"The presence of glyphosate residues in both humans and animals could haul the entire population towards numerous health hazards, studying the impact of glyphosate residues on health is warranted and the global regulations for the use of glyphosate may have to be re-evaluated."
A newly released study published in Environmental & Analytical Toxicology highlights the chemical dangers associated with the GMO agricultural system, which relies heavily on the herbicide known as glyphosate (aka Roundup), and to which widespread exposure through the environment and our food is increasingly becoming inevitable.
The study titled, "Detection of Glyphosate in Animals and Humans," aimed to investigate glyphosate residues in different biological samples from humans and animals, in order to gain insight into the modern day exposure situation.
The following animal samples were collected:
- Urine from cows kept in GM free areas
- Organs from slaughtered cows from conventional husbandry (gut wall, liver, kidney, lung and muscles)
- Urine samples from Danish cows
- Urine samples from hares and fattening rabbits
The following human samples were collected:
- Urine samples from humans with conventional or organic diets
- Urine samples from healthy and chronically diseases humans
All samples were tested, revealing the following positive results:
- Animal Samples: "Glyphosate excretion in German dairy cows was significantly (P<0.0001) higher than Danish cows (Figure 1A). Surprisingly, cows kept in GM free region had significantly (p<0.001) lower glyphosate concentrations in their urine compared with cows under convention husbandry (Figure 1B). Also glyphosate was detected in different organs of slaughtered cows including intestine, liver, muscles, spleen and kidney (Figure 1C). There were no significant differences of glyphosate residues in these organs. Hares showed significantly lower (P<0.0001) glyphosate residues in urine than fattening rabbit (Figure 2)."
- Human Samples: "Glyphosate was significantly higher (P<0.0002) in humans feed conventional feed compared with predominantly organic feed humans (Figure 3). Also the glyphosate residues in urine were grouped according to the human health status. Chronically ill humans had significantly higher (P=0.03) glyphosate residues in urine than healthy humans (Figure 2)."
In the discussion portion of the study, the researchers address several key points. First, glyphosate exposure is inevitable, due to the way it is used in food production:
"Glyphosate-containing herbicides are applied in large amounts to crops 2 to 3 times per season to remove weeds and dry out grain in a process called 'desiccation' . Once applied, glyphosate accumulates in leaves, grains or fruit. Glyphosate residues cannot be removed by washing and they are not broken down by cooking . Glyphosate residues can remain stable in foods for a year or more, even if the foods are frozen, dried or processed."