, EPA stated that it was not possible to consistently
distinguish between cancers and tumors of this type, so that the incidences of the two should be considered together [a questionable
manipulation of data]. The combined data are not statistically significant [53]. For the kidney tumors, the registrants reexamined
slides of kidney tissue, finding an additional tumor in untreated mice so that statistical significance was lost. This was despite
a memo from EPA’s pathologist stating that the lesion in question was not really a tumor [54] [and hence amounts to a falsification
of data]. For the pancreatic tumors, EPA stated that there was no dose-related trend and no progression to malignancy [the lack
of linear dose-related trend is frequently the case in endocrine disrupting chemicals]. For the liver tumors and the thyroid tumors,
EPA stated that pairwise comparisons between treated and untreated animals were not statistically significant and there was no
progression to malignancy [55].” (Comments between square brackets added).
EPA concluded that glyphosate should be classified as Group E [55], “evidence of non-carcinogenicity for humans.” They
added that this classification “is based on the available evidence at the time of evaluation and should not be interpreted as a
definitive conclusion that the agent will not be a carcinogen under any circumstances.”
The EPA authorities went against the advice of their own scientists, as Cox revealed [51]. An EPA statistician wrote in a memo
concerning one of the carcinogenicity studies [55], “Viewpoint is a key issue. Our viewpoint is one of protecting the public health
when we see suspicious data.” Unfortunately, EPA has not taken that viewpoint in its assessment of glyphosate's cancer-causing
potential. The agency should indeed be held responsible for two decades of people and planet being subjected to chronic glyphosate
exposures on a misclassification that has allowed the manufacturer to claim it is ‘safe’, and perpetrating many other falsehoods
to promote its ubiquitous and liberal use.
Carcinogenic potential of glyphosate in human cells
There has been only one in vivo study on the potential of glyphosate to promote cancerous growth on skin of mice [50], which
suggested from proteomic analysis that the glyphosate formulations used (Roundup) promoted cancerous growth in a similar
way to a well-known cancer promoter TPA, but it remained unclear whether it was glyphosate or the adjuvant POEA or both that
promoted cancer. Further studies on cancer cells showed that glyphosate is probably the main culprit.
Glyphosate promotes growth of human cancer cells
On account of epidemiological studies showing increased frequency of birth defects in pesticide applicators and general population
of the Red River Valley, Minnesota, a selection of 16 agrochemicals including both Roundup and glyphosate (reagent grade
monoisopropylamine salt) were investigated for their effects on the growth of the oestrogen-dependent MCF-7 human breast
cancer cells [57]. Tests were performed in both growth media contained charcoal-dextran (CD) treated or non-CD treated foetal
bovine serum. The researchers found that both glyphosate and its most widely used formulation, Roundup, were able to promote
significant proliferation of MCF-7 cells; and the results were similar in CD- and non-CD- treated medium. Maximum induction of cell
proliferation occurred at 2.28 mg/mL of glyphosate (135 + 3.5 % with CD, 130 + 7.98 % without CD) or 10 mg/mL Roundup (126 + 5.1 %
with CD, 121 + 10.3 % without CD); p